TEAM NOTES
 

• Villanova evened its record in season openers at 59-59-3.  The game marked the beginning of the 121^st year of Wildcats varsity football.

 

• Villanova moved back into the lead in the all-time series against Temple and now owns a 17-16-2 advantage.  The teams first met in 1908, and the Wildcats have now tallied three victories since 2003.

 

• Villanova improved to 4-19 against FBS opposition since 1985.  Of the 23 games played, 10 have been decided by single digits and a total of 12 have been decided by 10 points or less.  Villanova has defeated Temple three times at Lincoln Financial Field since 2003, while the other FBS win was a triumph against Rutgers in 2002.

 
OFFENSE
 

• Villanova finished the game with 405 yards of total offense, its highest total against an FBS opponent since having 444 total yards against Rutgers in 2005.  The offensive totals against Temple included 254 passing yards and 151 rushing yards on 77 plays. 

 

• Villanova has had possession of the ball for more than 72 minutes in the last two games against Temple, including 34:04 in last year's contest and 38:39 in Saturday's victory.  It marked the fifth straight year overall that the Wildcats have won the time of possession battle against an FBS opponent.  Saturday's time of possession of 38:39 is the highest for Villanova since it held the ball for 40:54 against Elon on October 1, 2016; it is also the highest against an FBS foe since at least 1999. 

 

• In two games against Temple in the last two seasons, senior quarterback Zach Bednarczyk is a combined 56-of-81 through the air for 636 yards with four touchdown passes and one interception.  He set a career high with 382 passing yards last year against the Owls, while his three touchdown passes in this year's game were the sixth time in his career and first time since 2016 that Bednarczyk has thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game.  He also surpassed 250 passing yards in a game for the fifth time in his career.

 

• Villanova had nine different players with at least one reception against Temple, led by senior tight end Ryan Bell and junior wide receiver Changa Hodge.  Bell tallied nine catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, while Hodge had six receptions for 40 yards.  Bell's nine receptions were the most in a game for the Wildcats since Matt Szczur had 11 catches against Stephen F. Austin on December 4, 2010.  The combined total of 15 receptions by Bell and Hodge were the most by two Villanova players since Szczur and Norman White combined for 17 catches in that Stephen F. Austin game. 

 

• Senior running back Aaron Forbes ran for 111 yards on 16 carries to record his fourth career game with at least 100 rushing yards.  It was also the second straight game that Forbes has gone over 100 yards, as his only 100-yard contest last year came in the season finale against Delaware when he rushed for 140 yards.

 
DEFENSE
 

• Villanova held Temple to 251 total yards of offense, including 205 passing yards and 46 rushing yards.  It is the fewest yards of total offense allowed to an FBS opponent since at least 1998.

 

• Villanova limited Temple to 46 rushing yards on 22 attempts (2.1 yards per carry).  It marked the ninth time in the last 12 games since the start of the 2017 campaign that the Wildcats have held an opponent below 100 rushing yards, and the fifth time in that stretch that Villanova has given up fewer than 50 rushing yards in a game.  This season could shape up to be the sixth consecutive year that the Wildcats have had a dominant defense against the run… 

    Rushing Defense Since Start of 2013 Season (61 Games)
    Opponents rushing for more than 200 yards in a game                 2
    Opponents rushing for less than 100 yards in a game                   26
    Opponents rushing for less than 50 yards in a game                     11
 
    Total Rushing Defense in Last 61 Games:                                      6,405 yards on 2,056 carries
                                                                                                             3.1 average per rush
                                                                                                             105.0 average per game 

• Senior linebacker Jeff Steeb and freshman defensive back Elijah Trent each had critical interceptions in the fourth quarter against Temple.  Steeb recorded the third interception of his career to stop an Owls drive with 6:45 left in the game, while Trent sealed the Wildcats victory with an interception at Temple's 48-yard line with 1:12 remaining in his collegiate debut.  Villanova finished +1 in turnover margin for the day, marking its fifth straight game since last season with no worse than an even turnover margin.

 

• Sophomore defensive end Malik Fisher had a career high two tackles for loss against Temple, including his fourth career solo sack. 

 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 

• Freshman kicker Nathan Fondacaro had a successful collegiate debut handling the Wildcats punts and kickoffs.  He punted three times for an average of 42.7 yards in the contest, including a 57-yard punt on his first career attempt.  Fondacaro also kicked off four times and averages 59.2 yards per kick. 

 

• Villanova's 31-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter was blocked and returned 74 yards for a Temple touchdown.  The last time a Wildcats field goal attempt was blocked was against James Madison in 2016 (Cornell Urquhart), and the last time Villanova gave up a blocked field goal touchdown was against James Madison on September 28, 2002 (80 yard return).  The last time any Wildcats blocked kick resulted in a touchdown for the opponent was on November 6, 2010 when Rhode Island blocked a Villanova punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

 
MISCELLANEOUS
 

• Senior offensive lineman Ethan Greenidge and senior defensive tackle Bryan White have each started every game since the beginning of the 2016 season (25 games).  Greenidge has started all 34 games he has played for the Wildcats dating back to his freshman season in 2015. 

 

• Junior linebacker Keeling Hunter, sophomore safety Terrell Vassel and freshman cornerback Christian Benford all made their first career starts in the season opener.  Benford was one of nine players who made their collegiate debuts in the game.  The others were sophomore Kevin Crabtree, freshman Nathan Fondacaro, redshirt freshman Lorenzo Hernandez, freshman Jalen Jackson, redshirt freshman Darryl McDaniel, sophomore Drew Ehrlich, sophomore JJ Scarpello and freshman Elijah Trent.