The FCS Wedge

Big Sky Quad Shot: Week 12

Montana made a statement on Saturday as they defeated Weber State at home. The Griz looked like the better team in every way on Saturday and made their claim at the top of the Big Sky. Weber State was down at one point 35-3 as the Griz just kept pouring it on. Wide receiver Samori Toure had three scores for Montana. Weber State scored 13 points to end the game, but by then Montana had their second unit in and Weber had pulled Jake Constantine in favor of Kaden Jenks. Constantine had three interceptions on the day.

The other top two teams in the conference took care of their business on Saturday as Sacramento State beat Idaho handily on the road 31-7. Sacramento State relied on a heavy dose of the rushing attack with 222 yards and four touchdowns. Elijah Dotson had 109 of those yards and two scores. Quarterback Kevin Thomson had a less than average game, comparatively, going 17-36 for 187 yards and an interception. On the Idaho side of the ball, absolutely nothing went right. Mason Petrino had a touchdown pass to Cutrell Haywood. That’s about all they did. Montana State took care of UC Davis in a dog fight in Davis. The Bobcats rode a 13 point fourth quarter to beat the Aggies. The Bobcats rushed for 284 yards on the Aggies. The Aggies got a big day from Big Sky rushing leader Ulonzo Gilliam, has he went for 133 yards and two scores.

In outside playoff chance scenario, Eastern Washington beat Cal Poly by the skin of their teeth. Cal Poly had a chance to win the game with under five minutes left when they had clawed back from a 42-28 hole. Duy Tran-Sampson punched in a touchdown for the Mustangs. Cal Poly elected to go for two instead of the tie and missed the conversion. Poly had one more shot to win the game, but a missed 35 yard field goal ultimately doomed the Mustangs. In games that don’t matter to the playoff chase, BYU beat the hell out of Idaho State. Bengals running back Malakai Rango did rush for 142 yards on 24 carries though. North Dakota won a pillow fight over Northern Colorado. Northern Colorado tried to make it interesting at the end with a Milo Hall touchdown and got the ball back with a chance to tie, but Jacob Knipp threw an interception deep in his own territory. Southern Utah pulled an upset on Saturday, beating Northern Arizona. Gotta feel bad for Case Cookus who just couldn’t ever play on teams good enough to make a lot of noise.

Coming up this week we have Montana vs Montana State in Bozeman. Southern Utah making a long trip to take on North Dakota. Cal Poly is headed to Northern Colorado. Idaho is headed to Northern Arizona. Idaho State goes south to take on Weber State. Portland State goes east to take on Eastern Washington. In the “late” game that starts at 3pm MT is UC Davis taking on Sacramento State. Selection Sunday for the FCS playoffs will at 12:30pm ET on ESPNU.

Scores

Northern Colorado 38
North Dakota 45

Idaho State 10
BYU 42

Weber State 16
Montana 35

Northern Arizona 30
Southern Utah 31

Sacramento State 31
Idaho 7

Montana State 27
UC Davis 17

Eastern Washington 42
Cal Poly 41

Big Sky Player of the Week

This week’s Big Sky player of the week is Montana wide receiver Samori Toure. Toure had eight catches for 193 yards and three touchdowns as Montana defeated Weber State this past weekend.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

Dalton Sneed, QB, Montana
Kevin Thomson, QB, Sacramento State
Jeff Cotton, WR, Idaho
Ulonzo Gilliam, RB, UC Davis
Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington

Big Sky Power Rankings

Montana
Weber State
Sacramento State
Montana State
Eastern Washington
UC Davis
Portland State
Idaho
Northern Arizona
Idaho
Cal Poly
Idaho State
Southern Utah
Northern Colorado

The Quad Shot

I guess there’s new kings of the Big Sky conference this week. Montana really took it to Weber State in every part of the game. The Wildcats, I suspected, were not as good as they had been advertised. I’d had my suspicions about them, but thought they played good defense and good enough offense to keep their wins coming. However, once tested against an actual good team they crumbled. Just too many mistakes for the Wildcats. Special teams really didn’t help the team at all. That being said, Montana was very good all day on offense and really brought it against a good defense. Weird crowning Montana as the kings right now, considering they have a loss to Sacramento State. However, Montana fought off a lot more lions than Sacramento State has.

That being said, we now have a three way tie at the top of the Big Sky. This is a big deal because the winner of the conference gets the auto-bid to the playoffs and will definitely be seeded. Now, I think the possibility exists that three Big Sky teams could be seeded after next Sunday.. and even the slight possibility of four. Montana owns the tiebreaker over Weber State. Weber State owns the tiebreaker over Sacramento State. Sacramento State owns the tiebreaker over Montana. If Montana wins this weekend I think the argument is nil. However, if Montana loses, Weber would probably earn the auto-bid. That being said, I can see a scenario where three teams could get seeded if all three win out. If Montana loses to Montana State I assume a possibility exists that four Big Sky teams could get seeds with the Bobcats getting one and Montana maybe getting the 8 seed. This scenario is way out there, but the top of the Big Sky is really good this year.

That being said, there’s also a possibility that a four win Lafayette could get into the playoffs from the Patriot league. In this nutso scenario, Holy Cross is currently leading the Patriot league at 6-5 (4-1). They play Georgetown on Saturday, the last place team in the Patriot. G-town is 5-5 (1-4). However, Lafayette is 3-2 in conference with a win over Holy Cross. If Holy Cross loses to Georgetown and Lafayette wins against Lehigh, then the Leopards would be in the playoffs with the autobid. I don’t remember for sure if auto-bids host a home game, but god wouldn’t that be hilarious to see a team like Villanova or South Dakota State have to go to Lafayette for a playoff game.

One of the oldest rivalries in college football is back this week, the Cat/Griz game. Or the Brawl of the Wild. Whatever people call it. It’s in Bozeman this year and the Bobcats are hankering for a fourth win in a row over the Griz. Other rivalry games in the Big Sky this week are the Causeway Classic that features UC Davis against Sacramento State. Weber State and Idaho State are kind of rivals, but only to see which fan base can close their city earlier in the night. Predictions for the Brawl and the Causeway Classic?

AGS Poll: Week 12 Top 25 Results

Inside a week until Selection Sunday and there’s still a lot of action inside of the AGS top 25 with two top 5 teams taking losses and a few other significant upsets thrown into the mix in week 12. The top 2 remained the same as they have been since week 1 with North Dakota State and James Madison occupying the #1 and #2 spots, respectively. Montana moved up 2 spots to #3, their highest ranking in the AGS Poll since 2010, after their big win over previously 3rd ranked Weber State. Sacramento State also slid up two spots to #4 to set another record for highest ranking ever in the AGS Poll for them. Weber State dropped a couple spots to round out the top 5 at #5.

As for other teams moving up South Dakota State made a 3 spot jump up to #6 after getting back on track with a huge home win over UNI. Wofford moved up 6 spots to #11 after a monstrous win over SOCON rival Furman that actually wrapped up the SOCON autobid for them in the process. Southeastern Louisiana moved up 4 spots to #18 after their 4th straight win. Their fellow Southland squad Nicholls also climbed back into the top 25 rising 4 spots to #25 after their 3rd straight win.

The teams going in the opposite direction were led by Northern Iowa who dropped 5 spots down to #9 after a convincing road loss at SDSU. Furman also took an 8 spot dive to #16 after their aforementioned loss to Wofford. Dartmouth plummeted 12 spots down to #23 after getting stunned at home by Cornell. Princeton fell out of the top 25 after getting blown out by Yale.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way placing 5 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky with 4 (all within the top 8), the CAA and Southland with 3 each, and the Big South, OVC, and SOCON who each put 2 teams into the top 25. Once again 11 conferences, including Independents, were represented in the top 25.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	North Dakota State Bison	2050	82
2	–	James Madison Dukes	1968
3	2	Montana Grizzlies	1862
4	2	Sac State Hornets	1756
5	-2	Weber State Wildcats	1671
6	3	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1664
7	–	Illinois State Redbirds	1595
8	2	Montana State Bobcats	1397
9	-5	Northern Iowa Panthers	1388
10	2	Villanova Wildcats	1160
11	6	Wofford Terriers	1039
12	1	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	1031
13	2	Central Arkansas Bears	925
14	2	Austin Peay Governors	835
15	-1	Central Connecticut State Blue Devils	827
16	-8	Furman Paladins	790
17	1	Monmouth Hawks	773
18	4	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	649
19	–	Florida A&M Rattlers	532
20	–	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	494
21	2	Towson Tigers	472
22	2	Southern Illinois Salukis	401
23	-12	Dartmouth Big Green	305
24	1	Kennesaw State Owls	218
25	4	Nicholls State Colonels	206
ORV:
26	8	Albany Great Danes	162
27	5	Yale Bulldogs	150
28	2	San Diego Torreros	121
29	2	North Carolina A&T Aggies	62
30	7	South Carolina State Bulldogs	27
31	1	Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks	24
32	-11	Princeton Tigers	23
33	5	Eastern Washington Eagles	22
34	-6	The Citadel Bulldogs	21
35T	NR	Chattanooga Mocs	14
35T	4	Maine Black Bears	14
37	-1	UC Davis Aggies	2

Most significant win: Montana Grizzlies
Most significant loss: Furman Paladins

Dropped out of the poll:
New Hampshire Wildcats
Richmond Spiders
Sam Houston State Bearkats

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?240432-AGS-Poll-Results-WEEK-12-2019-SEASON

Patriot League: Week 13 Preview

The Patriot League football season has amazingly reached its penultimate week! With the finish line in sight Lafayette has seized control of the league race thanks to their win over Holy Cross last week. The Leopards will look to keep destiny in their hands when they square off against last year’s champion Colgate Saturday afternoon. The team that Lafayette booted from the catbird seat, Holy Cross, will try to keep their title hopes alive against Fordham in the “Big Apple”. In other league action, Georgetown will try to secure a winning record by taking down Bucknell in Lewisburg. The fourth game this week is a rare mid-November non-conference tussle between Lehigh and NEC member Sacred Heart.

I’m currently in Fargo, ND for #1 North Dakota State’s game against South Dakota so this week’s previews are a little shorter than usual.

Lehigh (4-5, 3-2) at Sacred Heart (6-4) 12 P.M. Campus Field; Fairfield, CT

Live Streaming: NEC Front Row

The Need to Know: Lehigh heads to the Nutmeg State for a rather unusual late season non-conference battle with Sacred Heart. The Mountain Hawks enter this game reeling from two straight league losses that have basically ended their title hopes. Lehigh is a bruised and battered team (especially at QB and the OL) as the season nears its conclusion. The Brown and White offense (16 ppg) needs to bounce back in a big way Saturday if they want to put a stop to their 2 game losing streak. The Pioneers put up 86 points in their two games (30 vs Bucknell/56 vs Lafayette) against Patriot League this season. Lehigh’s defense (22 ppg allowed) catches a bit of break as redshirt freshman quarterback Marquez McCray (11-14 105 yards 1 TD) will be making his second career start.

The Pioneers have arguably the worst defense in the NEC (406 ypg allowed) but it’s doubtful Lehigh will be able to exploit it. The Mountain Hawks best chance to head home with a win is to pressure McCray into mistakes and grind out points on offense. Given on the Pioneer’s two dominating wins against Patriot League competition this season it’s hard to image Lehigh keeping their dreams of a winning season alive.

Prediction: Sacred Heart 31 Lehigh 16

Colgate (3-8, 2-3) at Lafayette (3-7) 12:30 P.M. Fisher Field; Easton, PA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Lafayette attempts to get one step closer to their first Patriot League Title since 2013 when welcome Colgate to College Hill this weekend. Like in 2013, the Leopards are in position to grab the crown despite owning a losing record. Lafayette’s 23-20 win over then league unbeaten Holy Cross last Saturday gave the Leopards control of their destiny. The ‘Pards will need another strong performance from their freshman quarterback Keegan Shoemaker (16-25 196 yards 2 TD vs HC) against a Colgate defense that has finally started to play to their potential the last two weeks (27 total point allowed). Defensively (28 ppg allowed), Lafayette must contain a Raider offense that is operating much more efficiently now that quarterback Grant Breneman (162 ypg 5TD 5 INT) is finally healthy.

The Raiders late season surge can be attributed to improved quarterback play and winning more battles in the trenches. If Breneman is able to have success throwing and running the ball the Raiders will be able to control possession time (32 minute avg TOP). Colgate’s defense must be able to pressure and keep Shoemaker in pocket.

On paper this is a very evenly matched game between two teams playing their best football of the year. The slightest of edge goes to home team.

Prediction: Lafayette 28 Colgate 24

Georgetown (5-4, 1-3) at Bucknell (2-7, 2-2) 1 P.M. Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium; Lewisburg, PA

Live Stream: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Well rested Georgetown makes the 3 hour trip north to Lewisburg to tangle with Bucknell Saturday afternoon. A Georgetown win would secure their first winning season since 2011 (8-3) and just the second one ever as a member of the Patriot League (joined in 2001). The Hoya’s offense (27 ppg) will try to take advantage of a Bison defense (34 ppg) that has struggled for much of the season. Granted, the Bucknell “D” is coming off their best performance of year in their win against Lehigh (209 total yards). Georgetown quarterback Gunther Johnson’s (145 ypg passing/34 ypg rushing) scrambling ability could be an important “X Factor” against Simeon Page (8 sacks), Rick Mottram (4 sacks) and company.

Bucknell enters this game with more momentum following their big win over Lehigh. Georgetown had an extra week to prepare which they needed after suffering three straight losses.

This game figures to be nip and tuck for 60 minutes.

Prediction: Bucknell 24 Georgetown 20

Holy Cross (5-5, 4-1) at Fordham (3-7, 1-3) 1 P.M. Jack Coffey Field; Bronx, NY

Live Streaming: The Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Holy Cross will try to keep their Patriot League Title hopes alive with a win against a struggling Fordham team. The Crusaders 5 turnovers last week against Lafayette were too much to overcome in the 23-20 loss. As result, in order for Holy Cross to capture their first league title and playoff trip since 2009 they need to win their last two games and hope the Leopards lose to either Colgate or Lehigh. If Holy Cross is going to end the year strong they need quarterback Connor Degenhardt (202 ypg 13 TD 6 INT) and the of the rest offense (19 ppg) to raise their level play. The good news for Bob Chesney’s squad is Fordham might be the perfect bounce back opponent. The Rams have hit a wall after showing real promise during the first third of the season. Fordham managed just 208 total yards in last week’s 24-13 loss to Colgate. The Ram defense (451 total yards allowed, 252 rushing) didn’t fare much better in frigid Central New York conditions.

Fordham continues to be one of the biggest enigmas in FCS. The Rams have the personnel to be challenging for a league title. They should not be battling to stay out of the league basement as they are. As long as Holy Cross protects the ball and plays with more energy than they did last week they should head home with their dream of a championship still alive.

Prediction: Holy Cross 27 Fordham 17

The FCS Wedge – 2019-1113 – Wk12 PREVIEW

1.) Games of the week/previews

Weber State @ Montana

Northern Iowa @ South Dakota State

Furman @ Wofford

Montana State @ UC Davis

McNeese State @ Nicholls State

New Hampshire @ Albany

2.) Three Big Questions

Give me a dark horse for one of the last two seeds.

What do you do to keep from spoiling the results of a game to friends who can’t accept reality and have to wait 6-8 weeks before watching the game?

At large discussion

2019-1113 – Wk12 PREVIEW

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Big Sky Quad Shot: Week 11

The race at the top of the Big Sky Conference appears to be a three horse race between Montana, Weber State, and Sacramento State. This weekend in Missoula it appears to be the showdown for the Big Sky championship. Weber State will make the trip north to Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The matchup will be between the #3 and #5 ranked teams in the latest FCS Stats poll. Only one other game this season has featured two top five teams, North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The game should prove to be a true championship game and atmosphere.

Speaking of Weber State, they survived a last minute scare from North Dakota to keep their win loss record intact. Jake Constantine ran for 12 yards to get the Wildcats into a tie with the Flicker Tails. Then two minutes later Trey Tuttle booted a 32 yard field goal to give Weber State the win. Montana struggled to get going in the first half against Idaho, but once they settled in they put the gas to Idaho and beat the Vandals by 24.

Sacramento State also survived an upset by scoring two touchdowns in the last three minutes. Two Jake Dunniway touchdown passes kept the Hornets playoff bound. Dunniway was filling in for the injured Kevin Thomson. The Hornets didn’t appear to miss a beat. Eastern Washington laid the wood to Idaho State after an interesting first quarter which had the Eagles up 3-2. Not willing to get caught in a pitchers dual the Eagles went and head and went on a 45-3 run to ice a win. UC Davis turned in a large fourth quarter to take down Portland State. Two Jake Maier touchdown passes, and an Ulonzo Gilliam run put it away for the Aggies. Montana State absolutely blasted Northern Colorado to keep their playoff hopes alive.

This week’s games feature Northern Colorado taking on North Dakota. Idaho State is headed off for another money game against BYU. Weber State and Montana will face off in Missoula. Northern Arizona is making a quick trip to take on Southern Utah. Sacramento State is headed to Moscow to take on Idaho. Montana State is hitting the road to take on UC Davis. In the night cap Eastern Washington is headed west to take on Cal Poly.

Scores

Montana State 45
Northern Colorado 14

Idaho 17
Montana 42

Sacramento State 38
Northern Arizona 34

North Dakota 27
Weber State 30

Eastern Washington 48
Idaho State 5

UC Davis 45
Portland State 28

Big Sky Player of the Week

This week’s Big Sky Player of the week is UC Davis quarterback Jake Maier. Maier was 27/38 for 383 yards and four touchdowns as the Aggies defeated Portland State over the weekend.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

Dalton Sneed, QB, Montana
Kevin Thomson, QB, Sacramento State
Jeff Cotton, WR, Idaho
Ulonzo Gilliam, RB, UC Davis
Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington

Big Sky Power Rankings

Weber State
Montana
Sacramento State
Montana State
Eastern Washington
UC Davis
Portland State
Northern Arizona
Idaho
Cal Poly
Idaho State
Northern Colorado
Southern Utah

The Quad Shot

Montana got a big win over Idaho on Saturday. Not a big win in terms of defeating a good opponent, because Idaho was awful. But the Griz did keep their long-time rivalry trophy in Missoula. The Little Brown Stein has been shared between the schools has been around since 1903. Idaho leads the overall series 55-29-2. Montana has held the stein since 2003, however, there was a large gap in there when Idaho attempted to play FBS. After watching that game on Saturday you have to think that Paul Petrino is probably not safe after this season. That was one of the more bad teams I’ve watched in all of the college football this season. Undisciplined, sloppy, and not really a lot of talent. However, I will give props of Jeff Cotton. That guy is one bad mother. Montana had no answer for him, and had he not gotten hurt he probably would have had 15 catches.

The top of the Big Sky nearly became a wreck this weekend with both Weber State and Sacramento State hanging on for dear life and securing late game wins. Weber State scored 10 points in the final three minutes to beat North Dakota. Sacramento State scored 14 points in the last two minutes to pull off a win against Northern Arizona. Can you imagine two top ten teams going down in the same weekend? Oh wait, that happened with South Dakota State and Central Arkansas. With both teams hanging on for a win we might find ourselves in a three way tie for first at the end of the season. Assuming Montana beats Weber State and Montana State, and Weber and Sacramento State both win out. In that scenario Montana would have the tie breaker for Weber, Weber has the tiebreaker over Sacramento, and Sacramento has the tiebreaker over Montana. As our friends at the Brewery Follies would say, that’s a real fuster cluck!

Sacramento State didn’t seem to lose much with Jake Dunniway coming in on relief of the injured Kevin Thomson. Thomson, who looked like he might have been murdered on the hit he took. That being said, Sacramento State is still going to remain a tough out.

The quad shot should get back to normal’ish now. Life’s wild, man. A week out hunting in Eastern Montana with the old man, then a week in Vegas for work… yes, work. Getting back to the real world was kind of a drag.

The FCS Wedge – 2019-1113 – Wk11 REVIEW

1) The Big Story
Down goes two top ten teams

Illinois State 27 South Dakota State 18

Southeastern Louisiana 34 Central Arkansas 0

Recaps
Weber State 30 North Dakota 27

Austin Peay 38 UT Martin 24

Dartmouth 27 Princeton 10

James Madison 54 New Hampshire 16

Illinois State 27 @ Brookings South Dakota State 18

James Madison 54 New Hampshire 16

Dartmouth 27 Princeton 10 (Yankee Stadium)

Southeastern Louisiana 34 @ Conway Central Arkansas 0

Villanova 35 Richmond 28

Weber State 30 North Dakota 27

2.) AGS Poll

2019-1113 – Wk11 REVIEW

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AGS Poll: Week 11 Top 25 Results

With only 13 days until Selection Sunday we’re hitting the home stretch of the 2019 FCS regular season. Even though losses were few within the AGS Top 25 in week 11 there were a couple significant upsets that shook things up. As has been the case basically all year the top stayed calm with North Dakota State, James Madison, and Weber State holding onto the top 3 spots in that order. Northern Iowa slid up to #4 and Montana got back into the top 5 to round it out at #5.

The teams climbing in this week’s poll were headlined by Villanova who rose 4 spots to #12. Austin Peay used a big win over OVC rival UT Martin to jump up 8 spots to #16. It might’ve been a week late but Monmouth made a 5 spot rise to #18. Southeastern Louisiana shot up 12 spots into the top 25 at #22 after shutting out Southland front runner Central Arkansas. Southern Illinois made their first appearance in the top 25 since 2017 rising up 3 spots to #24 after their 4th straight win.

As for teams going in the opposite direction South Dakota State dropped 5 spots to #9 after losing for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Central Arkansas also took a 7 spot dip to #15 after their aforementioned loss to Southeastern Louisiana. Princeton plummeted 9 spots down to #22 after losing their Ivy League showdown with Dartmouth at Yankee Stadium. New Hampshire and North Carolina A&T dropped out of the top 25 after taking losses on Saturday.

In terms of conference representation the MVFC led the way placing 5 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Big Sky with 4, the CAA with 3, and then the Big South, Ivy League, OVC, SOCON, and Southland with 2 teams each in the top 25. Once again 11 conferences (including FCS Independents) were represented in the top 25 this week.

Full results below:

Rank	Change	Team	Total Points	First Place Votes
1	–	North Dakota State Bison	1950	78
2	–	James Madison Dukes	1863
3	–	Weber State Wildcats	1795
4	1	Northern Iowa Panthers	1645
5	1	Montana Grizzlies	1624
6	1	Sac State Hornets	1562
7	3	Illinois State Redbirds	1462
8	1	Furman Paladins	1361
9	-5	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	1345
10	1	Montana State Bobcats	1182
11	2	Dartmouth Big Green	1013
12	4	Villanova Wildcats	928
13	1	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	898
14	1	Central Connecticut State Blue Devils	717
15	-7	Central Arkansas Bears	713
16	8	Austin Peay Governors	630
17	2	Wofford Terriers	596
18	5	Monmouth Hawks	574
19	1	Florida A&M Rattlers	504
20	-3	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	460
21	-9	Princeton Tigers	454
22	12	Southeastern Louisiana Lions	409
23	2	Towson Tigers	357
24	3	Southern Illinois Salukis	247
25	-3	Kennesaw State Owls	226
ORV:
26	3	Sam Houston State Bearkats	196
27	-7	New Hampshire Wildcats	136
28	2	The Citadel Bulldogs	99
29	2	Nicholls State Colonels	86
30	3	San Diego Torreros	75
31	-13	North Carolina A&T Aggies	55
32	2	Yale Bulldogs	52
33	-8	Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks	26
34T	4	Albany Great Danes	23
34T	-2	Richmond Spiders	23
36	–	UC Davis Aggies	21
37	NR	South Carolina State Bulldogs	20
38	NR	Eastern Washington Eagles	12
39	-2	Maine Black Bears	11

Most significant win: Illinois State Redbirds
Most significant loss: Central Arkansas Bears

Dropped out of the poll:
Chattanooga Mocs
Stony Brook Seawolves
Youngstown State Penguins

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?239624-AGS-Poll-Results-WEEK-11-2019-SEASON

Patriot League: Week 12 Preview

The stakes continue to rise as the Patriot League season hits its 12th week. First place Holy Cross welcomes 2-1 Lafayette to Worcester in a game that will go a long way in deciding the league race. Both teams control their own destiny when it comes to automatic bid into the playoffs. That’s a wonderful thing to control this time of year. In other action, Lehigh tries to keep their league title hopes alive against Bucknell. Bison head coach Dave Cecchini’s first meeting with his alma mater adds to this game’s intrigue. To round out this week’s slate of games, Colgate welcomes Fordham to what will be a frigid Andy Kerr Stadium.

Lafayette (2-7, 2-1) at Holy Cross (5-4, 3-0) 12 P.M. Fitton Field; Worcester, MA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: The marquee Patriot League game this weekend takes place on Mount Saint James where Lafayette and Holy Cross clash for first place. The winner will have an inside track to at least a share of the league title and coveted automatic bid into the FCS playoffs.

The Crusader’s remain undefeated in league play following their 24-17 escape against Lehigh last Saturday. Holy Cross’s interception at goal line with just under a minute left in regulation sealed the win. The Crusader’s ground attack tallied a season high 266 yards in the victory. Preseason All Patriot League running back Dominic Cozier accounted for 190 of those yards on 22 carries. The defense did their part by limiting the Mountain Hawks to a mere 37 rushing yards. The Crusader defense did struggle to slow down Lehigh’s passing attack (282 yards) which has to concern head coach Bob Chensey. Limiting the Leopard’s talented freshman quarterback Keegan Shoemaker (243 ypg 12 TD 12 INT, leading rusher w/248 yards 3 TD) has to be Holy Cross’s number one priority on defense. Pressuring Shoemaker and keeping him the pocket will go a long way in slowing the ‘Pard “O” down.

Lafayette is playing meaningful football in November thanks to last week’s thrilling 38-34 win over Fordham. The Leopards held a 31-10 lead in the third quarter before surrendering 24 unanswered points to the Rams. Selwyn Simpson’s 10 yard touchdown run with a little less than two minutes left gave Lafayette the lead back one last time thus preventing the collapse. Head Coach John Garrett has to be happy with where his offense is at (248 ypg passing/118 ypg rushing) heading into this weekend’s big game. The key for Lafayette will be protecting the ball on offense and getting off the field on defense (allow 44% conversion rate on 3^rd down).

Holy Cross is the better, more complete team but their margin for error remains quite small due to an inconsistent offense (19 ppg). Given the Crusader’s up and down “O”, Lafayette’s Keegan Shoemaker is type of wildcard talent that should make this game extremely entertaining.

Prediction: Holy Cross 31 Lafayette 28

Fordham (3-6, 1-2) at Colgate (2-8, 2-2) 1 P.M. Andy Kerr Stadium; Hamilton, NY

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Two teams heading in opposite directions, Colgate up/Fordham down, square off on what figures to be a near frozen artificial tundra in Central New York. The battle for Empire State supremacy within the Patriot League is going to take place with temps hovering around the freezing mark. Handling the cold temps and maintaining focus will be keys in this game.

Colgate has historically thrived late in the year when the weather turns for the worst. The ability to run the ball (112 ypg) and play stout defense (31 ppg allowed) has been the Raiders recipe for success. As the 2019 stats show the recipe has been missing a few key ingredients which has resulted in Colgate’s disappointing 2-8 record. However, quarterback Grant Breneman and company got the ground attack rolling (219 yards) in last week’s 24-14 win over Georgetown. Up next is a Ram’s defense that surrenders 173 rushing ypg so Colgate has a great opportunity to keep the momentum going.

Fordham’s issues this season have largely been self-inflicted mistakes and simple execution failures. Last week against Lafayette the Rams started the game as if they were on an extended bye. As a result Fordham fell behind 31-10 before mounting a furious rally that gave them a 34-31 lead with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for Coach Conlin’s squad the defense (33 ppg allowed) failed to get one last stop and Lafayette scored the game winning touchdown with 1:48 left. The Fordham “D” has two of the best linebackers (Cunningham and Greenhagen) in FCS, an experienced secondary, a beefed up line yet it continues to yield yards and points in bunches. Colgate will go right at the unit for 60 minutes and see if they’re willing to compete in the ugly elements. Fordham’s ability to hold up will likely determine their fate. The Ram offense (25 ppg) figures to have success against the Raider’s leaky defense. Tim DeMorat (213 ypg 16 TD 8 INT) should be in-line for another big game.

If this game was played a couple of weeks ago Fordham would have been the easy pick. However, Colgate has won 2 out of their last 3 games and the weather on Saturday couldn’t be more perfect for their style of play. Fordham better be ready for 60 minutes of cold, physical football.

Prediction: Colgate 30 Fordham 17

Lehigh (4-4, 3-1) at Bucknell (1-8, 1-2) 1 P.M. Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium; Lewisburg, PA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: For the 83^rd time Pennsylvania foes Lehigh and Bucknell will meet on the gridiron. The Mountain Hawks have dominated the series the last two decades (won 19 out of the last 21 meetings) but the Bison feel they finally have their Lehigh kryptonite; former Brown and White wide receiver and offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini. The second Cecchini was named Bucknell’s head coach this game took on an elevated level of intrigue.

As expected, the Cecchini era has gotten off to a rough start. The lone highlight so far this season, and it’s a good one, is Bucknell’s dominating 32-14 win over Colgate in Hamilton. Despite the lack of wins, the Bison have shown improvement in 2019; most notably on offense. Junior quarterback Logan Bitikofer (143 ypg 7 TD 3 INT) has displayed legitimate potential that bodes well for 2020. Along with Bitikofer, sophomores Brandon Sanders (WR) and Jared Cooper (RB) form a growing three-headed monster on “O”. If Bucknell’s offensive line can open up holes against Lehigh’s rather weak defensive front Cooper (42 ypg) and senior running mate Chad Freshnock will have solid days. Defensively, the Bison (280 ypg passing allowed) must find a way to slow down Lehigh’s explosive air attack (249 ypg). Simeon Page (6 sack) and Rick Mottram (3 sacks) need to continue their disruptive ways. Bucknell was on their bye last week so they had extra time prepare for the Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh must regroup after last week’s painful 24-17 loss to Holy Cross. The Mountain Hawks still have a realistic shot at a share of the Patriot League Title and a 7 win season so there should be plenty of motivation in the tank. In order to keep those two goals alive the defense must be able to slow down the Bison ground stampede. The Crusaders ran over, around and through (266 yards) the Mountain Hawk front seven last week. Lehigh defensive coordinator Mike Kashurba knows Dave Cecchini will go after Lehigh’s glaring weakness. Offensively, the Mountain Hawks need to protect quarterback Tyler Monaco (221 ypg 6 TD 6 INT). The senior signal caller’s mobility has been compromised since he suffered a leg injury against Fordham.

This game will come down to who makes the big plays in the second half. That’s one area where Lehigh has thrived for much of the year.

Prediction: Lehigh 27 Bucknell 20

The FCS Wedge – 2019-1108- Selection Committee Insight

We had an opportunity to interview Kent Haslam this week to give us some insight on the Selection Committee process. Kent is the Montana Grizzlies Director of Athletics and a current part of the 10 member NCAA FCS Selection Committee.

Mr. Haslam was overly generous with his time and knowledge so we owe a big thank you to him for spending nearly an hour answering every question thrown his way. As FCS fans we also owe a sincere thank you to the rest of the Selection Committee for the hard work they do and the task they are about to undertake.

Get out your notepad or open a text document and take some notes because I bet your questions about the selection process get answered in this podcast.

2019-1108- Selection Committee Insight

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