When Villanova hosts Fordham in Saturday's 6 p.m. home opener, the Wildcats had better bring their running shoes.
That's because the Rams don't waste much time in running plays or - as was the case last week - scoring.
Fordham opened its season with a 55-0 win over Division II Lock Haven. Granted, that's a level below the Football Championship Subdivision in which Villanova and Fordham both compete, but still.
"It's hard to score 55 points on air," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. "Fifty-five points is a lot of scoring."
Unlike Fordham, Villanova played up a division last week and suffered an opening 41-10 loss to Temple.
Now, after facing the speed of the Owls, the Wildcats will have to be extremely fast - and that's just in getting out of the defensive huddle.
"Fordham runs that Oregon spread offense, and we anticipate a play every 15 seconds," Talley said.
The Rams are still getting used to the new offense under first-year head coach Joe Moorhead, a Fordham grad who was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UConn.
"We have installed an up-tempo, no-huddle scheme, and the kids have done a good job," Moorhead said in a phone interview.
Talley has said he would like to go with one quarterback, but he went with two last week. Sophomore Chris Polony started and completed just 2 of 7 passes for 18 yards and one interception. Redshirt freshman John Robertson came in for good late in the second quarter and completed 9 of 17 passes for 135 yards, no TDs or interceptions. He also rushed for 78 yards and the lone Villanova TD on 15 carries.
Talley won't be announcing a starter, although all signs point to Robertson. The key is keeping the ball away from the Fordham offense, and that can be done by long, run-dominated drives. Robertson, clearly Villanova's best running quarterback, is more suited to a ball-control attack.
Meanwhile, Moorhead likes to use two quarterbacks - senior Ryan Higgins, known more as the passer, and sophomore Michael Nebrich, a two-way threat who is extremely dangerous with his legs.
Against Lock Haven, Higgins completed 16 of 23 passes for 229 yards, one TD, and no interceptions, while Nebrich rushed for 58 yards and three TDs on 10 carries.
One thing Villanova will have to do is get better play from its defensive line and linebackers. Against Temple, the two leading tacklers were in the secondary - cornerback Eric Loper, who had nine tackles, and safety Joe Sarnese, with eight.
With so much attention on the quarterbacks, it must be noted how well each team runs the ball. Fordham's Carlton Koonce, a graduate of Rancocas Valley, rushed for a career high 146 yards last week.
Villanova sophomores Austin Medley (62 yards on 11 carries) and Kevin Monangai (59 yards on 10 carries) were effective against Temple.
Contact Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com or on Twitter @sjnard.
