2021 Villanova Wildcats football team

The 2021 Villanova Wildcats football team represented Villanova University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Mark Ferrante and played their home games at Villanova Stadium. They competed as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.

2021 Villanova Wildcats football
CAA co-champion
NCAA Division I Quarterfinal, L 21–35 vs. South Dakota State
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATS	No. 8
FCS Coaches	No. 8
Record	10–3 (7–1 CAA)
Head coach	Mark Ferrante (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Chris Boden (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Ola Adams (3rd season)
Home stadium	Villanova Stadium

2021 Colonial Athletic Association football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 James Madison +^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 8 Villanova +^		7	–	1					10	–	3
Elon		5	–	3					6	–	5
Rhode Island		4	–	4					7	–	4
Maine		4	–	4					6	–	5
Richmond		4	–	4					6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4					6	–	5
Stony Brook		4	–	4					5	–	6
Delaware		3	–	5					5	–	6
Towson		3	–	5					4	–	7
New Hampshire		2	–	6					3	–	8
Albany		1	–	7					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	12:00 p.m.	at Lehigh*	No. 16	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	ESPN+	W 47–3	4,101
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Bucknell*	No. 12	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloFootball	W 55–3	8,219
September 18	3:30 p.m.	No. 21 Richmond	No. 12	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloFootball	W 34–27	12,001
September 25	12:00 p.m.	at No. 6 (FBS) Penn State*	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	BTN	L 17–38	105,790
October 9	2:00 p.m.	at No. 3 James Madison	No. 11	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	FloFootball	W 28–27	25,035
October 16	3:30 p.m.	at Albany	No. 6	Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium Albany, NY	FloFootball	W 17–10	7,121
October 23	3:30 p.m.	No. 18 Rhode Island	No. 5	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloFootball	W 44–0	7,341
October 30	1:00 p.m.	William & Mary	No. 4	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloFootball	L 18–31	5,101
November 6	2:00 p.m.	at Elon	No. 10	Rhodes Stadium Elon, NC	FloFootball	W 35–0	8,865
November 13	1:00 p.m.	Stony Brook	No. 8	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	FloFootball	W 33–14	4,421
November 20	1:00 p.m.	at Delaware	No. 6	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (Battle of the Blue)	FloFootball	W 21–13	11,437
December 3	7:00 p.m.	No. 24 Holy Cross*	No. 6	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (NCAA Division Second Round)	ESPN+	W 21–16	5,109
December 11	2:00 p.m.	No. 11 South Dakota State*	No. 6	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (NCAA Division Quarterfinal)	ESPN+	L 21–35	3,401
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

at No. 6 (FBS) Penn State

See also: 2021 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

No. 11 Villanova at No. 6 (FBS) Penn State – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Villanova	3	0	0	14	17
No. 6 (FBS) Penn State	7	10	14	7	38

at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 25
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C); sunny
• Game attendance: 105,790
• Referee: Jerry McGinn
• TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst), and Elise Menaker (sideline)
• Pregame line: None (due to Villanova's FCS status) • Odds to win: Penn State 96.8% • ESPN box score

Game information

First quarter PSU – Jahan Dotson, 52-yard TD pass from Sean Clifford, Jordan Stout kick, 12:59 (PSU, 7–0) VU – Cole Bunce, 39-yard field goal, 1:21 (PSU, 7–3) Second quarter PSU – Parker Washington, 52-yard TD pass from Clifford, Stout kick, 14:07 (PSU, 14–3) PSU – Stout, 29-yard field goal, 8:26 (PSU, 17–3) Third quarter PSU – KeAndre Lambert-Smith, 83-yard TD pass from Clifford, Stout kick, 14:14 (PSU, 24–3) PSU – Washington, 23-yard TD pass from Clifford, Stout kick, 1:58 (PSU, 31–3) Fourth quarter PSU – Tyler Warren, 3-yard TD run, Stout kick, 13:58 (PSU, 38–3) VU – Rayjoun Pringle, 57-yard TD pass from Daniel Smith, Bunce kick, 9:42 (PSU, 38–10) VU – Pringle, 17-yard TD pass from Smith, Bunce kick, 1:38 (PSU, 38–17)

Statistics	VU	PSU
First downs	15	20
Plays–yards	60–280	65–509
Rushes–yards	26–58	34–80
Passing yards	222	429
Passing: comp–att–int	20–34–1	22–31–1
Time of possession	31:15	28:45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Villanova	Passing	Daniel Smith	20/34, 222 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Jalen Jackson	7 carries, 58 yards
	Receiving	Rayjoun Pringle	4 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD
Penn State	Passing	Sean Clifford	19/26, 401 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	John Lovett	11 carries, 45 yards
	Receiving	Parker Washington	5 receptions, 148 yards, 2 TD