With week six in the books, the CAA enjoyed a full slate of conference games beginning with a very wet game on Friday between UNH and Elon and capping off with a triple overtime thriller between the Spiders of Richmond, and the Great Danes of Albany.
New Hampshire 13, Elon 10
Coming off a big loss to Villanova after their statement wins against William and Mary, Elon set out to show a home crowd that they could bounce back. With Hurricane Matthew wreaking havoc, Elon showed UNH that they wouldn’t go down without a fight. Taking the lead in the third quarter, Elon felt they were on their way to a win. Until Kicker Morgan Ellman from UNH kicked two field goals to take the lead and seal the deal for the Wildcats.
Villanova 35, Rhode Island 0
Week in and week out Villanova has slowly emerged as one of the top teams in the CAA. With five touchdowns on the day 3 rushing and 2 receiving, Villanova showed Rhode Island that they came to play. Villanova QB Zack Bednarczyk threw for 133 yards and went 8/9 on receptions. The 463 total yards for Villanova was too much for Rhode Island to overcome as they were shut out, and combined for only 103 team yards on the day.
James Madison 31, William and Mary 24
After dropping its first two conference games to Elon and New Hampshire, William and Mary traveled to Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday with the hopes of upsetting interstate rival James Madison, and showing the FCS that they weren’t out of the playoff picture just yet. Unfortunately, James Madison had other plans for the Tribe as they put up 511 total yards with 194 of those coming on the ground carried by Duke RB Khalid Abdullah. William and Mary mounted a late comeback but fell short when Tribe QB Steve Cluely was picked off late in the fourth quarter to seal the end of the game.
Richmond 36, Albany 30
When Richmond traveled to Albany, NY on Saturday they traveled knowing that they would be playing a team that was up and coming as a power in the CAA. What they didn’t know was just how tough this game would be. With the game tied going into the fourth quarter, Richmond though they had put it away with a four-yard run by Deontez Thompson to put the spiders ahead 20-13. This lead wouldn’t last for long though as Albany’s Jordan Crockett caught a 51-yard pass from Neven Sussman to tie the game at 20-20. Three overtimes late the game was decided by Richmond as David Broadus scored on a four-yard run to give the Spiders a final 36-30 advantage.
Maine 28, Delaware 21
The Black Bears from Maine stunned the Delaware Blue Hens as they traveled to Delaware and defeated the Blue Hens at home to secure their first CAA victory. Delaware trailed into the fourth quarter until an 11-yard pass from Dan Collins to Jaleel Reed tied the game at 21-21. Less than five minutes later, Black Bear Austin Brown would return a Delaware fumble 62 yards in front of a stunned Delaware home crowd to seal the deal for the Black Bears.
Stony Brook 27, Towson 20
QB Ellis Knudson for Towson has a successful day passing for 250 yards and completing 20 of his 33 attempts. It would be his two turnovers of the day though that would prove costly as Towson dropped a tough one at home against the Seawolves of Stony Brook. Towson would win the total yards battle coming in at 406 total yards to Stony Brook’s 370 total yards, but Stony brook would ultimately win the day off three running touchdowns from; QB Joe Carbone, RB Jordan Gowins, and RB Stacey Bedell.
Power Rankings
- Villanova
- James Madison
- Richmond
- Albany
- New Hampshire
- Stony Brook
- Maine
- Towson
- William and Mary
- Delaware
- Elon
- Rhode Island