Talley credits Golden with Mayor's Cup
Villanova coach Andy Talley said that former Temple coach Al Golden pushed for the Wildcats and the Owls to get together on the football field.
On the first Colonial Athletic Association conference call of the season on Monday, Villanova coach Andy was asked how the Mayor's Cup game featuring his Wildcats and Temple came about.
'Nova will visit the Owls Thursday at Lincoln Financial Field for the season-opener for both team. This marks the third year of the Mayor's Cup, which each team has won once in games that went down to the wire.
``It was a game that Al Golden wanted because he wanted to develop a rivalry with a [local]football program," Talley said about the former Temple coach. ``And it made sense for us to play Temple at The Linc rather than go to West Virginia or somewhere to play a Division I team. It's a home game for our fans, too. It's Temple's home, but we feel we're just as much on our turf as theirs. It's good chance to showcase our program. We're playing a Division I team in a major league stadium, and along with Temple, we're drawing fans. The notion in the past was that Villanova couldn't compete against Temple. People at Villanova think we have a great chance to win this year.
Talley, who said this year's squad is the youngest he's had in 27 years, may be even younger Thursday night. Senior running back Lawrence Doss (groin) and senior wide receiver Norman White (foot) were questionable as of Monday.