We’ve made it past the final week of the Coastal Athletic Association football regular season and into the beginning of the Football Championship Subdivision postseason.
Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff votes on and comes up with a ranking for all 14 teams in the conference.
This is how the teams fared in the final week of action:
14th Place: Hampton University Pirates (2-10, 0-8) (-1)
In a road game against the top team in the conference, the Pirates surrendered their season to the University of Rhode Island on Nov. 22 in a 38-10 loss.
Hampton was the only team to finish bottom two in the conference both offensively and defensively, which is a fitting summary of a season where the team went winless in conference play.
13th Place: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Aggies (2-10, 2-6) (-1)
The Aggies went down quietly and painfully, giving up 55 points to Elon University in their regular season finale. This result piled onto the dead last points allowed per game average that the Aggies already had at 43.6.
Remember when the Aggies beat Campbell University and looked to be on the upward trend? Neither do we.
12th Place: Bryant University Bulldogs (3-9, 1-7) (-1)
The Bulldogs hit their peak when they took down Football Bowl Subdivision opponent University of Massachusetts on Sep. 6 and built on it to gain a two-game winning streak.
Since then, it’s been all crickets in Smithfield, Rhode Island. What could’ve been an exciting win to end the season at Stony Brook University ended in a game-sealing interception.
11th Place: Campbell University Camels (2-10, 2-6) (-1)
Yet again, the Camels closed out the season with a tight loss against one of the better teams in the conference, Towson University.
The 35-31 game had a back-and-forth pace that concluded when Towson scored a touchdown with 38 seconds remaining. If Campbell can tighten up its defense and close out games, it can put out a competitive 2026 season.
10th Place: University at Albany Great Danes (2-10, 1-7) (+5)
Who would’ve thought? For a long stretch of the season, UAlbany was decidedly the worst team in the conference, and Monmouth University was the best. Well, on Nov. 22, the Great Danes took down Monmouth 31-24.
How did this happen? UAlbany took advantage of a seemingly sleeping Monmouth team and built up a 31-3 lead in the second half. Monmouth woke up and earned consecutive scores, but it was not enough, and the Great Danes came away with an impressive end-of-season victory.
9th Place: Monmouth University Hawks (9-3, 6-2) (-5)
Dropping their final game of the season, effectively eliminating their postseason hopes, the Hawks will be hanging their heads for the entire offseason.
The Hawks recorded more total yards, 443, than UAlbany’s 297, but their too-little-too-late effort will not be seen as admirable in the long term looking back on the end of this season.
8th Place: Towson University Tigers (6-6, 4-4) (-)
As correctly predicted, the Tigers took down the Camels in a one-possession win to finish the season .500.
After a three-game losing streak midway through the season, the Tigers won three of their final four games. It was rollercoaster season for a middle-of-the-pack team.
7th Place: University of Maine Black Bears (6-6, 5-3) (-1)
While a 33-27 loss to the University of New Hampshire was a better effort than the Black Bears put up against the University of Rhode Island the week prior, it’s still a quiet end to an interesting season.
All in all, the Black Bears were put to the test in their final two regular season games and came up short.
6th Place: College of William and Mary Tribe (7-5, 6-2) (-1)
Unfortunately, the Tribe could not get the job done against former CAA opponent University of Richmond in their final regular season game.
With just 194 total yards, the Tribe could not build on their 14-0 halftime lead, instead giving up the game-winning touchdown with under two minutes remaining.
5th Place: Elon University Phoenix (6-6, 4-4) (+4)
Although against one of the worst teams in the conference, putting up 55 points in a victory is no small feat. In their regular season finale, the Phoenix took down NC A&T 55-17.
This performance solidified the Phoenix’s top-five positions both offensively and defensively. It’s been a season of highs and lows, but the Phoenix earned a spot in our top five by ending on a high note.
4th Place: Stony Brook University Seawolves (6-6, 4-4) (+3)
A win to end the season, combined with a tight contest against Villanova University the week prior, landed the Seawolves in the top four of our rankings.
It was a one-possession contest against Bryant that went down to the final minutes, but the Seawolves secured the victory all the same. Destiny arrived as the Seawolves finished their season at .500.
3rd Place: University of New Hampshire Wildcats (8-5, 6-2) (-)
The Wildcats’ season came to an end, but it did so one week after the majority of the conference, making that a victory in itself.
No. 14 South Dakota State University took down the Wildcats in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, but the Wildcats saw postseason football for the second consecutive year.
2nd Place: Villanova University Wildcats (10-2, 7-1) (-)
The Wildcats have still not lost a game since Sep. 20 after cruising past Sacred Heart University in their regular season finale and taking down Harvard University in the first round of the postseason.
An intimidating opponent in 12-0 Lehigh University awaits them on Saturday, but a 512-yard first-round performance is nothing to sneeze at, so who knows what will happen.
1st Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (11-2, 8-0) (-)
With the first undefeated season in conference play, the Rams secured two wins at home to make it seven straight.
Their defense continues to win games, and the Rams will look to do so once more in the second round against No. 8 University of California, Davis this weekend.
