Villanova Wildcats at No. 5 Eastern Washington Eagles, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m., ESPN2: The defending national champions travel t- Hey, the blood-red field team! The Wildcats got hot at the right time, recovering from a 6-4 late-season slump to come within a game of making their second-straight title game appearance. But EWU hasn’t lost since September, despite fielding the nation’s 93rd-best defense out of 117 teams.
Last Saturday Villanova stunned top-ranked Appalachian State 42-24 in Boone thanks in part to a 207-yard, five-touchdown day by triple threat WR Matt Szczur. The senior missed most of eight games during the middle of the season, during which the Cats turned in three of their four losses.
Second in the nation in yards from scrimmage, Eagles RB Taiwan Jones gutted North Dakota State’s middlin’ defense for 230 yards last weekend. Whether he can pull off the same against Nova’s respectable D will go a long way toward deciding the winner.
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