RICHMOND, Va.—In their first top-25 battle of the season, No. 17 Villanova (3-3, 1-2 CAA Football) was held off the scoreboard in the second half and fell by a final score of 20-10 to No. 21 Richmond (4-2, 2-1 CAA) at E. Claiborne Robins Stadium on Saturday afternoon. On a day when neither team's offense operated in top form, the Wildcats scored the first touchdown of the game late in the first quarter but managed just three points the rest of the way. Villanova entered halftime having scored in 10 consecutive quarters and 20 of 22 periods played this season.
 
Senior running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) recorded his second career 100-yard rushing game with 11 carries for 106 yards and senior wide receiver Jaaron Hayek (Wayne, N.J.) had 89 yards on four catches, including his ninth 40-plus yard reception of the season. Junior quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season in the opening period and finished the day 11-of-26 through the air for 146 yards and one interception.
 
"If you had told me before the game that we would hold them to 20 points I would have said we would have a strong chance to win that game," Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante said. "Unfortunately, we didn't. We shot ourselves in the foot way too often, but all in all our guys played hard. It's just the only stat that matters we came up on the short end and that's the score."
 
Villanova received strong contributions from several players on the defensive side of the ball, especially given that the Wildcats had their defense on the field for more than 19 minutes in the second half. Sophomore safety Ethan Potter (Chesapeake City, Md.) reached double figures in tackles for the second straight game and tied a career high with 11 total stops, while redshirt freshman linebacker Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) led all players with a career-high 15 tackles. Junior safety Elijah Glover (Pleasantville, N.J.) accounted for the lone turnover gained by the Wildcats defense when he recorded his fourth career interception in the third quarter.
 
Neither team put points on the board in a scoreless third period, the first quarter of any Villanova game this season in which no points were scored. Richmond had two punts and the interception on its first three drives of the second half before capping a long 13-play drive that ate up more than seven minutes of clock time with a field goal to make the score 17-10 with 6:04 to play in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing possession after that field goal, the Wildcats went three-and-out and kicked a short punt which the Spiders parlayed into another field goal which closed the scoring with just 1:12 to play.
 
Villanova took a 7-0 lead with a 10-play, 62-yard drive in the opening period. Senior running back DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) ran for 18 yards early in the possession which the Wildcats started at their own 38-yard line after Richmond turned the ball over on downs. On third-and-five from the Spiders' 26-yard line, a Watkins pass to Hayek was broken up but a holding gall against Richmond gave Villanova a first down and Watkins scored on a 13-yard run two plays later.
 
After the Spiders countered that score with a touchdown of their own early in the second quarter, the Wildcats retook a 10-7 lead when graduate kicker Matthew Mercurio (Salinas, Calif.) made a 24-yard field goal with 7:04 to play before the intermission. Reece Udinski threw a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Connor Deveney with just over four minutes later to give Richmond a 14-10 lead going into halftime.
 
Villanova returns home for the first time in a month next week when it hosts UAlbany for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Homecoming Weekend.