Villanova Takes To Road Saturday At Rhode Island
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Villanova Wildcats will be on the road on Saturday, heading up to New England to visit Rhode Island.
Villanova improved to 4-4 on the season (3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association) this past Saturday with a gritty, 13-3 win over visiting Maine.
"We definitely ran the football and that was key to the game," Villanova head coach Andy Talley tells KYW Newsradio. "Zach Bednarczyk, our quarterback, did the bulk of the running, had 123 yards rushing which was great to see. And Gary Underwood had a great game, he rushed for (92) yards. So the running game was solid, kept us out of trouble with the passing game. And when we had to throw the ball, we were in good position to throw stuff that wasn't into coverage and easy throws."
Listen to the entire interview with Villanova's Andy Talley
Bednarczyk was 12 of 21 throwing the football for 143 yards and a touchdown. He was not intercepted.
Once again, the Villanova defense played outstanding football in the win against Maine, holding the Black Bears to just the three points and 339 yards of offense. The Wildcats have been great on that side of the ball all season long, holding opponents to 17.8 points and just 303.5 yards a contest.
"It's really a terrific defense right now," Talley says. "It's just one of those years where we've been banged up so much on offense, that we haven't been able to support them. So we've been riding the back of a terrific defense."
It has been a struggle for Rhode Island here in 2015. The Rams are just 1-7, but Talley says they have the attention of his team.
"They beat Delaware 20-0 (back on October 10th) and certainly that's an eye opener," Talley says. "So for us, we realize that it is a rebuilding team and they are playing hard every single week. Their offense, they just went to a freshman quarterback so they're still trying to figure it out, but they can play. We have them at Rhode Island, on grass, which is new for us. It's a game where you have to go in and be very careful about what you're doing and recognize that this team has the capability of beating us right now. Especially when we're not scoring a lot of points. So we've got to go up there and really be ready to play."
Last season these two teams met on the Main Line, Villanova winning 44-21.
Saturday's game in Kingston kicks off at 12:30pm.
