Andy Talley gained the 199th victory of his career and saw his defense put on a dominating performance that more than made up for last year’s two defeats while spoiling homecoming weekend for the hosts. Terence Thomas and Fred Maldonado led the way with 10 and 11 tackles, respectively and John Dempsey forced 2 fumbles on the afternoon.
Chris Whitney had one of the best games of his career as he threw 3 touchdowns on the afternoon while posting 97 yards on the ground. Matt Szczur was again in the thick of it all as he caught 2 touchdown passes for the first time in his stellar career.
But the defense was the main story for Villanova, which posted its first shutout in nearly 7 years. A year after losing twice to James Madison, this one was never close. ‘Nova scored on their first possession of the game and built a 20-0 halftime lead before controlling the ball for 18 minutes in the 2nd half, never giving the hosts a chance to climb back into the game.
Some eye-openers:
JMU only got into ‘Nova territory twice, and never reached the redzone.
They gained just 116 yards rushing, by far the strongest asset of their team.
Most importantly though, this was the kind of game this team needed after a gut-wrenching loss the week prior. This reaffirms their confidence in themselves, and gets them back on track to make the FCS playoffs, while effectively eliminating a rival in the process (always a great feeling).
Great game men. Homecoming game is next weekend vs. Rhode Island. Should be great!
Villanova (5-1, 2-1) overcame an early 16-point deficit early in the 3rd quarter, but it couldn’t hold on as New Hampshire (5-0, 2-0) notched a pair of field goals in the 4th quarter to steal the game away from the visiting Wildcats.
It wasn’t the best day by any means for ‘Nova, and their head coach was quick to voice his displeasure.
“We have shown at this point in time in the season that we do not have the ability to go on the road and win a tough game,” Villanova head coach Andy Talley said. “Until we do that, we’re not a serious football team. I’m very upset with this football team because we had a great opportunity for ourselves and we didn’t get off the bus ready to play.”
Matt Szczur was the star on the day for ‘Nova, totaling 283 yards of offense, including his 58-yard scamper that gave ‘Nova it’s first and only lead of the day. Antwon Young and Chris Whitney again split time, and both seemed to perform admirably well, although it was a Whitney interception inside his own 20-yard line that led to the final FG for New Hampshire.
New Hampshire QB R.J. Toman finished just shy of 300 yards passing (292) on a day when he picked apart the Wildcat defense. ‘Nova returns to action next weekend for yet another Top-10 matchup when they travel to James Madison.
…Hard not to be disappointed…but when you fall behind early on the road it is always difficult to pull out a win, and we nearly did it…now it is time to refocus for next weekend when they travel to JMU…another tough matchup and one that a team with National Championship aspirations does not want to lose…
…Keep your heads up fellas and rebound and kick the piss out of JMU next weekend!…
In the first ever nationally televised CAA event, Villanova did not disappoint as they controlled things from the first play of the game all the way until the end. Chris Whitney hooked up with Brandyn Harvey for a 57-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game, setting the tone for a very impressive performance on the afternoon.
Whitney was stellar for 'Nova on Saturday.
On a day when Villanova’s vaunted rushing attack wasn’t as dominant, Whitney responded to the critics by finishing 10-13 through the air for 146 yards. Whitney was helped out by 3 Villanova rushing touchdowns (all inside the 5 yard line) including the first two of the year by Matt Szczur. Angelo Babbaro rounded out the Villanova scoring with his 3-yard touchdown run.
Despite Villanova seemingly controlling the game throughout (personally, I was never worried), a lot of credit has to be given to Villanova’s defense, which was very much a bend-but-don’t-break style on Saturday afternoon. R.J. Archer threw for 354 yards and the Tribe out-gained Villanova by nearly 200 total yards in offense. But it was Villanova’s defense that came up with big play after big play.
James Pitts made a couple of enormous plays to help seal the victory. The first came late in the 2nd quarter when he recovered a fumble and returned it 20 yards to set ‘Nova up deeep in W&M territory for a drive that eventually led to 7 points.
Pitts was at it again in the 3rd quarter. The Tribe had driven down deep into Villanova territory but Pitts was able to get his hands on a pass and Marquis Kirkland hauled it in to give the ball back to Villanova. In my opinion, the play of the game and one that really sealed the deal.
Villanova will travel to New Hampshire next weekend in yet another tough CAA matchup of ranked opponents.
…Would have liked to see Antwon Young get a little more time, but Whitney really did have a great game…that shouldn’t be the end of Young though because he has definitely earned more PT in my eyes…really weird to see Villanova Stadium on TV like that…I’ve seen it before but it wasn’t as big a broadcast….
…Fans looked great and the students came out which was also great to see…this team still needs more support though as the stands were definitely not all the way full…
…I could really get used to being able to watch ‘Nova on TV…great win by the team but no time to relax…another tough game awaits next weekend…
The Game: #2 Villanova (4-0, 1-0) vs. #5 William & Mary (4-0, 1-0)
Location: Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Broadcast: VERSUS
Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming off a complete shellacking of Northeastern in their conference opener last week. The running game was dominant for Villanova as they racked up over 300 yards on the afternoon. Chris Whitney and Antwon Young split time at QB and both performed very well. Expect more of that this week.
William & Mary started off the year knocking off Virginia in a big-time upset 26-14. They also won their conference opener last week by beating Deleware 30-20. Unlike ‘Nova, The Tribe get most of their yardage through the air behind QB R.J. Archer. Their defense is just as stifling as ‘Nova’s however, allowing just 15 points per game.
Last year Villanova won the game 38-38. Expect a war on Saturday afternoon.
3 Keys to Victory:
Don’t shy away from the run – W&M allows just 59 yards rushing per game. Villanova averages 228. I wouldn’t expect ‘Nova to run wild (although you never know) but they can’t get deterred if they don’t find success early. Stay with it, and wear them down.
Contain R.J. Archer – The Tribe’s QB averages almost 230 yards of total offense per game, with a lot of that coming through the air. Villanova’s defense has been adept at getting to the QB and that is going to have to happen again this week with a strong QB behind center.
Feed off the crowd – The Villanova homepage right now is a video of ‘Nova players telling the fans to get rowdy and push them to a victory. I agree. This should be like a big basketball game. The students should be going crazy and the alumni should pack the place.
To get you in the mood for Villanova’s 1st big football game of the season tomorrow, here are the highlights of Villanova’s victory over Northeastern last weekend. Remember, tomorrow’s game vs. William & Mary is being nationally broadcast on VERSUS! And if you’re at the game, make sure you’re loud!
The past few weeks have been nothing short of spectacular for the various Villanova teams. Maybe it was the soft non-conference schedule that each team stole from the basketball program, or maybe it was just one of those weeks. Now that conference play has begun all across the country, things are only going to get tougher.
It was still a good though as the ‘Nova athletics program record of 4-3-1 for the week.
The women took advantage of two goals from Heidi Sabatura in the 1st half and cruised to a 3-1 win over visiting Seton Hall on Friday afternoon. Kelly Eagan had the other goal for ‘Nova.
Things came crashing down for the volleyball team this week as they began BIG EAST play. After a string of 6 consecutive wins, the team fell 3-0 to Cincinnati in their conference opener and then again 3-1 to Louisville.
Ball had a big day despite being slowed by injury.
In their conference opener for the season, Villanova (4-0, 1-0) made short work of visiting Northeastern (0-4, 0-2) as they trounced the Huskies 56-7 behind one of the best rushing attacks in school history. Villanova amassed 410 yards on the ground and 6 different Wildcats scored touchdowns. The 410 yards they gained on the ground was the most since 1991, and the 3rd highest total in school history.
RB Aaron Ball had a magnificent day as he totaled over 100 yards on the ground and was resting an injury on the sideline after getting some work in. (WR Brandyn Harvey had 102 yards receiving to create a 100-100 tandem). Ball got things started with a 31-yard TD run on the 3rd play of the game.
All week the main story concerning ‘Nova was the dilemma at QB after Chris Whitney was replaced in favor of Antwon Young. In our pregame report we called for the use of both QB’s, and when given the chance, neither disappointed. Whitney ran for 98 yards and passed for 84 along with a touchdown while Young passed for 58 and ran for 35 while accumulating a touchdown both ways. It looks like the platoon system worked wonders, at least for one week.
The defense has been spectacular to open the season and once again, led by John Dempsey’s team-leading 7 tackles, they did not disappoint holding Northeastern to just 7 points and 239 yards of offense. The defense picked off the Huskies 3 times on the afternoon.
Most of all though, Villanova needed a game like this to open the conference slate. The next 3 weeks bring games against Top-10 teams (the CAA is just brutal this year) and they’ll need all the rest they can get as their season unofficially begins next week against William & Mary.
The Game: #2 Villanova (3-0, 0-0) vs. Northeastern (0-3, 0-1)
Location: Villanova Stadium in Villnova, PA
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Broadcast: The Comcast Network
Brief Rundown: Villanova is coming a a hard fought, but sloppily played 14-3 win over Penn last weekend. The Wildcat defense was superb again, sacking the Penn QB multiple times and forcing a couple of turnovers. There wasn’t much offense for ‘Nova, and QB Chris Whitney was replaced in the 3rd quarter by Antwon Young, who led the team to it’s only offensive touchdown of the night. Whitney will start, but Young will most likely see extended action this week.
Northeastern has started off the season 0-3, with their only competitive game being a 17-7 loss to Maine at home. They are averaging just 9.3 points per game while allowing over 36 per game, and their offensive averages in both rushing and passing are under 130 yards per outing.
Last year Villanova won the meeting 20-14. On paper, this should be a nice tune-up into the CAA season for Villanova, but as we saw last week, never overestimate an opponent.
Injury Report:
RB Aaron Ball (hip pointer) – Probable
NG Thomas Weaver (turf toe) – Probable
OT Chidozie Ekweozor (high ankle sprain) – Questionable
3 Keys to Victory:
Defense sets the tone – Villanova’s defense is big, fast, and nasty. They’ve been adept at getting to the QB and causing turnovers, and must continue to do so against a woeful offensive opponent.
Use both Whitney/Young - Antwon Young has earned more playing time after he came to the rescue last week. He may not be starting, but he brings a new dimension to the offense with his running ability. Whitney must get hiss passing attack back on track after a dreadful outing against Penn.
Feed off the home crowd – It is Parents’ Weekend at ‘Nova, so the home crowd should be pretty full. Feed off the students and alumni and put this game away by the early 2nd half.
In a great New York weekend where the Jets punished the Patriots and the Giants spoiled Jerrah-World’s grand opening, the Villanova athletics scene was too bad either. Villanova athletes took home 3 awards this past week, in another successful week all across the ‘Nova Sports landscape.
See, I wasn’t kidding. Now let’s get to the teams and recap their weeks.
Football (3-0)
If you hadn’t heard yet, they beat Penn 14-3 at Franklin Field on Saturday night. Not the prettiest win, but we’ll take it. They are currently ranked #2 in the country. They’ll open their CAA slate next week at home vs. Northeastern.
Women’s Basketball
Not playing until November, but they announced their schedule today. Check it out.
If you’re keeping score (I am), then you’ll know that Villanova sports cruised to a 8-2 overall record, and a 12th place finish for the golf team. Good times, keep on comin’.
