SAN ANTONIO — With the wet and chilly weather stifling their high-powered offense, the No. 6 UIW Cardinals used their defense to defeat the No. 11 Villanova Wildcats in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at Benson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
UIW’s offense was held to one touchdown for the first time since 2019 as the elements played a major role in the game, with the Cardinals having six dropped passes throughout the afternoon.
“I’m proud of this football team, and I’m proud of the culture that we’ve built,” UIW Head Coach Clint Killough said. “We talk a ton about intention on a day-to-day basis, and I thought that we were very intentional play to play. Bad, good, indifferent, everything, these guys fought all the way to the end. Our culture won tonight.”
The Cardinals entered Saturday’s contest averaging 37 points per game, scoring at least 24 points in each of their games this season. Saturday saw UIW’s defense become the main storyline as they went 11-of-12 on stopping the Wildcats on third downs.
“It was just fun to see all of the guys go out there and do what we do best,” UIW linebacker Mister Williams said. “To see everybody’s hard work pay off is beautiful.”
UIW’s defense is one of the most underrated parts of their game and Saturday gave the Cardinals a national audience to showcase why they will be a tough out in the FCS Playoffs.
“Our defense really stepped up and took the run away from them,” Killough said. “For a place that’s really known for our offense, our defense is tremendous, and it was a three-phase win.”
The Cardinals averaged 82 tackles for loss, 35 sacks, and 13 interceptions over the 2024 season. On Saturday, UIW’s defense only allowed 35 yards on 23 rush attempts, averaging 1.5 yards per carry for Villanova.
Cardinals quarterback Zach Calzada finished the game with 182 yards passing yards while completing 22 of 37 passes, including one to Roy Alexander for the lone touchdown of the game.
“I’m just happy to have another week around this team, man,” Calzada said. “Just being around that family and that culture is a blessing, and I wasn’t ready for that to be over yet.”
