2016 - Real early look

[Gangtackle11]

Need to get some of you guys moving & thinking about Villanova football.

The 'Cats have some question marks to answer as they approach Coach Talley's final season at the helm.

My quick view of the season:

@Pitt: tough spot playing the hard nosed Panthers at Heinz Field. Keeping it close & staying healthy is the key. Pitt 24 Nova 7

Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks have a potent PL offense & have loaded up on recruits to improve their defense. They are playing a 3-3-5 like Nova.
I like the Cats to exploit the newly installed defense.
Nova 35 Lehigh 17

Towson: The Tigers appear to be poised to return to the top of the CAA. An aggressive defense could have Zach B. & co. on the run while stud RB Darrius Victor will be a test. Tigers look to Oregon transfer QB to balance their attack. Tough game to open CAA season. I'll take Cats 14 Towson 13 in front of a big parents day crowd.

@Lafayette: The PL Leopards have fallen on hard times recently as they went 1-10 last season. No way they can be that bad again, but I don't see Nova looking past anyone after Penn game debacle in '15.
Nova 38 Lafayette 14

@Elon: 1st ever contest between the 2 teams. The Phoenix are improving, but even at home it will be a game that The Cats should control start to finish.
Cats 17 Elon 6

Rhode Island: Someone in the football department must have some pull in the CAA office with this schedule. Former Nova assistant Jim Fleming finding the rebuild slow @ Rhody. Have to think they are better, but not good enough yet.
Cats 28 Rhody 7

@Richmond: Tough road game here against the probable CAA preseason fav. Spiders look for revenge and last 2 games have been decided by 1 point each.
Richmond 17 Nova 10

Albany: The Great Danes are improving, but Nova continues to enjoy the favorable CAA schedule.
Nova 21 Albany 7

@Maine: Jack Cosgrove has retired and the Black Bears appear to be in a rebuild. Something about playing in Orono in November scares me, but I think Cats will be fresh coming off their bye week.
Cats 24 Maine 10

JMU: Hard to tell if Dukes will fall off with the graduation of Vlad Lee. New coach from The Citadel takes over & the Dukes always have talent. This will be a tough game for sure.
Nova 21 JMU 20

@Delaware: Coach Talley's last Battle of the Blue game. The Blue Hens will have a physical defense including Penn State transfer LB Troy Reeder. Hens offense ranked last in FCS passing. This will be a great game.
Villanova 17 Delaware 14 (OT)

Looks like my spring prediction has the Cats at 9-2 which would land them an almost certain 1st round bye.
Several games could go the other way, but for now I'm sticking with 9-2!


I think there are a lot of questions to be answered about this team, but the CAA schedule makers appeared to be kind to Coach Talley at least on paper.

Thoughts?

 

[tplav2003]

I would be happy w/ 9-2. Tom

 

[PCH]

9-2 will be tough for an inexperienced backfield. Soph QB 4-4 at this point.

 

[Gangtackle11]

9-2 will be tough for an inexperienced backfield. Soph QB 4-4 at this point.

Offense has its question marks for sure. A lot relies on our talented QB getting better & staying away from the game changing turnovers. Also it looks to be running back by committee. Defensively they will be solid even without Don Cherry.

I agree until you look at the schedule that 9 is a stretch. It's possible to lose any game obviously, but the most logical 3 would be Towson, JMU, & possibly Delaware (No not Delaware!) . Lose 2 of the 3 and it's still 7-4.

I think the schedule makers have been kind on paper. We all know how that goes.

 

[Bobby Dix]

I like your predictions there Gangtackle. I think now that Zack Bedarczyk has a year under his belt,the Cats will be much improved.

 

[UncleEd]

Offense has its question marks for sure. A lot relies on our talented QB getting better & staying away from the game changing turnovers. Also it looks to be running back by committee. Defensively they will be solid even without Don Cherry.

I agree until you look at the schedule that 9 is a stretch. It's possible to lose any game obviously, but the most logical 3 would be Towson, JMU, & possibly Delaware (No not Delaware!) . Lose 2 of the 3 and it's still 7-4.

I think the schedule makers have been kind on paper. We all know how that goes.

Cats will not, NOT,lose to Delaware,

Offense has its question marks for sure. A lot relies on our talented QB getting better & staying away from the game changing turnovers. Also it looks to be running back by committee. Defensively they will be solid even without Don Cherry.

I agree until you look at the schedule that 9 is a stretch. It's possible to lose any game obviously, but the most logical 3 would be Towson, JMU, & possibly Delaware (No not Delaware!) . Lose 2 of the 3 and it's still 7-4.

I think the schedule makers have been kind on paper. We all know how that goes.

 

[paschall]

9-2 would be a great last season for Andy T. A deep Playoff run would be really great. Dare we dream of a 2nd National Championship? Of course we can. Virtually no one predicted an N.C. for the basketballers before the start of their season, so we can always dream. No extra cost involved!

 

[UncleEd]

Need to get some of you guys moving & thinking about Villanova football.

The 'Cats have some question marks to answer as they approach Coach Talley's final season at the helm.

My quick view of the season:

@Pitt: tough spot playing the hard nosed Panthers at Heinz Field. Keeping it close & staying healthy is the key. Pitt 24 Nova 7

Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks have a potent PL offense & have loaded up on recruits to improve their defense. They are playing a 3-3-5 like Nova.
I like the Cats to exploit the newly installed defense.
Nova 35 Lehigh 17

Towson: The Tigers appear to be poised to return to the top of the CAA. An aggressive defense could have Zach B. & co. on the run while stud RB Darrius Victor will be a test. Tigers look to Oregon transfer QB to balance their attack. Tough game to open CAA season. I'll take Cats 14 Towson 13 in front of a big parents day crowd.

@Lafayette: The PL Leopards have fallen on hard times recently as they went 1-10 last season. No way they can be that bad again, but I don't see Nova looking past anyone after Penn game debacle in '15.
Nova 38 Lafayette 14

@Elon: 1st ever contest between the 2 teams. The Phoenix are improving, but even at home it will be a game that The Cats should control start to finish.
Cats 17 Elon 6

Rhode Island: Someone in the football department must have some pull in the CAA office with this schedule. Former Nova assistant Jim Fleming finding the rebuild slow @ Rhody. Have to think they are better, but not good enough yet.
Cats 28 Rhody 7

@Richmond: Tough road game here against the probable CAA preseason fav. Spiders look for revenge and last 2 games have been decided by 1 point each.
Richmond 17 Nova 10

Albany: The Great Danes are improving, but Nova continues to enjoy the favorable CAA schedule.
Nova 21 Albany 7

@Maine: Jack Cosgrove has retired and the Black Bears appear to be in a rebuild. Something about playing in Orono in November scares me, but I think Cats will be fresh coming off their bye week.
Cats 24 Maine 10

JMU: Hard to tell if Dukes will fall off with the graduation of Vlad Lee. New coach from The Citadel takes over & the Dukes always have talent. This will be a tough game for sure.
Nova 21 JMU 20

@Delaware: Coach Talley's last Battle of the Blue game. The Blue Hens will have a physical defense including Penn State transfer LB Troy Reeder. Hens offense ranked last in FCS passing. This will be a great game.
Villanova 17 Delaware 14 (OT)

Looks like my spring prediction has the Cats at 9-2 which would land them an almost certain 1st round bye.
Several games could go the other way, but for now I'm sticking with 9-2!


I think there are a lot of questions to be answered about this team, but the CAA schedule makers appeared to be kind to Coach Talley at least on paper.

Thoughts?

Cats will loss to Pitt ,Richmond(a great team) and someone else. 8-3 Very good.