DURHAM, N.H.—Despite a strong start in the first half, No. 11 Villanova (6-3, 3-3 CAA Football) fell by an ultimate margin of 28-20 to New Hampshire (5-3, 4-1) at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  Three unanswered touchdowns in the first and second quarters forged a 20-7 lead for the visiting Wildcats, who were held scoreless over the final 33 minutes in their first trip to New Hampshire in six years. 
 
Junior quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) had 358 yards of total offense in the loss, including a 313-yard passing day.  He was 21-of-40 through the air, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Zac Kerxton (Haymarket, Va.) in the second quarter.  Smith also ran for a team-high 45 yards and a score.  Junior wide receiver Changa Hodge (East Stroudsburg, Va.) was the Wildcats top receiving threat with seven catches for 106 yards. 
 
Villanova carried the 20-7 lead into halftime, but New Hampshire started its comeback with a 31-yard touchdown run at the 10:57 mark of the third quarter.  Later in the period, Dylan Laube caught a 31-yard touchdown pass with 5:34 remaining to give the host Wildcats a 21-20 lead.  Laube extended the lead to 28-20 on a 21-yard touchdown reception with 8:49 left in the final quarter. 
 
Smith and Villanova had one last chance to make a comeback of its own in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.  On a drive that began at their own 20-yard line with 1:49 to play and no timeouts, the Wildcats drove down to the New Hampshire 32-yard line before Smith's final pass of the day was intercepted to seal the outcome.  Smith completed a pair of passes to redshirt freshman Andrew Perez (North Caldwell, N.J.) on the drive and another to junior wide receiver Todd Summers (Murrysville, Pa.).  He also rushed for 20 yards on 4^th-and-17 from the Wildcats own 48 to get a first down at the New Hampshire 32 with 20 seconds to play. 
 
Redshirt freshman safety Darius Pickett (Nottingham, Md.) led the Villanova defense with a career-high 12 total tackles, while junior linebacker Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.) had 2.5 tackles for loss and one of the team's two sacks. 
 
New Hampshire opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown drive and took a 7-0 lead on Max Brosmer's 15-yard touchdown pass to Brian Espanet at the 10:13 mark of the first quarter.  Brosmer was 25-of-32 for 276 yards with three touchdowns on the day, with three different receivers gaining at least 60 yards. 
 
Freshman running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) tied the game at 7-7 on a five-yard touchdown run with 1:21 left in the opening period as the Wildcats went 84 yards on six plays.  At the 12:13 mark of the second quarter, Smith's one-yard touchdown run capped a seven-play, 58-yard drive. 
 
Villanova finished the game with 403 yards of offense, its sixth straight game and seventh time this season with at least 400 yards.  In addition to Hodge topping the 100-yard mark for the second time in the last three games, Kerxton had three receptions for 42 yards and his second career score while freshman running back DeeWil Barlee (Malvern, Pa.) made three catches for 50 yards in addition to running for 21 yards on 12 carries. 
 
The game was the final regular season road contest for the Wildcats, who have played six of their nine games this season away from home.  Villanova will begin a three-game homestand next Saturday when it hosts Richmond for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Villanova Stadium.