Villanova Chases Playoff Berth In Andy Talley's Regular Season Finale
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Saturday will be an important day for the Villanova University football team on many levels.
The Wildcats will visit rival Delaware, always a special game regardless of what's on the line, but 7-3 Villanova would really put itself in great position for an FCS playoff berth with a victory.
This will also be the regular season finale for Villanova head coach for Andy Talley, who is set to retire at the end of the campaign.
The Wildcats will be looking to bounce back from a loss last time out. The Wildcats fell at home to #5 James Madison, 20-7
"We did not have a good day offensively," Talley tells KYW Newsradio.
Listen to the entire interview with Villanova's Andy Talley:
The Wildcats finished with just 239 yards of offense against the Dukes and they turned the football over four times.
Now the Wildcats focus on the Blue Hens and the Villanova/Delaware rivalry is one of the best in all of FCS.
"Love the rivalry," Talley says. "Two terrific schools and if you take a look at the games from year-to-year, they've been amazing games."
It has been a tough season for Delaware. The Blue Hens are 4-6 and they made a mid-season coaching change with Dave Brock being replaced on an interim basis by Dennis Dottin-Carter. Delaware is 2-2 since the change and coming off a 31-17 loss to #7 Richmond. Dottin-Carter says his team is looking forward to Saturday.
"The guys are excited to play the game," Dottin-Carter tells KYW Newsradio. "You hear some of the guys, they've been looking forward to it all season."
Listen to the entire interview with Delaware's Dennis Dottin-Carter:
On offense, Delaware features a ground attack that averages 238.7 yards a game.
"They can run the football," Talley says. "They are a lot better than their record."
Even with a loss against Delaware, Villanova would still have a very strong resume for an at-large playoff berth, so there is a very good chance the Wildcats still have more football to play. But the curtain will close soon one way or another on Talley's magnificent career. He says, however, he isn't really focusing on that.
"It's funny because that has never really come into mind for me," he says. "You're so involved in trying to get this team to the playoffs that I kind of can't believe that it could be my last game at Villanova. I'm hoping we can have another one after this and maybe a few more. But it's been a great run. We have everything in place, Mark Ferrante, our new head coach, new building, our staff. So it's really not bittersweet at all. Really, it's sweet. What would be great is to finish up as a playoff team and I'd love to be able to do that."
Andy Talley is 228-136-1 as Villanova head coach. He is 16-12 all-time against Delaware.
Saturday's game in Newark gets underway at 3:30pm.