In Case You Missed It – Week 6
We as football fans have probably seen our fair share of the enigmatic; witnessed things on and off the field relating to the sport that cause us to collectively raise our eyebrows with sheer surprise.
On Saturday, something happened I had never seen before.
Granted I’m not the oldest of fans (I just turned 26 a few days ago. Don’t tell me it isn’t traumatizing to have to diverge from your parents’ health insurance plan), but Portland State’s win over FBS Conference USA member North Texas, and the events that followed, broke some new ground in my eyes.
The Big Sky Conference Vikings simply dismantled the Mean Green to the tune of a 66-7 beat down, in front of the North Texas Homecoming spectators mind you. And oh, about an hour after the last seconds had ticked away, Mean Green head coach Dan McCarney was fired.
Now, McCarney’s job at the helm of the program wasn’t all that safe to begin with. He finishes his North Texas career with a record of 22-32 in four-plus seasons, and North Texas is now 0-5 to start the 2015 campaign.
But Saturday’s destructive loss to Portland State pushed the wrong people over the edge, and for good reason.
Portland State is a solid FCS team that played like a top-10 program on the road Saturday. Alex Kuresa tossed three touchdown passes, and the Vikings scored six rushing touchdowns and gained 368 yards on the ground in the win. The team’s 31 second-quarter points put the visitors up 45-0 at halftime, and held North Texas without a point until there were 62 seconds left in the game.
One week after Portland State was edged by Big Sky foe North Dakota (that counted as a non-conference matchup), the Vikings rocketed back into everyone’s focus.
Cross “See FBS coach get fired after humiliating loss to FCS team” off the football bucket list.
In case you missed the Week 6 action from around the FCS, here are some of the more muted stats and headlines you should know:
I don’t know about you all, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the Ivy League action this season.
Harvard took down Cornell Saturday by a 40-3 margin for the Crimson’s 18th consecutive victory dating back to the 2013 campaign. Harvard has won in 13 consecutive Ivy League matchups, and has defeated Cornell 10 straight times dating back to 2006. The Big Red were held to just eight first downs in the loss.
Dartmouth quarterback Dalyn Williams somehow managed to one-up himself after a standout performance last Saturday against Penn. The Big Green signal caller threw for a career-high 435 yards which included four scoring passes as Dartmouth easily escaped Yale, 45-3.
Also in Ivy competition, Columbia put a stop to its rampant 24-game skid over the weekend when the Lions took down Wagner, 26-3. It’s the first victory for Columbia since a 34-17 win over Cornell back on Nov. 10, 2012.
Speaking of losing streaks ending, Rhode Island picked up its first win of the season with a 20-0 shutout of Delaware (which just beat William & Mary a week ago. What’s happening in the CAA?) Saturday. It was the program’s first shutout of another team since a 3-0 decision over Maine back in 2006. It was also Rhode Island’s first victory over Delaware since 2011.
Paging John Robertson. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, SOMEONE PLEASE CALL JOHN ROBERTSON! The Villanova Wildcats could really use their prized quarterback under center after another loss, this time to William & Mary, 38-16. Robertson’s injury helped cost the Wildcats their second straight game – the first back-to-back losses suffered by ‘Nova since three consecutive defeats in 2013 (to New Hampshire, Maine and James Madison, respectively).
Princeton running back John Lovett and Fordham ball carrier Chase Edmonds each rushed for four scores this weekend in their respective outings, which ties UNH’s Dalton Crossan and Sam Houston State’s Donavan Williams for the season’s single-game high.
Edmonds racked up 230 yards on the ground and also caught another score to give him five total, but was somehow overshadowed in Fordham’s 48-45 victory over Penn. Kicker Makay Redd played the role of hero by drilling a 31-yard field goal with eight seconds left to provide the Rams with a scary victory.
Sure, 230 yards and four touchdowns sounds great, right? Well try this on for size. Lamar running back Kade Harrington galloped for a cool 347 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in his Cardinals’ 44-28 win over Abilene Christian. His 347 rushing yards sets a Southland Conference record and falls 90 yards shy of the all-time FCS single-game mark of 437 yards, set by North Carolina A&T’s Maurice Hicks back in 2001. Harrington is second in the FCS behind Edmonds in terms of total rushing yards, 884 to 833. He’s also played in five games, while Edmonds has played six so far.
Southern Illinois made a splash in a 73-26 Saturday victory over Missouri State after racking up 673 total yards of offense. The 73 points scored for the Salukis sets the 2015 FCS single-game high, just narrowly edging out UT Martin and North Carolina Central, who each dropped 72 points in contests this season. SIU quarterback Mark Iannotti threw for three scores and rushed for another to help his squad.
Finally, it’s not typically the unsung heroes that get the job done for Coastal Carolina. Usually the Chanticleers are a dominant force led by quarterback Alex Ross and running back De’Angelo Henderson, rounded out with a tough defensive effort. But it was kicker Ryan Granger who made Presbyterian pay Saturday in the Chants’ 24-17 victory. Granger scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter on a fake field goal attempt to give CCU a 6-3 advantage, then proceeded to bang through three field goals (with a long of 47 yards) to power the win and keep Coastal Carolina in the unbeaten column.