Villanova seeks bounce-back moment on the road
RADNOR » Being on the road doesn’t bother Villanova. In five seasons under Mark Ferrante, the Wildcats are 15-10 in road games, including 10 of their last 14 and three of four this season.
“I think, sometimes, it just helps set a more focused approach,” Ferrante said. “When we’re at home, we don’t stay in hotels, so we have guys on West campus and guys on South campus. I like them being in their own bed and being comfortable, but on Friday night when you’re in a hotel, they’re together more. We have meetings in the hotel. We do have meetings and dinner here on Friday night before home games but it’s just different in the hotel. They’re just around each other more … Sometimes an away game helps to re-establish focus if you’re losing, so sometimes I think a road trip isn’t a bad thing.”
Ferrante will find out if being on the road can help the No. 10/13 Wildcats bounce back from a loss to William & Mary when they travel to North Carolina to take on Elon Saturday at 2 p.m. The Wildcats (6-2, 4-1 CAA) recorded a 42-7 victory in their only trip to Elon back in 2016. The teams have not played since the Phoenix (44, 3-2) pulled out a 19-14 win at Villanova in 2017.
Stopping Elon’s passing attack is Villanova’s chief concern on defense. Quarterback Davis Cheek leads the CAA in passing yards (2,245) and passing yards per game (280.63), and is tied for second in touchdown passes (15) and completion percentage (65.0).
Offensively, Villanova needs to get its running game back up to speed. The Wildcats ran for just 39 yards on 20 carries in the 31-18 loss to the Tribe. That’s the fewest rushing yards since Villanova had 13 yards in a 34-0 loss to New Hampshire in 2018. Leading rusher Justin Covington is still day-to-day with a knee injury. DeeWil Barley and Jalen Jackson ran for just 39 yards against the Tribe after combining for 203 yards against Rhode Island.
The Wildcats are in a threeway tie with James Madison and William & Mary for the top spot in the CAA.
Lycoming at Widener, 1 p.m.
The Pride (6-2, 4-2 MAC) return to action after a bye week. Widener is looking to bounce back from a 29-24 loss at Stevenson three weeks ago.
The Pride have lost two in a row to the Warriors (6-2, 5-1), who sit alone in second place and bring a three-game winning streak to Quick Stadium.
Lycoming is coached by Ridley Park native and St. James grad Mike Clark, in his 14th season as head coach; he’s guided the Warriors to two MAC titles. The Warriors enter the game ranked fourth in the conference in scoring offense (25.9 ppg) and scoring defense (21.0). The Pride is fifth in scoring offense (25.0) and second in scoring defense (16.6).
The game also features two of the top quarterbacks in the league. Widener’s Triston Harris is third in passing yards per game (204.4) and passing efficiency (140.6). Lycoming’s Elijah Shemory leads the MAC in passing efficiency (144.3) and is fourth in passing yards per game (191.5).