Taking over for a legend is never easy, either as a player or a coach. It's tough to do!
On Long Island, the Stony Brook Seawolves are moving forward from long-time coach Chuck Priore, who was let go last year after 18-seasons at the helm. Priore led the program to a transition from the Northeast Conference to the BIg South and then to the CAA. Over the course of his career, he produced numerous NFL players and led the program to its first and only victory over an FBS opponent (Army, 2012), plus his teams made a handful of FCS playoff appearances.
Enter first-year coach Billy Cosh, who is one of the youngest coaches in the sport at 32. He took over a program that went 0-10 in 2023 and quickly the Seawolves playing some good ball at 4-1 on the season.
Cosh came to Long Island from Western Michigan, where he was the offensive coordinator and QB coach, and has transformed this team into one that has been stellar along both lines of scrimmage and plays complementary football. They look like how teams in this conference tend to look, which is why there is a lot of excitement coming out of Stony Brook this season.
Winners of four straight games, the Seawolves face one of the blue bloods of the FCS in conference foe Villanova this weekend. It's a great chance for Cosh's team, win or lose, to show where they stand this season in regards to the CAA picture -- and the FCS one as a whole.
Team | Rank | Record | Breakdown |
---|---|---|---|
1. Montana State | 5-0 | This Bobcats defense is hard to move the ball against on a consistent basis. This side of the ball just gets better and better as the season progresses. | |
2. South Dakota State | 3-1 | The Jackrabbits kick off Missouri Valley play with a road trip to the UNI Dome to face a good Northern Iowa team. | |
3. North Dakota State | 4-1 | Looking to avenge last season's 49-24 loss to North Dakota, the Bison will also try to get on the plus side of their 28-28-1 home record vs. the Fighting Hawks. | |
4. Villanova | 4-1 | Huge game in the CAA this week between Villanova and Stony Brook. Many are questioning the validity of the Wildcats record, but my answer to those detractors is to look at how dominant they are defensively in their wins. Teams struggle to do anything positive against them. | |
5. South Dakota | 3-1 | The Coyotes dominated Southern Illinois in their 42-13 win last weekend. They held the Salukis to 60 yards rushing in the game on 25 carries. Ouch! | |
6. Central Arkansas | 4-1 | UCA has been dominant on both sides of the ball this year and did a great job of putting away Lamar early last week. The schedule doesn't get any easier as it faces conference-leading Abilene Christian this weekend. | |
7. William & Mary | 4-1 | Hampton led 7-0 in the first quarter, and William & Mary took that personally with a 49-0 run to end the game. Impressive showing by coach Mike London's crew. | |
8. North Dakota | 4-1 | Confidence has to be high coming into this matchup against North Dakota State considering last year's beatdown. But, the Hawks haven't been as successful in Fargo as opposed to Grand Forks,. | |
9. Mercer | 5-0 | Mercer might have the best defense in the FCS. The Bears are legit smothering opponents on that side of the ball. Three times this season they've held opponents to three points or fewer. | |
10. UC Davis | 4-1 | A huge defensive stop on the final 2-point conversion attempt helped save the game for the Aggies in an upset win over Idaho. | |
11. Idaho | 3-2 | The Vandals came up just a bit short on the road against UC Davis. They've been flying too close to the sun, this time it was just a bit too close. | |
12. Montana | 4-1 | As a team, the Grizzlies ran for 337 yards against Eastern Washington with both backs, Eli Gillman and Nick Ostmo, going over 100 yards. Also, QB Logan Fife tossed five touchdown passes in the win over the Eagles. Now, about that Griz defense ... | |
13. Tarleton State | 4-1 | This upcoming game vs. Southern Utah is an interesting one for the Texans. That's a solid team in SUU, and we'll learn a lot about Tarleton's viability as a contender. | |
14. Sacramento State | 2-3 | Offensively speaking, the Hornets just couldn't get anything going against Northern Arizona. Going 2 for 10 on third downs is what ultimately sank them against the Lumberjacks. | |
15. Florida A&M | 2-2 | The FBS portion of the slate is over, and now the Rattlers come off of their bye week with a big-time road conference test against Alabama State. | |
16. Southeast Missouri State | 4-1 | Only winning 19-0 vs. a Northwestern State squad who has given up a billion points per game was a bit puzzling. But, a win is a win thanks to kicker DC Pippin's four field goals. | |
17. New Hampshire | 3-1 | UNH has been running through New England so far this season with wins against Holy Cross, Stonehill and Bryant. Next up on the schedule are the Harvard Crimson. | |
18. Rhode Island | 3-1 | Coming off of a bye, the Rams travel down to Virginia to take on Hampton. They can't afford to sleepwalk out of the gate against the Pirates. | |
19. Incarnate Word | 2-2 | Looking to post back-to-back wins for the first time this season, the Cardinals welcome Prairie View A&M this weekend to San Antonio. | |
20. Chattanooga | 1-3 | The Mocs did a good job getting off the mat and getting their first win of the season against Portland State last weekend. Now, they have to take on East Tennessee State in a huge conference matchup. | |
21. Northern Iowa | 2-2 | Can the Panthers pull off the upset against South Dakota State? If any team has the makeup to do so, it's Northern Iowa. | |
22. Illinois State | 3-2 | .Tough day at the office for the Redbirds offense vs North Dakota State. The good news is that they get to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis defense, which should provide the perfect remedy. | |
23. McNeese | 4-2 | Hey now ... that early season close loss to Tarleton State doesn't look so bad, now does it? The Cowboys have been finding ways to win games and coming off of a big one vs .Weber State of the Big Sky. | |
24. Stony Brook | 4-1 | One of the surprises so far this season has been the play of the Seawolves under new coach Billy Cosh. The 32-year-old has his team playing great defense, and they're on a four-game winning streak. The only loss came to Marshall of the FBS. | |
25. East Tennessee State | 3-2 | Coach Tre Lamb deserves a ton of credit for how he's navigated his team's situation following Hurricane Helene. To be able to maintain focus and discipline, subsequently coming away with a road win, is big time. |