Villanova embraces a ‘nameless, faceless’ mindset ahead of matchup with No. 24 Louisville
Mark Ferrante isn’t concerned about who his team is playing. It's about “how we’re playing.” The Wildcats are starting to make strides, but will have their work cut out for them on Friday night.
Villanova football is facing off against its annual FBS opponent tonight in a road matchup against Louisville.
After beginning the season ranked No. 7 in the FCS preseason coaches’ poll, the Wildcats have slipped to No. 18 over the last two weeks. And their FBS matchup at Louisville comes during a time when Villanova is trying to clean up all three phases of its game.
However, the Wildcats are looking to carry the momentum from their 17-16 win over Bucknell last week, which marked the team’s first victory in the Patriot League, to try to take down a Louisville program (7 p.m., ESPN/ACCN) that is ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and lost, 41-38, to No. 9 Ole Miss on Sunday.
“We don’t talk a whole lot about it, to be honest,” said head coach Mark Ferrante when asked about playing an FBS opponent. “Nameless, faceless opponent. It’s not who we’re playing, it’s how we’re playing.”
» READ MORE: Villanova earned its first Patriot League win but showed there’s still plenty of work to do
Since the season-opening loss to William & Mary, Ferrante and his staff believe both sides of the ball cleaned up their penalties. The Wildcats had five penalties for 45 yards last week, compared to 15 for 107 yards in Week 1. They also didn’t turn the ball over.
As graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide becomes more comfortable with his receivers, Villanova’s offense is starting to show glimpses of what it was projected to be this offseason.
“Pat wasn’t here in the spring, wasn’t here in the summer, missed the first couple days of preseason practice, and then was able to rejoin the team based on all the stuff that transpired behind that,” Ferrante said. “I’m hoping that, again, Week 1 to Week 2, Week 2 to Week 3, and just keep progressing through the season, it’ll just be sharper, there’ll be better timing, there’ll be more understanding of each other.”
Against Bucknell, McQuaide had a couple of open looks that could have resulted in large plays or deep touchdowns, but he either overthrew or missed his receiver in stride.
“There were a few near misses last week where if he hits that one in stride, that might have been a touchdown,” Ferrante said. “ ... Hopefully, with added reps, added practice, and more games on our belt, will tie them up better down the road.”
Villanova held on to its win against Bucknell thanks to linebacker Garrett Rogan’s blocked field goal at the end of the game, which would have put Bucknell up by two points. The fifth-year defensive back was one of Villanova’s preferred walk-ons at safety in 2022 and made the transition to linebacker this offseason.
Ferrante emphasized how important special teams is due to how many games are decided by a field goal. Villanova’s season opener was, and so was Louisville’s.
“Our two games, plus Louisville’s first game, plus SMU and Florida State’s first game all came down to field goals or field-goal attempts,” Ferrante said. “That goes to show you how important special teams can be.”
» READ MORE: Pat McQuaide is Villanova’s starting quarterback — for now. Here’s a look at the legal fight over his eligibility.
Villanova knows there is always room for improvement, even when it’s playing at its highest potential. That starts with Ferrante, then his staff, and finally the players.
Sophomore linebacker Omari Bursey is one of Villanova’s players who has grasped that concept early in his collegiate career. This offseason, Bursey was given the green dot on the back of his helmet, signifying that he communicates with the coaching staff and the defense while on the field.
Last week, he was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week after recording 14 total tackles against Bucknell.
“It’s honestly just a testament to this unit as a whole,” Bursey said of receiving the honor. “One of the biggest things I didn’t get to talk about last week is playing off of my nose guard, and we were able to show that this past week against Bucknell. [We] play so well off each other. It just allowed me to have a few more tackles than the rest of the guys.”
Ferrante said he has shepherd a team-effort mindset during his nine seasons as head coach. It’s an approach that’ll remain against Louisville, he said.
“From my perspective, from the head coach’s perspective, and that hopefully trickles down through their assistants, I approach every week the same,” Ferrante said. “I approach every season the same. People ask me that all the time, ‘So what do you think about this year?’ Well, one year to the next is never going to be the same.
“I enter every season, every game the same way, cautiously optimistic. I always feel if we play our brand of football and we play clean and we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, and we’re not our worst enemy, we’re not the opponent, then I don’t care who we’re playing. I think we can go out there and compete with anybody.”
