Villanova @ UNH

[Gangtackle11]

# 6 Villanova (6-2; 3-2) @ UNH 4-3 (3-1)

Series: UNH leads series 13-11-0

Last game: UNH won 34-0 @ Villanova 10/27/2018

Last Villanova win: 46-7 12/5/09

- - - Updated - - -

Can Nova rebound from a horrific loss to Stony Brook? Team has lost last 2.

[Mattymc727]

UNH has a very good defense. UNH has a predictably and very underperforming offense. I have no idea whether the bye week will help or hurt the young UNH team. Should be a decent game but id say Nova wins this by 7-10.

[Ivytalk]

Nova bounces back to win a close one by 7 or less.

[vutomcat]

Extremely tough place to play. I am torn on this one. On one hand, I believe Nova has a much better team, but, Ferrante seems to have a loser mentality. I am growing tired of hearing the excuses. His first two years it was injuries. This year it's POOR VILLANOVA, we don't have any as many roster spots as most FCS teams, and Saturday it was a new rule that he wasn't aware of that lost us the game.

I'm not sure Mark is head coach material. Seems like a nice man, and I think he truly cares about the players and our university, but maybe better suited for a coordinator position. Hoping I am wrong and over reacting to the ridiculous ending Saturday. :(

[CenMEBlackBearFan]

Extremely tough place to play. I am torn on this one. On one hand, I believe Nova has a much better team, but, Ferrante seems to have a loser mentality. I am growing tired of hearing the excuses. His first two years it was injuries. This year it's POOR VILLANOVA, we don't have any as many roster spots as most FCS teams, and Saturday it was a new rule that he wasn't aware of that lost us the game.

I'm not sure Mark is head coach material. Seems like a nice man, and I think he truly cares about the players and our university, but maybe better suited for a coordinator position. Hoping I am wrong and over reacting to the ridiculous ending Saturday. :(

Watched the CAA highlights and saw the long SB pass that set up the game winning FG, what was the new rule the coach was unfamiliar with?

[Derby City Duke]

Watched the CAA highlights and saw the long SB pass that set up the game winning FG, what was the new rule the coach was unfamiliar with?

At the risk of missing the sarcasm, I would expect it had something to do with the clock remaining stopped after an offensive penalty on the 1st 'attempt' to bleed the clock. I am not sure, however, if that is a new rule...xtwocentsx

[Gangtackle11]

1:32 left Nova takes over around midfield after SB onside kick went OB.
SB had 1 time out.

Nova elected to drop back & take a 10 yard loss. Nova TE was flagged for holding. SB declines the penalty, but under 2 minutes SB had the option to stop the clock. Rule changed a few years ago according to our coach.
This made it 2 & 20 with 1:27 or so on the clock.

Now faced with no way to run out the clock with SB retaining their TO, Nova decided to repeat the play. QB dropped back for another 10 yard loss. Smh. Now it’s 3rd & 32 clock running. Nova ran on 3rd down & had to punt on 4th & long.

SB got the ball with 28 seconds & hit 2 pass plays for 19 & 40 yards. Left 4 seconds left to kick a game winning FG.

Traditional thinking would have taken 3 knees. Forced SB to use their TO after 1st down. Clock would have been around or under 10 seconds & the punt would have put SB 20 yards further away.

Classic bonehead coaching. Why they thought after the 1st down debacle to do it again on 2nd down is a real head scratcher.

Dumb....dumb...dumb...

[Dukie95]

In CAA play, UNH has the top scoring defense and the worst scoring offense. Their average game score is 20.8 to 16.

I just don't see how Nova will be kept in check in a low scoring game and don't see how UNH can win in a shoot-out.

[ngineer]

Picking 'nova, and IF Ferrante gets the chance, you may see an attempt to have a "dominant" score in order to make up for last Saturday's "faux pas".. I think UNH has a tough team, but don't know if they can hang close for four quarters.

[VUCats02]

After last weekend's melt down, and the complete incompetence the coaching staff displayed, I am just going to say, I'm ready for basketball season.

That is all.

[Mattymc727]

If Nova can get to 24, they win.

[KPSUL]

If Nova can get to 24, they win.

Good point. It could even be lower than 24. I'll say if they don't get to 21, they lose.

[jmufan999]

# 6 Villanova (6-2; 3-2) @ UNH 4-3 (3-2)

UNH is 3-1 in the CAA.

[Derby City Duke]

1:32 left Nova takes over around midfield after SB onside kick went OB.
SB had 1 time out.

Nova elected to drop back & take a 10 yard loss. Nova TE was flagged for holding. SB declines the penalty, but under 2 minutes SB had the option to stop the clock. Rule changed a few years ago according to our coach.
This made it 2 & 20 with 1:27 or so on the clock.

Now faced with no way to run out the clock with SB retaining their TO, Nova decided to repeat the play. QB dropped back for another 10 yard loss. Smh. Now it’s 3rd & 32 clock running. Nova ran on 3rd down & had to punt on 4th & long.

SB got the ball with 28 seconds & hit 2 pass plays for 19 & 40 yards. Left 4 seconds left to kick a game winning FG.

Traditional thinking would have taken 3 knees. Forced SB to use their TO after 1st down. Clock would have been around or under 10 seconds & the punt would have put SB 20 yards further away.

Classic bonehead coaching. Why they thought after the 1st down debacle to do it again on 2nd down is a real head scratcher.

Dumb....dumb...dumb...

Even with 2 & 20 with 1:27 +/- the clock would've run after the 2nd down play and after the 3rd down play. Using 39 of 40 second of the play clock would've left about 9-10 seconds on the game clock when the ball was snapped back to the punter.

How does somebody on the sideline not realize that?

[Mattymc727]

UNH had a very boneheaded coaching decision against Holy Cross. The UNH defense dominated the game, and it was 10-6 UNH late in the 4th, 1:56 to go. UNH gets the ball on its own 1 yrd line. Now, UNH had also been struggling offensively, even more so running the ball.

Somehow, UNH decided to snap from the deep shotgun and hand off to the RB, who tries to make a cut and gets tackled in the endzone and fumbles, resulting in a HC touchdown, game over 13-10. Why they didn't just try to QB sneak 3 times and punt, Ill never know.

At the time, it seemed like a crazy stupid loss, however our season was somewhat in peril anyway with a new coach and freshman QB, so I just brushed it off. At this point in time, what we would give to have that play back and be 5-2 or even 6-1 if we beat UD (a few red zone turnovers).

[Gangtackle11]

Even with 2 & 20 with 1:27 +/- the clock would've run after the 2nd down play and after the 3rd down play. Using 39 of 40 second of the play clock would've left about 9-10 seconds on the game clock when the ball was snapped back to the punter.

How does somebody on the sideline not realize that?

Stony Brook retained their time out after Nova committed the penalty. They declined it, but under 2 minutes the clock doesn’t start until the ball is snapped. They then used the time out that they should have had to use on 1st down to stop it after 2nd down. Totally a numb skull decision. Might cost Nova playoffs if they can’t turn it around. xpeacex

[Gangtackle11]

5dimes line:

Villanova -2 (42.5)

[Bison56]

1:32 left Nova takes over around midfield after SB onside kick went OB.
SB had 1 time out.

Nova elected to drop back & take a 10 yard loss. Nova TE was flagged for holding. SB declines the penalty, but under 2 minutes SB had the option to stop the clock. Rule changed a few years ago according to our coach.
This made it 2 & 20 with 1:27 or so on the clock.

Now faced with no way to run out the clock with SB retaining their TO, Nova decided to repeat the play. QB dropped back for another 10 yard loss. Smh. Now it’s 3rd & 32 clock running. Nova ran on 3rd down & had to punt on 4th & long.

SB got the ball with 28 seconds & hit 2 pass plays for 19 & 40 yards. Left 4 seconds left to kick a game winning FG.

Traditional thinking would have taken 3 knees. Forced SB to use their TO after 1st down. Clock would have been around or under 10 seconds & the punt would have put SB 20 yards further away.

Classic bonehead coaching. Why they thought after the 1st down debacle to do it again on 2nd down is a real head scratcher.

Dumb....dumb...dumb...

Is there any place to see or listen to this? it would be interesting to watch it.

[Gangtackle11]

Is there any place to see or listen to this? it would be interesting to watch it.

flosports.com

Its a subscription though. Villanova announcers. You hear the color guy saying “I’m not going there” in the background talking to the director. Not a critical broadcaster as he’s a long time Nova employee.

As our coach has said “Moving on to UNH.” xpeacex

[MR. CHICKEN]

...SOMEONE....SAID....ANDY WAS IN DUH BOOOFF........WHAT'D HE HAVE TA SAY....WHILE ROME WAS BURNIN'.....xconfusedx......HE WASN'T FIDDLIN' WAS HE......xconfusedx........BRAWK!

[Derby City Duke]

My bad; missed where you said SBU kept their TO after the penalty.

[MR. CHICKEN]

.........EASE UP MAIN-LINERS......NEW HAMPSHIRE......OWN-LAH PUT UP 10.....ON YOU-DEE'S.....DEFENSIVE DIAPER DANDEES..........AN' WE'RE .....BOTTOM FEEDERS IN MANY CAA "D"...CATEGORIES........AWQ!

[caribbeanhen]

Tough game to predict

New Hampshire sure looked Vanilla and not really like a good team in Newark not to mention last years game when the Hens physically whipped the Cats

And then New Hamphire whips Nova, something Delaware can only dream about

makes no sense to me

[KPSUL]

flosports.com

Its a subscription though. Villanova announcers. You hear the color guy saying “I’m not going there” in the background talking to the director. Not a critical broadcaster as he’s a long time Nova employee.

As our coach has said “Moving on to UNH.” xpeacex

He's right, move on! If I was a Nova fan I'd be more concerned about the last 10 minutes of both your last games when you were outscored by a total of 29 points. Not the coaching staff apparently failing to adequately consider an obscure officiating anomaly that was only an issue because of a pointless holding penalty.

[KPSUL]

Tough game to predict

New Hampshire sure looked Vanilla and not really like a good team in Newark not to mention last years game when the Hens physically whipped the Cats

And then New Hamphire whips Nova, something Delaware can only dream about

makes no sense to me

Welcome to college football, and particularly the CAA. But no question, the UNH offense has been a lighter shade of vanilla so far this season. This season's UNH vs Delaware game was a good defensive battle, last year UNH handed the game to Delaware. Most of us are enjoying this UNH team because the defense has kept us in every game, and there is no reason for that to change. But without more offensive production I don't see us going further than a 1st round victory against a NEC or Patriot opponent, even if we were fortunate enough to slide into the playoffs.

But I agree this is a tough game to predict.

[UNH72Plus]

I think the game is going to come down to the play of UNH's true freshman QB. Last week he threw two INTs, without which UNH would have had two possible FGs. They also wasted a time out early in the 4th which would have come in handy at the end when time ran out. UNH gets some needed depth back at OL with two experienced linemen coming back from injuries. Top safety Pop Lacey is still out, but freshmen Max Oxendine has been playing pretty well for the last two weeks. Hoping the curse of the dungeon will prevail.

Re: the question about opportunities to watch the game, I paid the $12.99 to "Flofootball" last week. The coverage was good for the first quarter, then I lost the feed. I have since gone on and watched reruns of several other games without any problems. You need to unsubscribe before the end of the month or they'll keep on charging you.

[Gangtackle11]

Nova must limit the 2nd half turnovers to win in a tough place like UNH. Nova offense has been unstoppable at times in CAA play, but have had too many crucial turnovers the past 2 games. Defense is bend don’t break type, but isn’t as bad as it appears due to defending short fields too many times the last 2 games. Unfortunately an unreliable kicking game is once again haunting Villanova. I’m hoping Nova can score in the mid-to-high 20s and make UNH young QB beat them down the stretch.

Must game for UNH, but it’s also a big game for Nova. I think it’s going to be a very close game either way. I’ll lean Nova 27-24. xpeacex

[Twyxx]

Nova must limit the 2nd half turnovers to win in a tough place like UNH. Nova offense has been unstoppable at times in CAA play, but have had too many crucial turnovers the past 2 games. Defense is bend don’t break type, but isn’t as bad as it appears due to defending short fields too many times the last 2 games. Unfortunately an unreliable kicking game is once again haunting Villanova. I’m hoping Nova can score in the mid-to-high 20s and make UNH young QB beat them down the stretch.

Must game for UNH, but it’s also a big game for Nova. I think it’s going to be a very close game either way. I’ll lean Nova 27-24. xpeacex

Nova wins this one fairly easily, 34-17.

[UNHWildcat18]

UNH had a very boneheaded coaching decision against Holy Cross. The UNH defense dominated the game, and it was 10-6 UNH late in the 4th, 1:56 to go. UNH gets the ball on its own 1 yrd line. Now, UNH had also been struggling offensively, even more so running the ball.

Somehow, UNH decided to snap from the deep shotgun and hand off to the RB, who tries to make a cut and gets tackled in the endzone and fumbles, resulting in a HC touchdown, game over 13-10. Why they didn't just try to QB sneak 3 times and punt, Ill never know.

At the time, it seemed like a crazy stupid loss, however our season was somewhat in peril anyway with a new coach and freshman QB, so I just brushed it off. At this point in time, what we would give to have that play back and be 5-2 or even 6-1 if we beat UD (a few red zone turnovers).

lol at least that horrible loss could end up being a loss to a conference championxdrunkyx

if we somehow get to 7-4 and HC gets the bid that will help us get the playoff spot over other teams.

[WrenFGun]

Not entirely sure what to make of this, but you have to hope that the bye week will give UNH a little bit of confidence to evolve a bit offensively. 10 points against a lousy Delaware defense, with no points in the second half; massive 3rd down deep post TD catch by Brian Espanet gave them the win against SBU, but not much happened there, either. They scored 26 against Elon, but 14 were off turnovers. They put up just 23 against a so-so Duquesne team and 27 against a frankly bad URI team.

To me if UNH wants to win this game they'll need a defensive score. They'll also need to hold Villanova under 20 points. The former may happen, but the latter almost certainly won't. They're 3-0 at home this season and have won 5 straight at home, though, so it's a big neutralizing factor. Like most games this season, I think UNH will aim to be in it in the 4th and see what happens.

[caribbeanhen]

Nova wins this one fairly easily, 34-17.

this is my take as well

But if Nova was actually playing the best team in New Hampshire, Nova goes home with the loss

[Gangtackle11]

Game Notes:

Villanova: https://s3.amazonaws.com/villanova.com/documents/2019/10/31/G9_New_Hampshire.pdf

UNH: https://s3.amazonaws.com/villanova.com/documents/2019/10/31/New_Hampshire.pdf

[CHIP72]

Based on Villanova's second half of the season fades during VU head coach Mark Ferrante's first two years on the Main Line, I'm not optimistic the Wildcats win on the road at UNH.

[KPSUL]

lol at least that horrible loss could end up being a loss to a conference championxdrunkyx

if we somehow get to 7-4 and HC gets the bid that will help us get the playoff spot over other teams.

There is a good chance that 5 and even 6 of UNH's regular season FCS opponents end up making the playoffs. (Holy Cross, Duquesne, Stony Brook, Villanova, JMU, and either Albany, Elon, or Delaware).

[Derby City Duke]

I voted UNH in the poll, but I don't think it's a slam dunk by any means. The biggest unknown for this game, IMO, is how mentally prepared are the Villanova players after their coaching staff's vapor lock at the end of last week's game.

I'm expecting they will come out and play with a sense of urgency with their hair on fire to try and put away UNH early. If that doesn't happen, though, and it's a one score game late, will they cave emotionally or will they be able to push through and win.

Another loss eliminates Nova from seed consideration; a loss for UNH this week and @ JMU next week and their playoff chances dwindle considerably.

[KPSUL]

I voted UNH in the poll, but I don't think it's a slam dunk by any means. The biggest unknown for this game, IMO, is how mentally prepared are the Villanova players after their coaching staff's vapor lock at the end of last week's game.

I'm expecting they will come out and play with a sense of urgency with their hair on fire to try and put away UNH early. If that doesn't happen, though, and it's a one score game late, will they cave emotionally or will they be able to push through and win.

Another loss eliminates Nova from seed consideration; a loss for UNH this week and @ JMU next week and their playoff chances disappear completely.

FIFY

[smilo]

I cannot emphasize how much I hate this sport.

[Mattymc727]

Nova really hates second half’s.... Huge win for UNH, probably their best offensive performance of the year, especially from the freshman QB

[93henfan]

That's a shame. Try to keep your heads up, Villanova fans.

[melloware13]

That's a shame. Try to keep your heads up, Villanova fans.
At least they know they have 2 more wins to look forward to

[93henfan]

At least they know they have 2 more wins to look forward to

Oh c'mon, you make it sound like they've won 13 of the last 14 (or whatever it is now) games in the series. xlolx

[KPSUL]

Good point. It could even be lower than 24. I'll say if they (Nova) don't get to 21, they lose.

Self-nominated CAA post of the week!

[Mattymc727]

Self-nominated CAA post of the week!

Nice! And i would have been wrong!

[Gangtackle11]

Nova must win out. Lose to Richmond & season is essentially over with losses to JMU, Stony Brook, & UNH already.

Nova has been outscored 68-21 in 2nd halves of last 3 games.Nova is a hot mess now. xpeacex

[centraljerseycat]

Nova must win out. Lose to Richmond & season is essentially over with losses to JMU, Stony Brook, & UNH already.

Nova has been outscored 68-21 in 2nd halves of last 3 games.Nova is a hot mess now. xpeacex

And the sad thing is Coach Ferrante has no idea what's going on.....

[Derby City Duke]

Nova must win out. Lose to Richmond & season is essentially over with losses to JMU, Stony Brook, & UNH already.

Nova has been outscored 68-21 in 2nd halves of last 3 games.Nova is a hot mess now. xpeacex

I still see them possibly getting in at 8-4, though losing at the end of the season seems worse optically than struggling early.

[caribbeanhen]

baffled.... UNH always beats Nova, Delaware always beats UNH


The Hen faithful are calling for Rocco's head, only thing that will save him is a win over Nova..... not likely to happen

[WrenFGun]

I think if you look at Nova's schedule, you sort of have to ask ... who have they beaten? Colgate, Lehigh, Bucknell, Maine and W&M -- their best win is over 5-4 Towson. They may not have a single win over a playoff team this season, whether they get to 9-3 or 8-4. They also didn't play an FBS. Just on resume, the team looks pretty overrated.


By contract, even entering the game, UNH had wins over Stony Brook (@SBU), Elon, and Duquesne, they've lost to FBS FIU, PL first place Holy Cross and UD on the road. UNH wasn't even ranked in comparison, which I find sort of baffling.

I do think a lot of the CAA is going to consume itself from the inside so 'Nova will make the playoffs, but I'm not sure there's a single good win on the resume and I'd say a 7-4 UNH is a better bet than an 8-4 or even 9-3 'Nova all told.

[smilo]

Going into league play, my mind was set on 10-2 with losses to UNH and JMU. It's the Homecoming collapse that is a killer. Things would be perfectly fine without that.

The transitive property and the standings better set a fire under this coaching staff for next week.

[CHIP72]

baffled.... UNH always beats Nova, Delaware always beats UNH


The Hen faithful are calling for Rocco's head, only thing that will save him is a win over Nova..... not likely to happen

Hah! You forgot to complete the circle and mention Villanova always beats Delaware too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[caribbeanhen]

Hah! You forgot to complete the circle and mention Villanova always beats Delaware too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

no need, everyone here knows that except Rocco who is a slow learner

[vutomcat]

Watched until halftime and left to bet Breeders Cup races. Had about as much luck as Nova did in the second half. Anyone got a few bucks? Venmo account id on request.

Start the chant with me. Ferrante must go! Ferrante must go! Ferrante must go!