VILLANOVA, Pa.—The first big test of the 2019 season awaits No. 18 Villanova (3-0, 0-0 CAA Football) on Saturday night when the Wildcats open conference play with a top-20 matchup against No. 5 Towson (3-0, 1-0).  Kickoff is at 6 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium in one of just two FCS matchups between ranked opponents on this week's national schedule. 
 
Saturday's game will air on FloFootball and fans can watch the game across all screens by downloading the FloSports app in iOS, Roku or Apple TV 4.  Special pricing for CAA fans is available at flosports.tv/caa.  The radio broadcast of the game will air live on 610 ESPN and streaming audio can be heard on the TuneIn app.
 
Villanova is 9-6 all-time against the Tigers, including 4-3 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.  The visiting team has won six of the 15 meetings in the series, which dates to 2004 when Towson joined what was then the Atlantic 10 Conference.  Although the Wildcats have won four of the last six matchups, they will be looking to avenge a 45-35 loss at home last year. 
 
This week will be the third road game in the first four contests of the season for Villanova, which will end up playing five of its first seven games on the road.  That may not be a bad thing for a tested Wildcats squad which was 4-2 away from home last year.  Villanova has gone 8-6 on the road under third-year head coach Mark Ferrante, has posted at least a .500 record in road games five times in the last seven seasons and overall has come away with a win in 42 of its last 73 road games (.575) since the start of the 2008 season.
 
There is star power on both sides of the ball for the Wildcats, who have been a well-balanced team through the first three games of the season.  Villanova is currently leading the CAA in rushing offense and ranks second in the league in scoring.  The defense is leading the FCS in passing defense efficiency and also tops CAA Football in scoring defense and red zone defense. 
 
Junior running back Justin Covington (Bronx, N.Y.) has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the first three games and ranks third in the country with an average of 120.7 rushing yards per game.  He has run for 462 yards and a touchdown, while junior quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) leads the CAA with nine touchdown passes on the year.  Smith has thrown for 486 yards on the year, with three touchdown passes in each of the Wildcats three games. 
 
On the other side of the ball, junior cornerback Jaquan Amos (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior defensive lineman Malik Fisher (New York, N.Y.) have each played starring roles.  Amos recorded pick-sixes against Colgate and Bucknell to become the first player in Villanova's FCS era (since 1985) with four career defensive touchdowns.  Fisher has registered a sack in each of the season's first three games, giving him a streak dating back to last year of having a sack in four straight contests and five of the Wildcats last six games.
 
Villanova has scored a defensive touchdown in all three games thus far in 2019, with Amos scoring twice on interception returns and sophomore cornerback Elijah Trent (Rockville, Md.) returning a pick 37 yards for a score against Lehigh.  It is the first time since 2013 that the Wildcats have had a defensive score in three straight games. 
 
After the Towson game, Villanova will prepare for its second home game of the year against Maine on September 28 at 3:30 p.m. during Family Weekend on campus.