With five teams sitting inside the national top-25 rankings, another 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 11.
16th Place: North Carolina A&T University Aggies (1-10, 0-7) (-)
Another weekend gone, and another multi-possession loss for the Aggies in CAA play, as NC A&T fell to Towson University 31-13.
There isn’t much left to say about NC A&T this season, it simply isn’t a good team. They have one loss of one possession or less in conference play, which came in a 20-17 loss to the University of Richmond on Oct. 5. Continued underperformance since that game has kept the Aggies anchored to the bottom of the power rankings.
15th Place: Bryant University Bulldogs (2-9, 0-7) (-)
Losers of the last six and still bottom dwellers in their inaugural CAA season, the Bulldogs have underperformed in their debut season.
The Bulldogs were left still searching for their first conference win after a 22-12 defeat to the College of William and Mary last weekend. They will have one final opportunity this week as they host the University of Rhode Island for the campaign finale.
14th Place: University at Albany Great Danes (3-8, 1-6) (-)
In a game that many thought would be an upset at halftime, Albany saw their 17-0 lead after 30 minutes of play over Rhode Island crumble in the latter portion, as Rhody rallied to take down the Great Danes 20-17.
The loss moved the streak to five-straight defeats, and the Great Danes will have just one more chance to end the drought when they host Hampton University this weekend.
13th Place: Campbell University Fighting Camels (3-8, 1-6) (-)
Running into a buzz saw over the past two weeks, Campbell put up a good fight against Richmond two weeks ago, losing 27-24 before being dismantled by the University of Delaware 41-22 this week.
Campbell will remain home for the final week of the year, hosting Towson on Saturday.
12th Place: Hampton University Pirates (5-6, 2-5) (-)
A near-upset that would have made the final week of the season a bit more interesting fell just short this past weekend, when Hampton dropped a close contest to Richmond 24-21.
The Pirates had the league on upset-watch for the time being, but the Spiders kept their opponents at arms length to gain at least a share of the CAA regular season title.
11th Place: University of Maine Black Bears (5-6, 3-4) (-3)
Maine was in the wrong place at the wrong time, traveling down to a rolling Elon University team who took down the Black Bears 31-25.
Maine’s up-and-down season has still been an improvement from their 2-9 campaign in 2023, but with no consecutive wins since September, results like Saturday’s leave more to be desired in Orono.
10th Place: Elon University Phoenix (5-6, 4-3) (+1)
Elon has won four of the last five contests, a true counter-product to the Phoenix team that opened up the season.
Unfortunately for Elon, their 1-5 start is a hard one to rebound from, and even with a win in the final week against NC A&T, they are out of reach of postseason competition. However, finishing strong still sets optimism for the following campaign and can help for offseason morale.
9th Place: Towson University Tigers (6-5, 4-3) (-)
Another team trending in the right direction, the late upside for the Tigers is just a bit too delayed to save the 2024 season.
Towson’s 31-13 win over NC A&T this past weekend made it three wins over the last four games, but even if the Tigers take down Campbell to finish 7-5, the playoffs are not in the cards this year.
8th Place: Monmouth University Hawks (5-6, 3-4) (-1)
The highly-touted Monmouth offense showed off their best angles this week with a 40-33 win over Villanova University.
While the defense still left much to be desired, Monmouth’s offense pulled the weight in this contest. This is not a sustainable model though, and the Hawks will have to address this issue in the offseason, as even with a win they would not be considered for the postseason at this point.
7th Place: College of William and Mary Tribe (7-4, 4-3) (-)
While the Tribe will finish above .500 this season, it will likely be a season that they see as one that got away from them. Despite the win over Bryant on Saturday, key losses to Elon and Stony Brook University over the past few weeks make it unlikely for William and Mary to make the postseason.
A possible eight wins for the Tribe would nearly guarantee you a postseason bid last year, but with the expanded season by one week in 2024, that probability has since been deflated.
6th Place: #24 University of New Hampshire Wildcats (7-4, 5-2) (-)
Another squad with a cap of eight wins on the season, New Hampshire’s clutch 31-30 win over Stony Brook keeps them alive in the race for the postseason, but they are still on the outside looking in.
The Wildcats will need several key losses for the teams in front of them, but it still isn’t out of the realm of possibility due to their national top-25 ranking.
5th Place: #18 Stony Brook University Seawolves (8-3, 5-2) (-)
Outscored by the Wildcats 21-7 in the final quarter, the Seawolves saw a potential postseason-clinching win slip away from them on Saturday.
This season has been miraculous for Stony Brook. After losing every game in 2023 they are nationally-ranked and fighting for a spot in the playoffs. So by all means this season is a successful one, but a bitter taste could be leftover after falling just short.
4th Place: #15 Villanova University Wildcats (8-3, 5-2) (-)
Villanova’s defense surely has lived in the film room this past week after allowing 40 points to Monmouth, at least that would be the advisable course of action.
Villanova can make the postseason, but like Stony Brook, the loss from last week could hurt it. It will need a strong performance against Delaware to make it’s case.
3rd Place: #13 University of Rhode Island Rams (9-2, 6-1) (-)
Rhode Island is having its best season in 39 years, hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 1985.
A gritty 20-17 win over Albany doesn’t speak of ultimate promise for the Rams without their starting quarterback for at least the next few weeks, but they hope a positive result against Bryant this Saturday can help them collect a bid for the first time in a long time. A win and a Richmond loss this weekend would also give the Rams a share of the CAA regular season title.
2nd Place: #10 Richmond University Spiders (9-2, 7-0) (-)
Already cemented into a co-regular season title at the lowest, Richmond controls their own destiny for the 2024 season.
A win against William and Mary in the final week would highly increase the chances of a first-round bye for the Spiders in the FCS playoffs, but hosting a playoff game at the least is nearly a concrete possibility at this point.
1st Place: University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens (9-1, 6-1) (-)
Unable to win the conference, make the playoffs, or be ranked in any national poll, Delaware has not let the season go to waste. A dominant 41-22 win over Campbell was yet another example of why the Blue Hens are ready to make the jump.
They play their final game as an FCS program on Saturday, hosting Villanova in their final CAA game.