William and Mary runs all over Villanova in 45-12 rout

While Villanova knew it faced a tough task traveling to No. 8 William and Mary, the Wildcats didn’t anticipate just how long Saturday afternoon was going to be.

The Tribe crushed Villanova, 45-12, on the heels of 582 total yards of offense, including 371 on the ground.

Villanova’s (5-5, 3-4 CAA) early season success on offense came largely as a result of big plays.

On Saturday, William and Mary (9-1, 6-1) gave the Wildcats a taste of their own medicine, with 11 rushes for 10 or more yards and an 87-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter.

Villanova was held out of the end zone for the first 55 minutes of the game. The Wildcats had a chance to score early in the fourth quarter with first-and-goal from the Tribe’s 6-yard line, but quarterback Connor Watkins fumbled after catching a lateral from running back Eli Smith.

The Wildcats finally snapped a more than two-hour touchdown drought late in the fourth quarter, when Watkins found freshman receiver Daniel Lopes for a 39-yard touchdown reception with 4 minutes, 23 seconds to play. Watkins finished the day going 17-of-29 for 206 yards and the lone touchdown, which was Villanova’s first since two weeks ago against Hampton.

William & Mary quarterback Darius Wilson broke several tackles for a 55-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, putting the Tribe up, 21-3. Wilson, who had eight carries for 95 yards and the touchdown, also completed 12 of 15 passes for 211 yards and three scores.

Villanova receiver Dez Boykin was the lone bright spot on offense, catching six passes for 110 yards. Boykin stepped up with leading receiver Jaaron Hayek missing his second consecutive game with an injury. Lopes’ touchdown was just his second catch as a Wildcat. Lopes was targeted four times, with two catches for 42 yards.

Villanova wraps up its regular season against No. 15 Delaware (7-2, 4-2 CAA) at home in the annual Battle of the Blue game next Saturday (1 p.m., FloSports).