Oct. 5, 2002
Villanova Postgame Notebook
Villanova 35, Hofstra 7
Saturday, October 5, 2002, Villanova Stadium
BEST OF BRETT: Earlier this week Villanova senior quarterback Brett Gordon was named one of 16 finalists for the Walter Payton Award given each year to the Division I-AA player of the year (Brian Westbrook took home the trophy in 2001). Gordon did not to detract from his candidacy in the win here before a Homecoming crowd of 7,507 on Saturday.
Gordon completed 26-of-35 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns. In the past three games - all Wildcat victories - the senior is 66-of-92 for 655 yards in the air with eight touchdowns and just one interception.
"Your quarterback (Gordon) is just outstanding," said Hofstra head coach Joe Gardi. "He doesn't make mistakes. He's not big and not fast but he plays smart and that's how you win football games. Villanova doesn't beat itself and that's a credit to Coach (Andy) Talley, his staff and his players."
At one point, Villanova converted 11 consecutive third down conversions and was 12-of-17 in that vital category on the afternoon.
"A lot of that has to do with (offensive coordinator) Sam Venuto and Brett," explained Talley. "Sam is a very efficient guy and an excellent play caller.
"The other part of it is Brett. He is an incredibly accurate passer, the most accurate we have ever had here. When you throw the ball in the places he does, it's not all that hard to catch it. He completes around 70 percent of his passes and that really allows you to be efficient offensively.
"In my mind, Sam and Brett are the reasons we are so efficient."
Running back Cameron Cross, who shares a spot in the same backfield as Gordon, appreciates his teammate's calm demeanor and skill.
"Brett is a very smart guy," said Cross. "He's calm and is a leader on and off the field for us. Brett knows both the defense and the offense and that makes it easier on everyone else, especially the young guys."
THE BITE AND CHEW: Talley coined a new term for his offensive system that on this day produced 397 yards of net offense, including 234 in the air.
"The kind of philosophy we have is not really a north and south approach," he stated. "We're more of a bite and chew offense. We try to take what the defense gives us. We want to be efficient and then we're looking for one of the kind of big-time players who can turn small gains into big ones. Last week (freshman wide receiver) John Dieser did that for us. Terry Butler does it for us and Brian Westbrook did it last year.
"If we don't get that kind of play, we have the kind of patience to put together a 10 or 12 play drive."
That was evident in the third quarter. After a 62 yard punt from Hofstra's Joe Nolan backed the Wildcats up to their own three yard line, Villanova drove 97 yards for its final touchdown of the afternoon. The drive lasted 13 plays and burned 4:47 off the clock before Cross completed the scoring with a 12 yard run up the middle into the end zone.
WHITE'S RIGHT: The Wildcats were without senior receiver Brian White for the latter part of September, after he injured a hamstring prior to the Sept. 14 loss here to the University of Maine. White was back in stride here on Saturday, though, catching four passes, including the one that produced the game's first touchdown with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
The touchdown was White's second of the season.
YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Senior linebacker Jamison Young and his defensive pals were strong again on Saturday. Young made four tackles, including one sack as a key element of a defense that appeared on its way to a shutout before the Pride managed a touchdown with 1:14 left and many reserves on the field.
"Our defense is gaining confidence and maturity," Young said. "We knew today that we needed to get a good pass rush to slow their offense and the d-line did a great job with that.
"Once we adjusted to the speed of the game after the first series, we pretty much held them in check."
Hofstra was limited to 259 yards of total offense and 47 of those yards came on the final drive when the game's outcome was no longer an issue.
"It was a great defensive performance," said Talley. "Hofstra has a very explosive offense but we never let them out of the box."
COMPLETE GAME: In Talley's view, this win, which pushed Villanova's record to 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the Atlantic Ten, was the most complete effort of the campaign.
"It was probably our best game as a team," he said. "We cleaned up some of the things on special teams that hurt us last week at James Madison and continued to do well on both sides of the ball."
"We talked about playing a complete game, both offense and defense, all week long," Gordon said. "We felt like we did that today."
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Gordon utilized all of the weapons at his disposal against the Pride. Ten different 'Cats were credited with a reception. In the win at James Madison on Sept. 27, nine different Villanova players caught passes.
"We have a lot of weapons and the defense doesn't know which guy to key on," noted Gordon.
The offense has also been on a roll in the area of first downs. The Wildcats have amassed 90 of those in the past three outings.
NO REST: There isn't much time for Villanova to savor this triumph. Pennsylvania will be at Villanova Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 10 for a matchup that gets underway at 7:00 p.m.
