Week 5 isn't Homecoming at UAlbany — the 2023 edition of the annual celebration is slated for Oct. 21 — but the Great Danes' matchup with No. 16-ranked Villanova does indeed mark a homecoming after an adventure lasting more than a month. 

Since beating Fordham in the Week 0 season opener on Aug. 26, 34-13, UAlbany hit the road for four weeks and three games. The Great Danes spanned some 13,000 miles between trips to Huntington, West Virginia (Marshall); Honolulu (University of Hawai'i); and Baltimore (Morgan State). 

After a trek like that, it stands to reason UAlbany's next stop would be Ithaca — that's Ithaca, Greece, residence of Odysseus from Homer's epics, not the western New York town. 

"It's obviously going to be a fun game," Great Danes coach Greg Gattuso said of facing Villanova. "Getting home [for] a little bit before we go on the road again is a good thing, and some home cooking should help us heal some wounds." 

UAlbany leaves Tom & Mary Casey Stadium again for another two weeks in Weeks 6 and 7 to visit Towson and New Hampshire, so the return home is short-lived. The Great Danes will try to capitalize on it and start their Coastal Athletic Association schedule strong. 

They're one of only two CAA teams yet to begin conference play through Week 4, along with Hampton. Each of New Hampshire, Richmond and Villanova played their first league games a week ago. 

Villanova dominated in its conference debut, stifling an explosive Rhode Island offense on one side of the ball and pounding the rock with a productive run game on the other side. 

The Rams managed just 241 yards of total offense, 60 on the ground, and didn't reach the end zone until the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Wildcats gained 287 yards rushing — without Jalen Jackson in the lineup. 

While TD Ayo-Durojaiye ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, and DeeWil Barlee rushed for another score, quarterback Connor Watkins helped pick up the slack in Jackson's absence with a team-leading 113 yards and three touchdowns. 

"The quarterbacks of today are mobile and can throw, and it puts so much stress on a defense," Gattuso said of Watkins. "We have the same kind of guy [Reese Poffenbarger]...[Watkins] operates very well within the structure of his offense and you've got to account for him at all times. You've got to know where he is and what he's doing at all times." 

Gattuso alluded to it with Poffenbarger, and it's an apt comparison. The UAlbany quarterback has three rushing touchdowns — and is the only Great Dane to carry for a score so far this season. 

Each quarterback's mobility adds a layer of intrigue when facing off with what have been two of the most impressive CAA defenses through four weeks. Villanova linebacker Brendan Bell is coming off of winning co-Defensive Player of the Week, while UAlbany boasts the nation's leader in sacks, Anton Juncaj. 

Production Unmatched.

1st in the FCS in total sacks
2nd in total TFLs@anton_juncaj4 #UAUKNOW #WinTheDay 🟪🟨 pic.twitter.com/hBZ2UNiUmr

— UAlbany Football (@UAlbanyFootball) September 27, 2023

With Juncanj leading the way, the Great Danes rank behind only Illinois State nationally for team sacks accrued. Getting into the backfield against a Villanova offense with the mobile Watkins, an array of capable running backs, and a solid offensive line may be the difference in UAlbany feeling at home for this brief return and not. 

Seeking CAA Win No. 1 

Week 5 features a pair of matchups between teams looking for their first conference win of 2023. The first features defending co-champion New Hampshire in its return to Durham after dropping a classic at Delaware in Week 4. 

An exciting, back-and-forth matchup of Top 20-ranked teams saw the Blue Hens come out on top of a 29-25 decision that the Wildcats led initially, 18-0. The circumstances of New Hampshire's CAA-opening defeat are similar to that of Towson, which jumped to a 10-0 lead in its 42-23 loss Week 2 to Monmouth. 

UNH and Towson both look to pull to .500 when they meet in Week 5. 

It's the first road CAA game of Tigers coach Pete Shinnick's tenure at the helm, and a stiff test at that. 

"There's a reason they won the league last year," Shinnick said of UNH. "We've got our hands full. Very well-coached team, very disciplined team. Always seems to be in the right place. Love how their quarterback's playing. Makes a lot of exciting throws there." 

Wildcats quarterback Max Brosmer is coming off a Week 4 in which the Delaware defense sold out against the run, so he responded with 34-of-58 passing for 389 yards. Both wide receiver D.J. Linkins and tight end Kyle Lepkowski had outstanding games, combining for almost 200 yards with Lepkowski hauling in a touchdown. 

The aerial attack from a UNH offense that has proven plenty of times it can go the ground with Dylan Laube bears similarities to teams Shinnick coached in his past. Someone who Wildcats coach Rick Santos described as having "done it at a high level everywhere he's been," Towson is still fleshing out its identity. 

However, the Tigers roster is rife with potential difference-makers. D'Ago Hunter is a weapon on special teams comparable to Laube's role in that phase for UNH. 

Another pair of CAA teams out for their first league win, Stony Brook and Maine, meet in Orono. 

The Black Bears have faced one of the most imposing schedules in college football through four weeks, drawing a three-win FBS opponent in FIU, a pair of top four-ranked FCS foes with North Dakota State and William & Mary, and Top 25-ranked Rhode Island on an expedited timeline. 

In Stony Brook, Maine draws a mirroring counterpart. Both teams are out for their first win overall in addition to that all-important initial league win. 

The Seawolves dropped a heartbreaker in Week 4, falling to 0-3 in the CAA after Richmond's Andrew Lopez hit a 28-yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining in a 20-19 Spiders win. 

"The blocked extra point probably got us," Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore said. "But we've got to make a stop on the last drive of the game." 

The blocked extra point to which Priore referred came after JuJu Ganthier took back an interception 59 yards for a touchdown, turning a 17-10 game into 17-16. Ganthier's was the Stony Brook defense's seventh pick of 2023, setting the tone in the conference. 

𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙶𝚄𝙴 𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚂 📈

Stony Brook's 7⃣ interceptions through Week 4 is the most in @CAAFootball.

🌊🐺 x #HOWL pic.twitter.com/ENj1lbnyAH

— Stony Brook Football (@StonyBrookFB) September 27, 2023

Stony Brook's ability to generate takeaways will be a subplot to following at Maine. Black Bears quarterback Derek Robertson — who coach Jordan Stevens emphasized would start in Week — has thrown five picks and is looking for his first touchdown pass of the season. 

Another Close Game on Tap?

Through three non-conference games, Hampton went 2-1 in games decided by four, eight and one point. With its one-point win to open the CAA docket at Stony Brook, Richmond has a pair of one-score finishes to its credit thus far in 2023. 

The Spiders host the Pirates in Week 4 for what could be another thriller. 

Hampton is looking both to open league play with a win, and to score its first-ever defeat of Richmond. The Pirates are 0-4 all-time in the series after last season's 41-10 loss at Armstrong Stadium. 

Chalk up the lopsided result last year to part of the growing pains Hampton was sure to endure in its first CAA season. Pirates coach Robert Prunty called the Coastal the "toughest FCS conference in the country...I don't see another league being as tough as the CAA." 

With Week 5 marking the beginning of Hampton's second year as a member, the Pirates set sail perhaps in a better spot than a year ago as newcomers. 

"I feel good about where we're at. I feel good about going into the league now," Prunty said. "We've got a broad understanding of what's to be expected in this league." 

Non-Conference Tilts 

Both Monmouth and Rhode Island return home to face non-conference opponents after road setbacks in Week 4. 

Coming off its loss at Villanova, Rhody faces the first leg of its state championship series — and a preview of future CAA matchups to come. The Rams host Bryant, announced as the Coastal's newest member beginning in the 2024 season. 

This season marks just the fourth all-time meeting between the Ocean State counterparts, though the third in a row. The Rams have won all three meetings after last year's 35-21 decision. In the 45-21 romp to kick off the 2021 campaign, Kasim Hill completed 12-of-18 passes for 249 yards with a pair of touchdowns. 

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Bryant is 2-2 on the season after a 16-13 win Week 4 at Princeton. Bulldogs defensive end Kenny Dyson Jr. ranks among the nation's most productive pass-rushers thus far into the season with five sacks. 

Elsewhere Monmouth comes home for its final non-conference matchup of the season to host Lehigh. 

The Hawks cruised past the Mountain Hawks a year ago in Bethlehem, 35-7, on an afternoon that Dymere Miller caught nine passes for 125 yards. While Monmouth is looking to jump-start its offense after sputtering a week ago at Colgate, Miller has dependable with a shade below 100 receiving yards per game.