By By Dan Barrack
A-10 SOUTH
1. Villanova University: 2-1 (1-0)Villanova defeated the University of Pennsylvania, 28-24, on Saturday. Trailing 24-14 heading into the final quarter, the Wildcats rallied with 14 points to take the victory. Quarterback Frank Jankowski threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns to boost Villanova into first place. Villanova travels to the New Hampshire on Saturday.
2. University of Delaware: 3-0 (0-0)Delaware improved its record to 3-0 last Saturday by defeating Holy Cross, 35-23. The Blue Hens had 306 rushing yards, 177 of which were produced by Omar Cuff. Delaware looks to remain perfect when it faces Towson on Saturday.
3. James Madison University: 2-1 (0-0)Coming off of its first bye week, James Madison (JMU) looks to keep things rolling when it visits the Pride on Saturday. The Dukes easily handled Delaware State on Sept. 17 by a score of 65-7. JMU currently sits third in the Atlantic 10 (A-10) South.
4. College of William & Mary: 2-2 (0-1)William & Mary had its most impressive win last week, a 56-0 drubbing of Liberty. The Tribe defense held Liberty to negative six yards rushing for the entire game. Elijah Brooks contributed to the win with over 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Tribe will play at home against New Hampshire on Oct. 8.
5. University of Richmond: 1-3 (0-1)Richmond fell to Vanderbilt University last Saturday, 37-13, despite having three receivers with over six receptions, including Earl Bennett, who caught eight for 93 yards. With three loses in their first four games, the Spiders look to get back on the winning track against Villanova on Oct. 8.
6. Towson University: 2-2 (0-2)After an impressive 2-0 start, Towson has fallen into the cellar of the A-10 South by losing two consecutive conference games. The Tigers lost a high scoring game to Northeastern last week, 56-41, giving up 565 total yards in the process. It was the second consecutive week that Towson has given up over 500 yards to its opponent. The Tigers look to stop the bleeding Saturday against Delaware.
A-10 NORTH
1. University of Massachusetts: 3-1 (2-0)After a 40-point blowout win against Albany on Sept. 17, the Minutemen outlasted the University of Rhode Island, 14-6 on Saturday. Massachusetts scored both of its touchdowns on the ground in the second quarter, one from Steve Baylark and the other from R.J. Cobbs. UMass will look to extend its conference winning streak to three games when it takes on Northeastern on Oct. 8.
2. University of New Hampshire: 3-0 (1-0)New Hampshire extended its undefeated record last week by defeating Dartmouth College, 49-20. Quarterback Ricky Santos threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns, including one score of his own. Rushing touchdowns were also scored by Michael Boyle, Matt O’Brien and Keith LeVan. Villanova comes to town Saturday looking to hand the Wildcats its first loss of the season.
3. University of Rhode Island: 3-1 (1-1) Starting the season with three wins, Rhode Island dropped to third in the A-10 North after a 14-6 loss to conference rival Massachusetts. The Rams threw the ball only eight times the entire game, relying heavily on running back Joe Casey, who contributed with 148 yards on the ground. Rhode Island looks to re-establish its winning ways at Brown this Saturday.
4. Northeastern University: 1-3 (1-1)With a disappointing 0-3 start to the 2005 season, Northeastern finally got into the win column with a 56-41 victory over Towson last week. Quarterback John Sperrazza had a great day with 312 passing yards and three touchdowns. Cory Parks also joined in with 205 rushing yards and a score of his own. The Huskies look to extend their winning streak to two games as they travel to UMass on Oct. 8.
5. University of Maine: 1-2 (0-0)After a bye week, Maine prepares to take on the University of Albany on Saturday. Some stand-out players for Maine this season are wide receiver Kevin McMahan and quarterback Ron Whitcomb. McMahan has 18 grabs for 297 yards and three touchdowns in just three games so far this year.