Head coach Andy Talley’s storied career at Villanova ended this week in a heartbreaking 10-7 loss to the South Dakota State Jack Rabbits. Chase Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal with less than two minutes to go. Both defenses were phenomenal but in the end, someone had to win. Talley ends his coaching career with a record of 258-155-1, 230 of those wins at Villanova. There is a lot of promise for next season for these Wildcats, and they should not be disappointed with this season. Here is the LWOS analysis of the Villanova loss.
Breaking Down the Villanova Loss to SDSU
Villanova Defense
The defense is the reason that Villanova was able to stay in the game as long as they were. South Dakota State only ran for a combined seven yards on 20 rushing attempts the entire game and less than 200 passing yards. Their sole touchdown allowed was in the late first quarter on a short four-yard pass. Villanova also recorded two sacks on the day and forced a fumble. It was a rough day for Taryn Christion but in the end, two scoring drives was all they needed to end Villanova’s season.
Villanova Rushing Offense
Despite breaking 100 yards, the rushing offense was very stagnant. There were only three rushes over five yards all day, and Villanova averaged 2.8 yards on 36 carries. It was a relatively slow day for the rushing offense, but the Wildcats still decided to go with a 50/50 split of 36 rushes and 36 passes. Junior Matt Gudzak led the rushing attack again with 17 carries for 66 yards and did not score. Gudzak also had the game’s longest rush of 15 yards. It will be interesting to say if the new Villanova head coach will decide to continue the spread rushing attack that Talley ran this season.
Zach Bednarczyk
Bednarczyk had a solid day but couldn’t do enough to help his team when they needed him most. He completed 20-36 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 29 yards on 12 carries. He was only sacked twice, both in the fourth quarter, on plays that he should of gotten the ball out quicker. Bednarczyk has shown more improvement than most expected out of him this season and he should not be disappointed in the results. His junior year will be an important one for his future career in football. A solid season next year could easily set him up well for the NFL Draft.
Overall
This is the end of Villanova’s season, and they should be proud of how far they have come. The defense was playing at a phenomenal level all season and helped Villanova finish at 9-4. Their offense however went through some rough patches but still played well as a whole this season. Villanova’s spread rushing attack is something so few teams can pull off, but the Wildcats did so phenomenally. Whoever Villanova decides to hire in place of Andy Talley will be set up well. Talley was able to still bring in the 127th best recruiting class in the country, beating out some FBS teams.
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