When: Saturday, August 30. 3:30PM
Where: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Villanova At a Glance:

Nickname: Wildcats

Head Coach: Andy Talley

Conference: Colonial Athletic Association

2007 CAA finish: 3rd in the South Division

Award Winners: Walter Payton Award: Brian Westbrook (2001), Brian Finnegan (1997)

2007 schedule and results

At Maryland - L 31-14 (0-1) (0-0)

At Lehigh - W 30-20 (1-1) (0-0)

Vs Maine - W 24-17 (2-1) (1-0)

Vs Pennsylvania - W 34-14 (3-1) (1-0)

At James Madison - L 35-7 (3-2) (1-1)

Vs William & Mary - W 63-24 (4-2) (2-1)

At Massachusetts - L 32-24 (4-3) (2-2)

Vs Hofstra - W 35-31 (5-3) (3-2)

At Richmond - L 35-27 (5-4) (3-3)

At Towson - W 14-12 (6-4) (4-3)

Vs Delaware - W 16-10 (7-4) (5-3)

2007 Leaders

QB Antwon Young: 99/153 1192 yards 14 touchdowns 4 interceptions.

RB Matt Dicken: 221 rushes 922 yards 4 touchdowns.

TE Matthew Sherry: 37 receptions 461 yards 5 touchdowns.

Averages

Rushing: 154 yards. Passing: 172 yards. Total: 326 yards.

Breakdown

The Bill Stewart era will officially be rung in against the Villanova Wildcats, in WVU’s first of seven 2008 home games.

Villanova, located about 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia, Pa., is a NCAA Division I Football Subdivision (FCS) team. The basketball team is a member of the Big East and plays West Virginia every year. The football team is preseason ranked No. 17 for 2008, by Sporting News and AnyGivenSaturday.com.

Tight end Matt Sherry was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2008 NFL Draft. According to the Wildcats official website, three players also signed free-agent contracts shortly after the draft.

Villanova’s rush defense ranked No. 29 (FCS) in 2007, giving up 133 yards per game. Their total defense was ranked 66th giving up 373 yards per game. Villanova gave up an average of 23 points per game. I expect WVU to run at will against the Wildcat defense, as it usually does against every defense. That will likely be the main reason why the Mountaineers will cruise at home, on opening day.

I can’t say that I’ve ever seen ‘Nova play on the gridiron, so I can’t offer up much else speculation. I did find this in the Sporting News college football preview magazine:

“Villanova needed to reinvent itself after creative quarterback Antwon Young was lost halfway through last season with a serious knee injury.”

Young is described as a mobile quarterback. The article continued and said Villanova returns nine defensive starters, including its top four tacklers. All the offensive lineman return from last year.

Their offense, No. 91-ranked in the country last year, should not give WVU much trouble either, despite the Mountaineers are rebuilding their defense.

I was impressed to find out ‘Nova produced two Walter Payton Award winners in the last 11 years, had a player drafted in the NFL and three others signed free-agent contracts this year.

However, I expect a sold out Milan Puskar Stadium opening day and a Mountaineer blowout victory.

All eyes will be on Patrick White, the WVU quarterback/Heisman trophy candidate. The Mountaineer offense is reportedly undergoing some changes and new wrinkles with a bigger emphasis on passing (or at least a more balanced offensive attack). Mountaineer nation is anticipating seeing what Stewart and his staff have up their sleeves.

White will actually probably only see limited action on this day because of the game’s score. Capable backup Jarrett Brown should get plenty of snaps before the contest is over.

My early prediction

WVU 48

Villanova 14