RICHMOND, Va. - During the fourth weekly CAA Football teleconference of the season on Monday, Villanova head coach Andy Talley gave his thoughts on the Wildcats' home conference opener against Towson and how the team is preparing for a non conference road game against Lafayette on Saturday. Below is a transcript of Talley's comments.

Villanova Head Coach Andy Talley

On last week's win over Towson: Towson is very good, very tough. So, we had a really difficult time with them. Darius Victor is a load, and I think that they're making the adjustment from their transfer quarterback from Oregon. So, they had a couple of adjustment issues as they transition. Darius, you have to deal with him every single play. You can slow him down, but you can't stop him and we knew that. It was a typical Towson team, very physical and a lot of skill. They're going to be good in the league, and we were fortunate. We were able to get a couple of interceptions. Rob Rolle took one back 100 yards, and that really helped our cause. With six minutes to go in the game, we were only ahead by 12 points. So, it was a close game, and they're a dangerous team. The score is misleading, 40 is really a misleading number. That was a tight game right down to the wire, very hard fought. We came out bumped and bruised like you always do in a CAA game. We lost Rasaan Stewart, one of our best defensive backs with a broken hand. He's out for a couple of weeks. This is the kind of stuff you deal with in the CAA. It's just brutal. We have guys in walking casts and things like that, two offensive lineman. You wonder if you're going to be able to get to the game next week. It was a bruising game. They (Towson) are going to be heard from in the CAA, that's for sure.

On the momentum of starting 1-0 in the CAA: Well, we were both in the same place. Both of us having played I-A teams and then came back and got a win. So, we were 1-1. That game was really critical for us, because now instead of being 1-2, we're 2-1 on our way to Lafayette this week. It's a very early indicator of where your football team can go and be. For us, we needed to have a challenging team. They certainly were everything that you would want in terms of a CAA challenge. We were able to get into some very difficult, critical situations in the game and handle them. It only enhances your team in that they believe that they can win or pull it out in the fourth quarter or hold someone off. So, in that respect, it was good.

On Villanova's Lehigh Valley connections: Tony Trisciani is our secondary coach, and we're really happy to have him. He's a class act, and a terrific secondary coach. He was a highly successful high school coach in the Valley, and a terrific college football coach before he took a high school stint there. Having Tony is tremendous. He's done a great job recruiting for us and done a wonderful job with the secondary. Offensive lineman Louie Csaszar is terrific. He's a very tough guy, and just a great football player. We're really pleased to have him. He's really done well and played well. I'm tight with Lafayette coach Frank Tavani. I've known Frank since he was a young assistant with Bill Russo at Lafayette. It'll be nice to see him on Saturday. We haven't played Lafayette in my tenure at Villanova. I always thought that it was a natural game. We play Lehigh, but now having a chance to come up and play Lafayette is really neat for me.

On what he learned about his team from the Pitt game: I thought we were able to play for four quarters early on in the season in hot weather. I think that's the big thing that all the coaches on this line are trying to do is get your players to play for four quarters. We were able to do that against Pitt and not get run off the field. Otherwise if you don't, they'll murder you. We played for four quarters against Lehigh and we did the same thing against Towson this past week. You get some grit and determination when you play a I-A team like that if you can get out without any injuries. In that respect, that's what we came out of the game. I'm not a big fan of the I-A game. I never have been. It's usually a loss, but we all do it for a pay day.

On what he expects to see from Lafayette this week: They've been in the wars. They already played some really good teams. They played Delaware early on. Frank has these guys ready to go, and this is a big game for Lafayette with us coming in there. He's trying to right the ship a little bit. He had Princeton lined up, and almost pulled that game off, which makes a big difference when you're 2-1 as opposed to 1-2. This is a big game. I know we are going to see a real good Lafayette team and their record is not indicative of the kind of football team that they are. I know Lafayette well - Frank and his coaches - those kids will play hard. This is an important game for both of us.

On the improved passing game against Towson: Zach Bednarczyk is a great passer. I don't know where anybody got the thought that he couldn't sling it. He's got a pro arm. He proved that on Saturday. He can run and throw. He's a dual threat quarterback. We have three freshmen that play for us at wideout. We're young at wideout and we're still trying to get that situation cleared up. We had a good result on Saturday against a real good secondary. The big thing is we gave Zach some time to throw. When you give him time to throw, he's very accurate. He's got a strong, strong arm. He's got the ability to run around and find people open scrambling. I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in our league and continuing to prove to people that he's the real deal.

On his concerns for the Lafayette game: We had a rough go with Towson. I just really feel like our players don't know Lafayette at all. We've never played them. We had the same problem with Lehigh. With the scholarship levels now in the Patriot League, they can play with anybody. We have to make sure that we don't have a letdown, that they approach the game like they would a CAA game. That's the big thing when you play out of league. All of our kids think the CAA is the best around. The Patriot League has certainly proven that they have some terrific teams, and you better be ready to play.

On the play of Javon White: Javon has played great. He broke his leg last year and has rehabbed the whole time and has worked extremely hard. He's really elevated himself to a very high level in the CAA as a running back. He's got a young sophomore, Aaron Forbes, behind him that continues to push him. So, if he doesn't come out and play hard every game, he's got a young guy that wants to take his job. We love what he's doing. Javon is a game breaker. He's running down hill as well. He's a pleasure to coach.