Mr. C's Final Weekend Game Thread, Penn-Cornell/Delaware-Villanova

[Mr. C]

PHILADELPHIA, PA. — It seems like just a few days ago I was across town, opening the college football season with a Thursday night game at Lincoln Financial Field as Villanova took on Temple.

Now we find ourselves starting the final Saturday of the regular season, wondering where did the football year go and how we have arrived at this place in such an unpredictable season.

I am beginning my day at historic Franklin Field for the Trustees' Cup game between Cornell and Pen. It is game No. 118 in the series that began in 1893.

Later on, I'll journey down Interstate 95 to the first Division I football game at The Philadelphia Union's PPL Park as Villanova hosts Delaware for the Battle of the Blue in a game that could have historic implications for the Villanova program, though it is one of the least meaningful games in recent years for this great rivalry.

And sorry K.C. Keeler, your team has NO shot at the playoffs at 6-4, with one D-II victory.

At Penn, this will be a special day if no other reason than the fact that the great Penn alum Chuck Bednarik is in the house. A statue in this NFL and College Hall of Famer's honor will be unveiled at halftime.

Of course, Bednarik is known for his final tackle on the Green Bay Packers' Jim Taylor at Franklin Field that resulted in the Philadelphia Eagles winning the 1960 NFL championship, the last World Championship for the Eagles.

Former Eagle coach Dick Vermeil is also on hand for the ceremony.

I'll watching these two games and keeping a close eye on the FCS scoreboard as things unfold today.

[Mr. C]

Penn got a quick turnover on Cornell's second play from scrimmage and has moved to a first and goal at the 8, less than a minute into the action.

[Mr. C]

After trying to force a pass into the end zone on first down, Ragone scored from eight yards out on a QB draw. It is 7-0 Penn at the 14:02 mark.

[Mr. C]

And Cornell equalized on a Jeff Matthews TD pass. 7-7 with 10 minutes left in the first period.

[Mr. C]

While we were doing interviews with Chuck Bednarik and Dick Vermeil, two of the most charismatic men you will ever meet, Penn and Cornell traded a pair of TDs. Penn is now threatening again with a first and goal.

[Mr. C]

Fourth and goal after a Ragone sneak.

[Mr. C]

Brandon Colavita looked to be down at the goal line when one of his blockers appeared to shove him in for the TD. 21-14 Penn with 10:30 left in the second quarter.

[Mr. C]

Getting a chance to talk to Chuck Bednarik again and to meet Dick Vermeil (a super nice guy, who seems just as he always does on TV interviews) made my day. An unexpected delight to a day of football.

[Mr. C]

A roughing the passer call has given Matthews and the Big Red a first down at the Penn 22.

[Mr. C]

Jeff Matthews, who threw for 521 yards last week, is an impressive looking passer at 6-4, 210 and the best thing for Cornell is he is just a sophomore. He looks like an NFL-caliber kid to me.

[Mr. C]

Matthews to Savage for a TD pass and it is 21-all midway through the second quarter. What a shootout thus far.

[Mr. C]

Brandon Colavita and company have pushed the ball right back down the field for Penn with the ball at the Cornell 26.

[Mr. C]

Holding on second and one for Penn. Back to the 36. Third and 11.

[Mr. C]

A third-down pass from Ragone goes off the hands of Ryan Mitchell and into the hands of another Penn receiver for a first down at the 17.

[Mr. C]

Upset alert: Furman scored 22 points on Florida in the first period and leads the Gators 22-14 midway through the second period.

[Mr. C]

Penn tacks on a field goal from Scott Lopano to make it 24-21 Quakers with 2:10 left in the first half.

[Mr. C]

Penn's defense finally has slowed Cornell down on what looks like the last drive of the first half.

[Mr. C]

A great first half of football in the Trustees' Cup game.

Penn 24
Cornell 21

[Mr. C]

And now we get to see the new Chuck Bednarik statue. Couldn't be a better place for it than Franklin Field, where Bednarik played much of his pro career and all of his college career.

[Mr. C]

Great speech by Dick Vermeil and another one by former Pennsylvania governor and Penn alum Ed Rendell.

The statue looks absolutely awesome. Chuck Bednarik is speaking to the crowd now. What a man.

[Mr. C]

Cornell drove into field goal range after a pass interference call on Penn negated a possible touchdown bomb and another pass narrowly missed being six. But the snap was low on the field goal attempt and Penn still leads 24-21 midway through the third period.

[Mr. C]

Great NFL-caliber pass deep by Matthews for a completion to Kurt Ondash and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Penn gives Cornell the ball at the one. Ryan Houska scores on the Wildcat run to make it 27-24 Cornell. The PAT snap was dropped. 4:33 left in the third quarter.

[Mr. C]

Not many people are here to see this game and it isn't on any TV but from Penn's scoreboard on-line video, but I can't think this isn't one of the most entertaining games of the day.

[Mr. C]

Penn used a strip of the ball and a TD pass from Ragone to regain the lead 31-27, but Jeff Matthews just fired a 30-yard TD strike to push Cornell back in front, 34-31 with 15 seconds left in the third period. Matthews broke the single season Ivy League passing yardage mark on the play. James Perry of Brown had set that mark in 1999.

[Mr. C]

The third 400-yard passing performance by Matthews this season tied another Ivy League mark.

[Mr. C]

Penn is back with a first and goal at the four in this wild shootout.

[Mr. C]

TD for Penn's Ragone to make it 38-34 Quakers with 13:18 left. Sure to be more points in this one.

Congrats to Towson on winning the CAA today.

[Mr. C]

Matthews moves Cornell back into scoring range with some more great throws, but an illegal formation costs Ryan Houska a TD. Second and goal from the Penn 7.

[Mr. C]

Penn shows some defense to force a field goal from 24 yards out. Another problem with the hold led to a completion and Penn made the stop at the seven. The Cornell receiver had a chance to pitch the ball to guard Josh Grider, but didn't do it.

[Mr. C]

Interception for Rashad Campbell of Cornell on Penn's next play from scrimmage. First down Big Red at the Penn 27 with 11 minutes left.

[Mr. C]

LB Erik Rask has been hitting Matthews repeatedly on blitzes, including two big hits in a row. Fourth and two from the Penn 19 upcoming and Cornell calls timew out with 9:46 remaining. This has been one of the best games I've seen all season.

[Mr. C]

The slant pass is on the mark to give Cornell a first and goal at the three.

[Mr. C]

This time, Ahmad Avery's TD run from the three counts and it is 41-38 Cornell at the 9:15 mark.

[Mr. C]

Cornell saves a TD with a pass interference penalty near the goal line. Penn first down at the Big Red 25, 6:15 left.

[Mr. C]

Shane Savage blocks a 43-yard field goal attempt by Penn with 5:23 left. Cornell remains in front 41-38.

[Mr. C]

Erik Rask dropped an interception on first down for Penn.

[Mr. C]

Cornell scored from 45 yards out, but it is coming back on a holding penalty.

[Mr. C]

TD pass for Matthews ties the single-season Cornell record and makes it 48-38 Big Red with 1:24 remaining.

[Mr. C]

Mr. C battled through Interstate 95 traffic to arrive at PPL Park just in time to watch Delaware turn a 10-6 deficit into a 13-10 lead at halftime on a one-yard run by Andrew Pierce (26 carries for 87 yards after being held to 7 carries for 22 yards in the first period. Delaware scored on two first-half field goals by Sean Baner. Villanova countered with a 19-yard Mark Hamilton field goal and Jamal Abdur-Rahman's 58-yard scoring burst.

[Mr. C]

Villanova moved into Delaware territory at the 43 on the first possession of the third period.

[Mr. C]

Mikey Reynolds turned a missed tackle into a big play on a short pass by Chris Polony and Villanova converts a third and long to the 17. Polony, however, was hit as he threw and is down.

[Mr. C]

Dustin Thomas is coming in at QB for Villanova.

[Mr. C]

Polony comes on a play later and fumbles on a scramble to the 10. Patrick Calloway recovers for the Blue Hens. Big turnover for the Cats.

[Mr. C]

Third and six for Delaware at the 16.

[Mr. C]

Timing pattern to White to the UD 21 for the first down.

[Mr. C]

Pierce cuts back on a pitch and gets four yards.

[Mr. C]

Throwing underneath coverage, Tim Donnelly gets a completion to Jones for a first down at the Hen 34.

[Mr. C]

Big hit on David Hayes. Third and two upcoming at the UD 42.

[Mr. C]

Hayes spins short of a UD first down at the 44 and the Blue Hens punt on fourth and a half-yard. Conservative call for a team trying to show it deserves to be in the playoffs.

[Mr. C]

Some technical difficulties with the Philadelphia Union Internet. Nice going guys!!! Delaware was forced to punt and Villanova came back to score on a five-play, 77-yard drive with Rahman scoring from 43 yards out to make it 16-13 Villanova with 5:37 left. Mark Hamilton's PAT was blocked.

[Mr. C]

Villanova has made some adjustments to the Delaware run game and forces a three and out. The rugby punt was nearly blocked. I really hate those kind of punts.

[Mr. C]

Villanova is back in business at the Cat 29.

[Mr. C]

PPL Park is a nice stadium and the view of the waterfront is one of the nicest I've seen in the country. Not quite the Pacific Ocean view from La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara, but close.

[Mr. C]

Polony is sacked to force a Villanova punt from the VU 22. Rob Jones was clocked by Craig James on the return. You could hear it up here in the box. UD ball at the Hen 41.

[Mr. C]

First-down pass along the sidelines to White for a first down at the VU 24 after a 33-yard hook-up.

[Mr. C]

David Hayes spins down to the VU 16 where he is tackled by Eric Loper.

[Mr. C]

Hayes fumbles and Joey Harmon comes up with it at the VU 18. Devon Bridges was credited with the force, but it looked live like Hayes just lost the handle.

[Mr. C]

Start of the fourth quarter with VU ahead 16-13.

[Mr. C]

On third and long, Polony winds his way through traffic, but after an 11-yard gain, he comes up a yard short. After the punt, UD takes over at its own 25.

[Mr. C]

Attendance is 14,107, not a bad crowd for the first game at PPL Park.

[Mr. C]

Big third and four for UD at the Hen 31.

[Mr. C]

Nice grab on the slant by White as he was hit hard. Great concentration. First down at the 36.

[Mr. C]

There is little there now for UD in the running game. Second and 11.

[Mr. C]

Terrible throw by Donnelly on second down. He is lucky there were no safeties in the middle of the field.

[Mr. C]

Terrible call on a catch by White out of bounds for 12 yards after another bad Donnelly throw.

[Mr. C]

The crowd roared its distain when the replay was shown and proved the catch was out of bounds.

[Mr. C]

Another third and four for UD at the VU 47.

[Mr. C]

Nice waggle catch by Ryan Cobb to the VU 27 for 20 yards and a first down.

[Mr. C]

Hayes to the VU 23 for four on first down.

[Mr. C]

Hayes runs hard before he is tackled by Marlon Johnson at the 20. Third and three.

[Mr. C]

Speed option pitch to Pierce. Bad play call and Eric Loper stuffs it at the VU 23. Baner on for a 40-yard FG attempt. It is good to tie it at 16 with 8:15 remaining.

[Mr. C]

13-play drive for Delaware to get this one even. No matter what is on the line, this is headed towards a typical Nova-Delaware finish. The best rivalry in terms of competitiveness in FCS, IMO.

[Mr. C]

Rahman is a tad tardy hitting the hole on a kickoff return, or it would have been six points for Villanova. First down for the Cats at the VU 36.

[Mr. C]

Sack for Delaware to bring up third and 14 for VU.

[Mr. C]

Polony is sacked again after a low snap ruins the timing on a play. Nice defensive line play for the Hens on that possession. Less than seven minutes left in a tie game.

[Mr. C]

The dangerous Rob Jones does it all on his own on a punt return to the UD 49 after the 24-yard gain.

[Mr. C]

Third and four for UD and Donnelly gets time for a slant to Jones. First down at the VU 33 after a 12-yard pass play.

[Mr. C]

Bad time for a false start for the Hens on first down and at the edge of field goal range.

[Mr. C]

Donnelly is smacked out of bounds on a two-yard loss. He got away from a sack on a hold. Second and 17. White on a completion to the 28.

[Mr. C]

Roughing the passer give UD a first down at the 14, well within field goal range now with 3:51 left.

[Mr. C]

Conservative play calling and it is third and 11 from the VU 16 for the Hens.

[Mr. C]

Pierce sets up a field goal with a short run to the VU 12. I don't like this play-calling. UD is playing not to lose.

[Mr. C]

Baner 29 yarder is good. Delaware 19, Villanova 16 with 2:11 left. Is there a Brett Gordon in the building?

[Mr. C]

Rahman returns the ball to the VU 26. 2:06 remaining.

[Mr. C]

Double slot, low throw in the flat to Lawrence Doss as Polony faced more pressure.

[Mr. C]

Double slot again. Polonuy beats a blitz with a pass to Joe Price at the 27. Third and four.

[Mr. C]

Same formation. Polony escapes pressure after good coverage and completes a first-down pass to the VU 44.

[Mr. C]

Pick six for Ricky Tunstall for 54 yards. Delaware 25, Villanova 16 with 1:28 left and a PAT to come after bunch of penalties flags.

[Mr. C]

Offsetting personal fouls after the play. TD stands for Delaware. PAT makes it Delaware 26, Villanova 16 at the 1:26 mark. Another exciting game in the Battle of the Blue.

[Mr. C]

Banner saves a TD on a Rahman return to the VU 45.

[Mr. C]

Stupid late hit after a pass completion by Polony. Villanova will have a first down at the UD 34 with 1:15 left.

[Mr. C]

Polony to Doss for six.

[Mr. C]

Price with a catch for a gain to the 25. Third and one.

[Mr. C]

Doss rushes close to the first down. There will be a measurement with 1 minutes exactly on the clock. The ball is short by inches.

[Mr. C]

Fourth and inches, Hamilton will attempt a 42-yard FG. The field goal is just wide right and this one is as good as over.

[GannonFan]

Attendance is 14,107, not a bad crowd for the first game at PPL Park.

Obviously an announced attendance - being generous, there were 10k there max. Still more than I thought the game would get with a nova team having perhaps their worst season ever (both in terms of record and in terms of having their dreams of playing major college foootball dashed perhaps for ever) and a UD team that had lost their shot at the playoffs with the back to back, head scratching losses to UMass and URI. But the place was half full at best - at least plenty of room to stretch out. Nice stadium, just can't see how they ever thought that place would work as an FBS stadium - great for this level though and much, much better than having to suffer through a game in Radnor. Let's hope nova always plays their home game in this series at PPL, even if the drive is longer for me.

[Mr. C]

Don't count your chickens, or Blue Hens, too fast here. There is stuff going on behind the scenes that people are not aware of regarding the Big East. It just might take a couple of years to play out. I thought the venue was great. With expansion, the stadium would be right at what some of the new teams coming into the Big East have as far as stadium capacity. A little birdy (not a Blue Hen) tells me that there were some Big East folks in the house on Saturday. You might also like to know that more VU games will likely be played there next year from what one source told me today. I know Andy Talley would like to say goodbye to Villanova Stadium forever and would love to call PPL home. One thing is for sure. The view from the press box is one of the best I've ever experienced and I've been in a lot of press boxes in the past 35 years.

[GannonFan]

Don't count your chickens, or Blue Hens, too fast here. There is stuff going on behind the scenes that people are not aware of regarding the Big East. It just might take a couple of years to play out. I thought the venue was great. With expansion, the stadium would be right at what some of the new teams coming into the Big East have as far as stadium capacity. A little birdy (not a Blue Hen) tells me that there were some Big East folks in the house on Saturday. You might also like to know that more VU games will likely be played there next year from what one source told me today. I know Andy Talley would like to say goodbye to Villanova Stadium forever and would love to call PPL home. One thing is for sure. The view from the press box is one of the best I've ever experienced and I've been in a lot of press boxes in the past 35 years.

It doesn't matter - they may indeed go to the Big East somewhere in the future, but the Big East is dead. With the BCS moving to do away with AQ's for everyone and eliminate the maximum number of teams from one conference in the real major bowls, it just seals the doom for the Big East. The Big East needed the AQ - without it, it's the CUSA. nova could join that, but that's not major college football.

And again, the view from the press box is probably one of the least things I'm interested in in terms of stadium quality.

[Mr. C]

It doesn't matter - they may indeed go to the Big East somewhere in the future, but the Big East is dead. With the BCS moving to do away with AQ's for everyone and eliminate the maximum number of teams from one conference in the real major bowls, it just seals the doom for the Big East. The Big East needed the AQ - without it, it's the CUSA. nova could join that, but that's not major college football.

And again, the view from the press box is probably one of the least things I'm interested in in terms of stadium quality.

I just think it is a beautiful venue. Much nicer than the Linc or Villanova Stadium, for sure. I don't think the Big East is dead, just regenerating into something else.

Of all of the schools in FCS, Villanova is the only one that has ANY business even considering a move to FBS.

[GannonFan]

I just think it is a beautiful venue. Much nicer than the Linc or Villanova Stadium, for sure. I don't think the Big East is dead, just regenerating into something else.

Of all of the schools in FCS, Villanova is the only one that has ANY business even considering a move to FBS.

It's better than villanova stadium, of course. nova stadium is a dump these days, but then again, it is an aged track and field stadium that hasn't seen a lot of improvements for the fans really ever, so that's to be expected. Hard to say it's better than the Linc. I mean, sure it's more intimate, but the Linc would be great if it were just 18k capacity. PPL's plus right now is that every seat it right on top of the action - you expand it to 30k (which is the max it can be expanded to, which makes it too small for big time FBS football) and plenty of those seats won't be as good. Besides, soccer is going to dictate what happens at PPL, and right now, they'll only be just over 20k in a few years - 30k isn't going to happen for quite some time, with or without nova.

And the Big East is dead - no point beating around the bush. The AQ was the only thing they had left and now that looks like it's gone too. With no AQ, that means no Boise, no Air Force, no Navy, and likely they lose UConn and maybe even Rutgers in a few years. Sure it's going to be around in some form, but it's going to regenerate into a conference that doesn't make any noise at the FBS level. And really, what's the incentive to move into that when there's no financial reason to move into it?