Kevin McGuire continues to bring you insight to the world of college football. If you enjoy this post be sure to check out more from Kevin on Examiner and Nittany White Out.
The Villanova Wildcats want to remind you that college football season is not over yet! This weekend they look to avenge their lone loss of the season when they play host to New Hampshire in the NCAA FCS quarterfinal round of the playoffs. What’s that? College football and playoffs? You bet, and it works!
The Wildcats took care of business in their first playoff game, defeating Holy Cross last weekend by a 38-28 final score. The high-powered Villanova offense racked up over 500 yards of offense with a very balanced approach. This week they look to continue their offensive ways by jumping out to a quick start against New Hampshire.
In their previous meeting this season up north it was New Hampshire that jumped out to an early lead on the Wildcats, leading 16-7 after the first quarter. While the defense adjusted in the second half the Wildcats were unable to hold on to a lead in the fourth quarter. Two field goals by New Hampshire in the final frame gave Villanova their first loss of the season. This will be a tough task for Villanova, but playing at home will hopefully give them an edge this weekend.
A win would put Villanova in the national semifinals against the winner of the Southern Illinois-William & Mary game. While Villanova has complete control of their own post-season fate, Penn State and Temple will be watching anxiously this weekend to see where they may be playing next.
Penn State remains eligible for an at-large berth in the BCS and while they have a fiscal advantage over Iowa in the selection process, you can not deny how much the head-to-head match-up should hurt Penn State’s BCS chances. If Texas wins the Big XII championship game then there is a very good chance that the Big Ten could be sending two teams to BCS games. Ohio State is already locked into the Rose Bowl to play Oregon, leaving the last possible bid up for grabs between Iowa and Penn State in all likelihood.
If the decision were mine to make I would have to give the nod to Iowa for the BCS bid, which would send Penn State to the Capital One Bowl to take on LSU. But the Fiesta Bowl will get first dibs it appears, and there is a great history between the Fiesta Bowl and Penn State (PSU is 6-0 in the game and helped put it on the map – something that is not lost on the Fiesta committee).
As for Temple, even though they fell short of reaching the MAC championship game, they still should be playing their first bowl game since the 1979 Garden State Bowl. I would keep an eye on the International Bowl. According to ESPN’s bowl projections the Owls could be heading to Toronto to take on regional foe Rutgers. That would be fun to watch, but it would stink seeing the game be played so far away with two teams who do not tend to travel well.
Where do you think Penn State and Temple will land?
