VILLANOVA, Pa.—In its third straight matchup against a Patriot League opponent to begin the season, No. 22 Villanova (2-0) will travel to Bucknell (0-2) for a 6 p.m. contest on Saturday evening.  The teams are meeting for the second straight year and the 27^th time overall, although this will be the Wildcats first trip to Lewisburg in 14 years.  Villanova will be looking to improve to 3-0 for the first time since its national championship season 10 years ago. 
 
What the Wildcats can hope for in the latest addition to their all-time series with the Bison is for two recent trends to continue.  Villanova has played .500 or better ball on the road five times in the last seven seasons, including a 7-6 mark over the last three years, and the Wildcats have won 10 straight games against Patriot League foes while going 34-4 overall against the league since becoming an FCS member.  Saturday's game comes in the midst of a stretch which has Villanova playing five of its first seven games away from home to open the 2019 campaign. 
 
Fans can tune in to 610 ESPN for the radio broadcast of Saturday's contest with Ryan Fannon and Kevin Reilly calling the action.  Streaming audio can also be heard on the TuneIn app, while the game can be seen on the Patriot League Network online or by downloading the Stadium mobile app.  Links to the online broadcasts and other pertinent game information can be found at the top of this release. 
 
One of the storylines for the Wildcats in their 2-0 start to the season has been the team's balanced play on both sides of the ball.  Villanova has defeated Colgate (34-14) and Lehigh (38-10) to open the year, marking the first time since 1998 that the Wildcats have scored 34 or more points in their first two games of a season.  On the flip side, Villanova has only allowed a total of 24 points in its first two games.  It is the fewest points given up by the Wildcats in the first two games of a season since 2002 when the team yielded just 19 points in its first two games. 
 
Junior quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) and junior running back Justin Covington (Bronx, N.Y.) have been the catalysts for the Villanova offense thus far.  Smith ranks second in CAA Football with six passing touchdowns through his first two games in a Wildcats uniform.  He is 28-of-53 through the air for 377 yards, with all six of his passing touchdowns going to a different receiver.  Covington leads the CAA with 243 rushing yards and ranks third in the FCS with an average of 9.0 yards per carry.  He rushed for a career-high 134 yards in the season opener at Colgate, then tallied a second straight game over the century mark when he ran for 109 yards and a score versus Lehigh.
 
Leading the way on defense through the first two games of the season is junior linebacker Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.), a Villanova tri-captain along with Covington and fifth-year safety Chucky Smith (Newbury Park, Calif.).  Rhyne has made 18 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, in the first two games.  He and junior linebacker Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) each had a career-high 10 total stops against Lehigh last week, making them the first pair of Wildcats to reach double digits in tackles in the same game since the final game of the 2017 season. 
 
Junior cornerback Jaquan Amos (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore corner Elijah Trent (Rockville, Md.) have each had a pick-six thus far in 2019.  Amos returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown at Colgate, while Trent had a 37-yard return for his first career score in the Lehigh game.  Villanova has scored defensive touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time since 2016. 
 
Following this week's game at Bucknell, the Wildcats will turn their attention to the start of conference play.  Villanova opens the CAA Football schedule next Saturday (September 21) with a 6 p.m. road game at Towson.