(1-2) Presbyterian 31, (2-1) Campbell 14
Well, that came out of nowhere.
Presbyterian went on the road to Campbell and routed the home team. PC scored on each of their first three possessions and held CU to three-and-outs on their first three possessions and jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Blue Hose offense rode heavily on the back of RB Darrell Bridges as he racked up 159 yards on 32 carries. Presby’s starting QB, Ben Cheek, sat out this game with an injury but his backup, Will Brock, performed efficiently. Brock threw for two touchdowns and ran in another but, just as importantly, took care of the football, throwing zero interceptions and was only sacked once.
On defense, Presbyterian held Campbell without a first down until under eight minutes left in the second quarter. Just before the half – with PC up 24-6 –, Campbell managed to mount their first sustained drive of the game. A score there and the knowledge that they would have the ball first in the second half would have given the Camels momentum going into halftime. However, LB Grant Beidel blitzed up the middle and pressured the CU quarterback into a bad throw that allowed DB Kevin Green to make a leaping interception along the sideline. Campbell did manage to get a second touchdown but not until midway through the 4th quarter and when the game had been virtually decided.
Presbyterian racked up 346 yards of offense in this game which, by PC standards, was an offensive explosion. Presbyterian hadn’t come close to that output in nearly a year and was averaging just over half that through the first two games. Was that because of the high caliber of teams they were playing (Central Michigan and Chattanooga) or was this sudden burst because of the fact that they were playing a non-scholarship program (Campbell)? The answer is probably a good bit of both. Without attempting to insinuate anything, this was Presby’s first game of 2016 where the talent level between they and their opponent seemed remotely close to being even. Three concerns for PC going forward:
- How significant is QB Ben Cheek’s injury? Brock – who, I believe, is a walk-on – subbed in nicely for Cheek but doesn’t have Cheek’s athleticism. Still, he managed the game and PC won. Head coach Harold Nichols has been known to switch QB’s at the drop of a hat so it’ll be interesting to see how this situation plays out.
- Presby’s defense was effective against Campbell but not at the dominant level they’ve been for the last several years. They were aided by the offense staking an early lead and holding the ball for 20 minutes in the first half but, at times, the defense looked average and – Saturday’s offensive output notwithstanding – average is not something the PC defense can afford to be.
- Bridges carried the ball 32 times, twice as many carries as the rest of the team combined. Obviously, Bridges is a workhorse back but he’s also only human. A year ago, Bridges carried the ball 221 times through 11 games – or roughly 20 times a game – while also fighting through injury. To this point, he is actually ahead of that pace and is 7th in all of Division I for total rushing attempts. Can he maintain this pace and remain healthy?
What does this win mean for PC? – This was a victory earned and cemented as the offense built an early three-score lead and the defense had to do nothing more than hold it. Presbyterian hasn’t had that kind of win over anyone in quite some time. Even last year’s win over this same Campbell squad stayed in the balance until late in the game. This is a win you can build on.
(2-1) SMU 29, (1-2) Liberty 14
Turnovers and penalties.
The same problems that cost Liberty two weeks ago against Virginia Tech reared their ugly head again against SMU only in a much more winnable game. Early in the game, it became clear that LU was there to take down their third FBS opponent in as many years. After giving up a long touchdown run on SMU’s first drive, the Flames came back and marched right down the field on a 12-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game up midway through the first quarter. Liberty LB Nick Newman picked off SMU in the end zone on the next drive and it looked like LU had the chance to repeat the pattern. However, QB Stephon Masha was picked off to end the drive and, following an SMU field goal, again on the next drive. Meanwhile, the LU defense was holding serve in the red zone. SMU gained yards all over the field but, inside the +20, had no answers for the Flames’ defense. On the night, SMU got into the red zone five times and came away with three field goals. At the halftime break, SMU led 13-7 and it was still pretty much anyone’s game.
However, in the second half, the turnovers continued and the penalties mounted. Nothing exemplified that more than a five-play stretch early in the 3rd quarter. Newman’s second interception of the game was nullified by penalty and, on the next play, SMU broke through on the ground for a long touchdown run and a 19-7 lead. The Mustangs botched the snap on the PAT, however, and Liberty returned it for two points only to have that score wiped out by an illegal kicking penalty. SMU promptly sent the kickoff out of bounds giving the Flames great field position to start a drive whereupon Masha immediately threw his third interception of the game. The Liberty defense held but Masha was done for the night. True freshman Steven ‘Buckshot’ Calvert – I did not make up the nickname – came in and led LU down the field, ending the drive with a pretty back corner pass in the end zone for a touchdown to close the margin to five. After SMU missed a field goal, Calvert got another crack at the end zone and threw another strike for score that seemed to give the Flames the lead…only to have it called back for a penalty. Ultimately, that drive– and, truthfully, the Flames hopes – ended with a blocked field goal. SMU would tack on 10 points in the final 45 seconds of the game with a field goal and a desperation pass from Calvert that turned into a pick-six for the home team.
What does this loss mean for Liberty? – It’s a game that Liberty wasn’t supposed to win – 5dimes had SMU as a 15-point favorite – but, given their history against low-level FBS teams the last two years, it’s a game that Liberty had every reason to believe they could win. So, from that perspective, it’s disappointing. Also, an FBS win would have been nice to have in hand come November.
(1-2) Kent State 27, (2-1) Monmouth 7
The Monmouth Hawks flew over to Ohio on Saturday to face an FBS opponent for only the second time in their history. In a game dominated by weather as much as anything else, Monmouth probably picked the wrong day to come to Ohio. Aside from the obvious gap in scholarship numbers, Kent State was just coming off of a four-overtime loss the week before to FCS North Carolina A&T so they came out to play in the rain with a sizeable chip on their shoulder.
Offensively, Monmouth was unproductive and that’s putting it mildly. Monmouth went three-and-out on every drive in the first quarter and finished the first frame with -14 total yards. It’s important to note that, due to injury, Monmouth was working without the services of explosive running back Lavon Chaney. Chaney and fellow RB Zach Welch have been something of a ‘thunder and lightning’ tandem through the first two weeks. While Welch played against Kent and gained 51 of the team’s 67 rushing yards on the day, just as you can’t have thunder without lightning – at that point, it’s more like a bowling ball rolling around in the attic –, Welch was ineffectual. Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan also rotated QB’s Cody Williams and Kenji Bahar seemingly indiscriminately against Kent State and neither did much of anything but that’s certainly due to the weather in part.
Defensively, Monmouth safety Mike Basile picked up 16 tackles in the game and the Hawks blocked their 5th kick of the season. However, the Kent State offense was not going to be denied. The Golden Flashes – I didn’t come up with that nickname either – weren’t exactly good on offense but they mauled out enough yards on the soggy ground to keep their offense on the field and occasionally make a difference on the scoreboard.
What does this loss mean for Monmouth? – The Hawks got paid and got to play in a nominally FBS stadium, so the loss isn’t huge. What is significant is that Chaney’s absence from the lineup was obvious and severe. They absolutely need him back on the field.
(3-0) The Citadel 31, (1-2) Gardner-Webb 24
It was right there. It was right there.
With 8:10 left in the 4th quarter, when Gardner-Webb quarterback Tyrell Maxwell hit Willie Jackson IV for a touchdown to take a 24-21 lead over 15th-ranked The Citadel, you could feel it. The G-W offense was clicking, Maxwell had finally been successful throwing the ball downfield, the defense had contained The Citadel’s triple-option offense for the entire second half, the home crowd was behind them and, for a moment, it seemed as if the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb were going to pull off a season-defining upset win.
But, then, The Citadel offense went to work. Over the course of the next five minutes and ten plays, the (other) Bulldogs gnawed their way down the field, eating away the clock before punching the ball into the end zone from a yard out to take the decisive lead. Despite there being more than two minutes left in the game, Gardner-Webb was done. Maxwell took a first down sack on his own 15-yard line and, two plays later, completely froze in the face of a linebacker blitz for another sack that, essentially, ended the game.
Gardner-Webb seemed to be the superior team athletically in this contest but it made no difference to the end result. Despite establishing a couple of early leads as well as the 4th-quarter advantage, Gardner-Webb was never able to extend them. Ultimately, The Citadel’s methodical offense along with a special teams touchdown from explosive punt returner DeAndre Schoultz – who had nearly broken through with another punt earlier — were enough to net the visitors yet another fourth quarter comeback win. Even though they kept The Citadel offense out of the end zone for a full 30 minutes, the (other) Bulldogs had four players average more than five yards a carry on their way to a 400-yard rushing night as a team.
What does this loss mean for Gardner-Webb? – On the one hand, it’s gratifying to know that Gardner-Webb can compete with a team that’s 3-0, ranked in the top 15 nationally and sitting atop the Southern Conference standings. On the other hand, it’s at least equally as disappointing to have so large a chance to put a stamp on your season simply slip through your collective fingers like, well, like DeAndre Schoultz returning a punt.
Biggest surprise of the week: Presbyterian’s sudden flurry of offense. Also, the number of teams in the conference with quarterback questions. If you’re counting at home, it currently stands at five of the six teams. Charleston Southern’s QB was lost for the year with a knee injury and, over the course of 1 ¾ games since, CSU has filled the spot with four different players. Presbyterian and Kennesaw have QB’s who are also dealing with injuries, albeit less severe than CSU’s situation, and their backups have performed admirably. Liberty and Monmouth both began the season with a stated starter but have freely substituted in a younger, developing player with mixed results.
Biggest disappointment of the week: Tough call this week between Gardner-Webb and Liberty. Both teams have to feel like they had their chances to do something significant and let it get away. I’ll have to go with Liberty simply because (a.) I had G-W in this space last week and (b.) because the stage and subsequent upside of a victory was larger for Liberty.