Villanova still fighting for their first win at home this season after losing a thriller to Morgan State

Villanova football might be running out of time.

In a game where Villanova was favored to win by two or more possessions, it traded scores with Morgan State all the way until the final seconds of regulation. With 2 seconds left, Villanova sophomore kicker Dom LeBlanc attempted a 47-yard field goal to force overtime. However, LeBlanc missed just his second attempt of the season, and Villanova fell to Morgan State, 38-35.

The loss marked the Wildcats’ fourth consecutive home defeat.

Villanova (2-4) has yet to win consecutive games this season and has not won inside Villanova Stadium since last November.

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“Yeah, I mean, just trying to give us a chance to tie the game,” graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide said on the last drive. “We have a ton of confidence in our kicker. I mean, he’s been great all year, and we still have a ton of confidence in him. I mean, the goal was to get an opportunity to tie the game and go to overtime. Or if there was an opportunity, to score a touchdown. Obviously, you want to do that. Like I said, he’s still our guy, and I’ll still take him 10 times out of 10.”

McQuaide completed 22-of-28 pass attempts for 266 yards, marking the most passing yards the fifth-year QB has had since the season opener against William & Mary. McQuaide also threw an interception after a pass breakup tipped the ball into the air, into the hands of Morgan State (4-1).

Morgan State quarterback Cameron Edge completed 31-of-41 passes for 444 yards and three touchdowns. His longest pass of the day was for 79 yards.

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Villanova’s running back duo of Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland combined for five touchdowns and 182 yards on the ground.

Mace rushed for 105 yards, which marked the first 100-plus-yard game from a Wildcat this season.

“Ja’briel and [Ragland] are unbelievable,” McQuaide said. “The guys in front did a great job. The offensive linemen with tight ends. Even the receivers, getting in there and blocking. Those guys do a great job every week. And Rags and Ja’briel are great players. And I’ve said this before, but they don’t do what they do without those guys in front of them. So you’ve got to give credit to everybody. It’s not just those two.”

Villanova sophomore defensive back Jamie Tyson intercepted Edge in the end zone on fourth-and-7 with 2:45 left to play. At the time, Villanova led, 35-31.

The Wildcats were in position to win with a two-possession, while uncomfortable, lead.

Tyson’s interception came after Villanova’s defense allowed Morgan State to convert big, chunk yardage plays. The Bears had nine plays of 15 or more yards, with three of them being larger than 45 yards.

In comparison, Villanova only had four plays that were greater than 15-plus yards.

Morgan State would score the eventual game-winning touchdown on a six-play, 56-yard drive, which took just 1:15 off the clock..

“We weren’t consistent today,” Omari Bursey said. The redshirt sophomore linebacker led Villanova with nine total tackles (seven solo), one sack, one quarterback hit, and one tackle for a loss. “We had some great highs, but we had a good amount of lows too. So it’s kind of just, we got to stay steady.”

Villanova now has a bye week before returning to Patriot League play on the road against Fordham (1-5, 1-2 Patriot League) on Saturday, Oct. 17 (3:30 p.m., ESPN+).

“Yeah, we’ll see how our guys respond,” Ferrante said when asked about the upcoming week off. “I mean, they’re still in class next week, so it’s not like they have a week ‘off.’ And then we have an extra week to prepare for the next opponent, which is Fordham. So we’ll clean this up tomorrow, just like we do on every Sunday.”

The last time the two programs faced off was in 2015. Villanova defeated Fordham, 14-7, on the road in the Bronx. The Wildcats are 3-1 all-time against the Rams.