CAA Week 2

[jmu_duke07]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan St.

[93henfan]

I say all those predictions are plausible.

I'd also say that Richmond might give UVa all they can handle and I don't really know enough about Fordham, but I would think that they could hang with URI.

[danefan]

From a non-CAA guy:

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan St.

[89Hen]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan State

Although I'd love to see all CAA teams win, I think UNH's run of I-A dominance will come to an end and URI without Casey loses a close one to Fordham.

[WrenFGun]

I'll reserve comment on the UNH game except to say that UNH should be the underdogs in this one. I see so many people expecting UNH to win that it makes me uncomfortable.

I don't know if it'll happen, but I think there is a very real chance that UMass falls to HC today. Their early season issues season's past combined with the quality of HC makes me think an upset is possible. I also think Richmond and W&M should give good efforts against their FBS foes, and could pull off upsets. I'd be disappointed if one of UNH, W&M or Richmond didn't pull the upset.

[JMU DUUUKES]

I still think Richmond will cover a spread of less than 21. They haven't posted a line for it yet, but thats my guess.

[jmu_duke07]

If the spread of that game is 21 points then I'm calling my bookey...

[crusader11]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan St.

[appfan2008]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan St.

[Cobblestone]

We (with Stowers on less) almost beat Army last season. I think UNH will take this one. Chalk one up for the FCS this Saturday. xthumbsupx

[danefan]

We (with Stowers on less) almost beat Army last season. I think UNH will take this one. Chalk one up for the FCS this Saturday. xthumbsupx

That's exactly what I'm basing my UNH over Army prediction on. Plus I saw the Army-Temple game and Army looked slow and out of touch with the offense. The team they have was not recruited to run the option. Its going to take them a few years to get it straight.

[GeeWiz]

I posted this on caazone.com ...

UMass 27 Holy Cross 17 - This will be a close contest throughout, but take UMass at home
UNH 35 Army 31 - RJ Toman is no Santos, but he's a solid QB who will help guide UNH to a close win
Maine 34 Monmouth 24 - Dirty Cubs make the trek to NJ and with the running of Fluellen pull away from the Hawks
Richmond 31 Virginia 27 - I think the Cavs are still shell shocked from the USC ass-whipping as the Spiders come from behind to win
Fordham 28 URI 20 - The battle of the Rams goes to the one from the Bronx
JMU 41 NC Central 14 - Dukes rebound from disappointing loss to whip up on a MEAC team
NC State 37 W&M 28 - Tribe will score points but I'm not sure the defense is quite up to par to slow down the Wolfpack
Towson 34 Morgan St. 20 - Sean Schaefer has a big day in the Tigers home opener

[BDKJMU]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan St.

W&M over NC State....xeekx xlolx xwhistlex

[BDKJMU]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan State

Although I'd love to see all CAA teams win, I think UNH's run of I-A dominance will come to an end and URI without Casey loses a close one to Fordham.

I'm in agreement here. UNH won't make it 4 in a row over I-As and Fordham is the pick to win the Patriot:
UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan State

[BDKJMU]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan State

[aust42]

UMass 35 Holy Cross 10
UNH 27 Army 7
Maine 17 Monmouth 20
Richmond 20 Virginia 17
Fordham 13 URI 17
JMU 38 NC Central 20
NC State 35 W&M 21
Towson 20 Morgan St 13

[UDBlueLotFan]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan State

[LehighFan11]

UMass Holy Cross
UNH Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan State

[WrenFGun]

UNH by 20!? Yikes. I'm cautiously optimistic, but this is UNH's first year without Santos against FCS. Who knows how Toman will react.

[rcny46]

I think you're right about R.J. Toman being somewhat of an unknown quantity.I think the same could be said about the defense,so I'm not sure about holding Army to just 7 points even though their O was out of sync against Temple last week.BTW,you seem to have a handle on what is going on with UNH,and I was wondering if Droesch and Elwell are expected to be 100% Saturday.I think Sicko and Young were dealing with injury issues as well recently,so I hope they'll all be up to par.I know you mentioned in a post yesterday that everyone except T.J.Taylor was likely to be ready.

[WrenFGun]

I read an article a few days ago that suggested both Droesch and Elwell would go, and that the only one in doubt was TJ Taylor, who was quoted as being 50-50 to play. Taylor would be a big help, as he's in that key NT rotation.

[UMass922]

JMU 41 NC Central 14 - Dukes rebound from disappointing loss to whip up on a MEAC team

NC Central is an independent, not a MEAC team.

[jstclmet]

Of the 10 games last week, I was 8 - 1 with 1 Abstain. But last week was kind'a a gimme, and this week is only marginally tougher.

Staying with my forecasted pics;

JMU 31 vs NCCU 13
Maine 24 @ Monmouth 21
UMass 35 @ Holy Cross 17
UNH 17 @ Army 20
URI 17 @ Fordham 24
Richmond 14 @ UVA 28.
I was happily wrong about UR last week, I'd be even happier if I'm wrong this week.
Towson 28 vs Morgan St. 14
W&M 10 @ NC State 23

Good luck

[Col Hogan]

I posted this on caazone.com ...

UMass 27 Holy Cross 17 - This will be a close contest throughout, but take UMass at home
UNH 35 Army 31 - RJ Toman is no Santos, but he's a solid QB who will help guide UNH to a close win
Maine 34 Monmouth 24 - Dirty Cubs make the trek to NJ and with the running of Fluellen pull away from the Hawks
Richmond 31 Virginia 27 - I think the Cavs are still shell shocked from the USC ass-whipping as the Spiders come from behind to win
Fordham 28 URI 20 - The battle of the Rams goes to the one from the Bronx
JMU 41 NC Central 14 - Dukes rebound from disappointing loss to whip up on a MEAC team
NC State 37 W&M 28 - Tribe will score points but I'm not sure the defense is quite up to par to slow down the Wolfpack
Towson 34 Morgan St. 20 - Sean Schaefer has a big day in the Tigers home opener

UMass is on the road this week at Holy Cross...I still think you got the pick right though...xpeacex

[Old Cage]

The weather forecast suggests that the scores could be much lower. Last year for our game at at URI a total of 18 points were scored on that field on the day the remnants of a hurricane came through, including three safeties.

[JmuSkinsfan]

UMass 35 Holy Cross 17
UNH 31 Army 35
Maine 24 Monmouth 13
Richmond 10 Virginia 31
Fordham 28 URI 24
JMU 45 NC Central 14
NC State 31 W&M 17
Towson 42 Morgan St. 20

[GannonFan]

Here's my picks:

Holy Cross 24 UMass 21: I've got no faith in UMass and I think they finally get bit this week. Holy Cross is an odd Patriot League team in that they aren't that bad. UMass will still struggle on offense and isn't the defensive force they have been previously. Besides, they could be caught looking ahead to their CAA opener the following week. Game being in Worcester is the final straw.

UNH 35 Army 21: I'm on record as saying as good as Santos was, I think it's the system which is working up in Durham. Toman comes in and is actually a pretty solid looking QB - I don't think they are going to miss Santos too much. Army just isn't that good, as evidence of the throttling they took last week from Temple. I'm not sure this is even an upset.

Maine 35 Momnouth 14: Monmouth put a scare into Rhode Island last week, but Maine is several steps up from Rhode Island (no matter what Cosgrove thinks).

Richmond 31 Virginia 24: Richmond looked dominant in easily dispatching an Elon team that will beat a lot of teams in the SoCon this year. UVA may or may not have been on the field for the debacle against USC - replays are inconclusive. I think Richmond is not only the best team in the CAA, and the most complete one, but maybe even in the whole FCS. I'm going with the hungry and talented team in this one - go with the Spiders.

Fordham 28 URI 17: URI's struggle against a so-so Monmouth team last week isn't a good sign - apparently the new unis aren't that much of a difference. Fordham still has pieces back from last year's playoff team and they should find the going pretty easy against a Ram team that's probably a generation away from being good.

JMU 45 North Carolina Central 10: JMU losing last week to FBS Duke wasn't shocking, but the way they lost was. There's never a good time to be trampled by Duke. Landers didn't do anything to quell the rumors that he's not much of a passer outside of the flanker screen, and the JMU defense didn't look like they are capable of winning on their own. However, all of that will mean little as they tee it up against a North Carolina Central team that struggles to beat the basement in the basement of all conferences, the MEAC. The definition of a layup game.

NC State 42 William and Mary 21: W&M gets the '08 campaign started with a trip to Raleigh and while Phillips could very well be the best QB in the conference, he has little to work with. W&M's defense will still be a problem this year and NC State will be smarting from that disaster last week against South Carolina.

Towson 35 Morgan St 31: Towson never seems to have an easy time with cross-city rival Morgan St, and I don't see this year being any different. Towson will get their points, but their defense will just drag them down this year. Schaefer has a big day, but will need all of it to hold off a tough test.

[Nebuta]

Umass, UNH, Maine, Richmond upsets, Ford, JMU, NCSt., Towson

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

UNH 28 Army 7 - Even without Santos, UNH should be the favorite
PWN EM xflamemadx
Maine 24 Monmouth 3
URI 27 Fordham 24
JMU 37 NC Central 19
NC State 31 W&M 10
Towson 21 Morgan State 0


Richmond 34 Virginia 31 - I'm not convinced that USC is a legit #1 and I am not convinced UVA is a good BCS team this year. I want a win here not only to validate my fellow SoCon team Elon, but to possibly put a damper in the Pac-10 lovefest in the media. PWN EM xflamemadxxflamemadxxflamemadxxflamemadxxflamemadx xflamemadxxflamemadx

[seahawkfan2007]

Week 2 Picks:
U. Mass 34 Holy Cross 20
Army 31 UNH 17
Maine 27 Monmouth 14
Virginia 30 Richmond 13
Fordham 28 URI 13
JMU 42 NC Central 7
NC State 24 William&Mary 14
Towson 45 Morgan St. 13

[BDKJMU]

UNH 35 Army 21: I'm on record as saying as good as Santos was, I think it's the system which is working up in Durham. Toman comes in and is actually a pretty solid looking QB - I don't think they are going to miss Santos too much. Army just isn't that good, as evidence of the throttling they took last week from Temple. I'm not sure this is even an upset.


Regarding Temple, they're not the same Temple team of old. Yeah the last 4 seasons they went 1-11, 2-9, 0-11, 1-11, 4-8. But each of the last 2 seasons they played the most freshman in the nation. This season they have 21 of 22 starters returning from their 4-8 team (went 4-3 their last 7 games). Al Golden has finally gotten that program turned around and has built a winner (well, good enough to be a winner in the MAC). Temple will likely have a winning season this year. Yes, unbelievable as it sounds. So Army losing to them 35-7 doesn't mean that Army is that horrendous like it would have meant in years past anyone losing to Temple by that much. Me thinks Army will beat UNH in a close one.

[Hoyadestroya85]

I predict villanova won't win

[EmeryZach]

The UMass vs Holy Cross game will tell us whether or not the poor play by UMass last week was a fluke.

[KAUMASS]

UMass Holy Cross
Army
Maine Monmouth
Richmond Virginia
Fordham URI
JMU NC Central
NC State W&M
Towson Morgan St.


UMass-Holy Cross: UMass by 5. Rain game. Umass has a stronger running game. Rain/wind will shut down passing of Coen & Randolph. UMass has expeirence in heavy wind/rain from last year's loss at URI. UMass brings out their big 6-3-245 backup running back behind their 6'6", 305 avg O-line to control this game. IF HC sneaks up 8-9 in the box, Coen may sneak some passes in the rain.

UNH-Army: Army by 5. Rain game. Army rushed for 230 yards against Temple. Temple is a decent team this year. Punishing runningback for Army. Rain hurts UNH's passing game. Big test for UNH run defense.

Maine-Monmouth: Maine by 3. Rain game. Maine's running game had some life against Iowa. Monmouth played Maine tough last year and had URI on the ropes in the first game of this year. Game is at Monmouth

Fordham-URI: Forham by 3. Basing this pick on last year's Fordham team. If they have the same calibur club. URI lost All American Casey in Monmouth game. Game at Fordham. Not sure who the rain favors here.

JMU-NC Central. JMU by 14. JMU sloppy at Duke and tends to play down to lower level teams(Bloomsburg). If JMU fires on all cylinders, blowout. If they play sloppy and in rainy conditions, could be closer than people think.

Richmond-Virginia: Virginia by 10 at home. I like Richmond as a team. How bad can a ACC team be? Is USC that good or is Virginia at the bottom of the ACC? It is still a big task to take down an ACC school at home, even if it is the worst ACC team. Richmond looked good in their opener and I would'nt be surprised to see pull a close win here. Conditions uncertain with the weather.

NC State-W&M: NC State by 17. W&M hangs around the first quarter, but get's banged around after that. NC State had a good first half against South Carolina, then got blown out. Basing this on W&M last year's team. If W&M has one of their stronger teams like they do every 5 or so years, could be a closer game. Weather?

Towson-Morgan St: Towson by 7. Morgan State does not fare well against CAA teams. Towson was spurty against Navy, should win here. Weather?

Good luck to all teams, especially any CAA teams I picked against..

[KAUMASS]

The UMass vs Holy Cross game will tell us whether or not the poor play by UMass last week was a fluke.


Poor play in the first quarter. The last 3 quarters was a decent effort against a good Albany team. We can't gauge Albany yet, but they will play Hofstra, UNH and Delaware. We'll get an idea about Albany later on, but by then we will know what UM has after HC, JMU and TTech. I would not be surprised to see Albany knock off Hofstra or UNH.

[andy7171]

Hannah is supposed to be rolling through the Mid-Atlantic Saturday. Towson might keep it on the ground and try to prove to themselves they can run the ball. 6pm kickoff. Looking like a wet one.

[GannonFan]

Regarding Temple, they're not the same Temple team of old. Yeah the last 4 seasons they went 1-11, 2-9, 0-11, 1-11, 4-8. But each of the last 2 seasons they played the most freshman in the nation. This season they have 21 of 22 starters returning from their 4-8 team (went 4-3 their last 7 games). Al Golden has finally gotten that program turned around and has built a winner (well, good enough to be a winner in the MAC). Temple will likely have a winning season this year. Yes, unbelievable as it sounds. So Army losing to them 35-7 doesn't mean that Army is that horrendous like it would have meant in years past anyone losing to Temple by that much. Me thinks Army will beat UNH in a close one.

I too, live in the area, and no, I don't think Temple is legit. I bolded the part that is important - they are now playing MAC teams. Since the MAC was historically weak last year, it's not surprising that Temple was a mid-level team in that conference. Temple still blows. And Army blows even more.