VILLANOVA, Pa.—The first road game since early October is on tap this week for Villanova (3-5, 0-5 CAA Football), as the Wildcats travel to Richmond (3-5, 1-4) for a conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.  The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Washington Plus and will also air on the radio on 610 ESPN with Ryan Fannon and Kevin Reilly calling the action.  Villanova has played its last two games at home, on either side of a bye week, since last going on the road when it faced Maine on October 6. 
 
Saturday's game will be just the third time in the last nine seasons that the Wildcats travel to Richmond, where they are 7-7 all-time.  Villanova leads the series with the Spiders by a 22-13 margin, although Richmond has tallied shutout wins over the Wildcats in each of the last two meetings.  This will be the third trip to Robins Stadium for Villanova, whose last win in Richmond came during its 2009 national championship season. 
 
The trip this week will be a homecoming game for seven Wildcats who are Virginia natives.  Four of the seven – sophomore linebacker Trajan Anderson (Fredericksburg), freshman running back Jalen Jackson (Richmond), junior wide receiver Zac Kerxton (Haymarket) and sophomore wide receiver Josh McGrigg (Alexandria) appear on the Villanova depth chart.  Also from Virginia are sophomore running back Damone Drew (Stafford), senior wide receiver Andrew Smith (Falls Church) and sophomore defensive lineman Billy Solms (Marshall). 
 
McGrigg had a busy day in last week's game against New Hampshire, as he returned six kickoffs for a total of 125 yards.  He was the first Villanova player since 2011 to return six kickoffs in a game, and the first since 2012 to have at least 125 kick return yards in a game.  McGrigg recorded three separate returns of 26 yards and a fourth return of 23 yards in the game against New Hampshire.  He is averaging 21.1 yards on 18 kick returns this season, and is also averaging 4.3 yards on 13 punt returns.  McGrigg ranks fourth in CAA Football and 31^st nationally with 436 combined yards on kick and punt returns. 
 
Another bright spot on special teams for the Wildcats has been the play of freshman punter Nathan Fondacaro (Sewell, N.J.), who has amassed 635 punting yards in the last two games.  He had a season-high eight punts against New Hampshire for a total of 314 yards, which followed a season-high 321 yards on seven attempts versus James Madison two weeks earlier.  Fondacaro ranks second in CAA Football with 42.6 yards per punt this season.  He has drilled 10 punts of at least 50 yards and has landed 12 attempts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. 
 
Two players to watch for Villanova in Saturday's game are sophomore linebacker Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) and senior running back Aaron Forbes (Newburgh, N.Y.).  Black has stepped up his level of play over the past three games, during which he has recorded 20 total tackles (11 solo, nine assisted).  In the three-game stretch, which includes Black's first collegiate start against James Madison as well as contests against Maine and New Hampshire, Black has tallied 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.  He has registered a solo sack in each game and is the first Villanova player since Tanoh Kpassagnon in 2016 to have a sack in at least three consecutive contests.
 
Forbes has been the Wildcats leading rusher this season and has run for 453 yards and four touchdowns on the year.  He needs 71 more yards to become the 11^th player in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards.  Forbes has played in 39 career games and has carried the ball 366 times for 1,929 yards (5.3 yards per rush) and 13 touchdowns.  He also has 43 career receptions for 316 yards and four scores.