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Below are the final Top 25 rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the 2023 season amongst the FCS teams. South Dakota State finishes in the top position after winning the national title game over Montana. North Dakota State finishes in the #2 position after losing to Montana in the Division I FCS semifinal round..
Albany struggled to a 1-3 record in the spring, but that doesn’t really tell the story of what kind of team they have.
This week was shaping up to be a good week for the CAA. But both games between two ranked teams have been postponed due to Covid protocols: #23 Richmond at #1 James Madison and #12 Delaware at #20 New Hampshire.
William & Mary at James Madison is postponed this weekend, but there are still five games on the schedule to enjoy.
Compared to the chaos of the final week of February, where we saw half the top 25 lose, the results of the first week in March could instead be called “March Mildness”.
As we enter the third week of the Spring season, the full CAA will join the fun with five games this weekend.
This Spring, the CAA teams will play six conference games and can schedule up to two non conference games. There will only be 11 of the 12 teams taking the field as Towson has opted out of the Spring season.
Of our preseason poll last year, only 6 of the top 10 teams made the playoffs. 13 of the full 25 played past Thanksgiving. Its 2020, the year of complete chaos.
With the second round of the FCS Playoffs now complete, we give you links to all our recaps and our writers’ impression of the games.
Montana State used a balanced offense and solid defense to easily defeat Albany 47-21 in their second round matchup in the FCS playoffs. Even though Albany did get the scoring starting on an excellent 58 yard pitch and catch from Jeff Undercuffler to Juwan Green, From there, it was all Bobcats.
Albany proved its eight win regular season was no fluke as they cruised to a 42-14 win over Central Connecticut State behind a huge second half where they score three times in the opening seven and a half minutes of the third quarter.
With the first round of the FCS Playoffs now complete, we give you links to all our recaps and our writers’ impression of the games. Monmouth 44, Holy Cross 27 FCS 1st Round Playoffs: Monmouth Overwhelms Holy Cross 44-27 For Hawks First-Ever Playoff Victory Chuck: Monmouth proved they have a balanced offense that can give.
The Albany Great Danes, behind a tremendous performance by QB Jeff Undercuffler and defeated the Central Connecticut Blue Devils 42-14 on Saturday in the first round of the FCS Playoffs.
Picked to finish twelfth in the twelve team CAA, no one expected to see Albany’s name pop up in the playoff bracket. But the Great Danes had an excellent season finishing alone in second in the conference behind James Madison.
The CAA has its champion. James Madison handily defeated Richmond and claimed the outright CAA title. Joining the Dukes in the playoffs should be Villanova, Albany and Towson who each have seven division one wins on the season.
We are down to the last two weeks of the regular season. In the CAA, James Madison is a playoff lock and will claim the outright conference championship with another win. The Dukes should also slide into the seeds when the playoff bracket is released on November 24. Villanova is probably also solidly in the field. From there, its anybody’s guess what other CAA teams will be included on Selection Sunday
At this point the CAA could have five teams get into the FCS Playoffs, or they could have two. Its going to be a tense last three weeks.
One of the wildest endings to a game this year happened last week between Stony Brook and Villanova. Villanova held a 35-20 lead with five minutes remaining only to see Stony Brook roar back with 16 points to win on a Nick Courtney field goal as time expired. As a result, the CAA is a huge jumble, as it seems to be every year.
The showdown between Villanova and James Madison lived up to its billing. The game was back and forth until the Dukes took hold in the fourth quarter to pick up the win. Elsewhere in the league, New Hampshire continued its strong start on the road at Stony Brook. Towson and Maine both faltered at home against Albany and Richmond respectively.
Villanova and James Madison may have been caught looking ahead to their showdown last week, as both had to survive and win late. Take nothing away from Stony Brook and William & Mary, who gave those two teams all they could handle. The CAA title may well be on the line this week in Harrisonburg.
Villanova and James Madison appear to be on a collision course for an epic showdown next weekend after both posted impressive victories over ranked teams last weekend. The winner of that game on 10/12 will be in the CAA driver’s seat. But neither can get too far ahead of themselves since both of them have tough games this week.
Villanova showed that they are not to be forgotten in the CAA race in 2019. The Wildcats went toe to toe with the best offense in the conference – Towson – and came away victorious. Daniel Smith has been spectacular through four games with 13 touchdowns passing and four more rushing. Most teams in the CAA are getting into conference play from here on out so the path to the playoffs is going to start to clear up.
Towson showed they aren’t going away in the CAA and FCS race. The Tigers easily beat Maine by 22 points last week. In the only other CAA matchup, Elon picked up its first conference win, cruising by Richmond. In a couple more weeks, conference play will be in full swing. But for this week there are only two conference matchups while James Madison plays an interesting out of conference contest at Chattanooga.
Week two brought a mixed bag of results. The highlight of the weekend was the triple OT thriller in Meade Stadium that saw Delaware outlast the host Rhode Island Rams. That game set the stage for what should be an excellent season of conference matchups.
The CAA had a solid showing on opening weekend with all its teams combining to go 7-1 against FCS opponents. The lone loss was suffered by Elon to nationally-ranked North Carolina A&T, 24-21, on a 52 yard field goal as time expired. Against an FBS school, James Madison gave West Virginia all they could handle before ultimately falling to the Mountaineers. On to week two where the CAA faces four more FBS teams and a couple of strong non-conference games.
A new season is finally upon us. The Colonial Athletic Association is always among the top conference in the country and 2019 looks to be no different. Villanova already made a statement in week zero against Colgate. Most everyone else gets going this week.
The CAA had an excellent regular season in 2018 culminating with a record 6 playoff berths. However, once they got there, everyone except for Maine fell flat. The Colonial again looks strong with most every team feeling like they have a shot at the playoffs.
The Great Danes struggled through a tough CAA schedule, but shocked the league by defeating in-state ranked rival Stony Brook on the last weekend of the season to go out on a high note.
