Commonwealth Collegiate Rankings Week 8 (10-21-2025)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Arturo Jones-LMS Network
Commonwealth Collegiate Rankings Week 8
This week we focus on conference play and national ranking as we have those hunting and the rest dinner. We have multiple teams within the state with conference championship aspirations right before them. William and Mary with the CAA, JMU with the SunBelt, Virginia with the ACC, Virginia Union with the CIAA, CNU with NJAC, and Randolph Macon with the ODAC.
Six schools with legit chances to win the conference title while there are a couple more listed as dark horses. Hampton-Sydney has a great chance to head into a clash with Randolph-Macon in what could be for the ODAC championship. And yes, believe it or not there is rhyme to the reason of Norfolk State still having some relevancy as the 2-6 Spartans are 0-0 in conference play, and what a story it would be to win the conference after what would be called a tough non-conference schedule with only having 6 teams in the MEAC.
#10. Virginia Tech (2-5) Even with a bye week the Hokies drop three spots due to the success of the state. With California up next Friday, this can set the Hokies back to .500 in the ACC and they will need four out of the next five just to become bowl eligible. Long way up but it all starts this week with Cal. Will the Hokies find themselves outside the top ten or will they snap their two-game losing streak?
#9. University of Richmond (4-4) Joining a new conference has had its bumps in the road as Holy Cross edges out Richmond 22-28 dropping the Spiders to 1-3 in the Patriot League conference. With a much-needed bye week, the Spiders will have two weeks to prepare for Fordham at home. A much-needed win but with two weeks of preparation, a loss would be detrimental to the first season in the Patriot League.
#8. Liberty University (3-4) With a 30-27 win against New Mexico State, the Flames are now winners of two in a row and have improved to 2-1 in C-USA. The unusual thing about Liberty is that it was the last game in October and will have 5 games in November starting with hosting Delaware which could spring the Flames into three straight wins and a solid chance at the C-USA title. With plenty of rest coming up, they will need it for November having a game every seven days.
#7. Old Dominion University (4-3) What could have been one of the best showdowns in the in-state battles, ODU stumbled into the this matchup with a loss and could not hang with the Dukes of James Madison losing 27-63 thus dropping the Monarchs and looking for redemption welcoming App State for homecoming and will look to improve to .500 in the SunBelt Conference. Losers of two in a row, the Monarchs will need a good showing to regain momentum for a SunBelt title run.
#6. Randolph Macon College #20 (6-1) After a great run last season, the YellowJackets of Randolph Macon are back and looking to make a long playoff run. With a 47-0 thumping on the road against Guilford College, Randolph Macon looks the part and is poised to make a run at the Division III championship, and is the clear favorite for the ODAC Championship outscoring opponents 210-46 in the ODAC games. Another road trip this week to Gallaudet University should be another dominant result as they have two heavy hitters looking to knock them off in Shenandoah and Hampton-Sydney.
#5. Christopher Newport University #15 (6-0) on Homecoming CNU continued their dominant run beating Kean University 47-0 and outscoring the past two opponents 118-7. If CNU can continue the next couple of weeks they have a monstrous matchup against number 4 Salisbury University. If CNU runs the table, the Division III playoffs may have to come through Newport News. However, until then the next opponent is William Paterson University on the road, but the Captains will be a heavy favorite and will need a good showing to try and hit the top ten in the Division III rankings.
#4. William and Mary (4-3) Winning back-to-back weeks and improving to 3-1 in the CAA, the Tribe looks to take advantage of the 26-21 victory against Elon and will look to head north and face New Hampshire, which has one of the toughest schedules and will be a hard battle for the Tribe. If they can pull this win off, they will be a serious competitor for the CAA championship. This is an example of an experience program that knows the non-conference games should be battle-testing matches to impress the committee when it comes to playoff seeding.
#3. Virginia Union University #12 (6-1) 66-21 against Lincoln makes five wins straight for the Panthers with a crazy rushing game averaging 7 yards per pop totaling 311 yards per game. Running back Curtis Allen out of Prince George’s, Virginia has been a workhorse with 1,380 yards rushing on 169 carries and 19 touchdowns. This is 7 games’ worth of stats and who knows what he will end up with behind this great offensive line. Ranked #12 in Division II, the Panthers welcome Bowie State to town and look to keep rolling for a sixth straight win.
#2. James Madison (6-1) The Dukes are rolling having a full bowl of dog food courtesy of ODU with a 63-27 victory. Winners of five in a row, they were led by dual-threat quarterback Alonza Barnett III who absolutely had a dominant game throwing 17-25 for 295 with 2 touchdowns no picks but on the ground with 17 carries he amounted to 153 and four touchdowns. 4-0 in the SunBelt Conference and traveling to Texas to face Texas State on October 28 and will look to improve to 5-0 in conference play and continue to rise in the rankings as one of the best teams in the country.
#1. University of Virginia #16 (6-1) 22-20 win against Washington State had every feeling of a trap game but this UVA team seems to be resilient and loves to face adversity and thrive in the moment. Ranked #16 in the nation and undefeated in the ACC 3-0, the Hoos are in a prime position to make it to the ACC championship game and will position themselves for a playoff run at the national title. One week at a time is still the theme as the next opponent is the biggest opponent with UNC on the road and needing to come out with a win since Miami has lost and Georgia Tech is still undefeated at #7. The balance attack serves the Hoos well as J’Mari Taylor has 512 yards with 8 touchdowns while Chandler Morris has completed over 68 percent and 11 touchdowns with just over 1600 yards passing.
