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. 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.
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. Lynn was also named the preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
Schedule
Game summaries
At Charlotte
Sources:
Game notes:
This was William & Mary's first win over an FBS team since 2009, when the Tribe upset Virginia 26–14 in Charlottesville.
Team Category Player StatisticsWilliam & 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 TDCharlotte 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&MCHAR 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
At Lafayette
Elon
At Stony Brook
No. 6 Delaware
At Towson
No. 18 Rhode Island
At Hampton
Villanova
At No. 11 Richmond
FCS Playoffs
Gardner–Webb – second round
At No. 4 Montana State – Quarterfinals
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. 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 I FCS. 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)
NFL Draft selections = Pro Football Hall of Fame= Canadian Football Hall of Fame = College Football Hall of Fame NFL Draft Selections Year Round Pick Overall Name Team Position2023518152Detroit LionsOffensive tackle
References