Villanova looks to put disappointing first half of 2026 behind it in road date with Fordham

Villanova football is exactly halfway through its 2026 season and needs a win to correct its trajectory.

Coming off their bye week, the Wildcats have lost two consecutive games and sit at 2-4 overall, 1-2 in the Patriot League. It is not where Villanova wanted to be after being voted to finish atop the Patriot League in the coaches’ preseason poll, and ranked No. 7 in FCS after after a national semifinal appearance a year ago. The Wildcats will return to play on Saturday against a conference opponent, Fordham (2-5, 2-2 Patriot League), in the Bronx (3:30 p.m., ESPN+).

Villanova leads the all-time series, 22-5-3. The Wildcats defeated the Rams in their last meeting, 14-7, in 2015.

Coach Mark Ferrante said his team has used the bye week, which came at the same time as the school’s fall break, to place full attention on correcting the mistakes of its first six games.Ferrante referred to the team as “its own biggest enemy.” All six of the Wildcats’ games have been settled by one possession.

“The message to the guys is let’s reset, refresh, relax, recommit, rededicate ourselves to what it is we want to try to put on the field,” Ferrante said. “And the practices we’ve had this week have been a little shorter. Always talk to the guys about, let’s focus on what it is we’re doing or attempting to do. So the message I had to them [Thursday] was the now and the how. Let’s be where we are now. Let’s lock in as to going out to practice today, giving the best effort we can, coming out with a really good attitude, putting the work in, and how can we get better?”

The strength of Villanova’s season so far has been its running game. Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland have rushed for a combined 734 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. They both average five yards per carry.

“It’s great. It’s good to have them all back,” Ferrante told The Inquirer of his veteran running backs during the bye week. And [Ragland] was elected captain… Just to have that type of maturity in the locker room is always helpful. Ja’briel is on the quiet side. He’s also a guy who hasn’t experienced what we’re going through right now. So, you know, I’m sure they’re all, in their own right, struggling a little bit in dealing with where we are, but they got to move on. And I tell them all the time, it’s not about each week’s result, it’s what we’re doing during the process just to get better.”

In Villanova’s last game, Ragland and Mace rushed for 112 rushing yards and all of the team’s five touchdowns in a 38-35 loss to Morgan State. Villanova’s offensive line, which has been banged up through the first six weeks, will have to create opportunities for the running back duo.

Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide has not been consistent in the first half of his 2026 campaign. McQuaide has thrown six interceptions through the first six games, double the number he threw during last year’s regular season.

He has thrown for 1,335 yards and seven touchdowns, completing 101 of 159 pass attempts (63.5%).

Fordham has also struggled offensively this season, only scoring an average of 15.6 points per game. The Rams have been outscored by their opponents by an average of 30-15 over seven games. However, Fordham is coming off the biggest win of its season, defeating No. 15 Richmond, 20-14, at home.

Both of Fordham’s two wins have come against ranked opponents, with the other coming against No. 21 William & Mary, 52-27, on Sept. 19.

Rams senior running back Jamell James has rushed for team-highs of 428 yards and five touchdowns. Like Villanova, Fordham has leaned on its rushing game this season, totaling 1,192 yards on the ground compared to 930 passing yards.

The matchup is a good opportunity for Villanova to snap its two-game losing streak. The Wildcats currently hold a seven-game road win streak against FCS teams since a loss at Monmouth on Sept. 20, 2025. Villanova is 28-12 against FCS road opponents since the start of the 2019 season.

“I think the guys have been doing a good job,” Ferrante said. “We just got to get over the hump to finish a game because we’ve had plenty of opportunities to finish some games. I think their effort has been really good. I think their attitude has been good. Now we just have to, like I said, stop hurting ourselves with pre-snap penalties, turnovers, the things that have put us in the position that we’re in.”