Villanova football (6-2, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) will head south to face the Hampton Pirates (5-3, 2-2 CAA) at Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, VA this Saturday, Nov. 2nd at 1 p.m.
Villanova heads back on the road after defeating New Hampshire, 14-6, last week in the Homecoming game. The hometown Wildcats were able to put points up on touchdown passes from senior quarterback Connor Watkins in each of the second and fourth quarters to secure the victory. The Villanova defense held New Hampshire out of the end zone for the entire game.
With the win, Villanova stayed at No. 13 in the FCS poll.
After the unsightly blowout at the hands of the University of Maine a week prior, Villanova’s defense rebounded against New Hampshire. The Wildcats allowed under 300 total yards of offense and created turnovers and key stops in important moments to secure the victory. Junior linebacker Shane Hartzell registered a career-best 20 tackles, earning FCS National Defensive Player of the Week. This version of the Wildcat defense will be necessary against Hampton, as the Pirates have scored at least 41 points in their last three games.
After recording his first turnover of the season in the loss to Maine, Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins bounced back and led the Wildcat offense to a turnover-free performance against New Hampshire. As the team leader in passing yards, with 1068, and passing touchdowns, with eight, Watkins will need to keep the momentum against the Pirates.
On the ground, the Wildcats are led by freshman running back David Avit, who leads the team’s rushing attack with 556 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Hampton has had an up-and-down season, but is coming off two straight blowouts in which they scored 59 points at NC A&T and 41 points at home against Elon.
Senior quarterback Malcolm Hays leads the Pirates’ aerial attack with 779 passing yards and nine passing touchdowns, compared to just one interception.
The rushing duo of senior running back Elijah Burris and junior running back Ja’Quan Snipes lead the way for the Hampton ground game. Burris is first on the team in rushing yards with 488 and second in rushing touchdowns with four, whereas Snipes comes in second for the team lead in yards with 366 but paces the team in touchdowns with five.
Villanova and Hampton most recently clashed at Villanova Stadium on October 29, 2022. In that contest, Villanova emerged victorious by a final score of 24-10. Villanova scored a touchdown on the opening drive when Connor Watkins took the second play from scrimmage 75 yards for a touchdown and the ‘Cats never looked back.
The ‘Cats hold a 2-0 record vs Hampton all-time. They will look to make it 3-0 this Saturday. The game will be live-streamed on FloSports.
