Nov 23, 6:00 PM UTC
Hampton vs Ualbany
Nov 23, 6:00 PM UTC
Rhode Island vs Bryant
Nov 23, 6:00 PM UTC
Monmouth vs Stony Brook
Nov 23, 7:00 PM UTC
Towson vs Campbell

CAA Notebook: Statement-Making Wins In A Rain-Soaked Week 4

CAA Notebook: Statement-Making Wins In A Rain-Soaked Week 4

Heavy rains could not stop Villanova and Delaware, who brought downpours of their own in big conference wins to headline the CAA in Week 4.

Sep 25, 2023
CAA Notebook: Statement-Making Wins In A Rain-Soaked Week 4

A mea culpa is in order to kick off this edition of the CAA Notebook. Ahead of Week 4, a ranking of the one-loss teams around the Coastal Athletic Association had Villanova checking in at No. 5. 

The Wildcats proceeded to come out in their CAA opener against Rhode Island and play like conference championship contenders. 

null

The combination of CAA Defensive Player of the Week Brendan Bell setting the tone defensively and Connor Watkins making plays with his arm and legs powered Villanova to an emphatic, 35-9 win amid steady rain on the Main Line. 

Bell led the Wildcats with eight tackles, including two for loss and a sack, but the numbers alone fail to articulate just how active the linebacker was all day in slowing one of the Coastal's most prolific offenses. 

"Brendan Bell's been awesome," Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said, noting Bell stepping up with Shane Hartzell sidelined in Week 4. Hartzell had a team-leading 21 tackles with three quarterback hurries through the first three games. 

"The defense is predicated to try to have our linebackers hopefully get freed up to make those plays," Ferrante added. "Fortunately when those plays are there to be made, Brendan's doing a good job of making them." 

Rhode Island officially tallied just 60 yards, 2.1 per carry, thanks to Bell and Co. making those plays. On the flipside, Villanova's offense — playing without running back Jalen Jackson — racked up 287 rushing yards at a 6.7-per carry clip. 

Watkins, who made hay earlier on the season unloading the deep ball to wide receivers Rayjoun Pringle and Jaylan Sanchez, delivered a breakout ball-carrying performance. 

Ferrante chuckled when asked if the team-leading 113 rushing yards and hat trick of rushing touchdowns brought back memories of John Robertson, the 2014 Walter Payton Award-winning Villanova quarterback. 

"Connor's a little bigger than John, but not nearly as fast," Ferrante said. "But Connor did a great job getting those yards when they were there to get...and he's a tough runner. He's a physical guy, he's a good-sized guy. We don't want him to take a lot of unnecessary hits. We'd like him to maybe learn how to step out of bounds and not dive over piles. But he's a competitor, as well, so when he gets near the end zone, he's going to leave his feet if he has to, or put his shoulder down if he has to." 

Watkins didn't eschew the vertical passing game that has been the Villanova bread-and-butter initially in 2023, either. With All-CAA wide receiver Jaaron Hayek back in the lineup, the connection between Watkins and last year's Wildcat pass-catching leader showed no rust. 

Villanova rides the strength of its much-better-than-fifth performance into another CAA showdown in Week 5, visiting a UAlbany team eager to return home after a month on the road. 

Cardiac Danes 

The Great Danes' three-game odyssey wrapped with a dramatic win at Morgan State in double-overtime, 23-17. 

UAlbany is 2-0 against Football Championship Subdivision opponents, and with the Week 4 win, victorious in two straight one-score games against FCS competition dating back to last season's 23-21 defeat of Maine. Prior to beating the Black Bears last November on Julian Hicks' buzzer-beating touchdown reception from Reese Poffenbarger, the Great Danes dropped five straight one-score games. 

"It's been a crazy month for us with 13,000 miles of travel, and three away games, and night games, then add in a tropical storm, it felt like it fit the narrative," UAlbany coach Greg Gattuso said. "To come out of that game after what went on at the end, and to hold on and then win in overtime — and play really well in overtime, to be honest — it gives me hope that we've turned a corner on these close games and understand, you've always got to win one before you get on a little bit of a streak." 

While UAlbany has won its last two nail-biters against FCS teams, a 21-17 loss in Week 1 at still-undefeated Marshall could have marked a setback. Instead, the Great Danes rose to the challenge when Morgan State struck first, converting a third down before Poffenbarger's touchdown pass to Griffin Woodell. 

Then, Poffenbarger ran in what proved to be the go-ahead score when the Great Danes defense delivered a four-and-out. 

A Big Dub in the Tub

On what was an outstanding of thrilling games throughout college football, Delaware Stadium may have hosted the Game of the Week. 

The top 20 showdown between Delaware and New Hampshire, and reunion of former colleagues Ryan Carty and Rick Santos, offered just about anything a football fan could want: A big comeback, breathtaking plays in all three phases, and a white-knuckle finish that felt like it could have gone either team's way.

null

One sequence in particular saw an exchange of potential knockout haymakers that gave the impression 100 games between the Wildcats and Blue Hens could produce a 50-50 split: Delaware, which trailed 18-0 in the first half, scored its third consecutive touchdown to take the lead when Ryan O'Connor found Chandler Harvin for an eight-yard touchdown pass. 

On the ensuing kickoff, CAA Special Teams Player of the Week and national all-purpose yardage leader Dylan Laube did what he does and flipped the game in an instant, going 100 yards for the kickoff-return touchdown. UNH right back on top, 25-22. 

But then in a matter of six plays and 2:36, Marcus Yarns exploded 30 yards for a touchdown that put the Blue Hens back on top — and for good. 

"I thought we did a good job of staying the course," Carty said. "Staying positive, staying energetic the whole day. We kinda needed it with the elements and the flow of the game." 

The rain that battered much of the Northeast all weekend came down heavily throughout the Blue Hens' 29-25 win, resulting in a more sparsely populated Tub than usual. But in beating the reigning conference co-champion, Delaware generated enough energy to charge multiple stadiums. 

One Blue Hen bringing plenty of electricity was CAA co-Defensive Player of the Week Khalil Dawsey, whose night included eight tackles with one for loss, a forced fumble, a pass break-up, and a potential game-changing interception in the fourth quarter.

Dawsey's breakout performance was rewarding for Carty, who noted a "frustrating" process Dawsey encountered transferring in from the Ivy League.  

"He had a rough start here. It was late, he had to take a few more classes at Harvard. It was mid-camp before we got him out there and got him through the acclimation period," Carty said. "He had a little bit later to get the reps. Being a smart kid and experienced player already, that kinda helped him be able to hop in and at least take reps early, but in order to settle in as a guy who's in that three-man rotation [of defensive backs] we have right now we feel pretty good, it took him a little bit of time." 

The former All-Ivy Leaguer seems to be sufficiently settled in for a championship-contending Delaware defense. 

Back to the Future  

With William & Mary hosting Maine this week — and the Tribe continuing their perfect start, winning 28-3 to move to 4-0 — the telecast provided a nod to a past matchup with the Black Bears. 

Former Tribe All-American tight end Mike Leach, on the call for Saturday's contest, got to relive his spectacular touchdown in William & Mary's 37-13 win on Homecoming Day 1999. 

The shoulder pads aren't nearly as big, but current Tribe offensive star Bronson Yoder provided his own contributions to Saturday's win that broadcasters a quarter-century from now may be revisiting. 

Yoder went for 163 rushing yards and a touchdown, though came out in the second half with what William & Mary coach Mike London described as an "upper-body" injury. 

null

As the Tribe push to repeat as CAA champions, reaching the midseason stretch that London called "that long haul where everybody has to deal with the soft-tissue injuries."

Hopefully, Yoder will be available and around 100 percent for Week 5 when William & Mary travels to Elon. The conference showdown has the potential of being a showcase for two of the most productive running backs in the nation. 

Game Balls 

Elon RB Jalen Hampton: Jalen Hampton scored all four Phoenix touchdowns in a 28-24 win at Campbell, tying Elon's single-game rushing touchdown record at the Div. I level. 

Although each of Hampton's scores were relatively short-yardage — the longest going 10 yards — he was good for big chunks throughout the day en route to 169 yards overall. He's now tops in the CAA at 122 yards per game and seventh in the country, and tied for eighth in touchdowns with five. 

Delaware RB Marcus Yarns and WR Jourdan Townsend: Any time the Delaware offense needed a big play on Saturday, it seemed like either Marcus Yarns or Jourdan Townsend answered the call. 

Townsend caught five passes for 122 yards and scored on a pivotal play. Facing fourth down and trailing by three scores in the second quarter, Townsend took a short pass from O'Connor 32 yards to the house for the touchdown that ignited the Blue Hens. 

He followed up with a 29-yard reception on third-and-12 the next possession, then one snap later, Marcus Yarns took an O'Connor shovel pass to the house to bring Delaware to within a field goal by halftime.  

Along with his two long scoring plays, Yarns did invaluable dirty work when he pounded away for a first-down conversion on the Blue Hens' final possession. His efforts forced UNH to exhaust its timeouts and essentially sealed the win. 

William & Mary LB Kevin Jarrell: Mike London described Kevin Jarrell as "a guy who embraced the fact he could get on the field" switching positions. Jarrell came out of high school as a quarterback, but made the switch to linebacker and it's a decision paying dividends both for him and the Tribe. 

Jarrell led the team in tackles in Week 4 with nine, including one for loss. His background served him well in one sequence, London said: First, Jarrell dropped back into pass coverage and made a leaping deflection to bat down Black Bears quarterback Derek Robertson's attempt. 

Then, Jarrell pursued a screen pass and blew up the play at the line of scrimmage. 

"It's probably that quarterback athleticism he's got going on back there," London said. "He's done a really, really good job of playing defense, being a leader" — Jarrell is one of the Tribe's captains – "and doing it through demonstrated performance on the field."