Might the CAA play itself out of some future games against FBS opposition?

Why face a Colonial Athletic Association team when less threatening competition from another Football Championship Subdivision league is available?

That may be the thought process of some coaches and administrators from Football Bowl Subdivision schools when they formulate future schedules. The University of Richmond won at Duke, and William and Mary won at Virginia last weekend, giving the CAA two wins over the ACC. Last Thursday, CAA member Villanova topped Temple.

"The football schedules are made so far out in advance. We've got guys booked in 2012 and 2013," CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said.

The Spiders, for instance, are annually scheduled to play an ACC opponent through 2014 (Virginia next season, Duke in 2011, Virginia in 2012, N.C. State in 2013 and Virginia in 2014). W&M visits North Carolina next season and Virginia in 2011. Yeager said he believes any reluctance on the part of FBS schools to schedule CAA opponents will fade by the time additional schedules are made.

FCS schools receive six-figure guarantees to play games against ACC opposition.

"I haven't seen any movement that leads me to believe that we're not going to be able to schedule [more of] those games," said David Walsh, Richmond's deputy athletic director. Walsh is heavily involved in Spiders' football scheduling.

Today, James Madison plays at Maryland and New Hampshire visits Ball State, two more chances for CAA schools to sting FBS opponents.

"It's fun to sit down and hear [ESPN analyst] Lou Holtz talk on Monday night about the victories our guys had," Yeager said.

Yeager believes the CAA's "real dividend" will pay out when the FCS selection committee gets together following the regular season to select at-large entries to the 16-team playoff field. In each of the past two years, the CAA has advanced five of its 12 teams to postseason play. Before the Colonial did so in 2007, no league had sent more than four teams to the playoffs.

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