Colgate Stays Perfect at 4-0 with a 28-21 Win at Villanova
Colgate is 4-0 and Villanova is 2-2, and the 28-21 final looks tighter than the game really was. The Raiders scored three times through the air from Jake Stearney, trailed only in the first half, and had a 28-14 lead entering the fourth.
Villanova struck first, with Pat McQuaide finding Braden Reed from 17 yards at 10:41 of the first quarter. Caleb Naumann tied it with a 6-yard run, Isaiah Ragland put the Wildcats back in front 14-7 with a 13-yard run early in the second, and Stearney tied it again with a 5-yard pass to Peyton Way. It was 14-14 at the half. That was the last time Villanova had anything to say for a while.
Colgate struck right after halftime, a 41-yard Stearney pass to Matt Fogler at 14:18 of the third. A 12-yard Stearney pass to Chief Montalvo with 1:28 left in the third made it 28-14. McQuaide came back with a 25-yard touchdown to Ja'briel Mace at 14:54 of the fourth, and that was the end of the scoring with a full quarter to play. Nobody found the end zone again.
The turnover column explains a lot. Villanova threw an interception and lost a fumble, and Colgate had none. The Wildcats also ran for only 68 yards. Colgate had 309 total yards to Villanova's 260, so the Raiders won a game where they were not hugely better, just a lot cleaner.
Fantasy-wise, Stearney led everyone with 29.9, Reed had 22 on the losing side and Fogler had 20.3.