VILLANOVA, Pa.—Sixth year quarterback Connor Watkins (Williamsport, Pa.) tied a career high with 18 completions and accounted for three total touchdowns as No. 12 Villanova (8-2, 5-1 CAA Football) extended its home winning streak with a 31-3 victory over North Carolina A&T (1-9, 0-6 CAA Football) on Saturday afternoon. The final score marked the second time in the last three games the Wildcats did not give up a touchdown, while the result is the team's 14^th consecutive win at Villanova Stadium.
 
Watkins was 18-of-27 through the air for 167 yards and a touchdown to go along with seven carries for 31 yards and two scores. His 18-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez (North Bergen, N.J.) with 9:23 left in the first quarter opened the scoring on Villanova's first drive of the day. Watkins later scored on touchdown runs of 13 yards and 12 yards less than five minutes apart in the third period to help the Wildcats pull away from a 10-3 halftime advantage.
 
"I am really proud of the way our team competed for the whole four quarters," Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said. "The defense held the other team to three points; that's excellent. We started out well and then slowed down, 10-3 at halftime, which could have been more, but it wasn't. We took the opening drive of the second half and that was able to give us the momentum back. Offensively, we had some really nice drives. We have to clean up the penalties and the negative yardage plays we hard in the first half, but I am very happy with the victory today at home on Villanova Football alumni day."
 
Villanova topped 200 rushing yards for the fifth time this season, led by redshirt freshman running back Isaiah Ragland (Alexandria, Va.) who carried eight times for 82 yards. His 55-yard burst in the third quarter put the Wildcats in the red zone and set up Watkins' second touchdown run of the period moments later. True freshman running back David Avit (Potomac, Md.) ran for 67 yards and a touchdown. Each of Villanova's top four backs had at least four carries in the game, with sophomore Ja'briel Mace (Somers Point, N.J.) and junior Eli Smith (Houston, Texas) running for 26 yards and 17 yards, respectively.
 
The biggest story of the game was once again the Wildcats stout defense, which allowed a season-low 169 yards. Over the past three weeks Villanova has given up just 662 yards total while holding New Hampshire, Hampton and now the Aggies to a combined 23 points and two touchdowns. In the three-game stretch the Wildcats defense has allowed just 39 first downs and a combined 14-of-43 (32.6%) conversion rate on third down.
 
Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) led the defense with eight tackles, including a career high two sacks, while fifth year linebacker Brendan Bell (Basking Ridge, N.J.) had two tackles for loss among his six total stops. North Carolina A&T was just 2-of-12 on third down, 1-of-3 on fourth down and averaged 3.5 yards per play. The totals include holding the Aggies to 7-of-19 passing for just 50 yards. It is the second straight game and third time this season that Villanova has given up 80 or fewer passing yards in a game.
 
After a low-scoring first half, the Wildcats received the opening kickoff of the second half and went 70 yards on nine plays to extend their lead to 17-3 at the 10:03 mark of the third period. Watkins completed five straight passes during that drive, three of them to fifth year wide receiver Devin Smith (Durham, N.C.), and on second-and-10 from the 13-yard line ran the ball in the rest of the way for his first rushing touchdown since the Colgate game the second week of the season.
 
Later in the third period, Ragland broke away on third-and-two from Villanova's 28-yard line and took the ball all the way down to the North Carolina A&T 17-yard line for a 55-yard rush. It is one of four rushes for 55 yards or longer by the Wildcats this season. Watkins eventually scored from 12 yards out with 5:05 left in the quarter. The final points of the game came on a one-yard touchdown run by Avit with 11:22 to play in the fourth period.
 
Villanova's defense set an early tone for the day by forcing a three-and-out to start the game, and the Wildcats got the ball at their own 44-yard line on their first offensive drive. Watkins engineered a nine-play, 56-yard drive culminating in Sanchez catching his third touchdown of the season. He finished the day with three catches for 31 yards, while Smith had a season-high seven catches for 68 yards.
 
Saturday was Villanova's penultimate home game of the regular season. Next week the Wildcats go on the road to Monmouth for a 12 p.m. kickoff, followed by the regular season finale at home against Delaware on November 23 at 1 p.m.