WHERE: Alfond Stadium, Orono

WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday

STREAMING: FloFootball

ALL-TIME SERIES: Villanova leads, 15-10. Maine’s last win over the Wildcats came in 2018.

KEY STAT: 17.5, the average points per game allowed by Villanova, tops in the Coastal Athletic Association and eighth-best in all of FCS.

OUTLOOK: Last week’s game at Delaware got away from Maine in the fourth quarter, when the Blue Hens capitalized on a pair of turnovers to score 21 points in the final 6:48 and pull away for a 44-21 win. Against a Villanova team whose only loss was to Maryland of the Big Ten, Maine has to do a better job taking care of the football. Maine coach Jordan Stevens said his team was reckless with the ball and forced some things when it didn’t have to, and that led to the turnovers. The Wildcats are hard enough to score on when you’re taking care of the football. Villanova ranks first in the CAA in points allowed (17.5 ppg) and second in total defense (327 yards per game allowed). Maine ran for just 82 yards last week, the first time all season the Black Bears were held under 100 yards on the ground. Villanova linebackers Shane Hartzell and Brendan Bell are among the top tacklers in the conference, with 91 and 89, respectively. Maine quarterback Carter Peevy is eighth in the conference in total offense, accounting for an average of 201.2 yards per game.

The Wildcats come to Orono off their bye week, and last played in a 42-24 win over Stony Brook on Oct. 5. Connor Watkins, a sixth-year player at quarterback for Villanova, threw four touchdown passes the last time he played Maine, in 2022. Freshman David Avit ran for 343 yards and five touchdowns in the last two games combined, and leads Villanova’s strong running attack with 458 yards. Defensive end Xavier Holmes made a career-high 13 tackles for Maine last week at Delaware, the most tackles in a game by a Black Bear since 2021. Villanova Coach Mark Ferrante said Maine has the look of a team that is improving each week and is very skilled.

OF NOTE: Maine has just one win in its last eight games against Villanova, a 13-10 victory in 2018. That season Maine advanced to the FCS semifinals. … Saturday is Homecoming at Maine. The Black Bears have won seven straight Homecoming games. Maine’s last Homecoming loss was in 2016 to Yale, where head coach Jordan Stevens was an assistant coach at the time. … With 13 sacks in six games, the Black Bears are one shy of last season’s total in 11 games. … Maine beat Villanova in 2018 on Kenny Doak’s 52-yard field goal as time expired. … The Wildcats are Maine’s third opponent ranked in the FCS top 25 this season. The Black Bears lost at No. 3 Montana State 41-24 and won at No. 21 Albany, 34-20.