Villanova vs. Towson Preview | Regular Season Home Finale
Written by David Szczepanski on November 10, 2023
After the bye week, Villanova prepares for a Saturday afternoon matchup against Towson in their quest for a CAA championship. The 7-2 Wildcats have a conference record of 5-1, which puts them in a tie for first place in the CAA. The 4-5 Towson Tigers have struggled recently after a blowout loss to Delaware and only a ten-point win over North Carolina A&T.
The Towson Tigers
Towson has a conference record of 3-3. The Tigers have yet to win a home game this season, but the Tigers are 4-1 on the road. They defeated New Hampshire and William & Mary on the road earlier in the season. The Tigers also defeated Villanova last season.
Towson QB: Nathan Kent
Since Villanova last played Towson, there have been some changes for the Tigers, including their quarterback. Towson’s QB, Nathan Kent, a junior from Eldersburg, Maryland, was given the keys to the offense in the offseason. In his first season as starter, Kent has completed 169 of his 288 passing attempts for 1,882 passing yards. He has 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. Kent has thrown for at least 260 yards in his last two games.
Towson’s Effective Rushing Attack
Towson’s main weapon is their running game. The Tigers’ rushing attack is led by senior running back, Devin Matthews. Matthews has 127 carries this season for 571 yards and nine touchdowns. The Tigers will also utilize D’Ago Hunter, Christopher Watkins, and Tyrell Greene Jr. at the running back position. Tigers’ QB, Kent, has also rushed for three touchdowns this season. Towson has rushed for 1,406 total yards this season with 13 touchdowns. When the passing game is not working for Towson, they will depend on their running game, which has been solid for most of the season.
The Tigers do not have a major weapon at wide receiver. The leading receiver for Towson is Lukkas Londono, who has 32 receptions for 479 yards and one touchdown. Carter Runyon leads Towson in receptions with 36 for 412 yards and three touchdowns. Zay Perkins leads Towson in touchdown receptions with four. Towson averages 209 passing yards per game this season.
Can’t Stop the Run: Defensive Struggles for Towson
The Tigers’ main issue this season has been their run defense. Towson has allowed 1,713 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns this season. Opponents average 190 rushing yards per game against the Tigers. Prior to the bye week, Connor Watkins was throwing the ball extremely well for Villanova. However, with Towson’s struggling run defense, I expect Villanova to depend on the running attack this week. As mentioned throughout this whole season, Villanova has so many different running options, including Watkins. This multi-dimensional running game of Villanova will be too much for Towson.
Keys to the Game
The Wildcats would like to jump out to an early lead in this one, and I believe they will. Besides the New Hampshire game, Villanova played well in the first half of games against CAA competition. Towson does have some upset victories on the road this season and should not be taken lightly. This game seems like a trap game for Villanova after the big win in New Hampshire followed by the bye week and looking ahead for the Delaware game next Saturday. An early lead would put Villanova in a great position to defeat Towson and keep the pressure on the other CAA teams.
WXVU will have live coverage of tomorrow’s game beginning at 12:30pm with the pregame show followed by kickoff at 1pm.
