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The Sickos Committee’s Weather Travel and Football Master Almanac Notebook. (SCWTFMAN) - The Coastal Athletic Association Outlook.
Welcome to the Sickos Committee’s Weather, Travel & Football Master Almanac Notebook aka the SCWTFMAN. Here in our SCWTFMAN we will attempt to forecast the upcoming 2023 college football season by using our Sickos Committee alert system. We’re going to do this in the Farmer’s Almanac style. If you don’t know what a Farmers' Almanac is, basically it provides long-range weather predictions for both the U.S. and Canada. We will be applying our forecast to all of Division I in the United States. We’re trying to predict what the upcoming season holds for all Division I teams in college football using our Sickos Committee Weather Alert System.
First we will preview the 128 FCS teams in a conference by conference breakdown over the next coming weeks. Then we will get to the 133 FBS teams for a total of 261 team previews in all.
Will these previews be long winded and incredibly in depth? No. Will these previews be mostly based on “vibes” as assessed by the Sickos Committee weather forecasters? Yes.
Basically, we’re going to try to assess the team as a Sickos Warning, Watch or Advisory, give you their record last year, provide a little blurb about the team and for the FCS version to advise you of any of their games against the FBS and interesting schedule tidbits. We will do a couple of parts here for the substack as we can’t fit all the teams in one post. This one is a doozy with a 15 team conference preview.
Our Previous SCWTFMAN installment The Big Sky Conference Forecast.
The Coastal Athletic Association formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association
Albany
Last Year 3-8 Overall and 2-6 in the CAA.
Had six one-possession games last year and they were 1-5 in those games. Head Coach Greg Gattuso is in his 10th season and his offensive coordinator, Jared Ambrose, returns for his second season.
Two FBS games this year, one relatively close by at Marshall and then the other one all the way out in Hawaii. Albany is picked 10th out of 15 in the Preseason Poll and they face three 2022 FCS Playoff teams this year.
Rating - Sickos Warning - This rating is only because they are flying all the way out to Hawaii to play. We will likely be staying up really late to watch this game as it starts at 11 PM ET. Also, the Warning is for their propensity to play one-possession games.
Campbell
Last Year 5-6 Overall and 2-3 in the Big South, new to the CAA in 2023.
Moved from the Big South to the CAA. Head Coach Mike Minter is in his 11th season at the helm and the program feels stable even factoring the conference change.
One FBS game against North Carolina in November. Their CAA Schedule has them face 4 FCS Playoff teams from 2022 and they open at home against William & Mary the 2022 CAA Co-Champs.
Rating - Sickos Watch - We’re not too sure how this conference move will go but they seemingly hover around .500 every year. Also, we must say this… Roll Humps.
Delaware
Last Year 8-5 Overall and 4-4 in the CAA, Made FCS Playoffs, lost in the 2nd Round to South Dakota State 42-6. Finished Ranked 19th.
Very solid season last year with an upset over Navy last year to open the season and a 2nd Round playoff loss to the FCS Champion. Their Head Coach Ryan Carty returns for his second season at the helm.
One FBS game at Penn State, it likely won’t be a Happy Valley for the Blue Hens. Their conference schedule is composed of no 2022 FCS playoff teams except Elon. Very favorable for the Blue Hens.
Rating - Sickos Advisory - If the Blue Hens handle their business and they can replace their outgoing Senior production, they could very well find the FCS Playoffs again.
Elon
Last Year 8-4 Overall and 6-2 in the CAA, Made FCS Playoffs, lost in the opening round to Furman. Finished Ranked 17h.
They’ve shown improvement every year under Head Coach Tony Trisciani and last year was their best year in a long time.
One FBS opponent in Wake Forest to start the year. They also start with their first four games on the road and that includes at Gardner-Webb the 2022 Big South Champion. Then they get four straight home games and then finish with two straight games on the road and then finally at home for the last game. What is this schedule Elon??
Rating - Sickos Warning - We’re utterly fascinated with Elon this year. If they can survive the opening road gauntlet, they could be primed to finish ranked again and we can maybe see sneaking into the FCS playoffs again. However, there are so many questions and such weird scheduling quirks here we don’t know what to expect.
Hampton
Last Year 4-7 Overall and 1-7 in the CAA.
This is Hampton’s second year in the CAA after leaving the Big South. Last year they only managed to get one in Conference win over Albany in a wild 38-37 OT thriller.
No FBS games on the schedule for the Pirates this year. They do have the neutral site game against Howard to determine the “Real H.U.” in Audi Field.
Rating - Sickos Watch - They've got a relatively tough schedule but expectations appear to be in line with the schedule. The Pirates hope to surprise some CAA conference mates this year and we will keep an eye to see if they do to improve on the 4-7 mark last year. However, they were picked last in the CAA Preseason Poll.
Maine
Last Year 2-9 Overall and 2-6 in the CAA.
The FCS Semis run of 2018 seems far away now and second year Head Coach Jordan Stevens has some work cut out for him this year.
One FBS team is on the schedule at FIU to start the year, then they go to the Fargodome to face North Dakota State the next week. An interesting start for the Black Bears to 2023 to say the least. Two weeks later at 2022 Co-Champ William & Mary and they could be looking at a 1-3 to 0-4 start.
Rating - Sickos Watch - The Maine rebuild will hopefully take a step in the right direction and we can hope to see improvement in the middle of the year when the schedule lightens up a little.
Monmouth
Last Year 5-6 Overall and 3-5 in the CAA.
In his 31st year, Head Coach Kevin Callahan has been their only Head Coach in program history. A Monmouth Institution. They lost three one possession games last year, including a marathon 7 OT game against Rhode Island 48-46.
One FBS team on the schedule, opening week visit to Boca Raton against Tom Herman’s FAU. A relatively friendly CAA schedule but they do play three CAA playoff teams from 2022.
Rating - Sickos Watch - Any time someone plays a 7OT game the previous year, our eyes and ears perk up. The Hawks hope to see the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2020 and their schedule may help them out.
North Carolina A&T
Last Year 7-4 Overall and 4-1 in the Big South, new to the CAA in 2023.
2nd in the Big South last year with only one loss to the Conference Champs. Also, they’ve got a brand new Head Coach Vincent Bernard "The Undertaker" Brown to go with their New Conference. A whole lot of new for the Aggies this year.
One FBS team this year, as they get to open up with the Trent Dilfer led UAB Blazers. They face 3 FCS playoff teams from 2022 this year.
Rating - Sickos Watch - New Conference, New Coach. Color us curious. Let’s see what 2023 brings for NC A&T.
New Hampshire
Last Year 9-4 Overall and 7-1 in the CAA. Conference Co-Champs. Made FCS Playoffs, lost in the 2nd Round to Holy Cross. Finished Ranked 13th.
As high as 8th in the FCS Preseason polls, New Hampshire is primed to make a run at the FCS Playoffs and CAA Conference title.
One FBS game in Mount Pleasant against Central Michigan in Week 2. The Chips may need to be careful with that one. Their hardest game after that is at Delaware in Week 2.
Rating - Sickos Advisory - New Hampshire is primed to make a FCS Playoff run, how far will they go? That remains to be seen.
Rhode Island
Last Year 7-4 Overall and 5-3 in the CAA.
Two heartbreaking losses to William & Mary (31-30) and New Hampshire (31-28) kept them out of a FCS playoff berth last year. Their 10th year Head Coach Jim Fleming looks to get them into the playoffs this year.
One FBS game to open the season at Georgia State and this one could be interesting. They only have two games against the 2022 FCS Playoff teams this year.
Rating - Sickos Warning - This could be a CAA dark horse or just be a random number generator. The Rams are fun to watch play and this schedule could possibly allow them to rack up conference wins. If they get some breaks to go their way… who knows. Also, a 7OT game last year and a propensity for close games gets them to Warning status with the added bonus of their beautiful Keaney Blue uniforms.
Richmond
Last Year 9-4 Overall and 6-2 in the CAA. Made FCS Playoffs, lost in the 2nd Round to Sacramento State. Finished Ranked 11th.
Really tough ending to the year going to play Sacramento State in the crazy conditions and rain in Sacramento but nearly pulled it off. As high as 21st in some FCS Polls.
One FBS Game at Michigan State in Week 2. Medium schedule difficulty in the CAA but they end the regular season at 2022 CAA Co-Champ William & Mary.
Rating - Sickos Advisory - It’s the Spiders, a really solid FCS team with FCS playoff aspirations who plays really sound football. However, a Sickos Warning for WebstUR, the spider mascot for Richmond. (seen below)
Stony Brook
Last Year 2-9 Overall and 1-7 in the CAA.
The Sea Wolves are led by 18th year Head Coach Chuck Priore. Last year was not one to remember, their two wins were by a combined three points. Their last winning season was in 2018.
One FBS game at Arkansas State in Week 3. They face four 2022 FCS Playoff entrants this year. Not much of a breather for the Sea Wolves.
Rating - Sickos Watch - We hope the Sea Wolves can surprise some CAA foes this year but we don’t expect too much from Stony Brook. They were picked to finish 2nd to last in the Preseason poll. We really love the nickname Sea Wolves, it’s one of our favorite Division I nicknames. Check out this beveled Sea Wolves Logo below.
Towson
Last Year 6-5 Overall and 4-4 in the CAA.
Their Head Coach of the past 13 years was fired after last season. They hired Head Coach Pete Shinnick from Division II West Florida. Shinnick led the Argonauts to back to back Gulf Coast Conference titles and a Semifinal playoff run last year. He also won a Division II Championship at West Florida in 2019.
One FBS game basically in their own backyard against Maryland. Big CAA games at William & Mary and at New Hampshire but the rest of the schedule could lead to an improvement on last year’s 6-5.
Rating - Sickos Watch - Curious to see how the new coach works out. If they win some swing games, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to sneak into the FCS Playoffs.
Villanova
Last Year 6-5 Overall and 4-4 in the CAA.
Preseason ranked 6th to begin 2022 and started 2-0. They lost to Army and then Monmouth in back to back weeks to drop to 2-2 and never really got back on track but they did end the season with a win against Delaware, which almost spoiled the Blue Hens bid to the FCS Playoffs.
One FBS game in week 3 against UCF. They have two tough CAA games on the road at New Hampshire and at Delaware. We just want to note here they have a 2nd Year Defensive Coordinator named Ross Pennypacker. That’s right Pennypacker is his last name.
Rating - Sickos Warning - There was something there on this team to have them rated #6 in the FCS Preseason Poll in 2022. However, this year they aren’t ranked in any preseason poll. The Wildcats appear to be a Wildcard for the 2023 Season. This earns a Sickos Warning because who knows what is coming this year from Villanova and we want to find out.
William & Mary
Last Year 11-2 Overall and 7-1 in the CAA. Conference Co-Champs. Made FCS Playoffs. Lost in the Quarters to Montana State where it was incredibly cold. Finished Ranked 8th. Remember the image of Cam Newton looking incredibly cold in the stands supporting his brother in Bozeman. Can you pick out Cam Newton here?
Coached by Mike London in his 5th year, William & Mary are ranked either 3rd or 4th in the Preseason FCS Polls and rightfully so. They surprised last year and dismantled FBS Charlotte to open the season 41-24. Stumbled against Elon but then regained form until they basically froze to death on the icy turf in Bozeman.
One FBS game in Week 6 at Virginia. Their schedule is relatively favorable since they only face 2 FCS Playoff teams from 2022.
Rating - Sickos Advisory - William & Mary is primed for a great season after a surprising run to the CAA Co-Championship this year. They are the heavy preseason CAA favorites for good reason as their 3rd ranked rushing offense returns nearly all of their 2022 team.
This has been an excerpt from the Sickos Committee’s Weather, Travel & Football Master Almanac Notebook.
