NEC Football Power Rankings Week 12: We’re Blue
If I recall correctly, CCSU winning the NEC wasn’t much of a popular pick in the preseason- and that includes from yours truly. The Blue Devils looked good and were strong in 2024, but it sometimes felt there was an element of luck to their success.
I don’t think anyone can feel that way anymore after a dismantling of Stonehill. Couple that with a shocking Duquesne loss and the Blue Devils can finish no lower than tied for first in the NEC. This doesn’t mean they’ve locked up the autobid to the FCS playoffs yet, though. But the magic number for CCSU is now 1 win with two games remaining.
Central Connecticut
As if it could be anyone else after that introduction. CCSU came out roaring against a good Stonehill team and the game was never close. Brady Olson was brilliant with a 20/30, 261 yards, 2 TD to 0 INT performance. Despite that, Elijah Howard’s 178 yards and 2 TDs will probably be the performance immortalized in the NEC weekly awards.
Long Island
LIU was even higher than this early in the season when they were healthy and had just beaten Eastern Michigan. Injuries happened and the Sharks slumped. Now, they’re back in the kind of form they took up to Ypsilanti and delivered a huge blow to Duquesne’s playoff chances with a 29-11 win. It’s too late for LIU to make the playoffs, but they can play spoiler and win their rivalry game at the end of the season in the Boroughs Brawl against Wagner.
Wagner
The Seahawks won their third consecutive game in a close battle with Robert Morris. Just win, baby. The Seahawks are eliminated from winning the playoff autobid, having lost in overtime to CCSU several weeks ago. They were that close to being in the driver’s seat to earn a spot in the playoffs. Andre Hines has emerged as a star and the Seahawks are playing good enough defense to win. The Boroughs Brawl is looking like a big game for both teams.
Duquesne
They’re still alive. The Dukes lost to LIU to drop them to two losses in the NEC, but with winning out and a Mercyhurst win against CCSU, Duquesne will still make it into the playoffs. Now, they’re in win or go home mode and when CCSU travels to Pittsburgh this weekend, the Dukes will have to send a message. Once again, they’re still alive. Now they have to keep it.
Mercyhurst
The Lakers bounced back with a last second win against Saint Francis, but that’s kind of been the trend for playing Saint Francis the last two weeks. Dylan Evans was a big factor again and making a push for the all-Blitz team, scoring a last second touchdown. The Lakers will host Robert Morris next week.
New Haven
The first season for the Chargers is done, and they went out the right way. They removed the interim tag off of Coach Mark Powell and went out and upset Merrimack on the Blue. AJ Duffy was one of the most electric quarterbacks in the NEC this season and considering the injuries the Chargers had to endure, 5-5 was a success that could have even been improved on.
Robert Morris
Bobby Mo wasn’t able to hold off Wagner to get win #3, and as such they fall down to here. They’ll close out their season with home tilts against Mercyhurst and a rivalry game with Duquesne.
Stonehill
The Skyhawks weren’t able to hang with CCSU, but have games against Wagner and Saint Francis remaining that they should be able to compete in and even win. If the Skyhawks can pull off two wins to finish the season, they’d finish 5-7 and well above where most prognosticators had them at the start of the season.
Saint Francis
Let’s call the shot right here- Saint Francis will close out the season with a win against Stonehill and leave Division I on a high note. As of now, they’ve come close a handful of times but haven’t closed out a game yet. It’s only a matter of time before they break through.
