Saturday, September 19, 2009

Game Day Rhode Island --09/19/09

Matty Vautour says Rhody is first up in UMass' title quest.

He picks this week's games.

The Springfield Republican has a game-day article here.

The Providence Journal says injured QB Chris Paul-Etienne will be ready to play against the Minutemen.

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Dish Network will carry the game on Dish channel 435.

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CSN's Terrance Thomas Sr has this week's "CAA Today" Column here.

Chuck Burton says the CAA is a Completely Awesome Association.

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Two CAA League games today:

Rhode Island @ UMass- Rhody looked strong against Fordham. The Rams are in the second year of their transformation from an option team. They look much improved. UMass needs a conference win. With the Minutemen's strong home record, UMass should be favored.

Hofstra @ Richmond- Some pundits (Phil Steele) picked the Pride (1-0) as high #4 preseason based on their 18 returning starters (the most in the CAA). Richmond (2-0) looks as if they are a National Championship contender again this year. Today's game should show if Hofstra is going to live up to the hype.

Maine@ Albany- The Black Bears (2-0) have played two weak opponents in St. Cloud State and Northeastern. The Great Danes (0-2) are looking for a fresh start.

New Hampshire has a bye.

Youngstown State@ Northeastern-The Penguins (1-1) got blown out at Pitt and didn't look that good in a game against Austin Peay. Northeastern (0-2) was hammered by Boston College and lost to Maine last week. The Boston Herald says the Huskies are already in a must-win situation.

Delaware State@ Delaware- The Blue Hens (1-1) lost to Richmond in the last minute of the game last week. The Hornets (0-1) lost to Flordia A&M in their only game so far. Delaware has dominated the few games played between the two teams and should win again easily.

VMI @ James Madison- The Dukes (0-1) beat the Cadets (1-0) 41-17 when they played in 2007. No reason to suspect a different outcome this time. VMI had a one point win over Robert Morris last week.

Villanova@Penn- Villanova (2-0) beat Temple in their opener and crushed Lehigh last week. Penn (0-0) took the Wildcats to overtime last year (20-14 loss). This could be the best game in the CAA against an OOC opponent this week.

Coastal Carolina@Towson- The tigers (0-1) don't have many chances to win this season. This could be one of them. The Chants are (1-1) this season. They lost to Kent State and beat Monmouth.

William & Mary@ Norfolk State- The Tribe (2-0) beat Norfolk State (1-1) 42-12 last year. the outcome should be the same this year.

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BTW, Kansas State gets UCLA this week.