Saturday, October 4
JMU (0-2/2-3) at #23 Albany (1-0/4-0)
Well, I thought sure that the Dukes would defend their home turf and take out the Blue Hens of Delaware last week but lost in overtime 30-23. The Hens, however, did have two weeks to prepare for JMU and it seemed to help. What a wild finish to the game. Delaware scored an 87 yard screen-pass touchdown with just 1:37 left to take a 23-16 lead. JMU answered with a touchdown with just 20 seconds left to send the game into OT. Both teams had missed a PAT earlier in the game which came back to bite each one of them in the butt. JMU won this game last year at home, 40-13.
OK, Great Danes, you are now ranked #23 and after a 1-11 2013 season that is saying something but you haven't beaten a team with a winning record yet. Holy Cross = 2-3. Central Connecticut St. = 2-3. Rhode Island = 0-4 and Columbia = 0-2. Win this Saturday (although JMU has a losing record too) and some might take the fork in the road of respect for Albany.
I'm not there yet as the crystal ball says JMU 28 and Albany 24. JMU plays at home vs Towson next and Albany hosts Richmond next weekend.
#4 New Hampshire (1-0/3-1) at Elon (0-0/1-3)
The number one ranked CAA preseason team vs the last place (#12) picked team. Three wins in-a-row for UNH since their opening loss at 1-A/MAC 3-2 Toledo - 0-4 Lehigh (can't believe that record), at #20 Richmond and last week over 1-1 Ivy Dartmouth, 52-19.
In spite of a 1-3 record the Phoenix haven't played that bad - they weren't going to win at 1-A/ACC 4-1 Duke and they didn't; they played 4-1 NC A&T tuff losing only by 5; they beat an undefeated Charlotte team which is now 3-2 and last week a respectable 31-3 loss to #3 5-0 Coastal Carolina.
The Phoenix lose their first-ever CAA conference game by 14, 35-21 UNH. The Wildcats of UNH host W&M next week and Elon travels to Newark, Delaware to play the Hens.
Stony Brook (0-1/1-4) at Towson (0-1/2-3)
Both teams opened their CAA season this past weekend and both lost their 4th Quarter lead and the game with under a minute to go. The Seawolves hosted William & Mary and scored a touchdown with 1:12 left to take a 21-14 lead. The Tribe came right back at them to score a touchdown with just 25 seconds left to send the game into overtime where the Tribe prevailed, 27-21. Just imagine, a 1-4 team takes the #12 team in the nation to overtime. Welcome to the brutal CAA where 5 or 6 of your league 8 games will be coin-flip decisions. The lone Stony Brook win was over Division 2 American International with losses to 3-1 Bryant, 1-4 1-A/AAC UConn (by only 3), 2-3 Big Sky North Dakota and #12 W&M in OT.
The Tigers took a 24-20 4th Quarter lead with 11:36 left and held it until Maine scored with 52 seconds left for a 27-24 win this past weekend. Still scratching my head how Towson lost to Northeast Central Connecticut St. in Week One, 31-27. After a blow-out at West Virginia (54-0), the Tigers struggled with 1-4 Delaware St. (eventually won this one) and the same with 1-3 NC Central.
Let's go with a 24-21 Towson win this weekend. The Seawolves host Maine next and the Tigers play at JMU on the 11th.
Sacred Heart (3-1) at #24 Delaware (3-1)
The Pioneers were picked 1st in the preseason by their fellow Northeast Conference coaches. Last year they won the conference and went to the playoffs with their 10-2 record where they lost in the 1st round to Fordham, 37-27. This year they beat 0-5 Marist, 2-2 Lafayette, a Division 2 team in Assumption and lost their first game last weekend to 4-0 Patriot Bucknell, 36-20.
The Hens have won three straight since their devastating 62-0 loss to 3-2 1-A/ACC Pitt Panthers in Week One. A little struggle with 1-4 Delaware St., a much bigger struggle and come-from-behind win over 2-2 Colgate and then their big win at JMU in overtime this past weekend.
Going with a 7 point 31-24 win for the Hens this weekend in Newark. Sacred Heart plays 0-4 Robert Morris next and the Blue Hens host Elon.
Brown (0-2) at Rhode Island (0-4)
The big in-state rivalry game between the Ivy Bears and the CAA Rams. The 6-4 2013 Bears won this game at home last year, 31-14. With their 3-4 Ivy record last year the Bears were picked for 6th in the 8 team Ivy League. Brown lost at 2-3 Patriot Georgetown, 17-3 and this past weekend to 2-0 Ivy Harvard, 22-14.
The curse remains on the Rams for firing Joe Trainer with their 38-14 loss at 2-3 Central Connecticut St. this past weekend. Previously, the Rams had lost to 4-0 1-A Marshall, at 4-1 Fordham and their 1st CAA game of the year to Albany.
You should have won last week Ram fans but since you didn't a mediocre Ivy team will beat a stinky CAA team, 21-17. Brown plays 2-3 Patriot Holy Cross next and the Rams will travel to Villanova where Joe Trainer will show you how to play some football.
#20 Richmond (2-2) at Liberty (3-2)
The CAA Spiders vs the Big South Flames. The Flames went 8-4 last year and lost this game in Richmond, 30-21. They dropped out of the Top 25 after their weekend loss to 3-1 MVC Indiana St., 38-19. They opened up at 1-A/ACC 2-2 UNC and played better than expected scoring 29 points on the Heels. Next was a 17-0 win over 1-4 Norfolk St. (MEAC), followed by a 56-31 win over Division 2 Brevard. An impressive win and Top 25 ranking was given to them by handing 3-1 Bryant (Northeast) their 1st loss of the year, 38-21. Don't take the Flames lightly as they almost upset Top 5 Coastal Carolina last year losing by only 3, 55-52 in double overtime.
The Spiders had a bye last week trying to recover from their stunning upset at home to UNH losing in the last 19 seconds, 29-26. A win that would have almost guaranteed them a playoff spot this year. Lose to Liberty Spider fans and you'll have to go 6-1 in your last seven games to sniff the playoffs. This will be a quality win since your other two wins were over a horrible Morehead St., 55-10 and 1-4 Hampton, 42-17.
With two weeks to prepare the Spiders get a 31-28 win over Liberty. The Spiders go to Albany while Liberty travels to former 1-AA and now a transitional 1-A/Sun Belt 1-3 Appalachian State.
#6 Villanova (1-0/3-1) at Maine (1-0/2-2)
What a year the Black Bears had last year. They were picked to finish 8th and ended up winning the conference with a 7-1 record. That lone loss was to New Hampshire who the Black Bears had to play in the 2nd round of the playoffs and lost again, 41-27. They finished with a 10-3 record. This year was also a lack of respect vote being picked for 7th in the 12 team CAA. The Orono Black Bears struggled offensively in their first three games scoring only 10 points in each game. Game One was a 10-6 win over 1-4 Norfolk St.; next was a 13-10 loss to 3-1 Bryant and then a 40-10 loss to 1-A/ACC 3-2 B.C. Last week Maine got it going with a 27-24 come-from-behind victory over Towson in Maryland. In spite of a lot of losses to graduation last year, a lot of talent still remains on the gridiron for Maine and the players know how to win and 21 year coach Jack Cosgrove knows how to coach. Maine beat the Cats last year and the Cats were the preseason favorite to win it all in the CAA in 2013.
The Cats are not healthy. They have already lost starters Tanoh Kpassagnon (DL/6-7/267/SO), Corey Majors (LB/6-1/246/JR) and Trey Johnson (DB/5-11/166/SO) on the defense. Senior LB Joey Harmon is questionnable and on offense Senior RB Austin Medley is out for 6 weeks with a high ankle sprain and our All-American QB John Robertson is no where near 100%. Penn, in game 4, was our first breather of a game that gave us an opportunity to rest some key players in the 2nd half. Came away really impressed with freshman LB Ed Shockley. JR/WR Kevin Gulyas and JR/RB Gary Underwood are getting better with each game and JR/WR Mike Burke is playing better as he gains more confidence with each game. SO/DB Jason Ceneus is solid and Captain Joe Sarnese should get 1st team All American votes. Our Poppy has been a little quiet lately, here's hoping that he has a big game on Saturday.
Crystal Ball sees the Cats with a 28-24 win up in Orono. Cats host Rhode Island on the 11th and Maine is at Stony Brook.
W&M has a bye this week and plays at UNH on October 11.
JMU (0-2/2-3) at #23 Albany (1-0/4-0)
Well, I thought sure that the Dukes would defend their home turf and take out the Blue Hens of Delaware last week but lost in overtime 30-23. The Hens, however, did have two weeks to prepare for JMU and it seemed to help. What a wild finish to the game. Delaware scored an 87 yard screen-pass touchdown with just 1:37 left to take a 23-16 lead. JMU answered with a touchdown with just 20 seconds left to send the game into OT. Both teams had missed a PAT earlier in the game which came back to bite each one of them in the butt. JMU won this game last year at home, 40-13.
OK, Great Danes, you are now ranked #23 and after a 1-11 2013 season that is saying something but you haven't beaten a team with a winning record yet. Holy Cross = 2-3. Central Connecticut St. = 2-3. Rhode Island = 0-4 and Columbia = 0-2. Win this Saturday (although JMU has a losing record too) and some might take the fork in the road of respect for Albany.
I'm not there yet as the crystal ball says JMU 28 and Albany 24. JMU plays at home vs Towson next and Albany hosts Richmond next weekend.
#4 New Hampshire (1-0/3-1) at Elon (0-0/1-3)
The number one ranked CAA preseason team vs the last place (#12) picked team. Three wins in-a-row for UNH since their opening loss at 1-A/MAC 3-2 Toledo - 0-4 Lehigh (can't believe that record), at #20 Richmond and last week over 1-1 Ivy Dartmouth, 52-19.
In spite of a 1-3 record the Phoenix haven't played that bad - they weren't going to win at 1-A/ACC 4-1 Duke and they didn't; they played 4-1 NC A&T tuff losing only by 5; they beat an undefeated Charlotte team which is now 3-2 and last week a respectable 31-3 loss to #3 5-0 Coastal Carolina.
The Phoenix lose their first-ever CAA conference game by 14, 35-21 UNH. The Wildcats of UNH host W&M next week and Elon travels to Newark, Delaware to play the Hens.
Stony Brook (0-1/1-4) at Towson (0-1/2-3)
Both teams opened their CAA season this past weekend and both lost their 4th Quarter lead and the game with under a minute to go. The Seawolves hosted William & Mary and scored a touchdown with 1:12 left to take a 21-14 lead. The Tribe came right back at them to score a touchdown with just 25 seconds left to send the game into overtime where the Tribe prevailed, 27-21. Just imagine, a 1-4 team takes the #12 team in the nation to overtime. Welcome to the brutal CAA where 5 or 6 of your league 8 games will be coin-flip decisions. The lone Stony Brook win was over Division 2 American International with losses to 3-1 Bryant, 1-4 1-A/AAC UConn (by only 3), 2-3 Big Sky North Dakota and #12 W&M in OT.
The Tigers took a 24-20 4th Quarter lead with 11:36 left and held it until Maine scored with 52 seconds left for a 27-24 win this past weekend. Still scratching my head how Towson lost to Northeast Central Connecticut St. in Week One, 31-27. After a blow-out at West Virginia (54-0), the Tigers struggled with 1-4 Delaware St. (eventually won this one) and the same with 1-3 NC Central.
Let's go with a 24-21 Towson win this weekend. The Seawolves host Maine next and the Tigers play at JMU on the 11th.
Sacred Heart (3-1) at #24 Delaware (3-1)
The Pioneers were picked 1st in the preseason by their fellow Northeast Conference coaches. Last year they won the conference and went to the playoffs with their 10-2 record where they lost in the 1st round to Fordham, 37-27. This year they beat 0-5 Marist, 2-2 Lafayette, a Division 2 team in Assumption and lost their first game last weekend to 4-0 Patriot Bucknell, 36-20.
The Hens have won three straight since their devastating 62-0 loss to 3-2 1-A/ACC Pitt Panthers in Week One. A little struggle with 1-4 Delaware St., a much bigger struggle and come-from-behind win over 2-2 Colgate and then their big win at JMU in overtime this past weekend.
Going with a 7 point 31-24 win for the Hens this weekend in Newark. Sacred Heart plays 0-4 Robert Morris next and the Blue Hens host Elon.
Brown (0-2) at Rhode Island (0-4)
The big in-state rivalry game between the Ivy Bears and the CAA Rams. The 6-4 2013 Bears won this game at home last year, 31-14. With their 3-4 Ivy record last year the Bears were picked for 6th in the 8 team Ivy League. Brown lost at 2-3 Patriot Georgetown, 17-3 and this past weekend to 2-0 Ivy Harvard, 22-14.
The curse remains on the Rams for firing Joe Trainer with their 38-14 loss at 2-3 Central Connecticut St. this past weekend. Previously, the Rams had lost to 4-0 1-A Marshall, at 4-1 Fordham and their 1st CAA game of the year to Albany.
You should have won last week Ram fans but since you didn't a mediocre Ivy team will beat a stinky CAA team, 21-17. Brown plays 2-3 Patriot Holy Cross next and the Rams will travel to Villanova where Joe Trainer will show you how to play some football.
#20 Richmond (2-2) at Liberty (3-2)
The CAA Spiders vs the Big South Flames. The Flames went 8-4 last year and lost this game in Richmond, 30-21. They dropped out of the Top 25 after their weekend loss to 3-1 MVC Indiana St., 38-19. They opened up at 1-A/ACC 2-2 UNC and played better than expected scoring 29 points on the Heels. Next was a 17-0 win over 1-4 Norfolk St. (MEAC), followed by a 56-31 win over Division 2 Brevard. An impressive win and Top 25 ranking was given to them by handing 3-1 Bryant (Northeast) their 1st loss of the year, 38-21. Don't take the Flames lightly as they almost upset Top 5 Coastal Carolina last year losing by only 3, 55-52 in double overtime.
The Spiders had a bye last week trying to recover from their stunning upset at home to UNH losing in the last 19 seconds, 29-26. A win that would have almost guaranteed them a playoff spot this year. Lose to Liberty Spider fans and you'll have to go 6-1 in your last seven games to sniff the playoffs. This will be a quality win since your other two wins were over a horrible Morehead St., 55-10 and 1-4 Hampton, 42-17.
With two weeks to prepare the Spiders get a 31-28 win over Liberty. The Spiders go to Albany while Liberty travels to former 1-AA and now a transitional 1-A/Sun Belt 1-3 Appalachian State.
#6 Villanova (1-0/3-1) at Maine (1-0/2-2)
What a year the Black Bears had last year. They were picked to finish 8th and ended up winning the conference with a 7-1 record. That lone loss was to New Hampshire who the Black Bears had to play in the 2nd round of the playoffs and lost again, 41-27. They finished with a 10-3 record. This year was also a lack of respect vote being picked for 7th in the 12 team CAA. The Orono Black Bears struggled offensively in their first three games scoring only 10 points in each game. Game One was a 10-6 win over 1-4 Norfolk St.; next was a 13-10 loss to 3-1 Bryant and then a 40-10 loss to 1-A/ACC 3-2 B.C. Last week Maine got it going with a 27-24 come-from-behind victory over Towson in Maryland. In spite of a lot of losses to graduation last year, a lot of talent still remains on the gridiron for Maine and the players know how to win and 21 year coach Jack Cosgrove knows how to coach. Maine beat the Cats last year and the Cats were the preseason favorite to win it all in the CAA in 2013.
The Cats are not healthy. They have already lost starters Tanoh Kpassagnon (DL/6-7/267/SO), Corey Majors (LB/6-1/246/JR) and Trey Johnson (DB/5-11/166/SO) on the defense. Senior LB Joey Harmon is questionnable and on offense Senior RB Austin Medley is out for 6 weeks with a high ankle sprain and our All-American QB John Robertson is no where near 100%. Penn, in game 4, was our first breather of a game that gave us an opportunity to rest some key players in the 2nd half. Came away really impressed with freshman LB Ed Shockley. JR/WR Kevin Gulyas and JR/RB Gary Underwood are getting better with each game and JR/WR Mike Burke is playing better as he gains more confidence with each game. SO/DB Jason Ceneus is solid and Captain Joe Sarnese should get 1st team All American votes. Our Poppy has been a little quiet lately, here's hoping that he has a big game on Saturday.
Crystal Ball sees the Cats with a 28-24 win up in Orono. Cats host Rhode Island on the 11th and Maine is at Stony Brook.
W&M has a bye this week and plays at UNH on October 11.
