So how do they deal with that?
"We know they're going to be out for blood," said quarterback Chris Coyer, who ran for 80 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries against the Wildcats. "We were able to go down there last year and beat them pretty good. They'll be coming for us.
"We know a lot of teams make a lot of improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. It's real easy to come out sloppy. We weren't perfect in our first game. We know we're not going to be taken lightly. We may have in the past.
"It can be real easy to [overlook a team] sometimes. That definitely has happened. You can point to Toledo last year. We came out flat. We're guarding against [that]. The only way to put a stop to that is to . . . keep pushing forward."
After this, they get a week off before hitting the road for the first time. The destination will be Penn State, which they haven't beaten since 1941. But it looks like this might not be that Penn State.
Then the Owls get another bye before hosting South Florida in their first Big East game in 8 years. And USF will be coming off a home game against Florida State. As scheduling goes, that can't be such a bad thing either.
Of course, you have to get there first.
"I [still] see us as a young team," said second-year coach Steve Addazio. "I don't think this week is the same scenario as [2011]. Right now, it's too fragile. You have to watch out with that [prognostication] stuff. I've had this happen many times at other places. You look at a team, you don't like the way they look. Then all of a sudden you're in the game saying, 'What happened there?' It can be a positive or negative for us. It's still early . . .
"We've got a bunch of guys who have to learn to strain mentally. That's what I'm concerned about, honestly. That's where we are. We're just fighting, to get as ready as we can. If you look good in practice, you're going to look good in the game.
"I don't know the psychology of every team. I don't even know if I know enough about our team's makeup. We haven't been through enough yet. One game doesn't make a season. You can't have a letdown."
For Coyer, who played his high-school ball in northern Virginia, it's the chance to play against a school that for whatever reason didn't recruit him.
"Absolutely, it's special," he said. "I've got a lot of friends from back home, Maryland fans, who'll be coming up. Of course there's a chip on your shoulder. I was a local guy and didn't get much of a look from them. Any time like that, when you know a team really looked over you, you're going to want to play hard."
Or even just to avoid another Toledo.
VILLANOVA
Looking to rebound for the second straight year, the Wildcats started out losing big to Temple. Last season, they never recovered. This time, they'll try to start at home against Fordham, which beat Division II Lock Haven, 55-0.
Chris Polony, who took over as quarterback late in 2011, was supposed to be the guy. But when he struggled against the Owls, John Robertson came in and at least looked a little better, especially with his legs. Now the obvious question becomes, how do they proceed from this point?
"We had a Wildcat package for John, and he ran it so well we decided to stay with him," coach Andy Talley said. "So, right now, we're looking at both. I suspect we'd like to settle on one. We have to try and figure out who the starter will be.
"I think it's unfortunate, because Chris is a good player. The speed of Temple did not fit him. John ran past them a few times. A lot of times when your pass protection breaks down, Chris wasn't the guy who you wanted to get you back to the line of scrimmage, or get you a first down [by scrambling]. It was really set for John. In fairness to Chris, that game was just a little too fast.
"I don't think the plan was ever to have two quarterbacks. We paid our dues with Chris last year, as a [true] freshman. And he got all of the freshman mistakes out of his system. He's fairly well schooled in our offense. If you end up going with John, who's a redshirt freshman, you're probably not going to be able to live with some of his mistakes. We're not that good of a football team, to live with mistakes from the quarterback spot. We really need him to play well. So I think we're going to have to wait and see."
Since the early portion of the schedule appears to be a little more conducive, they can't wait too long.
Contact Mike Kern at kernm@phillynews.com.
