Inconsistent Villanova looks to make it two straight against conference newcomers Hampton

Villanova’s football team entered the season ranked No. 5 in the Football Championship Subdivision and as the reigning Colonial Athletic Association champ. Yet with four games remaining, the Wildcats (4-3, 2-2 CAA) sit in seventh place in the conference, far outside the FCS playoffs conversation.

“I can’t figure this team out yet,” coach Mark Ferrante said this week. “It’s Week 9, Game 8. I’m still asking myself and them some of the same questions. Just this morning’s meeting, I said, ‘I’m not sure what you guys want to do, but you better figure it out soon ‘cause we’re running out of weeks.’”

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On paper, Saturday’s matchup with Hampton (4-3, 1-3) at Villanova Stadium can be a stepping stone to ending the season on a high. However, after the Wildcats needed a last-second field goal on Saturday to defeat 1-6 Albany, 31-29, victory is far from assured.

This is Hampton’s first season in the CAA, so Ferrante admitted he doesn’t know the Pirates as well as other conference foes. Regardless, the season statistics make two keys clear for Villanova: win the turnover battle and minimize star wide receiver Jadakis Bonds’ role.

Passing accuracy has not been Hampton’s strength this season, as it completes just 55% of its passes. Pirates quarterback Malcolm Mays has been picked off 11 times and his backups have struggled as well. Villanova has thrown the second-most interceptions in the CAA this season (nine), yet the ‘Cats have still thrown five fewer than the Pirates.

When Mays’ passes do end up in Pirate hands, Bonds is his favorite target. The wideout ranks third in the CAA with 83 receiving yards per game and is tied for the league lead in receiving touchdowns with eight.

Villanova boasts the most efficient passing offense in the CAA, throwing for 1,500 yards despite attempting the fewest passes in the league. When the Wildcats do throw, they throw long (a league-best 10.7 yards per pass), often to wide receiver Jaaron Hayek. Hayek leads the league in receiving yards, averaging more than 100 per game, and his seven receiving touchdowns trail only Bonds and Albany’s Thomas Greaney.

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This is just Villanova’s second matchup with Hampton (winning 41-6 in 2003), but it will be Hampton linebacker Qwahsin Townsel’s 18th game on Villanova turf. Townsel, a graduate transfer, played his first four years with the Wildcats. The linebacker is tied for second in the CAA with 66 tackles this season, and with five more on Saturday, he will equal last year’s career-high of 71.

Villanova plays at Towson (2-5, 0-4) next weekend (2 p.m., FloSports). The Wildcats then end the season against the two highest-ranked teams in the CAA, No. 10 William & Mary (6-1, 3-1) and No. 12 Delaware (6-1, 3-1).