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No. 8 Villanova Opens CAA Play Saturday vs. JMU

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The No. 8 Villanova Wildcats will open Colonial Athletic Association play on Saturday as they welcome the James Madison Dukes to the Main Line on Saturday afternoon.

Villanova has looked very good so far this season. A heartbreaking, double-overtime loss at FBS Syracuse was followed by an absolute thumping of then #11 Fordham, 50-6. That win came back on September 6th as the Wildcats were on the bye last week.

"I would like it (the bye) a little later, because we had momentum from Syracuse to Fordham, playing very well in both games," Villanova head coach Andy Talley tells KYW Newsradio. "Now you have a delay for a week and it's going to be important for us to hit the field with speed and be ready to play and play at that level immediately. So you'd like it a little later in the season, but we'll take it."

Villanova quarterback John Robertson suffered a fracture in his non-throwing hand in that win over Fordham. But he should be ready to go on Saturday.

"His left hand, his non-throwing hand is covered pretty well," Talley says. "He has a little bit of a crack in a part of his hand there. But I think he's going to be fine to play, he doesn't have a lot of pain and it's healing pretty well."

A junior, Robertson is off to an outstanding start this season. He has rushed for a team-high 176 yards and a touchdown this season. He is completing 65% of his passes and has thrown for 415 yards and four touchdowns. He has yet to be intercepted.

James Madison is 2-1 so far this season and this will also be their conference opener. They lost to Maryland to open the season, but followed that up with wins over Lehigh and St. Francis (PA).

"They have a great quarterback," Talley says. "(Vad Lee) is a transfer from Georgia Tech and he can run and throw. He's a lot like John Robertson, so he's a guy that you have to know where he is on every play. They have some great receivers, maybe some of the best in the league and a very big offensive line. It's probably the most athletic team in the CAA."

Last season the Wildcats lost to the Dukes down in Harrisonburg, Virginia 31-21.

Saturday's game will kick-off at 12:30pm at Villanova Stadium.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.

 

Andy Talley

 

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