{"id":113899,"date":"2023-11-16T12:44:43","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T20:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/?p=113899"},"modified":"2023-11-16T12:44:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T20:44:44","slug":"fcs-football-2023-delaware-villanova-preview-dsds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/fcs-football-2023-delaware-villanova-preview-dsds\/","title":{"rendered":"FCS: What\u2019s At Stake For No. 7 Delaware vs. No. 10 Villanova?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Delaware and Villanova\u2019s annual Battle of the Blue game frequently features one of the teams entering the regular season finale with secure FCS<\/a> playoff aspirations. The rivalry has often come down to sorting out the playoff-bound team\u2019s placement in the bracket, and Villanova has been that squad more regularly than Delaware in the last 15 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, though, both the Wildcats and the Blue Hens will wake up with the resume insurance necessary to be confident about a playoff bid regardless of a loss in the BOTB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a win in Week 12 will give the Battle of the Blue victor (and minimum CAA Football co-champ) a safe shot at a seed and home field in the second round. Other seed contenders in the subdivision will want to monitor how UD\/Nova shakes out and in what fashion or margin of victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delaware is 8-2 with one then-ranked win over No. 11 New Hampshire and one FCS loss to unranked Elon. The Hens\u2019 Massey strength of schedule is currently 60th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villanova is 8-2 with one then-ranked win over No. 17 Rhode Island and one FCS loss to No. 12 UAlbany. The \u2019Cats\u2019 Massey strength of schedule is currently 47th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this weekend\u2019s result mean for both teams for playoff positioning? Let\u2019s start with if the home team wins.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If Delaware Wins\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Delaware<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be the Blue Hens\u2019 first home W over Villanova since 2004 and would give Delaware its second Battle of the Blue win in the last four meetings after Nova took eight straight BOTB trophies from 2012 to 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting that series history aside, Delaware would lock up not only its second straight playoff appearance that seems safe as it is, but it also would keep its hold on a seed as a Top 10-ranked team that was high in the committee\u2019s in-season Top 10 and would be adding a Top 10 win to close the regular season. Villanova would be Delaware\u2019s best ranked win of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere on the resume, by losing to a quality but unranked\/fringe receiving-votes Elon, the Blue Hens took themselves out of top-4 seed consideration by our estimation, but a win over Nova jets them into the No. 5-8 seed picture. We figure that Delaware would like to avoid the 8 line that pipes the winner into a most likely date with No. 1 South Dakota State before the semifinals, but the Hens seem like a 6\/7 candidate pending Big Sky and Missouri Valley results.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Villanova<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villanova losing to Delaware for just the sixth time since 2001 would be a downer for the 2023 Wildcats, a squad that, just like those before it, seeks to preserve the tradition of rivalry dominance attained by other classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, Villanova would still have plenty of reason to watch the selection show the next day, as the \u2019Cats\u2019 eight wins overall keep them in position for an at-large bid despite missing out on the fun of involvement in an AQ tiebreaker in the CAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday\u2019s Richmond\/William & Mary game is between teams behind Nova in the at-large pecking order. The hot, 7-3 overall Spiders must win to put themselves squarely in the conversation as the fourth CAA playoff entrant and the conference\u2019s third at-large recipient (unless the AQ tiebreaker goes their way). The 6-4 overall Tribe can (and probably will) still be left out of the field coming off a win over UR, though such a triumph would have the punch to potentially eliminate Richmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, there is breathing room for Villanova, which is helpful given how messy the bubble behind it could become as Saturday progresses.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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