With one regular season game remaining, here’s why Villanova’s CAA title hopes feel in sight

Villanova receiver Rayjuon Pringle entered Saturday’s game against visiting Towson leading the country in yards per reception, averaging 26.37 yards per catch.

The Wildcats’ 33-10 win on Senior Day helped that statistic. A lot.

In the first half alone, Pringle had five catches for 180 yards, including catch-and-run scores of 79 and 63 yards. His season average improved to 27.88 yards per catch with his third consecutive game of 100-plus yards, and he made history as the first Wildcat to have three receptions for over 75 yards in a season.

With its fifth consecutive win, No. 13 Villanova improved to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The Wildcats will play for a possible CAA championship next weekend at No. 8 Delaware (8-2, 6-1). A Villanova win and an Albany (8-3, 6-1) loss against Monmouth (4-6, 3-4) next Saturday would give the Wildcats the title.

Before it was smooth sailing, the Wildcats threw an interception on their first drive. Their second drive started with a false start and a short completion, followed by a longer completion that was wiped off by a holding penalty.

But after quarterback Connor Watkins found Pringle in stride for the 79-yard touchdown, the Wildcats scored on five of six possessions.

Watkins finished 15 of 24 passing for 299 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Jaylan Sanchez, who was second in the nation in yards per catch at 24.91, had two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. Seven Wildcats combined for 255 rushing yards.

“I think we’re pretty hard to defend right now,” Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said. “We’re multi-dimensional. We go in every game [looking to be] as balanced as we can and it looks like we had pretty good balance today.”

On Monday, Ferrante said his team was motivated by a 27-3 loss to Towson last year. It was the low point of an uncharacteristic, 6-5 regular-season campaign, and the Wildcats wanted revenge.

Villanova’s offense was impressive Saturday, but it was the defense that stood out. In the first half, the Wildcats shut out the Tigers and held them to 68 total yards. Towson finished with 211 total yards with 75 coming on a rushing touchdown with the game already decided.

“I feel like we came in with a chip on our shoulder,” sophomore linebacker Shane Hartzell said. “They embarrassed us last year. We felt like we had to take a little extra emotion to this week.”

Hartzell had a team-high seven tackles.

The Wildcats didn’t force any turnovers but didn’t allow any big plays. The defensive highlight came early in the fourth quarter when Villanova forced a Towson safety to take a 33-3 lead.

While Villanova won comfortably, it did come at a cost. The Wildcats lost sixth-year offensive lineman Michael Corbi, a preseason all-CAA selection, to a lower leg injury early in the fourth quarter. He was taken off the field on a cart.

In recent years, eight wins have been enough for a CAA team to make the FCS playoffs as an at-large team.

However, the Wildcats have bigger prizes in mind. They play at Delaware in the “Battle of the Blue” on Saturday with a CAA title on the line (1 p.m., FloSports). The Wildcats are currently among four teams tied for first with 6-1 records, and would get the CAA’s automatic bid with a win over Delaware and an Albany loss.

Regardless of tiebreakers, Ferrante is excited.

“To be in a position to play meaningful games in November is awesome,” Ferrante said. “Now we’re playing a more meaningful game against our rival next week, that can carry a lot more weight than just a meaningful game. So we’ll be ready.”