Villanova looks for ‘more consistency’ back in conference play vs. Colgate
The Wildcats (2-2) return to Patriot League play against Colgate on Saturday.
It could be a Patriot League team, a nonconference opponent, or an FBS school, the mentality doesn’t change for Villanova coach Mark Ferrante: “The schedule is the schedule.”
The Wildcats have played two conference games, losing to William & Mary and defeating Bucknell, and two nonconference games, a 59-13 loss to Louisville and a 20-16 win over Long Island on Saturday.
“The nonconference is the nonconference, the in-conference is the in-conference, our approach always has been [the same],” Ferrante said. “We’re going to play who’s on our schedule [and] it shouldn’t matter. You only get so many guaranteed opportunities. You want to try to create more opportunities for yourself at the end of the year, but you better be where your feet are.”
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After taking on Colgate (3-1, 2-0 Patriot League) at home on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN+), a final nonconference matchup against Morgan State awaits on Oct. 3.
Ferrante is happy the Wildcats are finding ways to win close games with one-score wins over Bucknell and LIU, but he said there is work to be done to play a complete 60 minutes.
“It’s just more consistency,” Ferrante said. “We get great field position, let’s score the touchdown instead of having a turnover. Just got to start feeding off each other a little better, play more complementary football. I hope it’s still a work in progress, and I hope it’s starting to come, but we have not played a full, consistent four quarters yet in any game.”
Villanova also started 2-2 last season before reeling off 11 straight wins and reaching the FCS semifinals.
Even with retaining a majority of the 2025 squad, Villanova is still finding its identity.
“I think they’re starting to realize that they’re not last year’s team,” Ferrante said. “Teams aren’t going to just roll over because Villanova’s coming to town. Teams are going to play harder because Villanova’s coming to town, so we just have to play our game, not play to the level of our opponent.”
Penalties have plagued Villanova. The Wildcats have been called for 36 penalties for 305 yards while their opponents have been flagged for 22 penalties for 230 yards.
“We just got to play a little smarter, with a little more focus,” Ferrante said. “Especially the false starts or the offside on offense and defense, respectively. That’s just focus, those are mental penalties [so] we got to clean that up.”
After a rough start against William & Mary, quarterback Pat McQuaide has bounced back with 607 yards passing, four touchdowns, and one interception over the past three games. Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Binkowski is having a breakout season with 18 receptions for 259 yards, while junior running backs Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland have combined for 457 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Ferrante believes cleaner football is on the way.
“It’s just little inconsistencies here and there, whether it’s penalties, whether it’s turnovers, whether it’s just not playing with the same level of intensity from one quarter to the next,” Ferrante said. “But you see the improvement in practice and you hear some of the comments that are being made amongst themselves in practice. I think we’re heading in the right direction, we just got to put it on a field on game day.”
