GannonFan
November 13th, 2007, 11:29 AM
Rivalry week is here - the last week of the year sees some big rivalry games, and also includes a lot of playoff jockeying and trying to stay alive. You have to figure at this point that UMass and Richmond are certainly in, UD should be in now as well, and Hofstra and JMU are battling it out for the 4th team in and, depending on what happens nationally, even a 5th team (although it would take a lot of things to happen to make that happen). Here's my take:
New Hampshire 35 Maine 28 - The Santos era comes to an end, and while it won't end in the playoffs, it will end in front of what should be a very appreciative crowd in Durham. UNH didn't have enough defense this year, nor enough help for Santos, and received no favors from the schedule makers when they played the top 3 teams in the South, and probably that last item is what doomed UNH this year. Maine has found a little life with a new QB under center and the rumor has Cosgrove getting a multi-year extension (MJ must be thrilled) so I see Maine giving a good game and giving an even better send off for one of the CAA's all-time best QB's - a W in his final game.
Northeastern 35 Rhode Island 10 - Northeastern's Murray had a week off last week in the win over Hofstra - only 31 carries for the Huskie's workhorse must have felt like he was, pun intended, really dogging it. URI on the other hand, apparently decided the win over UMass in the hurricane was the end of the season and they didn't appear to even show up in Orono for the blanking the Black Bears put on them. URI is still hobbled by injuries, and there is no hurricane in the forecast this week. Northeastern is a solid team that can hang with any good team, and they will beat the bad ones. And URI certainly is the latter. Northeastern wins this one going away.
Richmond 42 William and Mary 24 - Richmond has really come into their own the past few weeks, going into Harrisonburg and beating JMU on thier homecoming, holding off a pesky nova team at home the week after that, and surviving a 5OT thriller in Newark to knock off the Hens. Along the way, they've found a great QB in Ward, a phenomenal rush offense that is more than just Hightower, and a good set of young receivers. Since Vaughan looks like a stud at RB, losing Hightower next year won't be enough to not make Richmond the conference favorite going into next year - just a stacked team. But this year isn't done yet, and W&M will be little more than a speed bump for the red-hot Spiders. There's always a chance of a letdown after such a big win, on the road no less, and this is one of those rivalry games where something weird could happen, but W&M just has no defense at all, especially against running teams. I think Richmond could score close to 60 in this game. Richmond wins and moves on to the playoffs.
UMass 24 Hofstra 10 - Perhaps the sleeping giant has awakened? After a stunning loss to URI in the hurricane a week before, UMass showed a lot of moxie and a great defense in just absolutely stymieing a UNH team that was playing for their playoff lives last week. It was the kind of performance you thought UMass should be capable of all year yet had never really done. Hofstra, on the other hand, had their playoff destiny in their hands but just couldn't do enough to overcome a decent Northeastern team in Parsons. This game's on the Island, and UMass has struggled there before, but I don't think Hofstra will be able to generate any offense. Without Huggins they are way too reliant on Savage, and I just don't think he's a very good QB. UMass's defense should feast on Hofstra all day and the Minuteman offense, never awe-inspiring, will do just enough to put some points on the board and secure UMass's trip to the playoffs, while ending Hofstra's season.
James Madison 28 Towson 14 - JMU rolled over a defenseless W&M team en route to a rout last week while Towson struggled at home in a tight loss to villanova. JMU is still playing for their playoff lives this week as a loss puts them out, and a win doesn't necessarily get them in, but barring some really weird things happening the Dukes should get in at 8-3 this year. Towson is a good defensive team and has a lot of speed, but they really struggled to stop villanova from running the ball last week. That doesn't bode well - JMU really struggles to pass the ball, but what they do do well is run, and I think they do a whole lot of that this weekend. Towson's offense has pretty much fallen apart recently and while JMU can be passed on, Towson's offensive line will not give Schaeffer enough time to do that - JMU should be all over him for most of the game. I think the score stays reasonable because I think JMU running 80-90% of the time should quicken the game, but JMU runs a similar offense to what nova did last week, except JMU does it a lot better. Not as close as the score will indicate.
Delaware 42 villanova 35 - In probably the most spirited rivalry in the conference, and certainly the most heated, UD finds itself potentially needing to win to make the playoffs. At 8-3 they could still have a very good shot, with big wins over JMU and Navy, but it's always better not to chance it when you can win and eliminate any doubt. nova is playing out the string, but with as much youth as they have they are playing out the string with a lot of zest. UD/nova has seen tons of close games with plenty of drama, and even now the all-time series is only 20-19-1 in favor of UD. Delaware's offense has been incredible this year, and Omar Cuff may very well be on the way to winning the Payton Award this year. Delaware will score points, there's no doubt of that. What is in doubt is how well UD's defense holds up, having struggled mightily over the past 3 weeks. nova is still being steered by a freshman QB and they don't throw a lot, and if nova gets too one-dimensional they might struggle to keep up in this game. Ultimately, I think UD has enough weapons on offense to keep nova at arm's length and the Hens pull out the game and will be at home in Newark to welcome Del St in the first round after Thanksgiving.
At the end of the day, I see Richmond, UMass, UD, and JMU all making the playoffs. Might be a tough road for all 4 teams as none will get a seed and most likely all will be on the road in the quarterfinals, assuming they get out of the first round. If the CAA wins the national title this year, they will have earned it.
New Hampshire 35 Maine 28 - The Santos era comes to an end, and while it won't end in the playoffs, it will end in front of what should be a very appreciative crowd in Durham. UNH didn't have enough defense this year, nor enough help for Santos, and received no favors from the schedule makers when they played the top 3 teams in the South, and probably that last item is what doomed UNH this year. Maine has found a little life with a new QB under center and the rumor has Cosgrove getting a multi-year extension (MJ must be thrilled) so I see Maine giving a good game and giving an even better send off for one of the CAA's all-time best QB's - a W in his final game.
Northeastern 35 Rhode Island 10 - Northeastern's Murray had a week off last week in the win over Hofstra - only 31 carries for the Huskie's workhorse must have felt like he was, pun intended, really dogging it. URI on the other hand, apparently decided the win over UMass in the hurricane was the end of the season and they didn't appear to even show up in Orono for the blanking the Black Bears put on them. URI is still hobbled by injuries, and there is no hurricane in the forecast this week. Northeastern is a solid team that can hang with any good team, and they will beat the bad ones. And URI certainly is the latter. Northeastern wins this one going away.
Richmond 42 William and Mary 24 - Richmond has really come into their own the past few weeks, going into Harrisonburg and beating JMU on thier homecoming, holding off a pesky nova team at home the week after that, and surviving a 5OT thriller in Newark to knock off the Hens. Along the way, they've found a great QB in Ward, a phenomenal rush offense that is more than just Hightower, and a good set of young receivers. Since Vaughan looks like a stud at RB, losing Hightower next year won't be enough to not make Richmond the conference favorite going into next year - just a stacked team. But this year isn't done yet, and W&M will be little more than a speed bump for the red-hot Spiders. There's always a chance of a letdown after such a big win, on the road no less, and this is one of those rivalry games where something weird could happen, but W&M just has no defense at all, especially against running teams. I think Richmond could score close to 60 in this game. Richmond wins and moves on to the playoffs.
UMass 24 Hofstra 10 - Perhaps the sleeping giant has awakened? After a stunning loss to URI in the hurricane a week before, UMass showed a lot of moxie and a great defense in just absolutely stymieing a UNH team that was playing for their playoff lives last week. It was the kind of performance you thought UMass should be capable of all year yet had never really done. Hofstra, on the other hand, had their playoff destiny in their hands but just couldn't do enough to overcome a decent Northeastern team in Parsons. This game's on the Island, and UMass has struggled there before, but I don't think Hofstra will be able to generate any offense. Without Huggins they are way too reliant on Savage, and I just don't think he's a very good QB. UMass's defense should feast on Hofstra all day and the Minuteman offense, never awe-inspiring, will do just enough to put some points on the board and secure UMass's trip to the playoffs, while ending Hofstra's season.
James Madison 28 Towson 14 - JMU rolled over a defenseless W&M team en route to a rout last week while Towson struggled at home in a tight loss to villanova. JMU is still playing for their playoff lives this week as a loss puts them out, and a win doesn't necessarily get them in, but barring some really weird things happening the Dukes should get in at 8-3 this year. Towson is a good defensive team and has a lot of speed, but they really struggled to stop villanova from running the ball last week. That doesn't bode well - JMU really struggles to pass the ball, but what they do do well is run, and I think they do a whole lot of that this weekend. Towson's offense has pretty much fallen apart recently and while JMU can be passed on, Towson's offensive line will not give Schaeffer enough time to do that - JMU should be all over him for most of the game. I think the score stays reasonable because I think JMU running 80-90% of the time should quicken the game, but JMU runs a similar offense to what nova did last week, except JMU does it a lot better. Not as close as the score will indicate.
Delaware 42 villanova 35 - In probably the most spirited rivalry in the conference, and certainly the most heated, UD finds itself potentially needing to win to make the playoffs. At 8-3 they could still have a very good shot, with big wins over JMU and Navy, but it's always better not to chance it when you can win and eliminate any doubt. nova is playing out the string, but with as much youth as they have they are playing out the string with a lot of zest. UD/nova has seen tons of close games with plenty of drama, and even now the all-time series is only 20-19-1 in favor of UD. Delaware's offense has been incredible this year, and Omar Cuff may very well be on the way to winning the Payton Award this year. Delaware will score points, there's no doubt of that. What is in doubt is how well UD's defense holds up, having struggled mightily over the past 3 weeks. nova is still being steered by a freshman QB and they don't throw a lot, and if nova gets too one-dimensional they might struggle to keep up in this game. Ultimately, I think UD has enough weapons on offense to keep nova at arm's length and the Hens pull out the game and will be at home in Newark to welcome Del St in the first round after Thanksgiving.
At the end of the day, I see Richmond, UMass, UD, and JMU all making the playoffs. Might be a tough road for all 4 teams as none will get a seed and most likely all will be on the road in the quarterfinals, assuming they get out of the first round. If the CAA wins the national title this year, they will have earned it.