William & Mary erased a 10-point deficit in under a minute to stun Villanova

Villanova. Yikes. In FCS Week Zero, William & Mary pulled off a jaw-dropping double-digit comeback against Villanova on the road, and they did it in less than a minute of game time. After trailing by 10 late in the fourth quarter, the Tribe stormed all the way back for a 35-32 win.

Let me walk you through this, because it’s as wild a final minute as you’ll ever see. The Tribe kicked off their rally with a 40-yard Max Lipinski field goal with 53 seconds left.

Then, needing a touchdown, William & Mary recovered an onside kick inside the Villanova 40 after it bounced off a Wildcat. Three plays later, quarterback Winston Watkins lofted a deep ball to receiver Kai Austin, who hauled it in for a 37-yard touchdown.

Extra point, and just like that, they’d tied it with 22 seconds left. Stunning.

The Tribe weren’t finished. Villanova QB Pat McQuaide chucked it deep as the clock wound down and got picked off by Cade Ellis, the guy’s SECOND interception of the night and McQuaide’s third overall. That set up Lipinski’s 45-yard game-winner with five seconds left to complete one of the wildest comebacks of the young season.

Villanova…YIKES

William and Mary was down double digits to No. 7 Villanova with under a minute left to play.

Then this happened 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8BPsrbzrLj

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 29, 2026

For Villanova, this is about as brutal a sequence as it gets. Field goal, onside kick recovery, getting absolutely torched for a game-tying touchdown, backbreaking interception, and then thanks to the kicker.

That’s the full nightmare, all served up in under a minute.

A ton of the credit here goes to Max Lipinski, a transfer from James Madison with limited experience who went a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, including the game-winner. Shoutout to sophomore Sam Braidwood, who nailed the crucial onside kick that made the whole thing possible.

The context makes it even better. Villanova came in ranked No. 8 in the FCS preseason poll, while William & Mary was merely receiving votes. So this was the lower-ranked team walking into a top-10 squad’s house and ripping their hearts out in the final minute. It’s a huge start for the Tribe, who are in their first year in the Patriot League after nearly a decade in the Coastal Athletic Association.

The loss sours Villanova’s home opener badly, especially with a three-game road trip looming, including an FBS matchup against Louisville on September 11. The Tribe, meanwhile, get their own FBS challenge with a trip to Duke on September 26.

Football is back, folks, and if Week Zero is any indication, we’re in for a season full of exactly this kind of madness. Welcome back. We missed you.

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