The FBS Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 285kb)
The FCS Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 285kb) (no, really, they’re the same size this week.)
FCS Game of the Week:
Twice before, Montana had beaten Appalachian State in playoff meetings, but this was the first-ever regular-season tilt between the two perennial powerhouses. Over 30,000 fans descended on Kidd-Brewer Stadium in Boone for the showdown, and they did not go home disappointed. After then-#12 Montana got on the board in the first three minutes, the then-#11 Mountaineers exploded for 21 unanswered points over the next ten to take a 21-7 lead into the second quarter. The Grizzlies responded, though, scoring early in the period then again with only 35 seconds left in the half to knot the game at 21. After a scoreless third, Appalachian State pulled ahead on Jamal Jackson’s second scoring pass of the game. Just four minutes later, Trent McKinney hit Dan Moore for an 87-yard touchdown, but the PAT failed, leaving Montana behind 28-27.
With five minutes to go, the Mountaineers took an eight-point lead on a two-yard Steven Miller run, and then appeared to have iced the game on 3rd-and-8 after the kickoff when Patrick Blalock intercepted McKinney in Montana territory. However, the Grizzlies held and got the ball back at their own 11 with 4:24 to go. Montana drove, but it was slow and yards were scarce; there were only 18 seconds left, with Montana at the Mountaineer 42, when McKinney went for the end zone. Demetrius McCray came down with the interception, ending the threat and giving ASU a 35-27 win.
Further SoCon Follies:
This week, Appalachian State will host The Citadel, which we’d all have been forgiven for taking lightly. Not anymore, as the Bulldogs capitalized on two turnovers and two missed Georgia Southern field goals to keep the game in check, then won 23-21 with half a minute to go on a 37-yard Thomas Warren field goal. It was a stunning upset for a team which had lost five straight times to the then-third-ranked Eagles and had dropped nine straight conference home games dating back to 2009. The Bulldogs jumped into the poll at #21 thanks to the win; Georgia Southern tumbled to 11th.
Two unranked teams with decent pedigrees met in Greenville, SC. Coastal Carolina jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and although they never went ahead by more than 11, Furman consistenly reeled the Chanticleers back in. Still, the Paladins never possessed the lead until Reese Hannon hit Ryan Culbreath on a 22-yard strike with only 40 seconds left to put Furman up 25-22. Coastal didn’t quit, though, and pushed back downfield after the kickoff, getting all the way to the Furman 28 before Alex Catron was forced to try a 40-yarder to tie it. He split the uprights, and that’s when the scoring began in earnest. The teams traded touchdowns in all three overtimes; it was only when the Chanticleers stopped Furman’s two-point conversion in the third extra frame that Coastal escaped with a 47-45 win. The Chants are now 2-0 with a chance to make a serious statement as they host #20 Eastern Kentucky this week; Furman, on the other hand, is 0-2 with a date at Clemson Saturday and are in very, very big trouble.
Rising Up:
It was a big week for putting the fear of COTG into FBS squads. A seventeen-point second quarter gave Sacramento State a three-point halftime lead over Colorado; they gave it up in the third quarter, but held on defensively and then got a pair of Edgar Castaneda field goals — the second a 30-yard boot as time expired — to upend the Buffaloes 30-28 in Boulder. Not to be outdone, their Big Sky brethren from Flagstaff went to Las Vegas and came back from a 14-point deficit; Andy Wilder hit from 33 yards out with 12 seconds left on the clock to give Northern Arizona a 17-14 win over UNLV.
You might have thought Colorado State was decent after beating their in-state rivals last week; well, Colorado’s clearly very, very bad, and now we see that Colorado State’s no great shakes either after North Dakota State beat them 22-7 in Fort Collins. Of course, this is the defending FCS champion we’re supposed to be talking about here, so forgive the digression. The recipe, as usual, was stiff and beefy defense; Colorado State’s Crockett Gilmore hauled in a pass from Garret Grayson and rambled 69 yards for a score only a minute and a half into the contest, and then the Bison shut them down for 58:30. The Rams only converted a single third down the entire game, and Grayson was sacked four times.
And finally, Illinois State well and truly manhandled FBS Eastern Michigan, outperforming them on literally every line of the box score. The Redbirds took a 10-0 lead early, but surrendered it in the second quarter as the Eagles scored twice to take a 14-10 lead. It was all Illinois State from that point, however; a 22-yard pass from Matt Brown to Donovan Harden gave the lead back to the Redbirds, and two four-yard Darrelynn Dunn rushing touchdowns padded the lead for a 31-14 final.
There were some failed attempts at upsets which still deserve recognition as valiant efforts. Southern Utah only trailed California 20-17 heading into the fourth quarter, and scored two touchdowns before the game was finished. Unfortunately, a 30-point fourth by Cal doomed the Thunderbirds, who fell 50-31. The T-Birds racked up 371 yards of offense, backed by a 31 for 45, 292 yard day by Walter Payton Award candidate Brad Sorensen. The defense is what failed Southern Utah, as they surrendered 518 yards, 289 on the ground.
Eastern Washington came close too, falling 24-20 to Washington State. In this case, it was a comeback which fell short; the Cougars led 24-14 at the half before things settled into a scoreless grind. The Eagles did score with just over two minutes to go, but the PAT was blocked; the defense held and Washington State was forced to punt with 1:29 on the clock, but EWU required a touchdown, and on the final play of the game Kyle Padron was unable to hit Brandon Kaufman from the Wazzu 32.
Let’s Just Pretend This Never Happened:
Davidson held Division II Lenoir-Rhyne to only four yards passing, while racking up 265 yards themselves. The problem was that Davidson only rushed for 35, while giving up 301 and committing four turnovers, and that’s pretty much a recipe for disaster. The Wildcats’ only score came on a safety in the third quarter, by which point the Bears already had the game mostly in control; they went on to win 20-2.
The New Top 25:
#1 North Dakota State 22, at Colorado State [FBS] 7
– After their road win over an FBS team, it really was no surprise to see the Bison take over the top spot in the poll. They’re off Saturday, and will host Prairie View A&M on the 22nd.
at #2 Sam Houston State 54, Incarnate Word [D-II] 7
– Real Soon Now, these two teams will be conference-mates. For now, however, Incarnate Word was simply overmatched by the (at the time) #1 team in the nation. The Bearkats slip a spot thanks to NDSU’s win, but they’re still firmly in the picture. This week, they’ll visit Baylor, and it’s probably going to be painful in a way it wouldn’t have been, say, four years ago.
#3 Montana State 34, Drake 24
– The Bobcats can’t be overly pleased with this outcome, considering Drake’s a PFL team with no scholarships. Still, they gain a spot in the poll thanks to The Citadel. Saturday they’ll host Stephen F. Austin in a big showdown, but have the horses to win.
at #4 James Madison 42, Alcorn State 3
– This surprised precisely nobody. This week, the Dukes will “visit” West Virginia at FedEx Field; expect mass carnage and a Madison loss.
at #5 Youngstown State 59, Valparaiso 0
– Nothing unexpected here, what with Valpo being non-scholarship. The Penguins have a potentially thorny task Saturday as they host last year’s NEC champions Albany.
#6 Old Dominion 45, at Hampton 7
– The Monarchs keep rolling as they work their way through this mostly-meaningless season. They’ll host Campbell this week; expect another rout.
at #7 Northern Iowa 59, Central State (OH) [D-II] 0
– The Panthers took out their frustrations over losing a game they should have won against Wisconsin last week on the hapless Marauders. Saturday, they’ll go on the road to face a Big 10 foe once again as they visit Iowa. An upset’s very possible here.
at #8 Appalachian State 35, #14 Montana 27
– After our Game of the Week, the Mountaineers will host newly-ranked Citadel, fresh off their upset win over Georgia Southern. Don’t expect The Citadel to make it two in a row. The Grizzlies will go home and face another tough (but beatable) non-conference opponent as Turner Gill brings Liberty to Missoula for a visit.
at #9 Wofford 82, Lincoln (PA) [D-II] 0
– Is a comment even necessary? The Terriers host Western Carolina Saturday; they’ll win.
at Washington State [FBS] 24, #10 Eastern Washington 20
– The Eagles came oh-so-close to completing the Palouse Exacta a week after knocking off Wazzu’s neighbors over in Idaho, and the loss only costs them one spot in the poll (well, two if you take into account Georgia Southern’s loss). They’ll take a week off before opening conference play at Weber State on the 22nd.
at #21 The Citadel 23, #11 Georgia Southern 21
– The Citadel, as noted, will try to double up on the road at Appalachian State this weekend. Meanwhile, Georgia Southern takes the week off to try and figure out what went wrong; they host Elon on the 22nd.
#12 Towson idle
– The Tigers will hope to get back into gear hosting tough-luck William & Mary Saturday. After their distinctly uninspiring performance against Kent State in the season opener, this one could go either way.
at #13 Delaware 38, Delaware State 14
– The Blue Hens maintain their dominance in the in-state rivalry. This week, they’ll host Bucknell; shouldn’t have any trouble there.
#15 Illinois State 31, Eastern Michigan [FBS] 14
– The Redbirds scored a relatively easy win over the Eagles; the light regard EMU is held in explains why Illinois State only got a three-spot bump in the poll. They’ll host Eastern Illinois this weekend, and they’re a safe bet to prevail.
#16 Lehigh 35, at Central Connecticut State 14
– Same old, same old. The Mountain Hawks will return home for a date with Princeton on Saturday, and should come out on top — though we don’t have any real sense of the Ivies yet, naturally, as they will all finally open their seasons this week.
at #17 Stony Brook 77, Pace [D-II] 7
– The Seawolves proved nothing at all here, as Pace is among the worst teams in D-II. This weekend, it’s off to Syracuse to face the winless Orange. I wouldn’t count on an upset here.
at Minnesota [FBS] 44, #18 New Hampshire 7
– After the Gophers’ lackluster performance at UNLV, I figured this was an upset special in the making. Instead, Minnesota plowed the Wildcats, and unless Minnesota proves to be dangerous this year that doesn’t bode well for UNH’s future. The Wildcats host Central Connecticut State on Saturday, and shouldn’t have any issues.
at #19 McNeese State 69, McMurry [D-II] 7
– It’s been a bad year for the air raid, as Hal Mumme’s kids got smoked again and Mike Leach is having problems up in the Northwest. This week, McNeese travels to Weber State; favor them, but with extreme caution.
at #20 Eastern Kentucky 24, Morehead State 17
– This was not what the Colonels hoped for, facing a non-scholarship squad. Still, a win’s a win. Unfortunately, they’re visiting Coastal Carolina on Saturday, so they’d best get their act together pronto.
at #22 Indiana State 44, Quincy [D-II] 0
– The Sycamores didn’t accomplish anything here. They won’t Saturday, either, as they host non-scholly Drake, although Drake did show a lot of life against Montana State.
at Southern Methodist [FBS] 52, #23 Stephen F. Austin 0
– A sound drubbing, but it only costs the Jacks four spots in the poll because you just don’t get penalized for being drilled by an FBS squad. This week, they visit #3 Montana State. They’ll probably drop out of the poll after a loss there.
at #24 Jacksonville State 27, Tennessee-Chattanooga 24
– The Gamecocks had to scrap and claw for this one, and as a result they didn’t move an inch in the poll. They’re off Saturday; they’ll visit Eastern Kentucky on the 22nd, and someone will finish that game ranked… while the other team won’t.
at Boston College [FBS] 34, #25 Maine 3
– Another case where what seemed to be an awful FBS team managed to manhandle a strong FCS squad. Maine travels to Bryant this weekend, and will get back to .500 with certainty.
XX Central Arkansas 42, at Murray State 20
– Unfairly dropped from the poll after a solid win because someone had to fall out to make room for The Citadel. They’ll host NAIA school Bacone Saturday, and should win big and get back into the top 25 one way or another.
And now, our usual collection of unusual scores:
Nail-Biters:
Lafayette 17, at William & Mary 14
Bucknell 19, at Marist 17
Western New Mexico [D-II] 21, San Diego 20
Alabama A&M 14, at Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10
at Northwestern State 31, Arkansas-Monticello 24 (more on this one in this week’s D-II recap)
Lesser Blowouts:
at Richmond 41, Gardner-Webb 8
at Monmouth (NJ) 41, Rhode Island 6
Defense is an Optional Package:
at North Dakota 45, Portland State 37
at Buffalo [FBS] 56, Morgan State 34
No Offense, But… No Offense:
at Georgetown 13, Wagner 10
at Duquesne 17, Dayton 7
at Campbell 10, Virginia-Wise [D-II/NAIA] 0
at South Alabama [FBS] 9, Nicholls State 3