A 45- Yard Field Goal at the End Wins the Game 35 – 32 for William & Mary
VILLANOVA, PA. 8/28/2026 –
The game began in a cloud of uncertainty, and it ended the same way. The Villanova Wildcats held a 32 – 22 lead on an Isaiah Ragland 37-yard touchdown run with 2:43 to play. Then everything that could go wrong for Villanova did. As time ran out the William & Mary Tribe kicker Max Lipinski made a 45-yard field goal as time ran out to give his team an opening day victory in the Patriot League. A tough way to lose for the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium.
“Hopefully we can stop the bleeding at some point,” said Villanova Coach Mark Ferrante. “They kicked a field goal they needed to kick, which saved them a time out. They got the onside kick which set them up. We gave them a shorter field with a penalty.”
“When you come out of this game, this one feels really bad.”
An hour before the game began Villanova found that their returning quarterback Pat McQuaide would be eligible to play. The Patriot League ruled in the summer that McQuaide would not be eligible to play in league games as he used up his years of eligibility. Just before game time a court in Ohio granted a preliminary injunction with the league named as a defendant. It cleared the way for McQuaide to play.
Fourth Quarter Twists
Villanova scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions. McQuade found wide receiver Brandon Binkowski for an 8-yard touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion gave the home team a 25 – 22 lead with 3:47 on the clock. The Wildcats defense rose to the occasion forcing a turnover on downs. On the very next play Ragland ran up the middle for the score. It appeared the game was in favor of Villanova at 32 – 22.
And Turns
The Tribe answered back with a Lipinski 40-yard field goal.
Everyone knew an onside kick was expected, and it was successful giving W&M the ball at the Villanova 39-yard line with 50 seconds to play. Three plays and 28 seconds later the Tribe tied the game when quarterback Winston Watkins threw a 37-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Kai Austin.
Villanova took over at their own 35-yard line. On third down McQuaid threw an interception. Cade Ellis returned the ball to the 28-yard line with only 5 ticks on the clock. William & Mary sent Lipinski out to win the game, and he did.
The Tribe Scored Off Big Pass Plays
The the Tribe would score on drives that had plays of 42 yards, 23 yards and 34 yards. And a big 68-yard touchdown pass from Watkins to Carson Jenkins.
W&M added a field goal after recovering a Ja’briel Mace fumble.
Other than the big plays the Nova defense played better than the score indicated.
“I thought we did really well early on first and second down,” Ferrante said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of getting off the field on third down. And we’ve got to stop those big plays. But to their credit, they made the plays that needed to be made to win this game.”
“Little things got us today, there is not much that I can say,” said Villanova corner back Amari Johnson. “It’s just a few big plays, and now it’s just how we can go back to the drawing board and start from our standard.”
What the Numbers Say
McQuaide completed 17 of 30 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. But he was picked off 3 times, the most in a single game in his Villanova career. Wide Receiver Jake Hilton caught 4 passes for a career-high 132 yards. He had an 80-yard reception, also a collegiate-best.
Big Number: the Wildcats were penalized 15 times for 107 yards. The Tribe 3 for 22 yards. Hard to win with that stat against you.
“No doubt. We gave them free yardage, and we set ourselves backwards a few times,” Ferrante said.
Up Next
Villanova (0 – 1, 0 – 1 PL) has another Patriot League game next week at Bucknell. William & Mary (1 – 0, 1- 0 PL) hosts non-conference foe Delaware State.
Ironic that both teams in this game came over from the Coastal Athletic Association where they played last season. But this was a typical Villanova vs. William & Mary game.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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