2011 CAA

[TwoFeathers]

I think there is going to be a lot of change this year in the CAA, with Villanova and Delaware taking a step back. I see both Richmond and JMU improving this year. But good enough to take a lead in the CAA? And ODU actually looks promising. The Tribe is getting a lot of attention this year, but we lost our Defensive Coordinator who basically built the dominating defense of the last two years. Wondering how everyone else sees the CAA stacking up this year?

[VBR_Productions]

As long as their defense stays relatively healthy, I see W&M winning the regular season. Similarly, if James Madion's defense can produce like they did last year but get just a little more offensive production, they'll be back in the playoffs. It's hard to speak poorly of the reigning national runners-up, and their rising-sophomore RB will be just fine in helping to replace Devlin. New Hampshire's defense keeps them in the mix, and Richmond will surprise teams.

I saw Devlin once in person but he made great decisions with the ball. I don't doubt Delaware's overall talent but they will have to replace a pretty good signal-caller, but they've got the overall talent to overcome losing him.

If ODU wins two conference games or more, I'll be ecstatic.

[jmufan999]

VBR, good post... i'd add that URI will be considerably better than most people think and i also believe ODU will have a winning record overall.

[DFW HOYA]

It's been almost ten years since Towson joined. What holds them back from moving up into that middle tier?

[Mattymc727]

I think it will be the same as every year. Del, W&M, JMU, UNH, Nova, Richmond will all compete for top spots. URI is definitely a dark horse. I see Nova being better than people think, I just think their depth from past recruiting is terrific. Iterestingly enough, I dont see too much out of Umass even though they move up. I think the only guarantee in this conference is that Towson is at the bottom, who knows who ends up at the top. Hopefully its UNH's turn for the NC.

[GannonFan]

Eh, Delaware returns 4/5ths of the best OL in the CAA and the league's leading RB from last year. Impact transfers (Hawkins from MD) to fill the gaps in the defensive secondary as well. And the kid replacing Devlin has already won on the road against JMU's vaunted D, leading two late scoring drives to key the win. It's not going to be a bad year in Newark - just another playoff year.

[Tribe4SF]

It's been almost ten years since Towson joined. What holds them back from moving up into that middle tier?

They just haven't been able to win enough recruiting battles, particularly in-state. W&M, UD and JMU all pull really good players out of Maryland, and when those three schools go head to head with Towson they always seem to win out. ODU now works the state as well. Their attendance has improved...they've got nice enough facilities, and a coach who seems to have it together, but they haven't pulled enough good athletes to make the jump. Not sure what they need to do, but it's tough to improve in the CAA when you're only beating out NEC and Big South for recruits.

[TwoFeathers]

As long as their defense stays relatively healthy, I see W&M winning the regular season. Similarly, if James Madion's defense can produce like they did last year but get just a little more offensive production, they'll be back in the playoffs. It's hard to speak poorly of the reigning national runners-up, and their rising-sophomore RB will be just fine in helping to replace Devlin. New Hampshire's defense keeps them in the mix, and Richmond will surprise teams.

I saw Devlin once in person but he made great decisions with the ball. I don't doubt Delaware's overall talent but they will have to replace a pretty good signal-caller, but they've got the overall talent to overcome losing him.

If ODU wins two conference games or more, I'll be ecstatic.

W&M at ODU last year was closer than I expected (21-17), and the Tribe was trailing at halftime. And that QB was on the Peyton Watch List.

[TwoFeathers]

It's been almost ten years since Towson joined. What holds them back from moving up into that middle tier?

Don't know much about them, but coaching and recruiting, right? They have to make those investments for the program to improve.

[VBR_Productions]

W&M at ODU last year was closer than I expected (21-17), and the Tribe was trailing at halftime. And that QB was on the Peyton Watch List.

That game was also our third of the season, before we had injuries hit. We play eleven straight games this season and our "bye" week is simply not playing that last weekend with the rest of the conference. I don't doubt our starting talent or players at the skill positions, but we have unproven depth. Who knows how the bench will respond when called upon? That's why I have low expectations. We need another couple years of recruiting to get up to CAA-level depth.

[Tuscon]

That game was also our third of the season, before we had injuries hit. We play eleven straight games this season and our "bye" week is simply not playing that last weekend with the rest of the conference. I don't doubt our starting talent or players at the skill positions, but we have unproven depth. Who knows how the bench will respond when called upon? That's why I have low expectations. We need another couple years of recruiting to get up to CAA-level depth.

Well we're counting on ODU to do well in conference this season so we can see how GSU will stack up against the rest of you guys in 2012.