Elon is first up in a series of games from friendly confines for Villanova

Coming off a dominant 37-14 win over North Carolina A&T, Villanova hosts Elon on Saturday (1 p.m., FloSports) to start a homestand that won’t end until early November.

The Phoenix, who started the season 0-2, had won three straight before falling to No. 14 North Carolina Central, 34-23, last week.

Elon’s offense is headlined by a strong rushing attack led by running back Jalen Hampton. The 5-foot-10 redshirt sophomore is 10th in the FCS with 575 rushing yards and has five touchdowns on the season. In a 28-24 win over Campbell, Hampton ran 33 times for 169 yards and four scores, earning CAA Offensive Player of the Week.

Matthew Downing has been Elon’s primary quarterback this season, but during last week’s loss, Justin Allen and William Lankford played.

“We do have some packages where Will Lankford fits with some package things that we do offensively,” Elon head coach Tony Trisciani said. “We don’t necessarily plan to play three quarterbacks. It did work out that way on Saturday. And all three of those guys did some good things in that game.”

The defensive line is a strength for Elon, which ranks No. 16 in the nation with 17 total sacks. Senior defensive end Marvin Pearson leads Elon with 4½ sacks this season, and defensive back Caleb Curtain is second with 2½, along with two interceptions and a team-high 43 tackles.

If the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 CAA) can stop the run on Saturday, they should be in a good position to improve to 5-2. Elon’s passing game averages just 171 yards, and, if playing three quarterbacks last week is any indication, there is some uncertainty at the position.

Hampton is one of the top players in the conference, but outside of him, the Phoenix (3-3, 3-0) don’t have a ton of offensive weapons. Villanova’s run defense has been solid this year, giving up 107.7 yards per game but just 3.3 yards per carry. Preventing a monster game from Hampton should be priority No. 1.

“Our approach each week is we want to focus on stopping the run. They have a really good running back. ... He’s been there for a long time; he’s a really good player. So we want to stop the run, hopefully try to make them one dimensional, which would make them maybe want to throw it a little more than they’re accustomed to. And then, obviously, defend the pass. But it’s always a challenge when you have multiple people that you’re watching on film and preparing for, that’s for sure.” — Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante

The Wildcats have a bye next week before returning to play on Oct. 28 (2 p.m., FloSports) against Stony Brook. The Seawolves currently are 0-5.