Villanova

Thankfully We Have the Villanova Wildcats to Carry the Torch for Pennsylvania College Football

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Dec 15th, 2025 · 3:52 PM EST

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Raise your hand if you had Illinois State at Villanova in the FCS Playoff semifinal.

Nobody?

Yeah, me neither, but that’s the situation after the Cats went on the road and knocked off Tarleton State on one of the most ridiculous defensive plays of the year:

#FCSPlayoffs Trailing 26-21, Tarleton State is denied of a go-ahead touchdown on fourth down inside the final two minutes against Villanova.

The Wildcats take possession with 1:52 left. pic.twitter.com/XY7r7tnhwV

— Opta FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) December 13, 2025

Nova was down 14-0 in this game. Same Tarleton State team that beat Army on the road in non-conference play. They were 12-1 overall after knocking off North Dakota in their playoff opener and hadn’t lost at home all year long.

Dylan Johnson at The Villanovan:

The Wildcats held the best scoring offense in the FCS, Tarleton St., to a season-low 21 points. Entering the game, the Texans averaged 44.1 points per game.

“I’m really proud of this team,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said. “They’ve given great effort all year long, regardless of where we’ve been early in the game, where we’ve been later in the game. We have a mantra called ‘Tap the Rock’, which is basically show up every day, put in the work, and good things will happen. Eventually, that rock will crack. And it’s about perseverance and resiliency. And this team has shown that, not just today, but all year long.”

Mind you, this was one week after the Wildcats went on the road and beat #5 Lehigh 14-7, limiting an undefeated Mountain Hawks team to just a touchdown at home.

Pretty crazy turn of events. And Illinois State beat #1 seed North Dakota State by a point and then knocked off #8 UC Davis. This is like the Flyers and the Canadiens playing the 7/8 game in the Eastern Conference Finals 15 years ago.

It’s funny because you go way back to week 2 when Villanova was blasted by Penn State. We all thought the Nittany Lions were a playoff team at the division 1 level with Drew Allar. Fast forward a couple of months and Allar is on the shelf, James Franklin is coaching Virginia Tech, and Nova rips off an 11-game win streak at the FCS level. Temple, meantime, was 5-3 at one point and then lost four in a row to miss out on a bowl game, while the Pittsburgh Panthers went 8-4 after getting their doors blown off in front of a half-empty Acrisure Stadium at the hands of Miami and Notre Dame.

Thankfully we have Villanova to carry the torch for Pennsylvania college football. Go Cats go! Nova vs. Illinois State at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday on the Main Line. The Philadelphia Eagles wrap up the division with an aperitif hammering of the Washington Commies, then the Wildcats take the field.