Smith trims TO’s, defense does the rest for Villanova
RADNOR >> Villanova coach Mark Ferrante hoped that having the
2009 team on campus to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its national championship would bring his struggling team some good karma. It did.
As the ‘09 squad watched from the balcony of the Talley center, the defense buckled down in the second half and quarterback Daniel Smith engineered two fourthquarter scoring drive to help the Wildcats erase a seven-point halftime deficit and snap a three-game losing streak with a 35-28 victory over Richmond Saturday at Villanova Stadium.
Villanova’s defense was the key to the turnaround. The Wildcats
(7-3 overall, 4-3 CAA) allowed 63 yards and three first downs in the second half and that was after the Spiders had gains of 15, 17 and 15 yards on their first possession of the third quarter.
At that point, the Spiders (5-5,
4-2) had 10 plays from scrimmage of 15 yards or more, a 46-yard kickoff return, 305 yards of total offense and a 28-21 lead. Seven of those plays of 15 yards or more and the return came in the first half. For a defense that had given up 68 points in the second half in its three previous games, losses to James Madison, Stony Brook and New Hampshire, things were looking bleak.
The defense needed to make a play to get back on track and senior linebacker Drew Wiley provided that spark when he picked off a Joe Mancuso pass at the Villanova 8-yard line to kill a potential drive that could have put the Wildcats in a 10- or 14-point hole.
“That was huge,” defensive end Malik Fisher said of Wiley’s interception. “They were driving down the field right after half. There was a little break because somebody got hurt and while we had that break we talked about this is what we have to do. We’ve been talking about getting some turnovers. We haven’t had that many in the last couple of weeks, and we’ve been fishing for one.”
The Spiders had a grand total of 18 yards and no first downs after Wiley’s pick, and the longest play from scrimmage was a nine-yard run by Savon Smith on the second play of Richmond’s next possession. The Spiders never crossed midfield and punted the final four times they had the football.
Most importantly, the No. 18
Wildcats kept Mancuso in check. He had touchdown runs of 25 and
35 yards that came on runs after his pass protection broke down. He also threw a pair of TD passes to give the Spiders that 28-21 halftime lead. He had 171 yards of total offense in the first half (102 rushing, 69 passing) and finished with
203 total yards (89 rushing) and was sacked three times in the second half.
“We didn’t make any fundamental schematic changes,” Fisher said. “It was more internal changes like doing your job with a passion and a purpose. … We were aiming to make plays as a defense because in the last couple of games we haven’t made any plays in the second half and our turnover differential has not been very good.”
The same can be said for the offense. The Wildcats turned the ball over eight times in their last three games and were minus-seven in the turnover department. Seven of those turnovers were interceptions thrown by Smith.
The graduate transfer from Virginia by way of Campbell University played like the Walter Payton Award candidate that he is. He hit
20 of 28 passes for 235 yards. He did not throw a touchdown passe, but he didn’t toss an interception, either. He also ran the ball 14 times for 105 yards and two scores.
Running back TD Ayo-Duroaiye did lose a fumble after catching a
10-yard pass from Smith in the first quarter, but the defense responded and held the Spiders to a three-andout.
“I think we just did a better job taking care of the football, making better decisions,” Smith said. “It’s always nice to establish the run game. It opens up windows throwing the ball down the field. I think running the ball is the easiest way to cut down on turnovers.”
The Wildcats ran for 242 yards, the first time they topped the 200yard mark as a team since beating Maine, 33-17, on Sept. 28. Episcopal Academy All-Delco DeeWil Barlee led the ground attack with 114 yards and a 37-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
It was that balanced offense that allowed the Wildcats to tie it and then take the lead for good. Smith ran nine yards for a touchdown to cap a six-play, 78-yard drive to tie the game, 28-28. The Wildcats threw the ball four times and ran it twice on that drive.
Then Smith threw a 48-yard strike to Changa Hodge (five receptions, 95 yards) and Ayo-Durojaiye covered the last 20 on a sprint up the middle to put the Wildcats in front, 35-28.
Richmond went three-and-out on its final possession and Villanova used its ground attack to run off the final 7:20 on the clock and bring its three-game losing streak to an end and keep the Wildcats very much alive in the FCS playoff hunt.
“It was a big relief to get this win,” Fisher said. “Emotionally, this is a huge lift for us.”