The bad news is that despite the accolades, the Wildcats don't stack up any better than fourth in the South Division of the Colonial Athletic Association, trailing Richmond, James Madison and Delaware.

"When you're in a strong league like this, being picked fourth maybe isn't so bad," Villanova coach Andy Talley said yesterday during the CAA's media day.

Talley, who is entering his 24th season at the helm of the Wildcats, may have something there.

Five CAA teams qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoffs last year, with New Hampshire nosing out Villanova for the final spot in the 16-team field. Two advanced to the semifinals, and Delaware reached the championship game, which it lost to Appalachian State.

The Wildcats, who defeated Delaware in the final game of the 2007 regular season to finish 7-4, enter this season on an optimistic note. Junior Antwon Young, who suffered a season-ending ligament tear in his left knee during the sixth game of 2007, is back at quarterback, and Talley thinks his defense can be something special.

"I like the high expectation level when we're ranked and people look at us," he said. "That's where we all want to be. We want to be on stage as one of the teams to beat. Usually that means you've got some talent. We have a lot of no-names. We only have one preseason all-league player. Young is as good a quarterback as there is in the country, but he was hurt, so he's under the radar."

Defensive lineman Tim Kukucka, a junior, is the Wildcats' only preseason all-CAA player.

The Wildcats hope that Young, who hurt his knee when he tripped while running onto the field after halftime, can bounce back from a promising first season as a starter. He said he felt as good as he did last year before his injury.

"As a team, we're just trying to get better every year and improve off the things we've done in previous years," Young said. "We're trying not to let being ranked get to us. We really don't look at that too much. We just want to come out and make a name for ourselves and show everyone we can compete with the top teams in the league."

The CAA is known for top-notch quarterbacks, the best of whom last year was Joe Flacco of Delaware. But Flacco has moved on to the Baltimore Ravens, and Blue Hens coach K.C. Keeler is trying to find a new starter among three candidates.

Like the 6-foot-6 Flacco, who transferred from Pittsburgh for his final two seasons, Rob Schoenhoft is tall (6-6). Entering his junior year, he joins the Blue Hens from Ohio State. But redshirt freshman Lou Ritacco and junior-college transfer Sean Hakes are right there.

"If I'm making the decision on the flip of a coin at Maryland, I'm comfortable with that," Keeler said, referring to his choice of a starter for the team's season opener. "I'm going to wait as long as I have to wait before I pick a quarterback. I don't see myself being a two-quarterback guy. I want someone to win the job."

Delaware placed five on the preseason all-CAA team: offensive lineman Kheon Hendricks, wide receiver Aaron Love, defensive lineman Matt Marcorelle, linebacker Erik Johnson, and kicker Jon Striefsky.