All 14 members of the Coastal Athletic Association played this past week, shifting some schools in our second week of power rankings.
Ahead of the busiest in-conference week of the season so far, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff came up with its cumulative ranking.
Here is how the CAA is shaping up following week four:
14th Place: University of Maine Black Bears (0-4, 0-1) (-)
Maine remains last in our rankings after losing its sixth straight game, dating back to last season. The Black Bears played their second Football Bowl Subdivision program of the season, traveling to Georgia Southern University.
Tied after a quarter, the Eagles pulled away for a sound 45-17 victory. Maine sits at the bottom of the conference in points per game, averaging 15.3.
13th Place: University at Albany Great Danes (1-3, 0-0) (-)
Albany earned its first win of the season on Saturday, leading the whole way in a 13-10 triumph over Cornell University.
It’s a first for new head coach Jared Ambroise, but the Great Danes still have plenty of work to do. It starts with a tough in-conference test against the University of New Hampshire.
12th Place: Hampton University Pirates (1-3, 0-1) (-)
Hampton did not respond well to its double-overtime loss in week three, dropping the centennial edition of the Pirates’ rivalry with Howard University.
The Pirates lost for the first time in eight meetings and did so definitively in a 34-7 defeat. Hampton was held scoreless until the fourth quarter, while its defense allowed 20 first-half points.
11th Place: Stony Brook University Seawolves (1-3, 0-1) (-1)
In our first movement of the week, the Seawolves have dropped a slot after a close 30-27 defeat against Lindenwood University.
Stony Brook could have seen a steeper descent, but a second-half comeback down 27-3 showed the fight that should help them late in the season.
10th Place: Towson University Tigers (2-2, 0-0) (-4)
Towson takes a four-spot tumble following a tight 31-28 loss to Youngstown State University. Facing a ranked Penguins program, the Tigers held an 11-point lead with a quarter to play. Three scoring drives took away that advantage, finishing with a loss on a walk-off 42-yard field goal.
The Tigers will need to shake off the shock of their home opener loss to start up conference play on the right foot against Bryant University this weekend.
9th Place: No. 20/21 Villanova University Wildcats (1-2, 0-1) (-1)
Villanova faced Monmouth University on Saturday to open conference play and couldn’t keep up with the conference-best Hawks’ offense.
The Wildcats are still ranked within the Football Championship Subdivision top 25 for a reason. Two tough tests in a row hurt their ranking here, but taking on the College of William and Mary could be the right matchup to show where they belong.
8th Place: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Aggies (1-3, 1-0) (+1)
NC A&T jumps up a spot this week thanks to the weight that losing in conference play holds for other teams. The Aggies were lucky not to have a conference opponent this week; instead, their rival, North Carolina Central University, hung 61 points on them.
With a performance like that, it comes as no surprise that NC A&T has the most points allowed per game in the CAA. The Aggies’ offense faces an uphill battle but has some stability with the return of last year’s starter, third-year quarterback Kevin White.
7th Place: Elon University Phoenix (2-2, 0-0) (-2)
Elon earned its demotion with a 26-16 loss to East Tennessee State University. Still, the Phoenix hold the second-highest scoring offense in the conference.
That offense will get a taste of conference play against Hampton on Saturday. The Pirates’ top-of-conference rushing offense will have a test against the fourth-best rushing defense.
6th Place: University of New Hampshire Wildcats (2-2, 0-0) (-4)
UNH dropped out of both FCS polls following a second straight loss. Dartmouth College’s season debut saw the Big Green take a 27-20 victory over the Wildcats, finishing with a fourth-down stop just outside of the red zone.
The Wildcats will return home for the second time this season, starting conference play against UAlbany.
5th Place: Bryant University Bulldogs (2-2, 0-1) (-2)
Bryant brought national attention to the CAA with its win over FBS laughingstock University of Massachusetts in week two, but fell short in its conference opener.
Four ties and five lead changes found the Bulldogs on the wrong side of a 50-48 double-overtime defeat. Close but no (good five-cent) cigar; Bryant has continued to entertain and proves it is capable of competing in any matchup, something that couldn’t be said last season.
4th Place: Campbell University Camels (1-3, 1-1) (+7)
The Fighting Camels are just that: fighters. Outside of an FBS beatdown, Campbell has kept things competitive in all of its games. The win against Bryant was as close as it gets, but getting it done has brought the Camels up a week-high seven spots.
Campbell can try to keep its momentum against the Southern Conference’s Western Carolina University. The Catamounts have already taken a loss to the CAA against Elon in week three.
3rd Place: College of William and Mary Tribe (2-2, 1-0) (+4)
William & Mary took a tie at halftime and turned in a shutout in the second half to take down Charleston Southern University 34-7.
The Tribe could be holding an audition to be considered for the top 25 next week with their conference matchup against ranked Villanova.
2nd Place: No. 16/14 Monmouth University Hawks (3-1, 1-0) (+2)
Monmouth’s game plan is simple: fifth-year quarterback Derek Robertson is going to lead his offense, and they don’t plan on being stopped.
The soft spot is on the other side of the ball; the Hawks’ defense leaves much to be desired. Shootout scores have been Monmouth’s specialty, and so far, no FCS school has been able to keep up.
1st Place: No. 6/7 University of Rhode Island Rams (4-0, 2-0) (-)
Rhode Island remains atop our rankings; it’s no hometown bias, the Rams are just the best this conference has to offer.
For a second week in a row, Rhode Island remained undefeated while allowing just one score. The URI defense is holding opponents to a CAA-low 12.8 points per game, while UNH sits in a distant second with 21.8 ppg.
