Villanova starts CAA play
James Madison visits after Wildcats bye week; Temple, Penn also in action.
VILLANOVA, the seventh-ranked team in FCS, was a missed short field goal away from winning its opener at FBS Syracuse. Two weeks ago, the Wildcats beat then-No. 11 Fordham by 44 at home.
So what now?
Following a rare early bye, the Wildcats will have a rare early matchup against visiting James Madison (2-1) in the first CAA game for both. Coach Andy Talley has been around long enough to know that in-conference is where his squad will define itself this regular season.
"Traditionally, JMU is the most athletic team in the CAA," Talley said. "The CAA right now is hard to figure out, because I'm not sure where the strength is. New Hampshire is good. And William & Mary and Richmond certainly look like top-level teams. I think we're always going to be judged by how we do in our league. So you want to perform well. JMU looks like one of those teams that when they get it revved up, man, they're going to get it revved up. This is probably a good time to get them, with all the [FBS] transfers they have and plugging in a new system [for new coach Everett Winters, the former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator]."
The fact that the Wildcats - who don't play New Hampshire - have to go to William & Mary (Oct. 18) and Richmond (Nov. 1) probably puts even more significance on this one.
"We were on a high 2 weeks in a row, which is hard to do," Talley cautioned. "It's natural to go down the week after spiking for [Syracuse], which you have to do against a I-A team, but we didn't. Now here we are, trying to bring them back up again. I told our team if we don't hit the field in the first quarter they could put 14 on us so fast. We'll see."
Junior quarterback John Robertson broke a bone in his left (non-throwing) hand in the first quarter against Fordham. It didn't stop him from having another monster game. He's playing with a soft cast. Talley doesn't sound overly concerned.
"There's no limits on John," he said. "He's got his [last] two fingers taped together, but he's throwing the ball very well. If we can get our running game going without him, great. But I doubt that. He's our best runner."
Hey, he's pretty much their best everything.
Owls: What's missing
Temple (1-1) hosts FCS Delaware State (0-3). The Owls lost last year to FCS Fordham at home. It shouldn't happen again.
But second-year coach Matt Rhule is looking for them to run the ball better. Last year freshman Zaire Williams averaged 5 yards a carry. Right now he's fourth-string on the depth chart.
"You miss that," said sophomore quarterback P.J. Walker. "It's something every team needs. He should be out there contibuting for us. He's got to get back into the swing of things."
He'll get no arguments from the guy in charge.
"You can be the starting tailback for a two-win team," Rhule said. "But then you've got to play at a higher level. We're trying to get him to do that. He has flashes, has moments, but other times he doesn't. Zaire's got some [physical problems] that are bothering him. But they all kind of deal with that. He's just not there. I would not expect to see him any time soon."
But the issues go beyond that.
"We're just not moving people off the line," Rhule said. "If we can't win up front, we won't win. We're not finishing blocks the way we should. We're not playing with an edge. We can't just say, 'Hey, P.J., go win the game for us every week.' "
Penn: Finally opening
Some teams are playing their fourth game. Penn, like the rest of the Ivy League, will be making its debut. The Quakers are at Jacksonville (1-1), their first-ever trip to Florida.
"I want to dispel the rumor that I've been on vacation, or in the witness-protection program," said coach Al Bagnoli, who's entering his 23rd and final season in West Phillly, at the weekly small-college football luncheon. "We've actually had like five weekends of preseason, which just seems unbelievably long. We're looking forward to hitting somebody besides our own guys, to try and get on board with the rest of the country. We're certainly not on equal footing. Everybody else is in week 2, 3 or 4. We're still trying to figure out what our identity is."
And unlike taking a bus to Lehigh or Lafayette, he's dealing with an unfamiliar scouting report.
"I do know that like 90 percent of their kids are from Florida, and they seem to have good skill kids," Bagnoli said. "We do have some concern of kind of not knowing the true quality of what we're going to face. We only have four home games, so we're going to have to turn into road warriors. They're business trips. But this one's a little different."
He won't have that problem next week, when Villanova comes to Franklin Field.
"I think Andy should do the right thing and rest his quarterback's injured hand in those non-conference games," Bagnoli suggested to his good friend.
Agenda boxes
James Madison at Villanova
When: Tomorrow, 12:30 p.m.
Where: Villanova Stadium
TV: The Comcast Network
Radio: CBS Sports (610-AM)
Records: JMU 2-1, 0-0 CAA; Villanova 2-0, 0-0
History: JMU leads, 12-10. It won last year at home, 31-21. Villanova has won the last two on Main Line meetings.
About JMU: The Dukes lost at Maryland (52-7) but beat Lehigh (31-28) on the road and St. Francis (38-22) at home ... First-year coach Everett Withers was the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State ... QB Vad Lee, a Georgia Tech transfer, can run and throw ... They average 275 yards rushing a game, but give up a little more than that ... Last time they won here, in 2008, it was on a Hail Mary pass at the end.
About Villanova: The Wildcats are No. 7 in FCS ... They're 11-2 in their last 13 games after a bye Delaware State at Temple When: Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Where: Lincoln Financial Field TV: ESPN3 Radio: The Fanatic (97.5-FM) Records: Delaware State 0-3, Temple 1-1 History: First meeting About Delaware State: The FCS Hornets, coached by Kermit Blount, have lost at Monmouth (52-21) and Delaware (27-9) and at home last week to Towson (21-7) ... This is their first game against an FBS team since 2009 (Michigan, 63-6 loss) … They were beating Towson by 1 in the fourth quarter, before a bad snap on a punt resulted in a TD and an 81-yard punt return for another score ... Senior WR Milt Williams is dangerous, and Sr. DL Rodney Gunter is a potential pro. About Temple: The Owls had last week off after losing at home to Navy, 31-24 ... They've scored two defensive TDs ... They've already created 10 turnovers, only three fewer than all of 2013 ... QB P.J. Walker sprained his ankle against Navy but is expected to be ready ... The running game has been lacking … 11 players have a reception ... The kicking game, an issue last year, has been solid ... They haven't allowed a passing TD ... Next week they're at Connecticut in their American opener. Penn at Jacksonville When: Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Where: Milne Field, Jacksonville, Fla. TV: None Radio: WFIL (560-AM) Records: Penn 0-0, Jacksonville 1-1 History: First meeting About Penn: This will be coach Al Bagnoli's 23rd and final season in West Philly ... The Quakers haven't won back-to-back season openers since 2001-06 ... They've lost seven straight road openers, and six of their last seven out of league ... They lost their last four last season. They've never lost five in a row under Bagnoli ... They've never played in Florida ... They're young at quarterback, where sophomore Alek Torgensen starts, along both lines and in the kicking game. But Bagnoli also thinks there's a lot of potential ... This is their first game outside the Northeast since the 2004 opener at San Diego. About Jacksonville: The Dolphins play in the Pioneer Conference … They're coached by former Florida QB Kerwin Bell, whose son Kade, a fourth-year junior, is the QB … They lost at Southeast Louisiana (44-3) and beat San Diego (35-18) at home ... They like to spread the ball around ... Ryan Giaratano has averaged nearly 40 yards on 15 punts, including six that landed inside the 20.. . Their no-name defense has played very well ... John Robertson has 591 yards of total offense ... Poppy Livers has emerged as a threat at wideout and on kick returns … Against Fordham, they forced their first turnovers since last Oct. 12 … LB Don Cherry has 16 tackles, including three sacks ... They're converting 63 percent on third downs.