Villanova Football Preview: Back on Track Versus Struggling Sharks?

Villanova Football will continue their road trip when they take on Long Island at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. The No. 22/No. 23 Wildcats (1-2, 1-1 Patriot League) enter as a heavy road favorite against the 0-3 Sharks, listed at -1740 on the money line with a point spread of -18.5.

Long Island’s closest loss came in their season opener, a 42-21 road blowout against North Dakota. 

Scouting the Sharks

They’ve largely relied on an ineffective ground game, picking up just 249 yards and three touchdowns on 104 carries so far. Senior quarterback Luca Stanzani has been effective when called upon, completing 33 of 54 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns, but that’s well below the volume one would expect out of a veteran quarterback three weeks in. Stanzani’s top target is sophomore Josiah Brown (six catches for 104 yards); he managed to find 6-foot-3 freshman Boakai Veikei for a 65-yard touchdown with the game out of reach in the season opener, but the duo have connected on just one pass, a two-yard gain, since then. 

Nathan Gray (30 carries for 86 yards) and Stanzani (26 carries for 104 yards, not counting sack yardage lost) lead the way on the ground, and a handful of other backs and receivers have rotated in for the occasional tote.

Defensively, the Sharks have six sacks and one interception through three games, and opponents are averaging 42.67 points per game against them. It’s Long Island’s homecoming game, so they should come ready to play, but they’ve struggled to an 18-31 record through parts of five seasons with head coach Ron Cooper at the helm.

Scouting Villanova

Graduate signal caller Pat McQuaide leads the way for the Wildcats, connecting on 48 of 81 passes for 654 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions so far. Jake Hilton (seven catches for 164 yards), Brandon Binkowski (12 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown) and Braden Reed (14 catches for 143 yards and two scores) have all had success, but the passing game still isn’t quite where the Wildcats expect it to be.

Running backs Isaiah Ragland (36 carries for 170 yards and two touchdowns) and Ja’briel Mace (30 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns) remain an excellent tandem; Mace broke into the secondary for a 65-yard score off a wheel route against Louisville last week. 

Linebacker Omari Bursey is one of the nation’s most prolific tacklers, recording 34 (19 solo and 4.5 for a loss) through three games. The Wildcats’ secondary is a work in progress and, with an average of 72 penalty yards per game, Villanova has plenty to clean up. Long Island should give them a strong opportunity to do so before conference play begins in earnest, but the Wildcats’ performance through three weeks shows that nothing is a given.