Villanova looks to address turnover woes, gain early momentum in CAA matchup with Hampton

Coastal Athletic Association play has been just as competitive as No. 13 Villanova anticipated it would be.

None of the Wildcats’ three conference wins have come easy. Villanova fought off New Hampshire in the red zone during last weekend’s 14-6 victory. Although the 35-7 loss to Maine on Oct. 19 was an unexpected blow, it was a reminder that the Wildcats have to perform at their best to succeed in the CAA.

On Saturday, Villanova (6-2, 3-1 CAA) will face Hampton (5-3, 2-2) on the road (1 p.m., FloFootball). The Wildcats and Pirates have not played since 2022, when Villanova won, 24-10.

Here are three things the Wildcats look to accomplish against Hampton:

The Pirates offense rotates quarterbacks and is averaging 34.5 points per game. They’re also coming off two dominant CAA wins. They routed North Carolina A&T, 59-17, on Oct. 19 and Elon, 41-21, on Oct. 26.

The Wildcats defense will put Hampton’s scoring potential to the test. Linebackers Shane Hartzell and Brendan Bell lead the core.

After his career-high 20 tackles against New Hampshire, Hartzell was named FCS National Defensive Player of the Week. Villanova kept New Hampshire out of the end zone for the entire game.

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“Every week going into the game, our emphasis is on stopping the run, so I give credit to the D-line for taking up blocks,” Hartzell said. “Those guys aren’t getting stats, but it’s the stats that don’t show on paper.”

The Wildcats are allowing 18.25 points a game and 19.5 points against CAA opponents.

Villanova had some self-inflicted woes against New Hampshire.

Penalties got in the way of the offense, including four false starts in the first half. The Wildcats lost 74 total yards on nine whistles across the game. Previously against Maine, Villanova committed 10 penalties for a loss of 100 yards.

Fumbles also were an issue last weekend, as the Wildcats fumbled twice — and both were recovered by New Hampshire.

Coach Mark Ferrante emphasized the team’s continued focus on cleaning up mistakes and limiting “mental” errors before the snap.

Villanova showed it can build on its own momentum last weekend. After the Wildcats converted a third down deep in their own territory, quarterback Connor Watkins capped the nine-play drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith at the 8-minute, 21-second mark of the fourth quarter.

Smith, a transfer from North Carolina Central who has emerged as the team’s top receiver, has 306 yards and is averaging 38.25 receiving yards per game.

“[Smith] has been doing some really good things for us,” Ferrante said Monday. “He studies the game really well … and he seems to have some good leadership qualities. He’s been a great addition to our program.”

Meanwhile, Watkins looks to maintain his usual specialty of gaining yards on the ground.

Running back David Avit leads the team with 556 rushing yards and five touchdowns. With redshirt freshman running back Isaiah Ragland back to full health after an injury, the Wildcats will try to capitalize on the run game.