HAMILTON  — A staunch defensive effort from Colgate's defense held No. 5 Villanova to just 170 yards of total offense in the first half, but the Wildcats pulled away in the second for a 28-3 victory. 

"We knew it was going to be a challenge coming in," Fred '50 and Marilyn Dunlap Head Football Coach Stan Dakosty said. "Villanova has a good team this year and a lot of experience on both sides of the ball, but we knew we could fight and compete with them."

"We were going up against the No. 5 FCS team in the country and our guys went toe-to-toe with them for a good number of plays. We showed that there's promise in this team, but there's still a lot of work to do."

Junior linebacker Cole Kozlowski led the team in tackles for the second-consecutive game with 11 stops (seven solo), while senior quarterback Michael Brescia racked up over 200 yards of total offense for the second game in a row. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Raiders rotated Brescia and junior Zach Osborne at quarterback for the opening two series. The duo could not ignite the offense, however, with both drives amounting to just 32 yards. 

Luckily, Colgate hung tough on the other side of the ball led by sophomore defensive lineman Justin Tedim's tackle-for-a-loss on a crucial third down to end Villanova's second series of the evening.  

After a 71-yard touchdown reception from the Wildcats, Brescia eventually catalyzed the offense when he hit Treyvhon Saunders and Brady Hutchison for two straight first downs. The spurt of production led to the Raiders' only points of the evening, a 39-yard field goal from Luke Vogeler. 

Colgate's Kozlowski, Andrew Taddeo, and Christian Sweeney notched three-straight tackles-for-losses on the following three Wildcat drives, sending both teams into the halftime locker rooms with a 7-3 score. 

Villanova set the tone coming out of half with an assertive 63-yard touchdown drive, the first of three second-half scores for the visitors. The Raiders' offense could only muster 110 yards of offense over the final 30 minutes, culminating in a 28-3 defeat that dropped Colgate to 0-2 on the season. 

GAME NOTES

• Sophomore kicker Luke Vogeler drilled his first-career field goal in the loss.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Ashawn Sims logged a career high four tackles. 
• The Raiders' defense tallied three sacks for the second-consecutive game this season.
• Junior running back Marco Maldonado set a new career high with six receptions. 
• Senior punter Shelby Pruett averaged 46.5 yards per punt on the evening, increasing his career average to 39.9, just one yard away from the program record.

UP NEXT
The Raiders will look to avoid an 0-3 start to the season on the road next weekend with a 6 p.m. bout at Akron.