As preseason No. 1, Villanova aims for another FCS title

In the last 12 seasons, five different Colonial Athletic Association teams have won the FCS national championship.

Of those, three lost the following year in the playoff quarterfinals. Another failed to even make the tournament field, which is expanding this year from 16 to 20 (with 12 first-round byes).

Since the playoffs began in 1978, only five teams have repeated. Georgia Southern did it three times, Youngstown State once and Appalachian State went back-to-back-to-back (2005-07).

Now, it's Villanova's turn.

The Wildcats have 15 starters back from a squad that went 14-1 last season, and they avenged their four-point loss (at New Hampshire in Game 6) with a 39-point home win in the playoff opener.

They've dropped three games to FCS opponents in the last two seasons. Two were against No. 1-ranked James Madison in 2008.

Not shockingly, the Wildcats will start by occupying the top spot in the national polls. They open the 2010 season against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 3.

"I would say there's a little more pressure, because everyone's looking at you like you have to be this great, ungodly team that no one can beat," said senior linebacker Terence Thomas, who was voted the CAA's preseason Defensive Player of the Year. "But we're not the 2009 Wildcats. We're the 2010 Wildcats. We have something to prove, like everyone else. We're out here trying to get better, see what we have so we're ready to go.

"We're appreciative of being No. 1, but we have a lot of work to do to make sure it stays that way. We expect nothing less than the best. I think we're the hunted now, yet we're [still] the hunters, because we're trying to get back there."

So is it harder to scale the mountain, or do it again?

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Thomas said, smiling. "I know every team'll be bringing its 'A' game, gunning for us."

The Wildcats have experienced that from the other side, having played No. 1 five times in the last 2 years. They've won three times, including last December's title game over Montana.

"Every team has played us hard anyway," said wide receiver/whatever's necessary Matt Szczur, a Walter Payton Award candidate, who spent the last few months playing baseball in the Chicago Cubs' organization (where he hit .347). "We're always the star on their schedule. So it's not really different. We kind of put the pressure on ourselves.

"I remember last year, the offense had a meeting before camp, and Coach [Sam] Venuto [offensive coordinator] said, 'What are the goals?' The first thing was the conference championship. And the second was the national championship. We said it last year and it came true. We set the bar high. I believe we can [do it again]. That's why this group is so special."

Still, it's always a fine line. Two years ago the Wildcats lost at home to No. 1 James Madison on a Hail Mary pass on the game's final snap. Which meant they had to travel to JMU in the quarterfinals, instead of the other way around. And they lost in the final minutes. Hey, you never know.

Last November they won at No. 1 Richmond when the Spiders couldn't convert a 31-yard field goal at the end. If that kick isn't wide, maybe the Wildcats don't get the second seed in the tourney and the three home postseason games that went with it.

The schedule has six road trips, but only half of them involve overnight stays. The Wildcats go to No. 3 William & Mary, which they've beaten six straight, and No. 16 Delaware, which they've beaten four straight, but they get No. 6 Richmond and No. 10 New Hampshire on the Main Line.

"You hate to rely on luck, but last year we [also] won two [one-point] games [including the semfinal], and beat Temple on the the last play [on a field goal]," said head coach Andy Talley. "We didn't have many injuries. Obviously we need to stay healthy, especially on both lines [where there are depth issues]. In our league you get tested every week. So we'll find out if we have the right stuff . . .

"I think there's an attitude that carries over. We've played at the highest level. I think we're probably as good as most of the teams in the country. And we've done it. It's historical, it's in the record books. To accomplish it twice, I can't even go there."

But he'd sure like to give it his best shot.