Dein erstes Forum » d. The Huskies, b

(STATS) -- Andy Talley is coaching his 32nd and final season at Villanova and the Wildcats are off to a 4-1 start, yet somehow theyre flying under the radar.It surely reflects on how there are so many good teams in CAA Football.In a good season for the conference, Richmond and James Madison are in the Top 10, Albany has enjoyed one of the bigger turnarounds in the FCS and New Hampshire may be putting together another of its patented runs to an FCS playoff bid. Even William & Mary is probably gaining more attention for having a subpar season.And there, lurking, is a Villanova team that probably benefits from not quite having the spotlight.The Wildcats, who won the 2009 national title, thought they had another championship contender last season, but that prospect ended when quarterback John Robertson was lost for the season in September. But his knee injury gave Nova an early start on 2016 with redshirt freshman Zack Bednarczyk taking control of the offense.Theyre now seeing the payoff.Bednarczyk has been steady this season, including three touchdown passes in Saturdays 42-7 win at Elon, which put the Wildcats atop the CAA standings at 2-0 alongside JMU and UNH.In a CAA built on running the ball and being able to stop the run, Villanova is among the best in both departments. Running back Matt Gudzak returned at the right time against Elon with leading rusher Javon White sidelined by an ankle injury, and the Wildcats churned out a program-record 35 first downs.Since a season-opening 28-7 loss at Pittsburgh, the defense has been surrendering fewer points to opponents on a weekly basis. It has a star in NFL-bound defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who has 11 tackles for loss and five sacks this season.Villanova next hosts Rhode Island, the conferences worst team. Afterward, the schedule will give the Wildcats a chance to prove themselves in the title race and, they hope, get the beloved 73-year-old Talley to the playoffs in his final season.---=SECOND AND 10=Ten more observations from the FCS weekend:1.) There were a number of terrific crowds across the FCS this weekend, led by the 53,182 who watched Grambling State top Prairie View A&M 36-16 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin drew 27,411 to NRG Stadium in Houston, while Montana (26,092) and James Madison (25,236) led the way on campus. New Hampshire saw the rewards of having a new stadium as a home-record 21,943 packed UNH Stadium.2.) The Island of Misfit Toys. Revenge of the Nerds. The FCS underdogs? Some strange things are going on with teams that were downtrodden a year ago. At 4-0, CAA hopeful Albany has surpassed last years win total and is nationally ranked. Missouri State didnt even beat an FCS team last year and was 1-10, but its 3-1 after a Top 25 win at Indiana State. Cornell just topped Patriot League champ Colgate and is 3-0 after going 1-9 last season and 5-25 in coach David Archers first three. Wagner (3-1), a solid program that went 1-10 last season, is back in a big way after handing Northeast Conference rival Sacred Heart its first loss.3.) The team of the week is Charleston Southern for the way it continues to beat its rivals. Saturdays 59-58, double-overtime triumph over Coastal Carolina in a Top 25 matchup was arguably the wildest in fourth-year coach Jamey Chadwells tenure. Solomon Browns block of an extra point in the second OT preserved the win. Under Chadwell, the Buccaneers are 3-1 against Coastal and 4-0 in town against The Citadel.4.) It was meltdown Saturday for Patriot League powers as defending champ Colgate and fellow 2015 playoff qualifier Fordham blew second-half leads. Colgate (1-3) surrendered a 19-point halftime cushion and lost to Cornell 39-38. Fordham (2-2) was up 14 at halftime at Monmouth and lost 42-41 in overtime on a two-point conversion by Reggie White Jr., son of the late NFL legend. At least Lehigh stayed hot with backup quarterback Brad Mayes firing for six touchdowns and a program-record 524 yards in a 63-35 rout of Yale. It barely matters whos quarterbacking the Mountain Hawks (3-2), who have averaged 51.3 points during a three-game winning streak.5.) North Dakotas season nearly seemed shot when it was 0-2 and on the verge of losing to South Dakota. But the Fighting Hawks rallied to win in double-OT against the Coyotes and have opened their Big Sky schedule with quality wins over Montana State and Cal Poly. Quarterback Keaton Studsrud has matured into the starting role, there are two big-play running backs in John Santiago and Brady Oliveira, and the defense is still a physical staple. Just as big, coach Bubba Schweigerts squad doesnt have Eastern Washington, Montana and Portland State on its conference schedule. The recent roll may continue all month long.6.) The 91st Battle of the Piney Woods was all Sam Houston State, which opened a 35-0 lead in its 63-28 rout of Stephen F. Austin. The game set a seventh straight record crowd at NRG Stadium, but the most impressive seven was Bearkats quarterback Jeremiah Briscoes school-record number of touchdown passes.7.) The most disappointing team in the FCS is Bethune-Cookman at 0-4. The Wildcats had designs on winning a sixth MEAC title in seven seasons, but that appears gone with back-to-back conference losses to Savannah State and North Carolina Central. Coach Terry Sims squad, which was 9-2 last season, had the most all-MEAC preseason selections with 15.8.) Jacksonville State sat idle and watched as the teams picked to challenge the Gamecocks perfection in the Ohio Valley Conference all lost Saturday -- Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois and UT Martin. The Gamecocks are prohibitive favorites after going 8-0 each of the last two seasons. They wont face Tennessee State because the unbeaten Tigers are in a season in which they play an extra non-conference game.9.) On a Saturday of incredible offensive performance, including seven passers who went over 400 yards, there were six field goals of at least 50 yards. Did Lois Lane and Clark Kent have a super-human son that we didnt know about? Tennessee State junior Lane Clark led the way with a school-record 54-yard field goal that he proceeded to top with a 57-yarder. Wagners James Cooper (52), Chattanoogas Henrique Ribeiro (52), Texas Southerns Eric Medina (51, game-winner) and Libertys Alex Probert (51) also connected on career-long shots.10.) Top-ranked North Dakota States 31-10 win over Illinois State wasnt even that close. Coach Chris Kliemans squad made a statement in the rematch of the 2014 FCS championship game. Even if the Bison (4-0) lose one game, they surely will have home-field advantage in the FCS playoffs again.---=A LOOK AHEAD=North Carolina A&T gets the action started again Thursday night by hosting Norfolk State in the MEAC.The national schedule is one of the weaker ones in recent seasons. The key games on Saturday include: Big Sky, Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington; CAA, Richmond at Albany and William & Mary at James Madison; Ivy, Cornell at Harvard (a battle of unbeatens); Missouri Valley, Youngstown State at Illinois State and Indiana State at Western Illinois; and Ohio Valley, Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois.Also: Patriot, Colgate at Lehigh; Pioneer, Morehead State at Dayton; and Southern, Mercer at Chattanooga. Fake Yeezy China . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Wholesale Yeezy Shop ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. https://www.yeezychina.us/ . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Discount Yeezy Store . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Clearance Yeezy For Sale . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Over a two-week span, were answering the following question for college basketballs 10 best conferences: Which venue in each conference is the toughest place to play? A number of factors, not just capacity and attendance, could affect a venues place in the order. Where does your school fall??In an effort to keep up with the competition and add some juice to the relatively new conference, schools in the American Athletic Conference have been busy sprucing up their various venues. Yet the toughest place to play in the league earned its reputation not merely by revamping the arena, but by renovating the program. Theres a lesson in there somewhere.11. South Florida Bulls: Sun Dome, opened in 1980The dreary building was given a much-needed facelift in 2012 and, paired with the Bulls first NCAA bid in 20 years, it was supposed to signal a turnaround for USFs fortunes. Things didnt go exactly as planned. Instead two years later Stan Heath was fired, and third-year coach Orlando Antigua now has a nice building in sunny Tampa to welcome visiting teams to. But hes still trying to rebuild his team. USF is 12-23 in its past two seasons at home, and the Dome averaged just 29 percent of its capacity last season.Fun fact: Alice Cooper played the first concert in the arena in 1980. He opened with Welcome to My Nightmare.10. East Carolina Pirates: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, opened in 1967 Theres potential here, which is why East Carolina pulls in at No. 10 instead of 11. What Williams Arena has going for is its not too big. It seats just 8,000, which puts a low demand on a fan base that hasnt tasted a whole lot of success. And when the Pirate faithful crowd in, it can be difficult for anyone to play there (see the win over Temple last season.)Fun fact:?One of the arenas highlight moments came in 2002, when the Pirates beat both Louisville and then-No. 9 Marquette at home, in their first season as members of what was then Conference USA.9. UCF Knights: CFE Arena, opened in 2007 You get to be near Disney World. Everyones happy at Disney World. How tough can visiting UCF be? Mix in the fact that the Knights, and their student section Knightmare, havent been terribly intimidating: They ranked 112th in attendance last season. And youve got a big, fairly innocuous looking building that could be just about anywhere in the country. Not much to fear.Fun fact: In 2008, Lupe Fiasco played a concert inside the arena. Outside, a presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain played on a big screen. When concert goers stuck around to watch the debate outside, the building hosted a massive presidential watch party.8. Tulane Green Wave: Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse, opened in 1933Truth be told, the fieldhouse is a pretty sweet gem of a gym on the New Orleans campus and better yet, the old place was given a complete facelift in 2012. And at just 4,000 seats its got all the ingredients to be a tough bandbox. But until the Green Waves play can match the facility, the fieldhouse will be stuck near the bottom of the rankings.Fun fact: In 1975, President Gerald Ford announced the end of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War in the fieldhouse. The war is finished, as far as America is concerned, Ford said to cheering students.7. Tulsa Golden Hurricane: Donald W. Reynolds Center, opened in 1998 When your new athletic director makes reviving attendance one of his premiere goals, you have a bit of an issue. But Tulsa AD Derrick Graggs initiative has merits. In the Golden Hurricanes first six seasons at the Reynolds Center, they averaged more than 7,000 fans per game. In the past three seasons, theyve dipped to 4,745. In 2013-14, the year Tulsa won 11 games in a row to earn its first NCAA ticket since 2003, the Golden Hurricane brought just 4,528 people to the building.Fun fact: Before the Reynolds Center opened, the Golden Hurricanes played in 13 different sites in their programs history, including a 20-year run of practicing on campus but competing downtown.6. Houston Cougars: Hofheinz Pavilion, opened in 1969 Theres an asterisk here because, in 2018, the Cougars will open an entirely redesigned facility, and the Hofheinz family (the late Judge Roy Hofheinz is a UH alum) is currently suing the university over the naming rights. The school announced an unnamed donor, who pledged $20 million to the redesign, will get the new naming rights. The family says that violates their contract. The asterisk also exists because when the redesign is done, Houston could conceivably move up the rankings. Just as the team is improving under Kelvin Sampson, a new and improved building could make for a tougher place for opponents to play.Fun fact: A mover and a shaker in Houston, Hofheinz helped bring Major LLeague Baseball to Houston (in the form of the Colt .dddddddddddd45s before they became the Astros) and develop the Houston Astrodome.5. Temple Owls: Liacouras Center, opened in 1997 Philly loves its basketball, and Philly knows its basketball, so the fans who come to watch the Owls play are as passionate as any youll find. But Temple has two things working against it: a large commuter student population and too many other options in town. The students who do show up are boisterous, and when folks commit to Temple games -- usually when a big opponent comes to play -- it can be as good an atmosphere as youll find. The struggle is to make that the case because Temple is playing, not because of who Temple is playing.Fun fact: For years the city and the university fought over who would control a $5 million donation Temple had made for a housing project, which was included in the costs of constructing the new arena. As only he could, then Temple coach John Chaney used his postgame media conferences to publicly lambast city officials over the stalled project, going so far as to accuse City Council president John Street of blackmail. No surprise, the two sides soon reached a compromise and construction began.4. Memphis Tigers: FedExForum, opened in 2004This is a tough call because of what FedEx Forum once was and, of course, what it could be once again with new coach Tubby Smith at the helm. As the Tigers struggle on the court, their in-house intimidation factor takes a hit, too. Attendance at Memphis games has been steadily declining, bottoming out at a little more than 12,000 this past season. But if Smith can turn around Texas Tech, surely he can turn around the Tigers.Fun fact: When undefeated and No. 1 Memphis hosted No. 2 Tennessee in 2008, the game was considered such a blockbuster, tickets were rumored to be selling for $10,000 and Entertainment Tonight sent a TV crew to keep tabs on the celebrities in attendance.3. Cincinnati Bearcats: Fifth Third Arena, opened in 1989 Playing the Bearcats, who love nothing better than to ugly up a game, is no fun anywhere. Playing the Bearcats at home, where their crowd is just as relentless as they are, can be downright overwhelming. In the past three seasons, Cincinnati has lost all of seven games at home, but fan attendance is not as dedicated as it once was, and the arena has long needed serious work. When some fans even cited the building as a reason they chose to stay home, the school went to work with a fundraising plan and this year announced it signed a deal with a construction firm ... just in time for possible Big 12 expansion.Fun fact: Despite its bank name, most locals still call the building The Shoe, referring to its original name: Myrl H. Shoemaker Center.2. Connecticut Huskies: Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, opened in 1990 Just getting to Gampel is difficult. Storrs sits only 28 minutes away from Hartford, but its tucked in the middle of nowhere, an outpost down the road from the interstate. And thats on a good day, not on a lovely New England winter day in, say, January or February. And Gampel is not a building you would expect a national program to call home. Its an intimate 10,000-seat arena, of which former coach Jim Calhoun once said, When you walk out there on the floor, you can see the faces, the fans can see the perspiration on the players, and you can really feel the pulse of the crowd. The Huskies, by the way, are 168-30 there. The Huskies also play a portion of their home schedule at Hartfords XL Center.Fun fact: The university originally approved plans to build a new arena in 1979, the same year that UConn joined the Big East. Design changes, an original plan included a flat roof with an artificial turf field on top, and cost overruns delayed the start of construction until 1987.1. SMU Mustangs: Moody Coliseum, opened in 1956 Before Larry Brown arrived in town, SMU averaged 2,013 fans per game. Last season the Mustangs lost one game at Moody. The Hall of Famer can be accused of lots of things, but the man knows how to turn around a program. In its 7,000-seat charming old barn, SMU is now a force in college basketball, with a rowdy home crowd to match its efforts. The big question: Can Tim Jankovich, named head coach after Brown resigned abruptly last month, keep it going?Fun fact: Dallas first ABA franchise, the Chaparrals, played some games at Moody. Owners couldnt agree on a team name so they went with the place where they were meeting, the Chaparral Club. But after just sevens seasons and declining ticket sales, the franchise relocated to another Texas town. The Chaparrals became the San Antonio Spurs. ' ' '