In its impressive Week 4 win over Forham, William & Mary rushed for 384 yards. It doesn't get much better than that, does it? 

Well, for the Tribe it got better in Week 5. They ran for 434 yards in their Coastal Athletic Association opener against regional counterpart Hampton with four ball-carriers — running backs Bronson Yoder and Malachi Imoh, and quarterback Darius Wilson — each racking up at least 82 yards. Each of the quartet also reached the end zone at least once. 

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Hughes had shown his potential as an explosive rusher earlier this season at Coastal Carolina, going for 54 yards and a touchdown. But in Week 5, Hughes was at a whole other level with 130 yards and two touchdowns, all on just three runs. 

William & Mary's production out of its quarterbacks has made this perhaps the most dangerous and unpredictable rushing offense in the nation. If there's anything the Tribe can do more of in the ground game, though, it's for Wilson to slide. 

"'Dude, it's OK to slide, it's OK to run out of bounds after the first down,'" London said he repeats to Wilson, who is averaging 66.4 rushing yards per game after Week 5. "But this guy wants to be Rocky Bolboa and try to run people over." 

"I'll just say, I got two slides in today. That's two more than last week," Wilson said with a smile. 

William & Mary is now up to 281.6 rushing yards per game as a team, extending their CAA-leading average. Next up in conference play, the Tribe face a Towson team that was on a bye in Week 5. 

The Tigers allowed 212 rushing yards to William & Mary when the teams met in Williamsburg a season ago, but Towson's approach was very much bend-don't-break. Towson allowed just one rushing score in its 34-24 win. The last two weeks in losses to Villanova and North Dakota State, the Towson defense allowed 245 and 232 rushing yards. 

William & Mary was one of three winners in conference games on Saturday, joining Maine and Richmond. Black Bears quarterback Carter Peevey went an impressiv 20-of-24 passing with a pair of touchdowns, while the Maine defense showed out to spoil UAlbany's first home game in a month, 34-20. 

Richmond likewise went on the road and put together an outstanding defensive effort in its 27-17 win at Elon. The Spiders defense accounted for as many points as the Phoenix offense until the game's closing stretch, the result of Quantraill Morris-Walker's 55-yard pick six in the second quarter. 

Defensively Dominant Stony Brook & Villanova Set Up Surprise Week 6 Clash

Villanova and Stony Brook were tabbed to finish on two opposite ends of the CAA in the preseason poll. A month into the season, however, they are running at the top of the league after both improved to 4-1 in Week 5. 

The Wildcats returned to FCS competition and closed out non-conference play with a 24-10 win over Long Island that was more lopsided than the final score indicates. Villanova built a 24-0 lead before giving up a late touchdown and field goal to the visiting Sharks. 

Mark Ferrante's 'Cats have yet to allow an FCS opponent to score more than 17 points, giving up a total of 43 points in those four wins. Their defensive dominance is considerably less surprising based on preseason forecasts than Stony Brook doing likewise, though. 

With a 22-3 win on Saturday over Morgan State, Stony Brook has given up 51 total points in four wins over FCS opponents. The Week 5 win saw Rodney Faulk make 2.5 tackles for loss and force fumble, Taylor Bolesta made two tackles for loss, and Sebastian Regis forced a fumble to improve the Seawolves' season total to nine takeaways gained. 

Along with Stony Brook's continued excellence on the defensive side of the ball, Seawolves running back Roland Dempster is steadily building an early case for Walter Payton Award consideration. With 158 yards and three touchdowns against Morgan State, Dempster is up to nine rushing scores and 585 yards on the season.

CAA First-Month Award Watch 

Stony Brook's Dempster is among the CAA standouts from the first month building up a resume for the FCS end-of-season awards. Check out a few of the playmakers who have thrived through the first five weeks. 

Walter Payton Award

It's been 10 years since a CAA player — former Villanova quarterback John Robertson — claimed the award for the top offensive player in the FCS. With the conference featuring the nation's leaders in passing and rushing touchdowns, as well as some of the most exciting playmakers on offense anywhere in the nation, the Coastal has plenty of budding Walter Payton Award candidates emerging through one month. 

Stony Brook RB Roland Dempster

Roland Dempster's 585 yards rank fifth among all FCS ball-carriers. His three touchdowns in Stony Brook's win over Morgan State  push him to third nationally in rushing scores. 

New Hampshire QB Seth Morgan

New Hampshire was on a bye in Week 5, but Seth Morgan remains at No. 3 nationally with his 12 touchdown passes through four games. Well, three games, actually: Morgan started slow with UNH's Week 1 loss at UCF, but he has been dynamic in the Wildcats' three wins over FCS opponents Holy Cross, Stonehill and Bryant. 

He leads New Hampshire into a Friday night showdown at Harvard in Week 6. 

Monmouth RB Sone Ntoh and QB Derek Roberston 

The nation's leading passer  Derek Robertson extended his season output to 1,676 yards on an impressive 119-of-179 after a tidy 180 yards on 11-of-14 in Monmouth's Week 5 blowout of Fordham. His 14 touchdown passes also continue to lead the FCS, even with Sone Ntoh taking over the spotlight in the most recent outing. 

Ntoh now leads the country in rushing touchdowns with 12 after going for five against Fordham. Noth also broke out for 136-yards against the Rams. His hard-charging style will be critical when Monmouth hosts Delaware for a marquee matchup in Week 6. 

William & Mary RB Bronson Yoder

The primary option in William & Mary's multifaceted rushing attack is the linchpin that makes the Tribe run. Yoder leads William & Mary with 523 rushing yards, ninth-most in the FCS, and he's been an increasingly prominent part of the passing game in recent weeks with five of his six receptions coming in Weeks 4 and 5. 

Buck Buchanan Award

Past CAA winners of the honor given to the top defensive player in FCS are Matt Evans (New Hampshire, 2011), Arthur Moats (James Madison, 2009) and Derrick Lloyd (James Madison, 2001). Will the CAA produce its fourth-ever Buck Buchanan Award in 2024? 

The conference isn't without worthwhile candidates standing out through the season's first five weeks. 

Villanova LB Brendan Bell

The leader of Villanova's eight-ranked scoring defense, Brendan Bell has a team-leading 442 tackles in just five games. 

Richmond DE Jeremiah Grant 

Leading the nation in sacks, Jeremiah Grant has gotten to opposing quarterbacks a whopping 7.5 times in five games. He's been in on at least one sack in all five Spiders games through their CAA-opening win over Elon in Week 5. 

William & Mary CB Jalen Jones

There hasn't been a more active defender anywhere in the nation than Jalen Jones. His 10 pass break-ups are tied for the most in FCS, and Jones came away with his first interception of the campaign in the rout of Hampton to kick off CAA play. 

Maine DB Aljahi Kamara 

Aljahi Kamara leads the CAA in interceptions and is tied for fifth nationally after picking off passes in each of Maine's last two games — both wins (Week 4 at Merrimack, Week 5 at UAlbany). 

Rhode Island LB A.J. Pena

Rhode Island returns from its bye with a Week 6 CAA road trip to Hampton, and it's no doubt that A.J. Pena will play a central role in the Rams' pursuit of a 4-1 start. Pena's racked up six tackles for loss in four games, including four sacks. He's already halfway to his sack total of a season ago, and he's registered 25 tackles in total. 

Jerry Rice Award

Given to the nation's premier freshman, the first two recipients of the Jerry Rice Award both represented the CAA: Towson running back Terrance West and Villanova's John Robertson. 

William & Mary DE Ty Gordon 

William & Mary lost considerable pass-rush production with Nate Lynn moving onto the NFL and John Pius transferring to Wisconsin. However, freshman Ty Gordon has stepped in to be a meance coming off the edge. He has a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss with two quarterback hurries as one of the Tribe's leading pass-rushers through five games. 

Elon RB TJ Thomas Jr. 

The Elon offense has struggled with scoring consistency through the season's first month, but freshman running back TJ Thomas Jr. has been a consistent yard-producer for the Phoenix. 

Thomas trails only Stony Brook's Dempster among all CAA players in all-purpose yards with 132.4 per game. Thomas has carried for 366 yards and been explosive on special teams with another 245 yards in kickoff returns. 

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