RICHMOND, Va.—Junior running back Ja'briel Mace (Somers Point, N.J.) earned his third weekly conference honor of the season when he was named the CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week on Monday morning. The award comes on the heels of Mace setting the Villanova single game rushing record with an historic 291 yards against Towson over the weekend. Mace was previously named the CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week on two occasions earlier in the year.
 
Saturday's performance against Towson was so dominant for Mace that he finished the game with more rushing yards (291) than the entire Tigers team had of total offense (287). Mace tallied the second-most rushing yards in a game in Division I college football (FBS or FCS) this season and scored all four of the Wildcats touchdowns in a 28-10 victory. He scored on touchdown runs of eight yards (second quarter), 39 yards (third quarter), 82 yards (fourth quarter) and 22 yards (fourth quarter).
 
Mace broke the Villanova school record for rushing yards in a game which was 287 yards on 26 carries by Brian Westbrook on November 10, 2001, against Hofstra. It was one of the longest standing offensive marks in the Wildcats record book, and Mace broke it nearly 24 years to the day of Westbrook's performance. Mace's new record stands as the ninth 200-yard game in school history and the third instance of a Villanova player having over 250 yards in a game. The last 200-yard rushing game for the Wildcats was by quarterback John Robertson on October 26, 2013, against Maine. The last 200-yard game for a Villanova running back was by Westbrook who achieved the feat three times during the 2001 season.
 
Some of the numbers for Mace in his record performance were staggering. He rushed for 93 yards in the first half, which is the highest yardage total for a Wildcats player before halftime since quarterback Connor Watkins ran for 107 yards in the first half against Rhode Island on September 23, 2023. By the end of the game, the 93 yards for Mace seemed laughable. He rushed for another 198 yards in the second half, including 138 in the fourth quarter alone and 124 in the final 4:20 of the contest.
 
Mace's performance was as crucial for Villanova as it was impressive. Towson held the Wildcats scoreless until the 1:14 mark of the second quarter when Mace scored his first points of the day on an eight-yard run. The score was tied 7-7 at halftime and Villanova clung to a 14-10 lead until the closing minutes of the game. After the Wildcats defense forced the Tigers to punt from near midfield with just over four minutes left, Mace broke away for an 82-yard touchdown on the first play of the ensuing Villanova possession.
 
The 82-yard run is tied for the ninth-longest rushing play in school history and is the longest since Justin Covington had an 83-yard rush against Stony Brook in 2021. Mace still wasn't done, as he engineered a five-play, 42-yard scoring drive culminating in a 22-yard touchdown run which sealed the game at the 1:48 mark of the final period. The four rushing touchdowns for Mace were the ninth instance of a Wildcats player accomplishing that feat in a single game.
 
Mace is the first Villanova player to be the CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week since Watkins on October 30, 2023. The last Wildcats running back to win the award was Covington on April 5, 2021 during the abbreviated Spring 2021 campaign.