Sports Writer, Thomas Zaffalon, takes a look back at the Wildcat's 2018 Season and Looks Ahead to their 2019 Season

Season Recap:
The Wildcats came into the 2018 season ranked the 19th best team in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). With a 19-17 Mayor's Cup victory against Temple to kickoff the season, the Cats began a 3-1 run, with wins against Lehigh and Bucknell and a loss to Towson, that saw them rise to the 15th spot in the FCS. However, after this the Cats went on a 4 game losing streak that derailed their season and ended their hopes of a playoff berth. This streak was sealed with back-to-back statement losses to the 6th ranked James Madison Dukes (a 37 point shutout) and the outranked New Hampshire Wildcats (a 34 point shutout). The Wildcats then bounced back with a 45-21 win against Richmond. The following week Nova suffered a crushing loss to the William & Mary Tribe that saw the Wildcats come up short after scoring 10 4th-quarter points to cut the Tribe's lead to 7. The Wildcats finished up the season with a 42-21 victory at Delaware in the Battle of the Blue. The Wildcats finished the season 5-6 overall with a 2-6 conference record, outranked in the FCS, and 10th in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association).

Recruiting:
Villanova was able to secure the commitments of 17 players in the class of 2019, including star local products DeeWil Barlee (RB, Episcopal Academy) and Jalen Goodman (DB, Lower Merion). The Wildcats also secured the commitment of their quarterback of the future in Matt O'Connor (Lower Merion). However, the top-ranked player of their 2019 recruiting class is 3-star athlete Jaaron Hayek, who chose Villanova over notable FBS teams like Cincinnati, Temple, and Rutgers. The Cats ended the recruiting cycle with the 5th best class in the CAA and 184th best class in the nation.

2019 Record Prediction:
6-6 (3-5 conference)

Thomas Zaffalon joined the AKSM photography team in the spring of 2018 as an intern sports writer. Thomas covers Villanova Athletics and excels in writing about basketball, football and baseball. Click Here to Contact Thomas Zaffalon.