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Kern: Playoff implications for 'Nova vs. JMU

THIS IS the last regular-season home game of Andy Talley's 32-year Main Line career. It could turn out to be the last time he coaches at Villanova Stadium. That's pretty much up to his Wildcats, who are ranked ninth in FCS. On Saturday afternoon they will host No. 6 James Madison in a matchup that contains those ever-popular postseason ramifications.

THIS IS the last regular-season home game of Andy Talley's 32-year Main Line career. It could turn out to be the last time he coaches at Villanova Stadium. That's pretty much up to his Wildcats, who are ranked ninth in FCS. On Saturday afternoon they will host No. 6 James Madison in a matchup that contains those ever-popular postseason ramifications.

Which, of course, is about all you can ask for in November.

"It's funny, because a lot of people have said that to me," Talley noted. "But honestly I haven't given it any thought. I've got 55 Italian people coming to this thing. That's more of a concern. I'm worried about a fight, I don't know how much food to have. They're coming from (all over). It's costing me a fortune, by the way."

Maybe it's good to have extracurricular distractions.

The Dukes (8-1, 6-0) lead the Colonial Athletic Association by a game over Villanova (7-2, 5-1) and New Hampshire (5-1). They won at New Hampshire by three in mid-October. They also won by four last week at No. 8 Richmond (7-2, 4-2). They haven't won at Villanova since 2008. And that was on a Hail Mary. Villanova and New Hampshire don't play.

A Wildcats win would unofficially secure an NCAA playoff berth, their sixth in the last nine years. And they could get the CAA's automatic bid into the 24-team field, depending on tiebreakers (it could come down to Sagarin ratings), if they can then win next week's finale at Delaware. Whatever, the better the record increases the chance for more home playoff games. And Talley is 8-2 on Lancaster Avenue in the tournament. So . . .

"For the first time this year, when I talked to the team on Sunday and went through the routine of what it's about, there was a commitment from the players that you could feel," said Talley, who has won six CAA titles, the last in 2012. "At this point I don't have any tricks up my sleeve. We've been in a lot of games like this. I laid out the scenario for them. This is the deal, here's what we need to do.

"Either (JMU is) really that good and we got no shot or it's going to be a great game. Hopefully we'll come out and seize an opportunity. We all want the ability to control our own destiny in the final run. If we beat this team we can be a top (eight seed and get an opening bye). If we don't, we won't. Then whatever happens, happens. And we have a rivalry game . . . next week. I don't even want to think about that."

JMU, whose loss was to North Carolina, averages nearly 50 points. It has reached the 80s twice. Villanova's defense is allowing just 15 per.

Starting left guard Nico D'Angelo is one of Talley's 10 fifth-year seniors. He understands that this one might come down to the Wildcats' offense keeping JMU's offense off the field as much as possible.

"We know what we have to do," D'Angelo said. "We've been around long enough, through the ups and downs. Before the season, we couldn't have imagined being in a better place than we are right now. It feels good, after all the work we've put in. But we've got a lot of work left.

"Our defense has been coming up big. But we like to think we can run the ball. And if we give Zach (Bednarczyk) time, he can hurt you with his arm. It's up to us. We just have to make plays. The guys on the line have been doing this since they were playing pee-wee ball. We know the reporters aren't going to ask us to speak after the game. That's OK. All we care about is putting points on the board. If we get to celebrate in the end zone, that's enough. As long as we win."

Other than redshirt senior defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon, there really aren't any stars. But there doesn't have to be. The 2009 and '10 teams had Matt Szczur. In 2012 and '14, there was John Robertson. This is more of a blue-collar group. Whatever works. All Talley wants is one more shot to make a run. Getting past JMU helps those odds. What more do you have to compute?

"We want to send coach out the right way, but we also want it for ourselves," D'Angelo said. "It's his last year and our last year. The goal this week is to beat the next team on our schedule. That's the only way to look at it. We can make it something really special. But there's still a long way to go. It's gone by so fast. Not just the season, but the five years. I can remember walking on campus with no idea of what I was doing. Now we're the leaders. We can share our experiences with the younger guys, just relaying the message that we've heard all along."

Due to a scheduling quirk, a year ago they closed at No. 12 JMU. A win would have left them in a three-way tie for first and probably gotten them into the playoffs even at 7-4. But they lost, 38-29. The Dukes scored on a kickoff return, an interception return and a fumble return.

"We can't win if we let that happen again," D'Angelo said.

Having games to play in December could depend on it.

@mikekerndn