A month remains in the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association football season, and seven teams either lead or are within a game of first place in the 15-team race.

Week 9 could throw the competition into even further chaos. One of the league’s two remaining unbeatens, Rhode Island, faces a Maine team fresh off blind-siding Villanova with a 35-7 rout that knocked the Wildcats from their unblemished perch. The win also inserted the Black Bears into the championship conversation, putting a high premium on Saturday’s visit to Meade Stadium.

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Maine’s trip to Rhode Island is one of the marquee matchups for a high-stakes Week 9. Over on Long Island, Stony Brook hosts William & Mary in one of the best games on the entire FCS docket. 

The surprising Seawolves are just outside of the FCS STATS Top 25 and cracked the AFCA Poll ahead of Week 9. More importantly, Stony Brook finds itself heading into the final month of its regular-season schedule with a chance to solidify a playoff resume. Knocking off top 16-ranked William & Mary would be the strongest argument the Seawolves have for the Playoffs case to date. 

As for the Tribe, they are looking to reestablish themselves as CAA championship frontrunners heading into the final four weeks of their docket.

Week 9 could indeed prove pivotal to shaping the home stretch of the 2024 season. Here are the three games with the most significant implications on the CAA schedule.

Maine at Rhode Island

Maine’s taken on one of the most difficult schedules of any FCS teams through the first month-and-a-half, including a trip to No. 2-ranked Montana State. That initially challenging opening stretch paid dividends for the Black Bears, as they looked battle-tested when hosting then-No. 5 Villanova. 

The 35-7 romp was perhaps the most impressive Maine win since the 2018 Black Bears’ run to the CAA championship and the national semifinals. 

“[The players] should have a great sense of pride and be proud of the work they’ve put in,” Black Bears coach Jordan Stevens said. “And it’s a delicate balance. It’s a big win, and we’ve certainly celebrated that and we were thrilled about that, and we’re just hungry for some more.”

Maine gets an opportunity for more big wins with another top 20-ranked opponent in as many weeks, this time hitting the road to visit Rhode Island.

The Rams control their destiny for the CAA championship, thanks in part to an outstanding showing last week in a 26-9 win at New Hampshire. Holding UNH to 235 yards, Week 8 was the strongest all-around defensive performance for a Rhody defense that has been excellent all season.

“I’ve got to give credit to where it’s due: the defensive [coaching],” said URI head coach Jim Fleming. “Those guys continue to refine what we do, pick and choose spots to put different people on the field to do different roles.”

Last week, that included unleashing the playmaking potential of defensive back Freddie Mallay. He earned CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week after making eight tackles including one for loss, forcing a fumble and picking off a pass at UNH.

“His performance is so consistent throughout the year,” Fleming said of Mallay. “He’s not the biggest guy on the field, but he plays as big as anybody out there.”

His presence will be big in the figurative sense against a Maine offense with plenty of weapons at receiver and quarterback Carter Peevy seeming to hit his stride as CAA play progresses. Likewise, special teams promise to play a big part in Saturday’s outcome, if last week is any indication.

Both Maine and Rhode Island made pivotal plays on special teams in their signature wins. Keep an eye on the third phase having a similar impact in Week 9.  

PREDICTION: Rhode Island 28, Maine 24 

New Hampshire at Villanova

Although last week’s loss dealt a blow to Villanova’s pursuit of a second straight CAA championship, the setback at Maine didn’t put the Wildcats into the danger zone as far as the playoff race goes. 

New Hampshire, on the other hand, may be in must-win-out territory following its Week 8 defeat vs. Rhode Island. UNH heads to the Main Line at 2-1 in the CAA — still very much in the championship hunt — but 4-3 overall. Suffering a fourth loss leaves the Wildcats with no safety net for a playoff at-large bid.

“It’s obviously a big one based on us losing a little momentum last week,” UNH coach Rick Santos said. “But we’ve got to find a way to play clean in all three phases. Even in some of the wins we’ve had, I don’t know if we’ve played a complete game in the last three or four weeks.”

Villanova found itself in a similar scenario, getting beat at Maine in all three phases. The Wildcats’ inability to move the ball on the ground was especially surprising after having thrived in that phase through a strong start.

The New Hampshire defense is adept at getting into opposing backfields, which it must do frequently to keep David Avit from building momentum. At the same time, the performance of the UNH defense relies on the offense’s ability to sustain drives.

UNH’s inability to move against Rhode Island, which prompted Santos to insert Matt Vezza in at quarterback. Santos said Seth Morgan remains the Wildcats’ QB1, but Vezza’s dual-threat ability could be used with UNH struggling to find a consistent ground game.

Against a tough Villanova defense, that’s a significant vulnerability. The lopsided final at Maine was not so much an indictment of Villanova on that side of the ball — the Wildcats still rank 14th nationally at 19.1 points allowed per game. Like UNH vs. Rhode Island, Villanova’s offensive struggles and special-teams miscues contributed to the Wildcats defense being back on their heels.

Saturday’s matchup could start slow in terms of points produced as two offenses finding their footing try to solve stout defenses. A single big play, whether a takeaway or a pivotal moment on special teams, may swing the direction of this one.   

PREDICTION: Villanova 24, New Hampshire 17 

William & Mary at Stony Brook

Stony Brook quarterback Tyler Knoop’s record-setting performance with six touchdown passes highlighted the Seawolves’ most dominant win in a breakout season. Aside from establishing a program record, Knoop also showed a dangerous element to complement running back Roland Dempster’s All-America caliber ball-carrying.

“We did the self-scouting [during the bye week] with our [assistants],” Seawolves coach Billy Cosh said of implementing a more aggressive passing game in the 52-24 win over Towson. “They told us what we're doing at a high rate or our tendencies, so we tried to [keep the defense] off-balance.”

Stony Brook will need to leverage that well-rounded offense against a physical and talented William & Mary defense. That includes continuing to find ways to get wide receiver Jasiah Williams space. Williams has emerged as the leading playmaker in the Seawolves passing attack with his ability to create space and extend plays for additional yardage.

Dempster can also factor prominently into the passing game as Stony Brook seeks ways to spread the William & Mary defense. Cosh touted the running back’s ability to catch passes on the perimeter and turn short passes into long gains.

As far as running backs able to change the game in a variety of ways, William & Mary counters an excellent Stony Brook defense with several options. Bronson Yoder is chief among them, his 738 rushing yards ranking him No. 14.

But with Malachi Imoh coming off a 122-yard performance in last week’s 35-28 win over Campell, and quarterback Darius Wilson averaging close to 60 yards per game, the Tribe present the toughest challenge to a Stony Brook defense that has thrived through its ability to get into the backfield (5.9 tackles for loss per game).

PREDICTION: William & Mary 30, Stony Brook 27

CAA Week 9 Schedule

• Richmond vs. Bryant, 12:00 p.m. EST
• Maine vs. Rhode Island, 1:00 p.m. EST
• Towson vs. Monmouth, 1:00 p.m. EST
• Elon vs. Hampton, 2:00 p.m. EST
• UAlbany vs. Delaware, 3:00 p.m. EST
• UNH vs. Villanova, 3:30 p.m. EST
• William & Mary vs .Stony Brook, 3:30 p.m. EST
• NC AT&T vs. Campbell, 4:00 p.m. EST

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