The recipe that will allow Maine to prevail at Villanova on Saturday seems obvious. The Black Bears will have to use their aerial attack to take advantage of a Villanova defense that’s ranked second in the Colonial Athletic Association in run defense (94.5 yards per game), but 11th in the 12-team league in passing yards allowed per game (252.2).

Maine is certainly equipped to do so. Quarterback Chris Ferguson is ranked first among CAA quarterbacks in passing yards (1,275) and second in the conference in passing yards per game (318.8). The Black Bears are 11th nationally in pass offense (326.0 ypg).

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“Ferguson is throwing the ball extremely well, so we’re going to have to defend the pass,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said. “When you get into the CAA, no matter who you’re playing, you have to play as clean a game as you can and as consistently as you can in all phases of the game and hopefully win the turnover battle. That’s our goal this week and moving forward.”

Of course, moving the ball against Villanova (4-0, 1-0) is one thing. Scoring against the Wildcats can be a much tougher challenge. Despite last weekend’s 52-45 victory over Towson, Villanova in No. 2 among CAA teams in scoring defense (19.8 ppg). The Wildcats, who were picked to finish ninth in the CAA preseason poll, surrendered a total of 34 points in their first three games, victories over Colgate (34-14), Lehigh (38-10), and Bucknell (45-10).

Villanova is also second in the CAA in sacks with 10.

Even if the Black Bears do have good success through the air, they may have to score a lot to come out on top since Villanova is averaging 42.2 points per game. The Wildcats lead the CAA in rushing (255.8 yards per game) thanks in large part to junior running back Justin Covington, who leads the conference in rushing yards (556) and is averaging 9.1 yards per carry. 

Meanwhile, Villanova quarterback Daniel Smith has thrown 13 touchdown passes. Smith, a transfer from Cambell, was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in last weekend’s victory over Towson. He completed 25-of-42 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns in that game, and also carried the ball seven times for 70 yards and two TDs.

Smith and the rest of the Villanova offense will be facing a Maine defense that’s first in the CAA against the pass (152.8 ypg) and ninth against the run (197.5).

“We have our work cut out for us again, but that’s the nature of this league,” Maine coach Nick Charlton said. “They’re doing some really good things on offense. Their quarterback is an elite player and of course Covington is a very, very good running back who’s leading the league right now in a lot of categories. And then defensively they’re always tough.

“Our message to the players is the same as it was last week. It’s about us. We’re going to be playing great teams week-in and week-out. This is a great team that we’re playing, but we have to play our brand of football and get the game to the fourth quarter.”

Villanova is ranked No. 8 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and No. 13 in the FCS Coaches’ Poll. Maine is 12th in the STATS poll and 16th in the FCS Coaches’ Poll. 

Ferrante said the goal for his defense will be to make the Maine offense one-dimensional.

“We always want to focus on stopping the run,” he said. “We always start with stopping the run game. That’s kind of our philosophy on defense.

“(Ferguson is) going to come in here and try to distribute the ball well like he’s been doing, and if he wants to throw a couple to us I’d be in favor of that.”

The wildcard in this game could be Maine wide receiver/kick returner Earnest Edwards, who broke his own school record with 198 return yards in last Saturday 35-21 win against Colgate. Edwards scored three touchdowns in that contest, two on kickoff returns.

“Obviously Earnest is an explosive athlete,” Ferrante said. “He does a lot of positive things for them, and the return game is definitely one of them. We need to do a good job covering the kicks. I’m hoping Nate Fondacaro, our kickoff guy, can kick them all out of the end zone so we don’t have to worry about defending Earnest on the return, but then we have to deal with him as a receiver and all the things he does with the offense as well.

“We just have to play as clean a game as we can. It’s going to be an awesome CAA game.”