Ze Spreadsheetz:
FBS (Excel2003, 289 kb)
FCS (Excel2003, 288 kb)
FCS Game of the Week:
#15 Illinois State never led by more than four points in regulation, while twice Eastern Illinois took ten-point advantages. But there were five lead changes and three ties by the time the clock read zero in a game that defines the concept of sixty-plus minutes of HAM.
It’ll be hard to process this given the final score, but the game was scoreless for the first twelve and a quarter minutes. That’s when Alex Donnelly picked off a Jimmy Garoppolo pass and returned it 30 yards to the house to put the Redbirds up 7-0. Two minutes later, Eastern Illinois tied things up on a four-yard Taylor Duncan run, and then things got quiet again for ten minutes before the Panthers took a 14-7 lead when Duncan again scored, this time from eleven yards out. Matt Brown tossed a 19-yard TD pass to Lechein Neblett three minutes later to even the score; with no time left in the first half, Cameron Berra hit a 44-yarder to put Eastern up 17-14.
The Panthers extended the lead to 24-14 when Garoppolo found Erik Lora for a 10-yard score early in the third, but two TD runs by Brown put the Redbirds back on top heading into the fourth. Eastern Illinois jumped back out to a ten-point cushion over the first six minutes of the final period, with Garoppolo connecting with Lora a second time and Jake Walker breaking off a 13-yard scoring run; Illinois State now had 9:07 to get things back in hand.
And so they did. Brown hit Cameron Hunt from 20 yards out, but the Redbirds tried for two and failed; this was almost a deadly error. With only 51 seconds to go, the Redbirds scored again on a 13-yard toss from Brown to Donovan Harden, and took a 41-38 lead. Had it been 42-38 instead… but it wasn’t, and Berra booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Both teams added seven in the first overtime, with Brown and Harden again hooking up for a score, followed by Duncan bulling in from the two. The Panthers had to settle for a Berra field goal in the second extra frame, and finally Illinois State was able to escape with a 54-51 win when Brown threw his fifth touchdown pass of the day, this one to to Tyrone Walker.
There was almost no ground game in this shootout; Eastern Illinois only picked up 122 yards rushing, while Illinois State was held to a mere 60. Brown finished with 473 yards on 42 of 57 to go with his five TD passes, with an interception thrown into the mix. Garoppolo was 37 of 61 for 387 yards and two TDs, but turned the ball over three times on bad passes. The teams combined for over 1000 yards of offense, but possibly the most mind-blowing statistic of the game was this: Illinois State was penalized 22 times for a ridiculous 178 yards.
Don’t Look Now, But There’s a New Kid on the Block:
The Citadel, who entered the poll last week at #21 after their surprising win over Georgia Southern, marched into Boone on Saturday and simply laid out the eighth-ranked Appalachian State Mountaineers. Appy, coming off their big win at Montana, simply had no answer for The Citadel’s triple option, and they were already buried 38-7 at the half. The Bulldogs rolled up 618 yards of offense, 400 of them in that fateful first half; 463 of those yards were churned up on the ground, Ben Dupree leading the way with 180 while Darien Robinson and Rickey Anderson also cracked the century mark. Dupree had two separate rushing touchdowns on third-and-nine situations, one for 57 yards and the other for 46. Even more galling for Appalachian is that Dupree and Aaron Miller combined to throw only six passes the entire game… and average 26 yards per attempt.
It was a ridiculous performance by a team that has been woefully unimpressive, for the most part, for years; the Bulldogs have not reached the playoffs since 1992, which was also the last time the team won more than seven games in a season; they’ve only done even that once, and have only had three winning campaigns since that year, when they went 11-2 and won a playoff game. That was the best season in school history, and they’re now taking aim at that mark. The win also marked the first victory for the Bulldogs in the series with Appalachian in eight years, and vaulted The Citadel to #10 in this week’s poll; the Mountaineers tumbled to #17.
Bobcats, Lumberjacks, and HAM, HAM, HAM:
Stephen F. Austin, ranked #23 coming into the weekend, took a trip to Bozeman to face then-#3 Montana State, and this game was totally out of hand. The game squealed into halftime with Montana State leading 21-20 following a 49-yard touchdown pass from Brady Attaway to De’Vante Lacy with only four seconds left in the half pulled the Lumberjacks within a point. The Bobcats got back out in front by five in the third quarter, but then things went nuts. The lead changed four times in the fourth quarter alone, and Montana State felt pressed enough to attempt (and make) a 45-yard field goal with only 31 seconds to go despite holding a five-point lead at the time to nail down a 43-35 win. The win pushed Montana State past Sam Houston State (48-23 losers at Baylor despite taking a 20-10 lead into the locker room at the half) to the #2 spot in the polls; the loss dropped the Lumberjacks out of the top 25.
What Is This I Don’t Even:
A look at the final score of South Dakota State 12-8 home win over Cal-Davis is certainly jarring, but let’s put concerns of oddity to bed: the Jackrabbits scored two touchdowns but both PATs failed, while the Aggies scored once and made a two-point conversion attempt. So it was actually a completely normal game, even though it looks more like a water polo score. Glad we got that cleared up. The low score is a bit of a surprise, however, as South Dakota State’s Zach Zenner ran for 197 yards, scoring both touchdowns; this follows last week’s 278-yard performance against Southeastern Louisiana and a 183-yard performance in the season opener against Kansas. Three games into the year, Zenner’s already racked up 658 yards on the ground, and could very realistically crack the 1,000 yard mark before September ends. More as this one develops, as they say.
Hero to Goat:
With five seconds to go in their game against visiting Howard, Norfolk State’s Everett Goldberg split the uprights with a 38-yard field goal to tie things up. After the Bison scored first in overtime, Norfolk State answered… but the Spartans trudged off the field in defeat when Goldberg’s extra point attempt was blocked by Howard’s Julien David. Nico Flores had 387 yards and four TDs through the air in the loss.
Rising Up:
The Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Mustangs got out in front of Wyoming early, but the Cowboys closed late. Trailing 24-22, Wyoming’s final two drives were both halted without so much as moving the chains, and the FCS-over-FBS upset count ticks up a notch to eight on the season.
As for this week’s close calls, we already touched on Sam Houston’s exploits. Northwestern State gave Nevada fits before succumbing 45-34, San Diego State had to hold off North Dakota’s final drive to salvage a 49-41 victory, and Stony Brook led Syracuse at the half before falling 28-17. Although they were never in any real danger of winning the game, Delaware State also earns some bonus points for “only” losing 23-7 to Cincinnati.
The New Top 25:
#1 North Dakota State idle
– The Bison “recover” from their win over Colorado State last week; this week, they’ll host Prairie View A&M and it’s not even going to be a contest.
at #2 Montana State 43, #XX Stephen F. Austin 35
– The Bobcats slide up a spot as they prepare to host Northern Colorado on Saturday. The Lumberjacks fell out of the poll, and will visit FBS Texas State. Not really sure how this one will go.
at Baylor [FBS] 48, #3 Sam Houston State 23
– It was a great first half, anyway. Giving up a spot in the poll, the pre-season #1 takes a deep breath and heads to #25 Central Arkansas this week. They’ll win, but it might be entertaining.
at #4 Youngstown State 31, Albany 24
– The takeaway here is that Albany’s still a fine team, and are still going to have to win the NEC to get into the playoffs. The Penguins slide up a notch, and will host #8 Northern Iowa this Saturday; an upset is very possible.
at #5 Old Dominion 70, Campbell 14
– Totally expected result. The Monarchs gain a spot, and will host #18 New Hampshire on Thursday.
West Virginia [FBS] 42, #6 James Madison 12 (at FedEx Field, Washington DC)
– The Dukes were far more successful against the Mountaineers than Marshall was two weeks ago, so it’s almost a shame to see them drop two spots for a relatively plucky effort. They’ll visit Rhode Island Saturday, and it’s going to be a rout.
at #7 Wofford 49, Western Carolina 20
– Not shocking at all, this rout. Wofford is idle this week, waiting on a date with Elon on the 29th.
Iowa [FBS] 27, at #8 Northern Iowa 13
– The somewhat-expected upset did not materialize, as the Panthers performed worse against Iowa than they did against Wisconsin. After sliding a spot, they’ll travel to #4 Youngstown State.
#9 Eastern Washington idle
– The Eagles took the week off and picked up a slot in the poll. This week, it’s off to Weber State, and they should keep that tire-fire burning.
#10 The Citadel 52, at #17 Appalachian State 28
– The Bulldogs will visit FBS North Carolina State on Saturday. No, they’re not going to win, but it’s nice to dream. The Mountaineers travel to Tennessee-Chattanooga and should get back to .500 on the year.
#11 Georgia Southern idle
– Done licking their wounds from their own clash with The Citadel, the Eagles will host Elon and shouldn’t have any problems.
at #12 Delaware 19, Bucknell 3
– Closer than expected, though still an easy win. The Blue Hens will visit William & Mary on Saturday, and unlike the previous couple of years this’ll be a walk.
at #13 Towson 20, William & Mary 17
– A very narrow escape for the Tigers leads to a loss of a spot in the poll, and it’s wholly justified. Something’s not clicking, and it better start soon. This weekend, they’ll host Saint Francis (PA), and should start to right the ship.
at #14 Montana 34, Liberty 14
– Turner Gill’s just not having a good time, and may be cursed. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, hang steady in the poll ahead of a visit from Northern Arizona on Saturday. Might be a trap game, so watch out.
at #15 Illinois State 54, Eastern Illinois 51 (2OT)
– This didn’t help, but it didn’t hurt. The Redbirds will visit Western Illinois this weekend.
at #16 Lehigh 17, Princeton 14
– A narrow win against a Princeton team we don’t yet know anything about? That equals no movement in the poll. Lehigh will now visit Liberty, who’s still seeking their first win; they should handle the test.
at #18 New Hampshire 43, Central Connecticut State 10
– The Wildcats stay put, and as noted travel to #5 Old Dominion on Thursday.
#19 McNeese State 35, Weber State 21
– I guess the voters wanted a blowout? McNeese remains at #19, and will visit Southeastern Louisiana this weekend. No problems expected.
at Syracuse [FBS] 28, #20 Stony Brook 17
– A three-place drop for the Seawolves after giving Syracuse more than they wanted. Stony Brook hosts Colgate on Saturday, and should coast.
#21 Eastern Kentucky 35, at Coastal Carolina 17
– A double-up road win against an unbeaten team that’s looked good, and the Colonels drop a spot? Sure, okay. That makes sense. This week, they host #24 Jacksonville State, and it’s a toss-up.
at #22 Indiana State 27, Drake 10
– I’m not sure what the voters wanted here, but the Sycamores didn’t budge in the poll. They’ll host South Dakota State this Saturday, and are slight favorites.
#23 Maine 51, Bryant 3
– A romp in the park for the Black Bears, who will host Albany this week. They ought to win, but it’s by no means a sure thing.
#24 Jacksonville State idle
– The Gamecocks travel to #21 Eastern Kentucky Saturday.
at #25 Central Arkansas 70, Bacone [NAIA] 3
– After a week on the outside, the Bears return to the top 25. They’ll host #3 Sam Houston State, and are liable to fall right back out again.
And all those other interesting scores:
Nail-Biters:
Alabama State 19, at Grambling State 18
Brown 24, at Holy Cross 21
Yale 24, at Georgetown 21
Murray State 28, at Missouri State 23
at Dayton 20, Robert Morris (PA) 14
Mississippi Valley State 6, at Southern 0
at Lafayette 28, Pennsylvania 21
at Fordham 34, Cornell 27
Lesser Blowouts:
Richmond 47, at Virginia Military 6
Duquesne 45, at Valparaiso 17
Defense Is an Optional Package:
Saint Francis (PA) 57, at Morehead State 23
Jackson State 45, at Texas Southern 35
at Alabama A&M 42, Prairie View A&M 30
No Offense, But No Offense:
at Columbia 10, Marist 9