Commonwealth Collegiate Rankings Week 2 (9-9-2025)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Darrell Owens-LMS Network
The second week is here, and we have the results right here. We have some movement this week and have yet to identify who will stand out so we will need more football to find out where everyone will land.
We start with our honorable mention of Virginia State, who took Norfolk State to an overtime thriller and lost 34-31. Great effort against a Division I rival opponent. They will have a bye week before heading to Winston-Salem in a CIAA matchup. VMI welcomed Ferrum to the Division II level with a 42-7 win and will look to win two in a row against Bucknell next week. Here is the top 10.
10. Norfolk State (1-1) Trailing 23-10 in the fourth quarter and showing resilience to fight back and come up with the win speaks volumes to what could be a turning point for the Spartans. The backup quarterback has come in both games and produced, which will be the number one question Vick will answer this week as to who the starting quarterback is. This week is a huge test for the Spartans who will be evaluated on the four quarters of effort and living with the results as they head to Rutgers next week.
9. Hampton (1-1) The Pirates also displayed resilience with a late-game 58-yard touchdown run to give them the 27-20 victory against Elizabeth City State and will need to tighten up a couple of things With North Carolina A&T up next they should be able to run two in a row. Starting 1-0 in the CAA would be a good look and will have time before the next conference matchup as they prepare for the HU battle in the DC beltway.
8. Virginia Tech (0-2) The wheels fell off the wagon in the second half against Vanderbilt as the Hokies were outscored 34-0 in the second half which has a lot of Hokie fans looking at the head coach and his adjustments after being up 20-10 in the first half. The talent is there in Blacksburg, however, will the scheme fit the talent, and will the staff put the players in position to show their talent? With ODU coming to town, they must have a great showing in all phases of the game including coaching.
7. Old Dominion (1-1) A dominant win against North Carolina Central 54-6 puts the Monarchs in a great mood to travel to a struggling Virginia Tech team that cannot afford to lose to ODU. If the Monarchs pull off the upset, they will have a bye week to recover so expect all the tricks to be pulled as they head to Blacksburg in another in-state battle that carries a lot of weight in the rankings.
6. William and Mary (1-1) With two weather delays and a 14-0 deficit to overcome, the Tribe impressed the viewers with a different style of offense as they are going to lean on Tyler Hughes instead of the traditional bell cow approach and thus allowed the Tribe nation to watch a quick comeback in the second half as the Tribe won 28-27. Game-winning drive usually looks like run right and run left moving the chains however this time it was drop back and watch Tyler make magic. With a trip to Charlottesville against UVA, they will need all phases of football to compete against what appears to be a good UVA team.
5. Virginia Union (1-0) With a bye week moving up is rare but having no losses might be the one category the Panthers are looking to hold alone as they can run off a couple more and find themselves in the top 5 early. This week they travel to Florida almost like a post-season prep trip and if the results against Edward Waters University are a win, then it will be very hard to keep them out of the top 5. Following that trip, they play Johnson C Smith which might be the CIAA matchup of the year. Again, coming out 3-0 from this will have Panthers nation saying we are the best and if nobody takes the title I’m sure they will have no problem identifying as the state’s best team.
4. James Madison (1-1) Losing 14-28 to Louisville was a decent showing but if you know Duke nation like I do they wanted this one. Only dropping two spots they are still in a prime position to make a push for the top team in the state. They will have a bye this week and will have one of the in-state games at Liberty the following week. The Dukes will and should have a good showing with an extra week to prepare for Liberty. The conference title is still the fastest route to a playoff or bowl push so all the goals are right there in front of JMU.
3. Liberty (1-1) With a 24-34 tough loss to Jacksonville State in Alabama, Liberty will turn right around to travel to Bowling Green. The Flames might have the toughest schedule and that will be key to the overall view on how they handle it since they have had recent national success. Knocking off Bowling Green would be a huge win but they would have to leave that in Ohio as JMU will have two weeks to prepare for the Flames. That could potentially be the biggest in-state game this year.
2. Richmond (1-1) The Spiders won 14-10 in South Carolina against Wofford who is a similar opponent as they travel to Blacksburg to face Tech. With that one behind them now, Richmond has a huge test in front of them traveling to Chapel Hill, and will face North Carolina which is another one of those throw your best punch and last all rounds and live with the results. Maybe if they can score the ball and put pressure on the Tarheels, we might find ourselves watching a tight ball game. With VMI waiting after that they could be in position to have the number one spot as they finished last season as the CCR top team.
1. Virginia (1-1) Normally we have a hype game for UVA, and they don’t perform well this time they performed and just didn’t get the results they wanted, losing 31-35 to North Carolina State. It was a non-conference game, so this keeps things in perspective for Hoos Nation. They stay at number one with the highest upside and still have everything in front of them as far as goals. William and Mary are coming in town, and another beatdown in Charlottesville is necessary to hold the top spot. Hopefully, with that, they can head into ACC play against Stanford looking to go 1-0. The talk is around town about being better than that other team in the ACC from Virginia, however, they need to focus on getting better each week and seeing where that will land them.
