VILLANOVA, Pa.—There is no opponent in program history that No. 10 Villanova (2-1, 2-1 CAA Football) has faced more times or beaten more times than No. 7 Delaware (4-0, 3-0 CAA Football) and the teams are set for the 54^th matchup against each other when they kick off at Villanova Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. It will be Senior Day for the Wildcats and the 14^th edition of the "Battle of the Blue" series between the teams.
 
Saturday's game will stream live on FloFootball with Nick Mantegna and Steve Pinone on the call. Fans can watch the game across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Roku or Apple TV 4. The radio broadcast can also be heard on WWDB-AM 860 with Ryan Fannon and Kevin Reilly calling the action.
 
Villanova is 31-21-1 all-time against the Blue Hens and has won each of the past eight meetings in the series. The teams first met in 1895 and have faced each other every year since becoming conference rivals beginning with the 1988 season. The annual meeting between the two schools has been billed as the "Battle of the Blue" since 2007 and the Wildcats have won 12 of the 13 matchups since then. Seven of the last 13 victories for Villanova have come by margins of two touchdowns or more, and the last 14 meetings the Wildcats haver averaged 31.7 points per contest while giving up just 19.1 points per game to Delaware.
 
Saturday's contest will be just the second game in the last 14 days and the third in the last 35 days for Villanova, whose last outing was a 44-17 victory at Maine on April 3. After opening the spring portion of the season with a 16-13 win at Stony Brook on March 6 and then falling to Rhode Island in the spring home opener 40-37 in overtime on March 13, the Wildcats had a scheduled bye week on March 20. Following that, the Villanova home game against New Hampshire on March 27 and the road game at UAlbany on April 10 were canceled due to COVID issues within the New Hampshire program and Albany opting out of the remainder of the spring season.
 
The game between the Wildcats and the Blue Hens will be a Top 10 battle based on the latest STATS Perform FCS Top 25 rankings. Delaware is ranked No. 7 in this week's poll while Villanova comes in at No. 10 in the rankings. Since becoming an FCS program in 1985, the Wildcats have a record of 63-77 (.450) against nationally-ranked teams. That mark includes a 38-28 (.576) record at home and a 26-32 (.448) mark against teams ranked in the top 10. Saturday's game will also be the 97th time that Villanova plays in a Top 25 battle where both the Wildcats and the opponent are ranked. The previous 96 such games have resulted in a 48-48 record.
 
Villanova has scored 20 or more points in 16 of its last 17 games dating back to the start of the 2019 season. The lone game in that stretch where the Wildcats scored below 20 points was in this year's spring opener against Stony Brook on March 6 when Villanova tallied a 16-13 victory. That snapped a streak of 14 consecutive games of scoring 20 points or more. The Wildcats topped 20 points in each of the 13 games they played in 2019, making it the third season in school history (1986, 1997) in which Villanova scored 20+ points in ever game. That is unless you count the program's inaugural 1894 season in which the team scored 24 points in the only game it played.
 
Of the 96 FCS football teams who have played at least one game this season, the Wildcats are one of just three that have not allowed a passing touchdown to its opposition. In the three games Villanova has played, the team's opponents have completed 59 of 97 passes for 666 yards, but no scores. The Wildcats are allowing 222.0 passing yards per contest and their defense only ranks 34th nationally in yards per completion (11.3) and 48th in yards per attempt (6.9), but Villanova has been at its strongest in preventing other teams from making catches in the end zone. The other two teams that have not allowed a passing touchdown this season are Wagner (two games played) and Montana (one game).
 
The Wildcats defense leads CAA Football and ranks third nationally in opponent third down conversion percentage. In three games played this season, Villanova has allowed the opposition to convert on third down just 7-of-29 times (24.1 percent). The average 'yards to go' opponents have faced on third down is 7.4 yards on the 29 third down situations. The defense has allowed just one touchdown on third down and has given up only two conversions on third down with seven or more yards to go. Opposing teams are 10-of-19 through the air for 76 yards on third down and have rushed nine times for 25 yards.