With the exception of the FCS recap, which I had done before a bunch of real-life stuff went all pear-shaped this week, the remainder of the recaps are going to be sort of lacking on the “recap” end, although my discussion of the relevance of the upcoming weekend’s games is intact. Sorry about that.
It was a fairly uneventful weekend in the rankings, as only two top-25 teams lost to lower or unranked teams. A top-five showdown ends on a wide left, a team wins despite not gaining a single passing yard, an entire conference schedule is decided by a total of 12 points, and lots of other fun stuff follows the jump.
Colonial:
at #4 William & Mary 17, #2 Delaware 16
#6 Villanova 14, at #11 James Madison 7
“at” #10 New Hampshire 39, #12 Massachusetts 13 (at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro)
at #16 Richmond 28, Towson 6
Maine 28, at Rhode Island 23
Old Dominion 34, at Georgia State 20
In the FCS game of the week, William and Mary grabbed hold of the conference lead with a come-from behind homecoming win against the previously unbeaten Blue Hens. It’s the Tribe’s second victory over #2 this season, having toppled Villanova three weeks ago. The Tribe offense was lethargic in the first half, but Mike Callahan came off the bench to take charge and got things going. W&M took the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a 6-yard halfback pass from Jonathan Grimes to Chase Hill. Tasked with halting the Delaware offense, the much-maligned Tribe defense forced a punt on the ensuing possession. After Delaware responded by forcing a three-and-out, W&M again stiffened as Delaware neared the end zone, forcing the Hens to try a 42-yard field goal to take the lead. The kick sailed wide left, and the Tribe killed the clock for the mild upset.
New Hampshire held UMass scoreless until the fourth quarter as they rolled to an easy victory in the inaugural Colonial Clash game, played before over 32,000 fans in Foxboro. … Ten starters out due to injury and being forced into playing their fourth-string quarterback didn’t stop Richmond, as they forced four Towson turnovers to win handily at homecoming. … Virginia Tech fans once again got a slap in the face as Madison suffered their third loss of the season at Villanova’s homecoming. … Rhode Island drove to the Maine 1 on its final possession, but the Black Bears got one last stop with one second on the clock to seal the win.
Saturday:
There’s still no separation here, and there are still six teams legitimately in contention. This week could shake out a couple of them, but with three contenders either idle or out-of-conference, nothing will change at the top (except, perhaps, Villanova joining the first-place tie).
#3 William & Mary (6-1, 4-1) at North Carolina (4-3, FBS)
#14 Richmond (4-3, 2-2) at #5 Villanova (5-2, 3-1)
#18 Massachusetts (4-3, 2-2) at #15 James Madison (4-3, 1-3)
Rhode Island (2-5, 1-3) at Towson (1-6, 0-4)
#6 Delaware (7-1, 4-1), Maine (3-5, 2-3), and #10 New Hampshire (5-3, 3-2) idle
Georgia State (5-3) at South Alabama (7-0)
Old Dominion (4-3) at Hampton (5-2)
Southern:
#1 Appalachian State 37, at Western Carolina 14
#9 Wofford 28, at Elon 21
#24 Chattanooga 36, at #25 Furman 28
Georgia Southern 20, at The Citadel 0
Samford idle
Appy was helped out by good field position as Western Carolina tried to rely heavily on the back pages of the playbook, only to have it blow up in their faces too often. Surprisingly, given their recent dominance, this is only the second time since 1954 that Appy has started 7-0. … Furman took a 28-10 lead into the fourth quarter before Chattanooga did to them what Appy had themselves done to Chattanooga in the season opener. The Mocs rolled for 26 unanswered points in the final period to escape with a win. Mocs QB B.J. Coleman picked up 432 yards in the air, 274 to WR Joel Bradford. … A 41-yard pass from Mitch Allen to Devin Reed with 10 seconds remaining broke a 21-21 tie and gave Wofford their win. … Georgia Southern kept The Citadel off the board mostly by just taking the ball away from them; the Eagles forced nine turnovers in the shutout victory. GSU did not gain a single yard in the air, only attempting three passes on the day. They rushed for 286, led by 182 from QB Jerick McKinnon.
Saturday:
At this point, it probably all comes down to November 13 when Wofford visits Appy.
Furman (4-3, 2-2) at #1 Appalachian State (7-0, 5-0)
The Citadel (2-6, 0-5) at #9 Wofford (6-1, 4-0)
Elon (2-5, 1-3) at #20 Chattanooga (5-2, 4-1)
Samford (3-4, 1-3) at Georgia Southern (4-3, 2-2)
Western Carolina (2-6, 1-4) idle
Big Sky:
at #7 Montana 24, #22 Northern Arizona 21
at #8 Eastern Washington 28, Sacramento State 24
at #15 Montana State 37, Northern Colorado 35
at Weber State 44, Portland State 41
Idaho State idle
Three of the four games were decided in the final minute. Justin Roper hit C.J. Atkins for a 1-yard TD with only five seconds remaining to save the Grizzlies from a Lumberjack upset in a game which featured several ridiculous special teams blunders. … Montana State did not need to score in the final minute. Northern Colorado scored with 3:10 to go to close within two, but MSU was able to kill the clock. MSU QB Denarius McGhee had 400 yards and 4 TDs in the air. UNC’s Dylan Orms threw for 344 and 4 TDs. … EWU took a 21-3 lead, but Sacramento responded with three fourth-quarter TDs to move in front. With 33 seconds to go, EWU finally answered as Bo Levi Mitchell hit Brandon Kaufman from six yards out. … Portland led 34-22 after three, but Weber charged back with two touchdowns to pull ahead 37-34. The Vikings scored on a 27-yard Connor Kavanaugh run with 1:02 to go, retaking the lead 41-37, but Vai Tafuna scored from two yards out with only 21 seconds left to lift Weber to victory.
Saturday:
The leaders all hit the road, but only Montana appears to be in any danger this week. With a win in hand over EWU, Montana State is actually in the best shape, and the Brawl of the Wild may well be the deciding game.
#7 Montana (6-2, 5-1) at Weber State (4-3, 3-2)
#8 Eastern Washington (6-2, 5-1) at Portland State (2-5, 1-3)
#13 Montana State (6-2, 4-1) at Idaho State (1-6, 0-5)
Sacramento State (3-4, 2-3) at #25 Northern Arizona (4-3, 2-2)
Northern Colorado (2-6, 1-5) at South Dakota (3-5) (non-conference)
Ohio Valley:
at Tennessee-Martin 52, Lambuth 21 (non-conference, Thursday)
at #3 Jacksonville State 56, Austin Peay 3
at #13 Southeast Missouri State 40, Eastern Kentucky 21
at Murray State 38, Eastern Illinois 28
Tennessee Tech 21, at Tennessee State 10
Jax scored their largest OVC win ever, pouring 539 yards of offense down the Governors’ throats while holding them to 157. … SEMO had never before beaten EKU at Cape Girardeau. Four interceptions helped the Redhawks’ cause.
Saturday:
SEMO has the chance to take a full game lead on Jax this week. Regardless of whether they win this week or not, a win over Jax on November 13 would carry with it the conference title. The same is true of Jax, with one exception; they must win one other game.
Tennessee-Martin (4-4, 3-2) at #11 SE Missouri (7-1, 6-0)
Murray (3-4, 2-2) at Eastern Kentucky (2-5, 1-2)
Austin Peay (2-5, 0-3) at Eastern Illinois (0-8, 0-6)
#2 Jacksonville State (8-0, 5-0), Tennessee Tech (4-4, 3-2), and Tennessee State (3-5, 0-3) idle
Southland:
#5 Stephen F. Austin 31, Sam Houston State 28 (at Reliant Stadium, Houston)
Central Arkansas 31, at Nicholls State 7
McNeese State 13, at Southeastern Louisiana 10
Northwestern State 16, at Texas State 3
Lamar idle
Jeremy Moses set the all-time SLC total offense record, adding 418 passing yards to his career total. SHSU closed to within three midway through the fourth quarter, but couldn’t add any more as SFA held on to win the Battle of the Piney Woods. … A blocked punt return for a TD in the fourth helped Northwestern outlast Texas State. … McNeese started their final drive from their own three with less than two minutes to go, locked in a 10-10 tie. Josh Lewis hit a field goal from 52 yards out as time expired. … UCA scored on a 98-yard interception return and also had a TD on a fumble return as they comfortably disposed of Nicholls.
Saturday:
We’ll still have to see what happens this weekend before talking about who’s going to win this thing, although Austin’s making a convicing argument so far.
Texas State (3-4, 0-3) at #4 Stephen F. Austin (6-1, 3-0)
Sam Houston (4-3, 2-1) at Northwestern State (3-4, 2-1)
Nicholls State (2-5, 1-2) at McNeese State (3-4, 2-1)
Southeast Louisiana (2-5, 1-2) at Central Arkansas (4-3, 1-2)
Lamar (3-4) at North Dakota (2-5)
Missouri Valley:
at #19 Northern Iowa 42, Illinois State 14
at Missouri State 31, #21 Western Illinois 28
at North Dakota State 27, Indiana State 15
at South Dakota State 30, Youngstown State 20
Southern Illinois idle
QB Tirrell Rennie ran for four TDs and threw for another as UNI routed Illinois State. … 351 rushing yards helped Missouri State score a homecoming upset over Western Illinois. The Bears ate up all but six seconds of the final 3:32 after WIU scored to get within three. … Kyle Minett just keeps on running, racking up 185 yards in SDSU’s win over Youngstown. … NDSU took the lead midway through the third quarter when Daniel Eaves picked off a Ronnie Fouch pass and scampered 53 yards for the go-ahead TD.
Saturday:
Well, hell, I don’t know. Technically, everyone’s still in it, although you can probably write off the Penguins, who probably miss Jim Tressel a lot.
#19 Northern Iowa (4-3, 3-1) at Youngstown (3-5, 1-4)
Illinois State (4-4, 3-3) at Western Illinois (5-3, 3-2)
South Dakota State (3-4, 3-2) at Indiana State (4-3, 2-2)
Southern Illinois (3-4, 2-2) at Missouri State (3-4, 2-2)
North Dakota State (5-3, 2-3) idle
Mid-Eastern:
#14 Bethune-Cookman 23, at North Carolina Central 10 (not a conference game yet)
at #18 South Carolina State 10, Hampton 7
at Morgan State 34, Delaware State 24
Florida A&M 17, at Norfolk State 13
at North Carolina A&T 52, Howard 32
at Alabama State 24, Savannah State 0
Despite a loss, North Carolina Central got off to an optimistic start in interim head coach Darryl Bullock’s first game, holding the nation’s #1 offense to half their average scoring output. … NCA&T got their first win of the season behind 235 yards and three TDs in the air by QB George Hines. They led 42-19 at the half, and cruised. … Blake Erickson hit a 48-yarder midway through the fourth to lift SC State. … Delonte Williams threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for scores, but tossed a 34-yard TD pass to Tyrone Hendrix with 20 seconds to go to put the Bears up 27-24. The Bears tacked on another seven when Sheldon Jacques sacked DSU QB Anthony Glaud and forced a fumble, returning it for the score.
Thursday:
BCC has a perfect opportunity to open a full-game lead on the field Thursday. They can’t shake Hampton, and SC State is probably going to win, but this week shapes up well for the conference leader. Either Morgan or FAMU is going to fall off the pace Saturday, but the winner remains in the thick of things as well.
North Carolina A&T (1-7, 1-4) at #12 Bethune-Cookman (7-0, 4-0)
Saturday:
#17 South Carolina State (5-2, 3-1) at Delaware State (1-6, 1-4)
Old Dominion (4-3) at Hampton (5-2, 4-1) (non-conference)
Morgan State (4-3, 3-1) at Florida A&M (4-3, 3-1)
Norfolk State (2-5, 1-4) at Howard (1-6, 0-4)
Edward Waters (1-7, NAIA) at North Carolina Central (2-5)
Savannah State (0-8) idle
Great West:
at #23 Cal Poly 22, North Dakota 21
South Alabama 24, at Cal-Davis 21 (non-conference)
at Southern Utah 31, South Dakota 13
Cal Poly led 13-0 before letting UND take a 21-13 lead in the third. With eleven minutes to go, the Mustangs retook the lead on a 2-yard Mark Rodgers run, and held North Dakota scoreless on its three ensuing drives to seal the win. … Southern Utah moved to the brink of their first GWC title with a convincing win over the Coyotes. … Cal-Davis fell on a 45-yard TD pass from C.J. Bennett to Courtney Smith with about six minutes remaining as South Alabama remained unbeaten.
Saturday:
Southern Utah would win the conference title outright Saturday with a win at Cal-Davis. If UCD wins, they’d win the title with a win over Cal Poly on November 13, regardless of what happens at North Dakota the week previous.
St. Francis (PA) (1-6) at #22 Cal Poly (5-3, 1-1) (non-conference)
Southern Utah (4-4, 3-0) at Cal-Davis (3-4, 1-0)
Northern Colorado (2-6) at South Dakota (3-5, 1-2) (non-conference)
Lamar (3-4) at North Dakota (2-5, 0-3) (non-conference)
Big South:
VMI 34, at Charleston Southern 16
Stony Brook 38, at Coastal Carolina 28
Presbyterian 26, at Gardner-Webb 24
#17 Liberty idle
Cam Miller hit a go-ahead 31-yarder with 2:24 to play, and Justin Bethel picked off a John Rock pass with a minute to go seal the win as Presbyterian won their first game of the season at Gardner-Webb. … Miguel Maysonet rushed for 193 yards and three TDs to lead Stony Brook to victory. … VMI had only three interceptions coming into the weekend, but picked off four passes on the day. The Keydets led 17-16 after three, then ripped off 17 unanswered points to put away the win.
Saturday:
Still too muddy, and will remain so after this week.
#16 Liberty (5-2, 2-0) at Presbyterian (1-6, 1-2)
Charleston Southern (2-5, 0-3) at Stony Brook (3-4, 2-0)
Coastal Carolina (2-5, 1-1) at Gardner-Webb (3-4, 1-1)
VMI (3-4, 2-2) at Army (4-3, FBS)
Ivy:
#20 Penn 27, at Yale 20
at Brown 27, Cornell 14
Dartmouth 24, at Columbia 21
Harvard 45, at Princeton 28
Penn won their 11th straight Ivy game, ripping off 20 unanswered points after spotting the Elis a field goal and then holding on for the win. Despite this, they dropped a spot in the poll. … Brown starts the Ivy schedule 3-0 for only the second time in school history. … Harvard racked up 583 yards of offense as they easily handled the Tigers. … Dartmouth led 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but gave up three fumbles on successive attempts to handle the ball (two offensive plays sandwiching a kickoff return) which allowed the Lions to take a 21-17 lead. The Big Green got it together, though, mounting a 14-play drive to score the winning touchdown.
Saturday:
Big showdown in Philadelphia for the league lead Saturday. Also a big showdown for last place in Upstate New York, if you’re into that sort of schadenfreude.
Brown (4-2, 3-0) at #21 Penn (5-1, 3-0)
Columbia (3-3, 1-2) at Yale (4-2, 2-1)
Harvard (4-2, 2-1) at Dartmouth (4-2, 1-2)
Princeton (1-5, 0-3) at Cornell (1-5, 0-3)
Pioneer:
at Jacksonville 56, Marist 14
at Dayton 41, Campbell 23
at Drake 42, Davidson 10
Morehead State 21, at Butler 20
at San Diego 30, Valparaiso 10
Jacksonville suffered a complete offensive collapse, scoring 34 fewer points than they did last week. The sad part is that if they’d only scored 56 last week, it could still be true and they’d still have won. Jacksonville rushed for 433 yards (J.J. Laster 177, Rudell Small 168), and had a 100-yard interception return in the win. Their reward? The #24 spot in this week’s poll. … Dayton fell behind 10-0, and were trailing as the fourth quarter began, but three Taylor Harris touchdown runs later they had an 18-point win. … Rainer Duzan hit from 23 yards out with 11 seconds remaining to hand Morehead State the win over Butler. … Drake scored 28 fourth-quarter points to pull away from Davidson.
Saturday:
As noted previously, Jacksonville and Dayton miss one another. The key to the title may lay in the Dayton/Drake game in two weeks.
#24 Jacksonville (7-1, 5-0) at Morehead State (3-4, 2-2)
Dayton (7-1, 5-0) at Davidson (2-5, 2-3)
San Diego (3-5, 3-2) at Drake (5-3, 4-1)
Marist (2-5, 1-4) at Campbell (2-5, 1-3)
Butler (3-5, 1-4) at Valparaiso (0-8, 0-5)
Southwestern:
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 39, at Alcorn State 35 (Thursday)
Grambling 35, at Mississippi Valley State 14
at Texas Southern 21, Jackson State 18
at Alabama State 24, Savannah State 0 (non-conference)
at Prairie View 30, Southern 16
Alabama A&M idle
Texas Southern threw the East Division race into chaos, and kept their own West Division hopes alive (albeit on life support) by knocking off Jackson State. … Frank Warren ran for 209 yards in Grambling’s win.
UAPB shut out Alcorn in the fourth quarter and scored 12 points themselves to escape with the win.
Saturday:
Grambling would clinch the West Division title with a win. Things are, shall we say, much less clear in the East.
#23 Grambling (6-1, 6-0) at Ark-Pine Bluff (4-3, 3-2)
Mississippi Valley (0-7, 0-6) at Texas Southern (4-3, 4-1)
Prairie View (5-3, 4-2) at Jackson State (5-2, 3-2)
Southern (2-5, 1-4) at Alcorn (3-4, 2-3)
Alabama A&M (2-5, 1-4) at Alabama State (4-3, 3-3)
Northeast:
Central Connecticut State 30, Albany 27 (OT, Friday)
Duquesne 21, at Wagner 20
at Monmouth (NJ) 19, St. Francis (PA) 7
at Sacred Heart 33, Georgetown 20 (non-conference)
Robert Morris and Bryant idle
CCSU got 15 fourth-quarter points, including a TD pass and a two-point conversion with 0:36 to go, to force overtime on Albany. They then forced a fumble to end Albany’s shot in the first overtime, and finished the Great Danes off with a 32-yard field goal. … Duquesne came back from a 20-7 fourth-quarter deficit to nip Wagner. Dave Williams hauled in a 16-yard Sean Patterson pass with 1:41 to go for the final margin. … Sacred Heart snapped a six-game losing streak. … Monmouth kept pace with the leaders with their win at home.
Saturday:
It’s next week that really matters, as CCSU visits Robert Morris. This week, those two schools will merely be hoping not to stumble and let Monmouth catch them.
Duquesne (5-3, 3-2) at Robert Morris (6-1, 5-0)
Wagner (4-3, 2-2) at Central Connecticut (5-2, 4-0)
Sacred Heart (2-6, 0-5) at Monmouth (3-4, 3-1)
Albany (3-4, 1-3) at Bryant (4-3, 1-3)
St. Francis (PA) (1-6, 1-4) at Cal-Poly (5-3) (non-conference)
Patriot:
at Sacred Heart 33, Georgetown 20 (non-conference)
at Lehigh 32, Bucknell 10
Holy Cross 31, at Colgate 24
at Fordham 14, Lafayette 10
Holy Cross scored on a 14-yard Ryan Taggart pass to Bill Edger with five seconds left on the clock to end Colgate’s 12-game home winning streak. The Crusaders led 24-7 at the half before allowing Colgate to climb back and tie it up. … Lehigh defeated Bucknell for the 13th time in a row. … Fordham’s only touchdown came with 47 seconds left on the clock, and it put them on top.
Saturday:
Still too early to figure anything out.
Georgetown (3-5, 2-2) at Fordham (3-5, n/a)
Colgate (4-3, 1-1) at Lehigh (5-2, 1-0)
Lafayette (1-6, 0-1) at Bucknell (1-6, 1-1)
Holy Cross (4-4, 1-1) idle
Independent:
South Alabama 24, at Cal-Davis 21
Saturday:
Georgia State (5-3) at South Alabama (7-0)