A cinderella story continued in the most ridiculous of fashions, the CAA’s stranglehold on the top 25 actually increased, some pretenders had their illusions shattered, and an ugly incident occurred in Arkansas. All the fun stuff after our games of the week and the jump:
#9 Maine at #18 Richmond
#13 New Hampshire at #22 Massachusetts
#15 Towson at #14 William & Mary
…yes, that’s it. Three CAA games matching top 25 teams; every other top 25 team is either idle or facing an opponent they should handle easily, and there are no big games involving teams lurking below the bottom of the poll. Even though some races will shake down a bit, this is not a great week coming up.
Before we get rolling, be advised that this week’s other reports are going to be somewhat truncated. This week’s been hectic, and it’s hard to crank this stuff out once the distractions pile up. What I would give for a research assistant! Sigh.
BIG SKY:
Last week, the road teams all won; this week, as expected, the home teams prevailed.
Eastern Washington is now on a three-game winning streak after their horrific start; as with several other teams across the nation, however, they’re going to have to win out just to get the magic seven wins over FCS teams that the playoff selection committee likes to see before handing out at-large bids.
Portland State RB Cory McCaffrey, the nation’s leading scorer and second-leading rusher, left Saturday’s game with a leg injury late in the game. His status isn’t yet clear, but he’s not expected to contribute this week.
Weber State’s Mike Hoke only completed seven passes, but four went for touchdowns as Weber blasted Idaho State. Hoke had 200 yards passing on only 12 attempts. His interception-free streak ended at 197, however.
Three non-conference games dot the schedule this week. Idaho State will get mauled, of course, while Portland State should have an easy time of it. Weber State hosts Southern Utah in an intriguing game which I can’t predict, while in-conference the same can be said of EWU’s visit to Sacramento. The two Montana schools can be expected to extend their lead over the field this week.
BIG SOUTH:
I was 4-0 last week, but a monkey could have gone 3-1, so let’s not get excited.
Liberty probably put paid to Coastal’s hopes of repeating by running up the score (which in the Big South tiebreakers damages the opponent’s “points allowed in conference games” figure). Don’t misunderstand; since the Big South puts importance on your ability to keep the other team from scoring, it’s sort of incumbent on you to do so, and if you’re in contention for the title and can’t stop your chief rival for said title from running it up on you, well, too bad. The rule removes incentive for anyone to run it up on, say, Charleston Southern, so it’s perfectly okay with me. As for the game itself, Liberty scored the first seven times they had the ball; Sirchauncey Holloway took off for a 59-yard run on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and Liberty just kept rolling. (Holloway was injured on the play, however, and did not return.) Coastal only ran 12 plays in the first half, limited to 79 yards, almost all of which came on the half’s final drive when the Chants finally got on the board, but they still trailed 42-7 at the break.
VMI survived the battle of the unvictorious, taking an early lead over Charleston Southern then hanging on as the Bucs tried to claw their way back. CSU only had 54 yards of offense in the first half.
Having mentioned running it up on Charleston Southern, it’s a good thing Liberty has no incentive to do so, as they visit Charleston this week. That’ll be a win, and will keep Liberty out in front. Stony Brook, seemingly left for dead during the non-conference phase of the season, is actually right back in the picture, and should remain a half-game off the lead as they travel to VMI for a game they should win. Coastal should rebound against Gardner-Webb, which will leave the top three exactly as they were last season. Presbyterian will eat a non-conference loss when they visit #1 Georgia Southern.
COLONIAL:
“I think the CAA’s topped out at 8 teams in the poll, unless UMass, William & Mary, Maine, and JMU all win this week, while Towson and Old Dominion play a game which convinces voters not to drop the loser 8 spots.”
I said that last week, and although I expressly did not predict that result (I picked both UMass and W&M to lose), that’s exactly what happened. As a result, there are indeed nine CAA teams in the FCS top 25, which is a record for any division.
Towson trailed Old Dominion 35-24 before scoring with 3:13 to go and converting the two. After a successful onside kick, the Tigers faced a 4th-and-29 at their own 37 after two ODU sacks seemed to signal the Monarchs’ intent to put an end to matters, but Grant Enders heaved a pass down the sideline. ODU safety Carvin Powell went for the interception rather than just knocking the ball down, and the pass landed in the arms of Towson receiver Tom Ryan, who broke a tackle and escaped down the sideline to score the go-ahead touchdown. Towson’s Kenton Powell picked off ODU’s Taylor Heinicke on fourth down on the ensuing drive, and Towson escaped with the win.
Jonathan Grimes ran for 169 yards, and hauled in two TD passes, as William & Mary temporarily righted the ship with an upset over New Hampshire. W&M still has issues, though, as they need to win out to get to 7 FCS wins (and doing so would probably get them the autobid anyway). For UNH, Kevin Decker threw for 422 yards in the loss.
More big showdowns this week, as the conference features three games matching ranked opponents. Thankfully, I think I’m comfortable picking all three; I expect Maine, New Hampshire, and Towson to win. Old Dominion and Delaware should also win, while incoming member Georgia State will become more fodder for South Alabama’s ridiculous winning percentage.
GREAT WEST:
Things went goofy this week for the Great West. #15 South Dakota was tied up and locked down by Illinois State, but Cal-Davis got a somewhat unexpected win at UTSA while Cal Poly scored with 45 seconds to go to continue Southern Utah’s conference woes.
This week, the Dakota teams should win, while I can’t predict the result of Southern Utah’s visit to Weber State.
IVY:
Non-conference play came to a close with the Ivies dropping three of four games against Patriot League competition; Harvard, behind five Colton Chapple TD passes, was the only exception. In-conference, Penn moved into a tie for the league lead by keeping Columbia winless — barely, winning on a Billy Ragone 7-yard TD run with 25 seconds to go — while Brown prevented Princeton from joining the leaders with a dominating shutout effort.
Cornell rallied from an 11-point deficit within the final two minutes to force overtime, but fell short once there as Colgate escaped with the win.
Yale visits Penn in the week’s big showdown, and the Elis should handle that test. Harvard and Brown should both win, while Columbia has an opportunity to get off the winless ledger, and should.
MID-EASTERN:
It’s time to pay attention to North Carolina A&T. For the first time in eight years, the Aggies won at homecoming, and a 3-0 start to conference play is worth noting. Norfolk remains a half-game ahead after dispatching Hampton, while Morgan State moved into a tie for third with a brutal win over North Carolina Central. South Carolina State remained static in the conference race, but broke a 12-game losing streak to non-HBCU schools with a win over Georgia State.
Three of the eleven teams are idle this week; Norfolk, NCA&T, Hampton, and SC State should all pick up wins this week. That would nudge Morgan back to fourth place, but the top four teams would only be separated by a game and a half.
MISSOURI VALLEY:
The conference race separated further as the three leaders all won handily. Illinois State remained static in the next tier as they played out of conference, scoring a nice upset over #15 South Dakota thanks to their defense. Youngstown State joins the Redbirds in a tie for fourth after knocking off Southern Illinois.
Shakir Bell ran for 213 yards and three TDs in Indiana State’s ripping of Western Illinois, while Northern Iowa forced five turnovers to help set South Dakota State aside.
Once again, the leaders face lesser competition; Northern Iowa and North Dakota State should have no trouble, while Indiana State has a slightly tougher hill to climb but should stoll come out on top. Western Illinois will probably extend Missouri State’s suffering, and Youngstown has an easy non-conference matchup with Saint Francis (PA).
NORTHEAST:
Albany took care of Robert Morris, leaving themselves as the only unbeaten team in conference play. Duquesne kept pace, while Sacred Heart and Monmouth joined the logjam in third place.
Sacred Heart and Saint Francis set an FCS record, scoring 74 points between them in the second half, as the teams combined for a 105-point output in regulation. Keshaudas Spence ran for 124 yards and five touchdowns for Sacred Heart, while teammate Greg Moore added another 152 on the ground.
Albany and Duquesne should have no difficulty this week, while the pack at 2-1 all face challenges. Either Monmouth or Sacred Heart will definitely keep pace with the leaders, and that game should be a wild offensive mess. Either team could come out on top. Bryant visits Robert Morris, and and may peel the Colonials out of the race.
OHIO VALLEY:
Tennessee Tech fell from the top 25 after an upset loss at home to Tennessee State. The Tigers led by 22 points before Tech tried to stage a comeback. After scoring with 15 seconds to go, an onside kick attempt was initially successful, but on review it was determined that the kick hadn’t traveled the necessary 10 yards. With that result, the competition for the four-way Sgt. York Trophy is now locked in a four-way tie, as Tech, State, Martin, and Austin Peay are all 1-1 against one another. That guarantees a tie at 2-1, of course; the rules dictate that if the current holder is involved in a tie, they’ll retain it, and if not, the team that’s gone the longest without taking possession does so. So: should UT-Martin beat Tennessee State on November 12, they would retain possession of the trophy. If State wins, they would take possession of the trophy with a Tennessee Tech win over Austin Peay on November 19; if State and Peay win, Peay would be awarded possession, as they’ve never held it before. (Tennessee Tech may “tie” for the trophy, but will not take possession of it under any circumstance now.)
Eastern Kentucky forced six turnovers, making an easy afternoon against the defending conference champs; Jacksonville State performed the same feat at Austin Peay. UT-Martin scored 17 unanswered points in the final quarter, but they needed 20 and thus came up short against South Alabama. Eastern Illinois appeared to be on their way to an upset and their first conference win of the year, but Murray State scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes to avoid disaster.
Murray and Tennessee Tech are off this week. UT-Martin and Eastern Kentucky should pick up conference wins, while Austin Peay and SEMO will meet in a game I can’t predict. Jacksonville State visits FBS Kentucky, and while they should be expected to lose, I wouldn’t rule out an upset.
PATRIOT:
With a 3-1 mark against the Ivies last week, the Patriot League won the season series 9-7. Ryan Taggart helped Holy Cross upend Dartmouth with 250 yards in the air and another 176 on the ground, setting the Holy Cross record for single-game rushing yardage by a quarterback. Colgate blew an 11-point lead in regulation, before scoring in overtime then forcing Cornell into a turnover on downs to escape with the win. Lehigh moved to 6-1 as they thrashed Fordham; Chris Lum threw for 413 yards and three TDs.
Lehigh is off this week, which means that Holy Cross can actually take over the top spot temporarily withth a win over Bucknell, which I’m sort of expecting to happen. Colgate at Georgetown is a bit of a tossup for me, while Lafayette should get past Fordham.
PIONEER:
Everything went exactly as it should on Saturday, so much so that the only game that was even competitive was the clash between league leaders San Diego and Drake. A good one it was, as the teams traded punches until the fourth quarter when San Diego struck twice to take a 14-point lead. Drake got one of them back and forced a three-and-out, but the Bulldogs were pinned at their own four yard line on the ensuing punt. Still, Drake mounted a drive, but Loka Kanongataa picked off a Michael Piatkowski pass at midfield to salt the game away for the Toreros.
Jacksonville’s Josh McGregor threw for 346 yards and five TDs in the Dolphins’ rout of Morehead, which put him over the 10,000 yard mark in career passing yardage. Jacksonville’s conference win streak now sits at 15 games. Dayton held Davidson to -17 yards on the ground, which is usually a good recipe for a shutout.
San Diego and Jacksonville should remain unbeaten in conference play; Drake, Butler, and Dayton should all win, at least avoiding falling further behind.
SOUTHERN:
No surprises at all Saturday, except perhaps Samford’s win over Elon, which was a small upset.
Without injured All-American QB DeAndre Presley, Appalachian State’s task against the Citadel was made more difficult, but Jamal Jackson stepped into the breach and went 21-27 for 234 yards and three scores, without throwing an interception. Travaris Cadet (133) and Steven Miller (102) keyed a strong ground game, and the Mountaineers took a 49-14 lead midway through the third quarter. That’s when the wheels came off, as The Citadel ripped off four straight touchdowns to make it a one-score game with 6:10 to go. Appalachian was able to grind it out on the ground, however, eating 55 yards on 13 plays and advancing to the Citadel 1 before choosing to kill the final minute of the clock rather than punching it in.
Georgia Southern’s Adrian Mora kicked six extra points, which wouldn’t be all that special except it meant his consecutive extra point streak extended to 127, which is an FCS record. The Eagles ran for 365 yards on the day with nobody breaking the 100-yard mark, while limiting Furman’s Chris Forcier to “only” 217 yards and one score in the air, and holding the Paladins to just over 100 yards on the ground.
Samford jumped out early, leading 24-7 four minutes before halftime. Elon twice mounted comebacks, but their effort was doomed by six turnovers. Fabian Truss ran for 196 yards for Samford.
Wofford slipped to a full game back of Georgia Southern due to playing non-conference. They should get that half-game back this week as GATA will be busy winning a non-conference visit from Presbyterian, but it won’t be easy for the Terriers as they visit Furman. Appalachian should keep pace, hosting Samford, but this may again be a rough ride. Chattanooga has the talent to deal with Elon, if they can only harness it, while Citadel should handle Western Carolina.
SOUTHLAND:
Central Arkansas used five turnovers to eke out an upset victory over McNeese State, but everything else went according to form. Northwestern State scored on a fumble recovery and return on the first play from scrimmage, and opened the second half with a 99-yard Phillip Harvey kickoff return for a touchdown, as the Demons cruised over Southeastern Louisiana. Sam Houston State remains unbeaten, as their defense provided plenty of short fields for the offense to navigate in a rout of Nicholls State.
Sam Houston should break a six-game losing streak to McNeese (ejected from the TSN poll, but clinging to #24 in the coaches poll) and get the Cowboys out of their hair once and for all, as well as gaining a precious half-game on idle Northwestern State. They’ll also get rid of either Central Arkansas or Lamar, as one of the two will eat their second conference loss. I expect UCA to win, but they’ve been prone to slop while Lamar’s had moments of clarity this year. It seems strange that Stephen F. Austin at Nicholls State has been relegated to a pillow fight, but that’s the situation, and SELA has pretty much no hope against visiting Texas State.
SOUTHWESTERN:
Nick Andrews became Alabama State’s career receptions leader in the Hornets’ easy win over Prairie View. Jackson State survived a potentially humiliating scare, falling behind 13-10 to winless Mississippi Valley State before Casey Therriault hit Tommy Gooden for a 75-yard TD pass 30 seconds later. Grambling simply rolled over Concordia.
The story Saturday, however, was in Pine Bluff. Trailing 15-14, UAPB’s Stephen Jones ran in from 25 yards out, and a successful two-point conversion gave the Lions a 22-15 lead. The decision to go for two was critical; Southern answered with a 76-yard drive, and with zeroes on the clock Joseph Dray hit Sylvester Nzekwe on an 11-yard TD connection to bring Southern within a point. UAPB’s Jarvis Webb then blocked Matthew Hill’s extra-point attempt, staving off overtime. Hill had earlier missed an extra point and a field goal as well.
Unfortunately, matters did not end there. A violent altercation which dragged on for over ten minutes broke out after the final play, including helmets being used as weapons, fans pouring out of the stands to join in, pepper spray, and other sorts of things that you just don’t want to see happen. And then former strength and conditioning coach Zeus Hall, who moved to Alcorn State in the off-season, was killed the next morning in an auto accident, smashing into a train at a railroad crossing. So, all in all, a horrible weekend for Southern, and they’re going to need to get over it.
At least Southern will have time to reflect, which may or may not be a good thing. Southern is one of six idle teams this week, and the only conference game is one from which you should avert your eyes, as Grambling should stumble to a horrifically ugly win over MVSU. Alcorn and Texas Southern should pick up sorely-needed wins in non-conference games against punching bags, and obviously Alcorn will be playing for more than just a win there as they honor their fallen coach.
INDEPENDENT:
South Alabama continues to be charmed, I guess. Last week, it took double overtime; this week, it wasn’t quite so tense but a 33-13 lead nearly evaporated in the final quarter before the Jaguars finally turned off the nation’s leading offense. USA is 21-2 now all-time, 21-0 against non-FBS competition. This week, they’ll travel to Atlanta, where they should have an easy time with Georgia State.
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