VILLANOVA, Pa.—A late comeback bid by No. 10 Villanova (2-2, 2-2 CAA Football) stalled in the closing minutes of a 27-20 loss to No. 7 Delaware (5-0, 4-0 CAA Football) in the annual "Battle of the Blue" game at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The outcome marked only the second time in the last 15 meetings between the teams that the Wildcats were defeated by the Blue Hens.
 
Senior quarterback Daniel Smith (Leesburg, Va.) threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns while senior kicker Cole Bunce (San Jose, Calif.) made field goals from 34 yards and 36 yards in the contest. Villanova trailed by 10 points at the end of the third quarter and by 14 points midway through the final period, but twice cut the deficit to one possession after a Bunce field goal with 12:59 to play and an acrobatic highlight-reel touchdown pass by Smith with 3:06 left.
 
Delaware led 27-13 after a Khory Spruill touchdown run with 8:20 to play. On the ensuing Wildcats possession, senior wide receiver Jevon Jones (Syracuse, N.Y.) hauled in a leaping one-handed catch for a 31-yard gain on third down which got Villanova into Blue Hens territory at the 34-yard line. Completions to senior Jared Wolfe (Seaford, N.Y.) for 11 yards and junior Andrew Perez (North Caldwell, N.J.) for 15 yards eventually made brought the Wildcats down to the five-yard line.
 
On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Smith took the snap and was scrambling on the right side when he was hit by a Delaware player and was taken down just inside the 10-yard line. He made a desperation heave as the ball was about to pop loose and it landed in the hands of junior tight end Charlie Gilroy (Winnetka, Ill.) who was in the perfect spot in the end zone to make his first career touchdown reception.
 
That play and the extra point by Bunce narrowed the deficit to 27-20 with 3:06 left and the Wildcats kicked off to the Blue Hens with all three of their timeouts remaining. Delaware converted a first down with 2:56 left and ran the clock down to 1:18 before punting the ball back to Villanova, which had one final chance when it took over from its own 23-yard line with 1:08 to play. The first play of that final possession wound up an interception as the Blue Hens sealed the game.
 
Smith finished the day 12-of-29 through the air, with Gilroy and junior wide receiver Dez Boykin (Whitehall, Pa.) each scoring touchdowns. Nine different receivers caught at least one pass on the day. Senior running back Justin Covington (Bronx, N.Y.) ran for 76 yards on 15 carries and junior Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) picked up 68 yards on eight rushes, including a 51-yard run in the third quarter. Covington moved up two spots into 19^th place in school history with 1,587 career rushing yards, while Smith moved up one spot into ninth place in total offense with 4,549 yards.
 
Senior linebacker Forrest Rhyne (Waynesboro, Pa.) led a game Wildcats defense with 14 tackles, including eight solo stops and six assisted tackles. Villanova tallied seven tackles for loss, including four sacks, on the afternoon. Senior defensive end Malik Fisher (New York, N.Y.) had 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, while Rhyne had 1.5 tackles for loss and was credited with a sack for a loss of nine yards.
 
Delaware made field goals with 7:48 left in the first period and 6:28 to play in the second quarter to build a 6-0 lead in a low-scoring opening half. An eight-yard touchdown reception by Boykin with 3:32 to play in the second quarter gave the Wildcats their only lead of the day at 7-6, but the Blue Hens answered with a 38-yard touchdown with just eight seconds to play and went into halftime with a 13-7 lead.
 
Bunce made a 34-yard field goal at the 6:05 mark of the third quarter to cut the margin to 13-10 before Delaware extended its lead to 20-10 with 1:26 to play in the period.