When: 3 p.m. Radio: WREJ (1540)  Tickets: $22 sideline, $17 end zone
  Records: Towson 1-6 CAA, 2-8;
James Madison 3-4, 5-5
  Players to watch: Towson—LB Danzel White, 105 tackles, RB Tremayne Dameron, 153 carries, 521 yards, 6 TDs; JMU—QB Justin Thorpe, 138-622 yards rushing, 5 TDs, 68-124 passing, 1,001 yards, 6 int., 3 TDs, WR Rockeed McCarter, 28 catches, 545 yards, 3 TDs, DE Arthur Moats, 83 tackles, 23.5 for a loss.

Jamaris Sanders returned a fumble 38-yards for seven of James Madison’s 10 points off turnovers in a 17-14 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.

When: Noon
  TV: The Comcast Network; Radio: WREJ (1540)
  Records: JMU 2-4, 4-5; Massachusetts 3-3, 5-4
  Players to watch: JMU—QB Justin Thorpe, 60-111 passing, 881 yards, 3 TDs, 6 int., 653 yards rushing; DE Arthur Moats, 72 tackles, 21 for loss, LB Pat Williams, 65 tackles; UMass—QB Kyle Havens, 136-244 passing, 1,820 yards, 9 TDs, 14 int., WR Victor Cruz, 46 catches, 702 yards, 5 TDs, LB Tyler Holmes, 87 tackles, 4 int.

Hope springs eternal at the start of the college basketball season, and nowhere is hope springing more eternal or with greater expectations than the Colonial Athletic Association. The CAA is loaded. Old Dominion returns all its starters, led by potential player of the year Gerald Lee. Northeastern, VCU and James Madison each return four starters.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Evan Turner followed up his triple-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds and No. 16 Ohio State recovered from a listless spell to beat James Madison 72-44 last night in the 2K Sports Classic. David Lighty added 14 points and William Buford had 12 for the Buckeyes, who advance to meet sixth-ranked defending national champion North Carolina in the semifinals next Thursday night in Madison Square Garden.

THE BASICS: 5-11 senior guard
Wright, an elegant scorer who is particularly effective in transition, led the ACC with a 20.5-point scoring average in 2009. She piled up 696 points, a U.Va. single-season record. The ACC’s preseason player of the year will flourish if the Cavaliers can create and sustain a fast-flowing tempo.
——-

VIRGINIA   Key players: G Monica Wright, Sr., 20.5 ppg, 3.1 apg; F Chelsea Shine, So., 5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
  Notable: Optimism is running high in Charlottesville. But is it justified? The Cavaliers must replace Lyndra Littles and Aisha Mohammed, who combined for 32 points and 17 rebounds. Opposing defenses will gang up on Wright unless someone—Shine? Paulisha Kellum? China Crosby?—emerges quickly as a consistent source of double-dight offense.

KINGSTON, R.I.—Courtland Marriner rushed for three touchdowns and William & Mary beat Rhode Island 39-14 yesterday. Marriner had 93 yards rushing and scored on runs of 9, 16 and 39 yards for the Tribe (4-1 CAA, 7-1). After the Rams (0-5, 1-7) took a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard pass from Chris Paul-Etienne to Shawn Leonard, the Tribe scored 39 unanswered points. In addition to Marriner’s three touchdowns, the Tribe got an 18-yard touchdown run from Terrence Riggins.

Kingston, R.I.
  When: 1 p.m.
  Radio: WTOX (1480), 12:30
  Records: William and Mary 3-1 CAA, 6-1;
Rhode Island 0-4, 1-6
  Players to watch: W &M—RB Jonathan Grimes, 110.5 yards per CAA game, WR D.J. McAulay, 33 catches, 423 yards, 3 TDs, DE Ravi Pradhanang, 3 sacks in last 4 games. URI—QB Chris Paul-Etienne, 133 yards per game, P Tim Edger, 41.6 average punt, DE Steve Weedon, 6 forced fumbles in 7 games this year.

SportsQuest and the Richmond Revolution indoor football team announced yesterday that they have signed former James Madison University quarterback and Dudley Award winner Rodney Landers to a contract for the 2010 season. Landers, from Virginia Beach, was the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association offensive player of the year and a finalist for the Payton Award, given to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He led the Dukes to a 12-2 record last season. They lost in the FCS semifinals to Montana after Landers sprained his ankle late in the first half.

To running back Jonathan Grimes, it was almost business as usual. William and Mary’s 24-3 Colonial Athletic Association victory over James Madison yesterday was, of course, anything but that. The fifth-ranked Tribe (3-1, 6-1) cleared another hurdle in its run toward the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs by breaking a streak of five losses to struggling JMU.

R.J. Archer threw two touchdowns and Jonathan Grimes ran for a score to lead William & Mary in a 24-3 win over James Madison on Saturday. Archer was 15-for-22 with 127 yards and an interception, and Grimes rushed for 158 yards on 20 carries for the Tribe.

The crowd gathered at the top of the Colonial Athletic Association football standings could be in for a cruel game of musical chairs. When the season ends, postseason-caliber CAA teams probably will outnumber available seats for the 16-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. FCS’ most powerful conference has six ranked teams: No.1 Richmond (6-0), No.4 Villanova (6-1), No.5 William and Mary (5-1), No.9 New Hampshire (5-1), No.14 Massachusetts (4-2) and No. 19 Delaware (5-2).

When: Noon Tickets: Sold out On the air: TV—CSN; radio: WTOX (1480), WREJ (1540)
  Records: JMU 0-3 CAA, 2-4, William and Mary 2-1, 5-1
  Players to watch: JMU—QB Justin Thorpe, 75 carries, 332 yards, 2 TDs, 33-66 passing, 420 yards, 1 TD, 3 int., DL Arthur Moats, 50 tackles, 15 for loss, 6 sacks; W&M—QB R.J. Archer, 127-203 passing, 1,321 yards, 9 TDs, 3 int., RB Jonathan Grimes, 107-483, 4 TDs, LB Jake Trantin, 43 tackles.

Face down on the ground after the second of his two fumbles, James Madison quarterback Justin Thorpe buried his helmet in the turf and slammed his hands down. The gesture summed up the day and perhaps the season for Thorpe and the 16th-ranked Dukes, whose offensive troubles were front and center in a 27-0 Colonial Athletic Association loss to sixth-ranked Villanova yesterday.