The CSN Way: Whew, 2007 -- Colonial Athletic Association

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The CSN Way: Whew, 2007
Charles Burton, CSN Columnist

The 2007 season began -- and ended -- with historic achievements. Conference by conference, here’s a look back at the “year that was” in FCS football. The champions, the games of the year, the highest moments, the biggest disappointments, the best players and the unsung heroes, the "what if's" and the peeks forward. Whew, 2007!

Colonial Athletic Association
Co-Champions: Massachusetts Minutemen and Richmond Spiders
Game of the Year: November 10th, Richmond 62, Delaware 56, 5 OTs.
Just your average five overtime game: Richmond quarterback Eric Ward dueling with Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco, Blue Hen runningback Omar Cuff (233 all-purpose yards, two touchdown) dueling with Spider runningback Tim Hightower (113 yards rushing, one touchdown), and backup runningback Josh Vaughn finally putting away the game-winning score. Did I mention that both these teams would ultimately end up in the FCS semifinals?
Highest Moment: Delaware vs. The Gateway.
It looked like Delaware – sent on the road to face the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked teams in the nation – would see their perfect record versus teams from the Gateway conference finally snapped. But after a 39-27 shocker at Northern Iowa and a hard-fought 20-17 victory versus Southern Illinois, Delaware found itself the surprise team in the FCS championship – and in the process kept its perfect record against the Gateway intact.
Biggest Disappointment: CAA Schedule-makers.
There were far too many dream CAA matchups that simply didn’t happen since the CAA is such a large conference – and as a result fans never got to see league matchups that they deserved to see. No quarterback duel between Delaware’s Joe Flacco and UMass’ Liam Coen? No runningback showdown between Hofstra’s Kareem Huggins and Richmond’s Tim Hightower?
Player of the Year: New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos.
Although Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco passed for over 300 yards seven times in fifteen games and passed over 400 yards twice, Santos did the same without nearly as impressive a supporting cast on offense. “Super Santos” almost singlehandedly willed his Wildcats to great victories over FBS Marshall, Delaware, and Hofstra – and nearly knocked off Northern Iowa in the first round of the playoffs.
Unsung Player of the Year: Hofstra runningback Kareem Huggins.
Had he not gotten injured in the 35-31 defeat against Villanova, we may have seen the Pride return to the playoffs. Instead, we have to think about what might have been after seeing him amass 957 rushing yards and nine touchdowns to go with 641 return yards and two touchdowns – in only seven full games and two partial games.
What If: Mickey Matthews hadn’t run the ball on 3rd-and-goal?
This year in the CAA featured so many “what if’s” – what if UMass had played Rhode Island on a sunny day? What if Kareem Huggins didn’t get hurt? But the biggest “what if” involves James Madison’s near-upset of Appalachian State in the first round of the playoffs. Had head coach Mickey Matthews simply lined up his field goal unit for the game-winning field goal in the closing seconds, we wouldn’t have been talking about the Mountaineers at all – the playoffs would be all about the Dukes’ monumental upset and how great quarterback Rodney Landers and safety Tony LeZotte are.
A Peek Towards 2008:
Get used to Richmond near the top of the CAA, featuring quarterback Eric Ward, super freshman Kevin Grayson, and runningback Josh Vaughn. Villanova also might be interesting with quarterback Antawn Young and a team that finished the year strong – including a 16-10 upset of Delaware. And don’t forget UMass with signalcaller Liam Coen returning.

READ MORE... http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89669

[bostonspider]

Nice, but Richmond and UMass were Co-Champs

[Cobblestone]

what if UMass had played Rhode Island on a sunny day?

weather is the great equalizer.

[Tubby Raymond]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, the 2nd string QB is the one that beat UD v UNH. Santos played a bit more than a quarter

Have you forgotten that UD beat JMU?

And let's not give nova too much credit, UD was already in the playoffs and the coaching staff was breaking down the Del State game tapes by then, the pressure to win was off.

I'm not saying I didn't hate losing to them but it wasn't a signal of how good or bad nova or UD was on that night.

Not making Flacco the player of the year just ruined your xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[GreatAppSt]

xxxxxxxxxxx smack xxxxxxxxxxx

[GannonFan]

[B][SIZE="5"]xxxxxxxxxxx smack xxxxxxxxxxx

You think Wofford's saying that too?? Or UNI? Or SIU? or EKU, or DSU, or Fordham? That's 5 conference champions and 2 of the top 4 seeds. And the 3 toughest teams (Wofford, UNI, and SIU) all lost at home to CAA teams. Yup, a down year for the CAA. xrolleyesx

[ur2k]

Is that player of the year award a lifetime achievement award for Santos? I think Joe Flacco, Omar Cuff and Tim Hightower all have a good arguement for that one.

[Tubby Raymond]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, the 2nd string QB is the one that beat UD v UNH. Santos played a bit more than a quarter

Have you forgotten that UD beat JMU?

And let's not give nova too much credit, UD was already in the playoffs and the coaching staff was breaking down the Del State game tapes by then, the pressure to win was off.

I'm not saying I didn't hate losing to them but it wasn't a signal of how good or bad nova or UD was on that night.

Not making Flacco the player of the year just ruined your xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Not sure how questioning the authors credibility is worthy of deletion but since you have the power to edit I guess you feel like you need to use it sometimes.xnonox xbowx

How much time will elapse until this is editted?xnonono2x

[Black Saturday]

The CSN Way: Whew, 2007
Charles Burton, CSN Columnist

The 2007 season began -- and ended -- with historic achievements. Conference by conference, here’s a look back at the “year that was” in FCS football. The champions, the games of the year, the highest moments, the biggest disappointments, the best players and the unsung heroes, the "what if's" and the peeks forward. Whew, 2007!

Colonial Athletic Association
Co-Champions: Massachusetts Minutemen and Richmond Spiders
Game of the Year: November 10th, Richmond 62, Delaware 56, 5 OTs.
Just your average five overtime game: Richmond quarterback Eric Ward dueling with Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco, Blue Hen runningback Omar Cuff (233 all-purpose yards, two touchdown) dueling with Spider runningback Tim Hightower (113 yards rushing, one touchdown), and backup runningback Josh Vaughn finally putting away the game-winning score. Did I mention that both these teams would ultimately end up in the FCS semifinals?
Highest Moment: Delaware vs. The Gateway.
It looked like Delaware – sent on the road to face the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked teams in the nation – would see their perfect record versus teams from the Gateway conference finally snapped. But after a 39-27 shocker at Northern Iowa and a hard-fought 20-17 victory versus Southern Illinois, Delaware found itself the surprise team in the FCS championship – and in the process kept its perfect record against the Gateway intact.
Biggest Disappointment: CAA Schedule-makers.
There were far too many dream CAA matchups that simply didn’t happen since the CAA is such a large conference – and as a result fans never got to see league matchups that they deserved to see. No quarterback duel between Delaware’s Joe Flacco and UMass’ Liam Coen? No runningback showdown between Hofstra’s Kareem Huggins and Richmond’s Tim Hightower?
Player of the Year: New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos.
Although Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco passed for over 300 yards seven times in fifteen games and passed over 400 yards twice, Santos did the same without nearly as impressive a supporting cast on offense. “Super Santos” almost singlehandedly willed his Wildcats to great victories over FBS Marshall, Delaware, and Hofstra – and nearly knocked off Northern Iowa in the first round of the playoffs.
Unsung Player of the Year: Hofstra runningback Kareem Huggins.
Had he not gotten injured in the 35-31 defeat against Villanova, we may have seen the Pride return to the playoffs. Instead, we have to think about what might have been after seeing him amass 957 rushing yards and nine touchdowns to go with 641 return yards and two touchdowns – in only seven full games and two partial games.
What If: Mickey Matthews hadn’t run the ball on 3rd-and-goal?
This year in the CAA featured so many “what if’s” – what if UMass had played Rhode Island on a sunny day? What if Kareem Huggins didn’t get hurt? But the biggest “what if” involves James Madison’s near-upset of Appalachian State in the first round of the playoffs. Had head coach Mickey Matthews simply lined up his field goal unit for the game-winning field goal in the closing seconds, we wouldn’t have been talking about the Mountaineers at all – the playoffs would be all about the Dukes’ monumental upset and how great quarterback Rodney Landers and safety Tony LeZotte are.
A Peek Towards 2008:
Get used to Richmond near the top of the CAA, featuring quarterback Eric Ward, super freshman Kevin Grayson, and runningback Josh Vaughn. Villanova also might be interesting with quarterback Antawn Young and a team that finished the year strong – including a 16-10 upset of Delaware. And don’t forget UMass with signalcaller Liam Coen returning.

READ MORE... http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89669




Highest Moment: Delaware vs. The Gateway.
It looked like Delaware – sent on the road to face the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked teams in the nation – would see their perfect record versus teams from the Gateway conference finally snapped. But after a 39-27 shocker at Northern Iowa and a hard-fought 20-17 victory versus Southern Illinois, Delaware found itself the surprise team in the FCS championship – and in the process kept its perfect record against the Gateway intact.


No mention in the SoCon section about APP vs. the CAA? Why?xconfusedx

[mcveyrl]

Highest Moment: Delaware vs. The Gateway.
It looked like Delaware – sent on the road to face the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked teams in the nation – would see their perfect record versus teams from the Gateway conference finally snapped. But after a 39-27 shocker at Northern Iowa and a hard-fought 20-17 victory versus Southern Illinois, Delaware found itself the surprise team in the FCS championship – and in the process kept its perfect record against the Gateway intact.


No mention in the SoCon section about APP vs. the CAA? Why?xconfusedx

There are actually multiple reasons...

First, ASU was at home for those games and favored and none of the teams were seeded, so not as much of an accomplishment. Second, there is a mention of them beating JMU and Delaware. Third, and probably most importantly, if beating the CAA is the highpoint of the year, then that means the threepeat can't be the highest point.

As an ASU fan, which was a higher point to you? Did you say, "Yes, we just beat three of the CAA's top teams"? Or were you more excited about the threepeat?

[Black Saturday]

There are actually multiple reasons...

First, ASU was at home for those games and favored and none of the teams were seeded, so not as much of an accomplishment. Second, there is a mention of them beating JMU and Delaware. Third, and probably most importantly, if beating the CAA is the highpoint of the year, then that means the threepeat can't be the highest point.

As an ASU fan, which was a higher point to you? Did you say, "Yes, we just beat three of the CAA's top teams"? Or were you more excited about the threepeat?

The high points of the season for me were beating Michigan and winning the National Championship for obvious reasons.

I didn't mean those group of games were high point(S) of the season. After reading AGS and CSN all season, along with MM nearly figuring out APP, and by Richmond (Hightower) beating Wofford, and Delaware (Cuff and Flacco) running and passing over everyone, I was thinking the CAA teams from according to the CSN "the best and deepest conference" with 5 teams in the playoffs should have been more of a challenge. Wouldn't you?

Anyway, in a span of span of 15 months APP is 5-0 vs. the CAA. No mention of that.

The JMU game will be a tough one in Harrisonburg next September. Looking forward to that!

[GannonFan]

The high points of the season for me were beating Michigan and winning the National Championship for obvious reasons.

I didn't mean those group of games were high point(S) of the season. After reading AGS and CSN all season, along with MM nearly figuring out APP, and by Richmond (Hightower) beating Wofford, and Delaware (Cuff and Flacco) running and passing over everyone, I was thinking the CAA teams from according to the CSN "the best and deepest conference" with 5 teams in the playoffs should have been more of a challenge. Wouldn't you?

Anyway, in a span of span of 15 months APP is 5-0 vs. the CAA. No mention of that.
The JMU game will be a tough one in Harrisonburg next September. Looking forward to that!

More of a challenge? Are you trying to move this thread to the smack board?

The only game of those 5 that wasn't close was the UD game this year, and MEAC refs giving 11 points to Appy St in the first half aided that a bit. You beat JMU by 11 points in the regular season last year, UMass by the same amount in the '06 title game, were tied with Richmond late in the 3rd quarter this year, and were a coaching mistake away from losing to JMU this year. And all five of those games were at home or at a nearly home neutral field. Let's not pretend that Appy St blew all 5 of those opponents out. And again, why would the season write-up on the CAA have to be about trumpeting Appy St? Geesh. xrolleyesx

[AshevilleApp2]

More of a challenge? Are you trying to move this thread to the smack board?

The only game of those 5 that wasn't close was the UD game this year, and MEAC refs giving 11 points to Appy St in the first half aided that a bit. You beat JMU by 11 points in the regular season last year, UMass by the same amount in the '06 title game, were tied with Richmond late in the 3rd quarter this year, and were a coaching mistake away from losing to JMU this year. And all five of those games were at home or at a nearly home neutral field. Let's not pretend that Appy St blew all 5 of those opponents out. And again, why would the season write-up on the CAA have to be about trumpeting Appy St? Geesh. xrolleyesx

Have to agree with you there. This is about the CAA, and congratulations on a great season for the conference. Five teams in the playoffs and two of the final four teams speaks volumes. And as much as a SoCon homer as I am, two of our teams (GSU and Elon) shot themselves in the foot as far as making the playoffs by losing late in the season. If either one manages a win, we probably have three playoff teams and less whining from our conference.

[Appinator]

More of a challenge? Are you trying to move this thread to the smack board?

The only game of those 5 that wasn't close was the UD game this year, and MEAC refs giving 11 points to Appy St in the first half aided that a bit. You beat JMU by 11 points in the regular season last year, UMass by the same amount in the '06 title game, were tied with Richmond late in the 3rd quarter this year, and were a coaching mistake away from losing to JMU this year. And all five of those games were at home or at a nearly home neutral field. Let's not pretend that Appy St blew all 5 of those opponents out. And again, why would the season write-up on the CAA have to be about trumpeting Appy St? Geesh. xrolleyesx

Come on THREE times? No App person likes to be called that....

Anyways, back to the CAA. Who will replace Santos at UNH? Did you guys have some one waiting in the wings?

And what about UD and Flacco? Are you guys promoting from within or trying to recruit a replacement?

Congrats to the CAA and a great year.

[GannonFan]

Come on THREE times? No App person likes to be called that....

Anyways, back to the CAA. Who will replace Santos at UNH? Did you guys have some one waiting in the wings?

And what about UD and Flacco? Are you guys promoting from within or trying to recruit a replacement?

Congrats to the CAA and a great year.

Hey, I've never used Appy in a deragatory manner - it's how I've always referred to them and it just types easier that way. Feel free to call Delaware something like Delly if you want - it's all good! :D

As for UNH, they have a highly touted young kid named RJ Toman who'll take over the QB reins and he looks pretty good. Plus, that system has been real good to QB's so while Santos was great, I wouldn't expect too much of a dropoff. And UNH was young this year and next year, due to the CAA scheduling quirk, they don't play JMU, Richmond, or Delaware (they get nova, W&M, and Towson from the South). I think they're a lock for the playoffs, especially with UMass getting hit with graduations.

As for UD, right now where we go with QB is uncertain. A transfer is probably likely (and there's rumors of maybe Devlin leaving Penn St) and Keeler's gone 6 straight years with a transfer at QB (6 good to great years too so it's not been bad) but there's always the potential that that string will be broken - two guys in house could be intriguing possibilities so we'll see over the next month (Delaware's spring semester starts almost a month later than most schools - there's a 6 week winter session - so if there's to be a transfer he'd probably be in before the semester starts so that he can make Spring practice). Flacco's the biggest piece to replace, so if a QB is found, Delaware should be in for a good 2008 season.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

As for UNH, they have a highly touted young kid named RJ Toman who'll take over the QB reins and he looks pretty good. Plus, that system has been real good to QB's so while Santos was great, I wouldn't expect too much of a dropoff. And UNH was young this year and next year, due to the CAA scheduling quirk, they don't play JMU, Richmond, or Delaware (they get nova, W&M, and Towson from the South). I think they're a lock for the playoffs, especially with UMass getting hit with graduations.


Good call GF! RJ Toman came off the bench, as you too well know, to lead the Wildcats to their win over Delaware. IIRC, he finished off the drive for the 2nd TD and then led UNH to three more and the 35-10 lead they built.

RJ is from Mission Viejo, CA and played in HS behind Mark Sanchez of USC (SoCal). As I've been told, he really only got significant playing time his senior year in HS as a result. Nobody at UNH is expecting him to "replace" Ricky Santos, but as GF states, with the system used at UNH, we're all expecting him to do well. He also has a lot of returning players at the skill positions -- Kackert at RB, Sicko at TE, Wright and Boyle at WR. The biggest questions on the OL are replacing the center and building some depth. UNH should be able to put five guys with experience out on the line.

While on paper the CAA South cycle appears favorable for UNH, one must remember that W&M becomes the second coming of the Green Bay Packers whenever they see the Wildcats. :p :p :p And the Battle of the CAA Wildcats is on the Main Line in 2008. Add in UMass and Northeastern having UNH's number the past two years. I'm not ready to write UNH in as a playoff lock yet by any means. But I'm very glad that there is so much to look forward to next season!! xnodx

[phillyAPP]

More of a challenge? Are you trying to move this thread to the smack board?

The only game of those 5 that wasn't close was the UD game this year, and MEAC refs giving 11 points to Appy St in the first half aided that a bit. You beat JMU by 11 points in the regular season last year, UMass by the same amount in the '06 title game, were tied with Richmond late in the 3rd quarter this year, and were a coaching mistake away from losing to JMU this year. And all five of those games were at home or at a nearly home neutral field. Let's not pretend that Appy St blew all 5 of those opponents out. And again, why would the season write-up on the CAA have to be about trumpeting Appy St? Geesh. xrolleyesx


I like the GEESH xrolleyesx !!!!!

Good retort. I agree.