Villanova, PA -- (Sports Network) - You couldn't blame Villanova for feeling a little snake-bit after its last game at home, which the Wildcats lost 23-19 to No. 1 ranked James Madison on a final-play, Hail Mary touchdown pass.

But No. 6 Villanova saw its luck change in a more positive direction Saturday on the way to a 24-13 Colonial Athletic Association victory over No. 8-ranked New Hampshire.

There was a 27-yard touchdown pass from UNH's R.J. Toman to Terrance Fox in the second quarter that was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty. The play would have given New Hampshire a 17-14 lead, but instead UNH failed to score.

Near the end of the third quarter, an ineligible man down field was flagged against New Hampshire, wiping out an eight-yard completion between Toman and J.T. Wright.

Later on in that drive, Tom Bishop's 43-yard field goal just 13 seconds into the fourth period clanked off the right upright in the west end zone, just a few yards away from where JMU's Bosco Williams had celebrated his touchdown reception two weeks ago, leaving Villanova with a 14-13 lead.

The win kept Villanova's hopes alive for a share of the CAA championship and a top-four playoff seed as VU improved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in league play.

With the loss, New Hampshire (7-2, 4-2) moved into a precarious position of needing to win at home against Massachusetts next week and on the road at Maine the following week to earn one of those precious eight at-large playoff bids.

Villanova coach Andy Talley knew that having the better team two weeks ago hadn't led to a victory over James Madison. But a strong defense and a clutch offense, with a little better luck mixed in proved to be the recipe for success on this Saturday.

"This game was played the way you wanted to draw it up," said Talley. "This game really belonged to our defense and they really did the job in the second half."

New Hampshire came into the contest ranked fifth nationally in scoring, averaging more than 38 points per game, but was held 25 points below its season average. UNH managed 314 yards of total offense, but the Wildcats were penalized nine times for 54 yards.

"I thought we were a better team than them when I saw the tape of them," Talley explained. "We've been in some wars. I didn't think they had played enough high caliber people and we had. We've been there before against stiff competition. When things got tough, we did not break."

Villanova faced its first adversity when quarterback Chris Whitney had a pass tipped and intercepted, which set up Robert Simpson's three-yard touchdown run.

VU also had to overcome the early loss of defensive end Greg Miller, its Buchanan Award candidate, to a sprained knee, but the Wildcat defense didn't miss a beat.

On offense, Antwon Young brought Villanova right back with a 13-play, 79-yard drive, dashing three yards for a game-tying score.

Bishop drilled a 36-yard field goal to put New Hampshire back on top, but Whitney's five-yard scoring strike to Brandyn Harvey helped Villanova take a 14-10 lead to the locker room.

New Hampshire took the second half kickoff and marched down the field behind the running of Simpson (12 carries, 53 yards) and some clutch Toman passes, but once UNH arrived in the red zone, Villanova's defense toughened up again and held New Hampshire to a 23-yard Bishop field goal that made it 14-13.

Another defining moment for Villanova occurred when New Hampshire followed up that score with an onside kick. Villanova initially recovered the kick, but then fumbled to give UNH the ball back on its own 30.

New Hampshire only managed one first down before being shut down by the Villanova defense again.

Taking that one-point lead into the fourth quarter, Villanova closed out the win with scoring drives of 11 plays and 73 and 12 plays and 68 yards, holding the ball for 11 of the final 15 minutes.

Whitney rushed four yards up the field before making a late pitch to Phil Atkinson, who took the ball the final 17 yards for a touchdown to give Villanova a 21-13 advantage with under nine minutes left.

After holding New Hampshire without a first down and forcing a punt, Villanova pulled out all stops to get into scoring position again. That included calling for Matt Szczur to take short snap on a fake punt on fourth and one to give VU a key first down at its own 44.

Joe Marcoux's single-season-record 14th field goal from 35 yards lifted the Wildcats to an 11-point edge with 5:37 remaining - a lead that even New Hampshire's quick-strike attack couldn't overcome.

"We just didn't finish some things off that we needed to finish off in the second half," said New Hampshire coach Sean McDonnell. "Hats go off to Villanova, they played a lot cleaner game than we did."

Villanova completed the game without being flagged for a penalty. It was the first penalty-free game for the Wildcats since 1968.

It was also a big evening for Talley, who became the winningest coach in league games, passing former New Hampshire coach Bill Bowes with his 98th victory.

"I know Bill is not happy about this," said Talley. "Bill and I had our battles."

Villanova stayed within a game of James Madison in the CAA standings, heading into games against Towson at home and Delaware on the road to close out the season.