CAA Football Week 3 roundup: Maine slips up at Bryant

With he Villanova Wildcats resting on a bye week, the rest of the CAA took the field in a week that mostly brought wins to a conference that is perceived to be lacking quality depth in 2014.

The 23rd ranked Maine Black Bears were not part of that winning group, however. They'll likely fall out of the rankings come Monday after a 13-10 loss at Bryant. It's not a cringe-worthy loss by any means, with the Bulldogs being one of the better teams in the NEC, but it showed the Maine offense has taken a major step back without QB Marcus Wasilewski.

Villanova's next opponent, James Madison, was able to shake off a bad start and put away St. Francis (PA) 38-22. The Dukes showed some chinks in the armor, which we'll get in to more this week.

The 7th ranked New Hampshire Wildcats, who sit one spot above 'Nova in the Top 25, were dominant at home against Lehigh, winning 45-27. The 'other' Wildcats are clearly the class of the CAA along with Villanova. The two teams will not play each other this season though, meaning that if both go undefeated in conference play they will be co-champions.

Rhode Island looks as poor as ever after getting spanked on the road at Fordham 54-7. It's frightening to think about the damage that is possible when the Rams come to Villanova Stadium in a month.

Towson finally got in to the winning column with a 21-7 win over Delaware St. The Tigers needed a blocked punt and a punt return to find the end zone - but the condititions were less than ideal on this day. The Tigers lost a ton of talent from a year ago, and it's showing.

New conference member Elon was he only other CAA team to fall this week, going down at the hands of North Carolina A&T 17-12. The Phoenix weren't expected to be much in their first season, and so far they are sticking to the script.

Richmond will head into a Top-25 matchup with New Hampshire next week full of confidence after they stomped Hampton 42-17. Michael Strauss looks in total command of the offense and they've got a home run hitter in running back Jacobi Green (15 carries, 133 yards, 2 TDs).

Perhaps most impressive this week were the William & Mary Tribe, who overcame a stingy Norfolk State defense to win 29-14. The Tribe are almost always known for their defensive exploits, and that rang true again Saturday. Jimmy Laycock's team returned an interception and a blocked field goal for touchdowns.

A week after giving UCONN a headache, Stony Brook took care of business at home, defeating American International 20-3. The Seawolves went old school, using a strong rushing attack and a dominating defense to make this one easier - the score was closer than it really was.

And oh, how the mighty have fallen. Delaware snuck by Colgate 28-25, needing a Trent Hurley keeper with 41 seconds to go to win. The Hens will head in to their bye needing to figure a few things out if they hope to be competitive in the CAA this year.