Villanova trounces Harvard in first round of FCS playoffs: ‘The three phases are playing together’

A dominant first half allowed Villanova to conquer Harvard, 52-7, in the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday.

No. 6/9 and 12th-seeded Villanova (10-2) stretched its win streak to nine and now has won 23 consecutive home games — the longest active streak in Division I football. No. 15/19 Harvard (9-2), struggling with drops, managed to gather just 31 yards of total offense, while Villanova’s defense forced the Crimson into three consecutive first-half three-and-outs.

Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide completed 14 of his 22 attempts, throwing for 193 passing yards and three touchdowns, while also scoring one on the ground. McQuaide is averaging 211.3 passing yards per game.

The Wildcats’ running back room has continued to be unstoppable despite being without its star, David Avit, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury.

Isaiah Ragland led Villanova’s rushing attack, totaling a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown. It was Ragland’s second game of his career with triple-digit rushing yards.

“All glory goes to God,” Ragland said. “Without him, I wouldn’t be able to do anything I did. But we take pride in loving our [offensive] line, and this past week, we really took pride in that. We don’t like to be in the media and stuff like that, but we know we get a lot of disrespect, and we took that. We took that to heart as we should.”

Villanova finished with a season-high 512 yards of total offense, rushing for 319.

Villanova won the coin toss and elected to receive. The Wildcats capitalized on the decision, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive off a 45-yard rushing touchdown by Ragland.

On the following Harvard drive, the Crimson marched all the way downfield and were in scoring position. Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig targeted Ryan Osborne in the end zone, and Villanova’s Newton Essiem came down with the ball for an interception.

“I think if you start fast, it’s hard to [stop] a team that’s rolling on both sides of the ball,” Ragland said. “We take so much pride on offense. We trust our defense and our defense trusts us.”

The Wildcats were able to capitalize on the takeaway. McQuaide connected with Lucas Kopecky in the end zone on 4th and 10 for a 30-yard touchdown. On the previous play, McQuaide’s pass landed right in the hands of Harvard’s Austin-Jake Guillory, but it was dropped.

Ja’briel Mace scored a rushing touchdown to cap off Villanova’s first-half scoring. It was the third game of the last four that Mace has scored a rushing touchdown.

Harvard had no solutions for Villanova’s poised defense. The Crimson were held to a season-low 213 yards of total offense and managed only two red zone trips, while the Wildcats won the turnover battle, 3-0.

Villanova’s defense totaled three sacks and seven tackles for a loss. Shane Hartzell had a team-high seven tackles (four solo) and half a sack. He currently leads the team with 81 total tackles this season.

In the first half, Harvard was held to four first downs, and all of its drives ended in a punt or turnover.

» READ MORE: Shane Hartzell has been the rock of Villanova’s defense. His goal in this final season? Leave a legacy.

“We knew earlier in the year, the secondary may have lacked little experience because they’re a young group,” said Villanova linebacker Richie Kimmel. “They have a true swagger. They’re a tight-knit group. [The] whole defense, we’re a tight-knit group. Everyone’s doing their 1-of-11 to make sure someone else succeeds. We are doing everything in our power defensively. We take things personally. If I’m being honest, if we have a rushing attack coming in, they’re not going to gain yards on us.”

Kimmel tied a team-high seven total tackles (three solo) and 1.5 tackles for a loss.

Harvard receivers dropped three touchdown passes, along with other wide-open passes. Craig went 9-for-21 (43%) on pass attempts and had 107 yards in the air.

“What I’ll say about [our young secondary] is they don’t lack confidence, but they did lack experience,” coach Mark Ferrante said. “And now they’re getting the experience to hopefully match the confidence. We’re playing much better complementary football. You can see how if something happens good on special teams or on defense or on offense, it sparks the other two areas. And early in the season, we kind of didn’t have that. Now, the three phases are playing together, and that’s exciting to see.”

With Villanova advancing, it will now travel to face fifth-seeded and No. 3/4 Lehigh (12-0) in the second round next Saturday, with kickoff set for noon (ESPN+). Lehigh earned a bye in the first round of the FCS Playoffs.

In the last meeting, the Wildcats defeated the Mountain Hawks, 38-10, on Sept. 2, 2023, in their season opener. Villanova has not lost to Lehigh in the Ferrante era (6-0) and leads the all-time series, 14-5.