The 2022 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tribe, led by fourth-year head coach Mike London, played their home games at Zable Stadium. By finishing 7–1 in regular season CAA games, the Tribe tied with New Hampshire as conference co-champions. They went 6–0 on the road in the regular season for the first time in program history.[1] William & Mary earned the FCS playoffs automatic bid. They made it to the quarterfinals before losing 55–7 to the #3 team in the nation, Montana State. The 11 wins tied a school record previously set twice, in 2004 and 2009.
Preseason
CAA poll
In the CAA preseason poll released on July 28, 2022, the Tribe were predicted to finish in fifth place out of 13 teams following the departure of James Madison and the addition on Monmouth and Hampton for the 2022 season.[2]
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Villanova
270 (16)
2
Delaware
235 (7)
3
Rhode Island
224
4
Richmond
219
5
William & Mary
206 (2)
6
Elon
191 (1)
7
Stony Brook
151
8
Maine
134
9
New Hampshire
117
10
Monmouth
105
11
Towson
81
12
Albany
64
13
Hampton
31
Preseason All-CAA team
Junior running back Bronson Yoder, senior defensive lineman Nate Lynn, and senior cornerback Ryan Poole were named to the CAA preseason all-conference team.[2] Lynn was also named the preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year.[2]
TV announcers (ESPN3): Bobby Rosinski, Reginald Walker Jr.
Sources:[4][5][6][7][8]
Scoring summary
1
12:17
W&M
Ethan CHANG 36 Yd Field Goal
W&M 3–0
1
5:19
CHAR
Antonio ZITA 32 Yd Field Goal
TIED 3–3
1
4:28
W&M
Tyler ROSE 31 Yd pass from Darius WILSON (Ethan CHANG Kick)
W&M 10–3
2
10:22
W&M
Donavyn LESTER 22 Yd Run (Ethan CHANG Kick)
W&M 17–3
2
6:34
CHAR
ChaVon MCEACHERN 3 Yd Run (Antonio ZITA Kick)
W&M 17–10
2
0:13
CHAR
Xavier WILLIAMS 2 Yd Run (Antonio ZITA Kick)
TIED 17–17
3
4:30
W&M
Ethan CHANG 28 Yd Field Goal
W&M 20–17
3
2:18
CHAR
Xavier WILLIAMS 67 Yd Run (Antonio ZITA Kick)
CHAR 24–20
4
12:31
W&M
Bronson YODER 1 Yd Run (Ethan CHANG Kick)
W&M 27–24
4
9:54
W&M
Lachlan PITTS 65 Yd pass from Darius WILSON (Ethan CHANG Kick)
W&M 34–24
4
7:38
W&M
Malachi IMOH 17 Yd Run (Ethan CHANG Kick)
W&M 41–24
Game notes:
This was William & Mary's first win over an FBS team since 2009, when the Tribe upset Virginia 26–14 in Charlottesville.[9]
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
William & Mary
Passing
Darius Wilson
12–18, 237 yards, 2 TD
Rushing
Bronson Yoder
15 rushes, 120 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Lacklan Pitts
1 reception, 65 yards, 1 TD
Charlotte
Passing
Xavier Williams
12–23, 201 yards
Rushing
Xavier Williams
10 rushes, 48 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Elijah Spencer
5 receptions, 107 yards
Statistics
W&M
CHAR
First downs
25
22
Total yards
559
379
Rushing yards
303
131
Passing yards
256
248
Turnovers
0
0
Time of possession
32:05
27:55
Campbell
1
2
3
4
Total
Fighting Camels
0
7
14
0
21
No. 20 Tribe
10
7
20
0
37
At Lafayette
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 15 Tribe
14
3
10
7
34
Leopards
7
0
0
0
7
Elon
1
2
3
4
Total
Phoenix
7
3
6
19
35
No. 14 Tribe
14
14
3
0
31
At Stony Brook
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 18 Tribe
3
3
7
14
27
Seawolves
10
0
0
0
10
No. 6 Delaware
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 6 Fightin' Blue Hens
0
7
14
0
21
No. 16 Tribe
0
17
7
3
27
At Towson
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 12 Tribe
14
16
7
7
44
Tigers
3
0
7
14
24
No. 18 Rhode Island
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 18 Rams
7
7
7
9
30
No. 10 Tribe
0
14
7
10
31
At Hampton
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 8 Tribe
7
3
7
3
20
Pirates
0
7
7
0
14
Villanova
1
2
3
4
Total
Wildcats
3
3
0
6
12
No. 8 Tribe
14
14
10
7
45
William & Mary defenders take on the Villanova offensive line at Zable Stadium
At No. 11 Richmond
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 8 Tribe
7
10
14
6
37
No. 11 Spiders
6
7
7
6
26
FCS Playoffs
Gardner–Webb – second round
1
2
3
4
Total
Runnin' Bulldogs
0
0
7
7
14
No. 5 Tribe
7
27
13
7
54
At No. 4 Montana State – Quarterfinals
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 5 Tribe
0
0
0
7
7
No. 4 Bobcats
10
17
28
0
55
Awards and honors
William & Mary had a league-high 13 players receive all-conference honors, highlighted by two major award winners in John Pius and Jalen Jones.[10] Pius was also named a top-three finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the most outstanding defensive player in all of Division IFCS.[11]
CAA Defensive Player of the Year – John Pius (linebacker, sophomore)
CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year – Jalen Jones (cornerback, freshman)
CAA First Team Offense – Bronson Yoder (running back, senior); Charles Grant (offensive lineman, sophomore); Colby Sorsdal (offensive lineman, senior)
CAA First Team Defense – Nate Lynn (defensive lineman, senior); John Pius (linebacker, sophomore); Ryan Poole (cornerback, senior); Caylin Newton (special teams, senior)
CAA Second Team Offense – Donavyn Lester (fullback / halfback, senior); Lachlan Pitts (tight end, senior); Ethan Chang (placekicker, sophomore)
CAA Second Team Defense – Carl Fowler (defensive lineman, senior); Isaiah Jones (linebacker, senior); Jalen Jones (cornerback, freshman)
^Johnson, Dave (November 19, 2022). "W&M CAA and Capitol Cup Football Champions". wm.edu. College of William & Mary. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
^ abcWashburn, Rob (July 28, 2022). "Villanova Picked To Win CAA Football Championship In 2022". Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
^"2022 William & Mary Tribe Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^"GAME NOTES: Home Opener – Charlotte vs. William & Mary". Charlotte49ers.com. August 31, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^"Tribe Overtakes Charlotte in Fourth Quarter". Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^"Scoring Summary Report 2022 Charlotte Football, William & Mary vs Charlotte Atlantic (Sept 2, 2022 at Charlotte N.C.)". September 2, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^"William & Mary vs Charlotte– Game Summary". ESPN. September 2, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^Bailey, Hunter (September 2, 2022). "Charlotte 49ers lose another QB, fall flat in home-opening loss to William & Mary". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^"Charlotte falls to William & Mary, 41–24". WCNC. Charlotte, North Carolina. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
^Washburn, Rob (November 22, 2022). "Monmouth's Shirden, W&M's Pius Headline 2022 CAA Football All-Conference Awards". CAAsports.com. Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
^Washburn, Rob (December 6, 2022). "William & Mary's Pius Among Top Three In Voting For 2022 Buchanan Award". CAAsports.com. Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved December 11, 2022.