Villanova extends its season courtesy of an FCS playoff date against Eastern Kentucky

Villanova clinched an at-large bid in the FCS playoffs following a 38-28 win over longtime rival Delaware in the “Battle of the Blue” on Saturday.

The 11th-seeded Wildcats also get another game on their home turf. Villanova will host Eastern Kentucky (8-4, 6-2 United Athletic Conference) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+). Starting the FCS playoffs at Villanova Stadium will be advantageous for the Wildcats, who ride a 15-game home winning streak that dates to 2022.

Eastern Kentucky, which missed the FCS playoffs last year, will arrive at Villanova Stadium riding a five-game winning streak. The Colonels are led by quarterback Matt Morrissey, a Western Illinois transfer who averages 167.8 passing yards and 21.9 rushing yards per game.

Saturday will be the first meeting between Villanova (9-3, 6-2 Coastal Athletic Association) and Eastern Kentucky.

Saturday will mark Villanova’s third playoff appearance in four years. Last year, the Wildcats entered as the No. 8 seed and received an automatic bid by winning a share of the CAA championship. They ultimately fell in the quarterfinals to top-seeded South Dakota State.

Villanova is led by graduate quarterback Connor Watkins, who has been on the team for six years and started the last three seasons.

Coach Mark Ferrante is especially confident in the leadership of the team’s seasoned defensive players, who have several years of postseason experience under their belts. The starting defense is largely comprised of seniors and graduate students.

“The fact that we have a lot of older guys, especially on [the defensive] side of the ball, that have been in a playoff situation before definitely helps,” Ferrante said Monday.

Graduate linebacker Brendan Bell will be coming off one of the best performances of his career. He helped deliver a victory over the Blue Hens on both sides of the ball, with a rushing touchdown, a pick-six, and 13 tackles, which tied him for the team high with linebacker Shane Hartzell.

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The Wildcats’ recent offensive performances put them in solid position against Eastern Kentucky.

The victory over Delaware was Villanova’s second-highest-scoring game of the season, behind a 42-24 win over Stony Brook on Oct. 5. The Wildcats have scored more than 30 points in each of their last three games.

It took until the latter part of the season for Villanova to find an offensive groove, however, with a young group of running backs and a mostly new starting wide receiver corps.

Watkins completed 18 passes for 167 yards in a 31-3 win over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 9, tying his then-career high for completions. He beat that mark a week later against Monmouth with 20 completions for 235 yards in the 40-33 loss. Watkins also has scored at least one rushing touchdown in the last three games.

“Our freshmen are no longer freshmen, and our redshirt freshmen have a lot more experience now, so we’re starting to have more consistency and [fewer] mistakes,” Ferrante said.

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