2023 Villanova Wildcats football team

The 2023 Villanova Wildcats football team represented Villanova University as a member of the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference (CAA) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by seventh-year head coach Mark Ferrante and played home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

2023 Villanova Wildcats football
CAA co-champion
NCAA Division I Quarterfinal, L 12–23 at South Dakota State
Conference	CAA Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 6
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	10–3 (7–1 CAA)
Head coach	Mark Ferrante (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Chris Boden (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Ross Pennypacker (2nd season)
Home stadium	Villanova Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 5 Albany +^		7	–	1					11	–	4
No. 6 Villanova +^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 15 Richmond +^		7	–	1					9	–	4
No. 10 Delaware ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
Elon		6	–	2					6	–	5
New Hampshire		4	–	4					6	–	5
Rhode Island		4	–	4					6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4					6	–	5
Campbell		4	–	4					5	–	6
Towson		4	–	4					5	–	6
Hampton		3	–	5					5	–	6
Monmouth		3	–	5					4	–	7
Maine		1	–	7					2	–	9
North Carolina A&T		0	–	8					1	–	10
Stony Brook		0	–	8					0	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The CAA, formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association from 2007 through 2022, changed its name in July 2023 to accommodate future membership expansion outside of the Thirteen Colonies.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:00 p.m.	at Lehigh*		Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	ESPN+	W 38–10	4,360
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Colgate*		Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloSports	W 42–19	5,101
September 16	6:30 p.m.	at UCF*	No. 24	FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, FL	ESPN+	L 14–48	44,206
September 23	2:00 p.m.	No. 17 Rhode Island	No. 25	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloSports	W 35–9	5,913
September 30	3:30 p.m.	at Albany	No. 16	Bob Ford Field Albany, NY	FloSports	L 10–31	7,071
October 7	4:00 p.m.	at North Carolina A&T		Truist Stadium Greensboro, NC	FloSports	W 37–14	8,098
October 14	1:00 p.m.	Elon		Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloSports	W 21–0	2,429
October 28	2:00 p.m.	Stony Brook	No. 19	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloSports	W 48–13	5,119
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at New Hampshire	No. 17	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	FloSports	W 45–33	6,633
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Towson	No. 13	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloSports	W 33–10	4,819
November 18	1:00 p.m.	at No. 7 Delaware	No. 10	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (Battle of the Blue)	FloSports, NBC Sports Philadelphia	W 35–7	17,718
December 2	12:00 p.m.	No. 21 Youngstown State*	No. 6	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	W 45–28	2,015
December 9	12:00 p.m.	at No. 1 South Dakota State*	No. 6	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN	L 12–23	10,216
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[1][2]

Game summaries

at Lehigh

Colgate

at UCF (FBS)

See also: 2023 UCF Knights football team

No. 24 (FCS) Villanova Wildcats at UCF Knights

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 (FCS) Wildcats	0	0	0	14	14
Knights	17	17	7	7	48

at FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL

• Date: September 16, 2023
• Game time: 6:30 pm EDT
• Game attendance: 44,206
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Drew Fellios and Forrest Conoly
• Gamecast

Game information

First Quarter UCF: Colton Boomer 26-yard field goal, 9:21 UCF: Jordan McDonald 1-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer kick), 4:51 UCF: Jordan McDonald 1-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer kick), 1:01 Second Quarter UCF: R.J. Harvey 5-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer kick), 7:47 UCF: Javon Baker 25 Yd pass from Timmy McClain (Colton Boomer kick), 5:04 UCF: Colton Boomer 41-yard field goal, 0:25 Third Quarter UCF: R.J. Harvey 24-yard touchdown run (Colton Boomer kick), 5:12 Fourth Quarter Villanova: Connor Watkins 3-yard touchdown run (Matthew Mercurio kick), 13:42 UCF: Jaylon Griffin 36-yard touchdown pass from Timmy McClain (Colton Boomer kick), 11:22 Villanova: T.D. Ayo-Durojaiye 11-yard touchdown run (Matthew Mercurio kick), 4:44 Win Probability UCF 95.9% Line N/A Over/Under N/A

Statistics	NOVA	UCF
First downs	11	31
Total yards	228	600
Rushing yards	84	251
Passing yards	144	349
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	27:08	32:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Villanova	Passing	Connor Watkins	9-23, 144 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Deewil Barlee	7 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	Jaylan Sanchez	1 receptions, 45 yards
UCF	Passing	Timmy McClain	20-28, 321 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
	Rushing	R. J. Harvey	14 carries, 85 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Kobe Hudson	6 receptions, 147 yards