(STATS) - The University of New Hampshire has been here before ... and then got hot to make the FCS playoffs.
The 19th-ranked Wildcats have work to do again after falling at William & Mary 34-18 in a key CAA Football matchup Saturday. Kendall Anderson rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Steve Cluley ran for two scores and threw for one to fuel the Tribe.
A repeat as the CAA champion has gotten much harder for UNH (3-3, 1-2), which is two losses behind conference-leading James Madison and Richmond. The Wildcats are turning their focus to making the playoffs, which they've reached in 11 straight seasons - the longest active streak in the FCS.
As recently as 2013, UNH opened the season with a 1-3 record. Not only did the Wildcats win six of their next seven games to make the playoffs, but they went on to reach the national semifinals for the first time - a feat they matched last season.
They also started the 2010 season with a 2-3 record and were 2-2 early in 2012.
The good news for coach Sean McDonnell's squad is No. 1 quarterback Sean Goldrich is back after missing three starts with a high ankle sprain. He struggled, though, going 15 for 29 for 154 yards and two interceptions while being sacked five times. Running back Dalton Crossan led the Wildcats' offense with 132 yards from scrimmage, including a 37-yard touchdown run.
The final play of four straight UNH possessions doomed the visitors, who had a 15-7 lead before allowing 27 unanswered points.
With William & Mary (4-2, 3-1) ahead 21-15, UNH tight end Matt Torrey dropped a would-be touchdown in the Tribe end zone on the last play of the first half and Christian Breda missed a 22-yard field goal attempt to end the Wildcats' first drive of the second half.
Breda then mishandled a snap in his team's end zone and his punt was partially blocked, setting up the Tribe at the UNH 10. They needed only two plays to find the end zone, with Cluley scoring from 5 yards out to give the Tribe a 27-15 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
William & Mary's DeAndre Houston-Carson then blocked a punt early in the fourth, which the Tribe turned into Cluley's 30-yard touchdown pass to DeVonte Dedmon on their next play from scrimmage.
The Tribe held more than a 9½-minute edge in time of possession and outgained UNH 470 yards to 281 on Homecoming Day. They have won 11 of the last 13 meetings and own a 15-4 series lead, including 10-1 at Zable Stadium.
UNH has appeared in the FCS rankings for 162 straight weeks since Sept. 13, 2004 - by far the nation's longest active streak - but may be at risk of falling from the STATS FCS Top 25 on Monday.---=
STATS FCS TOP 25=
SATURDAY, OCT. 17
ALL TIMES ET
No. 13 Richmond (5-1, 3-0 CAA) 37, Rhode Island (1-6, 1-3) 12
Kyle Lauletta was 21 of 30 for 312 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score to spark Richmond, which has won five straight games.---=
Holy Cross (2-2, 0-1 Patriot) at No. 10 Fordham (5-1, 1-0), 1 p.m.
No. 22 Liberty (3-3, 0-1 Big South) at Monmouth (2-4, 0-1), 1 p.m.
No. 6 Chattanooga (4-1, 2-0 Southern) at VMI (1-5, 0-2), 1:30 p.m.
No. 14 Eastern Kentucky (3-2, 2-0 OVC) at Southeast Missouri State (2-4, 1-1), 2 p.m.
No. 5 James Madison (6-0, 3-0 CAA) at Elon (2-4, 1-2), 3 p.m.
No. 4 Illinois State (2-3, 2-0 Missouri Valley) at Missouri State (3-2, 0-2), 3 p.m.
Southern Illinois (2-3, 1-1 Missouri Valley) at No. 21 Indiana State (3-2, 1-1), 3:05 p.m.
No. 9 Sam Houston State (3-2, 3-1 Southland) at Abilene Christian (2-3, 2-2), 3:30 p.m.
No. 25 Villanova (2-3, 1-1 CAA) at Albany (2-4, 1-2), 3:30 p.m.
No. 18 Harvard (4-0) at Lafayette (1-5), 3:30 p.m.
South Dakota (3-2, 0-2 Missouri Valley) at No. 2 North Dakota State (4-1, 2-0), 3:30 p.m.
No. 16 Montana State (3-2, 2-1 Big Sky) at No. 17 Portland State (4-1, 1-1), 3:30 p.m.
No. 7 South Dakota State (4-1, 1-1 Missouri Valley) at No. 11 Youngstown State (3-2, 1-1), 4 p.m.
No. 8 Eastern Washington (3-2, 2-0 Big Sky) at Idaho State (2-4, 1-2), 4:35 p.m.
Western Illinois (3-2, 2-0 Missouri Valley) at No. 12 Northern Iowa (2-3, 0-2), 5 p.m.
No. 15 McNeese State (5-0, 4-0 Southland) at Central Arkansas (3-2, 3-0), 7 p.m.
No. 1 Jacksonville State (4-1, 2-0 OVC) at Tennessee Tech (2-4, 1-2), 7 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin (1-5, 1-3 Southland) at No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana (3-2, 2-1), 8 p.m.---=
IDLE=
No. 3 Coastal Carolina (6-0, 1-0 Big South)
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