Critical Visit To Richmond Saturday For Villanova
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Big game for the Villanova Wildcats on Saturday as they head down to Virginia to take on the University of Richmond in a Colonial Athletic Association showdown.
The Wildcats are ranked as high as 3rd in the country in FCS with a 7-1 record (4-0 in the CAA). Last weekend, they beat Morgan State at Villanova Stadium 48-28.
"It was 21-21 at halftime and they were sky high, ready to play football," Villanova head coach Andy Talley tells KYW Newsradio. "And I think because of the ranking that we have, everybody's going to give us their best game and our players know that. We settled down, kept our poise and in the 3rd quarter we were able to get (27) points on the board. It wasn't an easy game, but at least we closed it out."
Listen to the whole interview with Villanova's Andy Talley:
The Wildcats have great depth at the running back position, but it did take a hit in the win over Morgan State as junior Gary Underwood suffered a knee injury.
"Gary's a big loss because he plays on special teams as well," Talley says. "But with (senior) Austin Medley back now and we have a little freshman, Matt Gudzak, who has helped us as well. (Senior) Kevin Monangai had a monster game on Saturday (170 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns), just did a great job. I think we're in pretty good shape. We hope to get Gary back. If we can make it to the playoffs, he'll be ready to go then."
Richmond is 6-2 this season (3-1 in the CAA) and they are ranked as high as 13th in the country. Last time out, the Spiders humbled Elon 30-10 and they have impressed Talley.
"It's probably one of the more talented teams across the board, both on offense and defense," Talley says. "And they have what you need to win a national championship, a very good offense and a very good defense. They are headed up by (quarterback) Mike Rocco, who is a transfer from Virginia. This kid started 20 games for Virginia, he is a very good player. I like their team a lot and they play great at home."
These two conference foes haven't met since October of 2012. Richmond won that match-up, 28-17, on the Main Line.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
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