Football 10/14/2016 12:00:00 AM

Wildcats to Face Richmond Live on CSN Philly Saturday Afternoon

Oct. 14, 2016

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SATURDAY'S GAME AT RICHMOND

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Two nationally-ranked conference opponents are set to face each other on Saturday afternoon when No. 13 Villanova (5-1, 3-0 CAA Football) travels to No. 6 Richmond (5-1, 2-1 CAA Football) for a game that will be televised live in Philadelphia and throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Comcast SportsNet is broadcasting the game, which will air on CSN Philly, CSN Mid-Atlantic and SNY. Kickoff at E. Claiborne Robins Stadium in Richmond is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Saturday's game marks the first time that the Wildcats will face a ranked opponent this season. Villanova has risen 11 spots from a preseason ranking of No. 24 in the STATS FCS Poll, while the Spiders have thus far been in the top 10 for the duration of the 2016 season. Wildcats head coach Andy Talley has a 25-25 all-time record when facing top-10 opponents.

Villanova has also been successful in matchups where both the Wildcats and their opponent are ranked in the national polls. There have been 85 such games in Villanova history and the Wildcats have tallied a record of 46-39 (.541) in those games. The numbers have trended up of late, as Villanova has won 23 of the last 35 games that meet this distinction.

Each of the last two games in the series between the Wildcats and Richmond have been decided by a single point. Villanova rallied in the fourth quarter for a 21-20 win over the ninth-ranked Spiders at Villanova Stadium last season, while Richmond claimed a 10-9 victory in the Wildcats only previous visit to Robins Stadium two years ago.

Previous meetings in the all-time series have often followed a similar script. Villanova owns a 22-11 edge in head-to-head matchups with the Spiders, although 13 of the 33 games have been decided by one possession. There have been 10 games in the series in which the final score was a margin of three points or fewer.

The biggest key to the Wildcats success so far this season has been the exceptional play of the team's defense. Villanova is currently riding a five-game winning streak during which it has outscored its opposition by an average margin of 22.2 points. In addition, the Wildcats are tops in CAA Football and rank third in the nation in both scoring defense (15.2 points per game) and total defense (265.5 yards per game). Villanova leads all FCS teams with four defensive touchdowns on the season.

Senior defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon (Ambler, Pa.) returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown three games ago versus Lafayette and has already racked up 12.0 tackles for loss on the year. Junior safety Rob Rolle (Newfield, Pa.) has both a fumble return for a touchdown and a school-record 100-yard interception return for a score, while sophomore linebacker Jeff Steeb (Sweetwater, N.J.) also has returned an interception for a touchdown. Four of the team's first six opponents in 2016 have been held to fewer than 100 rushing yards.

The offense has also been steady of late. In their two most recent wins, the Wildcats outscored Elon and Rhode Island by a combined score of 77-7 while racking up 1,020 total yards of offense and giving up just 233 total yards. Villanova has held the ball for more than 35 minutes in each of the two games.

Last week's game versus Rhode Island marked the first time this year that senior running back Javon White (Telford, Pa.), junior Matt Gudzak (Toms River, N.J.) and sophomore Aaron Forbes (Newburgh, N.Y.) were all healthy at the same time. They combined for 28 carries and 212 yards against the Rams, with each player finding the end zone in the game.

Sophomore quarterback Zach Bednarczyk (Wallington, N.J.) is an effective dual threat under center. He went 8-of-9 through the air for 133 yards and two touchdowns while posting a career-high 286.36 efficiency rating against Rhode Island. Bednarczyk has thrown for 943 yards and eight touchdowns while going 77-of-126 overall for the year.

Richmond is coming off a 36-30 victory in triple overtime against Albany last week. Both teams made a field goal in the first overtime and scored a touchdown in the second extra period, with the Spiders then getting the ball first in the third overtime. Backup quarterback David Broadus scored on a four-yard run to put Richmond in front 36-30 and the Great Danes got the ball back after the Spiders fumbled on their two-point conversion attempt. Albany would eventually throw an incomplete pass on fourth down to end the game.

The trip to Richmond will mark Villanova's third road game in the past four weeks. Next up for the Wildcats will be their Homecoming game against Albany on October 22 at 3:30 p.m. Villanova then has a bye week before returning to action the first weekend of November.

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