Villanova’s Last-Second Magic vs. Rhode Island’s Second-Half Collapse | Round 2 CAA Recap

The second round of the FCS Playoffs has come and gone, and from it we saw the CAA stay alive as Villanova managed to get a huge win when they took down Lehigh. On the flip side of the coin we saw Rhode Island go down as they could not keep pace with UC Davis ending their season, and dreams of becoming FCS National Champions.

For Villanova when we look into their win we see that it was a very defensive game as they won 14-7. For Villanova this win wasn’t just an upset that continued their season, but it was also a win that won them supremacy of Pennsylvania as they are the last team standing from that state now. As for how they did it, the Wildcats were able to get the win with only a total of 235 yards, as they passed for 208 and rushed for 27. It was a game that saw Villanova also never turn the ball over while taking it away twice by recovering fumbles. Even though the defense managed to create two turnovers the offense still did struggle mightily as they only went 3-12 on third down attempts and 0-1 on fourth down. Even with those struggles they still came away with the win, and an advancement to the third round of the playoffs which pairs them up against Tarleton St. That game will be just as exciting as the last one and to make sure you don’t miss it know that the game takes place at 12:00 p.m. ET, on Saturday, December 13th. This game will be viewable on ESPN and will take place in Stephenville, Texas in this CAA vs UAC matchup. 

When we look at the game against Lehigh to see how the Wildcats got to the next round we have to start at the beginning of the game. As the game saw the Wildcats start with the ball and do nothing with it. Then the Mountain Hawks got the ball and drove right down the field. This was a methodical drive that saw the Hawks giving no quit as they went 85 but still had not found the endzone. The Wildcats held them to what started out as a field goal, then Lehigh shifted into an offensive play and made a play for the endzone. The Wildcats didn’t panic though as they shifted with the Mountain Hawks and then managed to hold them out of the endzone with the drive taking 9:24 minutes off the clock. Villanova would follow that defensive stop with a drive that took up nearly five minutes and resulted in only 29 yards of offense and a punt that gave Lehigh the ball right back. The game would turn into a punt fest from here as neither team could muster up anything taking us to a 0-0 halftime. 

Come the second half though things would change as the Mountain Hawks got the ball and went right down the field. This time though it would end in seven points making the game 7-0 in favor of Lehigh. Villanova was not able to respond as their next two possessions ended with them punting. Then with 5:40 left in the third quarter the Wildcats would make the turning point play in the game when they forced a turnover with Lehigh in Villanova territory. The Wildcats would drive down the field and power their way in with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The game would now be tied 7-7 with Lehigh getting the ball back. Knowing that they needed a statement drive that is exactly what the Mountain Hawks went on as they got down to the Wildcats 9-yard line. But Villanova stood strong as they held them to a field goal try. This time the Mountain Hawks would truly go for three and it would end in disaster as they missed the 26-yard attempt.

While Villanova’s defense was playing their tail off the offense was still struggling overall to move the ball as they would go three-and-out right after the missed field goal, giving the ball right back to Lehigh. On Lehigh's drive they sensed a chance to strike with good starting field position but ended up turning the ball over on downs instead as they stuffed on a fourth and one attempt. Villanova would follow that defensive stop with a 43 yard drive that ended in disappointment as they missed a 35-yard attempt leaving the game a 7-7. The Mountain Hawks would then punt the ball away after going backwards on the drive setting Villanova up incredibly well as they got to start at their 49-yard line with just 4:19 left in the game. Then three plays later they found themselves in the endzone when they completed a 28-yard pass for the tie breaking score. Now the score stood at 14-7 with 2:56 left.

Lehigh would get down the field quickly as they were within Villanova’s 20 with just a 1:55 left in the game. That is when disaster struck for the Mountain Hawks or the ultimate prize came to the Wildcats, as Lehigh would cough up the ball at the 10-yard line. The Wildcats managed to burn two of the three Mountain Hawks timeouts before completing a pass for a first down all but ending the game. From there they played smart ball as they would run around for a couple of seconds before taking a knee, as the Wildcats ran out the final few seconds of the game sending them on to the third round of the playoffs. 

The other game that the CAA played in was the number 9 ranked Rhode Island Rams versus the number 8 ranked UC Davis Aggies. This was a game that did not go the way of the Rams as they took a 47-26 loss. While the final score was a blowout at the half it was anything but that as the Rams held a 20-18 lead. Things fell apart in the second half as they could only get six points once the game was all but sealed. 

When looking at this we see that the scoring got started early as UC Davis started the game with the ball and ended up kicking a 37-yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. The Rams could not follow the Aggies opening pace as they went three-and-out on their drive. Then the Rams defense would make a huge play by getting an interception in the end zone to deny the Aggies a scoring drive. The Rams offense was still asleep at this point in the game as they would punt the ball away. UC Davis would then take that punt and go 64 yards down the field before stalling out. They attempted a field goal from 33-yards out but they could not hit it leaving the score at 3-0, with the game now in the second quarter. 

This is when the game got interesting as the Rams would go right down the field after the missed field goal for a touchdown that they completed with a 23-yard catch. Now the game was 7-3 in favor of the Rams. But the lead would not last for long as it only took the Aggies four plays to go 75-yards for a touchdown. The big play of the drive came on 67-yard strike that set UC Davis up for an easy score just a few plays later on a 3-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies then went for two and were able to convert making the game now 11-7 with the Aggies in the lead. The Rams didn’t care about the score though as they did theirs in half the time and half the amount of plays as their second play of the drive went for 67 yards on the ground and resulted in a touchdown. The Rams now had a 14-11 lead. After forcing a punt from UC Davis the Rams took over and again went right down the field as they hit a 75-yard touchdown pass. With the score now sitting at 20-11 the Rams were sitting good as there was 2:20 left till the half. This was plenty of time for the Aggies as they went down the field on a 9 play drive that covered 82-yards, and resulted in a 15-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left till halftime and the score sitting at 20-18. The Rams would just take the game to half. 

The Rams would start the second half with the ball but couldn’t do anything as they went backwards on the drive forcing them to punt. Then the Aggies took control as they would hit a 50-yard touchdown run giving them a 25-20 lead over the Rams. Rhode Island would again go three-and-out as they would punt the ball away. The Rams defense was prepared this time for the Aggies as they also forced a three-and-out. Here is where things got bad for the Rams as they would fumble the ball away setting up the Aggies in great field position. It wouldn’t take the Aggies long to score on the short field as they hit a 9-yard pass for a touchdown to complete the 17-yard drive. The Aggies would then go for a two-point conversion after the Rams committed a penalty on the extra point attempt. They were successful on the play giving them a 33-20 lead. The Rams again could not do anything with the ball as they would punt it away after just five more plays. Giving the Rams a total of 13 plays in the third quarter which resulted in a total of 29 yards, and saw them fumble away one of those possessions. 

UC Davis would chew up 4:49 on their next drive taking the game into the fourth quarter as the nine play drive ended with a 27-yard touchdown pass. After the extra point was made the game then stood at 40-20 and the Rams were now desperate for a scoring drive. The Rams would go on one of their best drives of the second half as they went 60-yards down the field. Having gotten a conversion on fourth down earlier in the drive due to a penalty the Rams went for it again as they were looking for a touchdown drive. The second time though they could not convert or get penalty help as they turned the ball over on downs. The Aggies would punt the ball away after a three play drive, giving the Rams a second chance at life. Rhode Island couldn’t do anything though on this drive either as they would turn the ball over on downs for the second time after going only 33-yards. UC Davis would say enough is enough as they had their dagger strike when they hit a 35-yard touchdown. The game now stood at 47-20, with just 3:30 minutes left to play. Even though the game was all but over the Rams didn’t give up as they went down the field and got into the endzone for the first time since the second quarter. The Rams would go for two but could not convert giving the final score of 47-26. UC Davis would then get the ball one final time as they ran out the remaining time leading to the win. For the Rams their season is over while the Aggies will continue on by hosting Illinois State on Saturday December 13th at 5:00 p.m. ET.

The Rams final stats from this game saw them put up 467 yards. The passing game was the most efficient for them as they passed for 294 yards, while the run game put up a very nice 173 yards. The Rams on the day went 5-15 on third down, and 2-4 on fourth down as they did everything they could in the end to try and stay in the game. In the end though Rhode Island took the loss as they now go home and watch as their conference foes in Villanova continue to play on. Rhode Island will now look ahead to next season when they will try and run it back as the CAA champs.