Offensive Player of the Week

Reece Udinski | QB | Richmond

Udinski completed 26-of-33 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns and added two TD’s on the ground, leading Richmond to a 31-21 victory at Maine. He had scoring runs of 6 and 3 yards and a 63-yard TD pass on the Spiders’ first three drives and added a 21-yard TD strike in the third quarter. It was the fifth 300-yard passing performance in the past six games for Udinski.

Defensive Player of the Week

Omar Rogers | DB | Elon

Rogers contributed a team-best six tackles, a sack, a QB hurry and an interception as part of a strong defensive performance in Elon’s 27-7 triumph over No. 12 Delaware. The sophomore recorded his first sack of the season and picked off a pass on a 4th-and-goal play in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Elon’s defense held UD to 265 total yards and posted a shutout over the final 55 minutes.

Special Teams Player of the Week

D'Ago Hunter | KR/PR | Towson

Hunter amassed 334 all-purpose yards, with 271 coming on returns, as Towson beat Monmouth, 52-48. The senior averaged 36.8 yards on five kickoff returns, highlighted by a 92-yarder for a TD with 8:13 to play. He also averaged 45.0 yards on two punt returns, including a 74-yarder that set up a TD. The 334 all-purpose yards are the 3rd-most in FCS this season and fell 23 yards shy of a school record. 

Rookie of the Week

Reese Poffenbarger | QB | UAlbany

Poffenbarger completed 16-of-21 passes for 263 yards and tied a career-high with four touchdowns in less than three quarters of action as UAlbany rolled over Stony Brook, 59-14. The freshman threw TD passes of 25, 25, 5 and 15 yards as the Great Danes scored their most points in a game since 2012. Poffenbarger has thrown 20 TD passes with just one interception this season.

CONFERENCE NOTES:

TOP 25 MATCHUP HEADLINES WEEK 10 SCHEDULE: A big Top 25 matchup between #17 New Hampshire and #14 Richmond headlines the seven-game CAA slate in Week 10. The Wildcats are atop the CAA standings at 5-0, while the Spiders are a game back at 4-1. Other conference matchups include Towson hosting Villanova, Monmouth at Delaware, Elon entertaining UAlbany, Maine visiting Rhode Island and William & Mary making the short trip to Hampton. Stony Brook hosts Morgan State in non-conference play. 

THE RACE IS ON: The race for the CAA title is the most competitive in FCS with seven teams packed within two games of the lead entering Week 10. New Hampshire is on top of the standings at 5-0, followed by Richmond and William & Mary at 4-1. Elon sits 4th at 4-2, and Delaware, Rhode Island and Villanova are tied at 3-2. Seven CAA teams also have winning overall records, which is tied with the Missouri Valley for the most in FCS. 

DOMINANT IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: CAA teams have been dominant against FCS non-conference opponents over the past five years, winning a remarkable 76% of those games. The success has continued in 2022 as CAA teams are 20-5 against FCS opponents. The 20 wins and the .800 win percentage are the best of any FCS conference.

QUALITY QUARTERBACKS: CAA Football has featured some of the best quarterback play in FCS this season. The league has six of the top 25 QB's in FCS in pass efficiency (UA's Reese Poffenbarger, VU's Connor Watkins, EU's Matthew McKay, UR's Reece Udinski MU's Tony Muskett, and W&M's Darius Wilson). and five of the top 25 in passing yards (Poffenbarger, Udinski, McKay, UD's Nolan Henderson, McKay and Rhode Island's Kasim Hill). Udinski tops FCS in completion percentage (77.1%), Watkins is 4th nationally in yard per pass attempt (9.95), and Henderson is 6th in TD passes (20).

GETTING IT DONE ON THE GROUND: Six of the top 26 rushers in FCS play in the CAA. MU's Jaden Shirden leads the nation at 151.7 ypg, UNH's Dylan Laube and W&M's Bronson Yoder are tied for 14th (103.4 ypg), URI's Marques DeShields (99.5 ypg) is 16th, EU's Jalen Hampton is 20th (95.6 ypg) and UA's Todd Sibley is 26th (89.2 ypg). Twenty different CAA players have run for at least 100 yards in a game this season, with Shirden (3) and Laube (1) having topped 200 yards.

TOWSON'S HUNTER NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Towson kick/punt returner D'Ago Hunter was honored as the FedEx Ground National Special Teams Player of the Week after amassing 334 all-purpose yards at Monmouth, including a 92-yard kickoff return for a TD and a 74-yard punt return that set up a TD. Eight CAA Football players have now earned national Player of the Week accolades this season: Delaware's Johnny Buchanan (Defense - Sept. 5), W&M's Jalen Jones (Defense - Sept. 12), Delaware's Nolan Henderson (Offense - Sept. 19), Richmond's Reece Udinski (Player by NCAA.com, Sept. 26), UAlbany's Reese Poffenbarger (Freshman - Oct. 17), New Hampshire's Sean Lehane (Special Teams - Oct. 24) and Stony Brook's Charlie McKee (Freshman - Oct. 24).

SIX TEAMS RANKED IN TOP 25: CAA Football led all FCS conferences with six teams ranked in the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches Top 25 polls this week. William & Mary is #8 in the Stats poll and #9 in the AFCA poll, while Richmond rose to #14 in both polls. Delaware is ranked #16 by the AFCA and #18 by Stats while New Hampshire is #17 in the Stats poll and #21 in the AFCA rankings. Rhode Island is ranked #22 by the AFCA and #23 by Stats and  Elon is #19 in the Stats poll and #23 in the AFCA poll. Villanova received votes in both polls.

UAlbany

•  Beat rival Stony Brook 59-14 to earn its first CAA win and claim the Golden Apple.

•  Reese Poffenbarger was 16-of-21 passing for 263 yards and 4 TD's at SBU. He ranks 6th in FCS in passing yards and 6th in pass efficiency and has thrown for 250+ yards in 7 straight games. He has 20 TD's and 1 int.

•  Todd Sibley has rushed for 100+ yards four times and leads UA with 712 yards and 9 TD's. He ran for 64 yards and a TD vs. SBU. 

•  Julian Hicks made 3 TD receptions (25, 5, 15 yds) in the win vs. SBU and finished with 4 catches for 52 yards.

•  Thomas Greaney has made at least 3 catches in 7 of 8 games and tops all CAA tight ends in receptions (38), receiving yards (509) and TD's (8).

•  UAlbany has generated over 400 yards of total offense in seven consecutive games.

•  UAlbany intercepted four passes vs. SBU, including a 51-yard pick six by Anthony Lang in the first quarter.

Delaware

•  Dropped a 27-7 decision at Elon last week.

•  Nolan Henderson threw for 202 yards and a TD at Elon. He has 200+ passing yards in 7 straight games and has accounted for at least 2 TD's in 7 games. He's 6th in FCS with 20 TD passes and is 19th in passing yards. 

•  Jourdan Townsend made 7 receptions for 71 yards at EU. He has 32 catches for 408 yards and 4 TD's in the past 6 games.

•  TE Braden Brose caught a 12-yard TD pass at EU, which was his 4th of the TD of the year.

•  Johnny Buchanan tallied 16 tackles at EU and leads the CAA with 102 stops. He was the FCS National Defensive Player of Week after making 23 stops vs. Navy and has had 10+ tackles in five games.

•  UD has held five teams to 10 points or less. The Hens are 2nd in FCS in pass defense, 3rd in total defense and 3rd in scoring defense.

•  Liam Trainer had 8 tackles and 1.5 TFL's at EU. It was his highest tackle total since making 14 stops in the opener vs. Navy.

Elon

•  Topped No. 12 Delaware 27-7 last week. It was Elon's 3rd win over a ranked opponent.

•  Matthew McKay passed for 142 yards and 3 TD's and ran for 41 vs. UD. He has thrown for 300+ yards three times and is 18th in FCS in total offense, 13th in FCS in pass efficiency and 10th in passing TD's (19).

•  Jalen Hampton ran for 136 yards vs. UD, which was his 3rd 100+-yard  outing. He's 5th in the CAA and 20th in FCS in rushing.

•  Bryson Daughtry caught his team-leading 6th TD pass vs. UD. He also tops Elon with 36 catches and 689 receiving yards. 

•  Skyler Davis became EU's all-time leading scorer with 317 points after hitting a school-record 53-yard FG vs. UD. He's tied for 2nd on the CAA's career FG list (64) and is 13-of-16 this season with 4 FG's from 51+ yards.

•  Elon's defense has allowed just 33 points in the 2nd half vs. its eight FCS foes.

•  Omar Rogers had a team-high 6 tackles, a sack and an interception in the UD win.

Hampton

•  Fell 24-10 at Villanova last week.

•  Malcolm Mays threw for 137 yards and a TD vs VU. He has thrown for 200+ yards four times this season and has a TD pass in seven of Hampton's eight games.

•  Jadakis Bonds ranks 5th in the CAA in receiving yards and is 8th in FCS with 8 TD catches. He had a HU-record 15 TD catches in 2019 and is the career leader in TD grabs.

•  Trent Cloud made 3 catches for 45 yards at VU, including a 23-yard TD reception in the 3rd quarter that cut the deficit to seven.

•  Hampton has held five opponents to 140 yards or less on the ground.

•  Ali Shockley recorded a team-high 14 tackles for the second straight game at VU. He's 2nd on the team and 9th in the CAA with 63 tackles this season.

•  Corey Wilson intercepted his first pass of the season at VU.

•  Qwahsin Townsel leads Hampton and ranks 4th in the CAA with 72 tackles.

Maine

•  Suffered a 31-21 setback to nationally ranked Richmond last week.

•  Joe Fagnano threw for 208 yards and 2 TD's vs UR and went over 5,000 career passing yards. He has thrown for 180+ yards and at least one TD in seven straight games.

•  Kobay White made 7 catches for 51 yards and his first career TD at SBU. He has 24 receptions in his last four games.

•  TE Shawn Bowman, who leads UM in catches (31), receiving yards (377) and TD's (5), suffered a season-ending injury vs. UR.

•  Montigo Moss made 5 catches for a team-best 71 yards and a TD vs. UR. He has a TD reception in 5 of the past 7 games.

•  WR Zavier Scott scored a touchdown on a 41-yard run against Richmond.

•  Adrian Otero made a team-high 8 tackles vs UR. He leads the Black Bears with 54 stops and has made at least 7 tackles in 5 games.

•  Benito Speight intercepted the first pass of his career against Richmond.

Monmouth

•  Lost a 52-48 shootout to Towson last week.

•  Jaden Shirden ran for 211 yards and 3 TD's vs. TU. He leads FCS in rushing (151.7 ypg) and has topped the 100-yard mark in 7 of his last 8 games, with three 200+ yard outings. He's 8th in FCS in rushing TD's (11).

•  Tony Muskett missed the TU game due to injury. He has thrown for 200+ yards in 11 of his last 13 games and has a TD pass in 23 straight contests. Freshman Enza Arjona was 18-of-25 passing for 213 yards and 3 TD's vs. TU in his first collegiate start.

•  Owen Wright is 2nd in FCS with 15 rushing TD's and is also 3rd in scoring (10.7 ppg).

•  Dymere Miller had 8 catches for 99 yards and 2 TD's vs. TU. He's 2nd in the CAA in receptions and receiving yards.

•  Da'Quan Grimes recorded a team-high 13 tackles and a TFL vs. Towson. He leads MU and is 8th in the CAA with 71 stops.

•  Miles Mitchell had 2.0 TFL's against Towson and has a team-high 6.0 TFL's for the year.

 New Hampshire

•  Off last week. Return to action at #14 Richmond on Saturday.

•  Dylan Laube amassed 200 all-purpose yards, including 147 yards and a TD rushing vs. Elon. He tops FCS in punt returns, ranks 2nd in all-purpose yards and 14th in rushing.

•  Max Brosmer passed for 220 yards and 2 TD's and added a 42-yard rushing TD vs. EU. He has 13 TD passes in the past 6 games and has thrown for 200+ yards in 5 contests.

•  Freshman DJ Linkins set career-highs for catches (5) and receiving yards (58) vs. EU.

•  Joe Eichman intercepted a pass for the third straight game against Elon.

•  Josiah Silver is 3rd in the CAA with 7.5 sacks and 2nd with 11.5 TFL's, while Dylan Ruiz is 2nd in FCS with 9.0 sacks.

•  Caleb Mead made a career-high and team-best seven tackles against Elon.

•  UNH is off to a 5-0 start in CAA play for the first time since going 8-0 in 2014 

Rhode Island

•  Fell 31-30 at #10 William & Mary after a missed 2-point conversion on the final play.

•  Marques DeShields rushed for 132 yards and a TD at W&M. It was his 5th 100-yard effort and 4th in a row. He's 16th in FCS in rushing (99.5 ypg).

•  Kasim Hill passed for 283 yards and 2 TD's at W&M. He has thrown for 200+ yards in 7 of 8 games and has thrown 2+ TD passes in 10 of his last 12 contests.

•  Ed Lee made 6 catches for 86 yards at W&M. He leads URI with 35 receptions for 570 yards for the season.

•  Henry Yianakopolos contributed 9 tackles, 2.0 TFL's and an interception at W&M.

•  Jake Fire has recorded 9 or more tackles in five games. He leads the Rams and ranks 7th in the CAA with 67 stops.

•  Jordan Jones is 5th in the CAA in passes defended (7/1.0 pg). His 25 career passes defended is one shy of the URI record. 

Richmond

•  Defeated Maine, 31-21, last week to extend their winning streak to three.

•  Reece Udinski was 26-of-33 passing for 368 yards and 2 TD's at UM. He tops FCS in completion pct. (77.1%), ranks 8th in pass yards and has 19 TD's with 3 int. He's thrown for 300+ yards in 5 of his last 6 games 

•  UR had two receivers with 100+ yards (Jakob Herres - 174, Leroy Henley - 119) in the same game for the first time since 2018.

•  Jasiah Williams ranks 4th in FCS with 62 receptions and has 9+ catches in 5 games.

•  Herres had 8 catches for a season-high tying 174 yards and a TD at UM. He's the FCS active leader in career receptions (271) and is 2nd in career receiving yards (3,643).

•  Tristan Wheeler tallied 13 tackles and a TFL at Maine. He tops UR with 75 tackles and has 331 career stops, which ranks 4th among active FCS players.

•  UR ranks 3rd in the CAA with 23 sacks, including 22 in the past six games.

Stony Brook

•  Lost 59-14 at UAlbany last Saturday in the Battle for the Golden Apple.

•  Freshman QB Charlie McKee struggled at UA, but threw for over 190 yards in each of his prior three games with 6 TD passes.

•  Makhai Jinks rushed for a team-best 65 yards and his first career TD on 10 carries at UA in his first extended playing time.

•  Shawn Harris, Jr. made a team-high 5 catches for 53 yards at UA and is tied for team lead in receiving yards (241).

•  Delante Hellams, Jr. caught a 14-yard TD pass, his first of the season, at UA.

•  Reidgee Dimanche tallied five tackles at UA. He leads the Seawolves and ranks 5th in the CAA with 71 stops.

•  Carthell Flowers-Lloyd is 3rd in the CAA with 10.0 TFL's and has made 50 total tackles.

•  OL Kyle Nunez, a four-time All-CAA performer, was named a semifinalist for the prestigious Campbell Trophy.

Towson

•  Defeated Monmouth, 52-48, to earn their first CAA win of the season last week. 

•  D'Ago Hunter amassed 334 all-purpose yards at MU, including a 92-yard kickoff return for a TD and a 74-yard punt return that set up a TD. It was his second KOR for a TD this season, tying a Towson record.

•  Tyrrell Pigrome was 20-of-25 passing for 216  yards and a TD and also ran for a TD at MU. Twice this season he's had over 100 yards passing and rushing in the same game.

•  Devin Matthews tied his career-high with 112 rushing yards and a TD at Monmouth.

•  Da'Kendall James made a team-high 5 catches for 87 yards and a TD at MU. He tops TU in receptions (34) and receiving yards (38) and has at least three catches in seven of the Tigers' eight games.

•   Mason Woods had a team-high 8 tackles and 2.0 TFL's at MU. He's led TU in tackles for three straight games.

Villanova

•  Topped Hampton, 24-10, last week for their second straight victory.

•  Connor Watkins threw for 161 yards and a TD and ran for a career-high 130 yards and 2 TD's vs. HU. He ranks 10th in FCS in pass efficiency and has completed 14 passes of 40 or more yards this season.

•  Watkins' 75-yard TD run vs. HU was the longest ever by a VU quarterback and his 130 yards were the most by a QB since 2015.

•  TD Ayo-Durojaiye ran for 112 yards on 25 carries vs. HU. It was his 4th 100-yard effort of the year and 3rd in a row.

•  Jaaron Hayek made 5 catches for 97 yards and a TD vs. HU. He's 5th in FCS in receiving yards (101.2 ypg) and has topped 100 receiving yards four times this season.

•  Shane Hartzell had 6 tackles and a TFL vs. HU. He leads VU with 54 stops and 3 sacks.

•  VU held Hampton to just 26 yards rushing and 163 yards overall. The Wildcats rank 12th nationally in pass defense. 

William & Mary

•  Edged No. 18 Rhode Island, 31-30, last week. Off to their best start since 2009. 

•  Bronson Yoder ran for a team-high 113 yards and a TD vs. URI. He ranks 14th in FCS in rushing and has topped the 100-yard mark four times this season.

•  Malachi Imoh ran for 93 yards and a TD and added a team-high 3 catches for 36 yards vs. URI. He's averaging 8.2 ypc and leads the Tribe with 8 rushing TD's. 

•  W&M ran for a season-best 314 yards vs. URI and is 4th in FCS in rushing (261.2 ypg). W&M is 14th in FCS in total offense and 24th in scoring.

•  TE Lachlan Pitts has 367 receiving yards and is 3rd in FCS in yards per catch (22.9).

•  John Pius leads FCS in sacks (10.5) and TFL's (16). He also tops W&M with 51 tackles.

•  W&M has recorded 24 sacks, which ranks 2nd in the CAA.

•  Isaiah Jones made 5 tackles vs. URI, including stopping the game-deciding 2-point try.