I Bleed Blue and White

It was all good for Villanova in their home opener on Saturday night as they took care of business and defeated Lehigh 28-17 behind a monster rushing attack. QB Chris Whitney had a career rushing day, finishing with 130 yards on the ground and 106 in the air. He accounted for 3 touchdowns in all (2 through the air, 1 on the ground).

Whitney had a career day.

Whitney was just the tip of the iceberg for the Wildcats however. WR Matt Szczur had his first career 100-yard effort carrying the ball, including a 75-yard scamper that set up a ‘Nova field goal. In all, Villanova amassed 310 yards on the ground.

RB Angelo Babbaro and WR Norman White caught passes from Whitney for scores, and DE Marlon Johnson returned a fumble 19-yards for a touchdown near halftime that effectively put the game out of reach.

Make sure you check out Lehigh Football Nation’s report on the game. Sounds like they were very impressed with ‘Nova last night.

…I really wish I could watch these games…I probably won’t be able to watch a game until homecoming weekend but I really like what I’m hearing about the team…sounds like Whitney is efficiently running an offense that has the potential to be very high powered…

…Good, solid win by the football team…they take on Penn next weekend at Franklin Field…

(Yep, we’re doing football pregame posts now. I’ve gotten a few emails asking for more coverage, and it was kind of stupid to not do it in the first place. So, here’s the inaugural post!)

The Game: #3 Villanova (1-0) vs.  Lehigh (0-1)

Location: Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA

Time: Saturday, 7:00 p.m.

Broadcast: WFMZ and FCS Atlantic

Brief Rundown: The Wildcats are coming off a shocking comeback win over FBS rival Temple in the opening week of the season. That was one of 3 FCS-over-FBS wins in the 1st week (conference foes Richmond and William & Mary notched the others). Lehigh, on the other hand, took a tough loss to Central Connecticut State on the first weekend, a game where they were dominated in time of possession and total yardage.

Senior LB Al Pierce and senior DT Phil Winnet are both out for Lehigh this week, but they are hoping that senior LB’s Heath Brickner and Troy Taylor can return after catching knocks in last week’s game. Being down 3 senior LB’s is not ideal for a team coming in as heavy underdogs already.

3 Keys to Victory:

1. Control the ball - Lehigh got taken to school last week by CCSU (my mother’s alma matter in fact) when they let the Blue Devils hold the ball for nearly 43 minutes. That doesn’t bode well facing a Villanova team that has a lot of options to run the ball. Expect a heavy dose Aaron Ball and Angelo Babbaro.
2. Force turnovers – Judging by last week’s game, the Lehigh offense hasn’t gelled yet and they’ll make some mistakes. ‘Nova has a veteran, ball-hawking defense. Get after QB JB Clark and force some mistakes. Osayi Osunde, that means you.
3. Don’t look ahead – This may be the most important. I get nervous (especially in football) when one team is such a big favorite. Plus, Lehigh pulled off the upset in 2006 on our home opener too. Don’t underestimate them.

Links:

• Official Villanova Game Notes (PDF)
• Lehigh Football Nation (a very good Lehigh football blog)
• The Morning Call
• Philadelphia Daily News