The tenth ranked Villanova Wildcats shut out the Elon Phoenix 35-0 in one of their most dominating performances of the season. 

Graduate quarterback Daniel Smith took full control of the game from the very first offensive possession. He was 16 of 23 on passing attempts, throwing for 238 yards, and had five total touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns came from the ground, one off of a play-option run in the red zone and the other on a QB sneak from the one yard line.

Smith spread his targets around, as all three of Smith’s passing touchdowns were thrown to different receivers. In the first quarter, Smith opened the scoring with a ten yard touchdown pass to senior running back Jalen Jackson, and in the second quarter Smith found junior wide receiver Jaaron Hayek open deep for a 48-yard touchdown reception. Smith added rushing touchdowns right before halftime and in the third quarter, before completing the rout with two minutes left with an 11-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Todd Summers. Although he didn’t score during the contest, junior receiver Rayjoun Pringle led the team in receiving yards with seven catches for 105 yards. 

Villanova’s defense gave Elon quarterback Davis Creek fits all game, as Creek completed less than 50% of his passes (13/28) for 146 yards, throwing one interception. That interception was caught by graduate cornerback Denzel Williams early in the first quarter, setting the tone for the defense for the rest of the game. Elon’s rushing was equally unsuccessful, producing just 17 total yards on the ground between three different backs. 

Villanova improves to 7-2 on the season, 5-1 in CAA play, and sits in a tie with James Madison atop the conference standings. Elon’s record fell to 4-5. The Wildcats have two games remaining in the season, returning home to face 4-5 Stony Brook on Nov. 13 before travelling to Delaware to take on the 5-4 Blue Hens in the annual Battle of the Blue on Nov. 20.