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VILLANOVA, Pa. - Sophomore running back Aaron Forbes (Newburgh, N.Y.) ran for a career-high 151 yards and two touchdowns and the defense recorded the most sacks by any FCS team in the nation this season as No. 16 Villanova (6-2, 4-1 CAA Football) cruised to a 24-13 win over No. 23 Albany (4-3, 1-3 CAA Football) at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Wildcats remained in a three-way tie with New Hampshire and Richmond for second place in the CAA Football regular season standings.

Saturday's game closed out an exciting Homecoming Weekend on campus, which included a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Andrew J. Talley Athletic Center on Friday evening. The newest athletic facility on campus was named for Wildcats longtime head coach Andy Talley, who has announced his retirement at the end of the 2016 season. Villanova entered the field from its brand new locker room in the new building for the first time prior to Saturday's game and was surrounded by a tunnel of alumni who returned to campus for the weekend.

Once the game got underway, it was all Wildcats for the first three quarters. Forbes and junior running back Matt Gudzak (Toms River, N.J.) each ran for touchdowns in the first half and Villanova took a 14-0 lead into halftime. It was the third time in the last four games that the Wildcats defense did not give up a point in the first half.

Forbes scored again on a three-yard run in the third quarter and sophomore kicker Gerard Smith (Garden City, N.Y.) made a 32-yard field goal later in that period to stretch the lead to 24-0 going into the fourth quarter. Forbes carried 24 times for 151 yards in the game and Gudzak finished with 43 yards on five carries. The performances by Forbes was the 42nd time in school history that a Villanova runner surpassed 150 yards in a game.

Sophomore quarterback Zach Bednarczyk (Wallington, N.J.) ran for a net total of 37 yards -- he gained 68 in all before subtracting yards for sacks -- on 20 carries and was 9-of-15 through the air for 82 yards. Four different players had two receptions each, with junior tight end Ryan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) picking up a team-high 31 receiving yards.

The biggest story from the game was once again the play of the Wildcats defense. Villanova's nine sacks are the most by an FCS team in the nation this season. No college team from any division has had more than 10 sacks in a game on the year. Junior linebacker Ed Shockley (Millville, N.J.) had a career-high 3.5 sacks on the day, which is the most in a game by a Wildcats player since at least 2002. Seven different players had at least a partial sack in the contest. Shockley tied a career high with 10 total tackles and recorded his first career fumble recovery.

In addition to the sacks, Villanova also forced two turnovers and had both an interception and a fumble recovery. The visiting Great Danes were limited to just 161 total yards on 53 plays, and had possession of the ball for just 25:35 in the contest.

Sophomore linebacker Jeff Steeb (Sweetwater, N.J.) had nine tackles in the game, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Senior Austin Calitro (Danbury, Conn.) had six total tackles and half a sack to notch a third straight game with at least a partial sack. Junior cornerback Trey Johnson (Lutz, Fla.) registered his second interception of the season.

Albany running back Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks ran for 141 yards and a touchdown, including a 65-yard run early in the third quarter to get the Great Danes on the board. His touchdown made the score 24-6 with 12:13 left in the game and Albany was unable to convert a two-point conversion. The final points of the game came when Michael Nicastro recovered a fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 2:15 left in the contest. An ensuing on-side kick by the Great Danes was recovered by Wildcats redshirt freshman safety Julian Williams (Airmont, N.Y.).

Nicastro had a team-high 10 tackles for Albany. Starting quarterback Neven Sussman was 6-of-15 for 51 yards and was sacked seven times in the game. Backup signal caller Will Brunson was 3-of-3 for two yards and was also sacked twice.

Villanova has a bye week next week and will return to action on November 5 for a road game at Maine.