WEST POINT, N.Y.—In its annual game against an FBS opponent No. 7 Villanova (2-1) traded the first two scores of the game with Army West Point (1-2) before the Black Knights went on to a 49-10 victory at Michie Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Junior quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) threw a five-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Rayjuon Pringle (Woodbridge, Va.) with 5:27 left in the first quarter and finished the day with 134 of the 173 yards of total offense the Wildcats recorded.
 
The game was the fourth in Villanova history and the first in 53 years in which the opponent did not record a pass completion. Army West Point ran the ball on 55 of its 56 offensive plays and generated 472 rushing yards, the most ever allowed by the Wildcats in a single game. The one pass attempt by the Black Knights is the fewest ever in a game by a Villanova opponent. The pass play was a deep ball on third-and-eight from the Army West Point nine-yard line in the second quarter and was broken up by sophomore cornerback Kshawn Schulters (Roselle, N.J.).

"It was a hard game," Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante said. "It is challenging when you play an offense like that because you can never simulate the precision and speed they are going to run it in, no matter how well you do it in practice. It's going to take a little while to adjust to. We thought we had a pretty good plan going in, but we will have to watch the film. I tell the guys all the time that whether we come out on top or it's a result like this one that is never as good and never as bad [on the film]. There are going to be some things we can build off of, some positives, and then there's obviously going to be a decent amount of correctable [things]. I give them the 24-hour rule; celebrate for 24 hours our put this one behind you in 24 hours and then get to the next game."
 
At the start of the game the Wildcats received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out before the Black Knights started their first drive of the game from their own 32-yard line. Army West Point drove 68 yards on five plays and scored the first points of the game on a seven-yard touchdown run by Tyhier Tyler with 10:50 left in the opening period. Villanova answered that touchdown with one of their own just over five minutes later, however.
 
Watkins led the Wildcats down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard drive over 5:23 that resulted in Pringle's second touchdown reception of the season. Senior running back DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) rushed for 22 yards on the drive and Watkins converted on fourth-and-six from the Black Knight's 37-yard line with a 17-yard run which got Villanova into the red zone for the only time in the game. Senior running back Jalen Jackson (Richmond, Va.) gained 15 yards on three straight carries before Watkins finished off the drive.
 
The only other points for the Wildcats came with 8:27 left in the third quarter when graduate kicker Matthew Mercurio (Salinas, Calif.) kicked a 40-yard field goal. It was the 10^th career field goal of 40 yards or longer for Mercurio and the first of his Villanova career. The transfer from San Jose State had played at Michie Stadium once before and was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in a 34-29 win for the Spartans over Army West Point on October 26, 2019.
 
Watkins ended the day 12-of-21 through the air for 74 yards with the touchdown pass and two interceptions. He also ran for a season-high 60 net yards on 10 carries. Pringle had a season-high six catches for 54 yards, Jackson rushed for 39 yards on 10 carries and Barlee carried six times for 36 yards.
 
Junior linebacker Timmy Furgeson (Gaithersburg, Md.) led the Wildcats defense with a game-high eight tackles. Redshirt freshman linebacker Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) and sophomore defensive lineman Bryce Ganious (Houston, Texas) had seven tackles apiece, with Hartzell recording a 12-yard sack late in the fourth quarter.
 
After Villanova tied the score at 7-7 in the first quarter, the Black Knights took the lead for good with 1:20 left in the opening period on Tyler's 23-yard run. That wound up being the first of three unanswered touchdowns for Army West Point, which took a 28-7 lead with 13:11 to play in the third period. Three more touchdowns for the Black Knights followed the Mercurio field goal to close the scoring.
 
Four different players had 55 or more rushing yards for Army West Point, including Tyson Riley who ran for 158 yards and a touchdown on a game-high 21 carries. The last game in which a Wildcats opponent did not complete a pass was on November 5, 1969 against William & Mary. The previous record for fewest pass attempts by a Villanova opponent was three by Miami (Fla.) on November 1, 1957. The previous record for rushing yards in a game against Wildcats was 436 yards by Rhode Island on October 22, 2005.
 
Villanova faced the Black Knights for the 22^nd time overall but the first time in the Wildcats era as an FCS program which began in 1985. Army West Point leads the all-time series by a 19-3 margin, with the previous matchup prior to Saturday occurring in 1977 when the Black Knights tallied a 34-32 victory. All 22 games in the series have been played at West Point.
 
Saturday's game was the second straight road game in New York for Villanova, which was also playing its final non-conference game of the regular season. Next week the Wildcats open conference play with a home game against CAA Football newcomer Monmouth. Kickoff at Villanova Stadium next Saturday is slated for 3:30 p.m.