Around the CAA, Is Nova Back?

The Dukes might have had a bye week, but the rest of the CAA was in action and there were plenty of highlights. It’s still early, but we’re already starting to see some of the contenders step up and distance themselves from the also-rans. Here’s a quick look at the week that was in CAA Football.

Villanova 35 – Maine 14

Last year was a rebuilding year for Nova and many of us thought they’d take some small steps forward this season. So far, they seem to have take a pretty big leap forward. The Wildcats easily cruised past Maine on the road to move to 4-1 on the season. And they did it by running the ball in dominating fashion. For the game, Nova had 314 yards rushing. Kevin Monangai led the way with  192 yards and 2 TDs. The Wildcats have eclipsed 200 yards rushing in every game this season. As JMU has shown in the past, dominating rushing attacks can lead to great things in the CAA. I’m not sure if Nova deserves to be considered one of the favorites, but if they keep running the ball like this then they will be.

Bowling Green 48 – Rhode Island 8 

Rhode Island has struggled to stay within shouting distance of its opponents at the FCS level, so it’s no surprise they got blown out by a FBS team. And this game wasn’t even close. Bowling Green had five times as many first downs as the Rams. That is not a typo. URI managed only 6 first downs and 171 yards of offense. I’ve never tracked this, but I’ve got to imagine teams that punt for almost twice the yards they gain on offense, don’t win too often. It’s going to be long season for URI.

New Hampshire 34 – Delaware 14

This was a heck of a bounce-back win for the Wildcats after losing a game in which they scored 61 points last weekend. New Hampshire’s defense played a tough ball game and limited the Blue Hens to only 2.3 yards per carry on the ground. They also pounded Delaware’s QB and finished the day with 6 sacks. New Hampshire has been ranked in the top 25 for about 6 million weeks straight and yet many people (including me) continue to overlook them every year. They’re good enough to contend for the CAA and a playoff bid again this year.

William & Mary 35 – Georgia State 3

Georgia State is a terrible football team. And that’s all there is to say about this game.

 

ODU 45 – Richmond 37

Tayler Heinicke threw for 360 yards in this game. And in case you didn’t hear, that was 370 less than he threw for against New Hampshire…wow. And they ran for over 200 yards yesterday as well. It’s pretty clear that the Monarchs are going to struggle to keep most CAA teams from scoring. It’s also pretty clear that their offense might be good enough that it doesn’t matter. Everyone seems to think that all a team needs to do to beat ODU is rush the ball and keep Heinicke and the offense on the sidelines. Easier said than done. ODU is proving last year was no fluke. They’re not eligible for the CAA auto-bid because they’re leaving after the season. They’re definitely a threat to win the league though.

LSU 38 – Towson 22

Having attended a Saturday night LSU game in Baton Rouge, I can assure you it should be on every fan’s bucket list and is an absolutely amazing experience. I did not expect last night’s visit to be an enjoyable experience for the Towson (no State ESPN) Tigers. They showed up though and gave LSU a heck of an effort. LSU’s offense has struggled this season and made enough mistakes to let Towson hang around. LSU’s defense however, has done anything but struggle. And Towson’s 22 points is more than any other team has scored against the Tiger defense this season. There’s no telling if the Towson team that played LSU tough or the Towson team that struggled to beat a weak William & Mary squad will show up in Bridgeforth next Saturday.