Villanova Edges Winless LIU 20-16 on a Late Touchdown
Ja'briel Mace scored the only two touchdowns Villanova's offense needed, and the second one decided it. His 13-yard catch from Pat McQuaide with 1:08 left turned a 16-13 deficit into a 20-16 win over Long Island University.
It was a field-goal game for a long time. Neither team scored in the first quarter, and LIU's Will Johnson kicked a 34-yarder to go up 3-0 in the second. Dominic LeBlanc tied it for Villanova before the half. Mace ran 20 yards for a touchdown early in the third to make it 10-3, Johnson and LeBlanc traded field goals, and Villanova led 13-6 after three.
Then LIU's Braylon Vincent returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown at 9:51 of the fourth, and it was 13-13. Johnson kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:44 left to put LIU up 16-13, which was the second lead change of the day. Villanova needed 96 seconds to take it back. The game had been tied twice, and Villanova's largest deficit was those three points.
The yardage favored Villanova, 394 to 327, but turnovers kept LIU in it. The Sharks' Ethan Greenwood threw two interceptions on 8-of-21 passing and ran 26 times for 142 yards, so the offense had a pulse on the ground even with the passing game stuck. Villanova threw one interception (the pick-six) and lost one fumble.
Villanova is 2-1. LIU is 0-3, and this one was a four-point loss. For fantasy, Mace had a big week with 28.2 points. Greenwood and McQuaide finished at 18.7 and 18, both quarterbacks and neither one very efficient.