Villanova Hosts No. 12 Richmond In Regular Season Home Finale
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Villanova Wildcats will look for a third straight win on Saturday afternoon as they host #12 Richmond in their final home game of the regular season.
The Wildcats are 5-4 (4-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association) and coming off a 24-3 win over Rhode Island. This marked the second straight game that Villanova's defense allowed just three points.
"We've been riding on the back of our defense," Villanova head coach Andy Talley tells KYW Newsradio. "They've played extremely well. They were bending a little bit on Saturday, but did not break. And they've been great in the red zone. So been very happy with them and they've allowed the offense to run the ball and slow the game down a little bit, take some time off the clock."
Listen to the entire interview with Villanova's Andy Talley
How good has Villanova been on defense? The Wildcats have allowed four touchdowns in their last four games, all four coming in a loss to Towson. But two of those touchdowns were actually interceptions that the Tigers returned for scores. So if you take them out of the equation, Villanova's defense has allowed a grand total of just 21 points over the last four contests.
That defense will need to be in high gear against a Richmond team that averages 36.4 points a game.
"Their quarterback is very productive," Talley says. "They have two terrific running backs."
That quarterback is redshirt sophomore, and Downingtown East High School product, Kyle Lauletta who is completing 62.5% of his passes this season. He has 2,458 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. The top running back for the Spiders is senior Jacobi Green who had 154 yards in last week's 30-25 loss to New Hampshire.
Richmond is 7-2. That loss to New Hampshire last week was their first in CAA action, but they are still tied for first with a 5-1 league mark. The Spiders are tied with James Madison and the Wildcats will wrap up their regular season against the Dukes next week. So this is a key game in the league race.
Last season, the Wildcats lost to the Spiders down in Richmond, 10-9.
"It was one of our worst games of the year," Talley says. "But our defense knows them pretty well. We're going to have to hold them under 20 for us to win this game."
Villanova and Richmond will kickoff at 3:30pm on Saturday.
