Richmond, Va. — The Colonial Athletic Association says Saturday’s game between William & Mary and Richmond has been canceled because of coronavirus-related protocols within the Tribe program.
The league also says the Spiders and James Madison, who have each had to pull out of a scheduled matchup because of protocols in their programs, will play April 17 at James Madison.
The Dukes (4-0, 2-0 CAA) are the top-ranked team in the STATE Perform FCS Top 25, but have not played a home conference game this season. If they beat the Spiders, they would be in position to claim the league’s automatic berth in the FCS playoffs.
Before this season, the league decided a team needed to play at least three conference games to qualify for the automatic berth. Had the Spiders (3-0, 3-0) been able to face the Tribe, and win, they would have been among the contenders to gain the automatic bid.
The 16-team FCS playoff field, including five at-large teams, will be announced Feb. 18.
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
