STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Pat McQuaide threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Braden Reed for Villanova's first lead and the Wildcats escaped with a 26-21 win over Tarleton State in an FCS quarterfinal Saturday.
The 12th-seeded Wildcats (12-2) won their 11th straight game — their longest streak since winning 12 in 1997 — to advance to play unseeded Illinois State in a semifinal next Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Texans (12-2) began their final drive with about eight minutes left and reached the Villanova 11 with two minutes remaining. On fourth-and-6, Victor Gabalis found Trevon West for an apparent touchdown. But the score was overturned when replays showed West just missed getting a toe down inbounds on the left edge of the end zone.
Gabalis had extended a two-point halftime lead to 21-12 with his 15-yard pass to West before Ja'briel Mace's 47-yard rushing TD again made it a two-point game in the third quarter. Mace had 151 yards rushing.
Tarleton scored first after Omar Emmons blocked a punt with Daniel Creek eventually scoring from the 1.
The Texans made it 14-0 in the first quarter after McQuaide tried to flip the ball to a receiver in the end zone but it was snagged by Blake Smith. On the next play, Gabalis found Peyton Kramer deep down the middle for an 80-yard score.
Villanova got on the board with a Jack Barnum field goal then Anthony Hopkins' interception set up Reed's 27-yard wide-receiver TD pass to Lucas Kopecky. Another Barnum field goal cut Tarleton's lead to 14-12 at halftime.
The Texans dropped their first home game after seven wins this season and had a nine-game home streak snapped.
