CAA Football Recap – Nov. 23

Richmond 27, William & Mary 0

Box Score

Richmond (10-2, 8-0 CAA) became the first undefeated CAA champion in a full season since 2019 after defeating William & Mary, 27-0, to claim the Capital Cup. The Spiders, who held the Tribe (7-5, 4-4 CAA) to 164 total yards in posting the shutout, increased their winning streak to 10 with the victory.

After taking a 3-0 lead on a 50-yard field goal from Sean O’Haire, Richmond got scoring runs of 3 and 1 yard from quarterback Cam Coleman to take a 17-0 halftime advantage. The Spiders, who controlled the ball for nearly 36 minutes, used 16 and 13-play drives to put the game away as O’Haire added a 30-yard field goal and Zach Palmer-Smith had a 1-yard TD run with 5:54 to go. Palmer-Smith finished with 129 yards rushing, while Coleman had 73 yards rushing and 69 yards passing. Quantraill Morris-Walker led the defensive effort with 11 tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and a sack. For W&M, Hollis Mathis made six catches for 50 yards and became just the second player in college football history with 1,000 yards passing, rushing and receiving in a career.

Rhode Island 35, Bryant 21

Box Score

Malik Grant rushed for a career-high 204 yards and three touchdowns as Rhode Island (10-2, 7-1 CAA) earned a share of its first CAA championship since 1985 with a 35-21 triumph over Bryant (2-10, 0-8 CAA). The Rams were awarded a CAA title since their only conference setback was to a Delaware team transitioning to the FBS level.

URI went up early on a pair of Ty Groff field goals, but Bryant rallied for a 14-13 halftime advantage on an 11-yard Drew Montez TD catch and a 50-yard scoring run from Dylan Kedzior. A 4-yard TD catch by Grant on the Rams’ opening drive of the second half put URI on top for good and he added a 1-yard scoring run to make it 28-14 midway through the third quarter. Bryant pulled within seven on a 14-yard TD pass from Brennan Myer to Landon Ruggieri with 11:05 to go, but URI put together a 75-yard drive capped by Grant’s 2-yard TD run with 2:45 left to seal the victory. Hunter Helms passed for 209 yards and a TD for URI. For Bryant, Myer threw for 189 yards and 2 TD’s, with Ruggieri making 8 catches for 105 yards and his nation’s best 15^th TD.

UNH 27, Maine 9

Box Score

New Hampshire (8-4, 6-2 CAA) overcame an early 9-0 deficit and beat Maine (5-7, 3-5), 27-9, to keep the Brice-Cowell Musket. The Wildcats’ defense held the Black Bears to 198 yards as Ryan Toscano made 11 tackles and Flex Ruiz added 3.0 TFL’s and a sack.

A 39-yard Joey Bryson field goal and an 8-yard TD grab by Montigo Moss that was set up by a Devin Vaught interception put Maine ahead early. UNH finally broke through with Denzell Gibson’s 1-yard TD run just before halftime and then grabbed a 14-9 lead on Caleb Mead’s 57-yard scoring run on the opening play of the second half. The Wildcats extended their margin on field goals of 21 and 22 yards by Nick Mazzie, and then put the game away on Seth Morgan’s 7-yard TD run after a fourth-down stop by the defense. Mead finished with 113 rushing yards on 19 carries. Maine quarterback Carter Peevy passed for 168 yards with Moss making five grabs for 50 yards. Christian Thomas had 12 tackles and 1.5 TFL’s for the Black Bears.

Monmouth 55, Stony Brook 47

Box Score

Derek Robertson passed for a school-record 536 yards and three touchdowns to lead Monmouth (6-6, 4-4 CAA) over Stony Brook (8-4, 5-3 CAA), 55-47. The 536 yards are the 8^th-most in CAA history and most since 2017.

In a game that featured 1,249 combined yards of offense, including 690 by Monmouth, the Hawks built a 42-30 halftime lead as Robertson threw TD passes of 3, 51 and 42 yards and Sone Ntoh added a pair of scoring runs. The Seawolves got scoring passes of 13 and 21 yards from Tyler Knoop and three Enda Kirby field goals in the first 30 minutes. Stony Brook used TD grabs of 17 and 23 yards from Dez Williams to pull within 49-44 heading into the fourth quarter, but a 40-yard TD pass from receiver Tra Neal to tight end Jack Neri with 3:07 to go proved to be the difference for Monmouth. TJ Speight had 7 catches for 151 yards for MU. Knoop finished with 408 yards and 3 TD’s passing, with Williams making 11 receptions for 134 yards.

Villanova 38, Delaware 28

Box Score

Brendan Bell made 11 tackles, had a 38-yard pick six and added a 6-yard TD run with 7:39 to play as Villanova (9-3, 6-2) beat Delaware (9-2, 6-2), 38-28, to capture the Battle of the Blue for the 16^th time in 18 years.

The Wildcats sprinted out to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter on a 1-yard David Avit TD run, Bell’s pick six and a 36-yard scoring grab by Kenyon Miles. A 14-yard TD run by Jojo Bermudez got Delaware on the board and Marcus Yarns contributed a 1-yard TD run and 65-yard TD catch in 41 seconds to tie the game at 21-21 at halftime. The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns before the Wildcats went back ahead, 31-28, on Ethan Gettman’s 31-yard field goal with 8:41 left. VU’s Shane Hartzell forced a fumble on the ensuing possession, setting up Bell’s 6-yard TD with 7:39 to go. Wildcats’ quarterback Connor Watkins threw for 203 yards and a TD and ran for 79 yards and a score. Yarns finished with 174 all-purpose yards and 2 TD’s and Nick Minicucci passed for 198 yards and 2 TD’s.

Elon 31, North Carolina A&T 21

Box Score

Chandler Brayboy made 12 receptions for 118 yards and a TD and Rushawn Baker added 106 yards on the ground as Elon (6-6, 5-3) topped North Carolina A&T (1-11, 0-8 CAA), 31-21, to end the season on a four-game winning streak.

Elon took a 7-0 lead on Jamarien Dalton’s 30-yard TD grab, but the Aggies answered with a 39-yard scoring run from Shamique Blizzard. The Phoenix would reel off the next 24 points as quarterback Matthew Downing scored on a 1-yard run and hit Brayboy with a 5-yard TD pass that made it 31-7 late in the third quarter. A&T cut into the deficit as Cortez Lane returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score and Justin Fomby threw a 2-yard TD pass to Daniel Coles. Downing passed for 203 yards and 2 TD’s, while Cazeem Moore had two sacks and a forced fumble for the Phoenix defense. For A&T, Fomby threw for 190 yards and a TD and Blizzard rushed for 97 yards. Henry Daniel had seven tackles, 3.5 TFL’s and 1.5 sacks.

UAlbany 41, Hampton 34

Box Score

UAlbany (4-8, 2-6 CAA) rallied from a 28-0 second-quarter deficit to get past Hampton (5-7, 2-6 CAA), 41-34. Alex Jreige ran for 110 yards and a TD for the Great Danes and Van Weber threw for 184 yards and 2 TD’s.

Hampton took advantage of a UAlbany fumble on the opening kickoff and a 39-yard interception return by Will Hicks to go ahead 14-0 on a pair of Tymere Robinson touchdown runs. Robinson would add scoring runs of 2 and 16 yards in the second quarter to make it 28-0. The Great Danes would begin their comeback as Weber threw TD passes to Carter Moses and Jackson Parker to pull within 28-17 heading into the fourth quarter. A 38-yard pick six by UA’s Nick Totten trimmed the deficit to three before Hampton stopped the run with a 25-yard TD run by Malcolm Mays. The Great Danes tied the contest at 34-34 on a 53-yard scoring burst from Jreige, and then took advantage of a Pirates fumble to set up a 2-yard TD run by Jojo Uga with 4:36 to go. Robinson finished with 80 yards and 4 TD’s on the ground for Hampton, while Michael Matthews-Canty had 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Ibrahim Sanogo had 3.5 TFL’s and a sack for the Great Danes.

Towson 45, Campbell 23

Box Score

Towson (7-5, 5-3 CAA) scored 21 points in a 1:10 span early in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 45-23 victory over Campbell (3-9, 1-7 CAA). Devin Matthews ran for 134 yards and a TD for the Tigers.

Matthews’ 54-yard scoring run gave Towson an early lead, but Connor Lytton’s third field goal put the Camels ahead 9-7 midway through the second quarter. The Tigers moved back ahead, 21-9, on a 3-yard TD run by Tyrell Greene, Jr. and a 45-yard scoring grab from Jaceon Doss, but a 1-yard run by Mark Biggins pulled Campbell within five midway through the third period. Early in the fourth quarter, Greene would add TD runs of 7 and 30 yards in a 24-second period, the second one set up by a Will Middleton interception. A fumble by CU on the ensuing kickoff led to a 10-yard TD run by Christopher Watkins that made it 42-16 with 11:45 left. Middleton had seven tackles for Towson, while Jalen Brooks made 13 tackles for the Camels.