Villanova suffers its first loss of the season, arriving at the hands of FBS foe Maryland

Riding a 3-0 start to the season, Villanova received a dose of humility following a 38-20 loss to Maryland in nonconference action on Saturday at the Terrapins’ SECU Stadium.

The Wildcats ranked No. 5 in FCS, were unable to get anything going against Maryland, as the Big Ten squad asserted its dominance early.

It was the second time in the last four seasons in the Wildcats (3-1) lost to a Big Ten opponent. They fell to Penn State, 38-17, in 2021 at Beaver Stadium. Since then, Villanova also has dropped games against FBS foes Army (49-10 in 2022) and Central Florida (48-14 last season).

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Maryland led 24-0 at the half, and it all started with an 18-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. to senior wide receiver Kaden Prather on the Terrapins’ opening drive.

The hosts finished with 497 total yards, more than double Villanova’s 231.

The Terps duo of Edwards and senior wide receiver Tai Felton put on a show. Edwards completed 28 of 32 attempts for a career-high 328 yards with two touchdowns. Felton finished the day with 14 catches for 157 yards.

Meanwhile, Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins had trouble finding ways through a suffocating Maryland defense. He finished with 106 yards on 12-of-29 passing and didn’t complete a pass until the second quarter.

It appeared the Wildcats had finally broken through on their first drive of the third quarter as Watkins connected with junior wide receiver Jaylan Sanchez in the end zone to cap an 11-play drive. But the call was reversed upon review — after Villanova had gone for it on fourth down.

A second-half defensive stand kept Villanova’s hopes alive, though.

On the first play following that disappointing opening drive, Wildcats graduate defensive back Ty Trinh picked off Edwards and returned it 24 yards to the Maryland 8. Villanova settled for a 33-yard field goal, from graduate kicker Ethan Gettman, his first of two on the day. After his first field goal, he recovered an onside kick.

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The Wildcats used that momentum to score on the ensuing drive. Watkins completed a 17-yard pass to graduate wide receiver Devin Smith to narrow the score to 24-10. Gettman’s second field goal was sandwiched by two more Maryland touchdowns, but the Wildcats found the end zone one more time on an 8-yard run by sophomore backup quarterback Tanner Maddocks — his first career touchdown. Maddocks entered with about 5 minutes left and completed all four of his passes.

Looking to rebound from this loss, the Wildcats will return to action inside Villanova Stadium to take on a Long Island University team still seeking its first win of the season on Saturday (6 p.m., FloFootball).