Loss to Temple a painful one for Villanova

This one had to hurt.

Sure, Villanova coach Andy Talley said all positive things at the postgame press conference. His Wildcats praised Temple and acknowledged being honored to play in front of 32,193 at Lincoln Financial Field.

But this one had to hurt.

A 31-24 setback to a Football Bowl Subdivision team is one thing.

But missing two field goals, failing to establish a pass rush late in game and being three seconds from a victory is something else.

That's why Friday night's season-opening setback hurts Villanova.

"I look at it like 'What if?' " Wildcats middle linebacker Marquis Kirkland said. "We had a lot of mistakes. It was all a mental thing. That's what I was telling the defensive backs and the guys on the defense."

For the record, Brian McManus' 43-yard field goal with three seconds left gave Temple the go-ahead score. As time expired, Justin Gildea recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The Owls defensive back returned it 26 yards to give his team a seven-point victory.

But unlike in last season's opener, Nick Yako had a performance that he would like to forget.

The sophomore booted a 41-yard field goal that gave Villanova a 24-22 advantage with 1 minute, 51 seconds to play. But he missed a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter and one from 43 yards in the third.

The Wildcats would have had a 17-10 cushion with 8:58 left in the third quarter had he made the second field goal attempt.

"The kicker is like the eraser," Talley said. "He erases the mistake that your offense made or your defense made. Now, you are asking him to step up and get three for you. I hate to put that kind of pressure on that guy all the time."

Talley said Yako's head was off a little bit during his first two attempts. Having seen enough, Talley took the kicker aside to tell him that he was going to win this game.

"And he almost did," Talley said.

But Temple took advantage of Villanova's fatigue and inability to establish a consistent pass rush. The Owls marched 46 yards on 10 plays to put the game away.

Unable to keep up with Temple's wideouts, the Wildcats' defensive backs gave up 11- and 9-yard pass plays on that drive.

In all, Temple totaled 210 of its 322 offensive yards after intermission. And without being constantly pressured, Temple quarterback Chester Stewart completed 16 of 27 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown.

"They started figuring out where the blitzes were coming from," Kirkland said. "They did a couple of adjustments and they started wearing us out."

Notes. Villanova defensive end Marlon Johnson suffered a sprained knee in the second quarter. The sophomore didn't return to game. Johnson is the Wildcats' only returning starting defensive lineman from last season.