Saturday, September 19
Albany (1-0/1-1) at #10 JMU (2-0)
The Great Danes opened their season with a 1-A team in MAC Buffalo and lost, 51-14. In Week Two Albany opened their 2015 CAA campaign with a 35-7 win over Rhode Island. Albany played JMU tough last year and nearly upset them at home before losing, 31-28.
JMU opened their season with some cotton-candy in Pioneer League Morehead State and destroyed them, 56-7. In Week Two the Dukes beat Patriot League Lehigh at home for another blowout, 55-17. This will be their 3rd home game of the season before they go on the road for their 1-A game next week at AAC SMU.
Albany was 7-5 last year and a preseason pick for 10th in the CAA this year. JMU went 9-4 and made it to the playoffs where they were upset in round one by Liberty, 26-21 in 2014. This year they were picked for 2nd but seem to be the class of the CAA so far in '15.
Let's give the Dukes of JMU a 42-21 win in Harrisonburg this weekend. Albany hosts Northeast Conference Duquesne next weekend.
#13 New Hampshire (1-1) at Stony Brook (1-0)
The UNH Wildcats opened with a 1-A in the Mountain West Spartans of San Jose St. and lost, 43-13. I was a little shocked at the 30 point defeat. Maybe the Wildcats aren't as good this year after making it to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs last year. In Week Two UNH went on the road again but beat the Patriot League Raiders of Colgate, 26-8. A nice victory but I thought they would put up more points than 26.
Stony Brook also opened up with a 1-A in MAC Toledo and the Rockets led at halftime, 16-7 before lightning forced a cancellation of the 2nd half and the game was ruled - no contest. In Week Two the Seawolves defeated Northeast Central Connecticut St., 38-9. In 2014 the 5-7 Seawolves gave UNH all they could handle in Durham, N.H. before losing, 28-20.
Going to go with an upset here and pick Stony Brook for a 24-20 win. UNH plays Central Connecticut St for their first home game of the year in Week Four while the Seawolves travel to William & Mary.
North Carolina A&T (1-1) at Elon (1-1)
The Aggies were 9-3 in 2014 and were a preseason pick for 1st place in the MEAC this year. They opened up this year at home vs a Division 2 team in Shaw and won, 61-7, which really tells us nothing. In Week Two they played a 1-A in ACC North Carolina and the Tar Heels won, 53-14, which again tells us nothing. Now the Aggies did beat the Phoenix in 2014, 17-12 in Elon, N.C.
Congratulations have to go out to Coach Rich Skrosky as the Phoenix defeated Gardner-Webb in 3 overtimes this past Saturday, 21-13 for a nice CAA road victory over a Big South team. I felt this may have been their only chance for a win in 2015 and they got it. (Remember - the Phoenix went winless in the CAA last year and only won one game all year). Elon opened 2015 at Wake Forest and lost to the 1-A ACC Demon Deacs, 41-3.
A win for Elon this weekend would send a nice message to the FCS Playoff Committee if the last place team of the CAA could beat the top rated team from the MEAC but I don't think lightning strikes twice for the Phoenix. Aggies to win, 21-17. Please Elon, prove me wrong!
Maine (0-1) at Tulane (0-2)
The Black Bears were a preseason pick for 7th in the 12 team CAA and opened up at 1-A ACC Boston College and lost, 24-3. Maine must need some football $ as they play their 2nd 1-A of the season in AAC Green Wave of Tulane, who was picked for 4th in the 6 team West Division of the AAC. I'm sure coach Jack Cosgrove is thanking his AD, Karlton Creech, for this game. The Black Bears had a bye last week.
The Green Wave lost their opener at ACC Duke, 37-7 and lost again last week to #14 ranked Georgia Tech, 65-10, another ACC team.
Tulane has to get this one and so how about a 28-14 win down in New Orleans. Maine comes home and opens up their CAA schedule next week with Rhode Island.
#28 Harvard (0-0) at Rhode Island (0-1/0-2)
Would love to see the 11th ranked CAA team take out the top rated Ivy League team but I just don't think it will happen. Now if Joe Trainer was still at Rhody...
The Crimson went undefeated in 2014 (10-0) and won the Ivy League crown (7-0). They have not lost a game in almost two years going 9-1 in 2013 losing only to Princeton in 3 overtimes, 51-48 on October 26, 2013.
The Rams opened at 1-A ACC Syracuse and lost, 47-0. Next was a 35-7 beating at Albany to open their CAA season. Last year they finished 1-11 upsetting Towson in the last game of the season.
Harvard Crimson to win, 28-14. URI travels to Maine next Saturday.
VMI (1-1) at #23 Richmond (1-1)
Here's who Richmond has scheduled for this weekend. The Keydets went 2-10 in 2014, 2-10 in 2013, 2-9 in 2012 and 2-9 in 2011. However, they seem to have some offense this year by putting up 36 points against a 1-A in Ball St. in Week One (losing 48-36) and last week VMI defeated Morehead St., 43-40.
The Spiders got an expected loss in Week One to 1-A Big Ten Maryland, 50-21. But last week the Spiders had to sweat out a come-from-behind victory over the Hampton Pirates, 31-28. The Pirates were 3-9 in 2014 and picked for 6th in the MEAC this year. A loss last week would have probably buried any hopes for a 2015 playoff bid. Not coming prepared won't happen two weeks in a row.
Spiders to win at home, 42-21. Richmond hosts Maine after a week off on October 3rd.
Holy Cross (1-0) at #30 Towson (1-1)
The Patriot League Crusaders opened with a 27-19 win at Monmouth. They are picked for 6th in the 7 team conference this year. Last year the Crusaders finished 4-8 but almost upset CAA Albany before losing, 14-13. They play Patriot Colgate next week before hosting Albany again in two weeks.
The Tigers of Towson finished 4-8 in 2014. The low point of the season came twice, losing in game one to 3-9 Northeast Central Connecticut St. at home and then in game 12 losing to winless Rhode Island for their only win of the year. Well, the Tigers got some instant respect which translated into their #30 ranking this early in the season by giving a FBS Bowl team all they could handle in Week One, losing to the Pirates of East Carolina, 28-20. In Week Two the Tigers played the last place pick for the Northeast Conference in St. Francis and won, 35-20.
Let's give the Tigers a 31-17 win in Towson before they travel down to Elon next week.
#21 William & Mary (1-0) at Virginia (0-2)
The 7-5 2014 Tribe opened up at Lafayette and won easily, 34-7 and had a bye last week. They will host Stony Brook next week.
1-A ACC Virginia opened at #10 UCLA and lost, 34-16. Last week they had Notre Dame on the ropes before the #8 Irish pulled out a 34-27 win in the closing seconds. The Cavs were picked for last in the Coastal Division of the ACC this year. They went 5-7 in 2014.
A must win for the Cavaliers and they will get it, 35-21.
Delaware (1-1) at #3/#9 Villanova (1-1)
The Blue Hens opened at home with an upset loss to Pioneer Jacksonville, 20-14. Last week was another home game and against Patriot Lafayette, who lost to CAA W&M in Week One, 34-7 and the Hens triumphed, 19-9. The Blue Hens have one of the youngest squads in college football with only 7 seniors and almost as many juniors. They start almost all sophomores, redshirt freshmen and true freshmen. This is certainly to Villanova's advantage playing them so early in the season. Once this team matures they will return to CAA dominance and the playoffs. The Hen offense, like Villanova's, is a work in progress right now. The O line isn't in sync yet (similar to Villanova), their receiving corps drops more passes than they catch and needs a big upgrade in talent (that part sounds like Villanova as well) and their quarterback situation has been a problem in 2015 (unlike Villanova but our QB is still in preseason shape/form after the 2nd week of the season since he didn't suit up with pads over the summer but traded it in for a $500 suit). Coach Dave Brock couldn't decide between Junior Rutgers transfer Blair Rankin and redshirt freshman Joe Walker during the preseason and thus played each one for 2 quarters in game one at quarterback. That experiment was ditched in game two and Walker got the start since he has a much higher ceiling than Rankin with his ability to run. Walker still doesn't seem to know the offense yet and his delivery is somewhat shaky but boy, can he run. The Hens have one of the deepest RB corps in the CAA inspite of losing their best RB in Week One for the season in Wes Hall. The defense is young but talented and will only get better as the season progresses. Their kicking game is outstanding having kicked four FG against Lafayette.
Though the Hens haven't beaten Villanova since 2011 in our 2-9 season, throw out the records when these two teams play. In 2013 Villanova was down 22 points in the last quarter and pulled out a miracle win for the ages, 35-34 with 3 seconds to go at PPL. Last year the Cats again came from behind and won, 35-28, with under a minute to go down in Newark. Those were two games that the Hens should have won but then again John Robertson can walk on water when he's in shape.
The Cats have to hope that the defense can continue to carry them until our inexperienced guys learn their roles on offense and someone can step up as a go-to runner and receiver and with each week John Robertson shakes off more rust and until Gary Underwood gets healthy. The Cats averaged a CAA best with 37.7ppg last year but are down near the bottom this year averaging just under 15 a game.
Still think first one to 20 wins this game and it should be the Cats at home for Parents Weekend and the Hens being on the road for the first time in 2015. Final score - 21-16 Villanova.
Cats have to turn around and prepare for Penn within 4 days for their next game while Delaware will feel they have to win this game since they play at UNC.
Albany (1-0/1-1) at #10 JMU (2-0)
The Great Danes opened their season with a 1-A team in MAC Buffalo and lost, 51-14. In Week Two Albany opened their 2015 CAA campaign with a 35-7 win over Rhode Island. Albany played JMU tough last year and nearly upset them at home before losing, 31-28.
JMU opened their season with some cotton-candy in Pioneer League Morehead State and destroyed them, 56-7. In Week Two the Dukes beat Patriot League Lehigh at home for another blowout, 55-17. This will be their 3rd home game of the season before they go on the road for their 1-A game next week at AAC SMU.
Albany was 7-5 last year and a preseason pick for 10th in the CAA this year. JMU went 9-4 and made it to the playoffs where they were upset in round one by Liberty, 26-21 in 2014. This year they were picked for 2nd but seem to be the class of the CAA so far in '15.
Let's give the Dukes of JMU a 42-21 win in Harrisonburg this weekend. Albany hosts Northeast Conference Duquesne next weekend.
#13 New Hampshire (1-1) at Stony Brook (1-0)
The UNH Wildcats opened with a 1-A in the Mountain West Spartans of San Jose St. and lost, 43-13. I was a little shocked at the 30 point defeat. Maybe the Wildcats aren't as good this year after making it to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs last year. In Week Two UNH went on the road again but beat the Patriot League Raiders of Colgate, 26-8. A nice victory but I thought they would put up more points than 26.
Stony Brook also opened up with a 1-A in MAC Toledo and the Rockets led at halftime, 16-7 before lightning forced a cancellation of the 2nd half and the game was ruled - no contest. In Week Two the Seawolves defeated Northeast Central Connecticut St., 38-9. In 2014 the 5-7 Seawolves gave UNH all they could handle in Durham, N.H. before losing, 28-20.
Going to go with an upset here and pick Stony Brook for a 24-20 win. UNH plays Central Connecticut St for their first home game of the year in Week Four while the Seawolves travel to William & Mary.
North Carolina A&T (1-1) at Elon (1-1)
The Aggies were 9-3 in 2014 and were a preseason pick for 1st place in the MEAC this year. They opened up this year at home vs a Division 2 team in Shaw and won, 61-7, which really tells us nothing. In Week Two they played a 1-A in ACC North Carolina and the Tar Heels won, 53-14, which again tells us nothing. Now the Aggies did beat the Phoenix in 2014, 17-12 in Elon, N.C.
Congratulations have to go out to Coach Rich Skrosky as the Phoenix defeated Gardner-Webb in 3 overtimes this past Saturday, 21-13 for a nice CAA road victory over a Big South team. I felt this may have been their only chance for a win in 2015 and they got it. (Remember - the Phoenix went winless in the CAA last year and only won one game all year). Elon opened 2015 at Wake Forest and lost to the 1-A ACC Demon Deacs, 41-3.
A win for Elon this weekend would send a nice message to the FCS Playoff Committee if the last place team of the CAA could beat the top rated team from the MEAC but I don't think lightning strikes twice for the Phoenix. Aggies to win, 21-17. Please Elon, prove me wrong!
Maine (0-1) at Tulane (0-2)
The Black Bears were a preseason pick for 7th in the 12 team CAA and opened up at 1-A ACC Boston College and lost, 24-3. Maine must need some football $ as they play their 2nd 1-A of the season in AAC Green Wave of Tulane, who was picked for 4th in the 6 team West Division of the AAC. I'm sure coach Jack Cosgrove is thanking his AD, Karlton Creech, for this game. The Black Bears had a bye last week.
The Green Wave lost their opener at ACC Duke, 37-7 and lost again last week to #14 ranked Georgia Tech, 65-10, another ACC team.
Tulane has to get this one and so how about a 28-14 win down in New Orleans. Maine comes home and opens up their CAA schedule next week with Rhode Island.
#28 Harvard (0-0) at Rhode Island (0-1/0-2)
Would love to see the 11th ranked CAA team take out the top rated Ivy League team but I just don't think it will happen. Now if Joe Trainer was still at Rhody...
The Crimson went undefeated in 2014 (10-0) and won the Ivy League crown (7-0). They have not lost a game in almost two years going 9-1 in 2013 losing only to Princeton in 3 overtimes, 51-48 on October 26, 2013.
The Rams opened at 1-A ACC Syracuse and lost, 47-0. Next was a 35-7 beating at Albany to open their CAA season. Last year they finished 1-11 upsetting Towson in the last game of the season.
Harvard Crimson to win, 28-14. URI travels to Maine next Saturday.
VMI (1-1) at #23 Richmond (1-1)
Here's who Richmond has scheduled for this weekend. The Keydets went 2-10 in 2014, 2-10 in 2013, 2-9 in 2012 and 2-9 in 2011. However, they seem to have some offense this year by putting up 36 points against a 1-A in Ball St. in Week One (losing 48-36) and last week VMI defeated Morehead St., 43-40.
The Spiders got an expected loss in Week One to 1-A Big Ten Maryland, 50-21. But last week the Spiders had to sweat out a come-from-behind victory over the Hampton Pirates, 31-28. The Pirates were 3-9 in 2014 and picked for 6th in the MEAC this year. A loss last week would have probably buried any hopes for a 2015 playoff bid. Not coming prepared won't happen two weeks in a row.
Spiders to win at home, 42-21. Richmond hosts Maine after a week off on October 3rd.
Holy Cross (1-0) at #30 Towson (1-1)
The Patriot League Crusaders opened with a 27-19 win at Monmouth. They are picked for 6th in the 7 team conference this year. Last year the Crusaders finished 4-8 but almost upset CAA Albany before losing, 14-13. They play Patriot Colgate next week before hosting Albany again in two weeks.
The Tigers of Towson finished 4-8 in 2014. The low point of the season came twice, losing in game one to 3-9 Northeast Central Connecticut St. at home and then in game 12 losing to winless Rhode Island for their only win of the year. Well, the Tigers got some instant respect which translated into their #30 ranking this early in the season by giving a FBS Bowl team all they could handle in Week One, losing to the Pirates of East Carolina, 28-20. In Week Two the Tigers played the last place pick for the Northeast Conference in St. Francis and won, 35-20.
Let's give the Tigers a 31-17 win in Towson before they travel down to Elon next week.
#21 William & Mary (1-0) at Virginia (0-2)
The 7-5 2014 Tribe opened up at Lafayette and won easily, 34-7 and had a bye last week. They will host Stony Brook next week.
1-A ACC Virginia opened at #10 UCLA and lost, 34-16. Last week they had Notre Dame on the ropes before the #8 Irish pulled out a 34-27 win in the closing seconds. The Cavs were picked for last in the Coastal Division of the ACC this year. They went 5-7 in 2014.
A must win for the Cavaliers and they will get it, 35-21.
Delaware (1-1) at #3/#9 Villanova (1-1)
The Blue Hens opened at home with an upset loss to Pioneer Jacksonville, 20-14. Last week was another home game and against Patriot Lafayette, who lost to CAA W&M in Week One, 34-7 and the Hens triumphed, 19-9. The Blue Hens have one of the youngest squads in college football with only 7 seniors and almost as many juniors. They start almost all sophomores, redshirt freshmen and true freshmen. This is certainly to Villanova's advantage playing them so early in the season. Once this team matures they will return to CAA dominance and the playoffs. The Hen offense, like Villanova's, is a work in progress right now. The O line isn't in sync yet (similar to Villanova), their receiving corps drops more passes than they catch and needs a big upgrade in talent (that part sounds like Villanova as well) and their quarterback situation has been a problem in 2015 (unlike Villanova but our QB is still in preseason shape/form after the 2nd week of the season since he didn't suit up with pads over the summer but traded it in for a $500 suit). Coach Dave Brock couldn't decide between Junior Rutgers transfer Blair Rankin and redshirt freshman Joe Walker during the preseason and thus played each one for 2 quarters in game one at quarterback. That experiment was ditched in game two and Walker got the start since he has a much higher ceiling than Rankin with his ability to run. Walker still doesn't seem to know the offense yet and his delivery is somewhat shaky but boy, can he run. The Hens have one of the deepest RB corps in the CAA inspite of losing their best RB in Week One for the season in Wes Hall. The defense is young but talented and will only get better as the season progresses. Their kicking game is outstanding having kicked four FG against Lafayette.
Though the Hens haven't beaten Villanova since 2011 in our 2-9 season, throw out the records when these two teams play. In 2013 Villanova was down 22 points in the last quarter and pulled out a miracle win for the ages, 35-34 with 3 seconds to go at PPL. Last year the Cats again came from behind and won, 35-28, with under a minute to go down in Newark. Those were two games that the Hens should have won but then again John Robertson can walk on water when he's in shape.
The Cats have to hope that the defense can continue to carry them until our inexperienced guys learn their roles on offense and someone can step up as a go-to runner and receiver and with each week John Robertson shakes off more rust and until Gary Underwood gets healthy. The Cats averaged a CAA best with 37.7ppg last year but are down near the bottom this year averaging just under 15 a game.
Still think first one to 20 wins this game and it should be the Cats at home for Parents Weekend and the Hens being on the road for the first time in 2015. Final score - 21-16 Villanova.
Cats have to turn around and prepare for Penn within 4 days for their next game while Delaware will feel they have to win this game since they play at UNC.