As the CAA race enters the final month of the season five teams remain in the top 25 of the FCS. The next four weeks will determine not only the conference championship but the all-important first round playoff position for those who can survive November.
Stony Brook has catapulted itself into not only the conference title chase but may very well be solidifying an at-large pick into the big postseason dance.
After going 0-10 a year ago, Stony Brook’s overnight resurrection continued by producing 460 yards in total offense and its defense forced five turnovers as the Seawolves (6-2, 3-1) beat William & Mary (5-3, 2-2 CAA), 35-13, in a Top 25 matchup.
Campbell had a happy homecoming as the Camels (3-5, 1-3 CAA) defeated North Carolina A&T (1-7, 0-4 CAA) 21-7 before a capacity crowd in Buies Creek, NC.
Linebacker Shane Hartzell tallied a career-high 20 tackles and 2.0 TFL’s as Villanova (6-2, 3-1 CAA) used a dominant defensive effort to top UNH (4-4, 2-2 CAA), 14-6. Wildcats’ quarterback Connor Watkins passed for 112 yards and 2 TD’s.
Hampton (5-3, 2-2 CAA) rushed for 277 yards and four touchdowns, while the Pirates’ defense recorded six sacks and held Elon (2-6, 1-3 CAA) to -28 yards on the ground in a 41-21 triumph over the Phoenix.
Sean Brown passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns and Towson’s defense held the top offense in FCS to a season-low in points as the Tigers (4-4, 2-2 CAA) topped Monmouth (4-4, 2-2 CAA), 26-14.
Malik Grant’s 1-yard touchdown run with 12:25 to go lifted Rhode Island (7-1, 4-0 CAA) past Maine (4-4, 2-3 CAA), 24-14. It was the sixth straight win for the Rams, who got six sacks from their defense.
Marcus Yarns accounted for 170 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns as Delaware (7-1, 4-1 CAA) downed UAlbany (3-5, 1-3 CAA), 28-14. Yarns ran for 127 yards and a TD and both of his receptions went for scores.
Maine at Oklahoma 12:00pm SECN+/ESPN+
Monmouth at Rhode Island 1:00pm FloFootball
New Hampshire at UAlbany 1:00pm FloFootball
Stony Brook at Bryant 1:00pm FloFootball
Villanova at Hampton 1:00pm FloFootball
William & Mary at North Carolina A&T 1:00pm FloFootball
Campbell at Elon 2:00pm FloFootball
Towson at Richmond 2:00pm FloFootball
Last week A&T returned to a mostly competitive form in its 21-7 loss to Campbell in a game that was actually much closer than the final score would indicate. Still, it was the same old story for the Aggies, getting the ball into good scoring position on solid drives early on then squandering those opportunities through unnecessary penalties and poor execution.
The story on defense was pretty the same old script we’ve become accustomed this season in playing very good solid stretches of football to have those efforts flushed down the toilet by giving up those explosive plays that end up turning decent chances at victory into another episode of here we go again.
It has become a weekly ritual, playing sound football for 30-40 minutes but always succumbing somewhere along the way to those 10 to12-minute spans, those 4-5 plays where everything seems to fall apart either offensively or defensively or some cases both.
With #24 William and Mary in town, this is one team that if you start making a lot of mental mistakes, they will slit you throat like a trained assassin in the middle of the night. They are big, fast, and play with an edge up front. Now W&M isn’t North Dakota State and they have lost 2 of their last three including getting blown out by the Cinderella story of college football in Stony Brook last week, 35-14. However, with potential playoff berths on the line, you can expect the Tribe to try to send a message to the selection committee. Mike London will not be showing mercy to his long-time former D-Coordinator and close friend.
No doubt it will take a yeoman’s effort for the Aggies to keep this one under control, but A&T seems to oddly play better against teams that are obviously better than them on paper and where they are very heavy underdogs.
At some point during this season, one would think that A&T is due to snap out of its malaise by putting together a full 60 minutes of football. Are the Aggies capable of achieving that goal given the youth on their roster, mounting injuries, and the invariable mental block that feeds off the frustration of losing?
Probably. Will it be Saturday? Not likely but luckily games aren’t played on probabilities but on the field where strange things do happen from time to time. Lightening can and does strike twice in the same spot, but I wouldn’t advise that you go stand under a tree to prove that point.
William & Mary – 42
N.C. A&T – 17
