Offensive Player of the Week

Dylan Laube | RB | New Hampshire

Laube set career-highs for rushing yards (202), carries (32) and TD’s (3) as New Hampshire edged CAA foe UAlbany, 28-23. The junior accounted for 60.6% of UNH’s offense and the rushing total was the most by a UNH back since 1998. Laube reached the end zone in three of the four quarters, capped by a 37-yard scoring run with 1:49 left.

Offensive Player of the Week

Jaden Shirden | RB | Monmouth

Shirden rushed for a school-record 299 yards and two TD’s on only 12 carries in Monmouth’s 52-49 loss to Fordham. The 299 yards is the 8th-highest total in CAA history and the most by any FCS player this season. Shirden broke loose for a 95-yard TD run in the first quarter and followed with an 80-yard scoring run in the third period.

Defensive Player of the Week

Jalen Jones | CB | William & Mary

In his first start, Jones recorded three interceptions, including a 33-yard pick six, as William & Mary beat Campbell, 37-21. The 3 interceptions were the most by a W&M player since 2009 and are the most by any FCS player in 2022. Jones’ pick six put W&M ahead 31-14 in the 3rd period and he had an int. with 4:10 left. He added a tackle and 2 PBU’s.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Jeff Yurk | P | Elon

Yurk averaged 44.0 yards on five punts to help Elon record a 26-0 win at Wofford. The sophomore pinned Wofford inside the 15-yard line three times as the Phoenix posted its first shutout in five years. All five of Yurk’s punts traveled at least 41 yards and none of them were returned.

Rookie of the Week

A.J. Pena | LB | Rhode Island

In the first significant action of his career, Pena recorded six tackles and 3.5 sacks in Rhode Island’s 35-21 victory at Bryant. The 3.5 sacks tied the 2nd-highest total in Rams’ history and is 3rd-highest among any FCS players in 2022. Pena led a URI defense that recorded a program-record 10 sacks and held Bryant to -7 yards rushing in the game.

CONFERENCE NOTES

TOP 25 SHOWDOWN HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 3 SCHEDULE: The lone conference game on the Week 3 schedule features 9th-ranked Delaware visiting 17th-ranked Rhode Island. It's the only FCS matchup nationally between a pair of Top 25 squads. Both teams are 2-0 and they have split their past four meetings, including a 44-36 triple OT win by UD in 2019 and a 22-15 win by URI last season after returning a blocked punt for a TD with 3:46 to play.

ELEVEN GAMES ON NON-CONFERENCE SLATE: In addition to the UD/URI matchup, there are 11 non-conference games in Week 3. Four of the contests are against FBS opponents, where the CAA will be looking to build on its two wins in Week 1. There are seven contests against FCS foes as the CAA hopes to improve on an impressive 10-2 mark (.833) thus far.

DEFENSES CREATING OFFENSE: While offenses around the CAA are putting plenty of points on the board, several teams have gotten help from their defense. Through two weeks, four teams have scored on a pick six. In Week 1, Rhode Island's Jordan Jones (42 yards) and New Hampshire's Randall Harris (25 yards) returned interceptions for TD's. W&M's Jalen Jones (33 yards) and Richmond's Aaron Banks (35 yards) scored on pickoffs in Week 2.

UNH MOVES ATOP CAA STANDINGS: New Hampshire has taken the early lead in the CAA standings at 2-0 after opening the season with narrow victories over Monmouth (31-21) and UAlbany (28-23). The Wildcats scored two TD's in the final 6:20 to rally past the Hawks and got a career-high 202 yards and 3 TD's from RB Dylan Laube to beat the Great Danes.

DELAWARE, W&M CONTINUE CAA SUCCESS AGAINST THE FBS: CAA Football continued its success against FBS opponents as William & Mary beat Charlotte, 41-24, and Delaware downed Navy, 14-7, in Week 1. It was the Blue Hens' first FBS win since 2007 and the Tribe's first FBS victory since 2009. The CAA has posted 42 wins over FBS foes in its history and has won at least one game against an FBS team in 12 of the past 15 years. Since 2013, 10 different CAA teams have recorded at least one FBS victory and the CAA has earned multiple victories over FBS opponents five times since 2016.

DOMINANT IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: CAA teams have been dominant against FCS non-conference opponents over the past five years, winning a remarkable 76% of those games. The league was a combined 22-7 in 2021, 8-3 in the shortened 2021 spring season, 30-9 in 2019, 22-9 in 2018 and 26-6 in 2017.

W&M'S JONES NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: William & Mary's Jalen Jones was chosen as the FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by Stats Perform after intercepting three passes and returning one for a TD in the Tribe's victory over Campbell. It was the second straight week that a CAA defender won the award. Delaware's Johnny Buchanan was honored after making a school-record 23 tackles in a win over Navy.

FIVE TEAMS RANKED IN TOP 25 POLLS: Five CAA teams are ranked in the latest Stats Perform Top 25 poll and four are ranked in the AFCA Coaches poll. Villanova is #5 in the Coaches poll and #7 in the Stats poll, while Delaware moved to #9 in the Stats poll and #10 in the AFCA poll. Rhode Island is ranked #17 by Stats and #15 by the Coaches, William & Mary climbed to #14 in the Stats poll and #17 in the AFCA poll and New Hampshire is ranked #25 by Stats.  Richmond and Elon were among others receiving votes in both polls and Towson got votes in the AFCA poll. The CAA's five ranked teams is tied with the Big Sky for the most of any conference.

UAlbany

•  Dropped a 28-23 decision to New Hampshire in their CAA opener last week.

•  Reese Poffenbarger was 18-of-27 passing for a career-high 262 yards and 2 TD's vs. UNH and ran for 40 yards. He's 4th in the CAA in pass efficiency and 6th in total offense.

•  TE Thomas Greaney made a career-high 7 catches for 105 yards and 2 TD's against UNH. He leads all tight ends in the CAA in receptions (10) and receiving yards (162).

•  RB Todd Sibley, a transfer from Pitt, ran for a team-high 105 yards and a TD on just 13 carries against UNH.

•  CB Bill Hackett topped UAlbany with 10 tackles vs. UNH and added a PBU.

•  DL AJ Simon recorded a pair of QB sacks at Baylor and had a TFL against UNH.

•  Tyler Pastula ranks 12th in FCS in punting (44.1 avg) and has three kicks of 50+ yards. He led the CAA with a 42.5-yard punting average last season at Delaware.

Delaware

•  Rolled past Delaware State 35-9 to claim the Route 1 Rivalry last week.

•  Nolan Henderson was 21-of-37 passing for a season-high 225 yards and 3 TD's vs. DSU. He has 5 TD passes over the first two games.

•  Marcus Yarnes rushed for a team-high 99 yards vs. DSU, including an 82-yard TD run that was the 9th-longest in UD history.

•  Thyrick Pitts had 7 catches for 94 yards and a TD vs. DSU. He's tied for 4th in the CAA with 10 receptions for the season.

•  Johnny Buchanan made a team-best 15 tackles vs. DSU and tops the CAA with 38 stops. He was the FCS National Defensive Player of Week after 23 tackles vs. Navy.

•  Punter Ben Dinkel leads the CAA and ranks 10th in FCS with a 44.5-yard average.

•  Delaware leads the CAA and ranks 5th in FCS in scoring defense (8.0 ppg).

•  UD's Trey Austin blocked a punt vs. DSU that was recovered for a TD by Quincy Watson.

Elon

•  Blanked Wofford, 26-0, last week for their first shutout in five years.

•  Matthew McKay was 18-of-26 passing for 230 yards and 3 TD's at Wofford and added 36 rushing yards. He leads the CAA and is 9th in FCS in total offense (325.5 ypg) and is also 10th in FCS in pass efficiency (173.78).

•  Jackson Parham made two TD catches at Wofford and ranks 2nd in the league with 12 rec. for 168 yards. The 1st team All-CAA pick had 57 receptions for 820 yards in 2021.

•  Tre'Von Jones returned 5 punts for 71 yards at Vandy, which was 19 more yards than Elon had as a team last season. His 14.2 avg. ranks 7th in FCS currently.

•  Skyler Davis tied a school record with a 52-yard FG at Wofford and has made 12 consecutive FG attempts, including 3 of 50+ yards. He was 17-for-22 on FG's last season

•  Marcus Hillman tallied 9 tackles, 3.0 TFL's and 1.5 sacks at Wofford. He led an Elon defense that held Wofford to 128 total yards.

Hampton

•  Improved to 2-0 with a 42-10 triumph over Tuskegee last week.

•  Jadakis Bonds had 5 catches for a team-high 122 yards and 2 TD's vs. Tuskegee. He's 3rd in the CAA in receiving yards (213). Bonds tallied a school-record 15 TD catches in 2019 and is HU's career leader in TD grabs.

•  Romon Copeland had a team-best 7 receptions for 82 yards and a TD against Howard and added 3 catches vs. Tuskegee. He made 26 catches for 605 yards and 3 TD's in 2021.

•  QB Malcolm Mays was 10-of-18 passing for 163 yards and 2 TD's vs. Tuskegee and also had a 7-yard TD run. 

•  Elijah Burris rushed for a team-high 104 yards and a TD on 14 carries vs. Tuskegee. He led HU with 640 rushing yards in 2021.

•  Ohmante Jenkins contributed 5 tackles, 3.0 TFL's and a sack in the Tuskegee win.

•  LB KeShaun Moore made a team-best 10 tackles and a TFL vs. Tuskegee and has 17 stops for the season.

Maine

•  Had a late comeback fall short in a 21-18 loss to Colgate last week.

•  Joe Fagnano was 25-of-39 passing for 246 yards and a TD vs. Colgate and also ran for a score. He has thrown for over 200 yards in four of his past six games.

•  TE Shawn Bowman, who earned 3rd-team All-CAA honors in 2021, made five catches for a career-high 73 yards vs. Colgate.

•  RB Elijah Barnwell ran for a team-high 66 yards vs. Colgate and also caught five passes for 31 yards.

•  Maine's defense recorded 4.0 sacks and limited Colgate to 62 passing yards.

•  Punter Brian Cooey averaged 44.8 yards on eight punts vs. Colgate, including a 70-yarder. He dropped four kicks inside the 20-yard line.

•  Maine will be looking for its fifth win over a FBS opponent in school history. The Black Bears beat UMass last season and defeated Western Kentucky in 2018.

Monmouth

•  Edged 52-49 by Fordham in their home opener last week.

•  Monmouth piled up 713 yards, incuding 390 on the ground, vs. Fordham. Both totals were the 2nd-highest in school history.

•  Tony Muskett threw for 323 yards and 2 TD's vs. Fordham. It was his 7th straight game with 200+ passing yards and 17th consecutive game with at least one TD pass.

•  Jaden Shirden rushed for a school-record 299 yards on only 12 carries vs. Fordham, including TD runs of 95 and 80 yards. The 299 yards are the 8th-most in CAA history.

•  WR Assanti Kearney set career-highs with 5 catches for 121 yards vs. Fordham.

•  Owen Wright is tied for the CAA lead in scoring with 5 rushing TD's in two games.

•  Mike Reid led the Hawks with nine tackles vs. Fordham and also broke up two passes. He has 12 stops for the season.

•  DB Eddie Morales III has picked off a pass in each of Monmouth's first two games.

New Hampshire

•  Moved atop the CAA standings at 2-0 after a 28-23 victory at UAlbany.

•  Dylan Laube set career-highs for carries (32), rushing yards (202) and TD's (3) at UA. It was the most rushing yards by a UNH back since 1998.

•  QB Max Brosmer was an efficient 11-of-14 for 73 yards and a TD at UA. He also picked up 33 yards on the ground.

•  Joey Corcoran made a team-high 5 catches for 34 yards, including his first collegiate TD.

•  All-America DE Josiah Silver, who ranked 6th in FCS with 12.5 sacks last year, had 5 tackles, a sack and a QB hurry at UA.         

•  Randall Harris intercepted two passes vs. Monmouth, including a 25-yard pick six that put UNH ahead by 10 with 4:07 to play.

•  Punter Sean Lehane placed four of his five punts inside the 20-yard line at UA and had a 40.6-yard average.

•  UNH had recorded 7 sacks in its first two games.

Rhode Island

•  Picked up their second road win by defeating in-state foe Bryant, 35-21, last week.

•  Kasim Hill was 14-of-20 passing for 290 yards and 2 TD's at Bryant. It was his 6th straight game with 2 TD passes.

•  Ed Lee made 5 catches for a career-high 135 yards and a TD at Bryant. He ranks 2nd in the CAA in receiving yards (111.0 ypg) and 3rd in receptions (5.5 rpg).

•  Marques DeShields ran for 105 yards and a TD and Jaylen Smith added 89 yards and 2 TD's at Bryant. Both backs have rushed for 170 yards and 2 TD's this season.

•  URI recorded a school-record 10 sacks at Bryant and held the Bulldogs to -7 yards rushing for the game.

•  Jordan Jones, who ranked 5th in FCS with 6 interceptions last year, picked off two passes at SBU. He returned the first one 42 yards for a TD for his 2nd career pick six.

•  LB A.J. Pena recorded 3.5 sacks at Bryant and finished with six tackles.

Richmond

•  Won their 17th straight home opener, topping Saint Francis, 31-21.

•  Savon Smith rushed for a career-high 128 yards vs. SFU. He's the first Spiders' RB to go over 100 yards since 2017.

•  Reece Udinski was 30-of-39 passing for 250 yards and 3 TD's vs. SFU. He's completing 72.2% of his passes for the season.

•  All-America LB Tristan Wheeler made a career-high 19 tackles at UVA and followed with a team-best 12 vs. SFU. He led the CAA with 114 tackles in 2021 and has made 287 career stops in just 26 games.

•  Jakob Herres had 6 catches for 65 yards vs SFU. He is the FCS active leader in career receptions (235) and receiving yards (3,100).

•  Aaron Banks made two interceptions vs. SFU, including a 35-yard pick six with 1:22 remaining. He is tied for the CAA lead with 3 interceptions for the season.

•  Jasiah Williams leads the CAA with 14 receptions.

Stony Brook

•  Off last week. Fell 35-14 to #22 Rhode Island in their season opener.

•  DB Carthell Flowers-Lloyd recorded a strip sack and then returned the fumble 20 yards for a TD in the first quarter. He finished with six tackles and 2.0 TFL's.

•  RB Ty Son Lawton rushed for 46 yards, including a game-tying 2-yard TD run. He's 8th in career rushing TD's (21) at SBU.

•  LB Tyler King, who led SBU with 95 tackles and 12.5 TFL's in 2021, registered a team-best seven stops against URI.

•  QB Joshua Zamot ran for a team-high 83 yards on 15 carries and also threw for 74 yards. It was the most rushing yards for a SBU quarterback since 2019.

•  Kyle Nunez is back for his fifth season on the SBU offensive line. He's earned All-CAA honors in each of his four previous years.

•  DL Rodney Faulk had four tackles and a sack in his collegiate debut vs. URI.

Towson

•  Off to a 2-0 start for the 2nd time in three years after defeating Morgan State, 29-21.

•  Tyrrell Pigrome threw for 157 yards and 3 TD's and ran for a team-high 124 yards vs. MSU. He's the first Towson QB since 2019 to have at least 100 rushing and 100 passing yards in the same game.

•  Devin Matthews rushed for a career-high 112 yards and 2 TD's on 26 carries at Bucknell and tallied 54 yards vs. Morgan State.

•  Darian Street had TD catches of 28 and 20 yards in the win over Morgan State. The 2 TD catches tied his total from 2021.

•  Towson ranks among the top 30 in FCS in pass defense, scoring defense and total defense.

•  LB Mason Woods made six tackles and recorded his first career sack and interception against MSU.

•  Keegan Vaughan was a perfect 3-for-3 on FG's in the Morgan State win.

Villanova

•  Improved to 13-4 in their past 17 road games after beating LIU 38-21 last week.

•  Connor Watkins threw for 196 yards and 2 TD's at LIU. He has completed four passes of 60+ yards this season with three for TD's.

•  Jaaron Hayek made 4 catches for a team-high 120 yards at LIU. He tops the CAA with 262 receiving yards and has seven career games with 100+ yards.

•  DeeWil Barlee rushed for 177 yards and a TD and TD Ayo-Durojaiye added 109 yards and a TD at LIU. The totals were career-highs for both backs.

•  VU rushed for 365 yards at LIU, which was its highest total since 2016.

•  Shane Hartzell contributed six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble at LIU.

•  The Wildcats have forced five turnovers in the first two games.

•  VU ranks 9th in FCS in total offense and 11th in scoring offense.

William & Mary

•  Beat Campbell 37-21 last week for their first 2-0 start since 2009.

•  W&M leads the CAA and ranks 5th in FCS in rushing (287.0 ypg). The Tribe is also 15th nationally in total and scoring offense.

•  Bronson Yoder ran for a team-high 120 yards and a TD at Charlotte and followed with a team-best 95 yards vs. Campbell.

•  Malachi Imoh broke loose for TD runs of 20 and 56 yards vs. Campbell. He's averaging 11.9 yards per carry for the season.

•  Jalen Jones made 3 interceptions in his first career start vs. CU, including a 33-yard pick six. He was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.

•  LB John Pius had a career-high 9 tackles, 4.5 TFL's and 1.5 sacks at Charlotte and followed with 8 tackles and 2 sacks vs. CU.

•  Nate Lynn contributed six tackles, 2.5 TFL's and 1.5 sacks at Charlotte.

•  W&M has won 38 of its last 40 games against non-conference FCS opponents.