When Washington & Jefferson coach Mike Sirianni says his team has more talented athletes than in past years, that's not a good sign for the rest of the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

"We hope to utilize that speed and agility on both sides of the ball," said Sirianni, whose Presidents open the season tonight at 7 at Cameron Stadium against Geneva (1-0). "We want to get off to a good start."

Although Geneva is in the PAC, its games won't count in the standings because the Golden Tornadoes are a "provisional member."

W&J is the preseason favorite to win the conference with a solid nucleus of starters returning from a 10-2 team that reached the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Presidents, who averaged nearly 33 points per game last season, will again be led by junior quarterback Bobby Swallow, who completed 70 percent of his passes for 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns. The top two receivers are back, Tom McCafferty (39 catches, 529 yards, 7 TDs) and David Ravida (36 catches, 461 yards, 4 TDs), but the Presidents must find a replacement for running back Ryan Mendel and All-American linemen Chris Hickey and Chris Teter.

Junior linebacker David Gitlitz will anchor a rebuilt defense that lost seven starters.

Geneva opened with an impressive 20-3 victory against Thiel as Bobby Bondi completed 14 of 24 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, and freshman running back Gerald Muschette replaced the injured Javon Moody (knee) and rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown and scored on a 50-yard pass reception.

Geneva's defense, paced by end Brian Wilson's 10 tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery, limited Thiel to 150 yards of offense.

This is the first meeting between the teams since 1985. W&J leads the series, 33-19-2.

Other games:

Bloomsburg (1-0) at California (2-0), 5 p.m. -- Two of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's high-powered offenses featuring premier running backs will be on display in a matchup of nationally ranked teams. Bloomsburg, from the East Division, is 12th in the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll and California, from the West, is 19th.

California, which averages 30 points per game, is led by Brandon Lombardy (222 yards rushing, 1 TD), Joe Ruggiero (297 yards passing, 3 TDs, 59.1 completion percentage) and Nate Forse (6 catches, 151 yards, 2 TDs).

The headliner on defense is linebacker Darren Burns, a junior from McKeesport who is the West Defensive player of the week.

Bloomsburg's main offensive weapon is senior Jamar Brittingham, the school's all-time scoring leader with 408 points and 65 rushing touchdowns. He scored 34 points in a 42-28 victory against C.W. Post with touchdown runs of 2, 2, 2, 6 and 5 yards and two 2-point conversions.

Robert Morris (0-1) at Monmouth (0-1), 1 p.m. -- Robert Morris, coming off a 23-12 loss to Dayton, opens its Northeast Conference schedule against the defending champion Hawks. The Colonials had just 44 yards rushing on 33 carries against Dayton and haven't had a 100-yard rusher in 13 consecutive games, the longest drought in school history. Devin Wilson's 137 yards against Albany in 2005 was the last 100-yard performance by a Robert Morris runner.

Robert Morris flanker Mario Hines had three catches for a career-high 85 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown, and accounted for 189 all-purpose yards with four kickoff returns for 99 yards and two punt returns for five yards.

Monmouth, which lost to Maine, 21-14, has won four consecutive games against Robert Morris to tie the series, 6-6.

Ginger Walton, wife of coach Joe Walton, passed away Wednesday at The Medical Center, Beaver. She was 69. Joe Walton will not be on the sideline for the game.

Grove City (0-1) at Carnegie Mellon (1-0), 1 p.m. -- Carnegie Mellon, ranked 25th in NCAA Division III by D3football.com. opened with a 33-10 victory against Rochester for its 11th consecutive regular-season win. The Tartans ran for 445 yards -- second to the school record 494 against Colorado College in 2005 -- against Rochester as Robert Gimson had a career-high 185 and a touchdown, Travis Sivek 136 and two touchdowns and Colby Whitman 72 and two touchdowns.

Grove City's Andrew DiDonato passed for 252 yards, Matt Weil rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown and Stephen Mercer had five catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in a 17-17 loss to Dickinson.

Cheyney (0-1) at IUP (0-0), 2 p.m. -- IUP is looking for quarterback Andrew Krewatch to play as he did as a freshman two years ago when he threw for 1,714 yards and 12 touchdowns. Krewatch, a graduate of North Allegheny, sat out last season as a redshirt.

The top returning receiver is Anthony Cellitti, who had 27 catches for 318 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Rob Plowman led the PSAC with nine sacks last season.