VILLANOVA, Pa.—A postseason trip to Texas for the second straight year and a nationally-televised game are on the docket for No. 9/6 Villanova (11-2, #12 seed) this week as it travels to the Lone Star State for a quarterfinal playoff matchup at No. 5 Tarleton State (12-1, #4 seed). An early local kickoff at 11 a.m. Central time (12 p.m. Eastern) will be televised on ESPN from Memorial Stadium in Stephenville where the Wildcats and the Texans will face each other for the first time.
 
The television broadcast will have Lowell Galindo and Aaron Murray in the booth, with Lauren Sisler on the sidelines. The radio call with the voices of Villanova Football, Ryan Fannon and Steve Pinone, can be heard on the Villanova Sports Radio Network on Fox Sports Radio Philly. Live streaming audio can be found on the iHeart radio app using a mobile device.
 
Pregame Tailgate and Game Watches
Alumni, families and friends are invited to join the Club of Dallas-Fort Worth for a pregame tailgate in the southeast corner of Lot P43 where parking will be available. Light snacks, water and soft drinks will be provided. Guests are encouraged to bring their own additional beverages of their choice. Please register if you plan to attend, as more details will be provided to registrants via email on Friday, December 12.
 
If you are unable to attend the game, join Villanova fans to cheer on the Wildcats at a game watch near you!
 
Greater Philadelphia: Tommy's Tavern + Tap, 256 Mall Blvd., King of Prussia, PA 19406
All fans wearing Villanova gear will receive discounts on select appetizers and drinks.
 
Naples: Boston Beer Garden, 2396 Immokalee Road, Naples, FL 34110
 
About Villanova
Villanova is the #12 seed in the Division I Football Championship and earned an at-large seed to the playoff field after finishing in second place in CAA Football in the regular season. After opening their playoff run at home with a 52-7 win over Harvard in a first round game, the Wildcats went on the road and defeated #5 seed Lehigh, 14-7, last week in a second round matchup. Villanova is now 11-2 on the season and has won 10 straight games. It is the fifth season in school history and first since 2014 that the team has won 11 or more games in a season. The current winning streak is the fifth in school history of 10+ games but only the second (12 straight in 1997) to occur within a single season.
 
About Tarleton State
Tarleton State is the #4 seed in the FCS playoffs and opened postseason play at home last week with a 31-13 win over unseeded North Dakota State. The Texans lead the FCS in numerous categories, including scoring offense (44.1) and kick return defense (13.95 yards per kickoff return) as well as turnovers gained (38), turnover margin (+30), fumbles recovered (15) and interceptions (23). The only loss for Tarleton State this season was a 31-28 setback in a road conference game at nationally-ranked and eventually playoff bound Abilene Christian. This is the second year that the Texans have been eligible for the FCS playoffs. Last season, Tarleton State was the #13 seed in the playoff field and won a first round game over Drake before falling at #4 seed South Dakota.
 
Villanova-Tarleton State Connections
Villanova and Tarleton State have never faced each other in any sport prior to this week.
 
Five members of the Villanova roster are Texas natives, including graduate defensive lineman Ayden Howard (McKinney / Bishop Lynch) who is a starter on defense and sophomore defensive back Jayvont Williams (Fort Worth / All Saints' Episocpal) who sees regular playing time on defense and special teams. Also from the Lone Star State on the Wildcats roster are backup running back Eli Smith (Houston / Second Baptist), wide receiver Nate Hill (Dallas / Parish Episcopal) and defensive lineman Tyler Langin (Houston / St. Thomas).
 
Jayvont Williams comes from the same high school that produced Tarleton State senior wide receiver Peyton Kramer and sophomore defensive back Danny Hojdea. Kramer is the Texans leading receiver this season with 50 catches for 919 yards and seven TDs.
 
Tarleton State backup wide receiver T'iar Young is a native of Philadelphia and attended Northeast High School before playing collegiately in the state at Millersville and Lock Haven before transferring to Tarleton State.
 
Tarleton State head coach Todd Whitten was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies coming out of high school. He chose to attend college at Stephen F. Austin where he competed on both the football and baseball teams.
 
Traveling to Texas
Villanova will play an FCS playoff game in Texas for the second straight year and the third time ever. Each of the previous games were second round matchups at UIW last season (lost, 13-6) and at Stephen F. Austin in 2010 (won, 54-24).
 
Villanova is 4-8 all-time in Texas and will visit the state this week for the 13th time in its history. Aside from the Stephen F. Austin playoff game in 2010, the Wildcats other wins in Texas came at Texas A&M in 1949 (35-0), at Houston in 1951 (33-27) and in the 1961 Sun Bowl in El Paso when Villanova defeated Wichita State (17-9).
 
Second Round Playoff Recap: Villanova 14, Lehigh 7
Villanova was held off the scoreboard for more than 42 minutes before scoring its first points of the game on a Ja'briel Mace rushing touchdown with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter. That score tied the game at 7-7, while a 28-yard touchdown reception by Braden Reed with 2:56 to play in the fourth period gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead which would end up being the final margin. On the ensuing Lehigh possession after Villanova took the lead, the Mountain Hawks drove into the red zone with less than two minutes to play but Obinna Nwobodo forced a fumble which was recovered by Shane Hartzell and the Wildcats were able to run out the clock for the final 1:49 of the contest.
 
Villanova tallied its first road playoff win since the 2010 quarterfinal round at Appalachian State. Since that contest, the Wildcats had lost six straight playoff games away from home. Villanova improved to 3-12 all-time on the road in the FCS playoffs.
 
The game was scoreless at halftime as the teams waged a stout defensive battle. It was the first time in a span of 247 games since September 18, 2004 against James Madison that a Villanova game was 0-0 at halftime.
 
Villanova held Lehigh to just one touchdown on the first drive of the second half and a total of 335 yards of offense. Lehigh began the day averaging 33.8 points per contest and 432.4 yards of offense per game.
 
Villanova improved to 27-5 (.844) against FCS non-conference opponents over the last 10 seasons (2016-25). It was the Wildcats 11th straight win over Lehigh since 2007.
 
Villanova tallied its first win over a top-five ranked opponent in the national media poll since defeating No. 3 James Madison during the 2021 season. Last week's game was the first in the 20 all-time meetings between the Wildcats and Lehigh that both teams were ranked in the top 10 nationally. It was the third Top 25 matchup between the teams.
 
Villanova improved to 24-11 (.686) in November and December games during the Mark Ferrante head coaching era. Ferrante also improved to 23-14 (.622) in his career in games decided by single digits.
 
Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide threw the 50th touchdown pass of his collegiate career for the game-winning score. Nearly half of his career touchdown passes (23 of 50) have come in a Villanova uniform this season. He was the starting quarterback at Nicholls the previous two years (2023-24) and totaled 27 touchdown passes in those two seasons. McQuaide also tallied his 600th career passing completion during the game as well as his 200th completion of this season.
 
Graduate wide receiver Luke Colella moved into the top 10 for a single season in school history with 955 receiving yards this season. He had eight catches for 71 yards in the game and is just 45 more yards away from the seventh 1,000-yard receiving season in school history.
 
Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell recorded his 21st career sack to move into the top 10 in Villanova history in that category. Running back Ja'briel Mace became the 64th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards.
 
FCS Playoff History
Villanova is making its 17th appearance in the Division I Football Championship since becoming an FCS program in 1985. This is the third straight playoff berth and fifth in the last seven seasons for the Wildcats, whose only other streak of making three straight playoff appearances came from 2008-10 which encompassed the program's 2009 national championship season and 2010 run to the semifinals.
 
Villanova owns an all-time record of 17-15 in the FCS playoffs. That record looks even better of late considering that the Wildcats lost their first four playoff contests between 1989 and 1996. Beginning in 1997, Villanova has won at least one playoff game in 11 of its last 13 playoff appearances and has reached at least the quarterfinal round 10 times.
 
Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante has been a part of all 17 of the program's playoff appearances, including five times as a head coach (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025) and 12 times as an assistant coach on Andy Talley's staff. This season is Ferrante's 39th overall on the Wildcats staff. He has been a coach at Villanova for 38 percent of the games the program has ever played (466 of 1,229) and has helped lead the Wildcats to eight CAA Football titles, three Lambert Meadowlands Cup and three ECAC Team of the Year awards.
 
Villanova has played exactly half (16 of 32) of its FCS playoff games at home and has compiled a 13-3 record in those contests. The Wildcats have hosted at least one game in 10 of their 17 appearances in the FCS playoffs.
 
The 52-7 win over Harvard in the first round was the largest margin of victory in school history in a postseason game, surpassing a 39-point win (46-7) in 2009 in the quarterfinal round against New Hampshire.
 
Postseason History
This is the 22nd season overall in Villanova history in which the Wildcats are playing postseason football. Prior to the FCS era (since 1985), Villanova played in five bowl games from 1937 to 1962 and went 2-2-1 in those contests. The two bowl wins came in the 1949 Harbor Bowl against Nevada (27-7 in San Diego, Calif.) and the 1961 Sun Bowl versus Wichita State (17-9 in El Paso, Texas). The first bowl game in school history was the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba, in which the Wildcats and Auburn played to a 7-7 tie.
 
CAA Football in the Playoffs
Villanova is one of three CAA Football teams in the 24-team playoff field this season. The league's automatic bid was awarded to Rhode Island (11-2) after the Rams went a perfect 8-0 in conference play to capture the outright league title. Villanova (10-2) and New Hampshire (8-5) each earned at-large selections to the playoff field. This is the 18th time in the last 20 years that the CAA has had at least three playoff participants. The CAA is one of four leagues this year to have at least three teams selected, along with the Missouri Valley Football Conference (six teams); the Big Sky Conference (three); and the Southland Conference (three).
 
CAA Football has had at least one team in the FCS quarterfinals in 29 of the past 30 seasons (including Villanova this season) and has had a team advance to the semifinals in 10 of the past 12 years from 2013-24.
 
CAA Football Postseason Honors
Villanova earned its seventh major postseason award in the last eight years when junior running back and kick return specialist Ja'briel Mace was named the Special Teams Player of the Year earlier this week. He is the Wildcats second player ever to win this award, joining Matt Szczur in 2009. Mace ranks second in the country with an average of 32.9 yards per kickoff return and is one of six players nationally to have two kickoff return touchdowns.
 
Villanova has 13 total all-conference selections for the first time since 2010, highlighted by four first team selections in offensive linemen Temi Ajirotutu and Stephane Voltaire, kickoff return man Ja'briel Mace; and senior linebacker Shane Hartzell. The Wildcats had three selections each on the second team, third team and honorable mention lists.
 
This is the first time since 2010 that Villanova has had three members of its offensive line earn all-conference honors, and also the first time since that season that two members of the line have been first team selections. The last teammates before Ajirotutu and Voltaire to be first team selections were Brant Clouser and Ben Ijalana.
 
This is also the first time since 2015 that the Wildcats have had three starting secondary players earn all-conference honors. Sophomore cornerback Zahmir Dawud is a third team selection this year after being an honorable mention choice last season. Second team pick Christian Sapp and honorable mention selection Anthony Hawkins each garnered their first career all-conference selections.
 
Villanova has won 23 major conference awards and earned 364 all-conference accolades since joining what was then the Yankee Conference in 1988.
 
The Streaks
Winning Streak: Villanova has won 10 straight games for the first time since the 1997 team compiled an undefeated regular season and was 12-0 before falling in the playoff quarterfinal round. This is the fifth time in school history that the Wildcats have won at least 10 games in a row, but this season and 1997 are the only two streaks that occurred within the same season and did not overlap multiple years. During the current winning streak, Villanova has outscored its opponents 340-143 for an average margin of victory of 19.7 points. The team's last loss was a 51-33 setback in its CAA Football opener at Monmouth on September 20.
 
Conference Winning Streak: Villanova won its last seven conference games of the season after a loss to Monmouth in the league opener on September 20. It is only the second time ever that the Wildcats have won seven straight league games. The other occasion was a memorable one as it came during Villanova's undefeated regular season in 1997 which included an 8-0 mark in conference games.
 
Home Winning Streak: The win over Harvard was the Wildcats 23rd straight win at Villanova Stadium dating back to the middle of the 2022 season. It is the longest home winning streak in program history and the longest active home winning streak in the FCS. The second longest active home streak in the FCS is 15 games by Rhode Island.
 
Non-Conference Winning Streak: Villanova has not lost a regular season game to an FCS non-conference opponent in the last 10 seasons (2016-25). The win over Sacred Heart was the Wildcats 21st in a row in the regular season against a non-conference FCS foe. The 21 wins have come by an average of 25.0 points per game. Since the start of the 2016 season, Villanova is 27-5 (.844) overall against FCS non-conference competition including the regular season and the playoffs.
 
Undefeated Calendar Months
Villanova went undefeated in October (4-0) and November (4-0). It is the first time the Wildcats have had back-to-back undefeated calendar months since 2009 when the team was 7-0 in November and December during its national championship run. This season is the third time in the last five years that Villanova has gone undefeated in November.
 
Winning When it Counts
One of the keys to Villanova's success in recent years has been its ability to win the most important games of the season late in the year. During the Mark Ferrante head coaching era (since 2017), the Wildcats are 24-11 (.686) in November and December games.
 
Nine Regular Season Wins
Villanova won nine regular season games for the third straight season and the fourth time in the last five years.
 
Conference Success
Villanova wrapped up its CAA Football schedule with a 7-1 record. It is the eighth season since the Wildcats joined the conference in 1988 that the team tallied no more than one loss in league play. Three of those eight seasons have come in the last five years (2021, 2023, 2025).
 
Villanova posted a conference record of 31-9 (.775) over the last five seasons while having at least a .500 record in conference play each year. This is the fourth time in Villanova's league tenure that it has had at least a .500 record in conference games in five straight seasons.
 
Fantastic Five
Villanova has compiled a record of 47-17 (.734) over the last five seasons (2021-25) while making four playoff appearances and winning 10+ games four times. Its 47 wins over the last five years are the most of any CAA Football member, while the .734 winning percentage is the seventh highest among all FCS programs. The Wildcats are one of just four FCS teams with 10+ wins in at least four of the last five years. The other three are North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Montana State.
 
Decade of Dominance
Villanova has won 77 games over the last 10 seasons (2016-25) and is the only CAA team during this stretch with at least 70 wins. In the 10-season run, the Wildcats are 77-39 (.664) overall and compiled a 49-27 (.645) record in regular season conference games while making six playoff appearances (2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).
 
Villanova Head Coach Mark Ferrante
Mark Ferrante moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time Villanova wins list with his 66th victory in the Sacred Heart game. He is 68-35 (.660) leading the Wildcats and he passed Harry Stuhldreher (1925-35) for second place in school history. Stuhldreher had a head coaching record of 65-25-9 (.702) at Villanova.
 
Ferrante and his longtime mentor Andy Talley are the only head coaches in Villanova history to reach the 100-game milestone. Talley coached 368 games during his legendary Wildcats career and compiled a record of 230-137-1 (.626).
 
Polling Places
Villanova finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 of the national polls for the fourth consecutive week. The team entered the playoffs ranked No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and is No. 6 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. This is the 157th week that the Wildcats have been ranked in the top 10 nationally since becoming an FCS program in 1985. Villanova's total of 157 weeks in the top 10 is the 11th most all-time.
 
Villanova appears in the national media poll for the 337th time, which is the fourth most weeks being ranked in FCS history (since 1978). Only two current FCS teams have appeared in more national polls than the Wildcats: Montana (453) and Northern Iowa (413). There are 18 FCS programs (current and former) who have been ranked in the polls at least 200 times; all 18 ascended to the No. 1 spot in the rankings at least once.
 
This is the 33rd season out of the last 38 that the Wildcats have been ranked in at least one national poll during the season. Villanova has been ranked a total of 336 times and has appeared in the top 10 for a total of 157 weeks. The team has been ranked in the top five 66 times and has spent 10 weeks ranked at No. 1 in the nation, most recently on September 28, 2010 when the Wildcats were defending national champions.
 
Villanova has the fifth-longest active streak of consecutive weeks in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 at 36 weeks in a row beginning with the October 16, 2023 poll.
 
Veteran Experience
Villanova has 93 players on its 2025 roster and they have played in a combined 1,830 games in their collegiate careers. The roster has been an ideal balance of experience and youth this season, as the Wildcats have 25 active players with 30 or more career games played while also seeing 26 players make their collegiate debut so far this season.
 
50-40-30
Six members of the Villanova roster have played in at least 50 career college football games, while 13 players have appeared in 40 or more contests and 25 have played in 30 games or more. Graduate safety Kaleb Moody can become the seventh active player with 50 games played in this week's game at Tarleton State, while junior linebacker Turner Inge can reach 40 games and the running back duo of Isaiah Ragland and Isaiah Wright can each reach 30 career games played.
 
Winning Close Games
Villanova is 10-2 over the last two seasons in games decided by single digits, including a perfect 5-0 mark this year with close wins over Colgate (24-17); William & Mary (31-24); Elon (29-21); Stony Brook (30-27); and Lehigh (14-7). Head coach Mark Ferrante is 23-14 (.622) in his career when games are decided by single digits.
 
Turnover Story
Villanova has committed the fewest turnovers in the country with just five miscues all season. On the defensive side, the Wildcats have forced 16 turnovers by their opponents and have gained five turnovers (two INTs, three fumble recoveries) in the playoffs while not committing any.
 
Putting Up Points
Villanova is averaging 31.0 points per game and had scored 28 points or more in nine straight games before being held to 14 points at Lehigh last week. The nine-game streak of scoring at least 28 points was the second in school history and matched the first nine games of the 1991 season.
 
Gaining Ground
Villanova leads CAA Football with an average of 177.8 rushing yards per game. That mark looks even better during the team's 10-game winning streak when the Wildcats have averaged 194.6 yards per game on the ground. Villanova's success running the ball has been an ensemble effort from the running back trio of junior Ja'briel Mace (736 yards), sophomore David Avit (683 yards) and junior Isaiah Ragland (671) yards who have each topped 650 yards on the year.
 
Isaiah Ragland had a career-high 152 rushing yards on 17 carries in the first round win over Harvard. He scored the first points of the game on a 45-yard touchdown run on the opening drive and had five rushes for 14 yards or longer in the game.
 
Acting Possessed
Villanova ranks 13th nationally win an average time of possession of 32:01 this season, although it will be facing a Tarleton State team this week which averages 31:17 in TOP and held the ball for 37:09 in its second round win over North Dakota last week.
 
Villanova had a season high time of possession of 38:14 against Harvard in the first round of the playoffs. It was the second time in the last four games that the Wildcats held the ball for more than 38 minutes (Stony Brook, 38:01).
 
Over the last six games, Villanova has averaged 33:07 in TOP and during that span has run 36 more offensive plays than its opponent. That averages to six additional plays per game over the six contests. The Wildcats have an average margin of 395.2-286.5 in yards of total offense in the six games.
 
The only CAA team averaging more TOP than Villanova this season is New Hampshire (33:07). When the teams met head-to-head, VU won the TOP battle 33:46-26:14.
 
Working Overtime
The Stony Brook game was Villanova's first overtime contest since a 40-37 loss to Rhode Island on March 13, 2021 during the Spring 2021 season. The last time the Wildcats won an overtime game was a year earlier, 52-45, at Towson on September 21, 2019. Villanova has played in 19 overtime games since becoming an FCS member in 1985 and has a record of 12-7 (.632) in those 19 games.
 
Defensive Doings
Rushing Defense: Over the last six games the Wildcats defense has given up an average of just 105.0 rushing yards per contest. Of note in that stretch were back to back games in which Villanova held Stony Brook (76 yards) and Sacred Heart (87 yards) to less than half of their average per-game rushing yards for the season. Sacred Heart came into the last week of the regular season finale averaging 229.7 rushing yards per game but was held to 2.9 yards per carry on 30 carries.
 
Story on Sacks: Villanova has recorded eight sacks in its last three games, including a season high four against Sacred Heart and three in the first round of the playoffs against Harvard. Earlier in the year, the Wildcats had a streak of five straight games recording three or more sacks. That was the longest streak of games with at least three sacks in at least 23 years and possibly more based on easily available statistical records.
 
National Recognition
Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell was named one of 30 national finalists for this year's Buck Buchanan Award which will be presented to the top defensive player in the FCS. The award is in its 31st season and Hartzell was named to the preseason watch list for the top honor earlier this year. He is the unquestionable leader of the Villanova defense and earned his second straight selection to the CAA Football First Team Defense. Hartzell leads the Wildcats with 88 total tackles, 50 solo tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, eight sacks and eight quarterback hurries this season.
 
This and That
Villanova has won the coin toss in 10 of its 13 games this season and had won the toss in six straight games before Sacred Heart won it in the regular season finale.
 
The overtime game between Villanova and Stony Brook was a rare one even before the teams played an extra period. During regulation, 39 percent of the offensive plays by the two teams (49 of 126) were snapped between the 40-yard lines. The NFL average for such plays is 27 percent, while the college average is 26 percent.
 
Walk-Off Win
Villanova ended its 30-27, overtime thriller against Stony Brook on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Pat McQuaide to tight end Antonio Johnson on the Wildcats first overtime series. It is the first walk-off win for Villanova since September 22, 2022 when a field goal as time expired gave the Wildcats a 31-29 victory over UAlbany. That game was noteworthy for another reason, as it was the first win in Villanova's current 22-game home winning streak.
 
Villanova Football History
Villanova has compiled a 298-172-1 (.634) record in 40 seasons as an FCS member. The program's success includes 17 appearances in the FCS playoffs and appearing in the final national rankings of the season 20 times in the last 37 years.
 
Postseason Success
Villanova is making its 17th playoff appearance this season which is the 10th most in FCS history and ranked sixth among programs who still compete at the FCS level. The Wildcats are 17-15 all-time in the playoffs and have won at least one playoff game in 11 of their last 13 postseason appearances. Villanova has won one national title (2009) and made three semifinal appearances (2002, 2009, 2010), while its 17 playoff wins all-time are tied for the 10th most ever among current FCS programs.
 
Preseason Watch Lists
Sophomore running back David Avit and senior linebacker Shane Hartzell were named to the preseason watch lists for the Walter Payton Award and the Buck Buchanan Award, respectively. These honors are given to the top offensive and defensive players in the FCS at the end of each season. Villanova is one of 10 teams to have at least one player on both watch lists at the start of the season. The others are Harvard, Illinois State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota State, Rhode Island, Samford, South Dakota State and UIW.
 
Picked Third
Villanova was predicted to finish third in the CAA Football standings this season in a preseason poll of league head coaches. The Wildcats were picked one spot behind Monmouth and then fell to the Hawks in the conference opener on September 20. Villanova went on to win its last seven conference games to finish 7-1 and in sole possession of second place, one spot ahead of Monmouth at 6-2.
 
Offensive Line
Villanova's starting offensive line has played in a combined 188 games in their collegiate careers. That includes graduate left tackle Stephane Voltaire (51 games, 43 starts, 40 consecutive starts) and left guard Temi Ajirotutu (50 games, 43 starts) who were each named first team All-CAA selections this season.
 
Four of the five members of the current starting offensive line — left tackle Stephane Voltaire, left guard Temi Ajirotutu, right guard Chris McCullers and right tackle Kyle Fay — have started all 13 games this season. Center Quin Whalen has started the last eight games.
 
Quarterback Notes
Pat McQuaide has been nothing short of a revelation for the Wildcats this season. He played at Nicholls in 2023 and 2024 before coming to Villanova this year, where he has thrown for 2,757 yards and 23 touchdowns with only two interceptions. McQuaide is 208-of-338 through the air this season. He has completed 61.5 percent of his passes and ranks second in CAA Football in passing yards, passing efficiency (151.3) and passing yards per game (212.1). He is also third in the league in passing touchdowns along with both passing yards per completion (13.25) and yards per attempt (8.16).
 
Including his career at Nicholls and this season with the Wildcats, he is 603-of-1024 (58.9 percent) passing for 7,171 yards with 50 TDs and 24 interceptions. During the Wildcats current 10 game win streak, McQuaide has thrown for 2,098 yards with 20 touchdowns and just one interception.
 
McQuaide is only the third left-handed quarterback to start a game for Villanova in their FCS era. The others are Christian Culicerto (2011) and Zach Bednarczyk (2015-18).
 
Drive for Five
Pat McQuaide threw a career high five touchdowns passes despite only attempting 13 passes in the Hampton game on October 18. He was 10-of-13 through the air for 166 yards and the five scores. His previous career high for touchdown passes in a single contest was four against Southern last season while he was playing for Nicholls. McQuaide's efficiency rating for the game was 311.1 and is only the second game over 300.0 in school history.
 
Record=Setting Debut
No Villanova quarterback has ever thrown for 300 yards in his first start for the team. However, the last two signal callers to debut for the Wildcats have thrown for 298 and 299 yards, respectively. Graduate student Pat McQuaide, a transfer from Nicholls, made his first start for VU against Colgate on September 6 and threw for 299 yards and a score. He surpassed the previous school record for most passing yards in the first start for the team which was held for the past three years by Connor Watkins, the starter from 2022-24 who threw for 298 yards in his first career start against Lehigh to open the 2022 season.
 
Running Back Notes
 
Ja'briel Mace broke one of the most hallowed offensive records in Villanova history when he rushed for a school record 291 yards in a 28-10 win over Towson. Mace broke the previous single game school record of 287 yards which had been set by Wildcats legend Brian Westbrook on November 10, 2001 against Hofstra.
 
Mace had 28 rushes for his record 291 yards and scored four TDs on runs of eight yards (second quarter), 39 yards (third quarter), 82 yards (fourth quarter) and 22 yards (fourth quarter). His 28 carries are the most by any Wildcats player since Jalen Jackson rushed 28 times (for 187 yards) against Monmouth on September 24, 2022.
 
Some of the numbers for Mace in the Towson game were simply staggering. He rushed for 198 yards in the second half, including 138 in the fourth quarter alone and 124 yards in the final 4:20 of the game. He finished with four more rushing yards (291) than Towson had yards of total offense (287).
 
Mace has six plays for 50 yards or longer this season and four plays of at least 80 yards. He had an 82-yard rushing touchdown at Towson and an 80-yard run for a score in the Sacred Heart game. Those two plays are tied for ninth and tied for 14th among the longest rushing plays in Villanova history. Five of his 12 offensive touchdowns this season have come on plays of 20 yards or longer.
 
Wide Receiver Notes
Fifth year collegian Luke Colella has made an instant impact on the Villanova offense in his first year with the team. After playing his undergraduate college ball at Princeton the last four years, Colella is the Wildcats leading receiver this year with 68 catches for 955 yards and eight touchdowns. He ranks third in the CAA in receiving touchdowns and fourth in receiving yards, as well as ranking fifth in the league in receiving yards per game (73.5) and receptions per game (5.23).
 
Colella had a career high 10 receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns at Elon on October 11. It was the first time a Villanova player reached double digits in receptions in a single game since Matt Szczur had 11 catches against Stephen F. Austin in the 2010 FCS playoffs. Colella has five 100-yard receiving games this season which is one off the single season school record of six that has been accomplished on four occasions. The last player with six 100-yard game in a season was Murle Sango in 1999.
 
Colella topped 2,000 career receiving yards during the regular season finale against Sacred Heart. Including his undergraduate career at Princeton and this season with the Wildcats, Colella has collegiate totals of 161 catches for 2,143 yards and 19 touchdowns.
 
 
Sixth year collegian Lucas Kopecky has caught at least one pass in all 24 college football games he has played in. The streak of 24 straight games with a reception is the longest by a Villanova player since Poppy Livers had a catch in 29 straight games spanning the 2012 to 2014 seasons.
 
Kopecky continued the streak with a 16-yard reception for his only catch in the Lehigh game last week. His career totals in his 24 games played now add up to 56 receptions for 782 yards and five touchdowns. He made his collegiate debut last year when he had 26 catches for 302 yards and two scores, finishing third on the team in receiving.
 
Kopecky played four years of lacrosse for Villanova (2021-24) and appeared in 40 games before walking on to the football team as a graduate student entering the 2024 season. He was a three-year football letterwinner at Montgomery (N.J.) High School in his scholastic career, earning two all-conference honors and two honorable mention all-state accolades.
 
Tight End Notes
All four tight ends on the Villanova roster have seen consistent playing time this season. The group includes veteran Antonio Johnson who is in his fifth year with the Wildcats along with Nolan Clayton (third year), Sean Brodnik (second year) and Sean Welde (first year). The quartet has combined to make 22 receptions for 231 yards and five touchdowns on the year, with at least one of the four making a catch in 11 of the 13 games played.
 
In the Hampton game (Oct. 18), Antonio Johnson had a 10-yard touchdown reception for his third career score and Sean Brodnik caught his first career pass for a four-yard touchdown. It was the first time since November 1, 2003 against Richmond that VU had two tight ends catch a touchdown pass in the same game. In the 2003 game the two tight ends with scores were Anthony Wright and Quinn Matt. Just like Johnson and Brodnik, Wright and Quinn also recorded the third and first touchdowns of their careers that day.
 
Prior to the Hampton game, the last time VU even had two tight ends catch a pass in the same game was on September 16, 2023 against UCF when Johnson and Justin Marcus each had one reception.
 
Defensive Notes
Prior to the Hampton game on October 18, the Wildcats defense had not recovered a fumble by the opposition this season and had not had a fumble recovery for a touchdown in more than eight years. Those are the kinds of trends that are good to wipe off the board, and it only took one player — fifth year defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo — to do it. In the second quarter against the Pirates, Nwobodo forced a fumble at the VU 47-yard line, immediately scooped up the ball and then returned it 53 yards for his first career score. It was the second career forced fumble and first recovery for Nwobodo.
 
Nwobodo became the first Villanova defensive lineman to score a touchdown current NFL veteran Tanoh Kpassagnon had a 25-yard fumble recovery for a score against Lafayette in 2016. The Wildcats last player with a fumble return touchdown before Nwobodo was Rob Rolle who went 99 yards for a score against Maine on October 7, 2017.
 
The fumble return touchdown by Obinna Nwobodo against Hampton was the first defensive touchdown of the season for Villanova, but it was also the third non-offensive score in a span of four games. That is thanks to the efforts of junior Ja'briel Mace who registered kickoff returns for touchdowns against William & Mary on September 27 and at Elon on October 11. This is the first time since 2019 that the Wildcats have scored as many as three non-offensive touchdowns in a season. It is the third time during the Mark Ferrante coaching era (since 2017) that Villanova has scored three non-offensive touchdowns in a span of four games.
 
Special Teams Defense
Not only has Villanova been one of the best teams in the country this season when it comes to kickoff returns and punt returns, they have also done a good job of stopping the opposing team on special teams returns. The Wildcats lead CAA Football in punt return defense (6.69) while ranking third in the league and 26th nationally in kick return defense (18.46).
 
The trio of sophomore Jason Hall, junior Josh Oluremi and senior Julian Glantz has combined to be the top special teams tacklers for the Wildcats this year. Hall leads the team with 11 tackles on special teams (six kickoff returns, five punt returns) this season, while Oluremi has nine (seven kickoff returns, two punt returns) and Glantz has eight (all on kickoff returns).
 
Punt Return Notes
True freshman Braden Reed ranks fifth in the FCS with an average of 15.4 yards per punt return this season. He has 18 punt returns on the year for a total of 278 yards, including eight returns of 20 yards or longer. Before him, the last Villanova player to even have five punt returns of 20+ yards in a single season was J.J. Outlaw in 2004. Reed's current average of 15.4 yards per return would be the fourth-best mark for a full season in school history.
 
Kickoff Return Notes
Ja'briel Mace was the first FCS player this season to have two kickoff returns for touchdowns. He had a 100-yard return for a score against William & Mary on September 27, followed by a 97-yard return for a touchdown at Elon two weeks later on October 11. Before Mace, the last Villanova player with a kickoff return for a touchdown was Nowoola Awopetu against Richmond in 2019.
 
Mace is only the fifth player in school history to even have two or more career kickoff returns for touchdowns. The others are Brian Westbrook with five career kickoff return scores; Martin Gibson (three); Angelo Babbaro (three); and Matt Szczur (two).
 
The kickoff return touchdowns by Mace against William & Mary (September 27) and Elon (October 11) mark the first time in Villanova's FCS era (since 1985) that the team scored two special teams touchdowns in the span of three games. Mace becomes the Wildcats third player ever — joining Brian Westbrook and Angelo Babbaro — to have two kickoff return touchdowns in a season.
 
Mace has 22 kickoff returns on the year for 723 yards and an average of 32.86 yards per return. He ranks second in the country in average return, trailing only Javon Ross of Bethune-Cookman whose season is complete after averaging 33.73 yards per return (15 returns, 506 yards, two touchdowns). Mace's 723 kickoff return yards rank second in the country and seventh in a single season in school history.
 
Only one previous player in Villanova history has ever averaged better than 30.0 yards per kickoff return with a minimum of 250 total return yards. That player was Bob Dunn in 1963 when he had 11 returns for 357 yards and an average of 32.5 yards per return.
 
Kicking Notes
Villanova kicker Jack Barnum tied a season high with 11 points in the UAlbany game thanks to three made field goals and a pair of PATs. Barnum kicked field goals from 41 yards and 23 yards in the second quarter, followed by a season long 44-yarder in the third period. He has 14 career made field goals from 40+ yards, including three this year in his first season with the Wildcats. Barnum started his collegiate career at UAlbany and went on to play at Central Connecticut State before coming to the Main Line. Barnum is 13-of-22 (59.1%) on field goals this season and 45-of-47 on PATs. His career totals are 42-of-61 (68.8%) field goal kicking and 109-of-113 on PATs for a total of 235 points. His 7-of-7 PAT performance in last week's win over Harvard was a new career high for makes and attempts in a game.
 
Punting Notes
The oldest active player in Division I college football this season is Villanova punter Luke Larsen who recently turned 33 years old and made his Wildcats debut in the season opener against Colgate. Larsen is a graduate student transfer from East Carolina and a native of Australia who played Australian Rules Football, volleyball, cricket and tennis during his scholastic career prior to coming to the United States.
 
Larsen is having a strong season for Villanova and has punted 40 times in 13 games. He is averaging 40.9 yards per punt with two attempts for over 50 yards and 13 that have been downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
 
Larsen played in his 50th career game against UAlbany on October 25 and during that contest surpassed 8,000 career punting yards. His career collegiate totals are 214 punts for 8,735 yards with an average of 40.8 yards per punt.           Larsen punted 174 times at East Carolina while averaging 40.8 yards per punt. He landed 51 punts inside the 20-yard line, booted 19 punts for 50+ yards and had 75 of 174 attempts fair caught.