When a player is on a real hot streak, it’s not uncommon to hear an announcer say “he’s like a cheat code right now.”
On Saturday, Villanova quarterback Daniel Smith was more like a glitch, but in the best way.
With the Wildcats trailing Delaware by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Smith rolled out of the pocket by design on a 3rd-and-1 play. Blue Hens linebacker Johnny Buchanan read the action, stepped up, and caught up to Smith, tripping him up around the Delaware 8-yard line.
But as Buchanan started celebrating his sack, a funny thing happened. It turned out that Smith had somehow managed to get rid of the ball, floating it high toward the end zone, where Charlie Gilroy caught it, one of the wildest short-yardage completions you’ll ever see.
If this looks oddly familiar to you, perhaps you’re a fan of the EA Sports NCAA Football series, which now proves that life imitates art, or life imitates technology, or something.
Delaware didn’t need to unplug its controller and storm off, though. The Blue Hens held on for the 27-20 victory, moving to 5-0 on the season.