Patriot League: Week 8 Review and Power Rankings

Week 8 of the Patriot League season was highlighted by a classic defensive struggle between Bucknell and Lafayette. Colin Jonov’s 95 yard pick six on the first play of overtime gave the Bison a thrilling 13-7 win. Colgate, while not nearly exciting, also posted a crucial win. The Raiders easily dispatched a downtrodden Crusader team in Worcester to remain in the hunt for the Patriot League title. The third game last weekend saw Fordham end their 5 game losing streak against Georgetown. The Rams did so without several key starters.

Colgate 45 Holy Cross 7

Holy Cross did not get any immediate results from replacing long time head coach Tom Gilmore with offensive coordinator Brian Rock in an embarrassing 45-7 point loss to Colgate. The 38 point margin of defeat was Holy Cross’s largest in the history of the series (80 games). For the third time in four weeks the Crusader offense struggled to do much of anything. Fifth year senior quarterback Peter Pujals (13-24  1 TD 3 INT vs Colgate) has really been off during this recent stretch which is the main reason the unit’s production has fallen off a cliff. The only chance Holy Cross has this year to right the ship is if he plays better and the defense raises their play. If he continues to struggle and the defense can’t pick up the slack Rock might be wise to allow one of the quarterbacks of the future to get a shot. At this point, it might be wise for interim head coach Rock to look 2018 and beyond at all positions.

One quarterback that does have it rolling right now is Colgate’s Grant Breneman (16-24 222 yards 2 TDs, 11 rushes 36 yards 2 TDs). The freshman signal caller accounted for 4 touchdowns in the Raiders demolition of Holy Cross. His 12 yard TD toss to Nick Diaco on the Raider’s first possession of the game gave Colgate the early 7-0 lead. The Crusaders would respond with their only points of the game on the ensuing drive. Pujals connected with Andre Harton for a short 7 yard touchdown to tie the game at 7. Chris Puzzi’s chip-shot 26 yard FG early in the 2nd quarter gave the lead back to Colgate at 10-7. Following a Crusader 3 and out, James Holland (16 carries 109 yards 1 TD) 1 yard plunge into the endzone extended the Raider lead to 17-7 midway through the second quarter. Colgate blew the game open with a dominating third quarter that saw the Raiders outscore Holy Cross 21-0.

Up Next: Colgate hosts Bucknell in a very important league battle. Holy Cross welcomes Georgetown to Fitton Field in a likely battle for last place.

Fordham 17 Georgetown 9

Since their offense was without Kevin Anderson, Chase Edmonds and a trio of wide receivers Fordham needed to rely on their much maligned defense in a narrow win over Georgetown. The “W” snapped Fordham’s five game losing streak that dated back to September 9th (38-31 over Central Conn. State).  The Hoyas had five (not counting the final possession with 8 seconds left) possessions in the 4th quarter but failed to notch a single 1st down let alone the 8 points needed to tie the game. Fordham limited Georgetown to 246 total yards and 11 first downs on the game. This year’s battle followed a similar script as last season’s tussle in the Bronx that also saw Fordham win. The Hoyas certainly had their chances but their inability to make plays on offense when needed cost them again.

Fordham was able to get one the board first thanks to Andrew Mevis’s 30 yard field with 6:17 left in the opening quarter. Mevis would tack on a 31 yarder early in the 2nd quarter to extend the lead to 6-0. Georgetown finally got the offense going on their fifth possession of the game. Gunther Johnson (17-35 196 yards 1 TD) found Max Edwards for a 12 yard touchdown that appeared to give the Hoyas a 1 point lead with the extra point pending. However, Fordham’s Jesse Bramble blocked the point after attempt then was able to scoop it up and return it for 2 points. When the dust settled Fordham was still leading 8-6 with 3:11 left before half. Georgetown was finally able to take the lead in the third quarter. Brad Hurst’s 27 yard FG capped a lengthy 11 play 67 yard drive that took 5:38 off the clock. The advantage would be short lived as Fordham would immediately respond with a brisk 5 play 75 yard drive that took just over to 2 minutes to complete. Backup quarterback Luke Medlock (25-45 258 yards 1 TD) hooked up with Austin Longi for the go ahead 12 yard touchdown. Fordham attempted a 2 point try to extend the lead to 7 but failed. As a result of the failed conversion the Ram advantage stood at 14-9 with 7:16 left in the 3rd quarter. Mevis’s third field goal of the game pushed the Ram lead to 17-9 with a little over 9 minutes left. From there, the Fordham defense would preserve the win.

Wide receiver Austin Longi had a monster day (13 rec. 150 yards 1 TD) for Fordham that included a highlight reel catch that didn’t count because he landed out of bounds.

Up Next: Fordham returns to the Bronx to take on Lehigh in what was suppose to be the Patriot League game of the year. The Hoyas take the long bus ride to Worcester, MA to tangle with Holy Cross in a battle of struggling teams/programs.

Bucknell 13 Lafayette 7 OT

For the second time this season the Bucknell Bison (4-3, 1-1) won in thrilling fashion on the last play of the game.  Colin Jonov’s 95 yard pick six in the 1st overtime broke the hearts of the Lafayette Leopards (2-6, 2-1) and sent the Bison sideline into an absolute frenzy. It was Bucknell’s second pick six of the game. With the win (4th straight over Lafayette), Bucknell is only team in the Patriot League with a winning record at the conclusion of week 8. The “W” also thrusts the Orange and Blue right in the thick of the league title race. With games remaining against Colgate and Lehigh the Bison now control their own fate as they try to capture their second league title and first ever trip to the FCS playoffs. Lafayette is still in position to grab at least a share of the title if they win out. But given the state of their offense it seems rather improbable. The Bison “O” isn’t exactly lighting it up either but they have at least some balance that opposing defenses have to respect. Plus, their defense is once again playing at a very high level (20 ppg allowed, 30th in FCS).

It didn’t take long for the Bison “D” to make their presence known in this one. On Lafayette’s 4th play from scrimmage Drew Newcomb jumped an out-route for a 31 yard pick six. Leopard quarterback Sean O’Malley had his worse game (16-30 90 yards 2 INTs) since the Villanova debacle in week 2. O’Malley did however get some unexpected help from the rushing attack to keep Lafayette in the game. C.J. Amil and Selwyn Simpson combined for almost 100 yards which was a major improvement for the Leopards anemic rushing attack. The two were crucial (57 of the 60 yards) during Lafayette’s only scoring drive of the game. Simpson was able to muscle into the endzone from 2 yards out to tie the game at 7 with 7:50 left in the 3rd quarter. Both defenses would then proceed to dominate the action until Bucknell’s offense put together their best drive of the game in the 4th quarter. That’s when Bison quarterback John Chiarolanzio (14-25 129 yards 1 INT) led a 17 play 69 yard drive that would last over 8 minutes. Ultimately, the drive stalled at the Lafayette 25 yard line with a little over a minute left in regulation and the Bison called upon John Buskirk to boot a 42 yard go ahead FG. Buskirk would push the kick to the right and the game headed to overtime. That’s when Jonov pick sixed O’Malley on the first play of OT to end the game in dramatic fashion!

Up Next: Bucknell heads to Central New York to butt heads with Colgate in an extremely crucial league contest. Lafayette is on a much needed bye as they try to regroup for one last run at the Patriot League title.

Power Rankings

  1. Colgate – The Raiders continue to play their best football of the year. They must beat Bucknell to keep their playoff hopes alive.
  2. Bucknell – The Bison own the league’s only winning record thanks to a defense that is rounding into form at the perfect time. Destiny is in their hands but Colgate in Hamilton will be a tall order.
  3. Lehigh – The Mountain Hawks come off their bye all alone at the top of the Patriot League standings. If the coaching staff was able to figure out some things to help the defense they’re likely to remain there. It all starts with Fordham this week.
  4. Lafayette – The Leopards couldn’t win a 3rd straight down to the wire Patriot League game. Still, a Colgate win over Bucknell and the Leopards will be right back in the thick of the title race following their bye.
  5. Fordham – The Rams MASH unit was able to score a much needed win over Georgetown. Now they try to exact some revenge on Lehigh after last year’s thumping in Bethlehem. In order to make that happen they healthy bodies. First and foremost, Anderson and Edmonds.
  6. Georgetown – The Hoyas have fought extremely hard in their two most recent losses. If they continue to battle like hell they have a great chance to notch at least 1 league win.
  7. Holy Cross – The Crusaders are in the midst of one of the worst stretches in program history. There are no obvious positives to draw from at this point. If the effort doesn’t improve they won’t win another game this season.

The FCS Wedge – 2017-1024 – WEEK 8 REVIEW

One of the best shows so far this year.  Kris & Lance go over their voting prowess and their philosophy on it each week.  I know many AGS Poll voters have similar strategies to finding the best way to a conclusion but it is interesting to listen to for sure.

The games they go over this week:

Illinois St 37 South Dakota 21

Samford 24 Wofford 21

Southern Utah 46 EWU 28

Delaware 42 Richmond 35 2OT

JSU 30 EIU 14

NDSU 24 WIU 12

You made it this far, it would seem odd to not listen at this point.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Big Sky Round-Up Week 8

Southern Utah just keeps on rolling, and Cal Poly just keeps getting rolled. Welcome to week 8 of the Big Sky Round-Up!

Two weeks in a row Southern Utah has taken down one of the top teams in the conference, winning games they shouldn’t be winning, and doing it convincingly both times. Last week the Thunderbirds got the best of Weber State and this week they took down an FCS top ten team, Eastern Washington. The T-Birds started off a little slow, but completely dominated the second half against the potent Eagles offense. The Thunderbird defense talked Gage Gabrud into throwing three interceptions in a solid defensive effort. In all the Southern Utah defense got Eastern Washington to turn the ball over four times, including a back breaker late in the fourth quarter. Eastern Washington score once in the second half, an Antoine Custer touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. At that point the Eagles had a three point lead, from there on out it was the Patrick Tyler show. Tyler finished 22/33 for 183 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 49 yards. Gabrud finished with 246 yards and a touchdown, and three turnovers. Eastern Washington will have a bye, while Southern Utah will head to Northern Colorado.

North Dakota’s year just isn’t getting any better and at this point they’re just hoping to get through the season without any more injuries. On Saturday they had the visiting Sacramento State Hornets in town to check out the Fabulous Alerus Center. Sacramento State rolled off 24 points in the third quarter to get a handle on this game and never looked back, despite a flurry of activity from the Hawks in the fourth quarter. The Hornets were aided by a North Dakota fumble and returned for a touchdown by Marcus Bruce. Hawks quarterback Andrew Zimmerman attempted to lead a comeback, throwing a touchdown in the fourth quarter to Noah Wanzek but couldn’t get much traction to close the game. Roman Ale had an efficient day going 13/19 for 263 yards and two scores. Sacramento State will head to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona, while North Dakota will make a long trip to take on slightly worse Portland State.

Montana State looked like it was pretty much left for dead on Saturday at Northern Colorado, then went to the well and discovered a bunch of fourth quarter points hiding in there. The Bears had a comfortable 21-7 lead at the half and 24-10 to start the fourth quarter. However, the Bears defense wasn’t up to the task of keeping Montana State from scoring. The Bears gave up 17 points to drop a home contest by three points on Saturday. Chris Murray threw for 222 yards and rushed for 150 yards with a combined two touchdowns to lead the Bobcat comeback. The Bears were without starting quarterback Jacob Knipp who is out for the season. Backup Conor Regan had a nice game, but the Bears ground game had a hard time getting anywhere against the Bobcats. Bobcat freshman kicker Gabe Peppenger broke the tie with no time left to win it for the Bobcats. Montana State will host Idaho State, while Northern Colorado will have a bye.

Okay, so Portland State is bad. They are so bad that also usually bad, Idaho State, scored 59 points on them. Forty-two of those points came in the second and third quarters. Twenty-four of those points came consecutively. Tanner Gueller was responsible for 21 of them. But hey, Portland State got on the board first, they recorded a safety on Idaho State’s first possession. Idaho State had two rushers over 100 yards, James Madison (not the school, nor the president) rushed for 160 yards, Ty Flanagan had 108 and four touchdowns. Tanner Gueller had 327 yards passing and three touchdowns. Idaho State will be heading to Montana State this weekend, while Portland State hosts North Dakota in the Big Sky Pillow Fight of the Week.

In a game I fully expected to become a track meet somewhat lived up to that reputation but did not quite have the fireworks that we all expected. Northern Arizona and UC-Davis scored a lot of points, but 76 seemed like not as much as you’d think you’d get here. Case Cookus had 293 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lumberjacks over the Aggies. Elijah Marks continued his one man assault as a receiver hauling in 174 yards and a touchdown. His counterpart, UC-Davis receiver Keelan Doss had 106 yards and two scores. Outside of Doss, a pedestrian day of offense for the Aggies. Northern Arizona cooked up a 28 point second quarter to take control of this game and never look back. At one point in this game I thought to myself, “This looks like the kind of game NAU is going to just get their hearts broke.” But as we’re seeing they’re playing it out for Jerome Souers. Northern Arizona will host Sacramento State, while UC-Davis will host Cal Poly.

Weber State made the trip to wine country to give us a snoozer against the worst team in the Big Sky, Cal Poly. Weber State got their starting quarterback, Stefan Cantwell, back after an injury and did just enough to get the Wildcats to a win. Cantwell had 182 yards and two scores, while rushing for another 54 yards for the Wildcats. Weber State running back Treshawn Garrett had 69 yards on the ground. Cal Poly bigly struggled on offense much of the day, as their three points on the scoreboard show. Weber State got a touchdown from David Jones hauling in a Cantwell pass. They capped the game with a Drew Batchelor touchdown catch. The teams combined for seven turnovers, which is the same number of passes that Cal Poly completed. Cal Poly will head to Davis, while Weber State will host Montana.

Scores

Sacramento State 34
North Dakota 27

Montana State 27
Northern Colorado 24

Portland State 30
Idaho State 59

UC-Davis 31
Northern Arizona 45

Eastern Washington 28
Southern Utah 46

Weber State 17
Cal Poly 3

Big Sky Player of the Week

This week’s Big Sky Player of the Week is Southern Utah quarterback Patrick Tyler. Tyler was 22/33 for 183 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 49 yards, as the Thunderbirds knocked off Eastern Washington in Cedar City this past weekend.

Big Sky MVP Rankings

Gage Gabrud, QB, Eastern Washington – 24/44 for 246 yards 1 TD, 3 INT
Elijah Marks, WR, Northern Arizona – 9 receptions, 174 yards, 1 TD
Tanner Gueller, QB, Idaho State – 14/23 for 327 yards, 3 TD
Keelan Doss, WR, UC-Davis – 10 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD
Gresch Jensen, QB, Montana – Idle

Big Sky Power Rankings

1. Southern Utah
2. Eastern Washington
3. Weber State
4. Montana
5. Northern Arizona
6. Montana State
7. Sacramento State
8. Idaho State
9. UC-Davis
10. Northern Colorado
11. North Dakota
12. Portland State
13. Cal Poly

Final Thoughts and Hot Takes

Southern Utah, wow what are you guys doing? That defense is a salty bunch, and they’ve completely shut down two pretty good offenses in consecutive weeks.

On the other hand, the bottom of the Big Sky is very very bad.

Sacramento State got votes this week for the FCS top 25. I don’t even know how this happened, or what planet we’re on now, but here we are. When’s the last time the Hornets got top 25 votes?

Montana and Weber State should be a fun one this weekend.. a group of dudes, including myself, are headed south to take this game in. This might be the most sober road trip I’ve ever gone on. Send help.

Keelan Doss is an underrated receiver in this league. So good, big numbers every week, should be first team All-Big Sky when it’s said and done this season.

Chris Murray at Montana State is a one-man show.. he does a lot for that Montana State offense, but man. Watching him throw a football is not a thing of beauty. He gets it done, I’ll just never know how.

I think it’s fair to say right now that there is no great teams in the Big Sky, a lot of good teams, but no one that’s going to be playing in the semifinals of the playoffs this season.

MVFC – Week 8 in Review

MVFC LogoAnother week of games, and a couple more upsets. Seems like this is often the way it goes…a bunch of tough teams able to grind out wins against higher-ranked opponents.

First up though, let’s take a look at conference standings, where teams are in relation to being set up for a playoff spot or if they’re already out of the picture. I’ll list the team, then overall record, conference record, and then each team’s remaining 4 games of the regular season.

School Overall Conference Remaining 4 Games
North Dakota State 7-0 4-0 UNI, @SDSU, USD, @ILSU
South Dakota 6-1 3-1 SIU, @UNI, @NDSU, SDSU
Illinois State 5-2 3-1 @YSU, WIU, @SDSU, NDSU
Northern Iowa 4-3 3-1 @NDSU, USD, @MSU, INSU
Western Illinois 5-2 2-2 SDSU, @ILSU, @INSU, SIU
South Dakota State 5-2 2-2 @WIU, NDSU, ILSU, @USD
Southern Illinois 4-3 2-2 @USD, MSU, YSU, @WIU
Youngstown State 3-4 1-3 ILSU, @INSU, @SIU, MSU
Missouri State 1-6 0-4 @INSU, @SIU, UNI, @YSU
Indiana State 0-7 0-4 @MSU, YSU, WIU, @UNI

For reference, in recent history, I believe only one 8-DI-win MVFC team has been excluded from the playoffs (YSU in 2013, who went 8-4 in a 12-game season, but was tied with 3 other MVFC teams at 5-3 in the conference). In general, 7 DI wins will get MVFC teams at-large spots in the playoffs, and 6 DI wins is possible if the situation is right and the team gets a bit of help from other “bubble teams”. It’s happened twice so far, WIU in ’15, and ILSU in ’16, but it’s by no means a forgone conclusion.

NDSU has reached 7 wins, which means that barring some complete collapse to finish the season, they’re in the playoffs.
USD is still at 6 wins and likely need one more to be solidly in the playoffs. They do have a tough schedule ahead, but should be able to pick up at least one more win.
ILSU, SDSU, and WIU are all at 5-2 and are hoping for at least a 2-2 finish to the season to get their 7 wins. Based on how things look right now, WIU probably has the easiest route there, with a couple of winnable games and a couple of probably “coin flip” games. ILSU and SDSU both have to play NDSU, WIU, one other tough opponent (YSU for ILSU and USD for SDSU), and each other to finish out the season…so, one will pick up a win when they play each other, but it remains to be seen if they can get one more from the other 3.
SIU and UNI are 4-3 and they’ll need to win 3/4 to finish with 7 wins. I could see SIU taking maybe one…two tops…but I don’t think the Salukis will get there. UNI has been very strong the last couple of games. They’d need to beat MSU and INSU and snag one of the games at NDSU or home vs USD to do it. USD is the more likely of the two, but they’ll both be tough games.
YSU is now 3-4 and desparately needs to start winning some games. Lots of close games against really tough teams, but at some point you just gotta win. With 4 games left, they pretty much need to win out to make the playoffs. It can be done, the majority of the rest of their schedule sits at the bottom of the conference standings, but they can’t have any more slip-ups if they want to be playing after Thanksgiving.
MSU and INSU can’t even reach 6 wins this season, so neither of them will be making the playoffs this year.

#9 Youngstown State at #28 Northern Iowa (Family Weekend)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
YSU 0 7 0 7 14
UNI 3 13 3 0 19

Quick Hits:

  • YSU – WR Damoun Patterson had 100 yds and 1 TD receiving
  • YSU – QB Nathan Mays threw for 175 yds and 1 TD but was sacked 8 times
  • YSU – LB Armand Dellovade led the team in tackles with 15
  • UNI – RB Marcus Weymiller ran for 132 yds and 2 TDs
  • UNI – QB Eli Dunne passed for 151 yds, with 2/3 of that (99 yds) going to WR Daurice Fountain
  • UNI – Defense had 31 tackles for loss including 10 sacks. LB Rickey Neal had 3.5 of those sacks and earned the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

Northern Iowa has been really stepping up the last couple of weeks with some key players back from being out with injuries. The Panther defense’s 10 sacks were 1 away from tying the school’s single-game record, and if you know I-AA football, you know that UNI has had some seriously good defenses in the past. After a promising start, Youngstown State’s season is in freefall. The Penguins couldn’t get really anything going on offense, especially on the ground, only getting 47 net yards rushing in large part due to losing 63 yards on tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
UNI got ahead early with a FG in the 1st quarter and 2 TDs in the 2nd, while allowing 1 TD, taking a 16-7 lead into halftime. Panthers got another FG in the 3rd and YSU only had another TD in the 4th and would never hold the lead in the 19-14 finish.

UNI is now 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the conference, and will take on 7-0 NDSU next weekend in the Fargodome in what will likely be a seriously good battle.
YSU falls to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the MVFC, and they head back home to face off with 5-2 ILSU next Saturday.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Penguins by 4
It was: Panthers by 5
Margin right…pick wrong. UNI is a better team than I gave them credit for (especially defensively) and are a much better team than when I saw them live a couple of weeks ago.

#3 South Dakota at #27 Illinois State (Homecoming)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
USD 0 14 0 7 21
ILSU 14 3 7 13 37

Quick Hits:

  • USD – QB Chris Streveler threw for a career-high 440 yds and 2 TDs, but also had his first two INTs of the season
  • USD – TE Aaron Ramsey had 79 receiving yds and a TD, but 3 other Coyote receivers had 50+ yds and 3 others had 40-50 yds
  • USD – DB Andrew Gray led the team with 10 tackles
  • ILSU – QB Jake Kolbe had 236 yds passing, 2 TDs and 1 INT, with 191 yds (80%) going to WR Spencer Schnell who earned the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
  • ILSU – RB James Robinson ran for 193 yds and 2 TDs
  • ILSU – PK Sean Slattery hit FGs from 47 yds, 33 yds, and then 45 yds and finished the game with 13 total points, earning him the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.

After a couple of losses (one a blowout to SIU), ILSU was looking like their backs were against the wall with the matchup with the undefeated Coyotes. Well, it looks like the Redbirds play from that position pretty well. Their defense held USD to 3-and-outs on the first couple of drives before nabbing Streveler’s first INT of the seasonT he ILSU defense did an exceptional job shutting down USD’s running game. Illinois State put up the games first 14 points, but USD would battle back, tying the game at 14 in the 2nd. ILSU would add a FG to gain a 3-pt lead at halftime. A 3rd quarter TD run would give the Redbirds the lead for good, as they’d use a couple more FGs and hold USD to only one more TD to come away with the 37-21 win.

Illinois State is now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference and will head over to Ohio to take on 3-4 Youngstown State next weekend.
South Dakota heads back home and brings in 4-3 Southern Illinois in what could be a very high-scoring matchup.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Coyotes by 14
It was: Redbirds by 16
Is Illinois State good? They lost to Northern Arizona and got blown out by Southern Illinois, but on this day, they were good…really good. Also on this day, I was wrong…really wrong.

Southern Illinois (3-3, 1-2) at Indiana State (Homecoming)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SIU 17 7 7 14 45
INSU 14 0 3 7 24

Quick Hits:

  • SIU – QB Sam Straub had 352 yards passing and 3 TDs w/ 3 INTs as well as 50 yards rushing
  • SIU – WRs Darrell James and Raphae Leonard had the majority of receiving yards with 154 (and 1 TD) and 104 respectively
  • SIU – S Ryan Neal had 2 INTs that he took back for a total of 70 yards, as well as 3 tackles
  • INSU – WR Bob Pugh caught for 92 yards including a 61-yard TD catch. Pugh also had 59 yards on returns
  • INSU – LB Katrell Moss led the Sycamores with 20 tackles, including 1 for loss
  • INSU – P Thomas Bouldin averaged 50.5 yards on 8 punts including an insane 90-yarder that broke the school and conference record (previous record was 89 yards by WIU’s Mike Scifres in 2000)

The Sycamores started off well, putting up the game’s first TD and at one point having a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. Unfortunatly for Indiana State, it was pretty much all Salukis from there. SIU would get the next 17 points and take a 24-14 lead into halftime. SIU answered an INSU FG with a Saluki TD in the 3rd and had two more TDs in the 4th. INSU did have a 17-yard pick-6 in the 4th, but it was too little too late, falling 45-24 in Terre Haute.

Southern Illinois moves over 500 to 4-3 with a 2-2 MVFC record and will face off with 6-1 South Dakota next week in Vermillion.
Indiana State drops to 0-7 overall, 0-4 in the conference and head down to 1-6 Missouri State to play in what can only be described as the “Battle for the Bottom”…INSU’s best chance at getting a win this season.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Salukis by 12
It was: Salukis by 21
Margin a little larger than I thought, but hey…I got one right (finally).

#15 South Dakota State at Missouri State

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SDSU 20 14 14 14 62
MSU 10 17 0 3 30

Quick Hits:

  • SDSU – QB Taryn Christion threw for 323 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 59 yards and 1 TD
  • SDSU – TE Dallas Goedert caught 170 yards and a TD on 8 passes and WR/KR Cade Johnson caught for 75 yards and 1 TD on 2 passes and had a 61-yard kick return earning him the MVFC Newcomer of the Week award
  • SDSU – RB Brady Mengarelli ran for 115 yards and 2 TDs
  • SDSU – LB Christian Rozeboom led the team with 18 tackles including 1 for loss
  • MSU – QB Peyton Huslig threw for 189 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, and ran for 123 yards
  • MSU – LB McNeece Egbim had 10 tackles including 2.5 for loss
  • MSU – WR/RS Deion Holliman took a punt back 63 yards for a TD and racked up 150 all-purpose yards

I’m not really going to get into the details of the scoring…SDSU did a lot of it…9 TDs worth. MSU tried to stay with them, but too many times had to answer a TD with a FG. The Bears were only down 34-27 at halftime, but the Jackrabbits really pulled away in the second half with 4 TDs vs MSU’s single FG to take the 32-point win.

South Dakota State is now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the MVFC and will have another trip south to take on 5-2 Western Illinois next weekend.
Missouri State drops to 1-6 overall, 0-4 in the conference and they will stay home, welcoming the 0-7 Sycamores on Saturday.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Jackrabbits by 20
It was: Jackrabbits by 32
SDSU’s offense is clicking at a slightly higher rate than I had anticipated. I figured it’d be a high scoring game though, and with 61 total points at halftime, higher than the final point totals for 3/4 of the other conference games, it was. I count that as a win for me.

#7 Western Illinois at #2 North Dakota State

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
WIU 3 3 0 0 12
NDSU 3 7 14 0 24

Quick Hits:

  • WIU – WR Jaelon Acklin caught 115 yards on 6 receptions
  • WIU – LB Brett Taylor had 17 tackles, 1 for loss, and became the 4th Leatherneck to ever reach 400+ career tackles
  • WIU – LB Quentin Moon had 9 tackles, 1 for loss, and an INT taken 43 yards back for a TD
  • WIU – PK Nathan Erickson made his first collegiate FG attempt from 52 yards late in the 2nd quarter
  • NDSU – QB Easton Stick threw for 221 yards and 1 TD (w/ his first 2 INTs of the season) and ran for 61 yards and 2 TDs
  • NDSU – WR RJ Urzendowski caught 4 passes for 100 yards and 1 TD
  • NDSU – Safeties Robbie Grimsley and James Hendricks and DE Caleb Butler each had 5 tackles, with Butler having 2 for loss incluing 1 sack, and DT Cole Karcz had 1.5 sacks for 14 yards
  • NDSU – Bison Defense held Western to only 12 points (had been averaging 41.8) and only 31 rushing yards

WIU started off well, holding NDSU to a FG in the first quarter, while picking up a FG and INT->TD themselves. In the 2nd, a WIU defender fell down which left NDSU’s Urzendowski wide open for a 58-yard TD pass. WIU tacked on 3 with a 52-yard FG, which gave WIU a 2-pt lead at halftime. Second half though, the NDSU defense really picked up and shut down WIU’s offense. There were a couple of times when Western was able to get close, but ultimately was held scoreless, while NDSU QB Easton Stick used some strong runs up the middle to pick up two rushing TDs in the 3rd, resulting in a 12-point Bison win.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Bison by 10
It was: Bison by 12
As much as I was hoping to be wrong on this pick, I was pretty much spot-on. My Leathernecks did much better than their last trip to the Fargodome (a 59-7 blowout), but it’s still a tick in the loss column for them. I did get the pick right though…so I guess that’s something.

I was 34-11 in my picks this season going into this week. This week I went 3-2 in my picks which puts me at 37-13 for the season so far.

Four games left in the regular season for the MVFC teams. Up next week are a slate of games where nearly all will have a significant impact on playoff spots. Check back later this week for my full preview of all of the Week 9 games in the MVFC.

AGS Poll: Top 25 Week 8 Results

Multiple upsets gave the AGS rankings quite the shake-up in week 8. Despite that the top 2 remained the same as they have been in every ranking so far this year with James Madison and North Dakota State coming in at #1 and #2, respectively. Jacksonville State moved up to their highest ranking of the year coming in at #3. Central Arkansas made their first appearance in the top 5 this year next at #4 and South Dakota dropped two spots to #5 following their loss to Illinois State.

Among the biggest risers of the week was Samford who moved up 7 spots to #10 following their win over previously top 5 ranked Wofford. Delaware also continued their climb rising 7 spots to #13 following their double OT victory over Richmond. Southern Utah shot up 9 spots to #16 after their convincing win over Eastern Washington. Illinois State re-emerged in the top 25 after a one week absence coming in at #20 following their win over previously 3rd ranked South Dakota. Northern Iowa also returned to the top 25 coming in at #22 after their 2nd straight win over a top 25 opponent.

Youngstown State took the biggest tumble of the week dropping 14 spots to #23 following their loss to Northern Iowa which was their 3rd loss in a row. Eastern Washington also dropped 9 spots to #17 following their aforementioned loss to Southern Utah. Richmond was another team to take a big hit this week as they took a 12 spot tumble following their loss to Delaware. Even though New Hampshire beat Towson and Montana was on bye both teams dropped out of the top 25.

The MVFC led the way placing 7 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the CAA with 6, the Big Sky with 4, and the SOCON and Southland who each placed 3 teams into the top 25.

Full results below:

Rank Team Total Points First Place Votes
1 James Madison Dukes 1920 72
2 North Dakota State Bison 1851 5
3 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1749
4 Central Arkansas Bears 1638
5 South Dakota Coyotes 1452
6 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1437
7 Elon Phoenix 1310
8 Western Illinois Leathernecks 1304
9 Wofford Terriers 1237
10 Samford Bulldogs 1096
11 Western Carolina Catamounts 922
12 North Carolina A&T Aggies 868
13 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 865
14T Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 863
14T South Dakota State Jackrabbits 863
16 Southern Utah Thunderbirds 645
17 Eastern Washington Eagles 636
18 Villanova Wildcats 617
19 Stony Brook Seawolves 569
20 Illinois State Redbirds 455
21 McNeese State Cowboys 429
22 Northern Iowa Panthers 415
23 Youngstown State Penguins 362
24 Richmond Spiders 347
25 Weber State Wildcats 340
ORV:
26 Montana Grizzlies 322
27 New Hampshire Wildcats 259
28 Monmouth Hawks 69
29 Grambling State Tigers 53
30 Furman Paladins 48
31 Nicholls State Colonels 22
32 Southern Illinois Salukis 15
33 Columbia Lions 14
34T Austin Peay Governors 8
34T Sacramento State Hornets 8
36 North Carolina Central Eagles 6
37 Maine Black Bears 4
38T Kennessaw State Owls 3
38T Southeastern Louisiana Lions 3
40 The Citadel Bulldogs 1

Most Significant Win: Samford Bulldogs
Most Significant Loss: Youngstown State Penguins

Join the discussion at http://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?197794-AGS-Poll-Results-Week-8-10-23-2017

Patriot League: Week 8 Preview

Colgate (3-4, 1-1) at Holy Cross (2-5, 1-1) – Oct. 21st 12 PM Fitton Field Worcester, MA

Live Stream – Patriot League Network

Brian Rock’s first game as the interim head coach at Holy Cross is a big one. The Crusaders host Colgate on homecoming in an important Patriot League showdown. Rock, who had been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the last 2.5 years, takes over after Tom Gilmore was let go early last Sunday. Holy Cross enters the game on a 4 game losing. The most recent of which was an extremely ugly 32-0 shutout loss to Yale that sent Gilmore packing. Rock’s first order of business will be to find the offensive mojo that put up 51 points against New Hampshire and not the one the was held scoreless last week and then limited to 7 points two Saturdays ago in a devastating league loss to Lafayette. Peter Pujals is arguably coming off the worst game (10-22 89 yards) of his illustrious career so getting him right will go a long way towards having a chance to beat Colgate and make a late season run at the league title.

In general, the Crusader defense (384 ypg allowed, 68th in FCS) has played reasonably well. They’ll need to be at the top of their game this Saturday against a Colgate offense that is picking up steam as Grant Breneman (161 ypg, 10 TDs 1 INT, 38 ypg rushing 2 TDs) gets more comfortable at quarterback. The Raiders have torched the two (Fordham & Lehigh) worst defenses in the league the last two weeks so there is some context with the recent improvement. There’s no doubt Holy Cross will be a step up in class defensively. Breneman must continue his smart decision making in the passing game and let the rushing attack lead the way. The return of James Hollond Jr.(career high 166 yards last week) makes Colgate’s running game even potent thus taking pressure off of Breneman. If the freshman quarterback can avoid mistakes and the running attack eats up yards/clock the Raider offense will be tough to stop. Holy Cross’s defense line must be able to hold up along the line of scrimmage. If they do, McBeath and Ryan Brady should be able to make plays from the linebacker position.

This is such a fascinating game because there’s really no way to know what to expect. It’s been a whirlwind week for Coach Rock and his players that it’s anyone’s guess as to how they’ll respond. Odds say they come out loose with a nothing to lose attitude. That will give the Crusaders a chance to win at home. However, Colgate seems to be picking up momentum and appear to be on a mission to avenge the brutal loss to Lehigh.

Prediction: Colgate 27 Holy Cross 21

Fordham (1-6, 0-2) at Georgetown (1-5, 0-1) – Oct. 21st 2 PM Cooper Field Washington, D.C.

Live Streaming – Patriot League Network

Fordham heads to our nation’s capital to take on Georgetown in a game that features two teams in desperate need of a win. The Hoyas have lost 5 straight games since their season opening victory over Campbell. Fordham is also on a 5 game skid and are guaranteed to finish with their first losing season since 2011. Seven weeks ago no one could have imagined the Ram’s season would have spiraled to these depths given their recent run of success and the amount of firepower they returned on offense. But Edmonds and Anderson have battled through injuries much of the year and the defense remains a major liability. The end result is a 1-6 record that has relegated the Rams to spoiler status. Georgetown’s issues run much deeper so there’s no quick fix. The two positives the Hoyas have going for them are the emergence of Gunther Johnson (155 ypg 2 TDs 0 INTs, 32 ypg rushing 4 TDs) and the fact they always play hard. They nearly knocked off a much better Ram team last year in the Bronx by using an awesome defensive performance.

If Georgetown is to get over the hump this year against Fordham the Hoya defense will be what leads the way. The Rams offense is a shell of its former self so there’s a good chance they’ll contribute to their own demise. The unit has scored 10, 10 and 12 points in Fordham’s 3 most recent losses and currently ranks 91st in FCS in scoring (19.6 ppg). With Edmonds (329 yards 1 TD for season) still not up to full strength and Anderson battling his own ailments things don’t figure to get much better this week. The 2017 version of the Hoya defense is not as good as recent editions either but they’ve had to deal with an offense that has been extremely limited. As a result, the Hoya “D” often plays well early in games before fatigue costs them as.

The Rams pride is really on the line is this game. The Hoyas continue to be looked at as the hopeless non-scholarship cellar dweller in the Patriot league. Any team that loses to the Hoyas is immediately chastised for “reaching their depths”. Well, with Fordham’s current trajectory it seems quite possible they’re “that team” that is destined to fall to the Hoyas. Expect Gunther Johnson to play well at quarterback and the defense to do just enough to allow Georgetown to pull off a rare league win.

Prediction: Georgetown 24 Fordham 19

Bucknell (3-3, 0-1) at Lafayette (2-5, 2-0) – Oct. 21st 3 PM Fisher Stadium Easton, PA

Live Stream – Patriot League Network

Bucknell, the only .500 or better team in the Patriot League heading into week 8, ventures to the Lehigh Valley to take on Lafayette in a pivotal game in the chase for the championship. This figures to be a low scoring, defensive battle. Both teams have struggled to varying degrees on offensive mostly due to suspect play in the trenches. The lack of quality offensive line play is the main reason why the Leopard rushing attack ranks 122nd (9.1 ypg) out of 123 teams in FCS. With a historically bad ground game Sean O’Malley has been forced to carry the offense on his shoulder which is not something you want your freshman quarterback to do. The deficiencies on offense make it all the more impressive that they’re 2-0 in league play. Although, if the Leopards continue to average12 points a game over the course of the season things won’t end well.  Abdullah Anderson and company are easily the best defense Lafayette has faced sine Villanova.

The Bison’s offense has rarely been known as an explosive unit and this year is no different (21.2 ppg). The one positive Coach Susan can point to though is an improving rushing attack the last games after the running back duo of Joey DeFloria and Chad Freshnock got off to a slow start to the season. An emerging rushing game along with a defense that ranks 1st in the Patriot League in ppg allowed (23.1) make the Bison a dangerous team as the season hit the stretch run. Ideally Bucknell wants the ground game to lead the way and then they will pick their spots with quarterback John Chiarolanzio. The Leopard defense played great (7 and 10 points allowed) in their wins over Holy Cross and Fordham but those are teams lacking confidence. Conversely, Bucknell enters this game playing pretty good football. The Bison will attack the Leopard front 7 front from the start of the game and if they have success, which they should, they’ll try to hit a big play with speedy wide receivers Jack Horan and Alan Butler.

Both of these teams were expected to be towards the bottom of the league standings when the dust settled in late November. While that could still happen it seems likely that at least one will be in the thick of title hunt until the last weekend of the year. The odds favor Bucknell because they have fewer question marks in all 3 phases. Bison kicker John Burdick could be a real difference maker in close, low scoring games.

Prediction: Bucknell 31 Lafayette 16

MVFC – Week 8 Preview

MVFC LogoI apologize for being a little later than usual with my weekly preview post. In addition to being a fan of MVFC football, I’m also a Chicago Cubs fan, so my evening writing sessions have been somewhat constrained by watching Cubs games. In case you weren’t aware though, that won’t be a problem for me the rest of the season 😉

Week 8, the start of the “downslope” towards the end of the season, which will, unfortunately, be here before we know it. There’s some interesting matchups here and in at least one situation, should learn a lot about which teams in the “middle” are likely to be above the “playoff line” and which will be below it.

Disclaimer: For those of you who don’t know me very well, I’ve been a Western Illinois fan for over 20 years. I will do my best to be relatively unbiased, but I know that it’s impossible for me to be completely so. You’ll also notice that I generally will write a little more about my Leathernecks due to my familiarity with the team.

For reference, I use the AGS poll numbers for rankings.

So, here are the games this week:
1:00 PM – #9 Youngstown State (3-3, 1-2) at #28 Northern Iowa (3-3, 2-1)
2:00 PM – #3 South Dakota (6-0, 3-0) at #27 Illinois State (4-2, 2-1)
2:00 PM – Southern Illinois (3-3, 1-2) at Indiana State (0-6, 0-3)
2:00 PM – #15 South Dakota State (4-2, 1-2) at Missouri State (1-5, 0-3)
2:30 PM – #7 Western Illinois (5-1, 2-1) at #2 North Dakota State (6-0, 3-0)
All games listed in Central time and all games on ESPN3.

#9 Youngstown State at #28 Northern Iowa (Family Weekend)

Last Week:

  • Youngstown State lost at home to North Dakota State, 27-24 in OT
  • Northern Iowa won at South Dakota State, 38-18

History: The Penguins and Panthers have met up 29 times starting back in 1978. Northern Iowa holds the series lead, 21-8, although last year’s matchup resulted in a 14-10 come-from-behind victory where YSU got all 14 points in the 4th quarter.

Youngstown State has had one of the most difficult schedules in the first half of their season. Despite having 3 losses, those losses were against FBS Pitt in OT, by 3 points on a last-second FG at 6-0 South Dakota, and by 3 points in OT to 6-0 North Dakota State, so it’s not like any of the losses were embarrassing results by any means. Still, they need to start picking up some actual wins if they want to be playoff-bound. The Penguins have a great ground game, powered by RB Tevin McCaster who’s averaging just barely under 100 ypg and has 9 TDs. QB Nathan Mays isn’t the greatest passer, with 119 ypg and 3 TDs w/ 1 INT, but is a legitimate running threat, picking up just over 56 ypg with 4 rushing TDs. Safeties Jalyn Powell and Kyle Hegedus lead the team with 43 and 42 tackles, and Linebackers Lee Wright and Armand Dellovade lock down the middle of the field for a defense that only allows 160.5 ypg and 17 ppg (both in the top 12 for the FCS)

Northern Iowa has also had a tough schedule, although they’ve seemed like a real “up-and-down” team this year…losing at home to WIU and then steamrolling SDSU up in Brookings in the last two weeks. It’s almost unfair to look at the entire season’s stats for UNI because they looked like a completely different team last week against SDSU now that they have RB Marcus Weymiller. UNI actually has a run game now, with Weymiller chugging along for 170 yards and 2 TDs against SDSU. QB Eli Dunne has done a solid job, averaging nearly 275 ypg with 17 TDs (8 INTs) primarily to WR Daurice Fountain, who has 87 ypg and 5 TDs. The defense is stronger against the run than they are against the pass, with a couple of solid LBs in Jared Farley and Duncan Ferch. DB Malcolm Washington can be dangerous as well, picking up 25 tackles and 2 INTs so far this season.

Is this an “up” game for UNI or a “down” game? YSU can be really tough, but they don’t have much of a passing game and have struggled at the UNIDome in the past…the last time the Penguins won there was in 1999. Both teams need a win here to stay in a decent position for the playoffs. I think that YSU will be able to slow down Weymiller a lot better than SDSU did, but will struggle a bit with UNI’s passing game. UNI is better against the run than the pass, but Tevin McCaster is going to be hard to stop. It’ll likely be a pretty close and low-scoring game…first team to 20 points wins…which I think will be Youngstown coming away with a 4-point win.

#3 South Dakota at #27 Illinois State (Homecoming)

Last Week:

  • South Dakota beat Indiana State 56-6
  • Illinois State lost at Southern Illinois, 42-7

History: The Coyotes and Redbirds have played 6 times starting in 2011, with Illinois State holding a 5-1 series lead. Last year’s meeting was the first win for USD, prevailing 27-24 in Vermillion.

South Dakota has probably the single-most impactful player in the FCS right now in QB Chris Streveler. The former Minnesota Gopher leads the MVFC in passing yards per game with just over 310 ypg and passing TDs with 17. Streveler is also the Coyote’s leading runner, coming in at 3rd in the MVFC with 8 rushing TDs and 5th with just under 75 ypg and was just this week named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List (best offensive player in the FCS). Overall, the USD offense is putting up a (2nd in the FCS) 47 ppg and (1st in the FCS) 565 yards per game of total offense. The defense isn’t half-bad either, limiting opponents to 18 ppg and 320 ypg. DB Danny Rambo leads the team in tackles with 35, 2 for loss, with 1 INT and 5 pass breakups. DL Darin Greenfield may “only” have 28 tackles, but he’s leading the FCS in tackles for loss with an average of 2.3 per game (13.5 total, 5 sacks). So far the only teams who have really challenged the Coyotes are Western Illinois (who they beat by 5) and Youngstown State (who they beat by 3 on a last-second FG).

Illinois State was looking like another possible top conference team this year with a 4-game win streak to start the season (albeit against a very weak schedule)…that was until they were tested against a couple of decent teams, losing at Northern Arizona and at Southern Illinois. 4-2 isn’t a bad way to start the season usually, but ILSU has looked particularly disorganized in their last couple of games, being outscored 79-23. The Redbird defense is actually one of the better ones out there at stopping the run, allowing only 70 ypg, but are weaker against strong passing games (such as NAU and SIU). LB Tyree Horton leads the team with 35 tackles, 5 for loss w/ 2 sacks and a forced fumble + recovery. QB Jake Kolbe is throwing for 258 ypg and 7 TDs, but seems to have trouble with accuracy sometimes (or maybe his receivers are just bad at catching), throwing 5 INTs so far. WR Christian Gibbs is averaging just under 78 receiving ypg with 4 TDs. ILSU’s offense is not particularly “bad”, but they just don’t seem to have anything special going on right now…a little better when they’re airing out the ball, but otherwise solidly in the middle of the FCS rankings in rushing ypg and scoring.

South Dakota is bound to run into a team that will hand them an upset…right? At some point? Unfortunately a team like ILSU doesn’t really feel like the team to do it. The Redbird defense is going to have a really hard time containing Streveler. They might be able to slow him down in the run game, but will probably give up quite a few yards through the air. On the opposite side of the ball, USD has shown the ability to shut down a variety of offenses, but seems to be a bit more effective against teams that run the ball more. This aspect might give ILSU fans a sliver of hope…if Kolbe, Gibbs, and WR Spencer Schnell all have a great game, they could stay close with the Coyotes…but I just don’t see a win as being very likely for them. I’m thinking USD will take this one by 14.

Southern Illinois (3-3, 1-2) at Indiana State (Homecoming)

Last Week:

  • Southern Illinois beat Illinois State, 42-7
  • Indiana State lost to South Dakota, 56-6

History: The Salukis and Sycamores have matched up 54 times starting back in 1944. The series is an even split currently with each team taking 27 wins. At Indiana State, INSU has the advantage, 15-12. Last year’s matchup was a 22-14 win for the Sycamores down in Carbondale.

SIU has had a real up-and-down season, starting off with a couple of dominating wins and a loss to FBS Memphis where they had a pretty good showing. They then lost to UNI, got destroyed by SDSU and then steamrolled ILSU. They don’t have much of a run game, but they do have a decent QB with Sam Straub averaging just over 251 ypg and 17 TDs (6 INTs) throwing mostly to WRs Connor Iwema (74 ypg & 2 TD) and Darrell James (69 ypg & 5 TDs). The Saluki O-Line has been pretty solid, ranking #2 in the FCS at allowing sacks (.5 per game). The SIU defense is rather suspect though, allowing exactly 400 ypg and 24 ppg so far, although passing teams need to watch out for DB Jeremy Chinn who has 35 tackles, 3 interceptions and 5 pass breakups. One of the bright spots for SIU currently is their punting game, with Lane Reazin currently 4th in the FCS with a 45.2 yards per punt average…and return man Craig James leading the conference with a 14.3 yard per return average on punts, so in a game that comes down to field position…SIU has a bit of an advantage over most teams.

Indiana State did ok the first part of the year, but haven’t been able to put together a win yet. To be fair, here’s the rankings (FCS unless otherwise stated) of their last 5 opponents at the time they played them: FBS #21, #19, #8, #2, #4…so it hasn’t been real easy…even a decent team is likely to lose most, if not all, of those games. The Sycamore defense is last in the conference against the pass (295.5 ypg), 3rd to last against the run (159 ypg), and giving up the 2nd most points (39.7 ppg). LB Jonas Griffith leads the team with 49 tackles, although he started the season strong and has gone down from there. INSU’s offense is only putting up 14.5 ppg and 287 ypg, which is last in the conference and in the bottom 20 of the FCS for both stats. QB Cade Sparks has thrown for 124 ypg and 4 TDs w/ 4 INTs. They do have a pretty good RB in LeMonte Booker, who has 86 ypg and 2 TDs, and WR Bob Pugh does a little of everything, receiving for 79 ypg and 2 TDs, rushing a few times for an average of 5.4 yards per carry, and is the primary kick returner averaging 25.67 yards per return on punts and 19.89 yards per return on kickoffs.

Southern Illinois definitely showed signs of life in their win over Illinois State, but I think Indiana State is probably better off just tanking this season and going for a high draft pick next year…er…wait…is that not a thing at this level? Well, anyway, I think Indiana State will actually put up higher than average points against SIU, but Southern Illinois has the passing offense to fly past whatever INSU can put on the board. I think the Salukis will spoil the Sycamores Homecoming to the tune of a 12 point margin.

#15 South Dakota State at Missouri State

Last Week:

  • South Dakota State lost to Northern Iowa, 38-18
  • Missouri State lost at Western Illinois, 49-30

History: The Jackrabbits and Bears have played 9 times in their history with SDSU holding a 8-1 series lead. Last year’s meeting was a 49-24 South Dakota State victory at home.

South Dakota State, earlier in the season was thought to be one of the most dangerous offenses in the FCS this year. Unfortunately, that though hasn’t really panned out quite like they’d hoped it would. The Jackrabbit offense still has some very good players, but instead of sitting right at the top of the rankings, they find themselves falling back to just being “pretty good”…sitting in the 20th-30th range in the FCS for most of the major offensive stats. Last year, TE Dallas Goedert and WR Jake Wieneke were the top two receivers in the conference in both yards and TDs. This year, however, the averages are down and while Wieneke is leading the conference in TDs, Goedert only has 2 so far, and in the ypg category, they’re sitting at 9th and 12th in the MVFC. QB Taryn Christion is averaging 224 ypg and has 14 TDs and 3 INTs. Turnovers appear to be a category where the Jackrabbits have had problems, losing 9 and only gaining 7 for a net turnover margin of -.33/game. The SDSU defense has decently against the pass, but had no way to stop the run last week with UNI’s RB getting 170 yards against them. Last year’s MVFC Freshman of the Year, LB Christian Rozeboom leads the defense with 49 tackles, 2 for loss.

Missouri State has what I’d call a “sporadically potent offense”, putting up 43 against Mizzou to start the season, 28 in their lone win over Murray State, and 30 against a decent Western Illinois team. Sandwiched in between those performances were 0 points against North Dakota, 9 against Illinois State, and 11 against North Dakota State. They’ve only been netting 336 yards of total offense per game this season and 20.2 ppg, with QB Payton Huslig having 186 ypg and 4 TDs through the air and 26 ypg and 2 TDs on the ground…but also 8 INTs. WR Malik Earl can be dangerous at times, catching 84 ypg and 2 TDs. The top tackler for the Bears is LB McNeece Egbim with 33 including 2.5 for loss and a fumble recovery, but outside of that, they unfortunately don’t have much going for them. Out of 123 FCS teams, MSU is 118th in pass defense, 107th in run defense, 118th in scoring defense, and 122nd in total defense.

So, Jackrabbits are weak against the run but decent against the pass. Bears are weak against…well…everything (defensively speaking). They did have a close game going with Western Illinois with a lead as late as ~5 minutes left in the 3rd and only being down by 5 with less than 5 minutes left in the game, but then gave up a couple of rushing TDs near the end. SDSU might not be quite living up to most people’s expectations this season, but I still think they’re good enough to pick up a few more passing TDs against MSU. I think SDSU wins this one by about 20 points.

#7 Western Illinois at #2 North Dakota State

Last Week:

  • Western Illinois beat Missouri State, 49-30
  • North Dakota State won at Youngstown State, 27-24 in OT

History: The Leathernecks and Bison have played each other 8 times, with NDSU holding the 6-2 series lead and having won the last 4 meetings. Last year’s matchup was a 21-13 Bison win in Macomb. Interestingly, out of all 8 meetings, the home team has only won 1 game, with WIU currently 2-1 in games at the Fargodome.

Western Illinois is coming off an emotional rain-delayed win against Missouri State (their first home win this season). The WIU defense is much better against the run than against the pass, with a lot of size and experience on the D-Line, and one of the FCS’s best LB’s, Macomb-native Brett Taylor, currently leading the FCS in tackles with 14.5 per game (87 total) and has 9 for loss and a forced fumble. They also have one of the faster D-linemen I’ve seen in quite a while with Khalen Saunders sitting at #2 on the team with 33 tackles, 8 for loss including 5.5 sacks (#1 in the MVFC), 3 forced fumbles, and 1 offensive rushing TD. Offensively, the combination of QB Sean McGuire (268.5 ypg, 15 TDs, 3 INTs) and WR Jaelon Acklin (138 ypg & 8 TDs receiving, 32.5 ypg & 3 TDs rushing) has been a boon for a crew that lost two of the best receivers in school history after last season. Overall, they’re averaging 469 ypg and the FCS’s 4th best scoring offense with 41.8 ppg. RBs Max Norris (74.5 ypg) and Steve McShane (49.4 ypg) are usually able to get things done on the ground, with both having 4 rushing TDs, although they haven’t yet faced a run defense quite like…

North Dakota State is a perfect 6-0 on the season. I’m not sure there’s really too much to say that hasn’t already been said about the Bison. They’re putting up an average of 47.5 ppg and defensively allowing only 9.2 ppg. Between RBs Lance Dunn (100 ypg, 12 TDs) and Bruce Anderson (77.8 ypg, 3 TDs) on one side, and defenders like LBs Nick DeLuca, Jabril Cox and Levi Jordheim, and DL’s Nate Tanguay and Aaron Steidl on the other, they have the best ground game on both sides of the ball in the FCS…possibly in quite a few years in the FCS. QB Easton Stick seems to have really stepped up his game this year, throwing for 152 ypg and 12 TDs and running for 44 ypg and 3 TDs with 0 INTs so far. WR RJ Urzendowski has 5 receiving TDs including an incredible one-handed grab against Youngstown State in the corner of the endzone for which he was awarded a bowl of chili. The Bison also have an impressive +2 turnover ratio per game and hold on to the ball for an average of 34:25 per game…5th best in the FCS.

So, the last time Western traveled to Fargo, it was a very unpleasant day for the Leathernecks…however, that was just one of those games where a couple of mistakes piled up and things just got out of hand very quickly. WIU is a better team than they were then and I don’t think we’re likely to see a result like that this year. I think that WIU’s strength against the run will help them slow down NDSU’s RBs, but they’ll likely do fairly well through the air. NDSU should be able to limit WIU’s offense much better than any team the Leathernecks have faced this season so far, although the QB McGuire->WR Acklin combo has the ability to make plays happen that it seems like almost nobody else could create. If Western wants to win this, they need to play mistake-free football and do a much better job at limiting the passing game (and the run defense just needs to do their job). As a Leatherneck fan, I’d love to pick Western to win this and I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility, but the realist in me says that NDSU will likely take this game with roughly a 10-point margin of victory.

SOCON Week 8 Preview

Following Wofford’s win over The Citadel last week, it looks like Wofford, 6-0, 4-0,  controls its destiny at this point in the race for the Southern Conference title.  Western Carolina and Furman are both sitting at sitting 3-1 in the conference, but have already fallen to the Terriers.  Samford sits at 2-1 with the Terriers hosting the Bulldogs this coming weekend.  A win by Wofford will pretty much seal the title barring any melt down by Wofford later on.  With a WCU victory over VMI expected this weekend, and with Furman battling a tough Mercer team, there could theoretically be a four way tie if Samford pulls out a win over Wofford.  Also this week, both The Citadel and Chattanooga look to recover a bit as they face each other.  ETSU is idle.

SOCON Notes

#17 Samford  at #5 Wofford  1:30PM ESPN3 (Samford notes) (Wofford notes)

This game may very well determine the auto bid to the FCS playoffs for the SOCON.  It will be the run against the pass.  But will it?  The Wofford Terriers had to take to the air last week in its win over The Citadel after the Bulldogs shut down the Terrier’s running game as it hadn’t been shut down in years.  Samford shut down The Citadel’s running game earlier this year so they can do it when they put their heart into it.  With Wofford’s stingy pass defense this game has all the makings of a classic.

With a stout defense overall, Wofford could slow Samford’s prolific passing attack.  The Bulldogs are averaging 320 yards a game through the air.  Devlin Hodges has gone 157/236 for 1899 yards to date with only 4 interceptions and 17 TDs.  The Samford running game is still a bit weak at 93 yards a game on average, but they have made improvements over the last few games.

On defense, Samford is giving up 203 yards a game on the ground with 4.2 yards a rush.  Against the pass they are giving up 246 yards a game and 8.7 yards an attempt.  Normally their pass defense would not be of primary concern against Wofford, but after this past week it may be tested.  If it is, that may be good news for the Bulldogs.  That means they would be stopping the Terriers ground game.  Samford also has 18 sacks and 7 interceptions on the year.

Wofford has been average on offense this year.  They have not been stellar, but they have produced, just enough to get the Ws.  They are averaging 390 yards a game with 262 yards on the ground and 128 through the air, which is well above their passing average for the last few years.  They are converting 48% of their third down tries. The Terriers have been averaging 27.5 points a game, which is again not great, but sufficient.  Wofford has really relied on their defense to seal their wins.

Overall, the Terriers are giving up 20.8 points a game.  They lead the SOCON in total defense at 298.2 yards a game.  That is good enough for #18 in FCS.  Against the run they are allowing 145 yards a game and 4.0 per rush.  They are much better against the pass and lead the SOCON at 153 yards a game.  That is #6 in FCS.  They only have 5 sacks, but they lead the conference in interceptions at 8.  While they have not done great in preventing third down conversions, at 44%, they have been pretty effective in finishing games.  In six games, they have only given up only 3 TDs and 2 FGs in the 4th quarter.  Their defense has given the offense the chance to win when needed.  The Terriers also scored 8 TDs in the 4th quarter.  Three of their victories have been come from behind affairs and another one won in OT.  The more I look at the results, the more it reminds me of The Citadel last year.  They have had many close games, but they took control of their games just when they needed to.  That is what champions do.

This will be a pretty tough game for both teams.  We could find all sorts of stats to see who has an edge here or there and still not figure out who has the critical advantage.  Wofford has experience and skill and a home field advantage although that does not seem to matter lately in so many SOCON games.  Samford has experience and skill as well, not to mention an off week in which to prepare.  Samford has proven that it can stop the run.  If Wofford is forced to the air again it may prove to be their Achilles heel.  Wofford has shown it has a good pass defense but Samford will be their hardest test to date, by far.  Wofford will bend for sure, but will they break?

After a couple emotional and strenuous games for the Terriers the last couple weeks, look for a close Samford victory, and the SOCON race to be thrust into chaos for at least another week or two.  Bulldogs win it 33-27.

Mercer at Furman  1:30PM ESPN3 (Mercer notes) (Furman notes)

This is a must win game for the Mercer Bears, 4-3, 3-2.  A loss here will knock them out of any realistic hope in the title race or an at large berth.  Furman, 4-3, 3-1, is a little bit more alive and has a shot at an at large if they keep winning.  They came up short early in the season going 0-3, but the Paladins have recovered nicely and are now rolling like gangbusters.

They are second in the SOCON in scoring with 36 points a game and second in total offense with 439 yards a game.  Their defense has been average, but good enough behind their powerhouse offense.  Paladin senior QB PJ Blazejowski has been pretty good at 72/124 with 12 TD passes and only two interceptions.  He is averaging just under 200 yards a game.  But the real story is the revitalized Furman running game.  They are averaging 235 yards a game.  And they are leading the SOCON in third down conversions at 51.5%.

They will face a Mercer defense that has been mostly effective.  The Bears are giving up only 337 yards a game and a conference leading 17.6 points per game.  Against the rush they are giving up only 138 yards a game.  Not bad considering they have already played Wofford, The Citadel, and Auburn to boot.  Their biggest characteristic has been their take away ability.  The Bears are sitting at +7 on the year with 9 fumbles recovered along with 7 interceptions.  They also have 13 sacks.  They are also holding opposing teams third down conversion at 37%.

The Bears offense has not been quite as good as their defense.  They are averaging 361 yards a game, but do have 30 points a game.  All those turnovers have helped in the scoring.  They have been fairly balanced between the run and pass.  Freshman QB Kaelan Riley is going to be a good one.  So far he is 112/182 for 1437 yards with 12 TDs and 5 interceptions.  He has only been sack 7 times.  They have been converting third downs at a 39% rate  ONe area that has been very good for the Bears is in red zones scores with them making 26/28 so far.

Facing the Bears offense, the Furman defense has not been too shabby.  They are allowing 372 yards a game with only 123 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per rush.  They lead the SOCON in sacks with 20.  They hold opponents to a 36% third down conversion rate.  Furman is at +4 in turnovers.

Furman’s defense has been a bit inconsistent at times so Mercer may be able to move the ball and use up clock.  Also, Furman’s ability to run like they have will be tested against the Bears.  But the Bears will have a hard time stopping the Paladin’s offense output overall.  This game will probably be somewhat high scoring.  Look for a Paladin win, 41-31.

Western Carolina at VMI  1:30PM ESPN3 (WCU notes) (VMI notes)

WCU, 5-2, 3-1, has been on a roll.  Having already lost to Wofford they will a little help to gain the SOCON title but they are poised to sneak into an at large playoff berth if they continue winning.  Not bad for a team that went 2-9 last year.  They still have an uphill battle with Furman, The Citadel and Mercer to go, not to mention UNC, but they are have been hitting on all cylinders.

The Catmounts offense has been awesome so far.  They are averaging 40 points a game and 479 yards per game on average.  They have done that with a fairly balance offense.  It could almost be said to be the Tyrie Adams show lately.  The sophomore QB is rushing for 72 yards a game and is passing for 212 as well.  Overall, he is 105/175 with 14 TDs and 6 interceptions.  But the Cats have a huge arsenal of weapons at their disposal.

The VMI Keydets continue to have a rough season.  Facing the Cats explosive offense will be no easy task.  VMI has given up  42 points and 472 yards a game on defense.  They surrender 4.5 yards a rush and 9.5 yards a pass attempt.  Ouch.

VMI’s offense has been AWOL for most of the season.  They are averaging only 218 yards a game.  They appear to have settled on a new QB with freshman Duncan Hodges after trying various ones so far.  Their only hope against WCU is to execute some ball control, but they are converting 3rd downs at only 27% and their running game gains them only 87 yards a game. A year ago they might have done better against an inept WCU defense.  But what a difference a year makes.

The WCU defense has been rejuvenated somewhat.   They have allowed 24 points a game and a much improved 379 yards a game split pretty evenly between pass and run.  They do lead the SOCON in pass defense efficiency.  They also have 17 sacks.  They also lead the SOCON in defending third downs at 35%.  That is not a bad turnaround on defense.

WCU should have a pretty easy time moving the ball and stopping VMI.  Depending on how fast the Cats score, it could get ugly up in Lexington.  WCU rolls, 48-10.

The Citadel at Chattanooga 2PM ESPN3 (The Citadel Notes) (UTC notes)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  Between the these two teams they have won or shared the conference championship the last 4 years with each winning it outright at least once.  Now at 1-6, 1-3, Chattanooga seems to have fallen a bit further under new head coach Tom Arth.  Plagued with eligibility and injuries issues, Arth’s first year in Chattanooga has been a nightmare.  Graduation losses hit the Bulldogs, now 3-3, 1-3, pretty hard.  It isn’t that The Citadel has been that bad, they have just been inconsistent.  Both teams will look to salvage some respectability in this game.

After starting out pretty well, the Bulldogs have been a little lighter on offense after they started conference play.  Still averaging over 400 yards a game, their rushing output has steadily declined as the season has progressed.  They still lead the conference in rushing at 294 yards a game with a 4.9 yard per rush average.  As their rushing game was stymied a bit, first by Samford and then Mercer, the Bulldogs were forced to the air where they had some success, but not consistent enough to overcome these foes.  They are now averaging 109 yards a game through the air which is by far more than they have averaged since returning to the triple option in 2010.  Even after a few miserable games they are still converting third downs at a 46% clip.  And while they are also at +3 in turnovers, the turnovers that they have given up were probably the most untimely of any team I have seen in ages.  Many were in their opponents territory with a couple inside the 20.  Overall in the red zone the Dogs are at 69% and only have 17 TD on 26 trips. Their overall passing stats are not that good.  38/88 with three interceptions and 5 TDs.  They do have a pretty good yards per completion stat at over 17 yards, but only a mediocre 7.4 yards per attempt.  While some pass attempts were well executed, their passing attempts have mostly been born out of desperation with the expected result.

Their biggest problem has been a young offensive line.  That along with a youthful B-Back have doomed their usually well executed drives.   And something that may not seem all that apparent, is a quarterback issue.  The Bulldogs have two very capable QBs in Dominique Allen and Jordan Black.  Skill isn’t the issue.  It seems to be one of consistency and utilizing them appropriately.  That isn’t a knock at the coach.  While I may question the tag team approach, it has been effective at times.  But one wonders if a more effective rotation scheme could be implemented.  As it is, it doesn’t appear to be working too well.  But that is just it, it may be working as well as it can, given the overall experience level of the other positions.

Against the Dogs potentially power offensive attack, Chattanooga should have been well positioned.  But the mighty Mocs defense, their trademark in the last few years, has fallen off.  Between some injuries, suspensions, and now as the season slips away, most likely apathy has taken its toll on Chattanooga’s usually stingy defense.  It is allowing only about 347 yards a game pretty much even between rushing and passing yards allowed.  It is giving up rushes at 4.0 yards per attempt.  It is also allowing opponents to convert third downs at a 43% rate.  It has only registered 8 sacks on the year and 5 interceptions.

While the Mocs defense has been a little bit off, its offense has fallen off the cliff, and into a hole.  It is averaging only 18 points a game.  Take away its scoring bonanza against VMI, and it drops to 10.7 points a game.  Its yards per game is embarrassing at 261.  And it rushing yards per game would make even a Samford fan grin at 57 yards per game.  The drop off in offensive output can obviously be traced to their QB crisis.  With its expected starter out due to academics and then injury, its SEC transfer QB hasn’t been able to make the transition to playing in the tough SOCON.  Now that he was injured as well, its looks like they will rely on Freshman Cole Copeland.  Not a bad idea to get him some much needed experience for the years to come.  He actually did pretty well passing in the two games he has played in.  He may continue putting up some good numbers against The Citadel defense.

The Bulldogs have not been bad on defense, just inconsistent.  They have held opponents on average to under 300 yards a game.  That includes 107 yards a game against the run.  They held Wofford to just 89 yards.  Think about that for a minute…89 yards.  Where the Dogs have faltered a bit, is against the pass.  Faltered may even be a bit harsh.  They are allowing only 192 passing yards a game.  But their secondary has been burned more than once and the fiasco in the Samford game was downright embarrassing.  The Citadel has a good defense, it has just been burned with some untimely big plays.  It has held opponent to a 35% third down conversion rater.  It only gives up a respectable 5.3 yards per play on average.   It has 10 sacks and 7 interception to date.

I have a had a feeling all year that the Mocs were about to wake up.  Every time I predict they will, they slump back into a haze.  They might just make it this week if the Bulldogs let them.   The Dogs should handle them easily if they can tighten up their pass defense a bit.  The Dogs should also handle them on the ground unless the Mocs somehow develop a superior running game this week.  The Citadel TOP ball hogging ways will put the Mocs defense to the test as it is worn down.  The Mocs will also doom themselves if they continue in coughing the ball up.  They are at -11 for the year.  Look for at least a two score victory by the Dogs, 27-17.

The FCS Wedge – 2017-1017 – WEEK 8 PREVIEW

So this week Sam Beckett, Ziggy, & our favorite top notch Yahtzee boy start the show off going over the Pioneer League possibilities for their auto bid.  Why would this be important to the vast majority of FCS fans?  Well for one it’s an interesting process this year and for another it is gonna matter greatly to their first round opponents in the playoffs this year.  Last year Cal Poly got beat by San Diego but odds are most years that a full scholarship team is gonna get a win in that game and this year it appears to be either a Big Sky team or a SoCon/CAA team that will be getting a visit from a Pioneer team.

The boys roll on into talk about other conferences and how many bids might be grabbed and who has good shots at getting them.  All of this way too early which is widely known but we do it anyway because speculation is fun.

Big games that are previewed this week:

  • Western Illinois @ North Dakota State
  • Samford @ Wofford
  • Eastern Washington @ Southern Utah
  • Richmond @ Delaware
  • St. Francis @ Duquesne
  • Jacksonville State @ Eastern Illinois

Press that play button and see if you learn something.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Patriot League: Week 7 Review and Power Rankings

Week 7 of the Patriot League season was unquestionably the most interesting one. Holy Cross deciding to fire head coach Tom Gilmore mid-season following Holy Cross’s ugly 32-0 loss to Yale opened a lot of eyes around the league. Gilmore’s time was likely coming to an end either way given his overall body of work (losing record, 1 PL title in 14 years) and the Crusader’s recent collapse but to be let go with the league title still within reach blindsided a lot of people.

As for the games, Lehigh dominated Georgetown to move to 2-0 in league play. Colgate easily defeated Fordham to stay in the thick of the title race after their brutal loss to Lehigh the previous week. Bucknell continued their solid play with a quality, workman-like win over Ivy League rival Cornell. Lafayette came up woefully short in their bid for 3 “Ws” in a row as Harvard put a hurting on the Leopards in Cambridge.

Harvard 38 Lafayette 10

Lafayette (2-5, 2-0) was not able to make it 3 wins in a row as Harvard (3-2) dominated in all phases to continue their mastery of the Leopards. Lafayette was able to defeat Patriot League foes Holy Cross and Fordham by using dominating defensive efforts to offset their struggles on offense.  Harvard was able to rack up 296 yards on the ground against Lafayette which greatly contributed to their 15 minute time of possession advantage.  Also factoring into the Leopard’s demise was their 161 total yards of offense and the 2 kick returns for touchdowns they allowed. The inability to run the ball (12 yards against Harvard, ranked 122nd in FCS overall) continues to a huge issue on offense. The Leopards simply aren’t good enough at quarterback to overcome such a once dimensional offense on a consistent basis against the better teams on their schedule.

It did not take long for Harvard to grab an early 7-0 lead. Justice Shelton-Mosely’s 85 yard punt return touchdown came just over 2 minutes into the game. The Leopards fought back with a game tying touchdown drive on their second possession of the game. Sean O’Malley (20-36 149 yards 1 TD) hit Rocco Palumbo for a short 2 yard TD toss. When they finally had a chance to take the field the Crimson offense rose to challenge with a 7 play 78 yard TD drive. Shelton-Mosely found the endzone for the second time of the day to cap the drive and put Harvard back up by 7 points. After an early flourish of points the game would remain 14-7 until there was 38 seconds left before half. That’s when Charlie Booker III found paydirt from 1 yard out to give Harvard a 21-7 halftime lead. The game would effectively be over when Adam Scott returned the 2nd half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to give Harvard a 28-7 lead.

Up Next: Lafayette hosts Bucknell in a huge Patriot League contest. The win will take a significant step forward in their quest for the league title.

Colgate 38 Fordham 12

Colgate (3-4, 1-1) piled onto Fordham’s (1-6, 0-2) season of misery with a dominant 26 point win over the Rams. The Raiders piled up a season best 263 yards (James Hollond Jr 166 yards) and freshman quarterback Grant Breneman (14-25 159 yards 3 TD) played well in the win as the offense continues to trend in the right direction as November closes in. Granted, Colgate has played the 105th (Fordham) and 123rd (dead last Lehigh) the last two weeks so the improvement on “O” was bound to happen. Meanwhile, Fordham’s offense continued to struggle as the Rams lost for the 5th straight time.  To be fair, they were without the services of starting quarterback Kevin Anderson who had to sit out the game with an injury. Backup Luke Medlock (16-32 1 TD 1 INT) put up a reasonable fight but without an effective Chase Edmonds (18 carries 53 yards) the offense faced an uphill climb (279 total yards).

The Colgate offense and defense set the tone early in the game. Edmonds got stuffed for a 2 yard loss on 4th and 1 and the Raider offense took advantage of it. Breneman hit Tre Caine for a 2 yard TD toss that gave the Raiders a 7-0 advantage with 6:40 left in the 1st quarter. On Colgate’s next possession the freshman quarterback notched his second touchdown pass of the day to finish of a lightning quick 2 play 39 yard scoring drive that extended the lead to 14-0. Chris Puzzi’s booming 40 yard field goal as time expired in the first half gave Colgate a commanding 17-0 lead. Breneman’s 14 yard touchdown pass to Tre Caince midway through the 3rd put the game out of reach at 24-0.

Up Next: Colgate heads 3.5 hours east on I-90 to tangle with Holy Cross. Fordham is off to our nation’s capital to take on Georgetown.

Lehigh 54 Georgetown 35

Lehigh (2-5, 2-0) easily dispatched of Georgetown (1-5, 0-1) to notch their 17th consecutive win over the Hoyas. The Mountain Hawks used a dominant offensive performance (628 total yards) to continue their mastery of Georgetown. Lehigh was led by star wide receiver Troy Pelletier’s record breaking day. The senior broke the Patriot League for receptions in a game, 16, on his way to racking up 196 yards and 4 touchdowns in the “W”. The Mountain Hawk defense had their best game of the year statistically but still left a lot to be desired against a Georgetown team that has struggled on offense. If Lehigh wants to pull off the 0-5 start to Patriot League Championshions they much tighten things up on that side of the ball. One major bright spot for the Hoyas in the loss was the play of Gunther Johnson at quarterback (18-33 290 yards 2 TDs, 71 yards 3 TDs rushing). The Arizona transfer has played great the last two weeks after Cole Norris struggled filling in for the injured Tim Barnes.

Both teams struggled on offense to start the game but when they found traction they did so in a big way. Lehigh running back Dominic Bragalone (24 carries 122 yards 2 TDs) got things started with 4:54 left in the 1st quarter when his 5 yard TD run capped an 8 play, 63 yard drive. The Mountain Hawks made it 14-0 on their next drive when Mayes (31-40 384 yards 4 TD 1 INT) and Pelletier hooking up for the first time. Georgetown closed the gap to 14-7 early on the 2nd quarter on Michael Dereus’s (3 rec 98 yards 2 TD) 80 yard touchdown catch. Pelletier’s second TD catch of the day with 8:35 left in the 2nd quarter pushed the Lehigh lead back to 14. However, as has been the case all year, the Lehigh defense would allow a response. Johnson’s 8 yard TD scramble brought the Hoyas back to within 7 points. That would prove to be the closest Georgetown would get the rest of the game. The Mountain Hawks added 2 touchdowns before half to take a commanding 34-14 lead into the locker room. Georgetown would get no closer than 16 points the rest of the game.

Up Next: Georgetown returns home to take on Fordham in what could be a battle for last place in the Patriot League. Lehigh is on a much needed bye as they prepare for the stretch run of the season.

Yale 32 Holy Cross 0

Yale’s (4-1) dominant win over a lifeless Holy Cross (2-5, 1-1) team not only handed the Crusaders their 4th straight loss, it led to the firing of head coach Tom Gilmore Sunday morning. Just 4 weeks ago Holy Cross knocked off a Top 10 New Hampshire in what seemed like a program changing win long tenured was sent packing by AD Nate Pine. Since the win over UNH, there’s been several questionable coaching decisions that directly led to losses to Dartmouth and Lafayette.  While it’s shocking to see a Patriot League coach get fired during the season, Gilmore’s ultimate termination is not surprising. There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the fiery coach’s future for the last year or two given the Crusader’s inability to rise to the upper echelon of the Patriot League and beyond. Outside of the Dominic Randolph years that culminated in the 2009 Patriot League title, the Crusaders could never get the stars aligned under Gilmore.  The bottom line is he struggled to put a consistent winner on the field during his 14 years in Worcester (72-81 overall, 41-40 in PL play). Barring a league title he seemed destined to be let go after this season given the Crusader’s recent collapse. Offensive coordinator Brian Rock was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. Holy Cross announced that a national search for a new coach is already under way.

As for the game itself, Yale took a 3-0 lead a little less than 5 minutes into the game. The Eli wouldn’t assert their will until the 2nd quarter. That’s when they would score 3 touchdowns and a safety. Matthew Oplinger sacked Pujals in the endzone for the 2 points. When the dust settled on the first half Yale had a commanding 25-0 lead. Holy Cross had 7 punts and 31 total yards during the first 30 minutes of play. The Crusaders looked both unprepared and uninterested from the opening kickoff. Had Yale head coach Tony Reno not called off the dogs in the second half things would have gotten out of hand in a hurry. It was clear the Eli’s focus after halftime was to run clock, secure the win and move onto next week.

The Crusaders managed just 8 first downs and 143 total yards against the Eli. Peter Pujals had his worst game (10-22 89 yards) of his college career in the loss.

Up Next: Holy Cross looks to pick of the pieces and get back into the league race at home against Colgate.

Bucknell 26 Cornell 18

Bucknell (3-3, 0-1) played a smart, efficient game to score a non-conference road victory over Cornell (2-3) in Ithaca, NY. In addition to the usual stingy Bucknell defense, Bison field goal kicker John Burdick came up clutch in the victory. The senior tied a school record with 4 field goals (19, 38, 33 & 28 yards). John Chiarolanzio (11-16 176 yards 2 TDs) had an extremely effective game passing while Joey DeFloria (20 carries 99 yards) enjoyed his best day of the year running the ball to the lead the Bucknell offense. With the win Bucknell concludes the out of conference portion of their schedule 3-2.

The Bison struck first with 8:20 left in the 1st quarter. Chiarolanzio found a streaking Jack Horan (1 rec 64 yards 1 TD) down the middle of the field for a 64 yard touchdown to give Bucknell an early 7-0 lead.  The Blue and Orange would push their lead to 10-0 late in 2nd quarter on Burdick’s first FG of the day. Cornell would finally get on the scoreboard on the ensuring drive when Zach Mayes booted a 35 yard field goal 38 seconds before half time. The Big Red then tied the game up on their first possession of the 2nd half. Bucknell would tack on fields on consecutive drives to take a 16-10 lead with 6:33 left in the 3rd quarter. Chiarolanzio’s second touchdown pass of the day gave Bucknell a two possession lead, 23-10 , with a 35 seconds left in the 3rd. From there the Bucknell rushing attack grounded the clock down and their defense limited Cornell the rest of the way to preserve the win.

Up Next: Bucknell heads to Easton, PA to take on Lafayette in a key game in the Patriot League race. The Bison have not on the league since 1996 and have never reached the FCS playoffs.

Power Rankings

  1. Colgate – The Raiders appear to be the most complete team in league but the loss against Lehigh might be impossible to overcome.
  2. Bucknell – They’re the only team in the Patriot League with a .500 record. They’re not getting the respect they deserve.
  3. Lehigh – At this point the only record that matters is 2-0. They still have the inside track to the league title.
  4. Lafayette – The Leopards have a huge home game with Bucknell next. The offense could be in for a long day.
  5. Holy Cross – The Gilmore era is over but Pujals remains. The Patriot League title is still a possibility if the coaching change makes a positive impact.
  6. Georgetown – The Hoyas might have found their QB of the future in Gunther Johnson. They play hard despite being outgunned.
  7. Fordham – It’s getting close to wondering if the Rams have quit on the season. The Bronx Cheers are growing louder.