Villanova travels to Hamilton, New York for a Week 2 matchup against Patriot League rival, Colgate
Written by David Szczepanski on September 6, 2024
HAMILTON, NY—Since August of 2001, Villanova has won five consecutive matchups against Colgate. The Wildcats are 6-1 overall against the Raiders since 1978. Will Villanova’s domination against Colgate continue Saturday or will the Raiders keep the game close and pull an upset?
The Wildcats, who are now ranked 5th in the FCS Top 25 Poll, enter Saturday’s game with a 1-0 record after defeating #23 Youngstown State last Thursday, 24-17. Villanova rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns, including 107 yards on the ground from QB Connor Watkins. Despite the strong rushing attack, the Wildcats did not play their best game on Thursday.
Quick Youngstown State Recap
Connor Watkins was just 6-for-17 when throwing the football against the Penguins for 90 yards and zero touchdowns. They only had one receiver with two completions, who was freshman Kenyon Miles for 17 total yards. Miles finished the game with seven targets, by far the most on the team. Villanova’s offense needs to improve this week, specifically with the passing game and better communication between Watkins and the wide receivers. They must find better ways to get Jaylan Sanchez and North Carolina Central transfer Devin Smith into the offense.
The star of the game last week was Villanova’s defense. The Wildcats’ secondary prevented Youngstown’s wide receivers from getting space. They took over the game with a fumble and two key interceptions, one by Zahmir Dawud and one by Richie Kimmel. Kimmel’s interception in the 4th quarter sealed the win for Villanova. Villanova’s defense limited Youngstown’s powerful rushing attack to 169 yards and one touchdown, including containing star RB Tyshon King to just 24 yards over 12 attempts. Overall, Villanova did enough to pull out a gritty win against a ranked opponent, but their potential is definitely a lot higher than their performance against the Penguins. The good news for the Wildcats is that they face a below average Colgate team this week in Hamilton, New York.
Villanova battles Colgate on a rainy evening in September 2023 at Villanova Stadium
Colgate, who finished 6-5 overall in 2023 with four conference wins, lost their 2024 season opener to Maine, 17-14, on Friday. Per the Patriot League website, the Raiders are predicted to finish 4th in the conference behind Lafayette, Holy Cross, and Fordham. The Raiders’ defense played a solid game against Maine, but their offense struggled to score consistently and move the ball effectively.
Brescia’s Disappointing 2023: How will he respond in 2024?
The Raiders’ offense is led by senior QB, Michael Brescia. He was 17-for-27 with 174 passing yards on Friday. He averaged 6.4 yards per completion with an interception. Brescia also did not throw a touchdown pass against Maine’s below average defense. Brescia, who threw for 225 yards against Villanova in Colgate’s 42-19 loss to the Wildcats in 2023, completed 90 of his 166 passing attempts last season. He finished the season with 837 passing yards, two touchdowns, and eight interceptions. After a season with 1,656 passing yards in 2022 in over 280 passing attempts, Brescia took a major step backwards in 2023. Despite his passing ability and likelihood to get most of the playing time at quarterback, the Raiders have also used Jake Stearney and Zach Osborne behind center.
The Raiders’ Rushing Attack
In their loss to Maine in Week 1, Colgate rushed for 129 total yards and two touchdowns, including one from Brescia and one from Brendan Cassamajor. Besides Brescia’s rushing attack, Cassamajor, a senior from Bridgewater, MA, had the most efficient game at running the football for the Raiders. He rushed for 24 yards over six carries. Cassamajor had just 36 total carries for 92 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. Osborne, one of the backup quarterbacks, scrambled for 19 yards over three carries. Chris Gee, who led the Raiders with 427 rushing yards in 2023, had just two carries for nine yards against Maine. Cassamajor and Gee are Colgate’s two best pure running backs, but they will use different players to try and pick up some yards on the ground. Their offense lacks consistency, especially at the running back position.
Colgate’s Best Part of their Offense: Wide Receivers
In terms of wide receivers, the Raiders’ have three solid options. Their best wide receiver is Treyvhon Saunders, a junior from Columbus, Ohio. Saunders finished second in the Patriot League in receptions per game and third in receiving yards in 2023. He averaged more than six receptions per game last year while finishing the season with 859 receiving yards. Brady Hutchinson led the Raiders with five receptions for 72 yards against Maine. Finally, Colgate’s third receiver is Winston Moore, a sophomore from St. Louis, Missouri. Moore had two catches for 44 yards in the season opener. He had 336 receiving yards and one touchdown as a freshman in 2023.
Colgate’s Defensive Struggles
The Raiders’ defense allowed 32 points per game last season. They allowed an average of 283 passing yards and 159 rushing yards per contest. Colgate’s defense had some success against Maine by limiting the Black Bears to just 17 points, but the Raiders’ defense is not talented enough to stop Villanova’s high-powered offense. On defense for Colgate, some players to watch would be defensive lineman Brock Winsett and Andrew Taddeo. Winsett was credited with half of a sack in Friday’s loss, and he had five total sacks in 2023. Taddeo had 1.5 sacks against the Black Bears.
My Thoughts
On paper, Villanova is significantly more talented than Colgate in every aspect of their roster. They have a much better quarterback, offensive nucleus, and overall defense. The Wildcats should easily defeat Colgate on Saturday night, but there will be some things to watch for from Villanova. The Wildcats need to have a better-looking game on offense and their wide receivers must be able to make plays. Connor Watkins also needs to improve his passing game against Colgate. I think Connor Watkins is due for a huge performance against Colgate, especially after his dominating performance in 2023 against the Raiders with 310 passing yards. This game should get Watkins settled in for the rest of the season. It is extremely early in the 2024 season, but the goal for Villanova against Colgate is to easily win and look more like themselves by playing a cleaner sixty minutes of football.
WXVU Updates
WXVU will not have live broadcast coverage of this game, but you can stay up to date with game updates on our WXVU social media (@wxvu on X). You can also follow me on X/Twitter (@WXVUDavidS) for live game updates. Villanova’s non-conference matchup against Colgate is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday.
After this weekend’s contest in New York, the Wildcats return to Villanova Stadium for their CAA opener against Towson on Saturday, September 14th. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30pm. Our WXVU, The Roar Pregame Show will begin at 3pm.
