No. 5 Villanova (3-0, 1-0 Coastal Athletic Association) narrowly defeated Towson (1-2, 0-1 CAA), 14-13, on Saturday at Villanova Stadium after the Tigers missed two go-ahead field goals in the final 1:13 of the game. The second attempt, which was from 37 yards out, sailed wide right as the game clock expired. Villanova has now won 11 straight at home.
“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss any day of the week,” Villanova Head Coach Mark Ferrante said.
Villanova took on its first conference game of the season, riding a two-game win streak to start the season. The underdog Towson was prepared to not let Villanova walk away with a conference win.
The Wildcat offense struggled in the conference opener, as the Tigers limited Villanova to 351 yards of total offense. Graduate quarterback Connor Watkins was 14-of-25 for 116 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also displayed his mobility, rushing for 65 yards on 13 attempts.
Junior receiver Jaylan Sanchez was the standout. He caught both of Watkins’ touchdowns, one early in the second to tie the game at seven, and one late in the third to put the ‘Cats up, 14-10. Sanchez finished the game with 59 yards on four receptions.
Sanchez, who caught six touchdowns across 13 games for the ‘Cats last season, emphasized the importance of building a rapport with Watkins and the other wideouts.
“It has been a lot of developing trust with the quarterback and with my receiver room as well,” Sanchez said. “You can’t be a solo guy in the receiver room. You have dudes who back you up. I have guys behind me who support me, who believe in me, and I get open. I get open and they get open.”
Although both Wildcat scores were through the air, Villanova was able to find success on the ground. The ‘Cats rushed for 235 yards on 38 attempts. Redshirt freshman running back Isaiah Ragland secured the second 100-yard game of his career and the first of his 2024 season. He converted 17 carries into 141 yards, including a 65-yard gain in the third.
Towson’s offense was led by first-time starter redshirt senior quarterback Sean Brown. The Tigers’ first drive was a six-play, 92-yard march that ended in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Brown to put the Tigers up, 7-0.
The Wildcat linebacker trio of junior Shane Hartzell, graduate Brendan Bell and senior Richie Kimmel continued to anchor the Wildcat defense. Bell and Hartzell led the team in total tackles with seven each.
“In our scheme, you got a good linebacker core, the safeties don’t have to come down and stop the run as much,” Bell said. “It’s always good on the stat line when you see me, Hartzel, or Richie over any safety because that means we did our job, and they can do their job and cover. We’ll get our nose dirty and stop the run.”
Villanova’s offense struggled throughout the second half. Out of six second-half drives, the Wildcats punted on four of them.
The Tigers had seven drives in the second half, all of which ended in Villanova territory. Towson came away with six points off of those drives. Towson redshirt senior kicker Keegan Vaughan went two-of-five on field goal attempts, all in the second half. Sophomore linebacker JR Strauss blocked a field goal with 3:47 left in the third that would have put the Tigers up, 13-7.
“Anytime you get a blocked kick like that, that’s always a huge momentum builder,” Ferrante said. “I was hoping that it would propel us to do a little better on the other side of the ball. If you tell me that we’re going to hold someone to 13 points, I’m going to feel pretty excited about that.”
The Tigers had another opportunity to claim the lead with a 48-yard field goal attempt with 1:13 remaining, but Vaughan’s kick hit the upright and bounced back into the field of play.
Villanova regained possession at its own 31, needing a first down to secure the win. Ragland rushed past the line to gain on second and 11, but senior linebacker Will Middleton punched out the ball and Towson recovered at the Villanova 44.
After a 25-yard completion from Brown,a rush to set Vaughan up in the center of the field and a spike, Towson lined up for a decisive 37-yard field goal attempt. After an icing, Vaughan pushed the kick wide right as time expired.
Next, Villanova will face Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 21 at SECU Stadium. The Terrapins are Villanova’s lone FBS opponent of the season. The game will be televised on the Big 10 Network. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
“We’ve got to try and figure out how we can play a little more consistently in all three phases of the game, and try to go 1-0 next week,” Ferrante said.
