Monmouth football stuns No. 9 Villanova, 49-42, getting first CAA win in dramatic fashion

Monmouth officially announced its arrival into the Colonial Athletic Association in dramatic fashion Saturday with a stunning road upset of one of the league’s heavyweights.

The newcomers shook off the doubters and emerged from Villanova Stadium with a thrilling 49-42 victory over the nationally-ranked, defending league champion Wildcats.

Despite 482 yards of offense, Monmouth’s first-ever CAA victory, and arguably the program's biggest win ever, was not assured until Mike Reid made an interception in the end zone on a Hail Mary pass as time expired, after Jaden Shirden scored the winning points on a 16-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds to play.

“One of the things I talked to the players about was that no matter what happened, they had to just keep playing, keep going, and they obviously did that,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. “The game went back and forth and in the end it was a great win for us."

Monmouth (2-2, 1-1), picked to finish 10th, is now knee-deep in the battle for both a CAA title and a spot in the FCS Playoffs. Villanova (2-2, 0-1), ranked ninth nationally and the preseason pick to defend its title, finished with 539 yards of offense, coming back six times to tie the game in what was a wild afternoon in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

The Hawks, who won Big South titles in 2019 and the spring of 2021, are now 40-13 against FCS foes since 2017.

Leading the way was Shirden, as the speedy sophomore who entered the game as the nation’s leading rusher added 211 yards to that total, scoring a pair of touchdowns.

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Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins scored on a five-yard TD run, his second of the game, with 2:42 to play, as the Wildcats continued to battle back. But Monmouth answered as quarterback Tony Muskett found Assanti Kearney for 19 yards into Villanova territory, setting up Shirden's heroics in the red zone.

Muskett finished with 161 passing yards and three TDs, to go with 78 yards on the ground. Kearney caught a pair of touchdown passes, while Owen Wright ran for a pair of touchdowns, including a fourth-down plunge with 6:21 to play that gave Monmouth a 42-35 lead.

Monmouth, which never trailed in the game, had 321 yards on the ground.

While both defenses gave up a lot of yardage, Monmouth was able to make the most important play of all, as cornerback Davis Smith intercepted a pass and returned it to the 10-yard-line, setting up Wright's fourth-down scoring run.

“When it came down late in the game, the defense got a huge pick, and that says a lot about out kids and how much winning this game meant to them," said Callahan.

Monmouth built a 21-14 halftime lead, but the game was tied at 28-all heading into the final quarter.

Fast start

Monmouth opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive in less than two minutes. It began with Dymere Miller, who missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, taking a jet sweep and racing 43 yards, and ended with Muskett finding Kearney in the end zone from 19 yards out.

The Wildcats answered right back, with Jalen Jackson doing most of the damage, rushing for 64 yards on six carries, taking it the final nine yards to even the score at 7-7. The Wildcats committed to running the ball to see if the Hawks could stop it. The Hawks made on a stop on Jackson on a fourth-and-2 at the Monmouth 14 in the final minute of the first quarter, as the score remained tied.

Muskett and Co. took full advantage of it, driving 87 yards, including a 30-yard burst by Shirden, with Wright scoring from three yards out to give the Hawks a 14-7 lead with 10:06 to play in the first half. Watkins then found Jaaron Hayek deep for 51 yards, splitting Monmouth defenders with Wright making the tackle at the 16. Four plays later it was Watkins sneaking it in from a yard out to tie the game with 2:04 on the clock.

But that was enough time, as Muskett found Ugo Obasi on an 11-yard hookup early in the drive, and then for 22-yards on a fourth-and three from the Villanova 36. Muskett closed the drive out with a six-yard TD pass to Miller in the front of the end zone, giving Monmouth a 21-14 halftime lead.

Jackson scored to even matters on the Wildcats’ opening possession of the second half, capping a 68-yard drive.

Pregame - Can Monmouth football pull off stunner at Villanova? 5 keys vs. CAA power Wildcats

There’s a level of curiosity surrounding this afternoon’s game at Villanova Stadium.

That’s when CAA newcomer Monmouth, with a pair of Big South titles on its resume (2019, spring 2021), faces a major measuring stick in the nationally-ranked, conference-power Wildcats.

It’s a big moment for the Hawks (1-2, 0-1 CAA), coming off a 45-6 win over Georgetown. Villanova (2-1, 0-0) lost to Army, 49-10, last time out.

“They understand that Villanova is the defending CAA champion and the team that is picked to win it again this year. In that are a lot of challenges,” Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan said. “Our guys are excited. Saturday’s win did a lot to energize them and give them a lot of confidence. I don’t think they lost confidence. but it reaffirmed what they believe, so you take that and go.

“We’ve faced challenges over the last 30 years, and teams have always risen to the challenges and that is what has put us in the place that we are now. And this is a great challenge for our program and our team, but it’s also a great opportunity for us. A great opportunity to get our first conference win.”

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., and will be streamed on FloSports and broadcast on the Monmouth Digital Network.

Check back right here later Saturday for complete coverage and analysis of Monmouth's big game. For now, here are five keys for the Hawks against Villanova:

1. Win inside

Expect Villanova to try to run the ball through the Monmouth defense and shut the Hawks’ ground game down. Monmouth has to match Villanova’s physicality in the trenches.

Monmouth’s offensive line, with five new starters this season, made strides over the first three games, but could be without right tackle Justin Szuba, who would be replaced by JT Cornelius. The Hawks’ defensive front seven held its own in the opener at New Hampshire and last week against Georgetown.

2. Solid tackling

Villanova is averaging 230 yards on the ground behind seniors DeeWil Barlee, TD Ayo-Durojaiye and Jalen Jackson, all hard running backs who make yards after contact. Monmouth did a better job tackling last game, and will have to be even better in this one. Getting multiple defenders to the ball is a priority.

3. Reduce penalties

Monmouth was whistled for nine penalties for 90 yards last weekend, and some of them were killers. Like the two special teams penalties that left the Monmouth offense starting from deep in its own territory.

Teams like Villanova make you pay for mistakes like that. Monmouth can’t give away yardage in a game like this.

4. Run the ball

New Hampshire’s front seven was easily the best Monmouth has faced so far, and they averaged just 1.7 yards-per-carry. But that was the first game together for the offensive line.

Now, speedy sophomore Jaden Shirden is the national leader in rushing yardage. But this is a game where you’re going to need some tough yards inside, which is where senior Juwon Farri shines.

5. Poise under pressure

Monmouth’s performed well against good teams in the past, particularly in what used to be an annual Big South showdown with Kennesaw State. This is just a different uniform.

And if things don’t go Monmouth’s way early on, the ability to counterpunch on the road against a tough conference rival will be a huge step forward for the Hawks.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth football stuns No. 9 Villanova, 49-42, for first CAA win