Offensive Player of the Week

Darius Wilson | QB | William & Mary

Wilson accounted for a career-high 304 yards of total offense to lead W&M past Charlotte, 41-24, last Friday for its first win over a FBS team since 2009. He was 12-of-18 passing for a career-best 237 yards and 2 TD’s, rushed for 67 yards on 10 carries and had a 19-yard catch as the Tribe piled up 559 yards of offense and scored its most points against a FBS team since 1998. 

Defensive Player of the Week

Johnny Buchanan | LB | Delaware

Buchanan tallied a career-high 23 tackles, 1.0 TFL and a forced fumble to lead a dominant defensive effort in Delaware’s 14-7 triumph at Navy for its first FBS win since 2007. The 23 stops tied a UD record and were the most by any FCS or FBS player in Week 1. He made two redzone stops on Navy’s final drive as UD allowed the fewest points to a FBS foe by any CAA team since 2006. 

Special Teams Player of the Week

Josiah Silver | DL | New Hampshire

Silver recorded a key blocked punt, which was returned 35 yards for a TD by Charles Briscoe III, to help spur New Hampshire to a 31-21 win over Monmouth last Thursday. The 2nd-quarter block was the first of his career and put UNH ahead, 14-7. Silver also had four tackles and a QB sack.

Rookie of the Week

Isaiah Perkins | WR | Towson

Perkins made six receptions for a team-high 81 yards in Towson’s 14-13 overtime victory at Bucknell on Saturday. The freshman had a clutch 15-yard reception on a 4th-and-8 play in overtime that set up the Tigers’ game-winning touchdown. Perkins also made a 26-yard catch that set up Towson’s first touchdown TD in the third quarter.

CONFERENCE NOTES

UNH, URI TAKE EARLY LEAD IN CAA STANDINGS: New Hamsphire and Rhode Island opened the season with conference victories last Thursday night as the Wildcats scored two touchdowns in the final 6:20 to rally past Monmouth, 31-21, and the Rams used a big second half to pull away from Stony Brook, 35-14. There is one conference game on this week's schedule as UAlbany hosts New Hampshire.

DELAWARE, W&M CONTINUE CAA SUCCESS AGAINST THE FBS: CAA Football continued its success against FBS opponents as William & Mary beat Charlotte, 41-24, last Friday and Delaware downed Navy, 14-7, on Saturday. It was the Blue Hens' first FBS win since 2007 and the Tribe's first FBS victory since 2009. The CAA has posted 42 wins over FBS foes in its history and has won at least one game against an FBS team in 12 of the past 15 years. Since 2013, 10 different CAA teams have recorded at least one FBS victory and the CAA has earned multiple victories over FBS opponents five times since 2016.

TEN GAMES ON WEEK 2 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: In addition to the New Hampshire/UAlbany conference matchup, there are 10 non-conference games in Week 2. All 10 contests are against FCS opponents, and the CAA will look to build on a 3-0 start vs. FCS foes as Hampton, Towson and Villanova posted wins last week.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: CAA teams have been dominant against FCS non-conference opponents over the past five years, winning a remarkable 76% of those games. The league was a combined 22-7 in 2021, 8-3 in the shortened 2021 spring season, 30-9 in 2019, 22-9 in 2018 and 26-6 in 2017.

UD'S BUCHANAN NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Delaware linebacker Johnny Buchanan was chosen as the FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by Stats Perform after tying a UD record with 23 tackles in the Blue Hens' 14-7 win at Navy. The 23 stops were the most by any player at the FCS or FBS level last week.

CAA WELL-REPRESENTED ON NFL ROSTERS: CAA Football is once again well-represented on NFL roster as the season kicks off this week. There are 12 players from current CAA members on the active 53-man rosters for 10 different NFL sqauds, two on the reserve/injured list and four on practice squads.

FOUR TEAMS RANKED IN TOP 25 POLLS: Four CAA teams are ranked in the latest Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches Top 25 polls. Villanova remained at #5 in the Coaches poll and #6 in the Stats poll, while Delaware jumped to #10 in the Stats poll and #13 in the AFCA poll. Rhode Island is ranked #22 by Stats and #20 by the Coaches, and William & Mary moved up to #20 in the Stats poll and #22 in the AFCA poll.  Richmond and Elon were among others receiving votes in both polls and New Hampshire picked up votes in the Stats Perform poll. The CAA's four ranked teams trails only the Big Sky and Missouri Valley. 

UAlbany

•  Fell 69-10 at 10th-ranked defending Big 12 champion Baylor last week.

•  ODU transfer Reese Poffenbarger made his UA debut at QB and was 13-of-26 passing for 150 yards and a TD. He also ran for a team-best 45 yards on 12 carries. 

•  WR Julian Hicks made a team-high four catches for 53 yards at BU, including a 17-yard TD grab that was the first of his career.

•  LB Jackson Ambush tallied six tackles at Baylor. He was named to the All-CAA third team and was chosen as a Freshman All-American by HERO Sports last season.

•  Transfer DL AJ Simon recorded a pair of QB sacks at Baylor.

•  LB Dylan Kelly made a team-best 12 tackles at BU. He had just four stops in 2021.

• Tyler Pastula averaged 45.1 yards on nine punts against Baylor, including two of 50+ yards. He led the CAA with a 42.5-yard punting average last season at Delaware.

Delaware

•  Beat Navy 14-7 last week for their first victory over a FBS opponent since 2007.

•  Johnny Buchanan tied a UD record with 23 tackles vs. Navy, while Noah Plack (17) and Liam Trainer (14) set career-highs for stops.

•  UD held Navy's triple option offense to 2.9 yards per rush. The 7 points were the fewest allowed by any CAA team against a FBS opponent since 2006.

•  QB Nolan Henderson was 20-of-32 passing for 189 yards and 2 TD's at Navy in his first action since an injury last October 

•  WR Chandler Harvin caught a 51-yard TD pass in the 3rd quarter and finished with 3 receptions for 69 yards in his first game at UD after transferring from Sam Houston 

•  Punter Ben Dinkel averaged 45.4 yards on seven punts at Navy, including a key 63-yard boot in the fourth quarter.

• Delaware is now 16-18 all-time against FBS opponents, which is the third-most wins by any FCS program in those games.

Elon

•  Nearly overcame an early 21-point deficit before losing 42-31 at Vanderbilt last week 

•  Transfer QB Matthew McKay was 19-of-32 passing for 333 yards and 2 TD's and added 52 yards and 2 TD's on the ground in his Elon debut. He's 5th in FCS in total offense.

•  Jackson Parham made 8 catches for a career-high 143 yards and a TD at Vandy. The 1st team All-CAA pick had 57 receptions for 820 yards last season.

•  Chandler Brayboy added 4 catches for 105 yards at Vandy, including a 75-yard TD grab.

•  Tre'Von Jones returned 5 punts for 71 yards at Vandy, which was 19 more yards than Elon had as a team last season. His 14.2 avg. ranks 5th in FCS currently.

•  Skyler Davis made a 48-yard FG at Vandy and has made 10 consecutive FG attempts. He was 17-for-22 on FG's last season 

•  Omar Rogers recorded a team-high 11 tackles vs. Vandy and added a TFL and PBU 

Hampton

•  Topped rival Howard 31-28 last week in their first game as a CAA member.

•  Jadakis Bonds had 4 catches for a team-high 91 yards and a TD vs. Howard. He made 54 grabs for 773 yards and 6 TD's in 2021 and had a school-record 15 TD catches in 2019.

•  Romon Copeland had a team-best 7 receptions for 82 yards and a TD against Howard. He contributed 26 catches for 605 yards and 3 TD's in 2021.

•  Transfer QB Malcolm Mays was 18-of-32 passing for 238 yards and 2 TD's in his Hampton debut.

•  Darran Butts broke loose for a 75-yard TD run in the 4th quarter vs. Howard.

•  Qwahsin Townsel recorded a team-best 13 tackles, including 2.0 TFL, in the victory over Howard.

•  Ali Shockley, who topped the Pirates and was 4th in the Big South with 89 tackles last season, tallied eight stops vs. Howard.

Maine

•  Suffered a 41-0 setback at New Mexico in their opener last week. 

•  Joe Fagnano was 12-of-27 passing for 96 yards at UNM. He threw for over 200 yards and 2 TD's in three of his four games in 202 

•  TE Shawn Bowman, who earned 3rd-team All-CAA honors in 2021, made three catches for a team-best 40 yards at UNM.

•  Brian Lee, Jr. recorded a team-high eight tackles at UNM. He also had a sack and finished with 1.5 TFL's.

•  Maine's defense intercepted two passes in the first half at UNM. Xavier Nurse and Buggs Brown had the pickoffs. Brown has three interceptions in his past two games.

•  Justin Sambu contributed five tackles, a sack and 1.5 TFL's at UNM.

•  Maine entertains Colgate on Saturday. The Black Bears have captured four of their past five home openers.

Monmouth 

•  Dropped a 31-21 decision at New Hampshire in their CAA opener last Thursday.

•  Tony Muskett threw for 281 yards and a TD at UNH. It was his 6th straight game with 200+ passing yards and 16th consecutive game with at least one TD pass. He's 7th in career pass yards and completions at MU.

•  WR Alex Bryant made a career-high 8 catches for 67 yards at UNH, including a 19-yard TD reception in the third quarter.

•  Owen Wright scored a pair of rushing TD's at UNH and had 30 yards on 11 carries.

•  LB Da'Quan Grimes recorded a team-high 11 tackles and 0.5 TFL at UNH. He eclipsed 200 tackles for his career.

•  DB Eddie Morales III had seven tackles, an interception, a TFL and a PBU at UNH.

•  Monmouth scored TD's on all three of its trips to the red zone vs. UNH.

•  The Hawks controlled the ball for 35:50 at UNH and had a 20-16 edge in first downs.

New Hampshire

•  Scored two TD's in the final 6:20 to rally past Monmouth, 31-21, on Thursday night 

•  RB Dylan Laube rushed for a team-high 63 yards and 2 TD's vs. MU, including a go-ahead 7-yard scoring run with 6:20 left. He finished with 146 all-purpose yards.

•  Max Brosmer passed for 272 yards in his first game since March, 2021. 

•  TE Kyle Lepkowski set career-highs with seven catches for 121 yards vs. MU.

•  DB Randall Harris intercepted two passes vs. MU, including a 25-yard pick six that put UNH ahead by 10 with 4:07 to play 

•  Charles Briscoe III returned a blocked punt 35 yards for a TD vs. MU. It was UNH's first score on a blocked punt since March, 2021.

•  All-America DE Josiah Silver, who ranked 6th in FCS with 12.5 sacks last year, had 4 tackles, a sack and a blocked punt vs. MU.

•  DL Niko Kvietkus contributed 8 tackles and 2.0 TFL's in the win over MU.

Rhode Island

•  Tallied 21 unanswered points in the 2nd half to earn a 35-14 victory at Stony Brook.

•  Kasim Hill threw for 236 yards and 2 TD's and added a 10-yard rushing TD at SBU. It was his 5th straight game with 2 TD passes.

•  Jordan Jones, who ranked 5th in FCS with 6 interceptions last year, picked off two passes at SBU. He returned the first one 42 yards for a TD for his 2nd career pick six.

•  WR Ed Lee set career-highs with six catches for 87 yards at SBU, including a go-ahead 32-yard TD grab in the 3rd quarter.

•  Jaylen Smith rushed for a team-high 81 yards at SBU, while transfer Marques DeShields added 65 yards and a TD 

•  LB Evan Stewart contributed five tackles, a sack and an interception.

•  Buzz Robinson and Henry Yianakopolos led the Rams with 8 tackles apiece at SBU.

•  URI has won four of its last five openers.

Richmond

•  Fell 34-17 at ACC foe Virginia in their opener last Saturday. 

•  Reece Udinski was 23-of-34 passing for 160 yards and a TD in his first UR start at UVA. He passed for a school-record 7,877 yards and 48 touchdowns at VMI.

•  UR rushed for 170 yards at UVA. Savon Smith ran for a career-high 88 yards and a TD and also had a TD catch, while Aaron Dykes picked up 76 yards on the ground.

•  All-America LB Tristan Wheeler made a career-high 19 tackles at UVA. He led the CAA with 114 tackles in 2021 and has made 275 career stops in just 25 games. He's 5th in career tackles among active FCS players. 

•  Jakob Herres had 3 catches for 29 yards at in his UR debut. He is the FCS active leader in career receptions (229) and receiving yards (3,035) and is second in TD catches (26).

•  Jasiah Williams led the Spiders with nine receptions for 67 yards at UVA. He was second on the team with 42 catches a year ago.

Stony Brook

•  Fell 35-14 to #22 Rhode Island in their season opener on Thursday night.

•  DB Carthell Flowers-Lloyd recorded a strip sack and then returned the fumble 20 yards for a TD in the first quarter. He finished with six tackles and 2.0 TFL's.

•  RB Ty Son Lawton rushed for 46 yards, including a game-tying 2-yard TD run. He's 8th in career rushing TD's (21) at SBU.

•  LB Tyler King, who led SBU with 95 tackles and 12.5 TFL's in 2021, registered a team-best seven stops against URI.

•  QB Joshua Zamot ran for a team-high 83 yards on 15 carries and also threw for 74 yards. It was the most rushing yards for a SBU quarterback since 2019.

•  Kyle Nunez is back for his fifth season on the SBU offensive line. He's earned All-CAA honors in each of his four previous years.

•  DL Rodney Faulk had four tackles and a sack in his collegiate debut vs. URI.

Towson 

•  Edged Bucknell 14-13 in overtime for its fifth straight season-opening victory.

•  Devin Matthews rushed for a career-high 112 yards and 2 TD's on 26 carries at BU. He had a team-high 8 rushing TD's last season.

•  Transfer QB Tyrrell Pigrome was 21-of-36 passing for 195 yards and added 31 rushing yards in his Towson debut.

•  Freshman WR Isaiah Perkins made 6 catches for a team-high 81 yards, while transfer WR Da'Kendall James had 7 grabs for 51 yards.

•  Towson's defense kept Bucknell scoreless for the first three quarters and limited the Bison to 307 total yards. 

•  Safety Ubayd Steed made a team-high seven tackles at Bucknell, which was one stop shy of his career-high.

•  New punter Riley Williams placed three of his five kicks inside the 20 at Bucknell and averaged 38.8 yards.

Villanova

•  Rolled past Lehigh 45-17 in their first home season opener since 2004.

•  Connor Watkins was 11-of-15 passing for 298 yards and 3 TD's vs. Lehigh. It was the most yards ever by a VU quarterback in his first collegiate start. He also ran for a TD.

•  Jaaron Hayek made 6 catches for a career-high 141 yards and 2 TD's, including a 68-yarder in the 2nd quarter. It was his 6th career 100-yard receiving performance.

•  Dez Boykin piled up 172 all-purpose yards, which included a 66-yard TD catch and a 68-yard kickoff return.

•  Rice transfer LB Antonio Montero recorded a team-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble in his Wildcats' debut. 

•  Transfer LB Danny Abraham had four tackles, an interception and two pass breakups in his first game at VU.

•  Safety Ethan Potter (9 tackles) and linebacker Brendan Bell (8 tackles) each set new career-highs for stops against Lehigh. 

William & Mary

•  Earned its first win over a FBS opponent since 2009 by beating Charlotte, 41-24. 

•  W&M piled up 559 total yards, including 303 on the ground, at Charlotte and scored its most points vs. a FBS foe since 1998.

•  QB Darius Wilson was 11-of-17 passing for a career-high 225 yards and 2 TD's at Charlotte and added 67 yards rushing 

•  Bronson Yoder ran for a team-high 120 yards and a TD on 15 carries. W&M had four players with 45+ yards on the ground.

•  LB John Pius recorded a career-high nine tackles, 4.5 TFL's and 1.5 sacks at Charlotte.

•  Trey Watkins, who has been W&M's leading tackler for the past three seasons, was tied for the team lead with nine stops.

•  All-America DL Nate Lynn contributed six tackles, 2.5 TFL's and 1.5 sacks at Charlotte. He had 12.0 sacks in the 2021 season.

•  W&M has won 37 of its last 39 games against non-conference FCS opponents during the regular season.