Struggling Villanova’s bye week comes at the perfect time: ‘The message to the guys is let’s reset’

Villanova football had its bye week come at the best time.

It has been a rough first few months for the program, which was ranked No. 7 in the FCS preseason poll and tipped to win the Patriot League by the league’s coaches.

The Wildcats have opened the 2026 campaign with a 2-4 record (1-2 Patriot League), marking their worst start to a season since they went 3-3 to begin 2018. But outside of a blowout against FBS foe Louisville, all of Villanova’s losses have come by a single possession, including agonizing defeats to William & Mary and Morgan State. Fortunately for the Wildcats, they now have a bye week that falls during midterms and the University’s fall break.

» READ MORE: Villanova still fighting for its first win at home this season after losing a thriller to Morgan State

“I think it comes at a good time,” head coach Mark Ferrante told The Inquirer of the bye week. “I think it comes at a good time. Last year, if you recall, it was really late. It was Week 10, so it was three weeks later than it is now. So last year, what you worried about was: we’re on a pretty good run. Let’s not break the momentum. This year, obviously it’s different. Maybe it would have been better had we had it a little sooner. But I think it comes at a good time for where we currently are.”

Villanova is coming off its fourth consecutive home loss, falling to Morgan State, 38-35, last weekend. Last season, Villanova boasted the longest active home winning streak in college football at 23 games before it was snapped in the FCS semifinals by Illinois State.

While Villanova, which has dropped two straight, will not get a home game again until Oct. 24 against undefeated Lehigh, it is in desperate need of a win against Fordham (1-5, 1-2) next weekend to stop the bleeding.

“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, put the work in, and how can we get better?”

The last time Villanova lost three or more consecutive games was in 2018 when it lost four in a row on the way to a 5-6 season, the program’s last losing campaign. That means a majority of the 2026 Villanova roster has not experienced a period like this during their collegiate careers.

In 2022, Villanova went 6-5, but never lost more than two in a row.

“That’s the day-to-day conversation,” said Ferrante when asked about trying to change the team’s momentum. “That’s process-driven, not results-driven. It is what it is. You look at it, and it’s like, ‘OK, well, what are you going to do?’ Are you going to give up or are you going to keep tapping the rock, as we like to say here at Villanova?’”

Ferrante knows that the effort to perform at a high level is there. There is no lack of hard work, according to the longtime coach, and the attitude to win games has not faltered. He believes the rest of the season will not be defined by the team ‘hurting themselves’ with pre-snap penalties and turnovers.

With Villanova entering fall break next week, the program will not have to attend classes, which puts the players’ primary focus solely on Fordham.

» READ MORE: Campbell McKinnon has leveled up her volleyball game. Villanova is reaping the benefits yet again.

“Without having to attend class, we’re going to give them a little more rest; we’re not going to start as early in the morning,” Ferrante said. “We’re going to push practice, breakfast, and then meetings and practice back a little later, since there are no class conflicts to worry about. They’ll come down and watch probably more film on their own during the course of the week while the coaches are still game planning. We do get ahead on the game planning because you have this week during the bye to get a head start on the next opponent.”

Villanova will hope that extra prep time will come in handy next weekend against Fordham as they look to get a once-promising season back on track.