VILLANOVA, Pa.—Graduate wide receiver Luke Colella (Wexford, Pa.) caught two touchdown passes in the second half as No. 11 Villanova (6-2, 5-1 CAA Football) pulled away from UAlbany (1-7, 0-4) for a 29-16 victory during Homecoming Weekend at Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The win extended the longest home winning streak in school history to 20 straight games and was a come-full-circle moment for the Wildcats. The home winning streak began, appropriately enough, with a Homecoming win over the Great Danes in 2022.
 
The game was all but decided by 22 unanswered points from Villanova in a stretch that spanned the second and third quarters. Nine of those points came on three field goals by graduate kicker Jack Barnum (Southington, Conn.) who connected from 41 yards, 23 yards and 44 yards. He has made 14 career field goals from 40+ yards, with his two on Saturday among the three he has kicked this season. Colella scored two of the Wildcats three touchdowns and sophomore running back David Avit (Frederick, Md.) rushed for 80 yards and a score.
 
It was visiting UAlbany who opened the scoring with a touchdown at the 9:23 mark of the first quarter, but after recording three first downs on their first possession of the day the Great Danes did not move the sticks again until the closing minutes of the third quarter. UAlbany had seven straight drives come and go without a first down in between. Villanova's defense forced those possessions to end on four punts, the end of the first half, a blocked field goal and an interception. The defense yielded season best marks of just 52 rushing yards and 154 total yards allowed.
 
Avit got the Wildcats on the board with 10 minutes left in the second quarter on a five-yard touchdown run and Villanova kicked two field goals before the period was out to forge a 12-7 halftime lead. Barnum's 41-yard attempt with 7:57 to play in the half gave the Wildcats the only lead they would need in the game, and he added a 23-yard attempt with 1:13 to left before the intermission.
 
The momentum continued with the connection between graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide (Solon, Ohio) and Colella in the second half. Colella caught six passes for 107 yards while going over the century mark for the fifth time this season and the fourth game in the last five weeks. He is just one 100-yard game away from tying Villanova's single season record of six which has been accomplished four times. Colella's 34-yard touchdown pass from McQuaide with 8:21 to play in the third quarter extended the Wildcats lead to 19-7. He later hauled in a 36-yard catch to seal the game at the 10:38 mark of the final period. McQuaide was 15-of-22 passing for 203 yards with one interception.
 
Graduate safety Kaleb Moody (North Andover, Mass.) recorded the Wildcats first blocked kick of the season when he got his hands on a 48-yard field goal attempt by the Great Danes in the third quarter. Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) had a game-high eight tackles (seven solo) and had two of Villanova's four season high four sacks. It is the fifth straight game that the Wildcats defense has had three sacks or more. Based on immediately available game by game stats, the streak is Villanova's longest in at least 20 years and possibly quite a bit longer. Hartzell and junior linebacker Turner Inge (Williamstown, N.J.) each had two tackles for loss.
 
After suffering back-to-back losses to Penn State and Monmouth in mid-September, the Wildcats have roared back with a five-game winning streak during which they have outscored the opposition by an average of 20.0 points per game. Villanova is one of four teams in the CAA Football standings with one loss or fewer in conference play, and with a 4-1 league record overall the Wildcats sit in sole possession of third place going into their bye week. Villanova next plays on the road when it travels to Towson for a 1 p.m. game on November 8.