This time next week fewer Colonial Athletic Association squads will still have their dreams of reaching the FCS postseason intact.

Six of the seven teams who currently have reasonable paths toward the spring playoffs meet this weekend.

In some cases, these contests will serve as elimination games.

“I think our guys know what’s at stake,” James Madison coach Curt Cignetti said. “Every week is a playoff game and it’s win or go home. That’s what I’m going to tell ‘em.”

Cignetti’s top-ranked Dukes (4-0, 2-0 CAA) travel to face No. 15 Richmond (3-0, 3-0 CAA) at Robins Stadium in CAA South Division action. The loser takes a back seat in the standings to the other with no more head-to-head contests currently scheduled, though, JMU and UR could play a make-up game on April 17 if both schools agree to it.

In the North Division, Maine (2-1, 2-1 CAA) hosts No. 16 Villanova (1-1, 1-1 CAA) while New Hampshire (0-1, 0-1 CAA) is expected to return after two coronavirus postponements to meet No. 22 Rhode Island (2-1, 2-1 CAA) in Kingston, R.I.

“So this is a very, very good football team we’re playing,” Maine coach Nick Charlton said of his team’s matchup with Villanova. “Got a lot of respect for these guys. We’re definitely up for the challenge, but it’ll be a quality opponent to go against.”

A loss for New Hampshire, means the Wildcats would be unable to finish above .500 this campaign since there’s no room for them to reschedule one of their missed games. Maine, Villanova and Rhode Island each already have a loss. Another setback for any of those teams probably moves them from on the bubble to off the wrong side of it.

There are less postseason berths this spring, because the FCS reduced the number of participants from 24 to 16 for the abbreviated season.

The CAA will get one automatic qualifier into the FCS postseason, which at this point No. 8 Delaware (3-0, 3-0 CAA) has the inside track for. If the North Division-leading Blue Hens get the rest of their games in and finish unblemished, they’d probably get the nod over an unbeaten JMU because they would have played more conference games than the Dukes.

But it wouldn't be a guarantee. In clarifying with the CAA office late Tuesday, the league's automatic qualifying bid into the FCS postseason could be determined via a committee of conference athletic directors. If the CAA doesn't get all of its regular-season games in, which is almost a certainty at this point due to coronavirus postponements, league athletic directors from schools not in play for the automatic qualifier would determine the automatic qualifier.

For example, if at the end of regular-season play Delaware wins the North Division with a 5-0 CAA record and JMU wins South Division with 3-0 CAA record, then the athletic directors of the other nine spring football-playing schools would determine whether Delaware or JMU earns the automatic qualifier.

In that scenario whoever doesn't earn the automatic qualifier should have no problem securing an at-large bid. What's unclear is whether or not the league would have another team strong enough to get a second at-large selection this year. At-large bids have also been reduced – from the usual 14 to six.