The Elon University football team fell just short of an upset over No. 18 Villanova in a back-and-forth 29-21 loss on Oct. 11.
Head coach Tony Trisciani credited self-inflicted mistakes for the loss.
“We can't win football games with deep balls getting over our head, with kickoff returns being returned for touchdowns and for sacks that put us out of manageable down and distances,” Trisciani said. “Those were the things that really impacted this football game.”
Elon was looking to stay atop the Coastal Athletic Association standings with a packed crowd of alumni on Homecoming Weekend.
Elon came out of the gates hot as redshirt freshman quarterback Landen Clark connected with sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Fuhrmann for 62 yards a minute into the game. The immediate next play, sophomore running back TJ Thomas Jr. ran in an 8-yard touchdown.
As the first half progressed, Villanova began to favor short passes near the sideline, mixing in the run, but Elon’s run defense held them in check. Villanova only averaged 3.7 yards per carry in the opening quarter. Elon’s pass defense was also impressive, holding Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide to less than 100 passing yards in the first half.
Villanova’s second drive of the game stalled just outside the red zone, but it got the Wildcats on the board with a field goal towards the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, junior Jimmyll Williams broke off for a 25-yard rush. A few plays later on 3rd and 20, Elon secured a huge conversion with a 23-yard catch by redshirt sophomore Dylan Magazu. Magazu bulldozed his way into the red zone off several broken tackles. Soon after, Clark scampered his way into the endzone from the 4-yard line. The Phoenix was up 14-3 at halftime, 30 minutes away from a top 25 upset.
Elon’s offense in the first half relied heavily on its ground game. Throughout the season so far, Elon has used its three-headed run game of Williams, Thomas and Clark. It was no different against Villanova. Elon’s run game dominated in the first half with 17 rushing attempts and only six passing attempts.
Coming out of the locker room, Elon’s defense held firm and forced a three-and-out on the opening drive. However, Villanova responded and forced Elon to punt the next drive.
Villanova finally got into the endzone late in the third quarter at the end of a long, 11-play drive that culminated in a 20-yard passing touchdown by McQuaide. The Wildcats’ third quarter dominance continued as they sacked Clark, forcing another Phoenix punt.
Trisciani said Villanova did not make any huge changes to their offensive gameplan in the second half.
“It was really a couple of big plays. Now, they also did a very good job on the conversion downs on third down,” Trisciani said. “They were able to sustain drives and run the clock.”
McQuaide’s lackluster first half had seemed to light a fire in him. He threw for his second touchdown of the quarter with a 42-yard passing touchdown, wiping away Elon’s 11-point halftime lead. Villanova had captured the first lead of the day at 17-14 going into the fourth quarter.
Trisciani said while the defense did a good job of stopping the run, it allowed Villanova to complete several deep throws. He said they need to be able to stop both.
“When it comes to stopping the run, we're going to put as many players in the box as we can, and we're gonna ask our back end to really stand tall against the vertical passing game,” Trisciani said.
Elon’s offense continued to sputter with Villanova’s defensive line finally getting through for a couple of sacks. The Wildcats offense and McQuaide continued their rhythm in the second half, scoring a field goal to extend their lead to six after a drive that included a 44-yard pass.
In the back half of the fourth quarter, Elon’s offense woke up and had been revitalized. Clark led the Phoenix on an efficient drive, connecting with Williams for 15-yard and 18-yard passes. He then threw a 28-yard dump off to Thomas, who ended the drive with a rushing touchdown to give Elon a 21-20 lead.
Villanova immediately responded, however, with a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown, quieting the Homecoming crowd and stealing the lead right back with five minutes left. Villanova attempted to get the two-point conversion, but failed to convert.
The following drive stalled almost immediately for the Phoenix and it punted the ball right back. On 3rd and 11 for Villanova, they made a crucial conversion off a 41-yard catch and run that pushed the Wildcats into Elon territory. The Wildcats kicked a 32-yard field goal to give them a 29-21 lead. This left Elon with 1:08 left to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Thomas said the mindset was to just keep going.
“The mindset was just to win the game, just keep fighting until the clock hits zero,” Thomas said.
Clark started the potential game-winning drive with a short pass to Williams and then used his legs to pick up a first down. With 12 seconds left, Clark made a huge play and threw it deep into Villanova territory. On the final play of the game, with six seconds left, Clark scrambled to the right and looked for an open receiver, but threw an interception. Villanova held on just barely, avoiding the upset.
“It’s a gut punch,” Trisciani said. “This hurts, and it's going to hurt, and tomorrow we're going to address the mistakes and clean those up. It'll take some time for this wound to heal, but at 4:30 tomorrow when we break, then we're turning the page.”
Elon plays next at William & Mary Oct. 18.