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The fifth-ranked Villanova Wildcats will be on the road for their first game of the 2021 spring season. The Villanova Wildcats have posted a 60-59-3 record in season openers in their program's history. They have not played since losing to Southeastern Louisiana in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
The Stony Brook Seawolves, meanwhile, are 5-0 in home openers since the 2015 season. Stony Brook Seawolves have a tough task against the Villanova Wildcats. The Stony Brook Seawolves are coming off a disappointing 2019 season, where they finished with a 5-7 record.
Both Wildcats and Stony Brook Seawolves will look to start their spring seasons on the right foot. The Stony Brook Seawolves are looking to make it six straight home-opening wins, while the Vilanova Wildcats will look stay at number five in the FCS rankings.
#5 Villanova Wildcats vs Stony Brook Seawolves Head to Head | FCS Football
The Stony Brook Seawolves and Villanova Wildcats are set to meet for the fifth time on Saturday.
Stony Brook currently owns the head-to-head record over Villanova 3-1. The Seawolves defeated the Wildcats 36-35 during the 2019 season.
This will be the third straight season that the two programs will play each other. It has been seven years since the Villanova Wildcats have beaten the Stony Brook Seawolves. The first meeting between the two programs was back in 2012, which was won by Stony Brook Seawolves 20-10.
#5 Villanova Wildcats vs Stony Brook Seawolves Team News | FCS Football
#5 Villanova Wildcats
The Villanova Wildcats, who are entering their 123rd season, travel to Stony Brook.
They are currently 26-25-2 on the road in season openers. The Villanova Wildcats are entering their 16th consecutive season where they will open their campaign with a road game.
Villanova Wildcats are being led by third-year head coach Mark Ferrante. He was the assistant coach under former Wildcats head coach Andy Talley for 30 years. Mark Ferrante has registered a 3-0 record in season openers, with all three wins coming on the road.
The Villanova Wildcats are returning their starting quarterback Daniel Smith. Smith put together a successful 2019 season, where he threw for over 3,200 yards and had 35 touchdowns and ten interceptions. His 3,000 yard passing season is only the seventh such instance in school history.
The Villanova Wildcats are also returning their leading tackler Forrest Rhyne. Rhyne is entering his senior season after putting together a phenomenal junior stint. During his junior season, Forrest Rhyne registered 116 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for the Villanova Wildcats defense.
Stony Brook Seawolves
The Stony Brook Seawolves are being led by their head coach Chuck Priore. Priore has been the head coach for the Seawolves since the 2006 season and has led Stony Brook Seawolves to four FCS playoff appearances. He has also been named the Big South Coach of the Year in the 2009 and 2011 seasons.
Stony Brook Seawolves offense is being led by their red-shirt senior quarterback Tyquell Fields. Fields threw 1,957 yards and 11 touchdowns during the 2019 season. He also added 266 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in 65 attempts that season.
The Stony Brook offense will also return red-shirt sophomore running back Ty Son Lawton and graduate transfer wide receiver Malik Love. Ty Son Lawton rushed for 535 rushing yards and made seven touchdowns in 119 attempts in 2019. Meanwhile, Malik Love registered 179 receptions, 1,810 yards and five touchdowns for New Hampshire in 2019.
The Stony Brook Seawolves defense forced five interceptions in 2019 and took one of the interceptions back for a touchdown. Stony Brook Seawolves are coming off a season where they were outscored by their opponents 242-249. The Stony Brook secondary was torched during the 2019 season, giving up over 2,300 passing yards to opposing quarterbacks.
#5 Villanova Wildcats vs Stony Brook Seawolves Projected Starters | FCS Football
#5 Villanova Wildcats
QB: Daniel Smith.
RB: Justin Covington.
WR: Jaquan Allen, Rayjoun Pringle, Jaaron Hayek.
TE: Todd Summers.
Stony Brook Seawolves
QB: Tyquell Fields.
RB: Ty Son Lawton.
WR: Malik Love, Khalil Newton, Delante Hellams
TE: Tyler Devera.
#5 Villanova Wildcats vs Stony Brook Seawolves Prediction | FCS Football
The Stony Brook Seawolves will look to knock off the fifth-ranked Villanova Wildcats at home on Saturday. Stony Brook Seawolves will need to lean on their fundamentals against the Wildcats, who will lean heavily on their quarterback Daniel Smith.
However, the Villanova Wildcats could be too much in offense for the Seawolves secondary. Daniel Smith could put together a monster game and lead the Villanova Wildcats to victory. Villanova Wildcats are going into Stony Brook Seawolves ranked in the top ten.
Prediction: #5 Villanova Wildcats 35:21 Stony Brook Seawolves
