VILLANOVA, Pa.—It is on to the second round of the playoffs for No. 9/6 Villanova (10-2, #12 seed), which makes the short drive to Bethlehem to take on #4/3 Lehigh (12-0, #5 seed) at Goodman Stadium in the Division I Football Championship on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Robert Lee and Barrett Brooks calling the action. The radio team of Ryan Fannon and Steve Pinone can be heard on the Villanova Sports Radio Network on Fox Sports Radio Philly. Live streaming audio can be found on the iHeart radio app using a mobile device.
 
Pregame Tailgate
Alumni, fans and friends are invited to join the Villanova University Club of Lehigh Valley and the Villanova Football Club for a pregame tailgate. Light snacks, water and soft drinks will be provided. Guests are encouraged to bring their own beverages. Register here.
 
About Villanova
Villanova is the #12 seed in the FCS playoffs and advanced to this week's second round game with a dominant 52-7 home victory over Harvard in the first round last week. The win was the 10th of the season for the Wildcats and their ninth consecutive victory. This is the 11th time in program history and the third year in a row that Villanova has reached the 10-win milestone. The nine-game winning streak is the team's longest since it won the final nine games of its 2009 national championship season. Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, the Wildcats are tied for the seventh-highest winning percentage among current FCS programs (46-17, .730).
 
About Lehigh
Lehigh is one of just two FCS teams (North Dakota State) and 10 college football teams across all divisions with an undefeated record this season. The Mountain Hawks enter the playoffs with a 12-0 record and are the #5 national seed in the FCS playoffs. Lehigh earned a first round bye and last played in its regular season finale when it defeated Lafayette, 42-32, in the most-played rivalry (161 games) in college football history. The Mountain Hawks have the nation's top-ranked red zone defense (65.5%) and rushing defense (73.7 yards allowed per game), and rank second nationally in scoring defense (13.9).
 
Villanova-Lehigh Connections
Both head coaches made their career head coaching debuts against this week's opponent. Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante begin his head coaching tenure against Lehigh in the 2017 season opener when the Wildcats tallied a 38-35 victory. Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill's first game as a collegiate head coach was the 2023 season opener against Villanova which the Wildcats won, 38-10.
 
Villanova backup cornerback Jordan Adderley is the only current member of the roster who has played in a game against the Wildcats. He spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Lehigh and started the 2023 season opener against Villanova. Adderley made four tackles and had a kickoff return for eight yards in that game. Adderley played in six games with four starts for the Wildcats this season before sustaining an injury.
 
Villanova first year defensive lineman Griffin Galletta is the younger brother of Lehigh junior backup wide receiver Logan Galletta. The older Galletta has played in 23 games for the Mountain Hawks and has 12 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown, including two catches for nine yards this season. Griffin has played in two games for the Wildcats this season and had an assisted tackle against Hampton.
 
Offensive linemen Ryan Cregan (Villanova) and Giacomo Macce (Lehigh) were high school teammates at Delbarton School. Cregan is a backup offensive tackle for Villanova and has played in all 12 games this season. Macce is in his first season at Lehigh and has played in 11 games. He is listed as the Mountain Hawks backup right tackle.
 
Villanova freshman linebacker Michael Gaul and Lehigh sophomore kicker John Zipf were high school teammates at State College Area High School. Gaul had a homecoming game when the Wildcats played at Penn State earlier this year. He made his collegiate debut in the Hampton game. Zipf handles the kickoff duties for Lehigh.
 
Villanova senior linebacker Colin Kennedy and Lehigh junior defensive lineman Daniel Gredell are both natives of Fair Haven, N.J., while the Wildcats sophomore offensive lineman Tommy Broderick and the Mountain Hawks junior linebacker William Parton are each from Alpharetta, Ga.
 
Villanova vs. Lehigh
Villanova leads the all-time series by a 14-5 margin and has won the last 11 matchups. There are two distinct eras in the series history between the Wildcats and Lehigh. The teams played each other six times between 1903 and 1927, then did not meet again for 77 years. More recently, the two schools played 13 times between 2004-2023 and matched up in either Week 1 or Week 2 of the season in seven straight years from 2016 to 2023 (excluding the Spring 2021 season).
 
Villanova is 8-4 in games hosted by Lehigh, including 7-0 at Goodman Stadium and 1-3 at its predecessor (Taylor Stadium). The teams also played at Lehigh in the first-ever meeting in the series in 1903 (the Mountain Hawks won 71-0).
 
The first game in the series not played at Lehigh was in 1927 when the teams played each other at Franklin Field in Philadelphia (Villanova won 54-0).
 
Villanova has won 11 straight games in the series in a stretch that began in 2007 and most recently continued in the 2023 season opener. In the 11 games, the Wildcats have outscored Lehigh by a margin of 399-156 and have won by an average of 22.1 points per game. Villanova has topped the 30-point plateau in 10 of the 11 wins.
 
Lehigh's last win against the Wildcats was a 31-28 triumph at Villanova Stadium in 2006.
 
This week's second round playoff game will be the first ever Top 10 battle between the Wildcats and the Mountain Hawks. The teams have played on two previous occasions when both schools were ranked in the Top 25 of the national media poll. Those games were in 2004 when Villanova (No. 8) defeated Lehigh (No. 22) by a score of 22-16 and in 2017 when Villanova (No. 10) defeated Lehigh (No. 17) by a margin of 38-35.
 
Remember When: Villanova-Lehigh Series Highlights
 
1903: First meeting in the series is played in Bethlehem; Lehigh wins 71-0.
 
1925: Villanova defeats Lehigh for the first time, winning 6-0 at Taylor Stadium.
 
1927: Villanova posts a 54-0 win over Lehigh at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. To date it remains the only neutral-site game the teams have ever played against each other. It would be the last meeting in the all-time series for 77 years.
 
2004: The teams renew the rivalry in a Top 25 matchup at Goodman Stadium. Lehigh led 16-0 in the first minute of the second quarter but the Wildcats scored 22 unanswered points and tallied a 22-16 victory. Villanova took the lead on a touchdown and two-point conversion with 4:02 to play.
 
2017: Villanova defeats Lehigh, 38-35, in Mark Ferrante's head coaching debut. The game was a contrast of styles as the Wildcats had an advantage of 266-78 in rushing yards while Mountain Hawks quarterback Brad Mayes threw for 406 yards (33-49-0).
 
2023: The most recent matchup in the series and Kevin Cahill's head coaching debut. The Wildcats had a pair of 100-yard rushers in RBs Jalen Jackson (144) and DeeWil Barlee (102).
 
First Round Recap: Villanova 52, Harvard 7
Villanova tallied its largest postseason margin of victory with last week's 45-point win over Harvard. It surpassed the Wildcats previous most lopsided playoff game of 39 points (46-7) in a 2009 quarterfinal win over New Hampshire.
 
Last week's game was the third time in 31 playoff games that Villanova topped 50 points. The other occasions were in a 55-28 win over Colgate in the 2008 first round and in a 54-24 win at Stephen F. Austin in the 2010 second round.
 
Villanova led last week's playoff game 31-0 at halftime. It is the third-highest point total in any half of a postseason game for the Wildcats, trailing a 41-point first half against Colgate in the 2008 first round (49-28 win) and 34 points in the first half against Stephen F. Austin in the 2010 second round.
 
Villanova dominated time of possession and held the ball for a season high 38:14 while running 21 more offensive plays (70-49) than Harvard did. The disparity was particularly eye-popping in the first half when the Wildcats had the ball for 22:07, an advantage of 43-20 in offensive snaps and a gap in total offense of 336 yards to just 31 yards. By the time halftime arrived, the Crimson had just one more offensive yard (31) than Villanova had penalty yards (30).
 
Last week was the second time in the last three games that the Wildcats held the ball for more than 38 minutes. It also had a then-season high 38:01 of possession time in the Stony Brook game on November 15. Entering this week's second game, Villanova ranks 10th in the country with an average TOP of 32:28.
 
Villanova was a season best 58.3% on third down last week (7-of-12). It is the first time this season that the Wildcats were better than 50 percent on third down, while the team's conversion rate of 58.3 percent since September 30, 2023 against UAlbany (8-13, 61.5%).
 
Each of the Wildcats seven touchdowns last week were scored by a different player. It is not the first time this season that Villanova has had such balanced output. In a 56-14 win over Hampton on October 18, a season-high eight different players scored a touchdown. Last week's scorers included rushing touchdowns by RBs Isaiah Ragland, Ja'briel Mace and Julian Glantz, as well as by QB Pat McQuaide. In addition, WRs Lucas Kopecky and Luke Colella, along with TE Antonio Johnson caught touchdown passes.
 
Last week's game was the third time this season and first time in a span of eight games that the Villanova offensive line did not give up a sack. Quarterback Pat McQuaide scored his third rushing touchdown of the season and had three rushes for 28 yards.
 
Villanova held Harvard to 107 passing yards and 213 yards of total offense in a stark contrast to the Crimson's season averages of 291.5 passing yards and 461.2 yards of total offense per game entering the contest. On the flip side, the Wildcats finished with 319 rushing yards which is more than triple what the Harvard defense had been allowing on the season (105.5 yards).
 
Villanova improved to 16-1 against the Ivy League during its FCS era (since 1985). The matchup was the first ever between the Wildcats and Harvard on the gridiron.
 
FCS Playoff History
Villanova is making its 17th appearance in the Division I Football Championship since becoming an FCS program in 1985. This is the third straight playoff berth and fifth in the last seven seasons for the Wildcats, whose only other streak of making three straight playoff appearances came from 2008-10 which encompassed the program's 2009 national championship season and 2010 run to the semifinals.
 
Villanova owns an all-time record of 16-15 in the FCS playoffs. That record looks even better of late considering that the Wildcats lost their first four playoff contests between 1989 and 1996. Beginning in 1997, Villanova has won at least one playoff game in 11 of its last 13 playoff appearances and has reached at least the quarterfinal round nine times.
 
Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante has been a part of all 17 of the program's playoff appearances, including five times as a head coach (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025) and 12 times as an assistant coach on Andy Talley's staff. This season is Ferrante's 39th overall on the Wildcats staff. He has been a coach at Villanova for 38 percent of the games the program has ever played (465 of 1,228) and has helped lead the Wildcats to eight CAA Football titles, three Lambert Meadowlands Cup and three ECAC Team of the Year awards.
 
Villanova has played just over half (16 of 31) of its FCS playoff games at home and has compiled a 13-3 record in those contests. The Wildcats have hosted at least one game in 10 of their 17 appearances in the FCS playoffs.
 
Last week's 52-7 win over Harvard in the first round was the largest margin of victory in school history in a postseason game, surpassing a 39-point win (46-7) in 2009 in the quarterfinal round against New Hampshire.
 
Postseason History
This is the 22nd season overall in Villanova history in which the Wildcats are playing postseason football. Prior to the FCS era (since 1985), Villanova played in five bowl games from 1937 to 1962 and went 2-2-1 in those contests. The two bowl wins came in the 1949 Harbor Bowl against Nevada (27-7 in San Diego, Calif.) and the 1961 Sun Bowl versus Wichita State (17-9 in El Paso, Texas). The first bowl game in school history was the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba, in which the Wildcats and Auburn played to a 7-7 tie.
 
CAA Football in the Playoffs
Villanova is one of three CAA Football teams in the 24-team playoff field this season. The league's automatic bid was awarded to Rhode Island (11-2) after the Rams went a perfect 8-0 in conference play to capture the outright league title. Villanova (10-2) and New Hampshire (8-5) each earned at-large selections to the playoff field. This is the 18th time in the last 20 years that the CAA has had at least three playoff participants. The CAA is one of four leagues this year to have at least three teams selected, along with the Missouri Valley Football Conference (six teams); the Big Sky Conference (three); and the Southland Conference (three).
 
CAA Football has had at least one team in the FCS quarterfinals in 28 of the past 29 seasons and has had a team advance to the semifinals in 10 of the past 12 years.
 
CAA Football Postseason Honors
Villanova earned its seventh major postseason award in the last eight years when junior running back and kick return specialist Ja'briel Mace was named the Special Teams Player of the Year. He is the Wildcats second player ever to win this award, joining Matt Szczur in 2009. Mace ranks seconds in the country with an average of 32.9 yards per kickoff return and is one of six players nationally to have two kickoff return touchdowns.
 
Villanova has 13 total all-conference selections for the first time since 2010, highlighted by four first team selections in offensive linemen Temi Ajirotutu and Stephane Voltaire, kickoff return man Ja'briel Mace; and senior linebacker Shane Hartzell. The Wildcats had three selections each on the second team, third team and honorable mention lists.
 
This is the first time since 2010 that Villanova has had three members of its offensive line earn all-conference honors, and also the first time since that season that two members of the line have been first team selections. The last teammates before Ajirotutu and Voltaire to be first team selections were Brant Clouser and Ben Ijalana.
 
This is also the first time since 2015 that the Wildcats have had three starting secondary players earn all-conference honors. Sophomore cornerback Zahmir Dawud is a third team selection this year after being an honorable mention choice last season. Second team pick Christian Sapp and honorable mention selection Anthony Hawkins each garnered their first career all-conference selections.
 
Villanova has won 23 major conference awards and earned 364 all-conference accolades since joining what was then the Yankee Conference in 1988.
 
The Streaks
Winning Streak: Villanova has won nine straight games for the first time since it won the last nine games of its 2009 national championship season. The streak began with a 31-24 win over William & Mary on September 27. During the streak the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 326-136 for an average scoring margin of +21.1 points. The last time Villanova won 10 games in a row was in 1997 when it compiled a school-record 12 game winning streak. That streak is one of four double-digit winning streaks in school history and is the only one of the four to take place all within the same season.
 
Conference Winning Streak: Villanova won its last seven conference games of the season after a loss to Monmouth in the league opener on September 20. It is only the second time ever that the Wildcats have won seven straight league games. The other occasion was a memorable one as it came during Villanova's undefeated regular season in 1997 which included an 8-0 mark in conference games.
 
Home Winning Streak: The win over Harvard was the Wildcats 23rd straight win at Villanova Stadium dating back to the middle of the 2022 season. It is the longest home winning streak in program history and the longest active home winning streak in the FCS. The second longest active home streak in the FCS is 19 games by North Dakota State.
 
Non-Conference Winning Streak: Villanova has not lost a regular season game to an FCS non-conference opponent in the last 10 seasons (2016-25). The win over Sacred Heart was the Wildcats 21st in a row in the regular season against a non-conference FCS foe. The 21 wins have come by an average of 25.0 points per game. Since the start of the 2016 season, Villanova is 26-5 (.839) overall against FCS non-conference competition including the regular season and the playoffs.
 
Undefeated Calendar Months
Villanova went undefeated in October (4-0) and November (4-0). It is the first time the Wildcats have had back-to-back undefeated calendar months since 2009 when the team was 7-0 in November and December during its national championship run. This season is the third time in the last five years that Villanova has gone undefeated in November.
 
Winning When it Counts
One of the keys to Villanova's success in recent years has been its ability to win the most important games of the season late in the year. During the Mark Ferrante head coaching era (since 2017), the Wildcats are 23-11 (.676) in November and December games.
 
Nine Regular Season Wins
Villanova won nine regular season games for the third straight season and the fourth time in the last five years.
 
Conference Success
Villanova wrapped up its CAA Football schedule with a 7-1 record. It is the eighth season since the Wildcats joined the conference in 1988 that the team tallied no more than one loss in league play. Three of those eight seasons have come in the last five years (2021, 2023, 2025).
 
Villanova posted a conference record of 31-9 (.775) over the last five seasons while having at least a .500 record in conference play each year. This is the fourth time in Villanova's league tenure that it has had at least a .500 record in conference games in five straight seasons.
 
Fantastic Five
Villanova has compiled a record of 46-17 (.730) over the last five seasons (2021-25) while making four playoff appearances and winning 10+ games four times. Its 46 wins over the last five years are the most of any CAA Football member, while the .730 winning percentage is tied for seventh among all FCS programs. The Wildcats are one of just four FCS teams with 10+ wins in at least four of the last five years. The other three are North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Montana State.
 
Decade of Dominance
Villanova has won 76 games over the last 10 seasons (2016-25) and is the only CAA team during this stretch with at least 70 wins. In the 10-season run, the Wildcats are 76-39 (.661) overall and compiled a 49-27 (.645) record in regular season conference games while making six playoff appearances (2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).
 
Villanova Head Coach Mark Ferrante
Mark Ferrante moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time Villanova wins list with his 66th victory in the Sacred Heart game. He is 67-35 (.657) leading the Wildcats and he passed Harry Stuhldreher (1925-35) for second place in school history. Stuhldreher had a head coaching record of 65-25-9 (.702) at Villanova.
 
Ferrante and his longtime mentor Andy Talley are the only head coaches in Villanova history to reach the 100-game milestone. Talley coached 368 games during his legendary Wildcats career and compiled a record of 230-137-1 (.626).
 
Polling Places
Villanova finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 of the national polls for the fourth consecutive week. The team entered the playoffs ranked No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and is No. 6 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. This is the 157th week that the Wildcats have been ranked in the top 10 nationally since becoming an FCS program in 1985. Villanova's total of 157 weeks in the top 10 is the 11th most all-time.
 
Villanova appears in the national media poll for the 337th time, which is the fourth most weeks being ranked in FCS history (since 1978). Only two current FCS teams have appeared in more national polls than the Wildcats: Montana (453) and Northern Iowa (413). There are 18 FCS programs (current and former) who have been ranked in the polls at least 200 times; all 18 ascended to the No. 1 spot in the rankings at least once.
 
This is the 33rd season out of the last 38 that the Wildcats have been ranked in at least one national poll during the season. Villanova has been ranked a total of 336 times and has appeared in the top 10 for a total of 157 weeks. The team has been ranked in the top five 66 times and has spent 10 weeks ranked at No. 1 in the nation, most recently on September 28, 2010 when the Wildcats were defending national champions.
 
Villanova has the fifth-longest active streak of consecutive weeks in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 at 36 weeks in a row beginning with the October 16, 2023 poll.
 
Veteran Experience
Villanova has 93 players on its 2025 roster and they have played in a combined 1,777 games in their collegiate careers. The roster has been an ideal balance of experience and youth this season, as the Wildcats have 21 active players with 30 or more career games played while also seeing 26 players make their collegiate debut so far this season.
 
50-40-30
Four members of the Villanova roster have played in at least 50 career college football games, while 13 players have appeared in 40 or more contests and 21 have played in 30 games or more. Offensive lineman Temi Ajirotutu and linebacker Richie Kimmel are expected to become the fifth and sixth active members of the roster to reach 50 career games played in this week's playoff game against Lehigh. Cornerback Zahmir Dawud and defensive lineman Mike Kennedy could each reach 30 career games played this week.
 
Winning Close Games
Villanova is 9-2 over the last two seasons in games decided by single digits, including a perfect 4-0 mark this year with close wins over Colgate (24-17); William & Mary (31-24); Elon (29-21); and Stony Brook (30-27). Head coach Mark Ferrante is 22-14 (.611) in his career when games are decided by single digits.
 
Turnover Story
Villanova has committed the fewest turnovers in the country with just five miscues all season. On the defensive side, the Wildcats have forced 14 turnovers by their opponents and had a season high three forced turnovers (two INT, one fumble recovery) in last week's win.
 
Putting Up Points
Villanova is averaging 32.4 points per game and has scored 28 points or more in each of the nine games in its current winning streak. The only other occasion in program history that the Wildcats scored 28 points or more in nine straight games was the first nine games of the 1991 season.
 
Gaining Ground
Villanova leads CAA Football with an average of 190.3 rushing yards per game. That mark looks even better during the team's nine-game winning streak when the Wildcats have averaged 213.2 yards per game on the ground. Villanova's success running the ball has been an ensemble effort from the running back trio of junior Ja'briel Mace (688 yards), sophomore David Avit (683 yards) and junior Isaiah Ragland (652) yards who have each topped 650 yards on the year.
 
Isaiah Ragland is coming off a career-high 152 rushing yards on 17 carries in last week's win over Harvard. He scored the first points of the game on a 45-yard touchdown run on the opening drive and had five rushes for 14 yards or longer in the game.
 
Acting Possessed
Villanova ranks 10th nationally win an average time of possession of 32:28 this season, although it will be facing a Lehigh team this week which is even better and ranks eighth with an average TOP of 32:34.
 
Villanova had a season high time of possession of 38:14 last week against Harvard. It is the second time in the last three games that the Wildcats held the ball for more than 38 minutes (Stony Brook, 38:01).
 
Over the last five games, Villanova has averaged 34:24 in TOP and during that span has run 43 more offensive plays than its opponent. That averages to more than eight additional plays per game over the five contests. The Wildcats have an average margin of 427.2-276.0 in yards of total offense in the five games.
 
The only CAA team averaging more TOP than Villanova this season is New Hampshire (33:07). When the teams met head-to-head, VU won the TOP battle 33:46-26:14.
 
Defensive Doings
Rushing Defense: Over the last five games the Wildcats defense has given up an average of just 90.4 rushing yards per contest. Of note in that stretch were back to back games in which Villanova held Stony Brook (76 yards) and Sacred Heart (87 yards) to less than half of their average per-game rushing yards for the season. Sacred Heart came into the last week of the regular season finale averaging 229.7 rushing yards per game but was held to 2.9 yards per carry on 30 carries.
 
Story on Sacks: Villanova has recorded seven sacks in its last two games, including a season high four against Sacred Heart and three in the first round of the playoffs against Harvard. Earlier in the year, the Wildcats had a streak of five straight games recording three or more sacks. That was the longest streak of games with at least three sacks in at least 23 years and possibly more based on easily available statistical records.
 
Big Wins: Villanova gutted out a 29-21 win over Elon on October 11 but in six games since then has outscored the opposition by a margin of 145-84 while winning by an average of 10.2 points per game.
 
National Recognition
Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell was named one of 30 national finalists for this year's Buck Buchanan Award which will be presented to the top defensive player in the FCS. The award is in its 31st season and Hartzell was named to the preseason watch list for the top honor earlier this year. He is the unquestionable leader of the Villanova defense and earned his second straight selection to the CAA Football First Team Defense. Hartzell leads the Wildcats with 82 total tackles, 45 solo tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, seven sacks and eight quarterback hurries this season.
 
Working Overtime
The Stony Brook game was Villanova's first overtime contest since a 40-37 loss to Rhode Island on March 13, 2021 during the Spring 2021 season. The last time the Wildcats won an overtime game was a year earlier, 52-45, at Towson on September 21, 2019. Villanova has played in 19 overtime games (12-9) since becoming an FCS member in 1985.
 
This and That
Villanova has won the coin toss in nine of its 12 games this season and had won the toss in six straight games before Sacred Heart won it in the regular season finale.
 
The overtime game between Villanova and Stony Brook was a rare one even before the teams played an extra period. During regulation, 39 percent of the offensive plays by the two teams (49 of 126) were snapped between the 40-yard lines. The NFL average for such plays is 27 percent, while the college average is 26 percent.
 
Walk-Off Win
Villanova ended its 30-27, overtime thriller against Stony Brook on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Pat McQuaide to tight end Antonio Johnson on the Wildcats first overtime series. It is the first walk-off win for Villanova since September 22, 2022 when a field goal as time expired gave the Wildcats a 31-29 victory over UAlbany. That game was noteworthy for another reason, as it was the first win in Villanova's current 22-game home winning streak.
 
Villanova Football History
Villanova has compiled a 297-172-1 (.633) record in 40 seasons as an FCS member. The program's success includes 17 appearances in the FCS playoffs and appearing in the final national rankings of the season 20 times in the last 37 years.
 
Postseason Succcess
Villanova is making its 17th playoff appearance this season which is the 10th most in FCS history and ranked sixth among programs who still compete at the FCS level. The Wildcats are 16-15 all-time in the playoffs and have won at least one playoff game in 11 of their last 13 postseason appearances. Villanova has won one national title (2009) and made three semifinal appearances (2002, 2009, 2010), while its 16 playoff wins all-time are tied for the 10th most ever among current FCS programs.
 
Preseason Watch Lists
Sophomore running back David Avit and senior linebacker Shane Hartzell were named to the preseason watch lists for the Walter Payton Award and the Buck Buchanan Award, respectively. These honors are given to the top offensive and defensive players in the FCS at the end of each season. Villanova is one of 10 teams to have at least one player on both watch lists at the start of the season. The others are Harvard, Illinois State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota State, Rhode Island, Samford, South Dakota State and UIW.
 
Picked Third
Villanova was predicted to finish third in the CAA Football standings this season in a preseason poll of league head coaches. The Wildcats were picked one spot behind Monmouth and then fell to the Hawks in the conference opener on September 20. Villanova went on to win its last seven conference games to finish 7-1 and in sole possession of second place, one spot ahead of Monmouth at 6-2.