No. 15 Villanova (8-3, 5-2 Coastal Athletic Association) returns home for a game with Delaware (9-1, 6-1 CAA) to close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m.
Saturday’s meeting between the Wildcats and the Blue Hens in the Battle of the Blue will be the final matchup with both programs at the FCS level. The Blue Hens will compete as an FBS team in Conference USA in 2025. The two teams have met 57 times, dating back to 1895. Villanova-Delaware has been played in every football season since Villanova restarted its football program in 1988.
Entering the 58th edition of this classic tilt, Delaware is second in the CAA, and Villanova is in fifth. NCAA rules prohibit Delaware from claiming a conference title or participating in the FCS playoffs during its one-season transition period. Even as a one-loss team that would typically be in contention for a share of the CAA title, Saturday’s game against Villanova will be the final contest of the season for the Blue Hens.
Even after an unexpected 40-33 loss last week at Monmouth (5-6, 3-4 CAA) pushed the Wildcats out of the conference title race, the 8-3 Wildcats are still in the FCS postseason picture. The loss makes Saturday’s game even more critical, as a loss to the Blue Hens would likely push Villanova out of the 24-team bracket.
Villanova’s 16 fourth-quarter points against Monmouth were not enough to overcome the 33-17 deficit it faced at the start of the fourth. In the defeat, graduate quarterback Connor Watkins recorded his second-highest single-game passing yards total of the season with 235 yards. He added a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns to his performance.
Villanova’s defense was uncharacteristically porous in the loss, surrendering 502 yards of total offense to Monmouth. The Hawks logged 358 passing yards, the most Villanova has allowed all season. FBS opponent Maryland previously held the season’s high mark with 338 passing yards.
Watkins has passed for 1,619 yards this season, with 10 passing touchdowns and two interceptions. His yardage mark is 11th-best in the CAA.
The ‘Cats’ backfield is spearheaded by freshman running back David Avit, who has piled up 765 yards on the season and eight rushing touchdowns, including touchdowns in each of the last three games. Avit is averaging 5.5 yards per carry on 140 attempts. The Blue Hens enter this edition of the Battle of the Blue on a three-game win streak. The Blue Hens’ only loss of the season was a 28-9 defeat to Richmond on Oct. 19.
Delaware has juggled three different quarterbacks this year, but found success by starting sophomore Nick Minicucci in each of the last three games. Minicucci has recorded 627 passing yards this season, along with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Four of his touchdowns were recorded last week in the 41-22 Blue Hen victory over Campbell (3-8, 1-6 CAA).
Senior running back Marcus Yarns leads the Delaware rushing offense with 744 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
The Blue Hens’ most dangerous offensive weapon is senior wide receiver Phil Lutz, who leads the team with 810 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.
The Wildcats’ defense will need to collect itself quickly if the ‘Cats hope to slow this dangerous Delaware offensive attack and defend the Battle of the Blue Trophy.
Villanova leads the all-time matchup, 34-22-1. The most recent matchup ended in a Villanova victory by a decisive margin, a 35-7 drubbing on Nov. 18, 2023 at Delaware Stadium. Villanova is 15-2 in the series since a physical trophy was introduced in 2007.
The ‘Cats will look to win their fourth-straight matchup against Delaware on Saturday to complete their push for playoff football.
The game will be streamed on FloSports with kickoff at Villanova Stadium set for 1 p.m.
