Villanova Hosts JMU Saturday In CAA Showdown
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It will be a showdown of two of the top teams in all of FCS on Saturday as Villanova hosts James Madison in Colonial Athletic Association action.
Villanova is 7-2 on the season and ranked as high as ninth in the country. The Wildcats are coming off a 26-7 road win against Maine where the Wildcat defense, as has been the case many times this season, took center stage.
"They were tremendous," Villanova head coach Andy Talley tells KYW Newsradio. "Four interceptions, in the red zone saved us a few times. We just played really well on defense. We put a little strain on them from an offensive standpoint, we had a number of things go wrong in our kicking game which they rectified by playing terrific defense."
Listen to the entire interview with Villanova's Andy Talley:
Villanova's defense is now allowing just 14.9 points per game this season.
The win over Maine improved the Wildcats to 5-1 in the CAA, that has them tied for second place with New Hampshire, one game behind this JMU team they will match up with on Sunday. The Dukes are 8-1 (6-0 in the CAA), ranked as high as fifth in FCS and they average 49.1 points per game.
"(Junior) Bryan Schor is their quarterback," Talley says. "He plays extremely well. He can run, he can throw and he makes their offense go. Their defense is good, not great, but good. But they can score points in droves. They have two great running backs which we're going to struggle to stop. Hopefully, we can slow them down, probably not stop them. But Bryan Schor, he's the best quarterback in the league right now."
Schor has thrown 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions this season. He has also run for nine scores.
Saturday's showdown will also serve as the final regular season home game for Talley as Villanova head coach. He will retire at the end of the season. Now it is very possible the Wildcats could get at least one postseason game on the Main Line, so they very well could be back on their home field before Talley says goodbye. He says he doesn't plan to be emotional on Saturday.
"Things couldn't be better at Villanova," Talley says. "So I'm staying positive, hope we can win the game and maybe come back for a playoff game."
Last year, the Wildcats lost to JMU down in Virginia, 38-29.
Saturday's game will start at 1:00pm.