Week 2 FCS Football Games of the Week
Villanova’s probably had Saturday’s game with Fordham circled on the calendar for a long time.
The No. 4 Villanova Wildcats (0-1), which lost a double-overtime thriller to Syracuse on Friday, open their home slate this weekend against No. 13 Fordham, a 52-23 winner over St. Francis, Pa., last weekend.
In 2013, the upstart Rams stunned a mistake-prone Villanova squad, 27-24, which ultimately helped keep the Wildcats out of the playoff. The Wildcats lost five fumbles in that game. Meanwhile, the victory propelled Fordham to an outstanding season and helped get the Rams a playoff spot.
Although Villanova won its next four games after an 0-2 start, you can be sure Andy Talley doesn’t want a repeat of 2013.
Other key FCS games this weekend include:
* No. 17 Jacksonville State (0-1) at No. 9 Chattanooga (0-1). Both schools lost to FBS teams from Michigan in Week One. Chattanooga saw a 16-0 lead vanish in a 20-16 loss to Central Michigan while Jacksonville State, the preseason favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference, got smoked by Michigan State, 45-7.
* No. 2 Eastern Washington (2-0) at Washington. The Eagles slipped to No. 2 in the rankings this week after North Dakota State pummeled FBS Iowa State. This week, Vernon Adams and the Eagles get a chance to make some noise against an FBS foe – although it won’t be easy.
* No 12 Sam Houston State (1-1), which won its first game for new coach KC Keeler last week, visits Louisiana State on Saturday night in its second difficult test in the season’s first three weeks.
* No. 14 Richmond (1-0) travels to nearby Charlottesville, Va., to face Virginia. The Cavaliers (0-1) lost to UCLA last week while the Spiders, with former Cavalier quarterbacks Michael Rocco and Michael Strauss, demolished Morehead State.
* No. 23 Southern Illinois (1-0) at Eastern Illinois (0-1). Eastern will try to rebound after losing to Minnesota 42-20 last week in a game that was 35-0 at one point. Meanwhile, Southern figures to be one of the teams in the mix for a MVFC playoff spot and a win here would help.
