The air is getting chillier, the sun is setting earlier and grills across the United States are getting fired up. Ladies, gentlemen and enbies, football is back as conference play is underway in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff ranks the 13 CAA teams and breaks down each team’s outlook for the rest of the season.
The Bottom Feeders
Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, Towson, Hampton and NC A&T make up this category, as the group has a combined one win across 17 games played.
That one win is a 45-0 victory against a non-Division I opponent as Hampton beat National Christian College Athletic Association member Virginia University of Lynchburg.
It may feel unfair to group UNH and Sacred Heart with the other three teams, especially since the Pioneers have lost by a total of seven points in their first two CAA games, but until each team picks up its first win, they will reside here. Luckily, one won’t have to wait long as UNH and Sacred Heart face off on Saturday at noon.
Mid But Always On Trap Game Watch
This group contains Maine, Elon, Bryant and UAlbany.
Maine’s season looked doomed from the start after barely scraping by Towson, 21-18, on Aug. 28, and followed it up with two losses to Appalachian State University and Merrimack College. Last week’s close 22-16 loss against Boston College could give the Black Bears momentum headed into the rest of their matchups, all against CAA opponents.
Elon picked up its first CAA win of the season last Saturday, narrowly beating Sacred Heart 24-21 after losing 31-10 to URI on Sept. 12. The loss of second-year quarterback Brady Stober continues to affect the Phoenix, so his return may give Elon the jolt they need to shock the conference.
Bryant picked up its biggest win of the season with a 21-14 win over Princeton University on Saturday. The Bulldogs have already matched their conference and overall win total from last year, so by comparison this season looks to be a success. Bryant has a bye this week, but the Bulldogs look to continue improving their season when they host NC A&T on Oct. 3.
UAlbany sits atop the group after a 14-point win over UNH and an eight-point loss to Monmouth University. The program finished 2-10 last season, so, like Bryant, UAlbany is looking to build off an already successful season. The Great Danes have back-to-back non-conference games in the next two weeks before playing the rest of their CAA schedule.
Cream Of The Crop
This is where our top four teams, Stony Brook, No. 19 URI, Monmouth and No. 22 Campbell reside.
Stony Brook enters this tier after an absolutely dominant 56-24 win over then No. 8 URI on Saturday for the program’s first CAA win of the season. An offensive performance like that will have the Seawolves carrying some serious momentum heading into an in-state matchup with Fordham University this Saturday.
URI and Monmouth enter our first rankings tied after two very different results. Despite the blowout URI suffered, the expectation around Kingston is for the program to finish at the top of the conference and play in the FCS Playoffs. A harder challenge to complete without fifth-year quarterback Devin Farrell on the field for the foreseeable future.
Monmouth looks to be in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 after narrowly missing last year. With the Hawks already 2-0 in conference play and facing one of the easier schedules in the conference for the remainder of the season, expect them to be in the dogfight to the top of the standings at season’s end.
If you thought Bryant and UAlbany’s turnarounds were impressive, Campbell’s is on a whole other level.
After winning just two games last year, both in conference play, the Camels look like a brand new team with one of the conference’s best offenses. The team picked up some impressive non-conference wins over Eastern Tennessee State University and Western Carolina University, while also blowing out NC A&T, 42-14, last Saturday.
The Camels placed eighth in the conference’s preseason poll, but it seems possible they could finish first in the end.
