Last Saturday head coach Mark Ferrante fought back tears in his on-field postgame interview after his Villanova team pulled off a 26-21 upset over #4 Tarleton State. The Wildcats needed a rally after falling behind 14-0 early but, after overcoming some early mistakes and weathering the storm, ’Nova prevailed. That win was the second of its kind for Ferrante’s squad in these playoffs; a road victory over a team that had received a first-round bye and now, because of those back-t0-back wins and some chaos
on the other side, 12-seeded ‘Nova finds itself hosting the semifinal contest (something the program has not done since 2009) this weekend with the chance to advance to the national championship game for only the second time in school history.
It’s been a year in which everything feels like it has finally fallen into place for Villanova. The team has qualified for the playoffs in three of the last four prior seasons but never made it further than the quarterfinals. Following last year’s exit in the second round, it was unclear what this fall’s version of the Wildcats would look like. Standout quarterback Connor Watkins finally saw his eligibility expire after six seasons and other big names like receiver Jaylan Sanchez hit the transfer portal. Things were very much in flux as the 2025 offseason rolled around.
Replacing Watkins was the top task for Ferrante and his staff last spring and they looked to the portal to do it, brining in former Nicholls signal caller Pat McQuaide. McQuaide, a grad senior, had thrown for 4,414 yards and 27 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter for the Colonels and had led them to a Southland championship along with a playoff trip in 2023. He brought with him experience, know-how but also a ton of interceptions. McQuaide had thrown 22 picks in his college career when he joined the Wildcats; something that needed fixed.
The team also addressed the departure of Sanchez by brining in wideout Luke Colella from Princeton. Colella put in three seasons with the Tigers, hauling in 11 scores and putting up over 1,100 yards. Fast forward to now and both he and McQuaide have ended up being the biggest offseason additions for Villanova. The pair have provided a spark to an offense whose identity was blurry at best four months ago. McQuaide has cut down on the interceptions tremendously, only throwing three all year. He’s thrown for 2,924 yards and 24 touchdowns with Colella being on the receiving end of 1,013 of those yards and eight TDs.
It has not been all smooth sailing on the offense, though, even with the emergence of McQuaide and Colella. Running back David Avit, who was a key part of last year’s team as well, was delivering another solid season for a ‘Nova ground attack that put up 180.8 yards per contest until he went down with a knee injury in Week 10 against Towson. He has not played since and it’s certainly been a blow to the offense. However, guys like Isaiah Ragland and Ja’Briel Mace have stepped up to carry the load in his absence.
Mace, specifically, took that torch and ran with it. In the game Avit got hurt, the sophomore exploded for 291 yards and four touchdowns. Since then he’s logged two more games with at least 150 yards and has found the end zone in all but one contest. Last week against Tarleton State he toted the ball 18 times for 151 yards and a score. Ragland, too, has turned in some big performances, the most notable being a 152-yard showing against Harvard in the opening round of the playoffs.
Defensively, the Wildcats have leaned on a mix of both veteran playmakers and young talent. Senior linebacker Shane Hartzel has once again been a wrecking ball in the middle, posting 94 stops, 17.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He is the unquestioned leader of the unit and is consistently one of the top performers week in and week out. On the back end, it’s been newcomers that have stolen the show. Redshirt freshman DB Anthony Hawkins came onto the scene this year with two interceptions and eight pass deflections along with 54 tackles. Sophomore Zahmir Dawud, likewise, has established himself with ten PBUs and a pick. Both have contributed greatly to the ‘Nova defense allowing just 16 passing touchdowns all season.
This Villanova team is different in both makeup and feel and it all really came to a head last week in Stephenville. Blasting Harvard at home was one thing and even beating Lehigh the way they did two weeks ago, while impressive, did not have quite the same weight as last weekend’s win against the Texans. Now it all feels real. The national championship game in Nashville is just four quarters away for Ferrante and the Wildcats. A team that has so consistently been good now has the chance to make that hurdle into being great. Playing at home on Saturday evening is not just the cherry on top of what has been a magical run but might also be the difference maker against battle-tested Illinois State.
If Villanova is able to dispatch the Redbirds and punch their ticket to Nashville, it will etch this group into school history alongside only one other team that has ever done it. The 2009 Wildcats (who coincidentally played in the last national championship that was held in Tennessee) won the whole thing that year to cap an incredible 14-1 campaign and bring the school its only ring in football. One more win this weekend will put McQuiade, Hartzell and this bunch on the doorstep of joining that elite company in Philly football history.
Villanova and Illinois State will kick off at 7:30 PM (ET) on Saturday night. The game will air on ESPN2.
