Villanova at South Dakota State, Saturday, 3:00 pm
Villanova jumped all over St. Francis in their First Round game, then coasted to a comfortable win, despite the Red Flash’s comeback attempt. The Wildcats vaunted defense is going to be tested during this extended trip to the Midwest. Are they up to the task? That’ll be the question. If it’s anything like they did to St. Francis, Villanova and 73-year old head coach, Andy Talley has a chance to prolong his retirement another week. The typically non-flashy offense (pun intended) was able to chuck the ball all over the field and build a huge 31-7 halftime lead. The one really glaring fault was an interception during the beginning of the 4th quarter by quarterback Zach Bednarczyk, which was returned for a touchdown.
South Dakota State took the week off, after taking the MVFC’s automatic bid and their first regular season championship. Quarterback Taryn Christion took home MVFC Offensive Player of the Year and John Stiegelmeier took home hardware as the conference’s top head coach. Surely, all the back-patting made them feel good for what they’ve done, but this is a team hungry to prove there’s more than just Bison from the MVFC on the national scene. This offense is very prolific. Christion is not only a terror with his arms but his legs as well, and he’s only a sophomore. Running back Mengarelli is underrated but very good and the receiving combination of wide receiver Jake Wieneke and tight end Dallas Goedert is as good of an inside/outside threat as anyone’s in the country. Goedert, especially, is a unique problem that might make him a target of the New England Patriots one day. He’s a bigger body with true wide receiver talent. The defense can be had for giving up points, but they’ve been much better as of late. They’re a higher risk, higher reward group.
Villanova will need a stout effort defensively. This offense is right there with someone like the James Madisons and Richmonds, that Villanova has seen. The Jackrabbits defense is capable of making the Wildcats look really good or turn them over and set-up an above average offense with better than needed field position. This might be the best game in the Second Round.
Projected Score: South Dakota State 27, Villanova 24
