VILLANOVA, Pa.—After playing six of its first nine games of the season on the road, No. 18 Villanova (6-3, 3-3 CAA Football) opens a three-game homestand to close out the regular season when it hosts Richmond (5-4, 4-1) presented by Villanova University College of Professional Studies on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and the game can be seen live on FloFootball, while the radio broadcast airs on 610 ESPN and TuneIn. The 2019 Villanova Football season is presented by Independence Blue Cross. Saturday is the Wildcats annual Military Appreciation Game. Active or retired members of the military and their families are offered complimentary admission for the game, and a pre-game on-field salute is planned with the Villanova Army and Navy ROTC.
Fans attending Saturday's game will be able to welcome back one of the most historic teams in program history. Villanova is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of winning its first national championship and will have members of its 2009 team on hand for the game. The national champions are attending a reception in recognition of their accomplishments on Friday evening, will sit together during Saturday's game and will be introduced on the field during a halftime ceremony.
The FloFootball broadcast of Saturday's game can be seen across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Roku or Apple TV 4. Special pricing is available for CAA Football fans by visiting flosports.tv/caa. Becoming a PRO subscriber unlocks access to live and on-demand coverage of games and other exclusive content. Nick Mantegna and
Steve Pinone have the call on FloFootball, while Ryan Fannon and Kevin Reilly will be in the radio booth.
Villanova leads the all-time series with Richmond by a 23-13 margin, with the 23 wins the second-most for the Wildcats against any opponent in its history (trailing the 30 victories Villanova has over Delaware). Home games have been especially successful for the Wildcats against the Spiders, as they are 15-6 all-time at Villanova Stadium against their longtime conference foe. Richmond did tally a 22-0 win in its last trip to the Main Line two years ago, but Villanova avenged the defeat with a 45-21 win in Virginia last season.
Two of the names to watch on offense for the Wildcats this season have been junior quarterback
Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) and junior wide receiver
Changa Hodge (East Stroudsburg, Pa.). Smith has thrown for 2,177 yards and 22 touchdowns in the first nine games of the year, leads Villanova with seven rushing touchdowns and has also caught a touchdown pass. He leads CAA Football and ranks third in the nation with the 180 total points he is responsible for.
Hodge has surpassed 100 receiving yards in two of his past three games, including making seven catches for 106 yards at New Hampshire last week. He leads the team with 39 receptions and 586 receiving yards on the year and is tied for the team lead with six receiving touchdowns. In the game against Stony Brook on October 26, Hodge became the 35
th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career receiving yards. He currently ranks 27
th in the Wildcats record book with 1,153 yards and is 53 yards away from moving into the top-25 among the program's leaders.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior linebacker
Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.) has been one of the team's top performers. Rhyne leads the team and ranks third in the CAA with 79 tackles on the year, including four games with 10 or more stops. He has recorded team highs of 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks thus far in 2019, his first season as both a starter and a tri-captain. Redshirt freshman safety
Darius Pickett (Nottingham, Md.) and true freshman linebacker
Elijah Solomon (Reisterstown, Md.) both stood out in the New Hampshire game. Pickett had a career-high 12 tackles and Solomon recorded his second blocked punt of the season in a 28-20 setback.
Villanova will briefly step out of conference play for its next game, a rare Friday night matchup on November 15 against LIU starting at 7 p.m.
