CAA Today: Who Are Those Guys

Ask most people about the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and they'll likely reference the iconic final scene where Paul Newman and Robert Redford are surrounded by the Bolivian army. But there's a scene earlier in the movie that's terrific.

By Sam Partridge
CAA Today Columnist
College Sporting News

Butch and Sundance rob one train too many and the owner decides to put together a posse to track them down. Redford and Newman's characters try every trick they know, every diversion, every misdirection, anything to outsmart their pursuers and live to fight another day. However, no matter what they do, the posse keeps coming, seemingly a step ahead of every strategy employed by the two outlaws. Finally, as it dawns on them that they may finally be outmatched, Butch, seemingly out of ideas, gives a confused look and says, "Who are those guys?"

Fittingly, the native American guide for the posse goes by the name of Lord Baltimore, because we're starting to see similar reactions to what's going on in the suburb of Towson. It's still early, but after a 45-17 pasting of Colgate last week, it's clear that there's something going on there besides for lacrosse and field hockey. The Tigers are 3-0 and have been polishing off opponents with ease. As coach Rob Ambrose said this week, "Something's going on that's been building for a while. There's a new sense of pride in this town. I'm so proud of these people. It's a great time to be a Tiger."

It's quite a change from Towson's tenure to date in the CAA, where they have been more punchline than puncher. Now, however, after Maryland's crushing home loss to Temple, there might be a legitimate arguments as to where the state's best team resides. Fortunately, we'll get to find out soon enough.

HOW THINGS STAND

Massachusetts 1-0 2-1
New Hampshire 1-0 2-1
Towson 1-0 3-0
Delaware 1-0 3-1
James Madison 1-0 3-1
Maine 0-0 2-1
Old Dominion 0-1 3-1
Rhode Island 0-1 1-2
Richmond 0-1 3-1
William & Mary 0-1 2-2
Villanova 0-1 1-3

It's too early to read too much into these standings, but we'll have more of an idea after today's games.

TOP 25 FOR THIS WEEK:

1: North Dakota State Bison
2: Montana State Bobcats
3: Northern Iowa Panthers
4: Georgia Southern Eagles
5: New Hampshire Wildcats
6: Appalachian State Mountaineers
7: Wofford Terriers
8: James Madison Dukes
9: Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
10: Towson Tigers
11: Richmond Spiders
12: Montana Grizzlies
13: Chattanooga Mocs
14: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
15: Southern Illinois Salukis
16: Sam Houston State Bearkats
17: Indiana State Sycamores
18: Old Dominion Monarchs
19: William & Mary Tribe
20: Jacksonville State Gamecocks
21: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
22: Liberty Flames
23: South Carolina State Bulldogs
24: Weber State Wildcats
25: Holy Cross Crusaders

THIS WEEK'S GAMES:

Sloppy weather is forecast across most of the CAA region on Saturday, which should mean some sloppy games with a few more turnovers than normal, which should help keep games closer than they might otherwise be. I only missed the Richmond/UNH game last week, so I'll hope to build on that momentum with this week's picks.

Holy Cross at New Hampshire

UNH is coming off an impressive road win at Richmond, largely on the strength of two defensive return touchdowns and a great effort form Rookie of the Week R.J. Harris. Harris had 12 catches for a career-best 120 yards and caught two touchdowns from Kevin Decker. This is a dangerous Holy Cross team but one that doesn't quite have the horses to step up in class and beat a CAA team on the road. UNH continues to improve and takes advantage of a non-conference matchup before getting back to the CAA wars.
Wildcats 31 Crusaders 20

Rhode Island at Brown

URI heads to Providence for its last non-conference game of the year against in-state rival Brown in the Governor's Cup game. As coach Joe Trainer said this week, it's a big game to the alumni of both schools for bragging rights and the Rams are looking forward to building off last week's win against Fordham. The CAA is 17-1 in non-conference games against FCS teams and I think Rhody will build on that.
Rams 24 Bears 20

Towson at Maryland

Rob Ambrose coached at UConn for seven years under Maryland head man Randy Edsall. It's another interesting subplot for a game that has unexpectedly become a battle for state supremacy. The Tigers are 3-0 and one of the great stories in FCS so far, but this is a big step up in class to play the Terps, who got waxed by Temple last week but beat Miami in their season opener and gave a solid West Virginia team everything they could handle up until a Danny O'Brien interception on Maryland's final possession. Look for the Tigers to come out and prove they are no fluke this year, but ultimately the stage will be a little to big and a focused Maryland team will bounce back from last week's debacle.
Terps 34 Towson 17

Delaware at Maine

There are some matchups where one team just has the other's number and this is one of those. KC Keeler couldn't put his finger on it earlier this week but acknowledged that for whatever reason the Blue Hens have always had success against the Black Bears. It's also the kind of thing that can creep into the minds of players who have been on the losing end for a number of years. Jack Cosgrove's squad has looked solid this year, but as he acknowledged in the coaches call, they have yet to play a team this year on the same level, with an FBS game and two NEC games. I think the game being in Orono will Maine keep it close, but in the end Tim Donnelly and the Delaware running game will make the difference.
Fighting Blue Hens 27 Black Bears 17

UMass at Old Dominion

The Minutemen and Monarchs both come in off losses, but Old Dominion had to have gained confidence off the loss at Delaware. As Coach Bobby Wilder explained, you need to play 60 minutes of quality football to win in the CAA and the Monarchs played well for fifty before losing enough focus to let their late lead slip away. This week will be another test as the first-year CAA team hosts the last-year CAA squad. They're planning for a Blackout in Norfolk on Saturday night and while black is one of UMass' colors I think the physicality of Old Dominion's D-Line and their aggressive linebackers will control the game. Monarchs get their first CAA win.
ODU 34 UMass 17

William & Mary at Villanova

Jimmye Laycock and Andy Talley are the deans of CAA coaching at this point. In the last couple of years, the Tribe and Wildcats have played a three games with a lot on the line, including an FCS semifinal game in 2009 and a game in Williamsburg last year where Talley & Co. came in ranked #1. Times have changed. This year's team on the Main Line is a shadow of the recent vintages and Talley sounded exasperated on this week's CAA coaches call talking about the young team and all its mistakes, even coming off a win over rival Penn. Laycock is also fighting a struggling offense, but at least he has a veteran defense to rely on to keep his team in games. Given the uncertainty the Wildcats are bringing into the game, I think the Tribe will steal a rare road win on the road.
William & Mary 20 Villanova 16

GAME OF THE WEEK:

Richmond at JMU

Fresh off one intrastate battle against William & Mary last week, the Dukes take on another Virginia foe as the Richmond Spiders come to town. The biggest story coming into this game is the suspension of JMU starting quarterback. It's always tough to determine how much of an impact something like this will have, but if there's a team that can weather the storm, it's a JMU squad that only threw the ball a handful of times last week. However, they're facing a quality Spiders team led by senior QB Aaron Corp looking to bounce back from the mistakes that cost them a close game against UNH next week. The crowd will be rocking in Harrisonburg but the weather should put a damper on the offense, which can only help the home team. Ultimately, though, I think the Spiders will put out a narrow victory.
Richmond 19 JMU 17

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Enjoy the games!