Week three of college football is upon us, and the CAA has an exciting array of FCS, FBS, and conference match ups for the all CAA fans to enjoy.
Friday Sept 16th
Rhode Island at Harvard 7 pm EST, (ASN)
Harvard will open its season on Friday night when the Rhode Island Rams travel to Harvard Stadium. The Rams are coming off of two losses to begin the season one loss at FBS Kansas, and one loss at home to CAA conference opponent Albany. Rhode Island will have its hands full when it travels to Harvard who is favored to win this match up. Rhode Island will have to use their experience from the last two games to make some adjustments and hopefully use that to their advantage against a Harvard team that has yet to play a game this season.
Saturday Sept 17th
# 25 Towson at #20 Villanova 3:30 pm EST, (CSN)
Our First CAA matchup of the day will happen between two ranked opponents, when #25 Towson travels to 20th ranked Villanova. Both teams are coming into week three at 1-1 with each suffering and FBS loss, and each gaining and FCS win. In week two Towson survived a scare from the Red Flash of St Francis (PA) While Villanova hard a hard-fought win against the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh. Both teams will be looking to make adjustments on defense, while these two high scoring, fast offenses will surely put a strain on those units.
#10 James Madison at North Carolina 3:30 pm EST, (ACC Network)
After Two decisive victories in week one and week two, James Madison will face its toughest test yet when the Dukes Travel to Chapel Hill to take on the FBS Tar heels of North Carolina. The Tar Heels are coming into this match up at 1-1 with a loss against FBS Georgia, and a win against FBS Illinois. The Dukes defense will have their hands full covering UNC QB Mitch Trubisky who has averaged 67% completions and has thrown for 424 yards on the season.
Norfolk State at #15 William and Mary 6 pm EST, (Tribe Athletics TV)
Norfolk State will have its hands full when it travels to Williamsburg Virginia to take on the Tribe. Each team is coming into the game 1-1, with The tribe taking a loss at FBS North Carolina State, and the Spartans of Norfolk State taking a loss at CAA Richmond. The Tribe will hope to do what they do best on Saturday which is play their heavy hitting offense, and rush the ball as much as possible to overwhelm the Spartans offense. RB Kendall Anderson should see plenty of carries, while WR DeVonte Dedmon will be looking for another great game through the air as he had when he had seven receptions for 168 yards.
Fayetteville State at Elon 6 pm EST, (Phoenix All Access)
After a rough start to the season that saw the Phoenix drop their first two games, Elon will look to regroup at home against Division II Fayetteville State. Elon will need to use this game to fix some mistakes that they made in their first two games, and pull out a win in front of the home crowd to gain some momentum for the rest of the season.
Delaware at Wake Forest 6:30 pm EST, (ACC Network)
When Delaware travels to FBS Wake Forest on Saturday they will be going into Winston-Salem riding a 2-0 start. Delaware’s first win came against interstate rival Delaware state, while their second win came off of a win against Lafayette that was very close until Delaware pulled away in the third quarter. Delaware will need to play 60 minutes of mistake free football if they are going to pull off an upset against the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Wake forest is coming into the game with wins against FBS Tulane, and FBS Duke. They are currently sitting at first place in the ACC Coastal Division of the FBS.
New Hampshire at Dartmouth 7 pm EST, (Fox Sports Go)
In our 2nd Ivy league match up between CAA and Ivy League teams, New Hampshire helps Dartmouth kick off the 2016 season when the Wildcats travel to Hanover, NH to take on the Big Green. New Hampshire is entering the game 1-1 after a loss to FBS San Diego State University, and a win at home against Holy Cross. Dartmouth is entering the game after an outstanding season that saw them go 9-1, with their only loss coming from Ivy League rival Harvard. UNH will need to continue giving their young roster exposure, and continue to utilize the talents of RB Dalton Crossan, while their young QB Trevor Knight continues to improve.
Holy Cross at #19 Albany 7 pm EST
The Crusaders of Holy Cross will be looking to put their first loss of the season which came against UNH last week behind them; when they travel to Bob Ford Field to take on the Great Danes of Albany. Albany is riding high after their week one upset of FBS Buffalo, and their decisive win last week against conference opponent Rhode Island. Holy Cross will look to improve on some mistakes from week two that led to them blowing an early lead in the second half of the game. Look for Albany to capitalize on their momentum from their 2-0 start.