Hofstra and Massachusetts will play the oddest game of the season Saturday. The Minutemen host the Pride at McGuirk Alumni Stadium for UMass’ homecoming celebration, and while Hofstra will be playing a conference game, the Minutemen will not. Each A-10 team has a “miss” this season – one team that it will not play because of the conference’s scheduling format. So while the Maroon and White play for bragging rights and little else, the Pride will be playing for its conference record.
The Minutemen’s undefeated conference record will stay intact, while the Pride has a chance to improve on its 1-3 A-10 mark. It would be more than a long shot for Hofstra to reinsert itself into the A-10 race, with no less than three undefeated topping the standings heading into the weekend.
Massachusetts put two players on the Weekly Honors list for the Atlantic 10 after its 24-14 defeat of William ‘ Mary. UMass Lowell transfer Rich Demers earned co-Offensive Player of the Week honors with Rhode Island’s Wendell Williams, who ran up 243 all-purpose yards on 11 touches last week against Villanova. Demers notched two touchdowns against the Tribe, each on 1-yard runs, and scored for the fourth consecutive game.
Punter Christian Koegel earned the Rookie of the Week award for his best effort of the season – 45 yards per punt, three downed inside the 20-yard line, with a booming 54-yarder (his longest) as well.
So close, yet so far away
Rhode Island had a chance to upset the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats Saturday, and in fact held a lead for much of the game. Up 17-14 with under a minute to go, the Rams only had to hold the Wildcats off a little longer to complete the victory, but Villanova’s Joe Casamento threw to Troy Butler and John Dieser for a combined 55 yards, setting up Casamento’s 1-yard keeper that gave ‘Nova the 21-17 win.
Rhody held Villanova to 385 yards of total offense, a season-low for the Wildcats, and intercepted Casamento five times for 45 yards, but couldn’t hold the A-10’s leading passer (246.8 yards per game) in the final minutes.
Waiting Game
Maine is currently second in the A-10 with a 3-1 record (4-2 overall). But it took seven weeks for the Black Bears to notch their first home win over an Atlantic 10 foe, a 20-10 victory over Richmond on Oct. 4. With a bye last week, Maine has played just one game since its loss to UMass on Sept. 20, thanks in part to the cancelled game against William ‘ Mary scheduled for Sept. 27. The Black Bears hit the turf for the first time in 14 days Saturday – albeit not their own – when they visit Northeastern.
Milestone for Keeler
Delaware’s K.C. Keeler became the second-fastest man to reach 100 wins among active 1-AA coaches with the Blue Hens’ 22-21 squeaker over New Hampshire. Keeler’s crew clawed out of a 21-3 hole to top the Wildcats in a stunning finish that saw UNH kicker Connor McCormick’s float just wide of the right goalpost with four ticks left on the clock. The Hens host Rhode Island Saturday in search of No. 101 for Keeler.
Dog Days
The pre season pick to run away with the conference continued to struggle last week. Northeastern’s loss to Hofstra was its third in as many games, the first time the Huskies have lost three straight since 2000. While it would take a minor miracle (and a big winning streak), NU still has an outside shot at postseason play, sitting on a 2-2 conference record (4-3 overall). But the Huskies will have to start posting Ws this week, and they’ll host the well-rested Maine Black Bears on Saturday.
