We’re down to the final four weeks of the Coastal Athletic Association regular season, and all spots outside of the top three are still up for grabs.

Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff comes up with its cumulative ranking of CAA football teams.

Here is what we came up with following week nine:

14th Place: University at Albany Great Danes (1-7, 0-4) (-)

The Great Danes hosted No. 11 Villanova University over the weekend, falling 29-16 in their fourth consecutive loss. Despite scoring the game’s first touchdown in the first quarter, the Great Danes went the following two quarters scoreless, allowing the Wildcats to jump ahead.

Still seeking their first conference win of the season, the Great Danes will travel to take on the College of William and Mary on Saturday.

13th Place: Hampton University Pirates (2-7, 0-5) (-1)

With a 28-10 loss to one of the best teams in the conference, the Pirates officially claimed the worst record in conference play.

Taking on the best offense in the league in Monmouth University, the Pirates struggled to fend off the offensive attacks, but still held the Hawks, who average 45.3 points per game, well below that mark. The Pirates will head into their bye week with three games left in the regular season to climb up the CAA standings.

12th Place: Bryant University Bulldogs (2-6, 0-4) (-1)

Despite the Bulldogs being in possession of the football for 39:02 in comparison to the University of Rhode Island’s 20:58 on Saturday, Bryant went out quietly with zero points in the second half.

Bryant scored at 5:08 in the second quarter to take the 17-14 lead, but URI put a touchdown and a field goal on the scoresheet before halftime and did not look back. In the next two weeks, the Bulldogs will take on the best offense in the conference, Monmouth, followed by the worst, UAlbany.

11th Place: Towson University Tigers (3-5, 1-3) (-2)

While we could respect a close 42-31 loss to Monmouth on Oct. 11, the Tigers have now lost three straight games and, as a result, have fallen out of our top 10.

Call it rust after their bye week, but the Tigers went without a score in the entire first half before attempting a comeback in the third and fourth quarters and fell just short, losing 27-19 to Stony Brook University.

10th Place: Campbell University Camels (2-7, 2-3) (-2)

Third-year quarterback Kamden Sixkiller picked up 312 passing yards and two touchdowns on Saturday for the Camels, but a fourth-quarter collapse saw the Camels fall 28-24 to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

The Camels will take next week off to regroup and attempt to snap their two-game skid against the College of William and Mary on Nov. 8.

9th Place: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University Aggies (2-6, 2-2) (+4)

One win can go a long way, and it was just what the Aggies needed this weekend to snap a four-game losing streak that began after their 33-30 overtime win over Hampton University on Sept. 13.

With their 28-24 win over Campbell thanks to a punt return for a touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter by third-year wide receiver Elijah Kennedy, the Aggies are looking to flip the script toward the end of their season.

8th Place: Stony Brook University Seawolves (4-4, 2-2) (+2)

The Seawolves returned to .500 on the season with their 27-19 win over Towson on Saturday, fending off the Tigers’ late offensive efforts after being up 24-0 at 5:55 in the third quarter.

A middle-of-the-pack team, the Seawolves will continue to try to climb the rankings in the final month of play with a road game against the University of Maine.

7th Place: Elon University Phoenix (4-5, 2-3) (-1)

Dropping in our rankings for the third straight week, the Phoenix are in the midst of a three-game skid, with their most recent loss coming in a 35-14 score against Maine.

With a top-five offense and defense in the conference, it’s hard to say what has gone wrong for the Phoenix. But they have an off week to figure it out before taking on the best defensive team in the conference, URI.

6th Place: College of William and Mary Tribe (4-4, 3-2) (-2)

Taking on a well-matched University of New Hampshire team, the Tribe’s knack for making late-game comebacks was unsuccessful this time around, falling 34-24 on Saturday.

The Tribe got within a touchdown after a field goal at 12:38 left in the fourth quarter, but UNH’s top-two defense shut down any remaining Tribe possessions in the game.

5th Place: University of New Hampshire Wildcats (5-4, 3-2) (+2)

The Wildcats have strung together a pair of wins at a crucial point in the season, and they only have three games remaining.

The bad news? Their next opponent is Monmouth, but with a strong defensive effort, the Wildcats will look to shut down the top offense in the conference.

4th Place: University of Maine Black Bears (4-4, 3-1) (+1)

Sept. 20 was the last time the Black Bears lost a game, so it’s hard to believe they only just advanced to .500 on the season.

The numbers speak for themselves: during their four-game winning streak, the Black Bears have held their opponents to an average of 17.75 points a game. Riding this momentum, how far will the Black Bears go? Only time will tell.

3rd Place: No. 12/13 University of Rhode Island Rams (7-2, 5-0) (-)

Yet again, despite holding the best record in the conference, the Rams have not proven themselves enough on the scoresheet to move up a spot.

After a back-and-forth first half against Bryant, the Rams broke out in the second half, coming away with the win to maintain an undefeated conference record.

2nd Place: No. 11 Villanova University Wildcats (6-2, 5-1) (-)

Villanova’s 29-16 win came as a result of a dominant defensive effort, holding the visiting Great Danes to 154 total yards on Saturday.

In their five-game winning streak, the Wildcats have led their opponents to an average of 20 points per game. With two of their final three games at home, it’s nearly impossible to see a world in which the Wildcats have their winning streak snapped.

1st Place: No. 9/10 Monmouth University Hawks (7-1, 4-0) (-)

Similar to the Wildcats, Monmouth did not put as many points on the board against its opponent, Hampton, as predicted, but the team still cruised its way to a 28-10 victory.

Still, the Hawks hold the conference’s best offense by a wide margin and will look to rack up as many points as possible in their remaining four games.

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