Villanova Football Tumbles Down Rankings After Lopsided Loss

Villanova Football lost their CAA opener in convincing fashion on Saturday, Sept. 20, falling 51-33 to the Monmouth Hawks on the road. That marked the second time in as many games the Wildcats’ vaunted defense gave up more than 50 points, including splash play passing touchdowns of 75, 72 and 40 yards.

As such, Villanova (1-2, 0-1 CAA) slid down the rankings of both the AFCA Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, checking in at No. 22 and No. 20, respectively. They entered Saturday’s game at No. 12 and No. 11, respectively.

Even with three games under their belt, it’s difficult to judge this Wildcats team accurately. A narrow win over a Colgate team that went 2-10 last season might not inspire much confidence, but the Raiders have stuck around in all their FCS games, including against the Monmouth team that just blew out Villanova. Losing to No. 3 Penn State on the road isn’t too surprising, but the splash plays they surrendered to the Hawks are cause for concern.

The Wildcats will return home this weekend, hosting conference foe William & Mary (2-2, 1-0 CAA) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27. As the season continues, we’ll get a better idea of just how good this Villanova Football team is after entering the season predicted to finish third in the conference.