VILLANOVA, Pa.—Fifth year quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) amassed 279 yards of total offense and rushed for a career-high three touchdowns to spark No. 25 Villanova (3-1, 1-0 CAA Football) to a 35-9 victory over No. 17 Rhode Island (2-2, 2-1 CAA Football) in its first Top-25 matchup of the season on Saturday afternoon.
 
The effects of a tropical rainstorm moving through the area did nothing to dampen the Wildcats fortunes on Family Weekend. Villanova built a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and got strong performances on both sides of the ball to improve its record to 26-10 all-time in conference openers. Watkins and fifth year running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Damascus, Md.) each rushed for over 100 yards while fifth year safety Jalen Goodman (Narberth, Pa.) recorded the seventh-longest interception return in school history.
 
"I was really excited to see the way our guys came to play," Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said. "They had a lot of energy right from the get-go and pretty much kept the pressure on them the whole game. I am very proud of the two guys [Connor Watkins and Jalen Goodman] who sitting to my right for the way they played today."
 
ON THE RUN
 
Watkins tallied the second 100-yard rushing game of his career and finished with 10 carries for 113 yards and three touchdowns. It is the 32^nd time in school history that a Villanova quarterback has topped the century mark in a game. Ayo-Durojaiye rushed seven times for 103 yards and a touchdown. It is the second time this season and the 28^th time in school history that the Wildcats have had two 100-yard rushers in a game.
 
Watkins, Ayo-Durojaiye and fifth year running back DeeWil Barlee (Upper Darby, Pa.) combined for 259 yards and five rushing touchdowns. Villanova had a season-high 287 yards on the ground overall, including seven carries for 25 yards by freshman running back Isaiah Ragland (Alexandria, Va.) in his first collegiate game played.
 
STARTING FAST
 
Villanova scored two touchdowns in a span of less than four minutes in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game. Watkins broke away for a 38-yard gain to the Rams seven-yard line and scored on a one-yard scamper three plays later to open the scoring at the 5:23 mark of the period. Rhode Island went three-and-out on its ensuing possession and then punted the ball out of bounds at midfield with 4:18 on the clock. The Wildcats needed only four plays to go 50 yards and stretch its lead to 14-0 on a 23-yard touchdown run by Watkins with 1:31 left in the quarter.
 
In its three games against FCS opponents this season, Villanova has outscored the opposition by a margin of 80-13 in the first half. That includes leading the Rams in today's game, 21-3, at the intermission. Watkins capped a six-play, 79-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run just 1:47 before halftime. Sixth year linebacker Danny Abraham (Randolph, Mass.) forced a fumble on the kickoff after that touchdown and Goodman recovered the loose ball to keep possession with the Wildcats, who essentially ran out the first half clock. That was a key sequence in the game as the Rams would have had a chance to put more points on the board before the end of the half as well as receiving the opening kickoff to start the second half.
 
DOMINANT DEFENSE
 
Villanova held Rhode Island to just 60 rushing yards on 28 carries, forced two turnovers and blocked an extra point attempt. Goodman recovered the forced fumble late in the first half and later had an 81-yard interception return with 10:56 to play in the game. It is the seventh-longest interception return in school history and the longest since Rob Rolle's school-record 100-yard return in 2016.
 
Rhode Island scored its only touchdown of the game on a three-play, 74-yard drive with 5:09 left in the contest but the PAT try was blocked by senior John Rhodan (Elkton, Md.). It was the first blocked PAT by the Villanova defense since Tanoh Kpassagnon against Richmond in 2015. Villanova also had eight tackles for loss in the game, including two each by senior linebacker Brendan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and sophomore linebacker Turner Inge (Williamstown, N.J.).
 
"We had a couple guys out today and the approach is next man up," Ferrante said. "It gave someone else an opportunity to show what they can do and we rotated a lot of guys on defense. Our focus is to stop the run. They couldn't establish the run today and, if you can keep them one-dimensional, hopefully that works out in your favor. The pick there by Jalen at the end was huge."
 
"We played our game and didn't give up any big plays," Goodman said of the defensive effort. "We knew this was a statement game defensively so we came ready to play."
 
THROWING THE LONG PASS
 
Watkins finished the day 8-of-14 through the air for 166 yards. He began the day leading all FCS quarterbacks with an average of 19.13 yards per completion and he extended that mark by averaging 20.8 yards on his eight completions versus the Rams. He connected with fifth year wide receivers Jaaron Hayek (Wayne, N.J.) and Rayjuon Pringle (Woodbridge, Va.) for 40 yards and 31 yards, respectively, as well as throwing a 24-yard pass to Ayo-Durojaiye. Watkins has 166 completions since the beginning of last season, of which 22 have been for 40 yards or longer.
 
NEXT UP
 
Villanova heads on the road for each of its next two CAA games, beginning with a trip to UAlbany next week for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.