No. 6 Villanova football starts slow, then runs away from LIU

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. ― Two early turnovers and a lack of pass protection made for a slow start Saturday afternoon for the sixth-ranked Villanova football team.

But once the Wildcats (2-0) got rolling, they ran away with another easy victory, 38-21, over Long Island University at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

Five Villanova players scored touchdowns: quarterback Connor Watkins; running backs DeeWil Barlee and TD Ayo-Durojaiye; and wide receivers Dez Boykin and Rayjoun Pringle.

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Watkins didn’t have it quite as easy as he did in his debut as starter last week vs. Lehigh, at least not to start Saturday’s game. LIU got after him early and forced a pair of interceptions on two of Villanova’s first four drives (he finished with four).

Twice, however, time in the pocket made all the difference.

First, with Villanova leading 3-0 midway through the second quarter, Watkins waited patiently for Jaaron Hayek to get space on his defender. The 62-yard connection set up a score when, two plays later, Watkins faked a handoff to Barlee and ran for an 11-yard touchdown.

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Two plays into Villanova’s next drive, Watkins again had all the time he needed on second-and-4 from his own 40-yard line. Deep down the right side of the field, Boykin was in single coverage, and Watkins set his feet and launched the football. Boykin, with an LIU cornerback in solid positioning, came back to the ball, jumped higher than the defender, hauled in the pass, and ran in for a 60-yard touchdown and a 17-0 Villanova lead.

“It was just getting used to the opponent and what they may or may not do against you,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said of the better pass protection. “They go from three-down to four-down. You try to practice what they’re going to show you, but you can never run it at the tempo you’re going to see it. It seemed like we settled down up front for sure.”

Villanova is quickly becoming a big-play offense behind Watkins. Eight of his first 17 completions on the season went for more than 30 yards.

“He’s got a big arm, and he can extend plays if he breaks the pocket,” Ferrante said of Watkins. “It’s a long time for those guys in the back end to have to cover.

“The big plays are good, I just want to keep fighting for more consistency and finish some drives. And we have to eliminate the turnovers.”

While Watkins connected with his receivers for a few big plays in the first half, it was the defense on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter that set Villanova up to seize control of the game.

LIU quarterback Derek Green connected with Michael Love on a screen pass. Villanova linebacker Shane Hartzell jarred the ball loose, and it was recovered by Brendan Bell on LIU’s 25-yard line.

That turnover set up a Barlee touchdown and a 24-7 Villanova lead.

Boykin and Hayek’s highlight-reel receptions were critical, to be sure, but Villanova’s senior running backs had a huge impact. Barlee rushed 18 times for a career-high 177 yards and TD Ayo-Durojaiye went for 109 yards, also a career-high, on 16 carries.

Barlee’s 71-yard fourth-quarter rush set up an Ayo-Durojaiye 10-yard touchdown that gave Villanova a 38-14 advantage and officially put the game out of reach.

“They’re strong,” Ferrante said. “We play running back by committee for the most part, and last year we had four guys, so no one got probably the amount of touches they want.

“I’m sure they’ll take as many carries as we can give them.”

The Wildcats rushed for 365 yards on the day, their most since racking up 396 yards in a 2016 win over Lehigh.

The Wildcats travel to West Point to play Army in their only scheduled FBS game of the season.

Villanova has played at Army’s campus 21 times, but next weekend will mark the first trip since 1977.

The Villanova-Army game, Villanova’s last nonconference game before Colonial Athletic Association play begins, is scheduled for noon Sept. 17 and will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network.

“Whenever you’re playing those service academies, with the option and the precision they run it at, it’ll be an interesting week of practice because, again, you can never run it to the speed and the precision that they run it,” Ferrante said.