ELON, N.C. – The Elon football team was unable to find the scoreboard on Homecoming, losing to No. 10/13 Villanova 35-0 Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.
 
Villanova improved to 7-2 on the season with the win and remained atop the CAA Football standings at 5-1. Elon fell to 4-5 overall with the loss and is tied for fifth in the league at 3-3.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Elon's defense forced a punt on the opening drive of the game, but the Phoenix turned the ball over twice, once via interception and the next via muffed punt return. The Wildcats scored a touchdown five plays after the punt return turnover to go up 7-0.
• Facing a third-and-18 early in the second quarter, Villanova scored on a 48-yard passing touchdown to stretch its lead to 14-0.
• Villanova scored on the final play of the first half to secure a 21-0 halftime lead.
• In the second half, Villanova added two more touchdowns to make the final score 35-0.

 



NEWS AND NOTES

• Seven different players caught a pass, paced by Jackson Parham, who led the team with four grabs. Kortez Weeks caught two passes for a team-high 43 yards.
• Caleb Ogunmola caught the longest pass of his career, a 27-yard completion in the fourth quarter.
• Jamir Malone posted a career high nine tackles, including 1.5 for a loss.
• Omar Rogers delivered the first sack of his career on Villanova's opening drive. He also added six solo tackles.
• Elon had 163 yards of total offense, its lowest in a game for the Phoenix this season. The team did have 131 of those yards in the second half.
• Elon was outrushed by Villanova 188-17.
• Elon picked up eight first downs compared to Villanova's 21.
• Elon went 1-for-11 on third downs and was 0-6 in the second half.
• Elon's defense was missing an anchor as Tristen Cox did not play due to injury, snapping a streak of 48 straight games started.
• Cole Coleman forced a fumble, his third of the season. Entering the weekend, only 17 players in the country had forced three fumbles this year.
• This was the first time Elon has been shutout since Oct. 17, 2015 against James Madison. 
• Elon is now 1-3 at Rhodes Stadium this season.
• Elon falls to 10-15 against ranked opponents since 2016.
• Villanova held a lopsided time of possession advantage, picking up 40:23 in TOP compared to just 19:37 for the Phoenix.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon hits the road for the final time in the 2021 season, playing Towson at 2:00 p.m.
• Following a 28-17 loss to Richmond Saturday, Towson has an identical 4-5 overall record and 3-3 mark in CAA Football.