With four teams sitting inside the national top-25 rankings, others receiving votes and upsets over Football Bowl Subdivision opponents scattered throughout, the Coastal Athletic Association has proved itself as one of the best Football Championship Subdivision conferences in the country.
Every week, the staff at The Good Five Cent Cigar will rank the 16 teams upon their performance on the gridiron. Here are the rankings after week five.
16th Place: North Carolina A&T University Aggies (1-5, 0-2) (-1)
After a 20-17 loss to the University of Richmond on Saturday and a timely win from the previous bottom dwellers, Bryant University, NC A&T has slipped to the bottom of the power rankings for the first time this season.
Losers of four straight, the Aggies need to straighten things out quickly if they have any hopes of turning their season around.
15th Place: Campbell University Fighting Camels (2-4, 0-2) (-3)
An offensive blackout in the first half dug a hole too deep for Campbell to crawl out of on Saturday when they fell to North Carolina Central University 45-14.
The Eagles tallied 28 points in the opening half of the game, a mark that hasn’t been reached since last season, on Nov. 4, 2023, when the Camels fell to the University of North Carolina 59-7. The poor performance results in Campbell dropping three spots this week.
14th Place: Bryant University Bulldogs (2-3, 0-1) (+2)
Bryant’s highest point total of 2024 came in handy this past Saturday when they took down in-state rival Brown University 42-35.
The win was by no means perfect, with the Bulldog defense allowing over 30 points for the fourth time this season. However, when you are trying to establish yourself in a new conference you’ll take any win you can get.
13th Place: Elon University Phoenix (1-4, 0-1) (-)
Somewhere in Elon, North Carolina, the Phoenix football team enjoyed a nice relaxing week off. Although, after losing three straight games that might be just what they needed.
12th Place: University at Albany Great Danes (2-3, 0-1) (-1)
The CAA had more success over the Ivy-League, with the Great Danes taking down Cornell University 31-10 on Saturday.
For Albany, this win ended a three-game slide, one that saw them lose by at least two possessions each time. Although one win is a great start, repetition is needed to establish a winning culture for the Great Danes as they approach the second half of the season.
11th Place: Hampton University Pirates (3-3, 0-2) (-6)
Hampton was unable to prove themselves as top contender in the CAA when they choked a 31-17 lead over the University of Rhode Island in the final seven minutes of their contest on Saturday. The Rams were able to storm back to win the game in double-overtime, 46-44.
The unfortunate collapse for the Pirates marks them as the biggest drop of the power rankings this week, plummeting six spots.
10th Place: University of Maine Black Bears (3-2, 1-1) (+4)
Although the CAA’s northernmost member did not suit up in pads this weekend, the Black Bears saw a boost in their ranking this week due to poor results from the teams ranked above them.
9th Place: Towson University Tigers (2-3, 1-1) (+1)
Prior to Towson’s 34-27 win over #12 College of William and Mary, the Tigers rode a streak of four consecutive losses to ranked opponents dating back to Oct. 21, 2023, when Towson took down…William and Mary.
Call it a curse for the Tribe, or maybe it’s simply a schematic mismatch. However, the Tigers have their number as of late.
8th Place: Stony Brook University Seawolves (4-2, 1-1) (-)
Stony Brook’s cinderella rebound run following a winless 2023 came to an end on Saturday, when #6 Villanova University established their CAA dominance yet again with a 42-24 win.
Although, to give credit where credit is due, the Seawolves still scored over 20 points, a mark that they hit just once last season. So the light at the end of the tunnel is still very bright for Stony Brook.
7th Place: #21 University of Richmond Spiders (4-2, 2-0) (+2)
“A win is a win” is the mantra more than likely going around the building down in Virginia following the Spiders’ 20-17 win over bottom ranked NC A&T.
However, for Richmond the win is all that matters for the moment. The Spiders have now won four straight games and have earned a spot in the top-25 rankings.
6th Place: Monmouth University Hawks (3-3, 1-1) (-)
On a blank piece of paper, a 42-35 loss is not a desired result. However, when more context is given and an undefeated University of Delaware team is identified as your opponent, you start to take the defeat with a grain of salt.
The outlook after the loss is far from grim for Monmouth, with their next two opponents possessing sub-.500 records. There is plenty of time left for the Hawks to gather a positive season going forward.
5th Place: #17 College of William and Mary Tribe (4-2, 1-1) (-3)
For William and Mary, the problem they have with Towson is yet to be determined. It could be that they haven’t been able to figure out the offense, maybe the defense. Maybe they are afraid of big cats.
The one takeaway from the 34-27 loss to the Tigers that can be said for certain is that they have lost to Towson as a ranked team for the second straight season.
4th Place: #19 University of Rhode Island Rams (4-1, 2-0) (+3)
Regarding Rhode Island, it wasn’t pretty, it didn’t go to plan, but they are still undefeated at the FCS level. It took a last-minute comeback and two overtime periods, but they were able to defeat Hampton 46-44 on Saturday.
There are still definitely problems that need to be fixed, but at the end of the day all that matters is whose score is higher, and for the Rams that has happened in three straight games.
3rd Place: University of New Hampshire Wildcats (3-2, 1-0) (+1)
Although the Wildcats fell to Harvard 28-23 on Friday night, worse performances across the top five still see an advancement to New Hampshire’s power ranking this week. However, better results will be needed in the future if they want to see football action in December.
2nd Place: #5 Villanova University Wildcats (5-1, 2-0) (+1)
The highest ranked team in the top-25 rankings out of the CAA, Villanova has proved to many that they have no intention of slowing down after beating a red-hot Stony Brook team 42-24 on the road.
The Wildcats are still undefeated against FCS competition and a continuation of this trend spells a surefire playoff berth.
1st Place: University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens (5-0, 2-0) (-)
The only undefeated team in the CAA doubles as one of only five squads across the FCS that had yet to drop a game. Delaware kept that undefeated title with a 42-35 win over Monmouth this weekend.
Now, the strength of competition certainly leaves a slight stain on the undefeated state, given that Delaware joins just Hampton and Bryant as the only teams in the CAA to not schedule FBS opponents. However, a perfect record still stands for the Blue Hens nonetheless.
