Well, that was a thumping.. although the stats don't indicate it, Villanova made Delaware its bitch today with a 30-12 victory. Chris Whitney ran all over the Delaware defense to the tune of 138 yards. Pat Devlin had 407 passing yards, but he also had three picks as Delaware struggled the entire game to run the ball, finishing with only 45 yards on the game. It should be noted that Devlin's passing yardage is more a reflection on the fact Delaware was down big the whole game than Villanova playing poor defense.
Here's what I noticed
Chris Whitney is a stone cold killer. He has no regard for his own body and is one of the toughest players I've ever seen put a Villanova uniform. He ran all over the Delaware defense today and delivered some blows when guys were trying to take him down.
Pat Devlin is nowhere near the player Joe Flacco was. Cool Joe wouldn't have made all of those mistakes. I thought Devlin looked lost in there sometimes. Maybe he just wasn't getting protection.
Matt Szczur continues to astound me. The guy is just so steady, he never disappears and can always be counted on to make a big play. It's a rarity to have a big play threat who is as consistent as Szczur.
The Defense didn't get beat on the ground, which will be key come playoff time when the weather gets colder and it's harder to pass.
The kicker, Nick Yako has been pretty good this season and he's only a freshman so he can only get better he had some nice kickoffs and made three field goals and is still perfect on extra point's eleven games into the season.
The Defense is forcing turnovers, which makes me happy.
Thats it.. the selection show is tomorrow at 3 on ESPN News go watch in the Connelly Center with the team if you don't get ESPN News (I don't.)
Big Day For Villanova Football Today, big win for VU BBall yesterday. I figured I would just go down and give general two sport list to give you a barometer on how I'm feeling (like you really want to know.)
Tone is playing the best basketball of his career. He's currently averaging a double-double and hasn't grabbed less than seven boards in a game yet this season. I doubted you before the season, but it looks like you're proving me wrong.. I'm glad.
According to The Voice, Mouph is hopeful that he'll be cleared to travel with the team soon. At least one tests may have also been false positives.
I wouldn't doubt if if Fish leads the team in scoring this year.
Matt Szczur won't be donating Bone Marrow until January, and that makes him available for every game of the playoffs. I wouldn't have minded him sitting out to save the life of a girl, especially one as young as a year old.
My dad does not like the post about K.C. Keeler, go figure.
When you're drunk, nothing hits the spot like a cheeseburger and copious amounts of french fries.
I still don't think that we're as good as people say we are.. but I'll take it.
My friend went on a drunken tirade about how he hates the president. He had a true Glenn Beck moment.
In football however, I think we're just as good as people say, maybe better.
The average Delaware fan hates Villanova. The average Villanova fan could give a shit about Delaware.
I'd also like to thank the guys from IBBW for hopping on the Mouph/medical story. Those guys do a good job over there and even though we (Matsuflex) got into a bit of a scrum earlier this year, they're alright.
Wanted For: Fraud, Questionable use of Sunglasses and Suspicion of Buggery
Keeler, The Head Football Coach Of The University of Delaware is frequently seen with his head up the ass of quarterbacks at BCS schools. Known for his signature sunglasses (which are too small for his HUGE fiveforehead) and his tendency to attempt to justify his team's mediocre season. Mr. Keeler is surrounded by some dangerous Motherfuckers, including one arrested for stabbing himself. If you see him take no risks and do not approach him unless it is with the hood of your car. Mr. Keeler is surrounded by over 50 young men with brains the size of peanuts who know not the difference between their ass and a hole in the ground. Recent intelligence indicates that he may be the bitch in a violent BDSM session at the Hands of Mistress 'Nova this Saturday November 21st.
Extreme Caution Should Be Used especially with your horses because judging by his elongated Skull he is at least half horse. If your horses are not in a secure location they will be penetrated.
Wow, I really don't have much to say. Four Players fouled out, there were far too many turnovers and we didn't make free throws, but apparently we have Jesus on our side. When Isaiah Armwood was taking what turned out to be the Game winning Three Pointer, I almost threw something at the TV. When He made it I was ecstatic. Let's go down the line..
Piss Poor Officiating
Terrible Free Throw Shooting
Scottie turning the ball over
Jay Wright wearing casual clothing
Mouph Sick :(
I'll have more later.. but a big win that we probably didn't deserve.
UPDATE: 5:14 PM: As far as I'm hearing this is at least true for Hep B, which would be why he was sent home with a "Viral Infection" TB requires more stringent testing (usually chest imaging.) Many people who are exposed to TB never actually get full blown Tuberculosis and there is a chance for false positives (5-10 percent of the US population test positive on a Mantoux Test but the percentage of the population with the disease is exponentially lower than that, the rate in which people from less developed countries test positive is much higher, thus Mouph might be ok with regards to TB.)
I have Received news from a (reliable) source with in depth knowledge of the situation that Villanova Freshman phenom Mouphtaou Yarou has been sent home from Puerto Rico after the discovery that he has tested positive for Tuberculosis and Hepatitis B. .
I know that I'm never too serious or reverent on this blog, but please pray for Mouph to make a speedy and full recovery. At this point, basketball is not the issue, the health and livelihood of a member of the Villanova Family is.
I didn't have time for a full preview so i decided to just do another edition of Scottie Watch before this game. With 14 points last game, Scottie Reynolds now has 22 points on the season heading into today's contest against George Mason. Those 22 points give him 1,642 for his Career, good enough for 14th in school history.
Scottie Is:
358 Points From 2,000
602 Points From Passing Kerry Kittles for the Men's Scoring career lead
767 Points from Passing Shelly Pennefather for the Combined Mens/Womens Mark
Villanova will return home to Villanova Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 PM to play it's archrival Delaware in the regular season finale. The 'Cats are 9-1 and 6-1 in CAA conference play while the Blue Hens are 6-4 and 4-3 in conference play. Villanova has taken the last three meetings against Delaware including winning last year's Matchup 21-7 at Delaware. The Blue Hens are a much better team than they were last year, especially at the Quarterback position where Penn State transfer Pat Devlin has stepped in and performed admirably despite lacking weapons at the other skill positions, especially running back.
Coming off the first win of the season against Fairleigh Dickinson, Villanova will open up the City Series against Penn. Villanova hasn't lost to Penn since 2002 and don't look for this game to be any different. As the years go on, the gap between the Ivy League and the power conferences continues to grow and The Quakers will need ingenuity and a hell of a lot of luck to beat The 'Cats especially since the game is at The Pavillion.
Here's what I'll be looking for:
Scottie Reynolds had a pretty crappy game against FDU and It should be pretty interesting to see how he'll do against Penn. I'm predicting more than the 8 points he scored last game.
If Corey Stokes shoots anywhere near how he shot last game, we could see a breakout year for "The Bayonne Bomber" (I hate that nickname by the way.) I expect him to cool down a little bit this game though.
I expect Villanova to try to lean on going to the basket more against a smaller, less athletic Penn team. This could be the game where we really find out what we have in Mouphtaou Yarou.
Now for Scottie Watch
Scottie Is:
372 Points From 2,000.
616 Points from Breaking Kerry Kittles' Men's school record of 2,243 points.
781 Points From Passing Shelly Pennefather's combined school record of 2,408 Points.
That's all for this abridged game preview.. I'll have more when the games get interesting. Go 'Cats!
I'm big into stats, They have less worth than the intangibles, but they're still interesting to follow. With a big season this year, Scottie Reynolds has an opportunity to be the most prolific scorer in Villanova history. It's already very likely that Scottie will end up with a more prolific scoring career than Randy Foye (who finished with less career points than teammate Allan Ray,) but with a big season he can pass Kerry Kittles to become Villanova's all time leading scorer in Men's Basketball. At this point Scottie has 1620 points and is within striking distance of some big time scoring milestones.
Scottie Is:
380 Points From 2,000.
624 Points from Breaking Kerry Kittles' Men's school record of 2,243 points.
789 Points From Passing Shelly Pennefather's combined school record of 2,408 Points (national player of the year numbers.)
Game one is tonight, Expect Scottie to put up big numbers early in the season with a young team around him. He'll need to do a little better than his career scoring average to surpass Kittles and like I said earlier, he'll need National POY numbers to pass Shelly Pennefather.
Yes, you know it, Basketball Season is upon us. Villanova will open up the season on Saturday against non conference cupcake Fairleigh Dickinson. Instead of giving keys for basketball games, I'm simply going to put out some storylines that I think are the most interesting in the leadup to that particular game along with whatever I find interesting that very likely have nothing to do with the game or VU in general.
Jay Bilas You Sly Motherfucker- Jay Bilas either has a bigger man crush on Jay Wright than I do or he just thinks Villanova is really good every year. Ever since the Randy Foye/Allan Ray team, Jay Bilas has had wood for the Villanova program. Recently on a chat for the four letter word's website, he said that Villanova has "The most explosive guards in the country." So suck it Dook, not only did we get Taylor King, but Jay Bilas loves us more than you.
I was gonna play tonight, but then I got high, I was get out and join the fight but then I got high.. Now I'm sitting out and I know why yea hey.. because I got high because I got high because i got high-Ok, enough of that. One of the most important factors early in this season is how Villanova plays early in the season without Reggie Redding (especially on defense.) This game should be a good barometer of that, because while it shouldn't be close, you'll still be able to tell how The 'Cats will be playing defense.
The Warden Get's Number 800- We Don't like Syracuse Correctional Centerhere. Not only have they produced huge assholes such as Derrick Coleman, Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf but Jim Boeheim is also a huge asshole. With all that aside though, congratulations Warden Boeheim for win number 800.
So the Game against FDU is this Friday night. Let's go 'Cats!
This Saturday, Villanova will make what they hope will be their final road trip of the season to Towson, Maryland to take on the Towson Tigers. In an ideal world, The 'Cats will take such a royal dump on the Tigers that they won't have to play any starters past the first series of the third quarter. Annoyingly though, Towson always plays Villanova tight including a frustrating three point game last year at Villanova Stadium; a game that I went to foolishly even though I had the shingles. Two years ago at Towson, The Tigers also played The 'Cats close, but I do not expect that to be the case this season as Towson does not have a quarterback who is anywhere near as good as their last one.
Here's What I think:
If it was a different year, I'd call this game a trap game, but I think the talent difference is just too great for that to happen. Villanova has an experienced team that won't get too up on themselves over a big win such as the one last week against Richmond especially because the game was way too close after how well they played.
I would kind of like to see The 'Cats throw the ball early in the game. Last week, Chris Whitney proved that he can spread the ball around the field as he had three touchdown passes to three different receivers. Villanova has been running the ball effectively all season, but C-Dub is far too efficient as a passer to run the ball 80 percent of the time. Another benefit of throwing the ball more is that it will throw off Delaware's defense for next week as they will have to focus on the run as well as the pass.
Villanova cannot afford a close game in this situation. Ideally it will be a big blowout because struggling in a game like this will be fresh on the minds of the committee members when they're selecting seeds for the playoffs. If The 'Cats want three guaranteed games on the Main Line instead of traveling to Missoula, Montana in December they will have to this game and be convincing in doing so. Villanova simply does not draw enough people to games to justify giving them playoff home field advantage unless they are without a doubt one of the top two teams in the nation.
The 'Cats still can't afford to overlook Towson and look toward the game against Delaware. Going all out until the lead is unmanagable is a must. The 'Cats have not struggled against any poor teams this season, so I expect them to play well, but they should still be prepared for everything the Tigers throw at them.
So The game is on Saturday at 1 PM the game will be on the radio in Philadelphia on 950 ESPN Radio. Go 'Cats! Beat Towson
After this week's 21-20 upset win over Richmond, Chris Whitney, The Villanova Quarterback was named CAA Co-Offensive Player of the week.
Here's The Video:
Congratulations Chris!
The Towson Preview coming out late tonight and the Villanova-Fairleigh Dickinson Basketball preview will probably be out sometime later in the week (likely tomorrow.)
In case you missed Villanova's 21-20 victory over Richmond yesterday, it was truly a game for the ages. It had everything from Villanova going up by two touchdowns early to Richmond coming back and scoring 20 consecutive points to take the 20-14 lead with two minutes left only to see Chris Whitney drive The 'Cats down the field to take the 21-20 lead, a drive highlighted by Whitney's 29 yard touchdown to Brandyn Harvey, who made a brilliant one handed catch. The Spiders looked as if they were not to be outdone as Quarterback Eric Ward drove Richmond down the field only to see Richmond Kicker Andrew Howard missed the potential game winning field goal with only 5 seconds left on the clock. Perhaps the highlight of the game had nothing to do with either team but rather someone on the Comcast Sportsnet crew:
Here are my final thoughts and random notes on the Game:
Villanova still won even thought they made several mistakes that prevented them from putting the game away. Examples of this include a Chris Whitney interception in the red zone that was returned 70 yards to set up a Richmond touchdown. Also included was a missed field goal after a Richmond goal line stand that would have totally changed the complexion of the game and could have broken the Spirits of the Richmond players and Crowd early on in the game.
Chris Whitney has proven yet again that he can throw the ball to win games, he just usually doesn't have to. He has a stable of talented wide receivers that he can sling the rock to.
Dorian Wells had his best game yet at Villanova, a game that included his first career touchdown and several clutch catches.
Matt Szczur continues to prove that he's the best all around player in the CAA and the best all around athlete at Villanova since Brian Westbrook. After 9 games Szczur is leading the league in all purpose yards.
This was unquestionably the biggest road win of the Andy Talley era.
Villanova has beaten a team Ranked #1 in two consecutive seasons. In both cases, Richmond was the #1 team Villanova beat. Before last season's win over Richmond, Villanova never had a win over a #1 team.
Brandyn Harvey may be the best Villanova Wide Receiver since Brian Finneran. He's had the misfortune of playing for run first teams but had he been in Finneran's offensive style, I'm fairly sure he'd have 1,000 at this point in the season.
With eight wins this season, Villanova has almost definitely clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. Unless the committee rapes us, this is the first time since the 1996 and 1997 seasons that Villanova will have gone to the Playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Next Saturday's game is at Towson. The 'Cats have won their last two against The Tigers who are absolutely awful. Villanova controls it's own destiny to clinch at least a share of the CAA title. If Villanova wins next week and UNH loses at William and Mary, Villanova will go into the final game of the regular season against Delaware with control of the CAA automatic bid and a top four seed that will likely accompany it.
Basketball Season is finally nearing it's start and if you're like me, it can not come soon enough. The 'Cats are looking to make a return trip to the final four for the first time in school history. Jay Wright and his staff are hoping that the blue chip recruiting class they hauled in will not only be able to offset the losses of Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson but also take on increased responsibility early due to Reggie Reddingbeing suspended for the beginning of the season as a result of his possession of a green leafy substance.
In this entry, I'll be giving my (uneducated) expectations for players on the team who have a chance to contribute (the players will be listed in approximately their spot in the rotation to start the season.) Come January, I'll do a mid season edition that will be both a second half season preview and grades for the first
half.
Starters
Scottie Reynolds- In three seasons on the Main Line, Scottie has already cemented his spot in Villanova history. His scoring output and NCAA tournament heroics already give him the case to be one of the greatest players ever to play on the corner of Lancaster and Ithan and this year Scottie can put himself on a plateau all by himself as he has a realistic chance of becoming Villanova's all time leading scorer in Men's basketball and an outside chance of becoming the school's all time leader among Men and Women combined. With 1620 points in his career heading into the season, Scottie is 380 points away from 2,000, 624 points away from breaking Kerry Kittles' Men's scoring record of 2,243 and 789 to break the combined mark of 2,408 points set by "Sister" Shelly Pennefather. My prediction for this season: 17-20 PPG 3.5-5 APG
Corey Fisher- To me, Fish is an enigma. When he's good, he can dominate a game, but sometimes he just makes mind blowingly shitty decisions. When Fisher sees a lane to the hoop he attacks it like a smaller, dumber Dwyane Wade. Fortunately for Fish, he has a better taste in women than D-Wade (and as far as I know, Fish doesn't have herpes Enough of that though.. I think Fish will score 11-13 points a game and dish out 4-6 assists a game.
Corey Stokes- Stokes possesses the prettiest looking jump shot I've ever seen outside of Ray Allen but just because it's pretty doesn't mean that it's going to go in. Stokes' range and raw shooting ability are matched by few others but it varies from as cold as his brother Bizz's rhymes to as hot as The Voice's mother. If he keeps taking shots, the chances are he's going to make some but I'd like to develop some moves so he can get to the hoop because he's usually bigger than the guys who are guarding him. This year, he'll have to take on an expanded defensive role during the early season until Reggie comes back and if he plays solid defense (he's been improving), it bodes well for his future. I'm thinking Stokes is good for 8-15 points a game (wide range because of how streaky he can be) and not much on the rebounding or assists fronts.
Antonio Pena- To be quite frank, when I heard about Reggie getting Busted for pot, my first thoughts were "why couldn't it have been Pena?" Antonio has been around for a couple of years and frankly I've lost patience. He's the typical "looks like Tarzan plays like Jane type of player." If he could translate any of his athletic ability to the basketball court, he might be good but I don't see any of the tendencies that a young Dante Cunningham showed (work ethic, intelligence, killer instinct.) I don't expect much from Tone and to be honest and I wouldn't doubt if he's buried on the bench for much of the year if Mouph comes out strong and Taylor King becomes too good to leave on the bench. That being said, I wouldn't mind in the least to be proven wrong. I expect 6-8 points and 5-7 boards a game from Tone, hopefully he gives more than that.
Mouphtaou Yarou- I can't lie, I love me some big men (no homo.) When I was young, I wanted desperately to be a post man. I worked on my post moves, practiced my "sky" hook, and took way too many (accidental) elbows to the face from much taller people. I thought I was going to be the next Bill Walton (except the whole batshit crazy part.) In my opinion and the opinions of people who know way more about basketball than me, Mouph has the potential to be a pretty big deal and the hype is showing as there is already a secret society on campus of which he is the namesake. Villanova has not had a true big man since Malik Allen graduated a decade ago. The big man was the only thing lacking in both 2006 and last year's final four run. If Mouph, stays healthy and listens to Frank Tchuisi (about everything except basketball) he has the chance to be a special player, which is why Jay traveled all the way to Benin to meet his family. The original plan for Mouph was to start the season on the bench and then work him into the starting lineup during the lead-in to Big East conference play, but Cheech's Reggie's suspension will force him into the starting lineup earlier than anticipated. Let's hope that the early exposure in games helps his development rather than hampers it. Any offensive production would be nice, but what I really want is for him to control the glass as well as contest and block shots. Villanova hasn't had a shot blocker since Jason Lawson graduated in 1997. 6-8 points a game, 5-7 boards and about 1-1.5 blocked shots a game are what I expect from Mouph as a freshman.
.jpg)
