Villanova Football Squeezes Colgate 24-17 in Home Opener

Villanova Football opened their season with a win for the ninth consecutive season under head coach Mark Ferrante, blanking the Colgate Raiders in the fourth quarter in order to preserve a 24-17 victory on Saturday, Sept. 6.

The No. 13 ranked Wildcats showed their capacity for splash plays under the guidance of graduate transfer quarterback Pat McQuaide, as the six foot tall, 205 pound left-hander uncorked a 56-yard deep shot touchdown, the eventual game-winning score, to wide receiver Lucas Kopecky late in the third quarter. McQuaide also fooled Colgate’s defense on a fourth down option run, darting around the left end for an untouched 28-yard touchdown run.

The veteran signal caller ended his day with 299 passing yards, completing 18 of 28 attempts with one touchdown. Princeton transfer Luke Colella hauled in five passes for 124 yards, while Kopecky nearly cleared the century mark with five catches for 98 yards.

Wildcats Survive a Scare

Despite the big plays, the Wildcats’ inability to finish drives — they ended up punting five times and had another drive stall into a field goal after a holding penalty backed them up — helped the Raiders stay in the game. Villanova’s rushing offense, expected to remain a strength under reigning CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year David Avit, managed just 3.3 yards per attempt on 35 carries.

Fellow tailback Isaiah Ragland added the Wildcats’ other touchdown, finding paydirt from one yard out to open the scoring midway through the first quarter.

The Raiders, for their part, benefitted from the return of starting quarterback Zach Osborne, who missed most of the second half of their Aug. 30 loss to Monmouth with an ankle injury. Osborne threw a pair of touchdowns and kept Colgate within striking distance, tying the game 17-17 with 2:25 to play in the third quarter on a deep shot into double coverage that junior receiver Winston Moore managed to possess before going out of bounds.

After Villanova’s next two plays went nowhere, McQuaide converted a third-and-12 to Colella, setting up Kopecky’s game-winning touchdown.

The Wildcats’ defense kept Colgate bottled up in the fourth quarter. After the Raiders drove to the Villanova 48-yard line, Garrett Rogan stonewalled running back Brendan Cassamajor for no gain, then cornerback Zahmir Dawud broke up a deep pass to force a punt. Colgate’s next two drives ended in three-and-outs, and the Wildcats bled out the clock.

Villanova Football will return to action at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 when they face No. 2 Penn State in Happy Valley.