The CAA has it's official 2007 schedule out.
We'll be talking a lot about the schedule and it's impact on the CAA and UMass' chances of making the playoffs in future post.
Today, lets consider that UMass has one of the latest off dates (Oct 6th) in the CAA. Having an off week is a good time to heal up and get some rest from the long grind of the season. Having an off week at week six is lot better than a off week in early September.
Ten of the twelve CAA teams play BCS/I-A teams this year. The following is my estimate on the chances for an upset.
Pretty Good:
- Maine @ UConn . The core of the Black Bear's killer defense is still there. UConn has been fading as a I-A program the last couple of years.
- UNH @ Marshall. It will be interesting to seen if New Hampshire still has it's offense now that Davis Ball has graduated. They still have Ricky Santos and that may be enough against Marshall, which is another I-A program on the decline.
- URI @ Army. The Cadets are weaker than when UMass played them in 2005, but URI was not competitive against UConn last year. The Rams have a chance in bad weather.
- Delaware @ Navy. The Hens have beaten Navy in the past. Last year Delaware was last in A10 giving up 397/yards/game in 2006. Their chances hinge on improving that statistic.
- UMass@ Boston College. The Minutemen should be again one of the top FCS teams in the country. We go for speed over size and the Eagles should use their huge offensive line to bulldoze their way to a win. Let's hope for a monsoon on that day.
- JMU @ North Carolina. The Dukes graduated their QB and both starting TB's. JMU will still have good talent at the FCS level, but not enough to beat a ACC team.
- William & Mary @ Virginia Tech. The Tribe has been on a down cycle for the last few years and there is no indication that they will be competitive with the Hokies.
- Villanova @ Maryland. The Wildcats loose their QB Burroughs this year. Maryland just has too much talent for 'Nova to deal with.
- Richmond @ Vanderbilt. The Spiders loose nine starters on the defense that ranked second in the A10 in 2006. Richmond's offense was not that good and now with a new defense, they should not be competitive with Vandy.
