STEPHENVILLE, Texas—Freshman wide receiver Braden Reed (Pottstown, Pa.) had a passing touchdown and the eventual game-winning touchdown reception as #12 seed Villanova (12-2) extended its winning streak and advanced to the semifinal round of the Division I Football Championship with a 26-21 victory at #4 seed Tarleton State (12-2) on Saturday afternoon. Reed caught a go-ahead, 11-yard touchdown pass from graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide (Solon, Ohio) with 12:49 to play and later sealed the game with a six-yard catch for a first down after the host Texans had used their final timeout with under two minutes to play.
 
This is the fourth time in program history and first time since 2010 that the Wildcats have reached at least the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs. Their opponent is still to be determined and will be based on the last quarterfinal matchup to kick off later on Saturday evening. Villanova will either travel to #8 seed UC Davis or host a matchup against Illinois State next Saturday, December 20. The matchup and game time will be announced late tonight following the conclusion of the UC Davis-Illinois State game.

"I am really proud of this team," Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said. "They have given great effort all year long regardless of where we have been early in the game, where we have been later in the game. We have a mantra, 'tap the rock,' which is show up every day and put in the work, good things will happen. Eventually that rock will crack. It's about perseverance and resiliency, and this team has shown that not just today but all year long. I'm proud of these guys. We're blessed and fortunate to be able to go out and practice next week. I'm excited for the this team because they have worked their tails off all year long."
 
Junior running back Ja'briel Mace (Somers Point, N.J.) rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown, graduate kicker Jack Barnum (Southington, Conn.) became the Wildcats single-season record holder for made field goals and graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) led another supreme effort by the Villanova defense which held Tarleton State to less than half of its season scoring average. The win is the 11^th in a row for the Wildcats and just one away from tying the program's record of 12 set during the 1997 season. Matching that win streak record would advance Villanova to the second national championship game in school history.
 
The quarterfinal matchup pitted the Wildcats against a first-time opponent and one of the top teams in the country throughout this season. The Texans entered the game leading the country in scoring offense (44.1), turnovers forced (38), turnover margin (+30) and kickoff return defense in addition to ranking second nationally in third down defense (29.7%) and defensive passing efficiency.
 
Within minutes at the start of the game, it appeared those trends were starting to take shape. Tarleton State safety Blake Smith intercepted McQuaide in the end zone on the game's opening drive and the Texans scored on an 80-yard pass play on their first play from scrimmage of the day. Tarleton State also blocked a punt later in the first quarter and recovered the ball at the Wildcats 12-yard line to set up a five-play possession which pushed the Texans lead to 14-0 at the exact midpoint of the opening period.

"The majority of the reason [for] that was because of a pretty awful interception by me," McQuaide said of the early 14-0 deficit. "That doesn't help us out. It puts the defense in a bad spot and that's just not me. It was the same as last week. We had trouble getting rolling, but our defense anchored by [Shane Hartzell] and the rest of those guys pick me up every single week. That's what we talk about all the time with tapping the rock. It's not always going to go you way, so just continue to fight, continue to go. It's a long, long game and we saw that today being down early and we just kept going. There was never any panic and we've seen that all year. We went down last week, went down in the regular season but we know if we keep going and keep laying hard, it will work out somehow."
 
Villanova's defensive presence was also starting to take shape, however. After the 80-yard touchdown on its first play of the game, Tarleton State averaged just 3.5 yards per play the rest of the game. The Texans offense which averaged 204.5 rushing yards per game was held to just 56 yards on 31 carries (1.8 yards per rush).
 
Hartzell had a game-high seven tackles, and the Wildcats defense sacked Tarleton State quarterback Victor Gabalis four times. The duo of Hartzell and sophomore linebacker Omari Bursey (Broomfield, Colo.) combined to make 5.5 tackles for loss. Hartzell, Bursey, graduate linebacker Richie Kimmel (Holmes, Pa.), sophomore linebacker Jason Hall (Fall River, Mass.) and junior defensive end Capri Martin (Harlem, N.Y.) were all credited with at least half a sack.

"I am super proud of the group that we have," Hartzell said. "We are very resilient. Going down 14-0 to start is tough, but we keep calm and keep fighting. We saw the offense moving the ball and trust that they're going to put it in the end zone, so just do our part and let them do their part."
 
The first major change in momentum came when Villanova scored nine unanswered points in a span of 92 seconds early in the second quarter. Barnum made a 31-yard field goal with 12:52 remaining in that period to get the Wildcats on the scoreboard for the first time, then redshirt freshman safety Anthony Hawkins (Arnold, Md.) intercepted Gabalis on the first play of the ensuing Texans drive. Villanova answered with a three-play, 45-yard drive capped by Reed throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to graduate receiver Lucas Kopecky (Rocky Hill, N.J.) with 11:20 left in the quarter. It was the first time since 2019 that a Wildcats wide receiver threw a touchdown pass.
 
Villanova further trimmed its deficit to 14-12 at halftime when Barnum kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1:40 to play before the intermission. It was his 15^th career field goal and fourth this season from 40+ yards, and the successful attempt also set a new single-season Wildcats record for field goals. Barnum is 15-of-24 this season and eclipsed the record of 14 field goals in a season previously held by Joe Marcoux (2008) and Cole Bunce (2021). He has also broken the single season record for field goals attempted; the previous mark was 21 by Bill Hoffman (1992).
 
Tarleton State received the opening kickoff of the second half and went 68 yards on five plays to extend its lead to 21-12 at the 12:35 mark of the third quarter. The hosts didn't score again. Mace broke away for a 47-yard touchdown run just 49 seconds later to pull Villanova back to within two points at 21-19. It was his seventh play this season for 45 yards or longer. He finished with 18 carries for 151 yards and the touchdown, marking his third 100-yard game in the last six outings and the 52^nd game in program history of 150-plus rushing yards.
 
Reed and graduate receiver Luke Colella (Wexford, Pa.) each had five receptions in the game, and McQuaide finished the day 16-of-33 for 180 yards and a touchdown. His 51^st career touchdown pass and 24^th this season was the game-winner on an 11-yard throw to Reed with 12:49 left in the contest. Colella had five receptions for a team-high 71 yards, including a 34-yard catch in the fourth quarter which put him over 1,000 receiving yards for the season. Colella has made 73 catches for 1,026 this year and has now registered the seventh 1,000+-yard season in program history.
 
Villanova improves to 18-15 (.545) all-time in the FCS playoffs, including 4-12 in true playoff road games. Two of the four road wins have come in the last two weeks at Lehigh (14-7) in the second round and today at Tarleton State. The other two came in 2010 at Stephen F. Austin and Appalachian State in a similar Wildcats run to the semifinal round. Villanova is now 5-8 all-time in the state of Texas, with the most recent win the Stephen F. Austin playoff game in 2010.