Villanova Preview: Wildcats Home Underdogs Versus Illinois State

No. 12 Villanova Football will host unseeded Illinois State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20 with a trip to the FCS championship game hanging in the balance. 

This marks the Wildcats’ fourth appearance in a national semifinal game and their second time hosting. The Wildcats overcame a 14 point first quarter deficit at Tarleton State last week, while the Redbirds went on the road to upset UC Davis.

Despite their home field advantage, oddsmakers see Villanova as a slight underdog: FanDuel lists them at +104 on the money line, with a point spread of 2.5 and an over/under of 51.5 points.

With finals week wrapping up on Dec. 19, Villanova’s administration is pulling out all the stops to give their team a raucous crowd to play in front of, including $2 beers and hot dogs during the first quarter, extending student housing to accommodate those who want to stick around, and even a Saturday mass held by University President Father Peter Donohue.

In terms of the matchup, Illinois State’s offense mirrors that of Villanova: the Redbirds average 170 rushing yards and 212 passing yards per game, while the Wildcats check in at 180 and 216, respectively. The Redbirds do a good job of stopping the run, holding opponents to an average of 3.9 yards per carry and 134 yards per game. Opposing offenses have seen more success through the air, posting 246 passing yards per game.

ESPN2 holds the broadcasting rights to this game.

Scouting the Redbirds

Senior starting quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse has completed 65.5 percent of his passes this season, racking up 3,006 yards, 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s also a threat on the ground, netting 382 rushing yards with seven rushing touchdowns.

Rittenhouse’s leading receiver is 6-foot-3 senior Daniel Sobkowicz, who missed two games but still has 71 catches for 992 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Sobkowicz also has one passing touchdown in each of the past three seasons, making him a trick play candidate as the Redbirds pull out all the stops. Redshirt freshmen Luke Mailander (42 catches, 647 yards and four touchdowns) and Dylan Lord (58 catches, 553 yards and three touchdowns) take up the lion’s share of the rest of the targets.

While Rittenhouse leads the team in rushing touchdowns, Victor Dawson picks up most of the yards on the ground. A 5-foot-11, 220 pound force of nature, the senior tailback has 215 carries for 1,096 yards and four touchdowns this season. Wenkers Wright (122 carries, 591 yards and five touchdowns) serves as a capable No. 2.

While they give up plenty of yards, the Redbirds’ defense has a nose for the football. Senior defensive back Shadwel Nkuba II accounts for five of their 18 interceptions, and they’ve recovered another seven fumbles as a team. Cam Wilson has 13 pass breakups, making him another member of the secondary to watch out for.

Illinois State also does an excellent job of putting opposing quarterbacks on the ground, with 32 sacks on the season. Garret Steffen leads the way with 6.5 sacks, six of them coming since the calendar turned to November; linebacker Tye Niekamp is the leading tackler with 150 (76 solo) and 13.5 tackles for loss.

Scouting the Wildcats

Villanova’s offense runs through the three-headed monster of running backs Ja’briel Mace, David Avit and Isaiah Ragland. Avit (123 carries for 683 yards and eight touchdowns), the top back to begin the season, went down with a knee injury in early November and hasn’t played since, but head coach Mark Ferrante has left open the possibility of a return this season.

Mace (117 carries for 887 yards and 11 touchdowns), the No. 3 back in terms of carries, leads the team in yards. A big play threat, the 5-foot-9, 175 pound speedster also has two kickoff return touchdowns and two more through the air. Power back Isaiah Ragland (163 carries for 721 yards and two touchdowns) rounds out the room.

Graduate transfer quarterback Pat McQuaide has completed 224 of 371 passes this season, picking up 2,924 yards, 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions: Ferrante spoke at length this week about how Villanova decided on him as their starter.

Luke Colella, McQuaide’s top target, has 73 catches for 1,013 yards and eight touchdowns. Former lacrosse player Lucas Kopecky (31 catches for 507 yards and four touchdowns) and true freshman Braden Reed (31 catches for 462 yards and three touchdowns), who threw a touchdown at Tarleton last week, also bear watching.

Graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell leads the team in tackles with 94 tackles (55 solo) and has 17.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks; freshman All-American nominee Anthony Hawkins has 38 solo tackles, two interceptions and eight pass breakups at safety, and cornerback Zahmir Dawud leads the team with ten pass breakups.