Three weeks into the college football season, all 14 squads in the Coastal Athletic Association have previewed what the remainder of their seasons may look like, with some being better than others.

With four teams receiving spots in last year’s Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs, the conference is up for the taking.

Every week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff votes on each team in the conference, resulting in a cumulative ranking. Here is where we landed after the third Saturday of the season:

14th Place: University of Maine Black Bears (0-3, 0-1)

For the second straight week, the Black Bears lost in tight fashion, falling to Stonehill College 13-10. While the previous 28-27 loss to the College of William and Mary may have stung due to it being the team’s first conference loss, this week’s loss stings as their first home game of the season.

Heading into week four, it is no longer considered the beginning of the 2025 season. Games are well underway, and conference opponents have already made big splashes. What does Maine have to show for the season so far? A lot to be desired.

13th Place: University at Albany Great Danes (0-3, 0-0)

Despite shutting out the University of New Haven in the second half on Saturday, the Great Danes’ offense could not complete the comeback, falling 24-17.

Fourth-year quarterback Jack Shields threw for a season-high 396 yards, as well as a touchdown, in the loss. The Great Danes compete in another nonconference game against Cornell University this weekend.

12th Place: Hampton University Pirates (1-2, 0-1)

The Pirates suffered a late-game collapse to a conference opponent this week and will look to put the 33-30 overtime loss at the hands of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the rearview mirror.

Leading 20-10 in what looked to be the contest’s final minute of action, NC A&T completed an 82-yard drive and made a 37-yard field goal to tie things up before converting its overtime drive into a touchdown, sealing the win. The Pirates will look to bounce back with an away matchup against Howard University.

11th Place: Campbell University Camels (0-3, 0-1)

Our final winless team so far, the Camels’ defense allowed Furman University to score on its final four offensive drives to earn the 28-24 win. The final blow was delivered by Furman’s first-year wide receiver Evan James, who caught a 30-yard touchdown with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter.

Looking to jump into the win column, the Camels will take on conference foe Bryant University in their second home game of the season on Saturday.

10th Place: Stony Brook University Seawolves (1-2, 0-1)

Earning their first win of the season, the Seawolves were led by fifth-year quarterback Chris Zellous, who threw for three touchdowns and rushed for one. Zellous’ performance made up 24 points in the team’s 41-18 victory.

Fourth-year wide receiver MarQeese Dietz recorded 120 receiving yards on the day after having just 515 receiving yards in 15 games last season.

9th Place: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Aggies (1-2, 1-0)

On Saturday, the Aggies became the third team in the CAA to earn a conference win this season in their thrilling overtime victory over Hampton. The Aggies got the win with their seventh-string quarterback, third-year Noah Sanders, at the helm in the second half.

Another milestone in the victory was Shawn Gibbs picking up his first win as the team’s head coach. The Aggies will look to carry the momentum of this win when they take on North Carolina Central University this weekend.

8th Place: #11 Villanova University Wildcats (1-1, 0-0)

The Wildcats took on the second-ranked team at the Football Bowl Subdivision level, The Pennsylvania State University, over the weekend, falling 52-6 in front of the largest crowd in their history. The lone touchdown for Villanova was thrown by third-year quarterback Tanner Maddocks to first-year wide receiver Brandon Binkowski on the final play of the game.

Looking to return to the win column, Villanova will take on Monmouth University in its third game of the season this weekend.

7th Place: College of William and Mary Tribe (1-2, 1-0)

Facing the University of Virginia in Charlottesville this weekend, William and Mary scored two touchdowns in the second and third quarters as well as a safety in the final frame but ultimately fell 55-16.

The highlight of the contest came when third-year quarterback Tyler Hughes threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year wide receiver Deven Thompson at 13:01 in the second quarter.

6th Place: Towson University Tigers (2-1, 0-0)

The Tigers didn’t find their offensive footing against the University of Maryland until the fourth quarter, where they outscored their opponent 10-3, but it was too little, too late. The final score of 44-17 concluded Towson’s three-game road stretch to begin the season.

While the Tigers only held possession for 23:54, they had a similar number of total yards with 230 in comparison to Maryland’s 276.

5th Place: Elon University Phoenix (2-1, 0-0)

In back-and-forth fashion, the Phoenix, led by first-year quarterback Landen Clark, sealed the 37-31 victory over Western Carolina University in the game’s final five minutes to advance to 2-1 on the season on Saturday. Clark had 377 total yards on the afternoon, including four touchdowns.

Western Carolina did not back down after the Phoenix scored a touchdown in the contest’s first minute, taking the lead in the third and fourth quarters. Second-year Luke Barnes converted on all three of his field goal attempts for Elon and tied his career best with a 48-yard kick.

4th Place: #21 Monmouth University Hawks (2-1, 0-0)

Similarly to Elon, the Hawks had a big quarterback performance from fifth-year Derek Robertson in a tight game; however, they were unable to get past the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Robertson recorded 410 total yards and four touchdowns in the 42-35 loss, marking his third straight game with over 400 yards. With an offense that scored 91 points in the first two wins of the season, this defeat is nothing to worry about in the long term for the Hawks.

3rd Place: Bryant University Bulldogs (2-1, 0-0)

With a convincing 42-6 victory over Bentley University, the Bulldogs have landed themselves in the top three of this week’s ranking. The Bulldogs set the tone with a punt return touchdown three minutes into the game and never looked back.

It was an all-around effort on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field, and the Bulldogs will ride high on their two-game winning streak into their first conference matchup against Campbell.

2nd Place: #25 University of New Hampshire Wildcats (2-1, 0-0)

Despite falling 34-29 to Ball State University, the Wildcats put up a battle in their third game of the season. UNH’s defense came through in the fourth quarter as they allowed no points from their opponent, but ultimately BSU made a third-down stop to end the game.

The Wildcats will head back to their home state for a matchup with Dartmouth College this weekend.

1st Place: #7 University of Rhode Island Rams (3-0, 2-0)

The clear frontrunner in conference wins and overall wins, the undefeated Rams showcased their defense in a 9-7 win over the College of Holy Cross on Saturday. Fifth-year kicker Garth White converted on all three field goals, with the longest being 41 yards, to seal the game with under three minutes to go.

URI kept Holy Cross scoreless in the second half and dug deep to find its third win of the season, showing no signs of slowing down.

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