TOWSON, Md.—In a defensive-minded game which featured just one total touchdown until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Villanova (5-4, 3-3 CAA Football) was held to a season-low 153 yards of offense and saw its two-game winning streak come to an end in a 27-3 loss to Towson (4-5, 2-4 CAA Football) at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The game was closer than the final score indicated, as the Wildcats trailed 10-3 until the middle of the third quarter and were still within striking distance at 13-3 until the 11:22 mark of the final period.
 
Sophomore linebacker Brendan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and graduate defensive tackle Jared Nelson (Glastonbury, Conn.) were among the Villanova defensive players who had standout games. Bell recorded his first career double-digit tackle game with 10 total stops and Nelson had a career-high eight stops, including six solo tackles and a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Six different Wildcats had at least five tackles on the day, including sophomore linebacker Ethan Potter (Chesapeake City, Md.) who made seven stops and forced a fumble in the third quarter which was recovered by sophomore cornerback Tyrell Mims (Philadelphia, Pa.).
 
Villanova scored its only points of the day on its first drive when it persisted through a 17-play possession and went 59 yards culminating with a 25-yard field goal by graduate kicker Matthew Mercurio (Salinas, Calif.) at the 6:13 mark of the first quarter. From that point on the Wildcats had 39 plays for just 84 yards the rest of the game while being forced to punt a season-high 10 times. Junior punter William Bartel (Providence, R.I.) accumulated 417 punting yards while averaging 41.7 yards per punt and kicking a career-long punt of 55 yards. He landed four of his attempts inside the Tigers' 20-yard line.
 
Towson received the game's opening kickoff and missed a 52-yard field goal at the 13:27 mark of the first quarter to give Villanova the ball at its own 34-yard line for its first possession of the game. That drive was sustained by three straight third down conversions – two on keepers by junior quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) and one on a scramble by senior running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) – but the Wildcats went 0-for-12 on third down the rest of the game after converting on their first three chances of the day.
 
Ayo-Durojaiye rushed 17 times for 49 yards and senior wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle (Woodbridge, Va.) caught four passes for 45 yards on a season-high 11 targets. Watkins finished the game 7-of-21 for 68 yards. Villanova came into the game having recorded 41 offensive plays of 20 yards or longer through its first eight games. Its longest play against the Tigers was just 19 yards however, on a pass from Watkins to Pringle in the third quarter.  
 
Towson got on the board on the first play of the second period when Tyrrell Pigrome connected with Isaiah Perkins on a 26-yard touchdown pass to cap an 11-play, 92-yard drive. That gave the Tigers a 7-3 lead and it remained the score until time expired at the end of the first half when Keegan Vaughan made a 22-yard field goal to send the game into halftime with Towson holding a 10-3 advantage on the scoreboard.
 
After the Wildcats received the opening kickoff of the second half and went three-and-out, the Tigers responded with a 42-yard field goal by Vaughan to extend the margin to 13-3 at the 8:56 mark of the third quarter. Towson tacked on to the lead late in the game when Perkins caught a 10-yard touchdown pass at the 11:22 mark of the final period and D'Ago Hunter returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown two minutes later.
 
Villanova will play its second straight road game next week when it travels to William & Mary for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Williamsburg, Va.