Villanova’s post-bye week win streak reaches three games in rout of Lafayette
Quarterback Pat McQuaide threw for 293 yards and two touchdown passes as the Wildcats are now above .500 for the first time this season.
Villanova entered its bye week having lost two straight.
In the three games since, it’s gone undefeated.
And following its most complete game of the season, a convincing 44-21 win over Lafayette, Villanova is above .500 for the first time in 2026.
Sophomore kicker Dominic LeBlanc set the tone on the game’s first possession by capping a 13-play, 62-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal.
Graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide played arguably his best game of the season with a 293 yards on 23-of-32 passing (71.9%) and two touchdown passes.
Lafayette’s secondary struggled in coverage and allowed for McQuaide to find open Wildcats downfield, as 11 passes went for 10-plus yards.
Backfield mates Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland continued to find scoring success, making it five straight games both juniors have scored.
Villanova (5-4, 4-2 Patriot League) finished with 413 yards, its fourth game this season with 400 or more. A markedly improved defense — which forced three second-half turnovers on Saturday — held the Leopards (3-5, 2-3) to just 264 total yards.
One-man wrecking ball
Patriot League tackling leader Omari Bursey entered the game fourth in the FCS in tackles. His talent was on display Saturday.
The Villanova linebacker made life difficult on Lafayette quarterback Eddie Jordan and the offense. The sophomore picked off Jordan in the first quarter, snapping his pass completion streak at 17 straight, and ran it back 27 yards for Villanova’s first pick-six since November 2024.
Bursey finished with nine tackles, and a fourth-quarter sack while fully embracing his role as one of the key leaders on the Wildcats’ defense.
Complementary football
Throughout the season, Villanova coach Mark Ferrante and his players have talked about striving for complementary football: defense turns into offense, offense turns into defense.
Against Lafayette, the Wildcats did that as well as they have all year.
The Wildcats finished with four takeaways; AJ Koukou forced a fumble to set up LeBlanc’s third-quarter field goal along with three interceptions. Following Bursey’s pick-six, redshirt freshman Amari Jackson and junior linebacker Tyler Cain notched fourth-quarter interceptions, with Cain’s sealing the win.
The defense had plenty of help from the offense scoring 44 points, but more importantly controlling the pace and timing. The Wildcats finished with 34 minutes, 25 seconds of possession time, allowing their defense time to rest, a stark contrast from earlier this season.
Rotational success
Sophomores Brandon Binkowski (494 yards) and Braden Reed (503 yards) have led Wildcats receivers so far, but on Saturday McQuaide utilized a range of targets. Binkowski led the way with 103 receiving yards, his second 100-yard game of 2026, highlighted by a 49-yard receiving touchdown.
Junior wideout Chris Colby had his first touchdown catch of the season, an 18-yard grab. Tight end Nolan Clayton added three catches for a season-high 37 yards.
Ferrante and his staff also worked in more underclassmen like freshman Andrew Esposito and sophomore Ralee Stephens. Esposito, a week after his first career catch, had three more against the Leopards for 29 yards. Meanwhile, Stephens had his best game in a Villanova uniform, with four catches for 30 yards.
Up next
Villanova heads home next week to face one of the Patriot League’s toughest tests in second-place Richmond (1 p.m., ESPN+).
In the teams’ previous matchup, the Wildcats lost, 20-10, at Richmond on Oct. 15, 2022.
