Villanova falls in spring finale to Delaware
For only the second time since its inception in 2007, and the first since 2011, the Battle of the Blue trophy is headed back to Delaware.
Quarterback Nolan Henderson connected on 20 of 24 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns as the Blue Hens snapped an eight-game losing streak to Villanova with a 27-20 spring football victory over the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at Villanova Stadium.
It was Delaware’s first win over the Wildcats since a 26-16 triumph at PPL Park (now Subaru Park) in 2011. It was just the second victory for the Blue Hens in the last 16 meetings between the teams. The win also gave seventh-ranked Delaware the Colonial Athletic Association North Division title.
“No doubt, this was a big win for our program,” Delaware coach Danny Rocco said.
Villanova’s defense held Delaware’s running game in check (74 yards, 1.9 yards per carry) but it could not contain Henderson. The redshirt junior threw a 38yard touchdown pass to Jourdan Townsend with eight seconds left in the second quarter to give the Blue Hens (5-0 overall, 4-0 CAA) a 13-7 halftime lead. He connected on an 18yard scoring toss to Bryce DeMaille in the third quarter to push that advantage to 20-10. Khory Spruill added a three-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin of victory.
‘They executed
better
than we did in critical situations,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said.
Those three TDs plus a pair of field goals from Ryan Coe were enough to end the losing streak to the Wildcats thanks to a Blue Hens defense that bottled up Villanova’s passing game. The Wildcats ran the ball effectively (197 yards, 5.2 yards per carry) but the Blue Hens frustrated quarterback Daniel Smith into a 12-for-29, 143-yard afternoon and sacked him four times.
The Wildcats were penalized 10 times for 100 yards. Five of the penalties against the offense came on second and third downs.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot,” Smith said. “We had a lot of pre-snap penalties on first and second down. We were in a lot of third-and-longs. I think we ran the football well for the most part throughout the game but when you get in third-and-long and you have a team that’s able to get a pass rush with three or four guys and drop guys in coverage, it makes it difficult to find windows.”
Smith did throw two
touchdown passes, including a desperation flip as he was being tackled that wound up in the hands of Charlie Gilroy to get the Wildcats within 2720 with 3:06 to play in the game. But it wouldn’t be enough. The 10th-ranked Wildcats (2-2 league and overall) got the ball back at their 23-yard line with 1:08 remaining. Nijuel Hill promptly picked off Smith’s first-down pass, enabling the Blue Hens to run out the clock.
“Our defense has played really well this year,” Rocco said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence. … We kept putting ourselves in good position to play pass defense.”
The loss put a serious crimp in Villanova’s FCS playoff hopes. The field has been reduced from 24 to 16 teams during this special pandemic season and there are only are only six at-large bids available. The Wildcats will learn their fate when the bracket is released Sunday morning.
As for the chances his club might have in snagging an at-large bid, Ferrante said, “I don’t select, but I would say zero.”