VILLANOVA, Pa.—A season-high four turnovers put No. 4 Villanova (6-2, 4-1 CAA Football) into a hole that was too big to overcome and the Wildcats lost at home for the first time this season in a 31-18 setback to William & Mary (6-2, 4-1 CAA Football) in front of 5,101 at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The visiting Tribe had four interceptions and built a 31-3 lead before the Wildcats narrowed the final margin with two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.
 
The game's outcome was an uncharacteristic one for Villanova, which gave up 258 rushing yards and allowed William & Mary to hold possession for more than 39 minutes in the contest. More than half of the Wildcats total offense (178 yards out of 291) came in the fourth quarter when graduate student quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) led a pair of scoring drives. Villanova briefly led 3-0 after kicking a field goal with 8:42 left in the first quarter on its first offensive possession of the game, but the Tribe took the lead just over three minutes later and never looked back.
 
William & Mary scored with 4:31 left in the second quarter to extend its lead to 17-3 and the upcoming sequence of drives by both teams was the turning point in the game. After a three-and-out series by the Wildcats, senior defensive lineman Malik Fisher (New York, N.Y.) intercepted a Tribe pass and Villanova took over from its own 38-yard line with 1:17 left before halftime. The game was well within reach at that point despite the 17-3 deficit, as the Wildcats had time to work with before the half and would receive the opening kickoff of the second half.
 
Villanova threw interceptions on both its final drive of the second quarter and its first possession of the third period however, and ultimately went 39 minutes of game time in between points scored while William & Mary scored 31 unanswered points.
 
Graduate student linebacker Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.) and senior Amin Black (Philadelphia, Pa.) each had big games for the Wildcats defense. Rhyne recorded 19 tackles – one off the career-high of 20 he recorded at James Madison earlier this year – and Black finished the day with a career-high 12 total stops, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Rhyne has four games this season with double digits in tackles and Black has two, with Rhyne now averaging better than 10 tackles per game (10.4) for the season.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Smith finished the day 18-of-38 through the air for 252 yards with one touchdown and the four interceptions. He was responsible for both Villanova scores in the fourth quarter, as he threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jaaron Hayek (Wayne, N.J.) with 9:41 to play and then scored himself on a one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown with 3:49 remaining. After the touchdown pass to Hayek, Smith found graduate student tight end Todd Summers (Murrysville, Pa.) in the end zone for the Wildcats first two-point conversion since November 3, 2018 against Richmond.
 
Hayek had six receptions for a 115 yards and his first touchdown since the Richmond game in Week 3. Summers caught three passes for 17 yards and junior running back DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) had five receptions for 19 yards in addition to picking up 20 yards on the ground. Villanova was held to a season-low 39 rushing yards, its lowest total in a game since having 13 yards against New Hampshire on October 27, 2018.
 
Graduate student kicker Cole Bunce (San Jose, Calif.) made a 39-yard field goal with 8:42 to play in the first quarter and improved to 14-of-16 on field goal attempts this season. He has played in even of the Wildcats eight games and ranks among the national leaders this year with an average of 2.00 made field goals per game.
 
Villanova goes on the road next week and will travel to Elon for a 2 p.m. contest on November 6.