Villanova Football Preview: Season on the Line Against Lehigh

Villanova Football has a chance to land a major blow in their attempt to climb toward the top of the Patriot League when they host conference-leading Lehigh at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. Mountain Hawks quarterback Hayden Johnson hasn’t played since early September, when he suffered a knee injury: while Lehigh remains dangerous, blowing out Fordham 34-0 in their most recent Patriot League game, they lost 48-38 at home against Cornell last week and struggled against Penn and Dartmouth. 

FanDuel has the Wildcats (3-4, 2-2 Patriot League) as +4.5 point underdogs against the Mountain Hawks (6-1, 4-0 Patriot League); Lehigh sits at -188 on the money line, giving Villanova a roughly 35 percent chance of winning this home matchup on ESPN+.

Scouting the Mountain Hawks

After Johnson’s injury, Lehigh turned to backup Derek Morgan (45-of-78 for 514 yards, nine touchdowns and an interception); while his passing output isn’t particularly impressive through parts of seven games played, he’s more than capable of taking care of the football and finding an open receiver in the red zone.

Lehigh’s offense runs through senior running back Luke Yoder (146 carries for 956 yards and 13 touchdowns), who’s averaging nearly two scores per game; Morgan (222 yards gained and two rushing touchdowns) is also capable of making plays with his legs, preserving some play-calling flexibility on passing plays. Given Villanova’s defensive struggles on third-and-long this season, Morgan’s plucky play could prove problematic.

The Mountain Hawks’ top receivers are Anthony Feaster (14 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns) and Nick Palumbo (18 catches for 227 yards and three touchdowns); after those two, Morgan has spread the ball between a host of different options.

After their miserable showing against Cornell, Lehigh’s defense is worth watching. They’re capable of making splash plays, recording 14 sacks, 32 tackles for loss, 10 interceptions and five forced fumbles through seven games — an average of roughly two turnovers created per game — so Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide will need to take care of the football. Opposing teams have averaged 332 yards per game against the Mountain Hawks, but garbage time yards could account for some of that production.

Scouting Villanova

The Wildcats finally managed to play clean football against Fordham last weekend, keeping the ball out of the Rams’ hands on the way to a 38-17 win. That’s been a struggle for McQuaide (119-of-183 for 1,570 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions) this season; four fumbles lost as a team have also hurt Villanova at critical moments.

For all their struggles, the Wildcats’ offense has a high ceiling behind running backs Ja’briel Mace (83 carries for 468 yards and five touchdowns; 11 catches for 185 yards and three scores) and Isaiah Ragland (79 carries for 439 yards and seven touchdowns), who compliment one another with their respective shifty moves and hard-nosed power. Receivers Braden Reed (34 catches for 433 yards and four touchdowns), Brandon Binkowski (23 catches for 331 yards and a score) and Jake Hilton (13 catches for 229 yards) are all capable of breaking into the secondary for a big play.

All in all, the Wildcats have the offensive talent to stick with Lehigh when they aren’t shooting themselves in the foot. Their defense, allowing an average of 30 points and 395 yards, is more of a problem, but 44 tackles for loss indicate they have a chance to give as good as they get against Yoder. If Villanova loses this game, their postseason hopes are all but over: prepare for a pivotal matchup on Saturday.