No. 13 Villanova looks to clean up mistakes in homecoming game against New Hampshire
After last week’s loss to Maine, the Wildcats plummeted in the FCS rankings. They hope to bounce back Saturday to regain high position in the conference.
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In Monday’s news conference, Villanova coach Mark Ferrante acknowledged that just about everything went wrong for the Wildcats last weekend.
“[The game] couldn’t have gone in any worse of a direction,” he said.
Conference foe Maine (4-3, 2-1 CAA) defeated Villanova (5-2, 2-1 CAA) in the Oct. 19 upset. After the loss, Villanova plummeted from No. 5 to No. 13 in FCS rankings.
Villanova’s homecoming game against New Hampshire (4-3, 2-1 CAA) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., FloFootball) could be a chance for the Wildcats to shake off their first FCS loss and regain high position in the conference.
Turnover battle
According to Ferrante, one of Villanova’s priorities will be preventing its own mistakes in all three phases. Winning the turnover battle continues to be key in tight CAA competition.
Maine senior quarterback Carter Peevy gave the Villanova defense trouble. He completed 16 of 18 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. But many of the problems that put Villanova in a 28-0 halftime hole were, in some ways, self-inflicted.
Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins had his first turnover of the season when he was sacked at the end of the first quarter. Maine recovered the fumble and scored three plays later. The offensive line also looks to improve after allowing the Black Bears to register seven sacks.
The Wildcats also had an uncharacteristic performance on the defensive end. Maine scored the most points against Villanova than any FCS team this season.
Reviving the offense
In the past two weeks, Villanova had one of its strongest offensive showings followed by one of its weakest.
The Wildcats struggled to start the engine on their usually threatening run game against Maine.
On Oct. 5 against Stony Brook, freshman running back David Avit rushed for 183 yards and four touchdowns. Then, he was limited to just 39 yards on 10 carries against Maine.
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Meanwhile, Villanova’s other leading rusher, redshirt freshman Isaiah Ragland, remained sidelined with an injury.
Wide receivers Lucas Kopecky and Jaylan Sanchez have been Watkins’ main targets. Kopecky led with a season-high four catches for 43 yards against Maine.
Another conference clash
New Hampshire stands eighth in CAA rankings and — like Villanova — is coming off a loss. Last week, New Hampshire lost to No. 15 Rhode Island, 26-9. Senior quarterback Seth Morgan, who transferred in this offseason from Division II Shepherd University, is New Hampshire’s starter.
The teams last met in a high-scoring contest on Nov. 4, 2023. Villanova defeated the other Wildcats on the road, 45-33.
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“[New Hampshire] looks similar to Maine,” Ferrante said on Monday. “They have really talented up front defensive linemen that can sack the quarterback, so we gotta try to protect our guy and make sure that it doesn’t happen like it did last weekend.”