ALBANY, N.Y.—Playing on the road for the third straight game No. 6 Villanova (5-1, 3-0 CAA Football) scored 10 unanswered points in the final 1:16 of the first half and stopped UAlbany (0-6, 0-4 CAA Football) on fourth down with just over two minutes to go in a 17-10 victory at Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium on Saturday evening. Heavy downpours throughout much of the game did nothing to dampen the Wildcats success in road games, as Villanova won for the 10^th time in its last 14 games away from home.
 
Junior running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) returned a blocked punt 15 yards for a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half to send the Wildcats into halftime with a 17-7 lead. Villanova had taken the lead just 46 seconds earlier when graduate student kicker Cole Bunce (San Jose, Calif.) made a 26-yard field goal with 1:16 remaining before the intermission. The lone points for either team in the second half came on a Great Danes field goal with 6:40 to play in the third quarter as the wet conditions affected both teams' offenses.
 
Each team committed three turnovers on the night and the first half ultimately proved to be the difference in the game. All three of the turnovers forced by the Wildcats came in the first 30 minutes, including interceptions by senior linebacker Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior safety Elijah Glover (Pleasantville, N.J.) to go along with the blocked punt that led to the decisive touchdown in the closing minute of the half.
 
The field goal by Bunce with 1:16 to play in the second quarter capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive for Villanova and put the Wildcats ahead to stay after each team had scored a touchdown in the opening period. On the ensuing UAlbany possession, the Great Danes had a fourth-and-seven play from their own 43-yard line and Villanova took a timeout with 37 seconds on the clock.
 
Stopping the Great Danes before the half with UAlbany set to receive the opening kickoff of the second half was already a boost for the Wildcats defense but there was plenty more to come in an eventful final 37 seconds before halftime. After the Villanova timeout the Great Danes punt was blocked by redshirt freshman linebacker Brendan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and the ball was tipped loose behind the play and towards the end zone. Ayo-Durojaiye scooped up the ball at the 15-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone for a touchdown which pushed the score to 17-7 with 30 seconds left.
 
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Wildcats after the touchdown gave UAlbany good field position after the ensuing kickoff, while two complete passes put the Great Danes at the Villanova 44-yard line with four seconds remaining in the half. UAlbany quarterback Jeff Undercuffler threw a Hail Mary pass towards the end zone and Glover picked off the pass at the five-yard line. He returned it 52 yards into Great Danes territory before being forced out of bounds to end the half.
 
Graduate student tight end Todd Summers (Murrysville, Pa.) scored his first touchdown of the season on a 24-yard reception with 6:02 to play in the first quarter. That score tied the game at 7-7 after Karl Mofor's three-yard touchdown run at the 11:14 mark of the opening period gave the Great Danes an early 7-0 lead. Graduate student quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) finished the night 9-of-22 through the air for 102 yards and the one touchdown.
 
Both teams completed fewer than 50 percent of their passes and ran the ball liberally in the wet conditions, with the Wildcats averaging 5.4 yards per carry compared with UAlbany managing just 2.4 yards per rush against the stingy Villanova defense. Three different rushers topped 60 yards for the Wildcats, who wound up with 204 rushing yards for the game. Junior running back DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) ran a team-high 16 times and gained 70 yards, while graduate student Justin Covington (Bronx, N.Y.) rushed for 61 yards on 14 carries. Senior running back Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) had 71 yards on four carries, including a 55-yard rush for the game's longest play.
 
Black led the Villanova defense with career highs of 11 tackles and three tackles for loss. Senior cornerback Christian Benford (Randallstown, Md.) had four solo tackles and a career-high three pass breakups, while graduate student cornerback Denzel Williams (Rocky Point, N.Y.) added five total tackles and had two of the Wildcats seven tackles for loss.
 
Villanova moved into sole possession of first place in the CAA Football standings with its win over the Great Danes combined with Rhode Island losing its first game of the season at Towson. That sets up a matchup between the Wildcats and the Rams next week when Villanova returns home for the first time in a month. The Wildcats have played three road games and had a bye week since last playing at home against Richmond on September 18.
 
Next week's game between Villanova and Rhode Island kicks off at 3:30 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.