Villanova extends its winning streak to four games in 56-14 rout over Hampton

A perfect football game might be impossible, but Villanova got as close as it could on Saturday, defeating Hampton, 56-14.

It was all but final at halftime, with the Wildcats up 49–0, which allowed most of the starters to sit out the second half.

Villanova (5-2, 4-1 Coastal Athletic Association) dominated in its 19th consecutive home win — the second longest active streak in the Football Championship Subdivision — holding Hampton to just 270 total yards of offense, including 32 yards in the first half. Hampton (2-6, 0-4) avoided its first shutout since 2018 with a second-half score.

Villanova graduate defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo forced and recovered a first-half fumble, returning it 53 yards for a touchdown. It was Villanova’s first scoop and score since 2017.

“That’s something I’ve been praying about for like, a year now, so the Lord definitely heard my prayers,” Nwobodo said. “That was insane, something I visualized for how long to actually be in the position and do it was crazy.”

Also, quarterback Pat McQuaide was unstoppable, passing for 166 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He completed 10 of 13 attempts (77%). McQuaide found Chris Colby for his first career touchdown on a 65-yard deep pass, marking the first of Villanova’s eight touchdowns.

Sophomore running back David Avit also scored a six-yard rushing touchdown early in the first quarter to surpass 1,500 career rushing yards. Avit finished with 52 rushing yards. He’s averaging 5.9 yards per carry and 83.9 per game.

Despite Hampton having a weak run defense (the eighth-worst in the FCS), Villanova relied heavily on its passing game.

McQuaide has thrown for 166 or more yards in his last four games, averaging 208.5 passing yards. His five passing touchdowns surpassed his previous record of four when he played at Nicholls State last season. It is the first time a Villanova quarterback threw five touchdowns since Daniel Smith against Delaware in 2019.

“I think a big part of my game is just trying to bring energy,” McQuaide said. “I just try to be a source of positive energy and try to remind everybody that we’re playing a game, and games are supposed to be fun. I try to be that guy every single day. I think that positive energy is contagious. I’m fortunate to be welcomed into such a great place, a great family, and culture.”

McQuaide’s first-half performance was enough for Villanova to put in backup quarterback junior Tanner Maddocks in the second half.

Maddocks had a 47-yard scramble in the fourth quarter to set up a 15-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back Eli Smith. It pushed the Wildcats over the 50-point threshold for the first time since 2021.

Receiver Lucas Kopecky caught all four of his targets, finishing with 46 yards and a touchdown.

“It really comes down to Pat, making the right reads, and our guys being in the right spots with the balls coming to him,” said Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante. “Because sometimes quarterbacks at all levels might try to force it in there, into tight windows sometimes. But Pat is going to take what’s there. He’s going to take what the defense is giving you.”

Villanova’s receivers combined for 175 receiving yards, with nine different receivers making catches.

Villanova’s young defense has improved in each game this season.

They forced the Pirates to go three-and-out on all but one drive in the first half.

“In the spring and in the summer, we have kind of a small roster, so we don’t do a ton of live 11-on-11 work,” Ferrante said. “We really never take anybody to the ground [during training camp], so early in the season, you can kind of see that in the tackling. And as we go each week in each game, I would say our tackling has been improving. So as long as we continue to improve each and every week, we’re going in the right direction.”

» READ MORE: Shane Hartzell has been the rock of Villanova’s defense. His goal in this final season? Leave a legacy.

With 10 minutes left in the game, Villanova defensive back Jayvont Williams picked off Hampton quarterback Braden Davis in the end zone for his first career interception.

In Villanova’s last three games, the defense has allowed just 821 yards of total offense and 42 total points. The Wildcats gave up 1,808 yards of total offense through the first four games of the season.

“I told the bigs before the game, it might have been the entire defense, if we just did what we needed to do, that everything would just go our way,” Nwobodo said. “So the guys locked in. I mean, besides our offside penalty, we got to clean those up. But besides those, everybody did their one of 11.”

Villanova will host the University of Albany (1-5, 0-2) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., NBCSP+). It is the final game for the Wildcats before their bye week. The Great Danes won the last meeting, 31-10, in 2023. However, Villanova leads the all-time series, 4-2.