2021 Villanova Wildcats football team

{{short description|American college football season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 2021

| sport = football

| team = Villanova Wildcats

| image = Villanova Wildcats logo.svg

| image_size = 150

| conference = Colonial Athletic Association

| short_conf = CAA

| STATSRank = 8

| FCSCoachRank = 8

| record = 10–3

| conf_record = 7–1

| head_coach = Mark Ferrante

| hc_year = 5th

| off_coach = Chris Boden

| oc_year = 3rd

| off_scheme =

| def_coach= Ola Adams

| dc_year = 3rd

| def_scheme =

| captain =

| stadium = Villanova Stadium

| champion = CAA co-champion

| bowl = NCAA Division I Quarterfinal

| bowl_result = L 21–35 vs. South Dakota State

}}

{{2021 Colonial Athletic Association football standings}}

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.

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

| time = y

| tv = y

| attend = y

| rank = y

| opprank = y

| rankyear = 2021

| rankdivision = NCAA Division I FCS

| poll = STATS

| timezone = Eastern

| 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

}}

{{cite web |url=https://fbschedules.com/villanova-football-schedule/ |title=2021 Villanova Football Schedule |website=FBSchedules.com |access-date=June 15, 2021 }}

Game summaries

=at No. 6 <small>(FBS)</small> Penn State=

{{See also|2021 Penn State Nittany Lions football team}}

{{Americanfootballbox

|titlestyle={{CollegeSecondaryStyle|Villanova Wildcats}};text-align:center;

|state=autocollapse

|title=No. 11 Villanova at No. 6 {{small|(FBS)}} Penn State – Game summary

|date=September 25

|time= 12:00 p.m. EDT

|road=No. 11 Villanova

|R1=3 |R2=0 |R3=0 |R4=14

|home=No. 6 {{small|(FBS)}} Penn State

|H1=7 |H2=10 |H3=14 |H4=7

|stadium=Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

|attendance=105,790

|weather={{convert|70|°F|°C}}; sunny

|referee=Jerry McGinn

|TV=BTN

|TVAnnouncers=Mark Followill (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst), and Elise Menaker (sideline)

|reference=Pregame line: None (due to Villanova's FCS status) • Odds to win: Penn State 96.8% • [https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore/_/gameId/401282817 ESPN box score]

|scoring=

;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)

}}

{{AmFootballGameStatistics

| Float = left

| Visitor = Villanova Wildcats

| VisitorDisplay = VU

| Home = Penn State Nittany Lions

| HomeDisplay = PSU

| VisFirsts = 15

| VisPlaysYds = 60–280

| VisRushing = 26–58

| VisPassYds = 222

| VisPassing = 20–34–1

| VisTOP = 31:15

| HomeFirsts = 20

| HomePlaysYds = 65–509

| HomeRushing = 34–80

| HomePassYds = 429

| HomePassing = 22–31–1

| HomeTOP = 28:45

}}

{{AmFootballGameTopPlayers

| Float = right

| Visitor = Villanova Wildcats

| VisitorDisplay = Villanova

| Home = Penn State Nittany Lions

| HomeDisplay = Penn State

| VisPasser = Daniel Smith

| VisPassStats = 20/34, 222 yards, 2 TD, INT

| VisRusher = Jalen Jackson

| VisRushStats = 7 carries, 58 yards

| VisReceiver = Rayjoun Pringle

| VisReceivingStats = 4 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD

| HomePasser = Sean Clifford

| HomePassStats = 19/26, 401 yards, 4 TD, INT

| HomeRusher = John Lovett

| HomeRushStats = 11 carries, 45 yards

| HomeReceiver = Parker Washington

| HomeReceivingStats = 5 receptions, 148 yards, 2 TD

}}

{{Clear}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Villanova Wildcats football navbox}}

{{Colonial Athletic Association football champions}}

Villanova

Category:Villanova Wildcats football seasons

Category:Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference champion seasons

Category:2021 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants

Villanova Wildcats football

{{collegefootball-2020s-season-stub}}