Villanova Beaten By Colgate, the Weather, and Themselves
September 26, 2026 –
Family Day at Villanova University was also visited by a Nor’easter and the Colgate Raiders. In addition to the elements there were two evenly matched, nationally ranked teams playing a ‘slogging through the weeds’ type game. Therefore, it would be of aid to have the offense on the field more than the defense, and protect the ball. That is what Colgate did and Villanova did not. In the end the Raiders held on to a 28 – 21 win over the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium. It was the first win for Colgate over Villanova since 1978.
“We’re not playing good enough to win these games we are involved in right now,” said Villanova Coach Mark Ferrante. “It’s up to me and our staff to get our guys in in better position, to execute better and more consistently, so we can start winning these games against whomever it is we’re playing. Right now we are our own worst enemy. We got to stop being the opponent. Ourselves.”
The Raiders used a strong third quarter to get the victory scoring twice; once at the beginning of the quarter and another at the end. Raiders quarterback Jake Stearney threw two touchdown passes in that span. The first to wide receiver Matt Fogler which gave Colgate a 21 – 14 lead. Near the end of the stanza Stearney found wide receiver Chief Montalvo making it 28 – 14. Colgate had the ball and used it to their advantage. The time of possession edge in the second half was 19:05 to 10:55 favor the visitors. A two to one edge in time.
Colgate was able to maintain possession by being efficient, especially on third and fourth downs converting 6 of 11 conversion attempts. In the game they were good on a total of 9 of 17 conversion chances (8 of 15 on third down conversions). Stopping them has been a problem for Nova all this season.
Villanova did mount a rally scoring at the start of the fourth quarter on a 25-yard pass from Pat McQuaide to Ja’briel Mace. And the Wildcats did mount a rallying drive at the end that got the Colgate 20-yard line. The Wildcats completed a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jake Hilton, but the play was nullified by a holding call. That drive would end with McQuaide being sacked twice.
“We need to do things for all four quarters not for one last gasp of opportunity,” said Ferrante. “If you can take the opening drive of the field down the field and score we should be able to do that a couple more times throughout the course of the game. Obviously, we weren’t able to do that consistently enough. And we’ve got to get off the field on third down on defense. Time of possession is ridiculous. We need to get off the field on defense. We need to stay on the field and hang on to the ball on offense.”
For the game Colgate had the ball over 13 minutes more than Villanova. The Raiders put considerable pressure by generating 6 sacks on McQuaide, and took the ball away on an interception and a fumble recovery. Penalties stopped the Wildcats as they had 8 for 79 yards. Colgate also had 8 for 60 yards lost.
Key Sequence
Early in the fourth quarter the Villanova held Colgate to no gain on a fourth and one at the Villanova 45-yard line creating an opportunity to tie the score. Then the Raiders committed a pass interference penalty in the endzone. Wildcats ball at the 40-yard line of the Raiders. But on the next play McQuade fumbled that was recovered by Jordan Edgecombe.
An opportunity lost.
What the Numbers Say
Colgate had 307 yards of offense compared to 260 for Nova. On the ground it was 149 – 68 for the Raiders.
Stearney threw for 158 yards completing 15 of 21 passes and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 29 yards. Caleb Naumann ran for 66 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown. Fogler caught 5 passes for 93 yards and a score. Peyton Way caught the other scoring toss.
For Villanova, McQuaide completed 12 of 23 for 192 yards, one interception and two touchdowns. Braden Reed had 6 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, a 35-yarder on the first possession of the game.
Up Next
Colgate (4 – 1, 3 – 0) visits Harvard next week. The Raiders are tied with Lehigh for the top spot in the Patriot League.
Villanova (2 – 3, 1 – 2) plays a non-conference game hosting Morgan State with kickoff at 1 PM.
“We got to be better across the board: offense, defense, and special teams,” said Mace. “We got to be better. Coach Ferrante talks about that all the time. Literally, just said in the locker room, once you stay together as a team, you can go far. Right now we need to figure it out. We talk about every week we got to play together, but right now, we’re not doing it.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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