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| Villanova Schedule | Week 1 Opponent | Score | Season Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Huskies | Villanova Wildcats | W, 20-15 | 1-0 |
| Fordham Rams | Army Black Knights | W, 37-35 | 1-0 |
| Delaware Blue Hens | Jacksonville Dolphins | L, 20-14 | 0-1 |
| Penn Quakers | OFF | N/A | 0-0 |
| William & Mary Tribe | Lafayette Leopards | W, 34-7 | 1-0 |
| Albany Great Danes | Buffalo Bulls | L, 51-14 | 0-1 |
| Towson Tigers | East Carolina Pirates | L, 28-20 | 0-1 |
| Maine Black Bears | Boston College Eagles | L, 24-3 | 0-1 |
| Rhode Island Rams | Syracuse Orange | L, 47-0 | 0-1 |
| Richmond Spiders | Maryland Terrapins | L, 50-21 | 0-1 |
| James Madison Dukies | Morehead State Eagles | W, 56-7 | 1-0 |
Villanova Opponent Week 1 Record: 4-6; Villanova Opponent Cumulative Record: 4-6
While the schedule piled up a losing record in the opening week of the season, it's important to remember that every loss came against an FBS opponent. Wait, that's not correct. Delaware lost to non-scholarship Jacksonville. Great work, Blue Hens!
James Madison beat the tar off a severely overmatched Morehead State. The Dukes are very good this year, and they did exactly what they should have done in week 1. Vad Lee was sensational and got his 'Dethrone Robertson' campaign off to an excellent start. William & Mary also looked good in a solid win over Lafayette.
Of the teams that lost, only Towson gave East Carolina a pretty good game behind QB Connor Frazier's balanced passing attack and Darius Victor's durability on the ground. The Tigers may be ready to step back up to the top of the CAA this year.
It was a bloodbath mostly everywhere else. Albany and Rhody were predictably blown out, while Main had a somewhat encouraging effort against BC to take home with them. They couldn't get anything going on offense, but the defense held up relatively well. Richmond gave Maryland cause for worry early before the Terps hit the afterburners and made it a laugher. New Hampshire and Elon don't appear on the Wildcats' schedule but were taken to the shed by San Jose State and Wake Forest, respectively. Stony Brook's game with Toledo was cancelled due to weather.
Next Up: Fordham
As mentioned above, the Rams scored a big opening week victory and will now turn their eyes to Villanova in week 2. The Rams were blown out a year ago on the Main Line, and entered this season with some big question marks as coach Joe Moorhead needed to replace 18 starters from last year's playoff team.
A new quarterback was no problem on Saturday. Marshall transfer Kevin Anderson hadn't attempted a pass since his senior season of high school football but was more than up to the challenge in West Point. He completed 15-23 for 322 yards, and added a rushing score to boot.
The man who helped him to such gaudy numbers was junior running back Chase Edmonds. The former Jerry Rice Award winner piled up the yardage both on the ground and through the air. 126 yards rushing on 19 carries (6.6 ypc) was impressive, but he outdid himself with 6 catches for 140 yards receiving. A year ago Villanova shut Edmonds down, holding him to negative rushing yardage (the blowout score certainly aided the Rams' decision to abandon the running game). This matchup will be a focal point on Saturday.
The good news for Villanova is that Fordham was torn to shreds on the ground. They yielded 256 yards (6.1 ypc) to Army, whose option attack couldn't get much going through the air. Villanova's run-heavy offense should feel good about that matchup in practice this week.