Patriot League: Week 10 Preview

This week features nothing but Patriot League games for the first time all season. The marquee match-up on the docket this Saturday is Georgetown at Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks are the league’s only 2-0 team after their OT win over Fordham. The Hoyas only conference setback is an overtime loss to the Rams a couple of weeks ago. In other action, defending champion Colgate makes the 4 hour trip on 1-90 to take on Holy Cross. The Raiders are currently riding a 7 game winning streak over the Crusaders. The third game this weekend, Bucknell at Lafayette, could end up deciding who avoids last place in the final league standings. Fordham is on a much needed bye after their crushing loss to Lehigh last week.

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

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Defending Patriot League Champion Colgate will try to make it two wins in a row when they venture to Mount Saint James to battle Holy Cross. The Raiders conquered long-time rival Cornell last week 21-20 for their first win of the season.  Gate’s ground attack (174 yards) gained traction for the first time this season in the win over the Big Red. Colgate will need another strong performance from the running back duo of Alex Mathews and Malik Twyman if they’re going to defeat Holy Cross this weekend. Quarterback Grant Breneman’s willingness to run against Cornell (14 attempts) really helped to open up the running lanes. If Breneman can be effective running and passing against the Crusader’s “D”, Colgate has a real chance to pull the upset on the road. The Raider defense has the personnel to keep Holy Cross’s so-so “O” (17 ppg) well in check.

Holy Cross will try to bounce back from last week’s 31-21 loss to their biggest Ivy League rival, Harvard. The Crusaders fell behind 24-7 at half and despite a solid performance during the final 30 minutes, could never get close enough to seriously threaten. After two straight strong performances, Connor Degenhardt (16-38 206 yards 1 TD 1 INT) struggled against a solid Crimson defense. Outside of Domenic Cozier’s 66 yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage, the ground game (82 yards) never got much traction either. Both should find more room to operate against a Colgate defense (394 ypg allowed) that continues to struggle. The Crusader defense has the discipline to contain Colgate’s read-option offense. Breneman will need to be at his best if the Raider offense is going to finally break out.

Holy Cross is the better team and they’re at home. Colgate scored a nice win last week but the reality is they really didn’t play well against a bottom tier Cornell team. Holy Cross will win as long as Degenhardt protects the ball and the defense doesn’t allow Colgate to put together lengthy scoring drives.

Prediction: Holy Cross 27 Colgate 17

Georgetown (5-2, 1-1) at Lehigh (3-3, 2-0) 12:30 P.M. Goodman Stadium; Bethlehem, PA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Lehigh will try to be the first team in league play to reach 3-0 when they host Georgetown Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks will also be trying to exact revenge on the Hoyas for last year’s 22-16 overtime loss in D.C. The loss ended Lehigh’s 17 game winning streak over Georgetown. The Mountain Hawks will need to regroup emotionally for another big game after last week’s thrilling 30-27 OT win over Fordham. They’ll also likely have to adapt on offense as starting quarterback Tyler Monaco (203 ypg 5 TD 5 INT) is expected to miss the game with a leg injury. If Monaco can’t go junior Addison Shoup will take the reins. The Georgia native has performed well in crucial situations when called upon this season. The Lehigh defense can certainly make Shoup’s life a little easier by bouncing back from last week’s shaky performance against Fordham (330 rushing yards allowed).

Georgetown pushed their record to 5-2 with an ugly 14-10 win over winless Lafayette last week. The Hoyas managed just 264 yards of offense against a Leopard “D” that entered the game giving up well over 400 per game. Gunther Johnson (128 ypg 7 TD 1 INT) and company will need to generate at least a little more “O” this week if the Hoyas are going to secure a winning record before October comes to an end.  Given the Hoyas offensive limitations Coach Sgarlata will lean heavily on his excellent defense (12 ppg allowed). LB Xavier Reddick (22 solo tackles, 5 TFL), DT Khristian Tate (3 sacks) and the rest of the Hoya “D” have the talent to make things really tough on a Lehigh offense that will likely be without their starting QB.

This has all the makings of a low scoring slugfest. Whoever can generate points inside the red zone and limit their mistakes will come out on top. Lehigh has a few more playmakers on offense and a sound kicking game which will prove to be the difference.

Prediction: Lehigh 16 Georgetown 13

Bucknell (1-6, 1-1) at Lafayette (0-7 0-1) 3:30 P.M. Fisher Stadium; Easton, PA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Who finishes in the Patriot League cellar could very well be determined when Bucknell and Lafayette battle it out on College Hill Saturday evening. The Leopard’s losing streak has now reached double-digits (10) following last week’s tough 14-10 setback to Georgetown. Lafayette outplayed the Hoyas in many regards but failed to execute on both sides of the ball in a few crucial situations that likely would have changed the outcome. Sadly for Coach Garrett’s team that has been an all too familiar theme this season. The offense has really lost its way the last two weeks after showing some real promise earlier in the year. Keegan Shoemaker (227 ypg 8 TD 9 INT) must find his September magic before it’s too late. Conversely, Lafayette’s defense (30 ppg) has played well since the calendar turned to October. If they maintain their current level of play the Bison will have a tough time scoring.

Bucknell heads to Eastern Pennsylvania on the heels of a really disappointing effort against nationally ranked Towson. The Tigers were clearly the better team going in but that doesn’t excuse Bucknell’s no-show type performance in the 56-7 loss. The Bucknell defense surrendered 560 total yards including 328 on the ground! Thankfully for Dave Cecchini’s team, Lafayette does not possess anywhere near the firepower on offense that Towson has. It will be up to Logan Bitikofer (143 ypg 5 TD 3 INT) and the rest of the Bison “O” (15 ppg) to grind out enough points to win. The lack of a consistent rushing attack (72 ypg) continues to be a major issue for the Bucknell offense. Chad Freshnock’s (35 ypg) and Jared Cooper’s (31 ypg) talent far outweighs their current production.

This would appear to be Lafayette’s last best chance to avoid a winless 2019 campaign. Likewise, this very well could be the Bison’s last chance this season to emerge victorious. This game feels like a coin-flip on paper. With that in mind, Lafayette feels like the more desperate team and they’re at home.

Prediction: Lafayette 24 Bucknell 20

The FCS Wedge – 2019-1023 – Wk9 PREVIEW

1.) Games of the week/previews

#1 North Dakota State @ #3 South Dakota State

This is a huge weekend in the BSC

Weber State @ UC-Davis
Eastern Washington @ Montana
Montana State @ North Dakota

CAA favorites host desperate contenders

Stony Brook @ Villanova
Towson @ James Madison

Battles of 1st & 2nd place for the OVC, SOCON, & SLC

Sam Houston State @ Central Arkansas

Chattanooga @ Wofford

UT Martin @ Southeast Missouri State

2.) Three Big Questions

How long did it take you to complete your poll this week?

Is there one .500 or worse team that will make the playoffs?

What did Kris get wrong this week?

2019-1023 – Wk9 PREVIEW

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The FCS Wedge – 2019-1023 – Wk8 REVIEW

1) The Big Story
Game on in the OVC, SoCon, and Southland. Just halfway into conference play and there’s only 2 remaining undefeated teams in the 3 conferences combined. Both teams, UT Martin and Chattanooga, are quite unlikely to run the table.

Recaps
Sacramento State 49 Montana 22

Sam Houston State 17 Nicholls State 0

Northern Iowa 42 South Dakota 27

Florida A&M 34 North Carolina A&T 31 OT

Delaware 16 New Hampshire 10

Southeast Missouri State 24 Jacksonville State 21

2.) AGS Poll

2019-1023 – Wk8 REVIEW

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AGS Poll: Week 8 Top 25 Results

Top 25 image

Week 8 was another tumultuous one in the AGS Top 25 with 8 teams taking losses to teams ranked lower than them or not at all. Despite that for the fourth consecutive week the top 4 remained unchanged with North Dakota State, James Madison, South Dakota State, and Weber State taking the top 4 spots in that order. Sacramento State used a big win over previously 5th ranked Montana to rise up 5 spots to #5 to set another program record for the highest ranking ever in the AGS Poll, their third week in row they’ve done so.

As for other teams making moves up this week Princeton and Towson took advantage of teams in front of them losing to move up 4 spots each to #14 and #17, respectively. Central Connecticut State, after their 6-1 start, moved up 6 spots to their highest ranking ever in the AGS Poll at #18. Tennessee-Martin moved up 6 spots to #20, their first top 25 ranking in the AGS Poll since week 4 of 2017. Sam Houston State made their first appearance in the top 25 this year coming from completely out of the poll to #22 after shutting out Southland front runner Nicholls. Wofford reappeared in the top 25 moving up 5 spots to #24 after their 4th straight win. Southeast Missouri State also got back into the top 25 after a one week absence moving up 3 spots to #25.

The teams going in the opposite direction were led by Furman who dropped 6 spots to #13 after being upset at home by The Citadel. Nicholls also suffered a 7 spot drop to #15 after their aforementioned loss to Sam Houston State. Austin Peay, Youngstown State, New Hampshire, and Jacksonville State all dropped out of the top 25 after dropping games to teams outside of the week 7 top 25.

In terms of conference representation the Big Sky led the way placing 5 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the CAA and MVFC with 4 each, the Soutland with 3 teams, and the Ivy League, OVC, and SOCON who each put 2 teams into the top 25. Once again 10 conference were represented in the top 25.

Full results below:

Rank Change Team Total Points First Place Votes
1 – North Dakota State Bison 2172 85
2 – James Madison Dukes 2069 1
3 – South Dakota State Jackrabbits 2008 1
4 – Weber State Wildcats 1876
5 5 Sac State Hornets 1795
6 – Villanova Wildcats 1743
7 -2 Montana Grizzlies 1465
8 1 Kennesaw State Owls 1461
9 2 Northern Iowa Panthers 1443
10 3 Illinois State Redbirds 1371
11 1 Montana State Bobcats 1362
12 2 Central Arkansas Bears 1153
13 -6 Furman Paladins 1035
14 4 Princeton Tigers 818
15 -7 Nicholls State Colonels 784
16 3 Dartmouth Big Green 759
17 4 Towson Tigers 627
18 6 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils496
19 -4 North Carolina A&T Aggies 439
20 6 Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks 388
21 2 Stony Brook Seawolves 380
22 NR Sam Houston State Bearkats 371
23 2 UC Davis Aggies 296
24 5 Wofford Terriers 282
25 3 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 264
ORV:
26 13 Florida A&M Panthers 224
27 3 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 211
28 4 Albany Great Danes 158
29 6 Incarnate Word Cardinals 148
30 -13 Austin Peay Governors 110
31 -15 Youngstown State Penguins 81
32 -12 New Hampshire Wildcats 70
33 – Portland State Vikings 57
34 NR The Citadel Bulldogs 55
35 5 Chattanooga Mocs 47
36 -5 Elon Phoenix 44
37 NR North Dakota Fighting Hawks 43
38 -2 San Diego Torreros 34
39 -17 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 29
40 NR Southern Illinois Salukis 26

Most significant win: Sac State Hornets
Most significant loss: Furman Paladins

Dropped out of the poll:
Idaho State Bengals
Maine Black Bears
Southeastern Louisiana Lions
Virginia Military Institute Keydets
Yale Bulldogs

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?237484-AGS-Poll-Results-WEEK-8-2019-SEASON

Big Sky Quad Shot: Week 8

Sacramento State continued their climb up the FCS national polls this week as they defeated the Montana Grizzlies at home this weekend. The Hornets jumped out to a big lead and never looked back and just kept piling it on. Montana started with an opening drive score on a 64 yard Jerry Louis McGee run. However, Kevin Thomson would respond with a 44 yard pass and a two point conversion to take the lead. After that it was all Hornets. Thomson had 369 yards passing and 50 yards rushing and accounted for six touchdowns. Is he now the leader in the Big Sky MVP race? Maybe.

Portland State is another Big Sky team who’s a sleeper pick to win the conference if the chips fall where they do. The Vikings are now 3-1 in conference play. This weekend they got a win over hapless Northern Colorado. The Vikings got 221 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Sirgeo Hoffman to lead the way against a pesky Bears team that didn’t want to completely roll over. Jacob Knipp decided to do it all for the Bears, accounting for 427 total yards and two scores.

Weber State absolutely crushed Northern Arizona after trailing by seven at the half. Weber State’s Josh Davis ran for an eye popping 328 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats. Without looking it up, that could very well be the top rushing performance in FCS this season. In total the Wildcats rushed for 443 yards. Meanwhile, Case Cookus piled up the stats but wasn’t enough to get the Lumberjacks on the board. Cookus has 359 yards and four scores. In the battle of Idaho the Vandals got a win against their rival Idaho State. Big day for receiver Jeff Cotton, catching 192 yards of passes.

North Dakota continued its independent life and beat Cal Poly on the road this weekend. Nate Ketteringham had 234 yards and two scores plus a rushing touchdown to lead the way for the Fighting Hawks. In the night cap Jake Maier had 271 yards and three touchdowns, while Ulonzo Gilliam had 140 yards rushing and a score to get a close win over Southern Utah.

Coming up this week Eastern Washington will go across I-90 and take on Montana. Montana State will head to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota. Idaho State heads south to take on Southern Utah. Northern Arizona will be hosting Portland State. Weber State goes on the road to take on UC Davis. In the night cap Sacramento State will take on Cal Poly.

Scores

Montana 22
Sacramento State 49

Portland State 38
Northern Colorado 30

Northern Arizona 28
Weber State 51

Idaho State 21
Idaho 45

North Dakota 30
Cal Poly 26

UC Davis 33
Southern Utah 25

Big Sky Player of the Week

This week’s Big Sky player of the week is Sacramento State quarterback Kevin Thomson. Thomson was 24/34 for 369 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 50 yards and two touchdowns as the Hornets defeated #6 Montana at home on Saturday.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

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

Big Sky Power Rankings

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

The Quad Shot

I have no idea what’s gotten into the water in Sacramento this season, but this is a dominant Hornets team. Sweeping both of the Montana teams is an accomplishment for the Hornets. Probably has never been done in the history of their team. I wasn’t terribly surprised by the result, but this was a killer for the Griz’s chances to win the Big Sky outright. Some dominoes are going to have to fall for the Griz to win the conference at this point. For now we’re at a two way horse race between Weber State and Sacramento State for the conference title. Still a lot of football left to play, however.

The battle of Idaho was a more interesting battle than I thought it would be. I didn’t think there was any way Idaho was going to win that game, they are so bad. However, Jeff Cotton turned in a big day, catching 192 yards of passes and I guess the Vandals won? I guess there’s some magic in the Kibbie Dome.

Disappointed we’re not going to get to see Southern Utah and Northern Colorado battle it out to see who the worst team in the Big Sky is this year. Both teams can make a really strong case in being the worst. According to the Massey Index the Bears are at 91, Southern Utah is at 88, out of 126 teams. In the Sagarin Rankings Southern Utah is 196, Northern Colorado is at 201, out of 256 teams. So if we’re going to use complicated computer rankings and calculated into an Excel spreadsheet Northern Colorado is worse. However, the Bears have a conference win. So I guess by virtue of win/loss things, Southern Utah is definitely the worst.

College Game Day announced that they are going to head to Brookings, South Dakota for this week’s Saturday morning show. I know a lot of Big Sky fans would like to see Game Day come a little further West and maybe take in the Brawl of the Wild. Game Day seems to really like visiting North Dakota State and who can blame them. They’re received well in Fargo, the Bison are good, but come on. It’s the Midwest. How about coming to the Northern Rockies and taking in a real rivalry game. That being said, not this year folks. Cat/Griz weekend falls on a weekend where there are a lot of other rivalry games being played, and late in the season I can imagine Game Day would be disinclined to focus on an FCS game rather than a FBS game with playoff implications. If you were going to attend a Game Day setup somewhere, where would be your ultimate destination? Mine would be The Grove in Oxford Mississippi. Tailgating, sundresses, and the SEC, what more could a person want?

Patriot League: Week 9 Preview

As the Patriot League football season enters its second half, the stakes continue to rise. The most compelling league game this weekend is Lehigh at Fordham. Both teams are seeking 2-0 starts in PL play after each experienced a shaky September. Georgetown will look to put last week’s final second loss to the Rams in rear view mirror when they play host to Lafayette. This will be the Leopards first league game after going winless in out of conference play. The non-league games this week are highlighted by two rivalries; Harvard at Holy Cross and Colgate at Cornell. Those four teams have played a combined 171 times. The third non-league game features an improving Bucknell team traveling to Maryland to take on #21 Towson.

Lafayette (0-6, 0-0) at Georgetown (4-2, 0-1) 12 P.M. Cooper Field; Washington D.C.

Live Stream: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: Lafayette starts the Patriot League portion of their schedule Saturday when they travel to Washington D.C. Saturday to face Georgetown. The Hoyas enter this contest off a heartbreaking 30-27 loss to Fordham at Cooper Field. Tim DeMorat’s 17 yard TD pass with 16 second left was a major dagger in Georgetown’s Patriot League Title hopes. If Coach Sgarlata’s team wants to bounce against the Leopards the defense (13 ppg allowed) must tighten things up (405 yards allowed). Many of the issues that cost Georgetown in their season opening loss to Davidson popped up against the Rams. Offensively, Georgetown had their most productive game ever (525 Total Yards) against a Patriot League foe. Quarterback Gunther Johnson arguably had his best game of his career (13-17 280 yards, 81 yards rushing 2 TD). The “O” should be able to keep the positive mojo going against a Lafayette defense (445 ypg allowed) that has struggled to slow teams down.

Mercifully for Lafayette the out of conference portion of their schedule is over. Thanks to a winless start to 2019 and an ugly conclusion to 2018 the Leopards are riding a 9 game losing streak to D.C. Last week’s 28-3 loss to #19 Princeton almost certainly assured Lafayette a 10th straight non-winning season. Coach Garrett’s team now has to win out and capture a victory in the FCS playoffs to post the program’s first winning  record since 2009. In order to get win number one, Keegan Shoemaker must rebound from a tough outing (17-35 129 yards 2 INT) against the talented Tiger’s “D”. Despite being on the field for more than half the game (35 minutes), the Lafayette defense hung tough for most of the night against a Top 25 opponent. If there’s one thing to build off of heading into a key league game it’s that.

The key to this game might be emotion. Whoever is engaged and ready to play from the opening kickoff will come out on top. Georgetown is coming off arguably their most devastating loss since they joined the Patriot League nearly 20 years ago.  Lafayette is in the midst of another ugly season even though it’s felt like they are making legitimate progress at times. Until the Leopards prove they can win it’s extremely hard to envision them emerging victorious on the road against one of the top teams in the league.

Prediction: Georgetown 27 Lafayette 17

Harvard (3-1) at Holy Cross (3-3, 1-0) 1 P.M. Fitton Field; Worcester, MA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: The battle for “Bay State” supremacy (sorry UMass, you stink) between Harvard and Holy Cross is easily the most nationally relevant game this week. This will be the 71st (Harvard leads 43-25-2) meeting between the two tradition rich programs. This game will be a great measuring stick for each team as they both figure to contend for their respective conference’s title. The Crimson have won three straight games in dominating fashion (139-46) since losing their season opener to non-scholarship powerhouse San Diego. The offense has been well balanced (252 pass/172 rush) under the direction of quarterback Jake Smith (238 ypg 11 TD 4 INT). The defense has done an excellent job shutting down the opponents rushing attack (65 ypg allowed) and their 252 passing yards per game allowed would be a lot lower if opponents weren’t trying to play catch up. This is a very good team that will challenge Dartmouth and Princeton for the Ivy League crown.

Holy Cross returns home for the first time since their thrilling win over #20 New Hampshire. Needless to say the Crusaders have lived up to their namesake the last six weeks. The last two of which have seen Holy Cross’s offense emerge from their early season slumber. Connor Degenhardt (210 ypg 6 TD 2 INT) has started October by capturing two straight Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performances against Bucknell and Brown. Degenhardt and the rest of the Crusader “O” will see a significantly better defense this Saturday than they faced against Bucknell and especially Brown. Offensive Coordinator Pat Murphy will need to keep a good Crimson defense on its heels if Holy Cross has ideas of getting their third straight win. Holy Cross’s defense must tighten things up after a shaky outing against Brown last week (31 points allowed).

This game might not count in the league standings for either team but its importance can’t be understated. Harvard has been a consistent force in the Ivy League since Head Coach Tim Murphy took over in 1994. Bob Chesney is trying to establish a similar culture of winning in Worcester. Heading into Saturday Murphy’s team appears to be a half step, maybe a full step, ahead of the Crusaders at this point.

Prediction: Harvard 34 Holy Cross 23

Lehigh (2-3, 1-0) at Fordham (3-4, 1-0) 1 P.M. Jack Coffey Stadium; Bronx, NY

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Need to Know: The 2019 Patriot League race will take further shape in the “Big Apple” when Fordham plays host to Lehigh. The Rams are fresh off their thrilling last second road win over Georgetown.  Quarterback Tim DeMorat might have been erratic for most of the afternoon but when it mattered most he made all the big throws including the game winner to Fotis Kokosioulis. Junior running back Zach Davis had a stellar afternoon (138 yards 2 TD) against an excellent Hoya front 7. Davis will face another strong run defense (74 ypg allowed) this week. The biggest concern for Coach Conlin’s team is the defense. They got torched (525 yards allowed) by an average at best Georgetown “O” last week. If Fordham wants to win the league outright the defense (455 ypg/33 ppg allowed) must get better. The unit continues to woefully underachieve relative to its talent level.

Lehigh heads to the Bronx well rested following their second bye of the season. The Mountain Hawks opted for two byes instead of a 12th game which in hindsight was the right call for a team trying to re-establish itself under new head coach Tom Gilmore. The extra week should have benefited the offense (13 ppg) the most considering the unit is dealing with significant injuries at wide receiver. Leading pass catcher Devon Bibbens (73 ypg 2 TD) still needs another week to recover from the huge hit he took against Colgate. Jalen Burbage tore is Achilles against the Raiders and is done for the season. Lehigh will need to rely on Jorge Portorreal and a patchwork receiver corps to do damage against Fordham’s leaky secondary. The Mountain Hawk defense (357 ypg/22 ppg allowed) will need to have their best game of the season in order to fly home happy.

Lehigh has dominated this series all-time 24-7 but the Rams have owned things (5/6) recently. While these might be the two most athletically gifted teams in the league they both have glaring flaws. Fordham enters this game on an emotional high in what has been a roller coaster of the season. Lehigh enters well rested following their win over Colgate two weeks ago. Can Fordham finally put together two straight well played games?

Predicition: Lehigh 27 Fordham 24

Colgate (0-7, 0-2) at Cornell (1-3) 1:30 P.M. Schoellkopf Field; Ithaca, NY

Live Streaming: ESPN+

The Need to Know: For the 101st time Central New York rivals Colgate and Cornell will battle it out on the gridiron. Despite suffering through one of the worst starts in school history, the Raiders can find a bit of a silver lining by tying up the all-time series 49-49-3 with a win. Colgate has won 9 out of the last 10 meetings against Cornell including last year’s 31-0 shutout win. Given the current state of each team it’s hard to imagine Saturday afternoon’s contest being a blowout either way. The Raiders continue to struggle on offense as Grant Breneman (139 ypg 2 TD 2 INT) remains hobbled by the ankle injury he suffered earlier in the season. Coach Hunt’s “O” is likely in for more tough sledding against a Big Red defense that is allowing 99 yards in the ground and tick over 200 through the air. The Raiders defense must bounce back from last week’s ugly performance (32 points allowed) against Bucknell.

The Big Red have their own quarterback concerns. Head Coach David Archer has rotated Richie Kenney (121 ypg 4 TD 6 INT) and Mike Cantenese (121 0 TD 1 INT) with the hopes that one of them would seize control of the position. Unfortunately for the “O”, neither Kenney or Cantenses has been able to establish themselves. Running back Harold Coles (91 ypg 3 TD) remains the offenses only consistent producer. The Cornell defense (20 ppg/302 ypg allowed) has done an admirable job since it’s often been put in tough situations.

This is an extremely difficult game to get a read on given both team’s limitations. The Raiders still possess excellent talent even if it’s 0-7 say otherwise. Cornell has put forth a more consistent effort to start the season despite being severely outmanned in all three of their losses. That’s why The Wedge is going to take the Big Red.

Prediction:  Cornell 20 Colgate 16

Bucknell (1-5, 1-1) at #21 Towson 4 P.M. Johnny Unitas Stadium; Towson, MD

Live Streaming: FloSports.com

The Need to Know: Bucknell will try to make it two wins in a row when the make the 2.5 hour trek south to take on former Patriot League member (’97-’03) Towson.  The Bison emphatically put an end to their school record 11 game losing streak with a convincing 32-14 win over Colgate last week in Hamilton. All three phases had significant contributions in the victory. The fake punt call in the third quarter really set the table for the rest of the game. Colgate scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half to cut the Bison lead to 20-14. The gutsy call on 4th and 1 around midfield ultimately led to a touchdown and a two possession lead. Alex Pelchin earned Patriot League Special Teams Player of the week for his exploits in the win and LB Simeon Page (3 sacks, 2 Pass breakups, scoop and score TD) captured Defensive Player of the League honors for his stellar play. Quarterback Logan Bitikofer also pitched in with a very strong performance (18-29 250 yards 2 TD). The Bison will need everyone to be on top of their game again this week when they face one of the better teams from the CAA.

The Tigers remain ranked in the Top 25 despite losing their last 3 games (Villanova, Florida (FBS), Albany). The defense has yielded over 500 yards to both FCS opponents. Towson simply can’t get off the field as they are allowing teams to convert 54% of their third downs.  The Tiger’s all-everything Quarterback Tom Flacco (239 ypg passing/46 ypg rushing) and the talented offense hasn’t been playing to their potential either. Still, this remains a very dangerous team that has serious aspirations of playing well into December.

Bucknell should enter this game riding high following their win over Colgate. The Bison have played a very difficult non-conference schedule so nothing Towson throws at them will be a shock. The odds of a Bucknell win might be slim but that doesn’t mean the Bison will get run off the field.

Prediction: Towson 41 Bucknell 30

The FCS Wedge – 2019-1016 – Wk8 PREVIEW

1.) Games of the week previews

Montana @ Sacramento State

South Dakota @ Northern Iowa

Nicholls State @ Sam Houston State

North Carolina A&T @ Florida A&M

New Hampshire @ Delaware

Southeast Missouri State @ Jacksonville State

2.) Three Big Questions

If James Madison and North Dakota State go 1-2, is there anyone that can knock them off in their home stadium?

Outside of the top 3, who has the best chance to take a top 2 seed?

Where is a location where you’ve always wanted to go see a game, but haven’t yet experienced?

2019-1016 – Wk8 PREVIEW

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The FCS Wedge – 2019-1016 – Wk7 REVIEW

1) The Big Story

MASSIVE Conference Cannibalism in Week 7. Well, except in the Missouri Valley.

The Southland is eating itself alive

Big Sky with big road wins, Idaho State stays alive with a huge bounce back

A team that lost to Robert Morris might be the second best team in the SoCon…VMI. RMU lost to Dayton and DII Kentucky State as well.

CAA eating itself alive

OVC may have a new contender

Recaps
James Madison 38 Villanova 24

Sacramento State 34 Montana State 21

Austin Peay 28 Southeast Missouri State 24

South Dakota State 38 Youngstown State 28

New Hampshire 20 Stony Brook 14

North Dakota State 46 Northern Iowa 14

San Diego 37 Davidson 17

Dartmouth 42 Yale 10

2.) AGS Poll

2019-1016 – Wk7 REVIEW

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Big Sky Quad Shot: Week 7

One of the Big Sky heavyweights took a knock out this weekend and took a tumble down the polls as a result. In one of the bigger FCS upsets this weekend Sacramento State walked into Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman and handed the Cats their second loss of the season, and did it somewhat handily. Hornet quarterback Kevin Thomson totaled 334 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sacramento State to probably their biggest conference win in a few years, and now their first top 25 ranking since 2014. Impressive win for them, disappointing for the Cats.

In other Big Sky action, a week after North Dakota got a last second win over UC Davis they turned around and got absolutely pummeled by Idaho State. Idaho State, who was coming off of their own pummeling at the hands of Montana, hung 55 on the Fighting Hawks. Bengal quarterback Matt Struck threw for 396 yards and five touchdowns to lead the way. Eastern Washington beat the hell out of Northern Colorado. Pretty familiar theme in Greeley this year. Eric Barriere threw for 445 yards and five scores, and rushed for another 41 yards.

Portland State tossed a shutout against Idaho, winning 24-0. The Vikings used a balanced attack rushing for 181 and passing for 167. Idaho employed the “throw four interceptions” tactic against the Vikings, which led to their not having any points on the board. UC Davis jumped out to a 34-10 halftime lead and didn’t look back, beating Cal Poly handily. Jake Maier threw for 378 and four scores, and also got 152 on the ground from Ulonzo Gilliam. In the night cap Weber State kept rolling with a tough win over Southern Utah in Ogden this weekend.

Coming up this week is Montana taking on Sacramento State on the road, Northern Arizona traveling to Weber State, Portland State going to Northern Colorado, Idaho State playing in-state rival Idaho in the world famous Kibbie Dome, North Dakota continuing to make the Big Sky rounds and going on the road to play Cal Poly, and UC-Davis traveling to Cedar City to take on Southern Utah.

Scores

North Dakota 20
Idaho State 55

Sacramento State 34
Montana State 21

Northern Colorado 21
Eastern Washington 54

Idaho 0
Portland State 24

Southern Utah 14
Weber State 29

Big Sky Player of the Week

This week’s Big Sky player of the week is Sacramento State quarterback Kevin Thomson. Thomson was 23/30 for 260 yards and three touchdowns, while also running for 74 yards and two touchdowns, as Sacramento State went on the road and beat #6 Montana State over the weekend.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

Dalton Sneed, QB, Montana
Kevin Thomson, QB, Sacramento State
Jake Meier, QB, UC Davis
Ulonzo Gilliam, RB, UC Davis
Jeff Cotton, WR, Idaho

Big Sky Power Rankings

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

The Quad Shot

On one hand I was surprised that Sacramento State went to Bozeman and beat Montana State. On the other hand I really wasn’t that surprised. Kevin Thomson has been playing out of his mind lately, and Montana State has looked like a team who was going to take a loss. An injured Troy Anderson, and the lack of production from the quarterback position was eventually going to cost them a game. Whether it costs them anymore games after this remains to be seen, but they were definitely vulnerable.

It’s kind of amazing to see what’s happened to Idaho since their transition to FCS from FBS. Logic would dictate that they should have some talent remaining from being an FBS team with what you’d think would be better recruits. At least recruits that would be competitive in the top third of the Big Sky. However, this team might actually be worse than any FBS team they fielded. Maybe it’s a Paul Petrino problem, maybe it’s an Idaho problem, could be many things. I know the Kibbie Dome isn’t world class or anything, but it’s better than half the stadiums in the Big Sky. They have a new’ish weight training facility, which is better than at least half the conference. A lot has changed since Idaho first transition to FBS 20+ years ago, but man, this is just brutal.

Two of the top total offenses in all of FCS belong to Big Sky Conference teams, Eastern Washington at three, Montana at four. Two of the top total defenses in the country belong to Missouri Valley teams, North Dakota State at three, South Dakota State at five. They say that defense wins championships, and that’s usually true. If you think a Big Sky team is going to win a national championship this season I suggest the defenses start turning it around. The top Big Sky team in total defense is Portland State at 20. There are three Big Sky teams in the top 50, Weber State at 43, Sacramento State at 48.

I’m going to jump on a familiar soap box again. The FCS polls came out again on Monday morning and again there are Ivy League teams, -TEAMS-, crawling up the rankings. What in the actual hell do these teams do to deserve their rankings? In this week’s FCS Stats poll Princeton is at 17, Dartmouth at 21. Princeton’s opponents are a combined 3-19. Dartmouth’s opponents are 7-14. Now, I know we could make this argument for several teams (looking at you South Dakota State), but what makes the Ivies so special that they just rocket up the polls with no challenge most of the season? You put the best Ivy teams against middle of the pack Power 3 teams (BSC, MVFC, and CAA) they’re going to get thumped.  Off my soapbox, agree and disagree all you want but I’ll die on this hill.

 

AGS Poll: Week 7 Top 25 Results

Top 25 image

It was a tumultuous week 6 for teams in the AGS Poll as, once you got outside of the top 5, 16 of the 30 teams listed in last week’s poll that were in action this week lost and many were to foes ranked below them or not at all. Despite that the top 4 remained unchanged with North Dakota State, James Madison, South Dakota State, and Weber State in that order. Montana climbed up one spot to land in the top 5 for the first time this year at #5.

After that things got chaotic starting with Sacramento State who rode a big road win over previously 7th ranked Montana State to rocket up 12 spots to #10, their highest ranking in the AGS Poll ever. Austin Peay was another big mover going up 6 spots to set their new high water mark in the AGS Poll at #17. Dartmouth used a convincing victory over previously unbeaten Yale to rise 5 spots to #19. New Hampshire, riding a 4 game win streak, shot up 14 spots to land in the top 25 for the first time this season at #20. Jacksonville State and UC Davis each got a 4 spot bump to return to the top 25 coming in at #22 and #25 respectively. The best story of the week though has to be Central Connecticut State who, after their 5-1 start, made a 7 spot jump to #24 to get into the AGS Top 25 for the first time since 2009.

The teams going in the opposite direction were led by Montana State who fell 5 spots to #12 after their aforementioned loss to Sacramento State. Towson plummeted 11 spots to #21 after their 3rd straight loss and fellow CAA conference mate Stony Brook took a 6 spot dip to #23 after each were upset on Saturday. Southeast Missouri State, Delaware, Maine, and Southeastern Louisiana all dropped out of the top 25 after sustaining losses in week 6.

In terms of conference representation the Big Sky, CAA, and MVFC led the way each putting 5 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the Ivy League, OVC, and Southland who each placed 2 teams into the top 25. A season high 10 conference were represented in this week’s top 25. There were also 7 new teams that appeared in this week’s ORV section.

Full results below:

Rank Change Team Total Points First Place Votes
1 – North Dakota State Bison 2222 88
2 – James Madison Dukes 2115
3 – South Dakota State Jackrabbits 2051 1
4 – Weber State Wildcats 1904
5 1 Montana Grizzlies 1846
6 -1 Villanova Wildcats 1724
7 1 Furman Paladins 1684
8 3 Nicholls State Colonels 1492
9 3 Kennesaw State Owls 1398
10 12 Sac State Hornets 1321
11 -2 Northern Iowa Panthers 1174
12 -5 Montana State Bobcats 1168
13 2 Illinois State Redbirds 1152
14 2 Central Arkansas Bears 1053
15 -2 North Carolina A&T Aggies 1047
16 -2 Youngstown State Penguins 781
17 6 Austin Peay Governors 701
18 2 Princeton Tigers 638
19 5 Dartmouth Big Green 631
20 14 New Hampshire Wildcats 516
21 -11 Towson Tigers 502
22 4 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 360
23 -6 Stony Brook Seawolves 288
24 7 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 244
25 4 UC Davis Aggies 129
ORV:
26 NR Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks 123
27 NR Idaho State Bengals 84
28 -3 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 69
29 4 Wofford Terriers 63
30 -12 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 57
31 9 Elon Phoenix 54
32 NR Albany Great Danes 46
33 NR Portland State Vikings 44
34 -15 Maine Black Bears 41
35 NR Incarnate Word Cardinals 28
36 2 San Diego Torreros 25
37 -16 Southeastern Louisiana Lions 24
38 -8 Yale Bulldogs 20
39 NR Florida A&M Panthers 18
40T NR Virginia Military Institute Keydets 15
40T -2 Chattanooga Mocs 15

Most significant win: Sac State Hornets
Most significant loss: Towson Tigers

Dropping out of the poll:
Houston Baptist Huskies
McNeese State Cowboys
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Sam Houston State Bearkats
South Carolina State Bulldogs
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles

Join the discussion here: https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?236766-AGS-Poll-Results-WEEK-7-2019-SEASON