Archive for category FCS

FCS: Week 13 Quick Roundup.

A slow week, of course, with only the four first round playoff games plus the two final regular season games in the SWAC. Scores, links to SID releases, and updated standings after the jump.
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FCS: First Round Previews.

Previews, team capsules, and predictions for the four FCS playoff games taking place this week follow. Team capsules for the 12 teams with byes will come along next week, don’t panic.
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FCS: Week 12 Recap/Week 13 Preview.

The OVC avoided the disasterpants scenario, #1 tumbled yet again, the strongest league in the nation crowned its last place team from 2010 as its 2011 champion, a team which has had a chance to clinch a title for three weeks eliminated themselves, a de facto title game resulted in an upset, and oh, yes, the playoff field has been announced. All the gory details after the jump.
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FCS: Week 11 Recap/Week 12 Preview.

The playoff field has grown from one to… four. There are still six automatic bids up for grabs heading into the final week of the season. We’d have half the automatic bids nailed down, but once again the #1 team in the land tripped over its own feet. Over in the OVC, although there’s one game that makes it highly unlikely, there’s still a chance of a six-way tie for first place which would result in a three-way coin flip to determine the autobid.

Automatic playoff bids already claimed:
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Norfolk State
Patriot League: Lehigh
Southern Conference: Georgia Southern
Southland Conference: Sam Houston State

Additionally, Harvard has won the Ivy League, and Drake will share the Pioneer League title with either San Diego or Jacksonville.

Key games this week:
bold indicates team will claim their conference’s autobid with a win.
bold italics indicates team can claim their conference’s autobid with a win, depending on other outcomes.

Montana at Montana State (Big Sky)
North Dakota State at 2-8 Western Illinois (Missouri Valley)
Northern Iowa at Illinois State (Missouri Valley)
Liberty at 7-3 Stony Brook (Big South)
Towson at 3-7 Rhode Island (Colonial)
Maine at New Hampshire (Colonial)
6-3 Tennessee Tech at 3-7 Austin Peay (Ohio Valley)
5-5 Tennessee-Martin at 6-4 Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley)
5-5 Jacksonville State at 5-5 Tennessee State (Ohio Valley)
7-3 Alabama A&M at 5-5 Prairie View A&M (SWAC East; SWAC West)
7-3 Jacksonville at 8-2 San Diego (winner claims share of Pioneer League title with Drake)
5-5 Sacred Heart at 7-3 Albany (Northeast)
2-8 Robert Morris (PA) at 8-2 Duquesne (Northeast)

I have composed a handy primer for playoff formats and guidelines, because we’re getting very very close to starting to hand out bids.
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FCS: Week 10 Recap/Week 11 Preview.

One team is definitely in the playoffs; at least one more will join them this week, and possibly as many as five others.

Automatic playoff bids already claimed:
Southland Conference: Sam Houston State

Key games this week:
bold indicates team will claim their conference’s autobid with a win.
bold italics indicates team can claim their conference’s autobid with a win, depending on other outcomes.

5-4 Youngstown State at #1 North Dakota State (Missouri Valley)
#4 Georgia Southern at #9 Wofford (Southern)
8-2 Georgetown at #6 Lehigh (Patriot)
#7 New Hampshire at #12 Towson (Colonial)
5-4 Massachusetts at #13 Maine
5-3 Pennsylvania at #18 Harvard (Ivy; no autobid, just conference title)
#21 Jackson State at 7-2 Alabama A&M (SWAC East)
#22 Norfolk State at Morgan State (Mid-Eastern)
3-6 Southern at #23 Alabama State (SWAC East)
5-3 Tennessee Tech at #25 Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley)
6-4 Dayton at 8-2 Drake (Pioneer; no autobid, just conference title)
4-5 Prairie View A&M at 3-5 Alcorn State (SWAC West)

I have composed a handy primer for playoff formats and guidelines, because we’re getting very very close to starting to hand out bids.
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FCS: Week 9 Recap/Week 10 Preview.

We still have no playoff tickets punched, and unbelievably there is only one team which can clinch a playoff spot this week (Sam Houston State). The only honors claimed by any team thus far: Cal Poly-SLO has clinched a share of the Great West title. This week’s action isn’t nearly as bombastic as last week’s, but there are still some games you should keep an eye on:

#1 North Dakota State at #21 Indiana State
#2 Montana State at 3-5 Weber State (MSU would claim a share of the Big Sky title with a win)
#4 Sam Houston State at 2-6 Southeastern Louisiana (SHSU would claim a share of the Southland title, and the autobid, with a win)
#14 Towson at #7 Maine
#13 James Madison at #9 New Hampshire
5-3 Eastern Kentucky at #18 Jacksonville State
6-2 Jacksonville at 7-2 Drake
6-2 San Diego at 6-3 Dayton
5-3 Cal Poly-SLO at 2-6 Cal-Davis (CPSLO will convert shared title to outright with a win)

I have composed a handy primer for playoff formats and guidelines, because we’re getting very very close to starting to hand out bids.
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FCS: Week 8 Recap/Week 9 Preview.

A quarterback returns from injury and has a 400-yard, 5 TD day the week after his backup did the very same thing. The MEAC went topsy-turvy. A top five team bit the dust, and this week two more teams are going to as we get to witness two titanic showdowns. All the goodies after the jump.

#1 Georgia Southern at #5 Appalachian State
#2 Northern Iowa at #3 North Dakota State
#9 James Madison at #15 Old Dominion
#21 Delaware at #13 Towson
#25 Tennessee Tech at #14 Jacksonville State
#16 Alabama State at 5-2 Alabama A&M
4-2 Pennsylvania at 5-1 Brown

I have composed a handy primer for playoff formats and guidelines, because we’re getting very very close to starting to hand out bids.
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Playoff Primer 2011.

As of this moment, no team has actually officially clinched a berth in the post-season in any of the lower divisions, but that’s about to change. To save me discussing the ins and outs of playoff selection for each division every week, I’m providing you a handy summary of the process right here, after the jump.

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FCS: Week 7 Recap/Week 8 Preview.

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.

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FCS: Week 6 Recap/Week 7 Preview.

#1 survived a serious scare in a week where most of the top 25 action went as expected. The FCS record for career blocked extra points fell, and a program’s founder reached a coaching milestone. And for the first time ever, an FCS/I-AA team played a game without attempting a single pass. All that and more after the break, but first:

It’s a slowish week this week, with only a handful of key games on the radar including a clash between the division leaders in the SWAC:

#6 New Hampshire at #16 William & Mary
#17 Towson at #18 Old Dominion
4-2 Prairie View A&M at #24 Alabama State
4-2 Bucknell at 3-1 Harvard
5-1 Drake at 5-1 San Diego

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