Villanova football withstands rain delays, trounces Colgate, 42-19

In the game’s first minutes, heavily favored Villanova football cut through the Colgate defense like butter. It took 4 minutes and 24 seconds to open the scoring, and the Wildcats looked set to cruise past their Patriot League opponents for a second consecutive week.

Then the skies opened, lightning flashed, and both teams were sent to stew in their locker rooms for over an hour.

Delays can hurt, and Colgate took full advantage with a 54-yard completion on the first play back. But after a brief lull, Villanova (2-0) returned to its early dominance, cruising past Colgate (0-2), 42-19.

The matchup was marred by two lightning delays. Kickoff was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. but was delayed until 6:40 p.m. And after just 14 minutes of play, the game was delayed for another hour and 18 minutes.

“The conditions are what they are,” quarterback Connor Watkins said. " ... If we [had] come out and it [was] a monsoon, I’d trust our offensive line and our running backs to get downhill and beat them at the point of attack.”

It took a while for Villanova to get comfortable. The Wildcats were heavily favored after Colgate’s 65-0 drubbing by FBS Syracuse to open the season, but the Raiders still presented a challenge. Villanova’s lead was 14-10 with 8:57 left in the second quarter, but its sizable talent advantage over the Raiders made itself known with two Wildcat touchdowns to end the half. Villanova cruised from there.

Villanova did not complete a pass longer than 28 yards last week at Lehigh, but consistently found big plays through the air against Colgate. Watkins finished 8-of-11 for 310 yards and two touchdowns, including completions of 60, 67, and 68 yards. The game was Watkins’ first throwing for over 300 yards, and set a Villanova record for fewest completions to reach that mark.

Watkins was asked postgame about a 67-yard touchdown pass, and his response demonstrated his success.

“I don’t even remember, what one was that?” Watkins asked, before being reminded of the specifics. “Honestly, we repped that all week. … They gave us the look that we wanted and it worked out.”

Watkins’ completions went to four different receivers. Graduate wide receiver Rayjoun Pringle had three receptions for 168 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez set a career high with two receptions for 128 yards. Sanchez had 10 catches for 65 yards all of last season.

Colgate scored 10 of its points off Villanova defensive lapses. Generally, Villanova kept the Raiders away from its half of the field.

» READ MORE: Three things to know about Villanova before its football season kicks off

Villanova’s longest play of the game was also a bizarre one.

Watkins found Sanchez for a long completion over the middle midway through the second quarter, but Sanchez was run down by Colgate’s secondary at the Colgate eight-yard line. A Raider defender dove at Sanchez and punched out the ball, which bounced aimlessly towards the sideline. Pringle, trailing the play and blocking for Sanchez, picked up the ball and ran towards the end zone, but was forced out at the one.

“He’s [an] explosive guy,” Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said of Sanchez. “Hopefully he’ll take it all the way one of these days.”

The play was officially ruled as a 68-yard completion from Watkins to Sanchez, a fumble, and a 7-yard fumble recovery by Pringle. Four plays later, Watkins dove in for a 1-yard rushing touchdown to put Villanova ahead, 21-10.

After cruising past two Patriot League opponents, Villanova faces a much tougher task next weekend. The Wildcats will travel to Orlando to face FBS foe UCF (2-0) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN3). The Wildcats are 4-21 in their last 25 games against FBS competition.