Covering All College Sports Since 2012
First of all – if you haven’t seen “The Vermillion Miracle” – watch it. Now. It’s one of the most extraordinary things you’ll ever see this college football season, or any other.
The Rams went 2-1 last spring with overtime road victories against Villanova and UAlbany before having its season cut short by COVID. The glimpse we got of the Rams before the shutdown showed a lot of potential for the fall season.
James Madison/Richmond was postponed this week “due to CoVID protocols at Richmond”, according to James Madision’s official release, and Delaware/Albany was cancelled due to Albany suspending their spring season due to a very large number of injuries. This leaves two games on the CAA schedule this weekend.
James Madison returns to action after a two week pause of their own, while a huge clash looms between Delaware and Rhode Island for first place in the CAA North.
We’re about at about the midpoint of the spring season, and the writers at CSJ get together to take stock of the season so far.
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.
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.
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.
Entering week 9, James Madison is the only CAA school remaining without a conference loss. However, there are five teams with only one conference loss. Of the twelve CAA teams, there are nine teams that could still make a run at a playoff berth.
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.
It was a week of thrilling conference rivalries, and it’s the “Military Classic of the South” that yielded the best story of them all.
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.
Most years, it’s FCS teams stunning FBS teams, but this week, it was non-scholarship FCS and sub-Division-I teams stunning FCS squads instead. In their home opener, non-scholarship Dayton (1-0) stunned Indiana State (0-2) 42-35. Flyer QB Jack Cook accounted for four touchdowns, two rushing and two passing, while RB Sean Prophit scored on a 13-yard.
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.
Rhode Island was one of the early surprises of the FCS season 2018, starting 5-1 and taking FBS UConn to the limit before losing 56-49. The Rams offense fired on all cylinders, and even kept pace when quarterback JaJuan Lawson went down to injury.
Rhode Island at James Madison When: Saturday, November 10, 2:00 PM Where: Bridgeforth Stadium, Harrisonburg, VA TV/Streaming: MASN, SNY, Eleven Sports Next/Twitch, CAA.tv Rhode Island Rams Rhode Island got JuJuan Lawson back in the lineup last week against Elon after missing four games due to injury. Lawson threw for 349 yards and 3 touchdowns but.
Rhode Island at Stony Brook When: Saturday, October 20, 6:00 PM Where: Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, NY TV/Streaming: Stretch Internet Rhode Island Rams Rhode Island enters this weeks big CAA matchup with Stony Brook coming off its first conference loss of the season to Maine. The Rams led the game most of the.
Maine at Rhode Island When: Saturday, October 13, 12:00PM Where: Meade Stadium, Kingston, RI TV/Streaming: CAA.tv Maine Black Bears Maine is coming off of a tightly contested win over Villanova, picking up the win on a 52 yard field goal from Kenny Doak at the gun. The Black Bears have been without starting quarterback Chris.
Rhode Island at Harvard When: Friday, September 28, 7:00 PM Where: Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA TV/Streaming: ESPN+(subscription required) Rhode Island Rams The surprising 2-1 Rams have made a Friday night tilt against the 2-0 Harvard Crimson into surprising must-see TV. Last year was Rhody’s first win over Harvard. The Rams beat the Crimson 17-10 at Meade Stadium. .
Rhode Island QB JaJuan Lawson, Southeast Missouri State RB Justin Terry, Mercer QB Robert Riddle, Weber State LB Landon Stice, and Holy Cross kicker Derek Ng have been selected as the College Sports Journal FCS Football Players of the week ending Sept. 17, 2018. The honorees are listed here with their achievements and their school,.
