In just one week the dynamics of the top of the CAA have taken a rollercoaster ride and been turned on its side because of some major upsets.
Hampton (4-3, 1-2 CAA) overcame an early 14-point deficit to earn a convincing 59-17 victory at North Carolina A&T (1-6, 0-3 CAA).
Maine’s defense forced four turnovers and made seven sacks as the Black Bears (4-3, 2-2) beat #5 Villanova (5-2, 2-1 CAA), 35-7. It was the highest ranked team that Maine has defeated since 2018.
Tyler Knoop completed 34-of-40 passes for a career-high 387 yards and a program-record six touchdowns as Stony Brook (5-2, 2-1 CAA) rolled to a 52-24 road win at Towson (3-4, 1-2 CAA).
William & Mary (5-2, 2-1 CAA) rushed for 355 yards and held off Campbell (2-5, 0-3 CAA), 35-28. Leading the ground attack for the Tribe was Bronson Yoder with 131 yards and a TD and Malachi Imoh with 122 yards and a TD.
Quarterback Camden Coleman passed for 194 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a team-high 79 yards and a TD as Richmond (5-2, 3-0 CAA) extended its winning streak to five with a 28-9 triumph over Delaware (6-1, 3-1 CAA). The Spiders’ defense made four sacks, forced two turnovers and held the Blue Hens to 36 yards rushing.
Chandler Brayboy returned two kickoffs for touchdowns to lead Elon (2-5, 1-2 CAA) past UAlbany (3-4, 1-2 CAA), 30-14. Brayboy’s 94-yard return in the first quarter tied the game at 7-7 and he put the Phoenix in control with a 93-yarder in the third period.
Saturday, October 26
Richmond at Bryant 12:00pm FloFootball
Maine at Rhode Island 1:00pm FloFootball
Towson at Monmouth 1:00pm FloFootball
Elon at Hampton 2:00pm FloFootball
UAlbany at Delaware 3:00pm FloFootball
New Hampshire at Villanova 3:30pm FloFootball
William & Mary at Stony Brook 3:30pm FloFootball
North Carolina A&T at Campbell 4:00pm FloFootball
After taking last week off because of the incredibly hectic homecoming week, we’re back to discussing A&T football once again. To say that last week’s 59-17 loss to Hampton was disheartening would be a huge understatement. We rehashed that game at nauseum on for nearly two hours with the Aggie fan base our weekly podcast this past Wednesday so there’s no need to go over it again in this week’s column. It is what it is.
Tomorrow’s game with Campbell will be almost a intersquad scrimmage as both the Aggies and the Camels are in the midst of very disappointing seasons but the similarities just don’t stop there. Both rosters have been racked with injuries to key personnel who were counted on to be the major difference makers.
Both teams have had inconsistent offenses that at times have at one moment looked to be competent and capable while in the next unable to get out of their own way, with unforced turnovers, untimely penalties, and poor execution at the worst possible times.
The defenses haven’t fared much better sharing the distinction of giving up 4 or 5 big explosive plays each game, unable to stop the power run game between the tackles with a mixed assortment of special teams’ breakdowns.
The struggling backstories of these two programs are also running parallel courses. Vincent Brown is in his second year at A&T after replacing the very successful Sam Washington while Campbell’s first year head man Braxton Harris took the reins from the immensely popular Mike Minter, the only football coach that the relatively young Camel program had ever known.
The Camels are a 2-5 and 0-3 in the conference while A&T is 1-6, and 0-3 i the CAA as well. Campbell claims road wins over Western Carolina (24-16) and Delaware State (44-41) in the final seconds. They nearly pulled a near upset last week in a 35-28 loss to league leading William & Mary along with close losses to Stony Brook and Rhode Island.
So, what should you expect when these two teams hook up at 4 p.m. in Buies Creek on Saturday? Well usually when you have two teams that are having difficult seasons, the games are extremely close because both teams see it as a huge opportunity to perhaps help turn things around with a win and gain some confidence and a wee bit of momentum going into the most brutal final month of the season.
So, is there a favorite in this game given the circumstances? Not really. Pride will come into play more than anything else because the loser of this game will most likely guarantee themselves finishing at the bottom of the CAA for 2024. That is a moniker you don’t want carry into the offseason with the early recruiting period just around the corner in December.
N.C. A&T – 24
Campbell – 23
