Villanova Football Falls to Holy Cross in Overtime; Patriot League Title Hopes Dwindling

Villanova Football’s chance at winning a Patriot League title and automatic bid to the FCS playoffs came to an end on Saturday, Nov. 14 with a 30-27 overtime loss at Holy Cross (6-5, 6-2 Patriot League). With one game left in the season and a head-to-head loss, Villanova can’t catch Holy Cross in the Patriot League standings.

The Wildcats (6-5, 5-3 Patriot League) erased a 10-point deficit in the final four minutes, tying the game on a 30-yard kick from Dominic LeBlanc with eight seconds to play, but couldn’t mount a miraculous goal line stand after a 19-yard catch from Ty Curran gave the Crusaders first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in overtime. Jordan Taylor and Omari Bursey came up with run stuffs on first and second downs before Holy Cross junior Jake Croce broke through for his second touchdown of the afternoon.

Hot and Cold

Villanova had possession to open the overtime period, but a first down sack of quarterback Pat McQuaide put them behind the chains on the way to an eventual 38-yard kick from LeBlanc. The Wildcats’ offense ran hot and cold throughout, McQuaide throwing a trio of interceptions. When they were on, they looked near unstoppable. McQuaide found Jake Hilton for a 43-yard touchdown with 3:29 to play that pulled Villanova within a score and capped a six play, 92-yard drive that used just 91 seconds of the dwindling clock.

Hilton hauled in eight passes for 146 yards on the day, helping to spark the Wildcats’ first scoring drive with three straight catches for a combined 50 yards. He also had a hand in the eventual tying possession, exiting the game after a hit to the head that gave Villanova 15 yards on a targeting penalty.

Holy Cross took a 21-7 lead late in the first half, and running back Isaiah Ragland fumbled on the ensuing drive; the Wildcats’ defense managed to avoid disaster and force a stop, but their offense stagnated throughout the third quarter as McQuaide threw a pair of picks. They surged awake with another rapid drive late in the frame, McQuaide completing six of six passes for 87 yards and the eventual 20-yard score to Brandon Binkowski. McQuaide threw a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Crusaders pushed their lead to ten before another about-face in the final minutes.

The Wildcats’ chances of an at-large bid to the postseason are slim at 6-5; they’ll wrap up the season at home against Georgetown at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21.