There weren’t a great many major upsets within FCS, but the division had a whale of a week playing against the big boys. A 3-10 record on the week may not seem like much, but trust me, that’s a successful week for the FCS against FBS competition.
Big games coming up this week:
#1 Georgia Southern at 3-1 Elon
#3 Appalachian State at #8 Wofford
#25 Sacramento State at #4 Montana State
#10 Richmond at #9 James Madison
2-0 Yale at #13 Lehigh
#20 Massachusetts at 3-1 Old Dominion
#22 South Carolina State at 3-1 Norfolk State
#23 Towson at FBS Maryland
3-1 Bryant at 3-1 Duquesne
3-1 Tennessee Tech at 2-1 Tennessee-Martin
3-1 Georgetown at 3-1 Bucknell
2-1 Texas Southern at 3-1 Jackson State
More in-depth nonsense, snark, and outright viciousness after this.
BIG SKY:
Northern Arizona’s win was sort of unexpected, though not a big shock. Montana State’s victory over EWU was expected, but it’s still no less of a shock to see the defending national champion sitting at 0-4. And the schizophrenia continues, as Sacramento State rebounded from two bad losses to knock off #10 Montana. The win, the first ever over the Grizzlies for the Hornets after 16 tries, sneaks them back into the poll, which given their pattern of behavior this season is probably going to result in a win over Montana State, a jump back near the top 10, and then a loss next week to winless Northern Colorado.
Because, kids, that’s just how the Hornets roll.
In all seriousness, however, Sacramento should not win this week, although Northern Colorado should remain winless as Montana rebounds at home. No telling what will happen in Pocatello, and you may note that EWU now has to face the team that is, technically, all alone in first place. They may very well find themselves at 0-5, and if that happens 0-6 the following week against UNA is entire possible too. If you’re wondering just what’s wrong with the Eagles, we’ll note that their entire offensive line has suffered significant injuries, and two of the starters are already gone for the year. The last time a defending champ started 0-4? Southern Illinois in 1984.
By the way, the longest winning streak in the league by one team over another is now the 13-game winning streak Montana owns over Northern Arizona. That one, at least, shouldn’t change this year.
BIG SOUTH:
Liberty’s total bitch of an early-season schedule finally skidded off the road and crashed into a bridge piling, losing yet another stupidly close game against a ranked opponent when Alex Kacere’s 54-yard field goal attempt as time expired landed in the end zone. Stony Brook is now 1-3, but remember that two of those losses were to FBS opponents. Coastal Carolina, meanwhile, is sitting pretty as they take a week off heading into conference play. Presbyterian got hammered, but Justin Bethel blocked a punt for a touchdown for the second week in a row.
I was about to say that Gardner-Webb is the only one of the three teams playing this week that will face a test, but then I remembered who the third team was. It is entirely possible… oh, hell with it, I’m calling it: Charleston Southern is going to lose to a Division III school this week. Wesley was the pre-season #3, and lost a close game to a team that wasn’t on the radar in the pre-season but has proven themselves; Charleston Southern has done nothing but stink up the joint in epic fashion. Yes, I realize CSU’s first two games were against FBS opponents, but last week they lost to a really bad Jacksonville team (allowing Jacksonville — a team that won a game by 70 points last year — to set a school yardage record), before losing this week to a D-II team. Losing this week would complete the cycle: losing to one team from every NCAA division in one season.
And really, isn’t that something to aspire to?
COLONIAL:
Something had to give, of course. That one of the two top-12 games in the conference resulted in an “upset” wasn’t even remotely startling; that both of them did might register as mildly curious. It’s apparent that William & Mary has just lost too many players from last year’s contenders. As for Richmond, they merely lost what we in the business term “one hell of a game”. UMass made me look a little silly for predicting they’d beat Boston College, but come on, guys. Had you seen Boston College play this year? Old Dominion came up short in their first conference game ever, but they can claim a moral victory, I think. Delaware’s win moves them to the head of the pack in the rankings for the CAA, who now have seven ranked teams, not one of which is Villanova.
That, we’ll now note, is because Towson — Towson, I say — is now in the rankings at #23 following a thorough destruction of Colgate. They’re probably going to lose this week, however, as they travel basically across town to face the Maryland Terrapins. Given the atrocities Maryland has perpetrated upon the eyes of the nation thus far this year with those god-awful uniforms, I think it behooves us all to pull for the CAA leaders here. Anything else would be unAmerican. (Van Pelt, if you’re reading, I’m sorry. But it’s true.)
With the exception of Rhode Island’s probable win against Brown, every other CAA game involves a ranked squad. The ranked team should win all of these, although Old Dominion is going to give UMass more than they want and may pull the upset. That leaves the game of the week as Richmond/JMU, and I think you have to go with Richmond here because JMU suspended some players after failing drug tests following their win over W&M.
GREAT WEST:
Okay, let’s get this out of the way up front: UNLV really sucks. But when an FCS team rails an FBS team by a 25 point margin, the FBS team’s incompetence may be the proximal cause but it’s not even remotely the only thing at work. After all, the three pick-sixes SUU got only accounted for 21 points of that 25 point margin, and even that margin is deceptive as UNLV scored a late garbage TD after the game was already well in the bag. Southern Utah is for real, my friends, and the voters appeared to recognize this as they jumped 6 spots in the poll. South Dakota fell three after their expected ass-whipping at Wisconsin, and the other two teams facing FBS teams experienced similar beatings. North Dakota won the 46th annual Potato Bowl, which I only mention because, well, Potato Bowl.
The California teams stay home, and South Dakota hosts Lindenwood in a game they can’t afford to look past; remember, Lindenwood knocked off Northern Colorado in the season opener, so they’re not afraid of D-I competition. Southern Utah should prevail at home against the Fighting Whatever-They-Are-Nows, but it may be a challenge before it’s over.
IVY:
Saturday was the first of four consecutive weeks wherein half the Ivy League plays conference games while the other half don’t. Yale and Harvard have taken the early advantage, while dark-horse candidate Brown lost a game they really needed to win to remain a serious part of the conversation. Everyone lost out-of-conference, so we may already be able to just focus on the Crimson and Elis at this point since pre-season favorite Penn seems content to fall flat on their asses. (They do still have a 15-game conference winning streak, but that’s going to have to end soon unless they wake up and start playing some damned football.)
Cornell and Harvard should win non-conference tilts this week, while things don’t look so good for Yale and Brown (hosting Rhode Island for the Governor’s Cup in only the second night game ever at Brown Stadium). Dartmouth may very well knock off Penn in the first night game in Dartmouth history, while the Columbia/Princeton game has all the signs of being an ugly game nobody wants to watch.
MID-EASTERN:
South Carolina State appears to be off to the races, though of course it’s still early and one team hasn’t even played a conference game yet. Their 69-0 demolition of Delaware State, however, was a pretty effective means of sending a message to everyone else, especially since they’ve already taken down pre-season favorite Bethune-Cookman.
BCC, for their part, dislodged Hampton from their share of the lead in a closely-contested game in Daytona Beach, while Savannah State scored a somewhat surprising win over North Carolina Central. LaVante Page set a school record, rushing for five TD’s in FAMU’s win over Southern in the Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic at the Georgia Dome. Howard committed six turnovers, which you’d think would lead to a blowout loss. Morgan State’s bad enough that they only won 14-9 at the Urban League Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
BCC’s not going to gain any ground on SCSU this week, at least not under their own power; in fact, they’re going to get drilled on the road at Miami. This week does, however, represent the league’s best chance to reel the Bulldogs in as they pay a visit to 3-1 Norfolk State — a team whose only loss was to West Virginia in a game they led at the half. Savannah may well win again and FAMU almost certainly will, while NCA&T should lose their conference opener to Morgan State.
MISSOURI VALLEY:
The teams that were ranked coming into the week took care of business, including North Dakota State’s 13-point win over Minnesota, their second win over an FBS team in two years. Southern Illinois had a near thing of it, though, requiring a 50-yard field goal with under a minute left to escape winless Missouri State. Indiana State survived a late charge by Youngstown to defeat the Penguins at home for the first time ever, and moved into the poll at #24.
With NDSU’s win over Minnesota, the Valley is 2-8 against FBS teams. For comparison, the WAC is now 2-17 against other FBS teams. Chew on that for awhile.
All four games this week feature ranked teams, and all four should win handily.
NORTHEAST:
A nice week for the NEC, as two winless teams went into games against Ivy League teams and were miraculously winless no more. Bryant edged Wagner, taking early control of the conference race, while Duquesne and Monmouth hang a step back having taken their conference openers.
Things get heated this week, however, as Bryant travels to Pittsburgh to take on the Dukes. Monmouth is going to win this week, so the game is vitally important for Duquesne; a loss pretty much knocks them out of contention (for the time being, anyway). Bryant, on the other hand, obviously wants to stay in front of the pack, so it’s not like the game’s irrelevant to them.
OHIO VALLEY:
And then there was one. Jacksonville State is the only ranked team in the OVC, which is frankly a little weird. Also weird: Austin Peay is a half-game out, having knocked off a team that almost beat Kansas State a week after getting their heads handed to them by the worst FBS team in the country. Tennessee Tech kept pace with a touchdown win over SEMO, who are clearly not the same team that won the conference title last year. Murray fell from the rankings after getting shelled by UT-Martin, who may now be part of the discussion.
We’ll find out if that’s true this week, as the Skyhawks host Tennessee Tech. Was it just dumb luck this week for Peay? We’ll find out, but last week’s win is really the only data point that even suggests they might beat Tennessee State this week, so I wouldn’t count on a win. Those two games open the annual Sgt. York Trophy competition among the four OVC schools in Tennessee. (UT-Martin is the current trophy holder.) Jax State will want to be careful as they travel to Murray, but should emerge with a win.
PATRIOT:
There were no conference games Saturday, so nothing really changed except perhaps perceptions. Georgetown may be for real after a clinical drubbing of Marist; the 52 points was the highest scoring output for the Hoyas since 1998. Lehigh edged past Liberty, and although Liberty is only 1-3 now it’s important to remember that all three losses have been to either ranked or FBS teams. Bucknell remains in the picture after pounding Princeton, their first win at Princeton in 13 tries. Andrew Shoop threw for exactly 400 yards, but it wasn’t enough to get Lafayette past Stony Brook.
Georgetown and Bucknell will face off this week with the winner having the clearest chance to knock Lehigh off their perch. Lehigh, meanwhile, will host Yale and should win. Holy Cross, who remain tied for the conference lead at the moment after being idle last week, face certain doom at #7 New Hampshire.
PIONEER:
Conference play got underway, and the three putative leaders heading into the proceedings all came away with wins. Dayton’s win over D-II Central State was somber, as Central State CB Kordero Hunter, a junior transfer from Northern Illinois, was murdered late Thursday night in a Dayton nightclub. (A suspect has been arrested and charged.)
The leaders all have winnable games, though Dayton specifically needs to watch out this week. Davidson might also have a shot at San Diego in their conference opener, while Valparaiso’s opener against Morehead will not be nearly as pleasant.
SOUTHERN:
Well, we learned one thing: Chattanooga is for real. They didn’t win, but you can’t fault a team for losing 14-12 on the road to the #3 team in the country, and the fact that UTC only dropped two spots in the poll is pretty strong recognition of that fact. Elon needed overtime to escape The Citadel, and everything else went as expected. Georgia Southern, clearly jealous of Georgia Tech’s explosion against Kansas, rambled for 634 yards on the ground to crush Western Carolina. Three players rushed for over 100 yards, while Robert Brown finished with 99. Wofford also had three 100-yard rushers as they got past Samford. Furman’s Chris Forcier slung seven TD passes to lead the Paladins to a rout over the Blue Hose.
Elon should get kicked out of the pack this week as they host Georgia Southern, and Chattanooga will get back into the thick of things with a probable win over The Citadel. The game to watch this week, of course, is Appalachian at Wofford. If Appalachian wins, their path to the championship will really only be blocked by GSU. A Wofford win, on the other hand, will make things very, very interesting.
In other news, Appalachian State’s board of trustees voted last week to pursue membership in an FBS conference. For those not familiar with how things work these days, that is the current form of “we’re moving up”, as NCAA rules now prevent a team from moving up as an independent and then trying to find a home.
SOUTHLAND:
Do not be alarmed; Sam Houston State’s win was not an upset, and I mean that in the most serious way possible. They were actually favored in Vegas. They failed to cover the spread, however. Even so, they helped cost New Mexico coach Mike Locksley his job (although the alleged recruit driving his car probably helped more). Northwestern’s win over Nicholls was surprising in its thoroughness if not its mere existence. Stephen F. Austin’s loss to Texas State was surprising, period, and dropped the Lumberjacks from the poll.
This week, Sam Houston and McNeese should step ahead of the pack for good, although Lamar (playing their first conference game since becoming independent in 1986, before discontinuing football altogether three years later) and SFAU should hang tight a step back with wins. Expect TSU to prevail over Nicholls as well.
SOUTHWESTERN:
The last unbeaten in the SWAC fell as Jackson State committed eight turnovers and was upended by Alabama State, who now own a commanding game-and-a-half lead in the east. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was in no danger of relinquishing the lead in the west, but stumbled through an ugly and embarrassing 9-7 win over D-II Clark Atlanta in the Gateway Classic at Edward Jones Dome in Saint Louis. Prairie View came from behind, getting two rushing TDs from Fred Anderson within 23 seconds early in the fourth quarter.
This week, Alabama State may very well gain another game on the East. They should have no trouble with Alcorn, while Jackson has to contend with Texas Southern and Alabama A&M hosts West leader UAPB. Should A&M prevail, it will be good news for Prairie View, facing Grambling in a winnable game at Dallas, and for Texas Southern as well should they knock off Jackson. Southern will also benefit, as they should knock off Mississippi Valley State. Southern’s sort of mediocre this year, but MVSU is putrid.
INDEPENDENT:
Well, South Alabama is still 19-0 against teams outside the FBS. They put up a good fight against Kent State, but came up short. This week, they’ll take a break before getting back into action next week against Texas-San Antonio in a battle of teams that are just visiting for a year on their way to FBS football.