Villanova Football Earning Rave Reviews Heading Into 2026

Villanova Football still needs to replace close to a quarter of their roster heading into the 2026 season, but that hasn’t stopped head coach Mark Ferrante’s crew from accruing lofty expectations. The Wildcats, who made the national semifinals in 2025, have 20 roster spots to fill, many of them at key positions — most notably quarterback.

Nevertheless, FCS Untapped put Villanova at No. 8 in their ‘all-too-early’ rankings; FCS pundit Craig Haley puts the Wildcats a spot higher at No. 7. That reputation is a testament to the stability that Ferrante and his staff have managed to establish on the Main Line. Preseason rankings (or in this case, pre-roster assembly rankings) only mean so much, but Villanova does have a recent track record that justifies their lofty expectations.

After losing starting quarterback and program mainstay Connor Watkins to graduation at the end of the 2024 season, the Wildcats went with a plug-and-play transfer in graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide, a scouting success that brought them within reach of the national championship game. The Wildcats will begin 2026 in the Patriot League, widely considered a step up from their former home, the CAA; back in December, they upset their new conference’s champion, Lehigh, on their own turf in the playoffs.

Villanova has more than seven months before they kick off their next season at home against William & Mary (Aug. 29) and the number beside their name carries actual meaning… but there’s plenty to feel confident about regardless.