PREVIEW – Playoffs: A Wealth of Riches in the Backfield — And Headed to the Playoffs as Villanova Takes on Harvard – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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Generally speaking, it’s been a great year for collegiate football in the Philly area. Not only have Penn and Villanova had winning seasons , but Temple has a chance to become bowl-eligible with its next game against North Texas.

And once again — across America’s nearly 136 collegiate programs — talent from the Philly region can be felt from coast to coast.

At the head of that list are the Villanova Wildcats (9–2), who learned on Sunday afternoon that they would be the #12 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision and would face Harvard in the first round.

For Villanova ,  it’s another chance to highlight a great rushing attack.

Villanova’s football program has had plenty of great talent over the years. Perhaps it’s finest — running back Brian Westbrook — whose career as an all-purpose player led him to a 1,000-yard rushing and receiving year in the same season (the first player in college to do so), the Walter Payton Award, and FCS Player of the Year. His contributions would land him in the Villanova Hall of Fame before playing six seasons with the Eagles.

Former Villanova running back Kevin Monangai earned All-CAA Honors while a Wildcat and went on to play in the NFL for the Eagles and the Vikings. In the 1960s — running back Billy Joe was the only Villanova athlete ever inducted into the Varsity Club Hall of Fame for two sports — and would go on to play professionally for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and was a World Champion with the New York Jets.

Now the Villanova Wildcats have a sophomore running back named David Avit. And they almost lost him.

After a freshman season with 923 yards rushing and nine touchdowns,  Avit has followed up so far this year by breaking out against Monmouth with 135 yards. He followed up that performance with 102 yards against the University of New Hampshire and 63 yards against Elon.

But that isn’t all of the talent. In the season finale against Scared Heart on Saturday, that included a mesmerizing performance on the ground from Ja’briel Mace, including 165 yards and two scores on nine carries, including an 80-yard scamper and a receiving touchdown in the 34–10 win.

A week before, in an overtime win against Stony Brook with David Avit out due to a knee injury ,  Isaiah Ragland ran the ball for nearly 100 yards.

For Villanova , late-season playoff football is bolstered by an elite running game.

It gives potential for a deep run as well.