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Following a 24-13 Homecoming win over Albany, Villanova enters their bye week at 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the CAA. They’re set up well for the final three games, but with two games on the road and a home conference against the conference leaders they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas.
Here are the CAA standings after this weekend’s action:
| SCHOOL | CONF | CPCT. | OVERALL | PCT. | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Madison | 4-0 | 1.000 | 6-1 | 0.857 | W4 |
| Stony Brook | 4-0 | 1.000 | 5-2 | 0.714 | W3 |
| Richmond | 4-1 | 0.800 | 7-1 | 0.875 | W5 |
| Villanova | 4-1 | 0.800 | 6-2 | 0.75 | W1 |
| New Hampshire | 4-1 | 0.800 | 5-3 | 0.625 | W1 |
| Maine | 3-1 | 0.750 | 4-3 | 0.571 | W4 |
| UAlbany | 1-3 | 0.250 | 4-3 | 0.571 | L3 |
| William & Mary | 1-3 | 0.250 | 3-4 | 0.429 | W1 |
| Elon | 1-3 | 0.250 | 2-5 | 0.286 | L3 |
| Delaware | 0-4 | 0.000 | 2-5 | 0.286 | L5 |
| Towson | 0-4 | 0.000 | 1-6 | 0.143 | L5 |
| Rhode Island | 0-5 | 0.000 | 1-7 | 0.125 | L3 |
Villanova’s remaining schedule - at Maine, vs. JMU, at Delaware - isn’t overly daunting, but they will need two wins to feel good about a playoff berth. Win all three and there won’t be any questions, and the ‘Cats could throw themselves into contention for the CAA title.
On that note (H/T to DoverRaider), a CAA title may seem unlikely because of the Richmond loss, but it’s still in play. Villanova needs to win all three games, so let’s break down the rest of contenders (a whopping six teams!):
James Madison (at Richmond, at Villanova, at Elon)
Villanova can take the Dukes out themselves with a victory, and thus would own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Stony Brook (at New Hampshire, vs. William & Mary, vs. Maine, at Albany)
Sitting undefeated, it goes without saying that the Seawolves need to lose at least one of these games. Next week is probably their biggest challenge at UNH.
Richmond ( vs. James Madison, vs. Delaware, at William & Mary)
The Spiders currently own a head-to-head tiebreaker over Villanova, so they’ll need to lose again. Consider yourselves Dukes fans next week, although that rivlary game with Bill & Mary to end the year is never easy either.
New Hampshire (vs. Stony Brook, vs. Albany, at Maine)
Because ‘Nova and UNH don’t play each other they could theoretically split the conference crown if they both win out.
Maine (at William & Mary, vs. Villanova, at Stony Brook, vs. New Hampshire)
Probably the toughest finish in the conference, and the Black Bears need to win them all.
To summarize:
- Villanova is in win ‘em all mode
- James Madison needs to beat Richmond
- Stony Brook needs to lose once (and ideally twice)
- New Hampshire needs to lose once