Villanova Football’s Playoff Path: Two Games to Catch Lehigh

Villanova Football moved into a tie for second place in the Patriot League on Saturday, Nov. 7, defeating Richmond to pass them in the standings. Colgate, which beat the Wildcats (6-4, 5-2 Patriot League) head-to-head earlier this season, lost in blowout fashion to Lehigh, similarly allowing Villanova to pass them up.

The Wildcats are tied with Holy Cross (5-5, 5-2 Patriot League) for the No. 2 spot behind Lehigh (7-2, 6-1 Patriot League). They’ll play the Crusaders in Worcester, Mass. at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, giving them a chance to move into sole possession of second place in the conference, but they’ll also still need Lehigh to lose one of their remaining two games — while winning out themselves — in order to secure the Patriot League crown.

The Mountain Hawks have struggled mightily in recent weeks under backup quarterback Derek Morgan, squeaking to a 31-30 win over moribund Bucknell after Villanova handed them their first conference loss. They switched to No. 3 quarterback Patrick Coan against Colgate and promptly won 33-7. If that trend holds, Lehigh might prove too difficult to catch with the season winding down.

Lehigh will travel to face Richmond — trending in the wrong direction amidst a quarterback change — next week before finishing the season on the road at Lafayette in a storied rivalry that always has a chance of getting wacky. Villanova will conclude their season at home against Georgetown, and losing either of their two remaining games would require Lehigh to also lose out in order to win the Patriot League.

The Wildcats haven’t picked up any top 25 votes since early season losses to Colgate and Morgan State, so an at-large playoff bid is likely off the table: they’ll need to win the Patriot League outright and secure the conference’s automatic bid.