Commonwealth Collegiate Power Rankings Week 11 (11-5-24)

By: Joe Dillard Jr.

Headline Photo Credit: Darrell Owens-LMS Network 

With a Norfolk State loss, we have two Division I teams on the outside looking in.  How will teams respond to a chance at a conference championship? Let’s take a look at who’s cracking into the rankings this week who is going up and who is going down!!

HM Randolph-Macon (7-1) Beating Washington and Lee 20-7, the Yellow Jackets look like the cream of the crop in the ODAC conference.  Ranked 24th in Division III, this could be a team to look out for as the playoffs are soon approaching.  Ferrum is up next and with just two games left, Randolph-Macon could be in a prime position to compete for a deep run in the Division III playoffs.  They crack our HM position as this could be their opportunity to get into that top 10. 

10. Virginia State University’s (6-3) 55-0 win against Lincoln proves to set up the battle of the state thus far with a trip to the CIAA on the line. The Trojans will host Virginia Union as a rivalry game could not have more incentive and bragging rights than this one. They will have a tall task in front of them but on the other side of the mountain will land them in a championship game. 

9. Hampton- (5-4) With a chance to shock the conference twice, the Pirates fall one possession short in a loss to Villanova 14-20.  Thus, dropping one spot. One thing is for sure and that’s the Pirates playing good football again and is trending to a winning record with 3 games remaining. Up next the Pirates travel to Towson looking to secure a .500 season with a huge game coming up with Richmond that could cement the strength of the CAA conference.

8. Virginia Union (7-2) There has not been a more dominant team in the state than the Virginia Union Panthers who embarrassed Bluefield State 91-0.  I don’t know what was more impressive than the fact they scored 91 or that in the 6-game winning streak, they outscored their opponents 318-60.  I must say this is why they were mentioned from the very beginning of the year and will have a rivalry game against Virginia State for a trip to the CIAA championship.

7. Old Dominion- (4-5) A tough road loss 20-28 to Appalachian State drops the Monarch as they were starting to get hot.  This was a tough conference loss as they still have a chance to get a Sun Belt title appearance, however with a bye this week, we will have the second most important game from an in-state perspective as they will host James Madison. We will see how much gas is left in the tank from playing all that catch-up and wasted opportunities.  

6. Virginia – (4-4) A bye week for the Hoos could not have come at a better time losers of three straight and essentially have the “murders row” of schedules left with Pitt, Notre Dame, SMU, and rivalry games in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. to be bowl eligible would require two upsets as Virginia is underdogs in the final four games remaining. They are sliding but again the level of competition is tougher the resources say that UVA should be able to produce as well.  

5. Virginia Tech- (5-4)- Yep, I called it as the Hokies might have been looking ahead to hosting Clemson and completely blew an opportunity to compete for the ACC title with a 31-38 overtime loss to Syracuse.  The Hokies have not been consistent all year and with Clemson up next it appears they will have a tall task in front of them to rewrite the ship.  Becoming bowl eligible should be the primary focus with 3 games remaining and one win securing a .500 season and eligibility for a bowl game.  

4 William and Mary – (6-3) (FCS #20/21) 45-7 is what you need starting November with some huge games in front of the Tribe.  Moving up two spots the Tribe still have a chance to obtain number one within the state as they have Richmond left on the schedule and should have a good chance of winning the remaining games. North Carolina A&T was the victim and the Tribe host Elon next as they need to continue playing good football to give themselves a chance at post-season football. There is a lot of work to do but again winning is the first part.

3. Liberty- (5-2) One thing is for sure; the Flames are glad to get back to Traditional Saturday College football as Wednesday games were costly in their chances to compete for a Conference USA championship. They have a must-win game against Middle Tennessee State to continue collecting conference wins.  They move up a spot even coming off a loss but they find themselves in a hole for conference play with both losses coming in the conference. The remaining schedule allows a chance to still win the conference Sam Houston and Western Kentucky are still on the schedule. They could go from 1-7 on the rankings with big games ahead. 

2. JMU-(6-2) Coming off a bye week, the Dukes look to keep their eye on a conference championship welcoming Georgia State to Bridgeforth Stadium looking to position themselves back in contention for the Sun Belt championship. A bye week where Liberty did not take advantage of a chance to move ahead of JMU in our rankings left the Dukes one spot away from the top team in the state. 

1. Richmond-(7-2) (FCS #9/13) Winners of 7 straight with a 35-24 win against Towson, the Spiders are rolling and not looking to stop as they will have a great chance to compete for a CAA championship as Rhode Island and the Spiders are the only teams undefeated in conference play.  Things are the three games left for Richmond pose a much harder obstacle than Rhode Island.  Hampton and William and Mary are looking for blood and both know they will not get too many more chances with Richmond leaving the CAA. However, Campbell is up next and hopefully, the Spiders continue to stay focused and not look ahead.