Recap | Box Score | Notes

Villanova head coach Andy Talley...

Opening statement: This is one of those games that really was a one half game for us. The second half was very sloppy for us. We tried to play a lot of young players and it became a game that quickly went downhill when we took John Robertson out of the game. We came in favored and played well until the second half when we put the younger players in. This is not really the type game you want to see in the heart of your schedule. A lot of young players were able to get some experience tonight and that was a good thing.

On Poppy Livers: An inspirational leader. The little engine that could. He is someone that responds when needed and has become our go-to receiver. He has made big plays for us this season and his motivational leadership is great for the team.

On the team's approach for a game against a weaker opponent: They prepared themselves for this situation. [Rhode Island] probably came out a little slow from their trip and we were ready to pounce on them. However, our penalty situation does not reflect how good we are as a football team right now.

On John Robertson: He is the complete package. I hate to see that he is still nursing that hand but he is the eraser. He erases a mistake that someone made along the way and gets that first down. I would have rather seen him run the ball a little less today but just have to let him go. You can't reproduce what he is able to do. He is a defensive coordinator's worst nightmare. Defenders constantly have to play catch-up with him, but he probably could have played better today. As a team we had some very sloppy moments today.

Junior quarterback John Robertson...

On the Wildcat offense: Our receivers are doing a good job at getting open for me and the offensive line has been great this year. They are helping me out a lot and making my job easy. There has been a lot of chemistry building in this group and I feel confident in the men in front of me.

On Poppy Livers: Poppy is awesome on and off the field. The best thing about Poppy is that he is trying to take it all the way every single time. He plays with his heart and it shows on the field.

On the 2014 season compared to last year: I think that our offensive line is giving me a lot of good protection. Teams aren't just staking the box on us they are forced to respect the pass. I think most importantly it is the confidence in our receivers that has made us really successful this year.

On the Villanova defense: The defense has been fantastic because they get us the ball back so quickly. We always joke with them to just get us the ball back and we can do the rest.

Rhode Island coach Jim Fleming...

Opening statement: Villanova is a great football team that executed well on all sides. Our mistakes were obvious, in third downs and our struggle to run the ball. Our kids came out in the second half and continued to fight so I think that shows a lot about the character of our team. We played with more energy in the second half and there are bits and pieces that we like to see and that give us hope that we can be the type of football program that we want to be, but our inconsistencies force us to give up those great opportunities.