College Football: Villanova has no answer for Illinois State in FCS semi setback

RADNOR – For the last two weeks, Villanova has courted disaster, in its slow starts and its offense’s delayed acclimation to games.

Against a team that could replicate its control of the clock and whose offense boasted the night’s biggest game-breaker, time ran out Saturday night.

Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse hit Daniel Sobkowicz for a pair of first-half touchdown, Victor Dawson ran for 155 yards and Illinois State kept Villanova out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter of a 30-14 win in an FCS semifinal Saturday night.

It’s the fourth straight road win for the unseeded Redbirds (12-4), who reached their second national title game. Illinois State will take on Montana State, the No. 2 seed that vanquished in-state rival and third-ranked Montana, 48-23. The final is Monday, Jan. 5 at Vanderbilt’s First-Bank Stadium.

Illinois State did what Villanova (12-3) had done so well, particularly in its 11-game winning streak. It controlled the clock. It came up with big plays in the passing game and steady gains on the ground. And it cashed in early red-zone chances.

Illinois State led 21-6 at half. It was 6-for-9 on third down in the opening frame, stringing together long drives. The offensive yardage edge at the break was 268-166.

Add in a 16-play drive covering 8:21 in the third quarter that resulted in the second of Michael Cosentino’s three second-half field goals, and Illinois State held a time-of-possession edge of 28:54 to 16:04 through three quarters.

Villanova finally found the end zone on a circus catch by tight end Antonio Johnson on fourth-and-7 with 3:18 left. But it was far too little.

The loss ends a special run for No. 12 seed Villanova, which reached the FCS semifinals for the first time since 2010 and amassed the third 12-win season in program history. The loss ends a 23-game winning streak at Villanova stadium. The Wildcats were just the second team in the history of the FCS playoffs to host a semifinal after two games on the road.

Illinois State has won nine straight road games and is 15-1 on the road against FBS opposition the last two seasons.

Villanova’s offense never got going. Pat McQuaide was 4-for-13 for 68 yards and an interception in the first half. He finished 13-for-30 for 199 yards and was sacked twice. After some success on the ground early – Ja’Briel Mace ran 11 times for 59 yards, Isaiah Ragland five for 34 – Villanova was forced to abandon the in playing catchup.

No one had more than two catches until the final drive. Luke Colella had four catches for 58 yards on 10 targets, Braden Reed three for 56 on seven targets. Even the return of David Avit, who missed five games, didn’t lend a boost, the team’s leading rusher early in the season limited to two carries for four yards.

Unlike the 14-0 deficit it overcame against fourth-seeded Tarleton State last week and the 0-0 first half at No. 5 Lehigh a week earlier, there was no coming back for the Wildcats this time.

Rittenhouse finished 18-for-38 for 251 yards, two TDs and a pick. Dawson toted 34 times for 155.

Rittenhouse and Sobkowicz connected for a 53-yard touchdown pass on Illinois State’s second series, after Rittenhouse had found Eddie Kasper for 8 yards on third-and-7. The yardage gave Sobkowicz his second straight 1,000-yard season.

Villanova’s first response was a drive that reached the 5, Jack Barnum booting a 23-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter.

Rittenhouse converted a pair of third downs on the next drive – one with his arm, one with his legs – before Dawson bulled in for a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

Barnum’s 35-yard field goal to get within 14-6 in the second quarter was undone in one play, Rittenhouse hitting Seth Glatz on a 66-yard wheel route to the 8. Two plays later, Sobkowicz hauled in his 40th career touchdown for a 21-6 edge. He finished with seven catches for 97 yards.

It could’ve been worse had Zhamir Dawud not picked off Rittenhouse with 12 seconds left in the first half. Or had Illinois State gotten more than a 35-yard Cosentino field goal on the first series of the second half.