*** Official CAA Football 2009 Thread ***

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Enjoy.

Villanova vs. W&M tomorrow @ 3:30pm - VS network

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This is going to be a lonely thread.....

Bye week for UMass...

Next game: Oct 10th

14th ranked UMass (1-0 3-1 overall) at Delaware (0-2 2-2 overall).... 6pm.

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http://www.caasports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=48484&SPID=4660&DB_OEM_ID=8500&ATCLID=204804619

RICHMOND, Va. (September 30, 2009) -- CAA Football has had an impressive non-conference season and the national recognition continues to show up in both of the FCS National Top-25 polls. The league has six team ranked among the national Top-25, continued its stranglehold on the top two spots in both polls and extended its streak of five among the nation

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CAA Football Players of the Week -- Sept. 28

Offensive Player of the Week - R.J. Archer, QB, William and Mary

Archer earned CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week honors after registering a career-high 313 yards passing by completing 23-of-37 attempts in the fifth-ranked Tribe

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DELAWARE (2-2, 0-2 CAA)

This Week: at Maine (2-2, 1-0)

Next Week: #14/16 Massachusetts (3-1, 1-0)

-- Delaware lost to No. 5 William and Mary 30-20 in Williamsburg, Va., Saturday. The Blue Hens entered Saturday

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http://www.caasports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=48484&SPID=4660&DB_OEM_ID=8500&ATCLID=204802678

RICHMOND, Va. (September 28, 2009) -- CAA Football announced its Player of the Week honorees, Monday, Sept. 28. Five individuals earned honors after showcasing superb efforts in contests played in Week Four of the 2009 season, including James Madison

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#1 Richmond 38, VMI 28

BOX SCORE

RICHMOND, Va. -- Senior QB Eric Ward was 28-of-39 passing for a career-best 394 yards and three touchdowns as No. 1 Richmond rolled up 548 yards of total offense in a 38-28 win over VMI Saturday at UR Stadium. Ward's performance stands as the second-best passing mark in school history.

The victory improved the Spiders to 4-0 overall and extended the school record and longest winning streak in the FCS to 13-straight games as the reigning National Champions scored 31 points or more in their 14th-consecutive home game.

Ward tied his career high with 28 completions to six different receivers, including career-highs by sophomore Donte Boston (7 catches, 125 yards) and Tre Gray (6-112). Junior WR Kevin Grayson had a game-high nine grabs for 83 yards. All three had TD catches.

Ward's 394 yards through the air stands as the second-best mark in school history, trailing only Buster O'Brien's 447 yards in the 1968 Tangerine Bowl win over Ohio University.

Richmond out-gained the Keydets (1-2) 548-325 in total offense and also got its first 100-yard rushing game of the season - a career-high 152 yards from senior Justin Forte. He and junior RB Tyler Kirchoff each had TD runs.

The Spiders looked to have put the game away midway through the third quarter, after consecutive scores to open the second half made it 31-14. Kirchoff finished off the half-opening drive with his five-yard TD run and Andrew Howard booted a 34-yard field goal on the next possession.

But the Keydets didn't fade, answering with a touchdown drive of 11 plays after the Spiders turned the ball over for the third time in the game. Derek Hatcher coughed up the ball on a punt return, setting up the VMI TD that made the score 31-20.

Richmond, though, slammed the door for good with a clock-eating 13-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard TD pass to Grayson. The drive was kept alive by a running-into-the-kicker penalty on a Brian Radford punt and Ward seized the opportunity. He went six-for-six for 65 yards on the drive following the flag.

VMI QB Kyle Hughes, who broke off a 66-yard TD run to cap the scoring, helped put the Keydets on the board first as his 44-yard TD pass to Tim Maypray opened the scoring at the 9:28 mark of the first and stunned the UR Stadium crowd of 7,554.

Richmond responded in a big way - scoring on three-consecutive possessions thanks to a nine-yard run from Forte, a 17-yard strike from Ward to Gray and a dazzling 53-yard pass from Ward to Boston.

VMI would trail just 21-14 at the half after Hughes found Mario Scott for a nine-yard TD with 4:29 left, and Richmond's Howard missed a field goal for the first time this season on a 33-yarder on the half's final play.

Hughes finished the game nine-of-14 passing for 141 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 133 and two more TDs. Maypray racked up 176 all-purpose yards for the Keydets, who did not turn the ball over. VMI scored 14 points on its three takeaways.

Richmond, which heads into its bye week, returns to action Oct. 10 with a pivotal CAA Football battle at No. 6 James Madison.

#2 Villanova 56, Northeastern 7

BOX SCORE

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) -- Junior running back Aaron Ball (Los Angeles, Calif.) ran for over 100 yards in the first quarter alone and No. 2 Villanova (4-0, 1-0 CAA) ran for a season-high 410 yards in a 56-7 win over Northeastern (0-4, 0-2 CAA) on Saturday afternoon at Villanova Stadium. The Wildcats improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2003 and won their conference opener for the third straight year.

Ball ran for 109 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries and six different players scored touchdowns for Villanova, which registered individual 100-yard rushing and 100-yard receiving performances in the same game for the first time since 2005 against William & Mary. Senior wide receiver Brandyn Harvey (Spring Valley, Calif.) caught seven passes for 102 yards to join Ball as the `100-100' tandem in the game.

The rushing total for the Wildcats was their highest since 1991 and the third-highest single-game total in school history. Villanova has had just five games with even 300 yards rushing since 1999, but four of those games have come in the last seven outings dating back to last season.

On the third offensive play of the game, Ball ran 31 yards up the middle for a touchdown that got the Wildcats off and running. After the Huskies punted on their first possession, Villanova put together a 13-play drive in just 4:28 that culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Angelo Babbaro (Canfield, Ohio).

The Wildcats extended their lead to 21-0 before the end of the first period when senior quarterback Antwon Young (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) threw a one-yard pass for a touchdown to senior running back Tony Canci (Brookhaven, Pa.) with 1:40 remaining in the period. Canci had two catches for 15 yards, both of which were touchdown recptions.

Whitney ran for 98 yards on 10 carries and completed 7-of-11 passes for 84 yards and one touchdown. Young was 4-of-6 for 58 yards and a touchdown and also ran eight times for 35 yards and one score. Six of the eight touchdowns for Villanova in the game came on the ground, including a pair of scores for sophomore running back Lawrence Doss (Bellflower, Calif.), who ran for 36 yards on eight carries.

Late in the second quarter, Whitney threw a 14-yard pass to Canci for a touchdown that made the score 28-0 entering the intermission. Villanova had eight of its 12 drives result in a touchdown, with four of the scores coming on six plays or less.

Northeastern got on the board in the third quarter when Alex Dulski threw a 48-yard pass for a touchdown to Jordan Batts for the Huskies only points of the game. Dulski completed 16-of-31 passes for 138 yards, with Batts being the favorite target. Batts caught seven passes for 92 yards and the touchdown. Dulski was picked off three times as well, as the Wildcats increased their interception total to eight through the first four games.

Villanova resumed its quick pace of scoring just 32 seconds after the Huskies lone touchdown when Whitney ran in from 45 yards on the second play of the ensuing Wildcat drive. Young ran in for a one-yard score near the end of the quarter to stretch the margin to 42-7 after three periods.

This afternoon's game was the first of two straight at home for Villanova, which will host No. 5 William & Mary next week at 3:30 p.m. The contest will be aired live on VERSUS and stands to be the first-ever nationally televised game between two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) teams.

#5 William & Mary 30, Delaware 20

BOX SCORE

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Chase Hill and R.J. Archer understand each other. Both were high school quarterbacks converted to wide receiver in college, both will do whatever it takes to win, and both put on a show Saturday night.

Hill had a career-best six catches for 148 of Archer's career-high 313 passing yards as William and Mary beat Delaware 30-20 in the Tribe's Colonial Athletic Association opener in front of a sellout crowd of 12,259 at Zable Stadium.

Hill threw for 1,285 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach, but like Archer, he wasn't picky about what position he played with the Tribe.

"I just wanted to get on the field," said Hill, who was second on the team last season with 39 catches for 438 yards and seven touchdowns. "They always tell us to read the play through the eyes of the quarterback, and it really helps playing quarterback, understanding receiver a lot better."

William and Mary (4-0, 1-0 CAA), ranked No. 5 in the nation, outgained Delaware 458 yards to 300 - holding the Blue Hens to minus-2 rushing yards on 18 carries - to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1994. The Tribe came into the game allowing opponents just 240.2 yards per game, 15th-best in the country, while the Blue Hens (2-2, 0-2 CAA) were surrendering just 11 points per game, ninth in the nation.

Hill bettered that mark in the first quarter. His first touchdown catch came on a school-record 91-yard completion with 7:19 to play in the opening period, and his second came on a 20-yarder on the Tribe's next drive.

"He sees a lot of what I see out there," Archer said. "He can read the coverage as well as anybody else, and that makes it really nice. I don't think you can say that for a lot of receivers at other schools."

Archer, in his first year as the Tribe's starting quarterback after playing two years as a wide receiver, finished the night 23-of-37 for his second 300-yard game. Delaware counterpart Pat Devlin, a Penn State transfer averaging 207 passing yards per game, was 33-of-49 for 302 yards and three TDs, including a 30-yarder to Grafton High product Phillip Thaxton in the final seconds of the first half.

Tribe senior defensive end Adrian Tracy, shut out of the sack column for his first three games after ranking sixth in the country with 0.91 per game last year, finally got one in the first quarter and added another in the second as William and Mary sacked Devlin five times for a loss of 28 yards. At the end of the third quarter, the Blue Hens had minus-13 yards on 13 carries.

"The first thing we wanted to do was try to make them one-dimensional," Tracy said. "One of the big things going in that's just ironic was talking about the front four on both sides of the ball, and how a lot of people thought they had a better front four. ... We took it upon ourselves to make it a statement game in that regard. We're not slouches."

Sophomore tailback Jonathan Grimes, who had 98 of the Tribe's 145 rushing yards, notched his first touchdown of the season on a 9-yard run that capped a 12-play, 70-yard, 4:57 drive to open the third quarter. He added his second on a 4-yard run with 1:47 left in the game.

#6 New Hampshire 44, Dartmouth 14

BOX SCORE

DURHAM, N.H.- The No. 6-ranked University of New Hampshire football team put together a 24-0 scoring run in the second half to keep the Granite Bowl Trophy at home after posting a decisive 44-14 victory over Dartmouth in front of a home crowd of 8,271 at Cowell Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats, now 3-0 overall in 2009, were led by sophomore backup quarterback Kevin Decker (Armonk, N.Y.) who threw for a touchdown and ran for another put the game away for UNH in the second half.

For the Big Green, now 0-2 overall this season, sophomore running back Nick Schweiger recorded the first 100 yard rushing game for Dartmouth since October of 2007. He finished the day with 26 carries for 119 yards.

The victory gave the Wildcats the lead in the all-time series, which now stands at 18-17-2.

The game was still in question into the third quarter as the Wildcats led 20-14, but then UNH junior starting quarterback R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) left the game with a toe injury. The Big Green was driving quickly down field, but gave up a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive back Ryan Hinds (Toronto, Ont.), which gave UNH the ball on its own 12 yard line. UNH took advantage of the turnover with a long, sustained 13-play, 88 yard drive that was capped by a beautiful 15-yard touchdown pass by Decker (Armonk, N.Y.) to senior wide receiver J.T. Wright (Agoura Hills, Calif.). Decker completed a two-point conversion pass to junior running back Sean Jellison (Amherst, N.H.) and UNH held a 28-14 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

UNH took control of the game for good at 11:11 of the fourth quarter after Decker ran to the sideline, tip-toed along it, and then dove into the end zone on a 33-yard touchdown scamper to give the Wildcats a commanding 34-17 advantage.

Junior defensive back Dino Vasso (Crum Lynn, Pa.) added an exclamation point to the Wildcat run with 7:36 left to play when he grabbed his second interception of the game and ran it back 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats the 41-14 lead with just 7:36 remaining in the contest.

UNH senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome, N.Y.) finished the scoring with a 24 yard field goal with 1:03 to play in the game as he completed the 24-0 run by the

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#15 Massachusetts 44, Stony Brook 17

BOX SCORE

AMHERST, Mass. - Sophomore Jonathan Hernandez made the most of his first college start as he scored three rushing touchdowns and gained 140 yards on the ground as No. 15 UMass topped Stony Brook, 44-17 on Saturday night at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The Minutemen (3-1) wrapped up a three-game homestand with their third win in a row, in their final non-conference game of the season. Stony Brook fell to 1-3 overall.

Hernandez, who started in place of a banged up Tony Nelson, scored on rushes of 3, 9 and 36 yards to give UMass some separation from a pesky Seawolves team. The Leominster, Mass., native became the first UMass player since Matt Laawrence to rush for three touchdowns, who did in the 2007 NCAA Tournament First Round vs. Fordham.

Fellow back Chris Zardas rushed for two touchdowns (3 and 4 yards) to give UMass five rushing touchdowns. It was UMass' first game with five rushing touchdowns since Oct. 7, 2006 against William & Mary (Nelson 3, Steve Baylark 2).

Senior receiver Jeremy Horne had his first big game of the season with a break-out 124 yards on five catches. It was his fifth-career 100-receiving game.

Senior kicker Armando Cuko had a career-high three field goals for the third game in a row with kicks of 30, 42 and 35.

The Minutemen defense proved to be strong again, despite giving up points in the first quarter for the first time this season. UMass held Stony Brook to 229 offensive yards and just 97 in the second half. Shane Viveiros and Darren Thellen each had their first-career interceptions.

The Minutemen broke open the game early in the second half as Hernandez bolted free for a 36-yard rushing touchdown 4:59 into the third quarter. That put him over 100 yards for the first time in his career and gave UMass a 31-17 lead. Armando Cuko added a 42-yard field goal and Zardas scored on a 4-yard rush to give UMass a 41-17 lead with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.

After Havens threw his second interception of the game, Stony Brook converted on its first ensuing offensive play as Coulter connected with Gush for the second time on a 15-yard touchdown. That brought the Seawolves to within four points at 21-17. The score was the second off a UMass turnover.

UMass regained a two-score advantage as Hernandez scored on a 9-yard run with 9:34 left in the first half, that put the Minutemen up 21-10.

UMass came out firing as Havens connected with Jeremy Horne on a 49-yard bomb on the first play from scrimmage. Five plays later Chris Zardas rumbled in from three yards out for a 7-0 UMass lead, 2:21 into the game.

Stony Brook answered UMass right away with 10 points as Michael Coulter hit Jordan Gush for a 5-yard touchdown. Then after a Seawolves' Arin West interception, Wesley Skiffington kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Stony Brook a 10-7 lead with 6:02 left in the first quarter.

The Minutemen came right back as Hernandez ran in from three yards to regain the lead at 14-10 with 2:04 left in the first quarter.

UMass has an open date next week before its first road game in a month at Delaware on Oct. 10. That game kicks off at 6 p.m.

Syracuse 41, Maine 24

BOX SCORE

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -Delone Carter scored four touchdowns and Syracuse overcame Maine's bag of tricks to beat the Black Bears 41-24 on Saturday night.

It was the second straight win for the Orange (2-2) and it put them at .500 for the first time in three years, a span of 35 games.

Maine (2-2) made it interesting, though, flawlessly executing two onside kicks and two fake punts, and led 17-13 at halftime. The Black Bears, who were hurt by 17 penalties for 132 yards, failed to score again until the final minute.

Carter caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and scored three times in the second half on runs of 9, 5 and 3 yards to rally the Orange.

Greg Paulus finished 21-for-28 for 270 yards and two touchdowns for Syracuse, including a pretty 17-yarder to Marcus Sales to give the Orange a 27-17 lead late in the third.

Western Michigan 24, Hofstra 10

BOX SCORE

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan quarterback Tim Hiller completed 34 of 43 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns to lead the FBS Broncos to a 24-10 victory over the Hofstra Pride at Waldo Stadium Saturday night. Western improves to 2-2 on the season while the Pride also had their record evened at 2-2.

Hofstra senior quarterback Cory Christopher completed 17 of 27 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown while junior receiver Aaron Weaver hauled in eight passes for a season-high 109 yards and one touchdown. The Pride posted 329 yards on the night. Hofstra, playing without starting fullback Everette Benjamin for the second straight game, racked up 140 yards on the ground with sophomore Kwabena Asante posting a team-high 50 yards on 10 carries and freshman Miguel Maysonet adding 33 yards on five carries. Hiller, who tied Ben Rothlisberger for fifth place on the MAC's all-time career touchdown pass list with 84, led the Broncos with junior receiver Jordan White hauling in nine passes for 101 yards and a touchdown and junior Caleb Ravenall catching seven passes for 99 yards. Senior Brandon West rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Broncos recorded 471 yards in the game.

The Pride rebounded from a mistake-laden game last week to impress the partisan crowd of 16,116 at Waldo Stadium. After the Pride offense moved the ball into Bronco territory on their first possession but was forced to punt, the Hofstra defense stood tall on their first test of the contest. Western, taking over on its own 20 drove 77 yards to the Pride three-yard line in 13 plays behind the arm of Hiller, who completed his first five passes. But the Pride stopped the Broncos on third and fourth and-one plays from the three to take over on downs as Greg Melendez and Luke Bonus came up with the big tackle.

It looked like it would be a scoreless first quarter but on Western's next possession after a Hofstra punt, Hiller, from his own 28, was picked off by Pride safety Ray McDonough at the Hofstra 46. It was McDonough's first of the season and fifth of his career. On Hofstra's second play, after an 11-yard rush by Kwabena Asante, Christopher threw a swing pass out to Weaver, who ran 46 yards down the Western sideline for his first touchdown of the season. Henry Greco's point-after gave the Pride a 7-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter.

The Broncos got on the board in the second quarter after a Pride miscue. After Hofstra forced Western to punt on their first possession of the second, punter Ben Armer pinned the Pride back on their own two-yardline. On the Pride's first play, freshman Miguel Maysonet broke away for a gain of seven before being stripped of the ball by Jamail Berry with tackle Cody Cielenski recovering at the eight. The Pride defense once again held, forcing Western to settle for a 24-yard field goal by John Potter to close the deficit to 7-3 with 11:23 to play in the half.

But the Pride came right back and drove 54-yards in 10 plays before senior Greco booted a 23-yard field goal with 6:14 remaining to boost the Hofstra lead to 10-3. The big play in the drive was a 37-yard completion from Christopher to Weaver that moved the ball to the Bronco five-yard line. A three-yard scoring run by reserve quarterback Steve Probst was nullified by an illegal shift penalty on the Pride near the end of the drive.

The Pride field goal sparked Western as Hiller came right back and directed a 74-yard, 5-play drive in 1:42, capped by a 16-yard scoring pass up the middle to junior receiver Jordan White. Potter's extra-point tied the game at 10-all with 4:32 to play in the half. Hiller was four-for-four for all 74 yards in the drive.

Western held the Pride on their next possession but Hofstra left them on their own six-yard line after the punt. But Hiller went to work again, going six-for-six for 74 yards in the eight-play, 94-yard drive that was capped by a nine-yard scoring run by senior Brandon West with 38 seconds remaining in the half. The drive took 1:33. Potter's point-after closed the first half scoring with the Broncos leading 17-10. Hiller was 20-for-26 for 226 yards in the first half. Christopher, who found Weaver five times for 87 yards in the first two quarters, was nine-for-12 for 126 yards.

The third quarter was scoreless as both defenses stood their ground. Hofstra had a scoring opportunity late in the period after Pride linebacker Basim Hudeen caused and recovered a Western fumble at the Bronco 46-yard line. Five plays later, Greco's 43-yard field goal attempt had the distance but was wide left.

Western boosted the lead to 24-10 on another long drive Hiller directed an 11-play, 77-yard drive and hit senior tight end Matt Stevens with a one-yard scoring toss. Potter's point-after gave the Broncos a 14-point lead with 9:25 to play in the game.

The Pride then mounted a promising drive, moving the ball to the Broncos 24-yard line. But a fourth-and-three pass was broken up giving the ball back to Western. The Broncos ran out the clock the rest of the way.

Hofstra sophomore Greg Melendez led the Pride defensive charge with a career-high 12 tackles while classmate Basim Hudeen tallied 10 tackles and Brock Jackolski posted a career-high eight stops. Western linebacker Austin Pritchard led the Broncos with 10 stops.

The Pride return to the friendly confines of Shuart Stadium next Saturday, October 3, for the first time since opening night, when the host the Dukes of James Madison at 3 p.m.

Morgan State 12, Towson 9

BOX SCORE

BALTIMORE, Md. - Ever since he became the Towson University head coach eight months ago, Towson Coach Rob Ambrose has been preaching the importance of finishing to his players. He has told his team they have to finish everything they start.

In their 22nd meeting with Morgan State on Saturday, the Tigers were reminded how important it is to finish. They failed to finish some solid scoring chances and the result was a disappointing 12-9 to their crosstown rivals at a soggy Hughes Stadium.

While raising its record to 2-1 on the season, Morgan State beat Towson for the first time since the 2003 season. The loss dropped Towson's record to 1-2 on the season and snapped its four-game winning streak over the Bears.

"We left a lot of plays out there," admitted Coach Ambrose. "But we have to give Morgan credit. They played very well and made fewer mistakes than we did and they got the win. We had moments where we showed some greatness but there just wasn't enough consistency."

Remarkably, the Tigers had 344 yards of total offense while holding Morgan to 161 total yards. Towson had 14 first downs while Morgan had six first downs. The Tigers ran for 196 yards while the defense held the Bears to 33 yards rushing.

But turnovers and penalties spelled the Tigers' doom.

"It really wasn't the number of penalties we had," said Ambrose. "It was the timing of them. It seemed like they always negated a big play."

In fact, Towson penalties negated a 38-yard kickoff return by Hakeem Moore, a 25-yard punt return by Dave Newsom and a pair of long runs by freshman quarterback Peter Athens. In the third quarter, Athens scrambled for 14 yards to give Towson a first down at the Morgan six-yard line. However, a holding penalty negated the run and pushed the ball back to the 30-yard line, costing the Tigers a chance for a go-ahead touchdown.

With the weather conditions worsening, the Tigers turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter. Towson had moved to the Morgan 35-yard line with less than five minutes to play. But junior defensive back Darren McKhan ended the threat by intercepting a pass.

The Bears owned a 12-6 lead at halftime. Despite being held to 45 yards of total offense and one first down in the second half, Morgan held on to win.

Ambrose admitted, "The rain hurt us because we were behind. We couldn't throw the ball very well and I saw our guys drop passes that they never drop in practice."

Early in the first quarter, the Tigers took a 6-0 lead on under an unusual set of circumstances. On a second down play at the Towson 46-yard line, Athens threw deep to Newsom who caught the ball at the six-yard line and ran to the end zone. He fumbled at the one-yard line and the ball went into the end zone where tight end Tony Zaccarelli recovered for the touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 9:06 left in the first quarter.

However, James Cole blocked Jon Boyer's conversion attempt. McKhan picked up the ball and returned the blocked kick 100 yards for a two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 6-2.

"That two-point conversion return was a big play in the game," said Ambrose. "We had just scored and we had the momentum. Then, everything changed and they had the momentum."

The Tiger defense did a great job shutting down Morgan State's offense through the first quarter. In fact, the Bears were held to no first downs and 22 yards of offense in the opening period.

In the second quarter, the Bears mounted their only sustained drive of the game and it put them ahead. Converting a pair of third down opportunities, Morgan State marched from its own 11-yard and reached the Towson 26-yard line. Facing a fourth down-and-one at the Towson 26, the Bears gambled and it paid off. With the short-yardage offense in the game, senior quarterback Carlton Jackson faked a handoff and rolled out to his left. He fired a short pass to sophomore Lamont Bryant in the flat and he ran down the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown. When Kemar Scarlett kicked the extra point, the Bears owned a 9-6 lead with 9:53 remaining in the first half.

On their ensuing possession, the Tigers faced fourth down-and-one at their own 31-yard line. Hoping to change the momentum, they tried a fake punt. However, the Bears were ready for it and Tommy Chroniger was thrown for a loss by Jody Ellis.

"The first down was there for us," said Coach Ambrose. "We had the right play called and Tommy was in the right spot. That could have been a huge gain for us but somebody missed a block."

Although the Bears had excellent field position at the Towson 30-yard line, they couldn't move the ball. On fourth down, Scarlett kicked a 41-yard field goal to put the Bears up by 12-6 with 6:02 remaining in the first half.

Sparked by a 35-yard run by Tremayne Dameron, the Tigers responded with an impressive drive of their own. Backed up at their own 10-yard line by a penalty on the kickoff, the Tigers proceeded to move the ball. After reaching the Bears' 25-yard line, the Morgan defense stiffened. On fourth down at the 22-yard line, Athens tried to throw a touchdown pass to Casey Cegles by Gary Albury broke up the play.

At the start of the third quarter, the Tigers received a break when a bad snap on a punt forced Nicholas Adams to throw a four-yard pass to George Howard. Howard was short of the first down and the Tigers received great field position at the Morgan 34-yard line.

After Athens ran for a first down at the Morgan 20-yard line, he scrambled for 14 yards to the six. However, the run was negated by a holding penalty. Three plays later, Boyer kicked a 35-yard field goal and the Tigers had trimmed their deficit to 12-9.

On their next possession, Newsom had his 25-yard punt return wiped out by a holding penalty and the Tigers went "three-and-out."

Late in the third quarter, the Tigers received another break when Bryan Mann fumbled a punt at the Morgan 41-yard line and Donte Blakey recovered for Towson. After moving to the Morgan 33-yard line, the Tigers were stopped on fourth down-and-two and that opportunity was wasted.

In the fourth quarter, Athens threw a 27-yard pass to freshman Alex Blake, who reached the Towson 37-yard line. But, he fumbled and Ellis recovered for the Bears.

After the Bears were stopped, Adams came in to punt and he placed his punt inside the five-yard line where it was downed at the Towson one-yard line.

Starting at their own one-yard line with 9:42 remaining, the Tigers moved the ball out to their own 32-yard line. Bill Shears came in to punt and he was hit after he kicked, resulting in a penalty. That gave Towson another first down at its own 38-yard line.

After Athens picked up 20 yards on a quarterback draw, the Tigers had a first down at the Morgan 42-yard line. But, McKahn's interception at the 34-yard line ended the drive.

With 1:57 left, the Tigers had one final chance when they got the ball at their own ten-yard line. But, Ellis intercepted a tipped pass at the Towson 28-yard line and the Bears were able to run out the clock.

"This game was a good learning experience for our team," said Coach Ambrose. "But it was a painful one. Our preparation wasn't as a good as it should have been and I'll take the blame for that. As a coach, you'd be very happy if your players could learn without being hurt. But, that doesn't happen very often."

Defensively, the Tigers turned in an outstanding effort as they held Morgan to 33 yards on 33 carries. Devan James, who ran for 178 yards on 33 carries against Towson last season, was held to only 29 yards on 15 attempts.

Led by junior tackle Yaky Ibia, the Tigers made eight tackles for lost yardage in the game. Ibia made seven tackles, including 2.5 tackles for lost yardage and had one quarterback hit. Senior defensive end Brady Smith added four tackles while senior linebacker Alex Butt made six tackles, including a sack.

Linebacker Danzel White, a "red shirt" freshman, led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles.

Dameron led the Tigers' running game by rushing for a career high 126 yards on 28 carries. Athens ran for 53 yards on seven carries while freshman Dominque Booker picked up 13 yards on five carries.

Athens completed 11 of 23 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. But he was intercepted twice.

Newsom led the Tigers with four catches for 90 yards while Dameron caught three passes for nine yards. Newsom, who had six punt returns for 46 yards, picked up 141 yards.

Connecticut 52, Rhode Island 10

BOX SCORE

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Rhode Island football team (1-2) dropped a 52-10 decision to Connecticut Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field.

Junior quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne finished the game with 108 yards through the air, completing 12-of-19 passes.

Defensively for the Rams, junior linebackers Rob Damon and Matt Hansen combined 32 tackles (19 - Damon; 13 - Hansen) and five tackles for loss. Damon's 19 tackles were a career-high, surpassing his previous mark of 16, which he set last week against Massachusetts (Sept. 19).

Sophomore kicker Louis Feinstein scored the Rams' only points of the second half as he connected on a 28-yard field goal.

UConn jumped out to an early lead as it scored on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Huskies got the ball back after a Rhody three and out, but URI got the ball right back after Hansen forced his first fumble of the year in sacking UConn quarterback Cody Endres.

Rhody capitalized on the turnover as Paul-Etienne connected with sophomore wide receiver Ty Bynum for a 66-yard touchdown pass on third down to cut the Huskies lead in half at 14-7.

Paul-Etienne's 66-yard touchdown pass was the longest completion of his career. It was also the longest reception of Bynum's career.

Rhody got the ball back just one play later after senior Rodney Mitchell forced the Rams' second turnover of the afternoon.

In the second quarter, Rhody was outscored 10-0 as the Huskies took a 24-7 halftime lead.

The Rams return to action on Oct. 3 against Brown. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on the Rams Radio Network WHJJ 920 AM.

[uart]

Thanks, LBS...

[afosomf]

Spidees Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[uart]

Villanova scored on the first play of the game. Currently 14-0 against the #5 W&M Tribe.

[uart]

Villanova wins! 5-0!

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbupOyS2pAJ97YXEvAUOHthIsHuAD9B372100

AMHERST, Mass.

[PFSIKH]

[afosomf]

Go Spiders #1 in country

On TV at noon on Comcast vs JMU

[PFSIKH]

#1 Richmond 21, #13 James Madison 17

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Junior FB Ben Keating scored his third touchdown of the day to put No. 1 Richmond up midway through the fourth quarter and senior NT Martin Parker forced a turnover on James Madison's final possession to seal the Spiders' 21-17 victory over the 13th-ranked Dukes Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va.

The win extended the FCS's longest overall winning streak to 14, the longest road winning streak in Division I football to nine games and improved the reigning National Champions to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in CAA Football. The road team has been victorious in each of the last six meetings between the conference rivals - the last three games in the series have been decided by a total of 12 points.

James Madison (2-3, 0-2) scored on consecutive possessions late in the first half to seize its first lead of the day at 17-14. It's a lead the homestanding Dukes held until Keating's six-yard TD reception put the Spiders back up with 7:20 left, silencing the sellout crowd of 16,098 at Bridgeforth Stadium.

But thanks to a 22-yard return by Lee Reynolds, James Madison was set up for a potential game-winning TD drive at the 37. Griff Yancey, Jamal Sullivan and Justin Thorpe methodically moved the Dukes downfield with running plays as the clock ticked away. The only pass on the drive was an 18-yard completion from Thorpe to Julius Graves putting the ball at the seven with less than a minute remaining.

Thorpe took a QB draw on the next play, made a move inside and Parker stripped the ball from his right hand. Junior LB and Preseason CAA Football Defensive Player of the Year Eric McBride pounced on the loose ball to seal the victory.

Senior QB Eric Ward finished the game 16-for-26 passing for 165 yards and a TD, while senior RB Justin Forte had 94 yards on 18 carries. Junior WR Kevin Grayson reeled in three catches for a game-high 78 yards, moving to fourth on the Spiders' all-time receiving list (2,068 yards).

Senior LB Colin McConaghy set a career-high with 14 tackles (2.0 TFL), while McBride was in on 11. McBride and senior DE Nicholas Battle each recorded sacks, while junior DB Justin Rogers and senior DB Seth Williams each had interceptions.

The Spiders forced three turnovers, while playing turnover-free on offense.

In much similar fashion, Richmond sealed its 17-16 win at James Madison in 2007 when former safety Stephen Howell intercepted a Rodney Landers pass' on the Dukes' final possession.

Richmond wasted little time drawing first blood, marching down the field with an efficient five-play drive that ended with a Keating one-yard TD run. Ward opened the game by completing a 43-yard strike to Grayson on the first play from scrimmage. That score marked the first time this season that Richmond cashed in points on its first offensive possession in a game.

The Spiders widened the lead to as much as 14-3 with one minute left in the first quarter when Keating scored again from one-yard out, but it was all Dukes before the half. JMU seized control with back-to-back touchdowns and took a 17-14 advantage into the break.

Backup QB Drew Dudzik, who later left the game with an injury, connected with Rockeed McCarter on a dazzling 38-yard score as McCarter leaped and got a foot down in the corner of the end zone. Then, with the Spiders using back-up punter Brett Weigand after an injury to senior Brian Radford, Richmond had a punt blocked by JMU's D.J. Bryant and Corwin Acker scooped up the loose ball and returned it 15 yards for a score with 2:24 remaining.

Thorpe finished seven-of-15 passing for 87 yards and threw both interceptions and Yancey was the Dukes's leading ground-gainer with 16 carries for 74 yards. Dudzik was three-of-six passing for 68 yards. The Dukes held a 281-264 edge in total offense, but the Spiders owned the time of possession (31:12-28:48) for the fifth time in as many games this season.

The Spiders return to action next Saturday, staying on the road with a noon kickoff at Maine. The game can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet.

#5 New Hampshire 28, #2 Villanova 24

DURHAM, N.H.- The undefeated and No. 5 ranked University of New Hampshire football team used a pair of fourth quarter field goals by senior kicker Tom Manning (Rome, N.Y.) and a key interception by senior linebacker Terrence Klein (Westwood, N.J) to upset No. 2 Ranked Villanova on Saturday afternoon in front of 14,811 fans at Cowell Stadium.

Villanova, now 5-1, 2-1 CAA, held a 24-22 lead with 10:58 to go in the third quarter after a 58 yard TD run by Matt Szcur. However, UNH (5-0, 2-0 CAA) responded at 11:49 of the fourth quarter when Manning booted a key, game-winning, 35 yard field goal with 11:49 to play in the contest that gave UNH a 25-24 lead.

However Villanova threatened to come back for the win several times and began a late drive deep in their own territory to try and steal the win, but quarterback Chris Whitney was intercepted by Klein after a tipped pass by junior safety Hugo Souza (Marshfield, Mass.) that gave UNH the football. UNH was unable to score a touchdown, but Manning struck again, this time with a 22 yard field goal that gave UNH a 28-24 lead with 4:11 to play Villanova's final drive failed to result in a score and UNH celebrated a key CAA victory.

One of the key performers of the game for UNH was senior receiver Scott Sicko (Stillwater, N.Y.), who made three catches for 135 yards, one for a touchdown and two of the catches sparked other UNH scores. Junior quarterback R.J. Toman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) engineered several impressive scoring drives and completed 15 of 28 passes for 292 yards and one touchdown as he returned from a turf toe injury and started for the first time since Sept. 26 when he was injured vs. Dartmouth.

After the UNH defense stopped Villanova on its opening drive forcing a punt, UNH drove down the field in 7 plays for 61 yards capped off by a 12-yard run by senior running back Chad Kackert (Simi Valley, Calif.) at 10:45 of the first quarter to give the Wildcats the early 7-0 advantage.

The UNH defense was up to the task and stopped another Villanova drive on fourth down at the UINH 24 yard line. UNH then put together an 8 play 67 yard drive and capped it off with a 27 yard field goal Manning, his first of three on the afternoon,.giving the home team a 10-0 advantage over the other Wildcats with 5:24 to play in the first quarter..

Villanova got on the scoreboard with 2:19 remaining in the first quarter following an impressive 18 yard TD run by quarterback Antwon Young. The rush capped off a 7 play 52 yard drive that cut the UNH lead to 10-7.

After a long return by Kackert that put the football on the Villanova 32 yard line, junior quarterback R.J. Toman made a pretty pass up the middle to a reaching Sicko and UNH was back up by 10 with 2:06 left in the first quarter, 16-7, after a missed PAT by Manning.

Toman engineered another drive that took the ball to the Villanova 1 yard line where he dove in for six points at 12:35 of the second quarter to give UNH a 22-7 advantage. The drive was 10 plays, 68 yards and used 2:54. UNH attempted a two-point conversion pass that went incomplete in the back of the end zone.

Villanova scored again at 10:12 of the second quarter on a 26 yard TD pass from junior Chris Whitney to wide receiver Matt Szczur that cut the UNH lead to 22-14 after the made PAT.

Villanova's Nick Yako then booted a 49 yard field goal with no time left before the half to pull the visitors to within five points (22-17) at the intermission

Leading the UNH defense were three players with 10 tackles apiece including sophomore safety Ryan McGuinness (Howell, N.J.), senior linebacker Sean Ware (Bristol, Conn.) and junior linebacker Devon Jackson (Williamstown, N.J.). As a team, UNH recorded five sacks for a loss of 35 yards by five different players and had the one key interception by Klein. UNH outgained Villanova for the day with 368 yards to 352.

.

The Wildcats return to action next week when they travel to play CAA North Division rival Massachusetts. Game time is 3:30 p.m. The UNH football team will play their next home contest on Sat., Oct. 31 vs. Northeastern. Game time is 12 p.m. at Cowell Stadium and tickets are still available at www.unhwildcats.com.

#8 William & Mary 34, Northeastern 14

BROOKLINE, Mass. - The eighth-ranked William and Mary football team forced three second half turnovers and scored four unanswered touchdowns to earn a 34-14 victory at Northeastern on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, W&M improves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league play as it continues its best start since 1994.

Sophomore running back Jonathan Grimes scored a pair of touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 91 yards on 14 carries (6.5 yards per carry). Highlighting his performance was a season-long 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave the Tribe its first lead of the contest. Junior running back Courtland Marriner and senior quarterback R.J. Archer also rushed for a touchdown apiece, while senior wide receiver D.J. McAulay posted his second straight seven-catch performance with a game-high seven grabs for 86 yards.

Defensively, junior linebacker Evan Francks totaled a career-high 11 tackles (6 solo), while sophomore linebacker Jake Trantin registered 10 stops. Senior All-American defensive end Adrian Tracy continued his stellar play and recorded 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss, while junior linebacker Wes Steinman added a sack, two tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery. Senior defensive tackle Sean Lissemore and redshirt freshman B.W. Webb also came up big with interceptions.

As a team, the College outgained Northeastern (0-6, 0-3), 396-277, and limited the Huskies to just 39 yards rushing (1.2 yards per carry). The defensive unit was especially impressive in the second half when it allowed just 125 total yards and 15 yards rushing (0.9 yards per carry). W&M also dominated the time of possession, 33:45 - 26:15, and limited NU to just 3-of-14 on third downs.

Junior punter David Miller pinned the Huskies inside the 20 on all four of his punts, including a career-long 67-yard kick that pinned NU on its own 1-yard line.

After forcing a Northeastern punt on its first possession, the Tribe got on the scoreboard first when Pate kicked a 39-yard field goal from the right hash with 7:53 remaining in the opening quarter. Archer completed 2-of-3 passes for 34 yards on the eight-play, 58-yard drive that lasted 3:21.

Northeastern answered on its next possession when quarterback Matt Carroll completed a short pass on the right side to wideout Tony Lott, who ran it 76 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

A 41-yard field goal by Pate capped off the Tribe's next possession to cut the margin to 7-6 with 2:01 left in the first quarter.

W&M moved deep into Northeastern territory late in the second quarter but had its drive halted when wide receiver Marshall Dill fumbled at NU's 20-yard line with 3:07 remaining in the half.

Despite trailing at the half, W&M outgained the Huskies 184-152 and allowed just 24 yards rushing (on 16 carries). Individually, Archer completed 16-of-22 passes for 135 yards, while McAulay totaled five catches for 67 yards.

The Green and Gold looked as if it might take the lead when junior linebacker Wes Steinman recovered a NU fumble at the Huskies' 19-yard line with 11:04 showing in the third quarter. However, while the College moved to the Northeastern 10-yard line, Pate's 27-yard field goal attempt missed wide to the left.

After forcing a NU punt on its next possession, the Tribe claimed its first lead of the contest when Grimes broke a season-long 55-yard touchdown run up the middle on the first play of the possession to go ahead 13-7 with 6:28 left in the third quarter.

Grimes found the end zone again less than four minutes later when he capped off a six-play, 37-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to push W&M's advantage to 20-7. Archer completed all three of his passing attempts for 31 yards on the short touchdown drive, which began following an interception by redshirt freshman B.W. Webb near midfield.

W&M registered its third unanswered touchdown of the half when Marriner scored on a 4-yard scamper with 9:45 remaining. The scoring drive covered just 8 yards, as an interception by Lissemore gave the Tribe starting field position inside Northeastern's 10.

The College pushed across its final score when Archer rolled out to his right and raced 8 yards into the end zone with 2:57 remaining to extend the lead to 34-7. The 10-play, 75-yard drive lasted 5:31 and was highlighted with a 34-yard run by Terrence Riggins and a 20-yard run by Marriner.

Northeastern recorded a late touchdown when Carroll connected on a 25-yard strike to wideout Jordan Batts in the back left side of the end zone with 1:51 remaining. However, W&M recovered the ensuing onside kick and preserved the victory.

After a bye week next Saturday, the Tribe will return to action when it hosts James Madison on Oct. 24.

Delaware 43, #12 Massachusetts 27

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware came up with a huge performance for the second straight week Saturday night as the Blue Hens jumped out fast to a 20-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of action and cruised to a 43-27 Colonial Athletic Association football upset victory over No. 12 ranked University of Massachusetts at sold-out Delaware Stadium.

Blue Hen junior quarterback Pat Devlin continued his spectacular play as he hit on 19 of 26 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns - two to senior wideout Mark Duncan (at right) - and the UD defense stifled the UMass running game all night.

Duncan caught seven passes for 107 yards on the night, surpassing the 100-yard mark for the second straight week and extending his streak of catching at least one pass to 30 straight games, the second longest mark in UD history.

Delaware (4-2, 2-2 CAA) won its second straight game and snapped an eight-game losing streak to Top 25 opponents as the Hens dominated a Minutemen team (3-2, 1-1 CAA) that had won three straight games by an average of 28 points following a season-opening 21-17 loss to Kansas State.

"We played a great game tonight and beat a very good football team," said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler. "It's been a while since we had a win like this. It was an all-around effort. I've been saying all year that we have a good football team - as good as anybody out there. Our record might not reflect that right now, but we keep making big strides and keep getting better each week."

The Hens' last win over a Top 25 opponent came in the 2007 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision semifinals when Delaware knocked off No. 4 Southern Illinois 20-17 on the road.

The Hens, who scored 20 points in the opening quarter for the first time since the 2007 season, snapped a personal two-game losing streak to UMass as they held the CAA's third best rushing team to 143 yards under its average. CAA rushing leader Tony Nelson, who entered the contest averaging 114 yards per game and who piled up 163 yards against the Hens in last season's 17-7 win, was held to just 33 yards on 15 carries.

Senior Jon Striefsky booted field goals of 22, 24, and 23 yards to become Delaware's career field goal leader with 33 and redshirt freshman cornerback Marcus Burley (bottom left) made the biggest defensive play of the night for the Hens when he returned a first-quarter Nelson fumble 42 yards for a touchdowns.

The Hens put this one away early with a red-hot start. Wide receiver Mark Mackey (middle right) made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch from Devlin from 15 yards out to open the scoring seven minutes in and Delaware added a pair of touchdowns just 54 seconds apart.

Devlin hit Duncan in stride down the left sideline on a 22-yard scored for a 14-0 lead and after Massachusetts got the ball back, Burley scooped up a fumble by Nelson, who was hit by defensive end Chris Morales, and sprinted untouched down the sidelines for a 42-yard return with 4:17 left in the opening stanza.

Mackey's touchdown was set up when Blue Hen linebacker Paul Worrilow recovered a fumble by Havens on UMass' first drive of the day.

The lead ballooned to 23-3 at the half on a 22-yard field goal by Striefsky with 9:22 left before the break, and the Hens went up 37-6 with touchdowns 17 seconds apart late in the third quarter as Devlin tossed a four-yard scoring pass to tight end Trevor Mooney and then found Duncan for the second time on a 27-yard strike. Mooney, taking over for injured starter Colin Naugle (knee), just got a foot down in the back of the end zone for his first career touchdown catch.

Duncan's scoring catch was set up when All-American Charles Graves intercepted a pass by Havens on the previous play. The pick was Graves' team-high third of the season.

"This is really the first week we came out and started early and that really helped us make the rest of the game a lot easier," said Devlin, whose four touchdowns is the most by a UD signal-caller since Joe Flacco tossed four in a win over Navy in 2007. "Our defensive usually doesn't give up 20 points in a game so when you can get that in the first quarter, it really builds your confidence. We have so many guys stepping up and its really good to see Mark (Duncan) doing such a great job. He is a veteran who knows what to look for."

Delaware, which posted a 27-17 win at Maine last week on the road by piling up 512 total yards, put up some big numbers again as the offense rolled to 23 first downs and 411 total yards while converting 6 of 11 third-down attempts.

UMass gained 357 total yards for the game, but 141 came in the final quarter when the Minutemen narrowed the margin with three touchdowns in the final 11:29.

Havens completed 24 of 36 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns with Victor Cruz collecting 10 passes for 118 yards.

UMass could manage only two field goals by NCAA field goal leader Armanda Cuko in the the first three quarters of play, including a career-long 51-yarder in the first quarter and a 37-yarder midway through the third quarter.

"I'm really glad for our kids, they did a phenomenal job tonight," said Keeler. "It's great to get a win over a Top 25 team because this was a game we had to win. I think we found ourselves tonight and we really gained some confidence and hopefully we keep playing like this."

Havens hit tight end Andrew Krevis on a four-yard scoring toss with 11:29 left to play and added a 52-yard touchdown pass to tight end Emil Igwenagu with 7:43 left to cut the lead to 40-20. The Minutemen closed the scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Scott Woodward to Aaron Fears with 55 seconds left.

Striefsky, a 2007 All-American who shook off a missed extra point on the Hens' first touchdown of the game, kicked a school-record tying three field goals in a game for the third time in his career and upped his career total to 33, breaking the mark of 32 shared by Sean Leach (1994-97) and Brad Shushman (2002-04).

Delaware will return to action next Saturday when the Hens travel to Towson for a 3:30 p.m. start on Oct. 24 at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Tigers, who have lost two straight to the Hens, including a 31-21 setback a year ago, defeated Rhode Island 36-28 Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak.

[afosomf]

Go Spiders!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got tickets for Nova game...can't wait

[PFSIKH]

F UMASS!!!!!

[uart]

This week:

Villanova 27, James Madison, 0

UMass 23, New Hampshire 17

Delaware 49, Towson 21

Hofstra 28, Rhode Island 16

Richmond 38, Maine 21

Richmond maintains its overall and south-division lead, while Villanova improved to 6-1. New Hampshire took its first loss, but still leads the north division.

[uart]

Go Spiders!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got tickets for Nova game...can't wait

I kind of wish I had tickets for that game too. It's getting close. Richmond will obviously be the favorite, but if Villanova wants to stay in the national championship talk, they need to win that one.

[afosomf]

I kind of wish I had tickets for that game too. It's getting close. Richmond will obviously be the favorite, but if Villanova wants to stay in the national championship talk, they need to win that one.

Not really both teams will be in playoffs

[PFSIKH]

Not really both teams will be in playoffs

If this was next year when they expand to 20 playoff teams, I think you can argue 6 teams making the playoffs.

As it stands, there are 6 teams with a good chance at winning at least 8 games in the best IAA conference.

[limousine]

HI, Guys,

CAA Football has logged a record-breaking four wins over BCS/FBS opponents in 2009. New Hampshire (Ball State), Richmond (Duke), Villanova (Temple) and William and Mary (Virginia) all have added BCS/FBS wins to the league’s current total of 22 non-conference wins in 2009.

The league has an all-time mark of 27-111 (.196) against BCS/FBS opponents dating back to the 1978 I-A/I-AA split by the NCAA. Prior to 2009, the league had not beaten more than three BCS/FBS squads in a single season.

CAA Football finished the 2009 season 2-1 against the Mid-American Conference and had a .500 (2-2) mark against the Atlantic Coast Conference (BCS). The only wins for FCS squads, as recognized by the NCAA, over BCS/FBS teams this season have come from CAA Football (4-71).

CAA Football has now won 18 games versus BCS/FBS opponents in the last 10 years. The league has garnered at least one win over BCS/FBS foes in seven of the last eight years, and multiple wins over BCS/FBS teams in six of the last eight years.

For a complete list of CAA Football’s wins over BCS/FBS opponents check out page 21 of the weekly release.

[uart]

It was close, but my #4 Wildcats pulled out the win at #1 Richmond today. 21-20. If Richmond hadn't missed on that last extra-point it might've been an overtime game.

#2 Montana narrowly beat (winless) Idaho State 12-10 and #4 S.Illinois (1 loss) also won.

I'm curious to see what the Villanova game does to the rankings. The optimist in me thinks that Villanova could move up to #1, but the realist in me realizes that we're probably looking at #2 or 3.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

[PFSIKH]

It was close, but my #4 Wildcats pulled out the win at #1 Richmond today. 21-20. If Richmond hadn't missed on that last extra-point it might've been an overtime game.

#2 Montana narrowly beat (winless) Idaho State 12-10 and #4 S.Illinois (1 loss) also won.

I'm curious to see what the Villanova game does to the rankings. The optimist in me thinks that Villanova could move up to #1, but the realist in me realizes that we're probably looking at #2 or 3.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

It is going to be close. I would think beating the defending champs in their stadium should weigh a lot, but Montana is still unbeaten. If this was IA, maybe I could see Nova leaping both S. Illini and Montana. I think they should be #2.

[SouthernJet]

It was close, but my #4 Wildcats pulled out the win at #1 Richmond today. 21-20. If Richmond hadn't missed on that last extra-point it might've been an overtime game.

#2 Montana narrowly beat (winless) Idaho State 12-10 and #4 S.Illinois (1 loss) also won.

I'm curious to see what the Villanova game does to the rankings. The optimist in me thinks that Villanova could move up to #1, but the realist in me realizes that we're probably looking at #2 or 3.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

they missed a extra point??????????

wtf?????????????

[uart]

they missed a extra point??????????

wtf?????????????

Yeah. They also went for 2 after their first score of the game, which made it 7-6 instead of a tie-game.

[uart]

CAA Players of the Week:

Scroll to the 28 Second mark if you want to see the one-handed catch that Brandyn Harvey made on 4th down to win the game for Villanova.

AfoWuE9WtEY

[PFSIKH]

Coaches gave a nudge to S.Illini.

1. Montana (16) 9-0 684 2

2. Southern Ill. (6) 8-1 665 3

3. Villanova (6) 8-1 663 4

4. William & Mary 8-1 591 5

4. Richmond 8-1 591 1

6. Elon 8-1 561 6

7. New Hampshire 8-1 532 7

8. Appalachian St. 7-2 513 8

9. S. Carolina St. 8-1 473 10

10. McNeese St. 7-2 436 11

11. Northern Iowa 6-3 409 12

12. South Dakota St. 7-2 343 9

13. Eastern Illinois 7-2 336 13

14. Holy Cross 8-1 334 14

15. Jacksonville St. 6-3 293 15

16. Liberty 7-2 258 17

17. Stephen F. Austin 7-2 249 18

18. Eastern Wash. 6-3 223 16

19. Prairie View A&M 6-1 182 22

20. Lafayette 8-1 168 24

21. Florida A&M 7-2 148 23

22. Weber St. 5-4 113 21

23. Delaware 6-3 90 25

24. Colgate 8-2 66 20

25. Texas St. 6-3 46 NR

[SouthernJet]

Coaches gave a nudge to S.Illini.

1. Montana (16) 9-0 684 2

2. Southern Ill. (6) 8-1 665 3

3. Villanova (6) 8-1 663 4

4. William & Mary 8-1 591 5

4. Richmond 8-1 591 1

6. Elon 8-1 561 6

7. New Hampshire 8-1 532 7

8. Appalachian St. 7-2 513 8

9. S. Carolina St. 8-1 473 10

10. McNeese St. 7-2 436 11

11. Northern Iowa 6-3 409 12

12. South Dakota St. 7-2 343 9

13. Eastern Illinois 7-2 336 13

14. Holy Cross 8-1 334 14

15. Jacksonville St. 6-3 293 15

16. Liberty 7-2 258 17

17. Stephen F. Austin 7-2 249 18

18. Eastern Wash. 6-3 223 16

19. Prairie View A&M 6-1 182 22

20. Lafayette 8-1 168 24

21. Florida A&M 7-2 148 23

22. Weber St. 5-4 113 21

23. Delaware 6-3 90 25

24. Colgate 8-2 66 20

25. Texas St. 6-3 46 NR

i think at the end of the day Appalachian State wins it all again..QB Edwards back and healthy after missing 1st part of season...

[jakeG]

WTF is CAA? the minor leagues? D2?

[Mickyjones8]

CAA Football, which holds a string of 18-consecutive seasons with multiple berths in the NCAA Championships, has seen 10 of its 12 schools play at least one playoff game since 2001. CAA Football has produced four National Champions, seven National Finalists and close to 300 All-Americans. Delaware and James Madison won back-to-back National Championships in 2003 and 2004, marking the first time consecutive championships have gone to two different teams from the same league.

[PFSIKH]

WTF is CAA? the minor leagues? D2?

No and No.

In the big picture of NCAA football, they would be D2, but there is actually a D2.

It is D1 football with less scholarships, smaller stadiums and smaller required average attendance.

It used to be labeled IAA, but that was too confusing so the NCAA renamed it Football Championship Subdivision or FCS for short. However, most people still call it IAA more out of protest.

The CAA is essentially the SEC of the IAA. Some of the better IAA schools do beat IA schools, or as the NCAA calls them Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS for short.

IAA does have one thing over the IA, a playoff system.

[SouthernJet]

i think at the end of the day Appalachian State wins it all again..QB Edwards back and healthy after missing 1st part of season...

appalachian state has to be favorite IMHO with Edwards back a full strength..

[uart]

No and No.

In the big picture of NCAA football, they would be D2, but there is actually a D2.

It is D1 football with less scholarships, smaller stadiums and smaller required average attendance.

It used to be labeled IAA, but that was too confusing so the NCAA renamed it Football Championship Subdivision or FCS for short. However, most people still call it IAA more out of protest.

The CAA is essentially the SEC of the IAA. Some of the better IAA schools do beat IA schools, or as the NCAA calls them Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS for short.

IAA does have one thing over the IA, a playoff system.

The CAA has been rated higher than at least one FCS (non-BCS) conference more than once recently by Sagarin. I-AA is where the really athletic kids who are too small, or who don't clearly fit into a certain position, or who would rather start games than sit on an FBS bench play.

Former FCS players in the NFL include: Tony Romo, Joe Flacco and Brian Westbrook (off the top of my head), there are quite a few of them though.