Three Things To Watch vs Lehigh

Your 1-0 Villanova Wildcats will look to remain undefeated on the season as they kick-off FCS play on the road this weekend with familiar foe the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. This will be the third consecutive season the two teams have faced off, and Villanova has had the upper hand so far. In fact, dating back to 2007, the Cats have won six consecutive games against Lehigh. So with that winning streak on the line, let’s look at the three things to watch for on Saturday.

A Historically Good Running Game

The key in every game this season for Lehigh will be their senior running back, Dominick Bragalone. With 137 rushing yards and all three Mountain Hawk touchdowns in their game last week, Bragalone became the programs All-Time leading rusher. Last season, Villanova kept him relatively in check by allowing only 82 yards and a score. That may be what it takes again for the Wildcats to come away victorious

Hot Start for Bednarczyk

Villanova’s star quarterback threw for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns against Temple to open the season. That’s a better performance in the Linc than either Nick Foles or Matt Ryan had last night, which is probably why he was awarded CAA Offensive Player of the Week. Coming off a junior year that was cut short due to injury, Bednarczyk is poised for a career year. That success should continue against a Lehigh team that gave up 242 yards passing to St. Francis last weekend.

Villanova Kicking Game Still Stuck In The Mud

The kicking game has been a real Achilles heel for the Wildcats in past seasons, and last weekend didn’t indicate anything is going to be different. Kicker Drew Kresge was just 1-3 on extra points, missing one and having the other blocked. He also had a blocked field goal that Temple returned for a touchdown. Special teams and the kicking game play an important role, but if things don’t turn around soon we’re going to see Villanova going for it on 4th down and attempting 2-pt conversions.