Villanova romps over Fordham, 50-6

Early in the second quarter of what would become a 50-6 victory for Villanova over Fordham on Saturday, the visiting Rams called a timeout that ended up lasting 1 hour and 19 minutes.

Lightning struck outside Villanova Stadium, forcing both teams back to the locker room with 'Nova holding a 7-3 lead. Thirteen minutes of game time - and two hours of real time - later, the Wildcats returned to the locker room for halftime with a 33-3 lead.

"We had talked about it, and I told them that this situation could happen," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. "We told them, 'We're going to try to stay in here all night to win this game if we have to.' "

Villanova scored on its next four possessions, and one of Fordham's possessions, before finally punting midway through the third quarter, with a healthy, 37-point lead and star quarterback John Robertson icing his nonthrowing hand safely on the sideline.

The Wildcats (1-1) entered the game at No. 7 in the FCS coaches' poll. Fordham (1-1) came in at No. 10.

Robertson threw for 216 yards and three scores and also rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown. He bruised his left hand early in the first quarter. Robertson said he felt fine, and Talley expressed cautious optimism.

"I thought he played great with his hand pretty well taped up the way it was," Talley said. "So it looks like whatever we scheme up, he can play with it. It's just not as comfortable as it normally would be."

Fordham went for it on fourth and 6 after the long delay. Mike Nebrich dropped back to pass, and Pat Williams buried the Patriot League's preseason offensive player of the year. Seven plays later, Robertson connected with Austin Medley to make it 13-3.

Robertson threw another touchdown pass on the next drive, and then Austin Calitro returned an interception 35 yards to the end zone. It was Villanova's first forced turnover since last year's Towson game, a span of 447 plays. The unit needed only five plays to grab another: Cameron McCurry picked off Nebrich on the next drive.

'Nova's defense held Nebrich to 14 completions on 28 attemps for 182 yards. The Wildcats had six sacks, including a career-high three from Don Cherry.