MVFC – Week 6 in Review

MVFC LogoWell, as I’m writing most of this, it’s 12:30 AM Sunday morning, I just got back from watching my Leathernecks give me a heart attack against Northern Iowa, and I was driving, so I’m still awake from some later-than-usual caffeine. I must say…this was an interesting week…assuming you like a bit of chaos with your football, right?

Now that we’re a couple of weeks into conference season, I think we can start looking 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 6 games of the regular season.

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

Personally, given where teams are right now and who they have yet to play, I think that NDSU and USD are both solidly in the playoffs. SDSU, WIU, and YSU all have a strong shot at an at-large playoff spot if they are able to win the games they’re “expected” to. ILSU, UNI, and SIU are both going to have to work hard and pull off an upset or two to get an invite (even though ILSU is 4-1, they have to face a “murderer’s row” of the top MVFC teams assuming they beat SIU next weekend). MSU could technically still make it if they win out, but with games at WIU and YSU, and home against SDSU, that sure doesn’t look very likely. INSU can finish as high as 6-5 if they win out…so…unless NDSU accidentally left their entire team in Terre Haute and the Sycamores are able to sign them all up to play for them, there’s pretty much no chance.

#2 North Dakota State at Indiana State

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
NDSU 7 17 21 7 52
INSU 0 0 0 0 0

Quick Hits:

  • NDSU – TE Connor Wentz (cousin of Carson) had a big day, tying his best scoring performance with 2 receiving TDs.
  • NDSU – QB Easton Stick was efficient, hitting 78% of passes with 191 yards and 4 TDs.
  • NDSU – RB Lance Dunn had a “down day” (for him) with 74 rushing yards and 2 TDs.
  • NDSU – FS Tre Dempsey, CB Jalen Allison, and SS James Hendricks all had INTs in the game.
  • INSU – RB LeMonte Booker led the Sycamores with 104 rushing yards.
  • INSU – WR Bob Pugh had two caches for 69 yards, 8 yards rushing, and a 54-yard punt return, for a total of 131 all-purpose yards.
  • INSU – CB Rondell Green forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Jordan Jackson.

Did anyone really expect anything different? Indiana State has had a couple of strong performances OOC, but it’s apparent by now that INSU just doesn’t have the team to do well in the MVFC this year. NDSU built a 24-0 lead in the first half and exploded for 21 points in the 3rd, assisted by two interceptions against Sycamore QB Cade Sparks. By the end of the 3rd, NDSU had pulled their starters and spent the rest of the game getting experience for their second string.

North Dakota State moves to 5-0 on the season and will have a tough matchup at 3-2 Youngstown State next weekend.
Indiana State falls to 0-5 and will take on 5-0 South Dakota in Vermillion…Sycamore fans…you have my condolences.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Bison by 30
It was: Bison by 52
Fine…ok…we get it…your team is freakishly good. I knew it’d pretty much be a blowout, but seriously? You gotta completely shut out a conference foe while putting up over 50 points on them…at their place? That’s cold.

#3 Youngstown State at #5 South Dakota (Dakota Days)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
YSU 7 7 7 7 28
USD 7 14 7 3 31

Quick Hits:

  • USD – QB Chris Streveler continued his dominance with 360 passing yards and 3 TDs, as well as 48 yards on the ground.
  • USD – WR Shamar Jackson had a career day, with 229 receiving yards on 11 catches with 1 TD. Jackson only had 199 total receiving yards in his first two seasons.
  • USD – DL Darin Greenfield had 7 tackles with 3 for loss including 2 sacks and a QB hurry and received the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award.
  • USD – PK Ryan Weese went 4-4 on XPs, but most importantly, hit the 29-yard game-winning FG with 7 seconds left. Fittingly…he received the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.
  • YSU – RB Tevin McCaster ran for 90 yards and a career-best 4 TDs.
  • YSU – QB Nathan Mays was pretty much shut down all game, connecting on only 48% of his throws for 153 yards.
  • YSU – FS Jalyn Powell led the team with 10 tackles.

Well, the AGS Game of the Week certainly lived up to the hype. It was a close game the whole way with USD mostly ahead, but YSU staying with them until the end. USD had a 7 point lead at halftime and would eventually open up a 14-point lead in the 3rd before YSU would battle back, eventually tying it up with less than 4 minutes left in the game. The 29-yard FG with 7 seconds left would give the Coyotes the huge Homecoming win and their first 5-0 start since 2005, back in their DII days.

Youngstown State is now 3-2 and it won’t get any easier, hosting the always tough 5-0 NDSU Bison team in Youngstown next weekend.
South Dakota takes another step forward moving to 5-0. Next up for the Coyotes, another home game, this time against 0-5 Indiana State.

My pick in Review:

I said: Coyotes by 3
It was: Coyotes by 3
What did I say…what did I freakin’ say. The Yotes are for real this year. They keep playing like this and there’s very few teams that are going to be able to stop them. Assuming Streveler doesn’t get bent in half at some point, I forsee a likely 10-1 regular season record in their future.

#12 Western Illinois at Northern Iowa (Homecoming)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
WIU 3 2 13 20 38
UNI 0 14 0 15 29

Quick Hits:

  • WIU – QB Sean McGuire had a great day, throwing for 334 yards and 3 TDs and was awarded the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
  • WIU – WR Jaelon Acklin has another strong performance with 158 yards and 2 TDs, including the game-winner with 0:06 left in the game.
  • WIU – LB Brett Taylor leads the team with 13 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and continues to lead the FCS in tackles per game with a 14.2 average.
  • UNI – QB Eli Dunne throws for 342 yards and 4 TDs, but also 2 interceptions.
  • UNI – WR Daurice Fountain led the team with 103 receiving yards, although TE Elias Nissen had a great game, catching for 60 yards and 3 TDs on 3 catches.
  • UNI – LB Ricky Neal had 7 tackles including 2 sacks.

The Leathernecks continue to show that they’re mostly a second-half team, with UNI holding a 14-5 lead at the half, then putting up 13 points in the 3rd to take the 18-14 lead. From there, UNI kicked their offense into high gear, throwing successfully on (what seemed like) nearly every down, fighting back and taking a 29-25 lead with just over a minute left in the game. WIU was able to come back though, at one point converting a 4th and 15, and take the lead back with a TD with 6 seconds left. On the kickoff, the UNI returner fumbled the ball right into the hands of WIU LB Michael Bishoff who took it back 20 yards for a TD with no time left. So, despite the 9-point differential, it was a close game right up to the end.

Western Illinois recovers from the loss last week and is now 4-1. They’ll head back home and bring 1-4 Missouri State to town next weekend.
Northern Iowa drops to 2-3 and is seeing their playoff hopes quickly slip away. The Panthers have a difficult matchup ahead at 4-1 South Dakota State.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Leathernecks by 6
It was: Leathernecks by 9
If I told you that, with 44 seconds left in the game, UNI with all the momentum, WIU with the ball just 1 yard into UNI territory, 4th and 15, down 29-25…what would you think the score could end up being…do a bit of mental math. 29-25 final?..likely. 32-29 WIU win?…possible. How about 38-29 WIN win?…yea…it was just that kind of weird game. Only 3 points off on my pick though, so that’s a win.

Southern Illinois at #9 South Dakota State (Hall of Fame Game)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SIU 0 0 7 7 14
SDSU 14 21 0 14 49

Quick Hits:

  • SDSU – QB Taryn Christion throws for 216 yards a 4 TDs.
  • SDSU – RB Brady Mengarelli had a phenomenal game, running for 220 yards and 2 TDs, allowing SDSU to hold on to the ball for 41 1/2 minutes of the game.
  • SDSU – True Freshman TE Skylar Cavanaugh led the Jackrabbits with 53 yards receiving, a TD, and got the MVFC Newcomer of the Week award. WR Marquise Lewis ends up catching 2 of the team’s 4 receiving TDs.
  • SDSU – CB Jordan Brown leads the Jackrabbits with 8 tackles and an interception.
  • SIU – QB Sam Straub has 179 yards passing with 1 TD and 2 INTs, and 20 yards and 1 TD rushing.
  • SIU – S Ryan Neal leads the team with 9 tackles.
  • SIU – CB Vince Martin has a couple of tackles and an interception

Quick start for the Jackrabbits after not doing much last week. By halftime, they had already built a 35-0 lead, and held pretty much the same margin the rest of the game.

Southern Illinois falls to 2-3 and hosts the 4-1 Illinois State Redbirds next weekend.
South Dakota State is a solid 4-1 and brings 2-3 Northern Iowa to town for Hobo Days (that’s their “Homecoming”) next Saturday.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Jackrabbits by 14
It was: Jackrabbits by 35
I was kinda attributing the lack of offensive production last week to a combination of both SDSU’s offense being down and YSU’s defense being really good. It looks like SDSU’s run game is solid. The passing game was still down, but the run game more than made up for it this time. I knew it’d be a big win for the Jackrabbits, but they pulled ahead quite a bit faster than I was expecting. Still a solid pick.

#8 Illinois State at Northern Arizona (Hall of Fame Game/Family Weekend)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
ILSU 0 6 3 7 16
NAU 0 13 14 10 37

Quick Hits:

  • ILSU – QB Jake Kolbe throws for 223 yards and 1 TD, but also had 3 INTs and was sacked 5 times.
  • ILSU – WR Spencer Schnell was the only Redbird to reach the end zone, with 88 yards and 1 TD receiving.
  • ILSU – DL Dalton Keene led the team in tackles with 10 (3 for loss including 1 sack).
  • ILSU – PK Sean Slattery had the rest of the Redbird points with FGs from 32, 38, and 51 yards out (in the high-altitude dome…just fyi).
  • NAU – QB Case Cookus seems to have found his rhythm after struggling for the first couple of games. He had 380 yards and 3 TDs.
  • NAU – WR Elijah Marks had most of the receiving yards, picking up 130 and 1 TD.
  • NAU – S Josh Clarke led the team in tackles with 11 including 3 for loss (1 sack) and a pass breakup.
  • NAU – The defense as a whole held ILSU to only 63 yards on the ground and 223 yards through the air, with LB Byron Evans, CB Maurice Davidson, and CB Andrew Gose each nabbing interceptions.

The NAU defense did surprisingly (for me) well in this game. I know that Cookus has been getting better throughout the season, but did not expect the defense that allowed Western Illinois to put up 38 points a month ago to hold what was supposed to be a similarly explosive Illinois State offense to only 16 points. The 3 INTs really helped with that. NAU built a narrow 7-pt lead in the first half, but was able to pretty much move the ball at will against the ISU defense with two TDs in the 3rd. In the 4th, ISU QB Kolbe threw two picks which allowed NAU to put up 10 more points, meanwhile, the Redbirds wouldn’t find the end zone until just over 8 minutes left in the game.

Illinois State loses their first game of the season and are 4-1 overall. The Redbirds will be on the road again (but a much shorter trip) heading down to Carbondale to face off with the 2-3 Salukis next weekend.
Northern Arizona gets above .500 to a 3-2 record. Up next for NAU, it’s back to Big Sky play with a road game at 0-5 Portland State.

My Pick in Review:

I said: Redbirds by 18
It was: Lumberjacks by 21
I’m not sure there’s a more “wrong” that I could be without getting a time machine, going back 101 years (+ a few days) and putting money on Cumberland to beat Georgia Tech. Redbirds got ‘jacked…and not in a good way.

I was 27-8 in my picks this season going into this week. This week was a decent 4-1 for me…pretty much nailed the two close games too (by sheer luck). That puts me at 31-9 for the season so far.

Next week, the obvious “big game” in the conference is NDSU at YSU. Will YSU rebound from a loss at the DakotaDome? Will NDSU prove that their 5-0 start is not just due to the fluke of a fairly easy early-season schedule? This will be a big one to watch for a lot of people. Other than that, I’m also pretty interested to see how UNI matches up with SDSU, mostly so I can get a handle on how my Leathernecks might match up with SDSU. Western is home against Missouri State, so I’ll be there, tracking the other scores on my phone. Check back later this week for my full preview of all of the Week 7 games in the MVFC.

SOCON: Week 6 Review and Power Rankings

It was another exciting week on the gridiron in the Southern Conference and the race for the crown became a little bit clearer. Wofford remains undefeated with a victory over Western Carolina in OT. They remain atop the standings now with WCU, Samford, and Furman all nipping at their heels. Samford easily handled VMI. Chattanooga loss to Furman and The Citadel’s loss to Mercer push both the Mocs and the Bulldogs down into the third tier for now, along with Mercer at 2 conference losses each. ETSU got as nice home victory in an out of conference game over Robert Morris.

I am happy to announce that this week we will have the insightful analysis of AGS’s Young Terrier as he contributes the reviews for the Wofford/WCU and Furman/UTC games.

I am going to apologize for not having the Samford/VMI and ETSU/Robert Morris game summaries up.  I have a personal crisis to attend and will try and get something up in the next couple days.  Suffice it to say that Samford took care of business and even ran quite a bit (for them), which was good news for the Bulldog faithful.  ETSU also took care of business and had a better day on defense as they took Robert Morris fairly easily.

#6Wofford 35   #20WCU 28 OT (box score)

The SOCON game of the week lived up to its hype as the game couldn’t be settled in regulation. The Western Carolina Catamounts came to Gibbs Stadium with their high-octane offense to face the grinding defense of the Wofford Terriers. The key to this game was Wofford’s ability to hold onto the football and minimize mistakes. After winning the turnover battle 3-1, possessing the ball for 36 minutes and rushing for 393 yards, they were successful.

The Catamounts received the ball first and quickly moved 27 yards up the field before a Tyrie Adams pass was batted and intercepted by linebacker Colton Clemons. The Terriers were able to grind the ball for 39 yards on 9 plays before stalling inside the 5 and settling for a Luke Carter field goal, putting them ahead 3-0. The Catamounts answered fast with Adams finding Jordan Mathis for a 17 yard touchdown, capping a 5-play, 77 yard drive in less than two minutes, bringing the score 7-3. The two teams exchanged punts for their next two possessions. Then, Wofford’s Blake Morgan took a late pitch into the end zone to put the Terriers up 10-7. Momentum was squarely in the Terrier’s corner as they forced a three and out, but it was soon sucked away as Western Carolina’s Marvin Tillman forced and recovered a fumble on a Joe Newman option-pitch at the 10 yard line. Provided a short field, Tyrie Adams scored 2 plays later on a 7-yard run. Momentum appeared to be with the Catamount as a few Wofford penalties forced the Terriers to punt on their next possession, but George Gbesee intercepted an underthrown Adams pass, giving Wofford the ball at midfield with less than 45 seconds remaining. Senior Quarterback Brandon Goodson showed his experience and put the Terriers in scoring position, however Wofford penalties kept them out of the end zone. The Terriers settled for a field goal, heading into the locker room down 14-13.

The Terriers received the second half kickoff and drove the ball inside the redzone, but not content with field goals, turned the ball over on downs. Western Carolina then methodically drove down field and scored on 38 yard touchdown pass from Tyrie Adams to Terryon Robinson, pushing the lead to 21-13. Not to be dismayed, the Wofford offense answered the bell, driving 72 yards for the tying touchdown and two point conversion. Fullback Andre Stoddard finished the day with 157 yards on 21 carries, 47 of which came on that drive.

As the fourth quarter began, Western Carolina was once again able to drive down field, but had to settle for a 40 yard field goal that their kicker Will Horton missed. Assuming possession with the football and momentum, Wofford pounded the Catamounts with their fullback. On the ensuing 13 play, 77-yard drive, fullbacks Andre Stoddard and Chase Nelson combined for 39 yards on 9 carries. Brandon Goodson capped off the drive with a clutch 4 yard run on third and goal, putting the Terriers up 28-21 with 7:30 remaining in regulation.

But 7:30 was plenty of time for the Western Carolina offense to work with, tying the game at 28 on a 1-yard Donnavan Spencer run. On that drive, the Catamounts drove 75 yards in 11 plays and converted three third downs, two of which were longer than 11 yards to gain. With three minutes left to play, the Terriers assumed possession of the football at their own 20 and drove all the way to the Western Carolina 35, before poor clock management had the Terriers heave a Hail Mary to end regulation.

Western Carolina won the toss in overtime and chose play defense first. Wofford scored quickly, going the 25 yard distance on two plays, booming in on a Stoddard run, putting the Terriers ahead 35-28. On the first down of overtime, Tyrie Adams was tackled for a loss of 9, pinning the Catamounts back to a second and 19 from the 34. On second down he made up for the lost yards, rushing for 11, but on third down he threw an interception in the endzone, putting an end to the best game of the week in the Socon.

Defensively, this was one of the best possible outcomes for the Terriers. Though they surrendered 28 points and over 350 yards of offense, that was well below the Catamounts average of over 500 yards per game. The Terriers contained the tremendously talented Detrez Newsome, holding him to 69 yards rushing on 13 carriers. Overall, the Terriers held the Catamounts (relatively) in check, forced turnovers and limited their points per play to similar numbers as FBS Hawaii. Against a high octane offense such as Western Carolina, you can’t ask for much more than to contain it.

The defensive effort would not have been nearly as successful had the offense not executed at a high level. Having a formidable offensive attack allowed Wofford to limit the amount of possessions Western can have, and thus limited their scoring ability. Going into this game, Western possessed the ball about 66 times and scored on roughly half of those possessions. If you possess the ball 13 times a game and average a score on half of your possessions, you’ll score 7 times for a range of 21-49 points. Wofford’s defense did a phenomenal job of limiting the Catamounts’ scoring to 4 of 11 possessions. Wofford played a strong offensive game, scoring on 6 of their 12 possessions and grinding clock. Without the success of Wofford’s offense to limit possessions, the defense would not have been able to keep the game in reach.

On special teams, Wofford won the field position battle as well, pinning Western Carolina deep inside their 20 all day, while Wofford regularly started possessions between the 35s. Both teams have a lot to work on in the coming weeks, as the teams combined for 20 penalties and over 200 yards and multiple dropped passes.

Western Carolina may have some problems on defense, as Wofford hadn’t gained over 400 yards against a Socon opponent since 2015. Luckily, their next draw is conference relative-newcomer ETSU. ETSU has the passing ability to stay competitive in every game, but their run game is sub-par (averaging well under-100 yards per game) and the only time they saw an offense comparable to Western Carolina’s was defending national champion James Madison (a 52-10 route by the Dukes). Western Carolina should be favored, but if they catch themselves snoozing, they could be another victim to the most-quietly-dangerous team in the SoCon.

Things don’t get much easier for Wofford. Though the Terriers head to Charleston for a night game against a Citadel team that looks ailing, the Bulldogs will be a team most opportune to shut down Mike Ayers’s option attack. The teams played twice last year and split each outing, with both meetings going down to the wire. If Wofford continues its solid defensive play and limits mistakes, the Terriers could be 6-0 for the first time since going division one 20 years ago. If the Terriers get overconfident reading their own press, however, they could lose their lead in the Socon in the blink of an eye

Furman 41 Chattanooga 17   (box score)

The Furman Paladins came into Finley Stadium looking to break the .500 mark for the first time this season, while the reeling Chattanooga Mocs were looking to get back on course after an abysmal 1-4 start. After the injury of veteran Quarterback Alejandro Bennifield and the 1-4 performance of Mississippi State transfer Nick Tiano, first year head coach burned the redshirt of Freshmen Cole Copeland. Combined with the Furman defense being relatively young and injured and Furman themselves having a high-scoring offense led by PJ Blazejowski,, this game had the ingredients to be an offensive thriller.

Unfortunately for the Mocs, it did not live up to expectations.

Furman received the ball first in the second half, driving 75 yards in 14 plays and 6:07, capped off with an 11 yard Touchdown pass to Logan McCarter from Blazejowski. Chattanooga answered strong, with Copeland’s inaugural drive as a college QB seeing him go 4-4 and 60 yards before the Chattanooga offense was stuffed for no gain on 3rd and 1 inside the 15. The Mocs had to settle for a field goal. Momentum shortly swung in the direction of the Mocs as the Grayson Atkins missed a 46 yard field goal for the Paladins on their next drive.

From there, Chattanooga took the lead with Copeland again going 4-4 and 60 yards but this time he capped the drive off with a 40 yard touchdown pass to Alphonso Stewart. For those of you at home, you read that correctly: Copeland completed his first 8 passes as a college QB for 120 yards and a touchdown. Not bad for a freshman.

Down 3 early in the second quarter, Furman didn’t panic and went back to their power run game, going 78 yards for an Antonio Wilcox score, taking the lead 14-10. On the next drive the young Chattanooga QB learned that you can’t win in the Socon without a semblance of a run game, going 0-2 and throwing an interception. From there Furman smelled blood and didn’t look back, going 4 plays and 32 yards for another Blazejowski touchdown pass, this time to Andy Schumpert, and a 10 point lead (the extra point failed). The next 3 drives saw both teams exchanging three and outs. Darius Moorehead then capped a 54 yard drive for the Paladins on a 12 yard touchdown run, for a 27 to 10 halftime lead.

After the half, Chattanooga once again had to punt after five plays. Starting from their own 15 yard-line, Blazejowski threw another touchdown, this time a bomb from 57 yards out to Logan McCarter for a 34-10 lead. Feeling the pressure of being down multiple scores in the third quarter, Chattanooga called 6 straight pass plays with mixed-to-negative results, including a sack and another interception.

Tragedy then struck the Paladins as they missed a field goal on the following drive. The tragedy wasn’t with the points left on the field, but with Blazejowski going down with a knee injury. At the time of writing the exact severity of the injury is unknown, but hearsay suggests it’s relatively minor and we may see Blazejowski back soon.

Following the missed field goal, the Mocs were able to capitalize and scoring a touchdown to bring the score to a respectable 34-17. Backup QB Harris Roberts and the Furman offense were then able to grind the clock with a 7 minute drive that turned over on downs inside the Chattanooga 30. On the first play of the Moc’s next possession, Copeland threw another interception, this time a pick 6 to Dillion Vann, bringing the score to 41-17. Chattanooga was able to drive inside the Furman 30 yard-line, but threw another interception inside the endzone as time expired.

This game marked another win for the Paladins, bringing them to a respectable 3-3. Right now Furman has the second best scoring offense and the third best total defense, a point that’s probably undersold considering they’ve already played 2 ranked teams (Wofford, Elon) and an FBS team (NC State). Losing Blazejowski could be huge for the Paladins going forward, but they were already a young team with lots of injuries. Next week, they play a down VMI team, a team they should probably beat, Blazejowki or not.

The prognosis for the Chattanooga Mocs is not as positive. The Mocs had a total of 7 yards rushing. Though their QB threw for over 300 yards, many of those yards were under duress, and the consequences were four interceptions and three sacks. Though Copeland may be a rising star for the Mocs, if Chattanooga can’t run the ball and protect the QB it’s to no avail. If you’re looking to see why the Mocs are struggling this year, look no farther than their rush offense (less than 60 yards a game) and sacks allowed (a league low of 21) It looks to be a down year for the Mocs this year, but if they can make some adjustments on the offensive line and defense, the future will brighten up fast with young talent. Next week, the Mocs play Mercer a team with a strong rush defense, holding both Wofford and Citadel’s potent option attacks to below their season averages. The Bears have been known to let winnable games slip, so if Chattanooga can adjust their offensive line issues, they’ll be competitive.

Mercer 24   #21The Citadel 14   (box score)

The Citadel won most of the stat lines in the game Saturday, except three very important ones. Obviously the score, but two other stats which doomed the Dogs to go down to the Mercer Bears for the first time since Herbert Hoover was president. The first was turnovers. The Dogs fumbled it 6 times and lost 3. They also tossed an interception. Mercer lost the two fumbles they committed. Having lost the turnover battle, the Dogs also lost their usually envious time of possession margin. Mercer had the ball over 7 more minutes. You can’t win, especially if you run long grinding drives, if you don’t have the ball.

Mercer did a good job of taking away anything up the middle. They must have watched a lot the film from the Samford game. But I guess it sounds silly to say film in this digital age. Unless something changes for the Dogs, The Citadel’s future opponents are going to exploit their youthful offensive line and inexperienced B-Backs. They will settle for the pitch outside and the desperate passes that the Dogs were forced to execute as a result. It wasn’t that the Dogs were not successful.   Sometimes they were. But they were not nearly successful enough to pose a continuous threat. And with Mercer’s ball swatting ways, they were bound to make something happen.

Mercer received the opening kickoff and after a first down the Dogs forced a punt. The Dogs looked good initially gaining a first down in two plays, But on their third play the problems started for The Citadel as Dom Allen completed a pass to Raleigh Webb who fumbled near midfield. That sparked Mercer and they went on a 5 play, 48 yard drive for the first score of the game.

Both defenses settled in and the teams traded two punts each before The Citadel got the upper hand in field position and drove 52 yards in 9 plays to the Mercer 3 early in the second. Then disaster struck again as Mercer forced a fumble on a 1st and goal. After a short drive by the Bears and another punt, The Citadel again drove into Mercer territory and decided on a field goal attempt from 47 yards. It missed wide right.

Again, Mercer got sparked form this and made a good drive of 11 plays for 70 yards and a score.   With under 5 minutes to go in the half and down 14-0, The Citadel needed some momentum. After a first down run, the Dogs again went to the air for three incomplete passes. After punting it away, The Dogs Defense held the Bears to a three and out. The Citadel then looked as if they had it going again and drove into Mercer territory sparked by a 41 yard pass. After making one 4th down conversion, the Dogs found themselves soon facing another one after being sacked and punted it back to Mercer who ran out the clock to go into the break up 14-0.

After The Citadel offense opened the second half with a three and out, the Dogs finally got a break after Mercer fumbled near midfield. That turnover could have very well sparked a comeback by the Dogs. That is unless they didn’t fumble it yet again after driving down to the Mercer 20. After each team punted Mercer put together another long drive for a score to make it 21-0 with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter. After trading two more punts, The Citadel finally put together a drive, which they didn’t fumble, and scored to make it 21-7 with just over 13 minutes to go in the game. It was a quick drive of 1:43 and only 5 plays for 67 yards. That was fast by Bulldogs standards. But they needed fast scores.

After two more punts, The Citadel caught another break with Mercer fumbling it on their own 21. But the Mercer defense stood up and four plays later, the Dogs turned it over on downs. A 72 yard drive by the Bears ended with a field goal to make it 24-7 with just under 4 minutes to play. But the Dogs would not roll over yet. An 8 play 75 yard drive which took only 1:22 made it 24-14. What is interesting is that of those 8 plays, 7 were passing, and one rushing. Yes, Mercer was a bit stingy on defense against the rush. And the Dogs made it even more interesting with an on-side kick, which they recovered with 2:33 to go. After nearly losing a forced fumble on the first play, Mercer effectively finished it off with an interception the next play. After holding Mercer to a three and out, the Bulldogs made an effort to drive but ran out of time at the Mercer 35. Now at 1-2 in the conference, the Bulldogs probably wish they had one or two of those fumbles back. Overall the Dogs gained 381 yards to Mercers 311.

But Mercer did exactly what they needed to in order to win. They held the Bulldogs rushing game in check for most of the game and forced the Dogs to go to the air. They also won the turnover battle. The Dogs had only 201 rushing yards. They also had a season high 180 yards through the air. Bulldog QB Dom Allen went 14/31 with one interception. It is probably time to talk about the QB situation for the Bulldogs. For the first time this year Jordan Black did not play. The two QBs had been tag teaming it for most games. But the problem with that is neither one could get into a good game rhythm. This may very well have been an attempt to get that rhythm going. It obviously didn’t work. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod next week.

While Mercers defense can take the credit for the win via holding the Dogs running game in check and forcing a bunch of turnovers, their offense wasn’t too shabby either. The Bears QB Kaelan Riley went 12/23 for 111 yards. Not bad, but the Mercer running game kept them moving and chewing up clock. They totaled 200 yards on 50 attempts. Tee Mitchell had 88 and two TDs and Alex Lakes totaled 79. They were both elusive on many runs.

Penalties were not too much of a factor as Mercer had four for 41 yards and The Citadel only two for 19 yards. Both specials teams played fairly well.

For the Dogs, it does not get any easier with Wofford coming to Charleston next week. That will probably be the Dogs last gasp. A loss next week would not only doom any faint hope of repeating as SOCON Champs, but any hope at a playoff spot as well. The Dogs are pretty much in a win out situation, sans Clemson. Mercer, with two previous conference losses, is pretty much already in a win out scenario, sans Alabama. They face Chattanooga in Macon next week.

#22Samford 26 VMI 7   (box score)

 

ETSU 16   Robert Morris 3 (box score)

 

Power Rankings

  1. Wofford
  2. Western Carolina
  3. Samford
  4. Furman
  5. Mercer
  6. The Citadel
  7. ETSU
  8. Chattanooga
  9. VMI

AGS Top 25 – How They Fared Week 6 2017

Today’s version is going up a bit late due to other events but this is the information provided on AGS by superman7515.

#1 James Madison Dukes BYE
#2 North Dakota State Bison Won at Indiana State Sycamores 52-0
#3 Youngstown State Penguins Lost at #5 South Dakota Coyotes 28-31
#4 Jacksonville State Gamecocks Won at #36 Austin Peay Governors 34-14
#5 South Dakota Coyotes Won vs #3 Youngstown State Penguins 31-28
#6 Wofford Terriers Won vs #20 Western Carolina Catamounts 35-28 (OT)
#7 Central Arkansas Bears Won at Houston Baptist Huskies 27-7
#8 Illinois State Redbirds Lost at #32 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 16-37
#9 South Dakota State Jackrabbits Won vs Southern Illinois Salukis 49-14
#10 Sam Houston State Bearkats Won at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 27-16
#11 Eastern Washington Eagles Won at #38 UC Davis Aggies 41-38
#12 Western Illinois Leathernecks Won at #26 Northern Iowa Panthers 38-29
#13 Weber State Wildcats BYE
#14 Villanova Wildcats Won vs #25 Maine Black Bears 31-0
#15 Elon Phoenix Won vs (ORV) William & Mary Tribe 25-17
#16 New Hampshire Wildcats BYE
#17 North Carolina A&T Aggies Won vs Delaware State Hornets 44-3
#18 Stony Brook Seawolves Lost vs #28 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 20-24
#19 Richmond Spiders Won vs #23 Albany Great Danes 41-38 (2 OT)
#20 Western Carolina Catamounts Lost at #6 Wofford Terriers 28-35 (OT)
#21 The Citadel Bulldogs Lost vs Mercer Bears 14-24
#22 Samford Bulldogs Won at Virginia Military Institute Keydets 26-7
#23 Albany Great Danes Lost at #19 Richmond Spiders 38-41 (2 OT)
#24 McNeese State Cowboys Won at Abilene Christian Wildcats 13-7
#25 Maine Black Bears Lost at #14 Villanova Wildcats 0-31
Next 15
#26 Northern Iowa Panthers Lost vs #12 Western Illinois Leathernecks 29-38
#27 Grambling State Tigers Won at Prairie View A&M Panthers 34-21
#28 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens Won at #18 Stony Brook Seawolves 24-20
#29 Dartmouth Big Green Won vs #30 Yale Bulldogs 28-27
#30 Yale Bulldogs Lost at #29 Darthmouth Big Green 27-28
#31 Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks Lost vs Murray State Racers 10-13
#32 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Won vs #8 Illinois State Redbirds 37-16
#33 Montana Grizzlies Won at (ORV) Idaho State Bengals 39-31
#34 Montana State Bobcats Won vs Portland State Vikings 30-22
#35 Saint Francis Red Flash Lost at Presbyterian Blue Hose 14-26
#36 Austin Peay Governors Lost vs #4 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 14-34
#37 Nicholls State Colonels Won vs Northwestern State Demons 14-10
#38 UC Davis Aggies Lost vs #11 Eastern Washington Eagles 38-41
#39 Monmouth Hawks Won at (ORV) Holy Cross Crusaders 48-36
#40 North Carolina Central Eagles Won at Howard Bison 13-7
Others Receiving Votes (In Alphabetical Order)
Columbia Lions Won at Marist Red Foxes 41-17
Eastern Illinois Panthers Won vs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 24-23
Furman Paladins Won at Chattanooga Mocs 41-17
Holy Cross Crusaders Lost vs #39 Monmouth Hawks 36-48
Idaho State Bengals Lost vs #33 Montana Grizzlies 31-39
Tennessee State Tigers Won at Eastern Kentucky Colonels 45-21
William & Mary Tribe Lost at #15 Elon Phoenix 17-25

 

MVFC – Week 6 Preview

MVFC LogoOn to Week 6…wait…seriously?!?…Week 6 already? I thought we just started this thing. Like it or not, the football season goes by pretty fast for us hard-core fans. Up this week we have a couple of likely close games including one that looks like it could have a big impact on who the eventual conference champion is. We also have the final non-conference matchup for a MVFC team, against a Big Sky team that’s already played another MVFC team this season.

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
12:00 PM – #2 North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0) at Indiana State (0-4, 0-1)
2:00 PM – #3 Youngstown State (3-1, 1-0) at #5 South Dakota (4-0, 1-0)
4:00 PM – #12 Western Illinois (3-1, 0-1) at Northern Iowa (2-2, 1-0)
6:00 PM – Southern Illinois (2-2, 0-1) at #9 South Dakota State (3-1, 0-1)
6:00 PM – #8 Illinois State (4-0, 2-0) at Northern Arizona (2-2), PlutoTV
Missouri State is on bye this weekend.
All games listed in Central time and all games on ESPN3 except ILSU at NAU.

#2 North Dakota State at Indiana State

 Last Week:

  • North Dakota State beat Missouri State, 38-11
  • Indiana State lost at Illinois State, 24-13

History: The Bison and Sycamores have played each other 9 times going back to 2008. NDSU has the series lead with a 8-1 record.

North Dakota State is pretty much at the top of the “charts” stats-wise (to be fair, they haven’t played any really great teams so far this season), allowing the fewest passing yards, rushing yards, total yards (duh), and points of anyone in the FCS. They just got likely future-NFL LB Nick DeLuca after an early season knee injury, and in the meantime, LBs Levi Jordheim and Jabril Cox have been stepping up to fill the gap. In addition, SS’s James Hendricks and Robbie Grimsley each have 3 INTs, making it very difficult for any QB who isn’t “dead-on” with their throws. They also have one of the best running attacks in the FCS, with RB Lance Dunn averaging 123 ypg (10 TDs) and players like RB Bruce Anderson and RB Ty Brooks contributing greatly as well…all adding up to 336.8 ypg on the ground. QB Easton Stick hasn’t put up stellar numbers (84th in the FCS in yardage), but he has been efficient (2nd in the FCS in passing efficiency). With a run game like the Bison have, they don’t often need to pass, but when Stick does, it’s usually a completion and usually effective.

Indiana State is having a rough go of things so far this season, sitting at 0-4 despite strong performances against Liberty and Eastern Illinois. Their biggest weakness is defending the pass…they’re allowing just over 290 passing ypg so far this season, but only slightly over 100 ypg on the ground. LB Jonas Griffith leads the team in tackles, averaging 9.3 per game, and 0.63 sacks per game. On offense, QB Cade Sparks averages 169.5 ypg and 4 TDs passing w/ 1 INT. WR Bob Pugh hauls in 92.75 ypg and has 2 receiving TDs and RB LeMonte Booker does his part in the ground game, with 95.5 ypg and 2 TDs. The INSU O-Line has been having problems though, allowing 8.25 tackles for loss and 2 sacks per game.

The Bison have a pretty easy first half to their season and they’ve been demonstrating that in dominating fashion. After this next weekend, it gets significantly tougher for them, but until that point, I doubt they’ll have much trouble with the Sycamores. I think NDSU takes this one by ~30 points.

#3 Youngstown State at #5 South Dakota (Dakota Days)

Last Week:

  • Youngstown State beat South Dakota State, 19-7
  • South Dakota won at Western Illinois, 38-33

History: The Penguins have played the Coyotes 5 times so far going back to 2012. Youngstown has won all 5 meetings in the past.

Last year, Youngstown State had one of the best defenses in the country, with two senior D-Linemen that were both drafted in this last spring’s NFL draft. You would think that losing a couple of NFL-level players would cause a drop in the quality of their defense, but that doesn’t appear to be the case at this point. The Penguins are only allowing 11 ppg and 245 ypg so far this season and last weekend, nearly completely shut down the vaunted SDSU Jackrabbit Offense. S Kyle Hegedus and FS Jalyn Powell each have 27 tackles this season and DE Justus Reed is currently leading the conference, averaging 1 sack per game. Offensively, nobody is putting up huge numbers, but as a whole, they are very good at putting together a slow, gradual march across the field, giving their defense time to rest, and denying their opponent the opportunity to score. This was particularly effective in their game last week, where they held the ball for over 3/4 of the game and all but 3 1/2 minutes in the second half, using three drives of 8 1/2 minutes or longer. When you look at the play-by-play for that game, you see that they mostly get it done with short runs by RB Tevin McCaster who is averaging 111.5 ypg and over 21 attempts per game. The primary QB is Nathan Mays, who’s throwing at a nearly 73% completion rate.

South Dakota is now 4-0 for the first time since 2006 (when they were a good DII team). They’ve gotten to this point in no small part due to the play of their dual-threat QB Chris Streveler. Streveler has been passing an average of 292 ypg and has 10 passing TDs. He also is the Coyote’s leading rusher, with just under 80 ypg and 7 TDs on the ground. Add in a number of relatively effective receivers and you end up with one of the better offenses in the FCS (currently #2 stats-wise). Their defense is solid enough to be holding opposing teams to 18.5 ppg, although they did seem to let up in the second half of last week’s game against Western Illinois, when they gave up 27 points to let the Leathernecks back into a game who’s outcome seemed to be difinitive by halfway through the 3rd quarter. In general, the front lines are strong, allowing only 72.2 ypg on the ground, but have been vulnerable to strong passing attacks, where they give up 264.2 ypg. DB Danny Rambo leads the team in tackles with 25 including 2 for loss and 1 interception.

As shown by it’s AGS Game of the Week status, all indications are a close and exciting battle. I think YSU will keep USD to a lower score than they’ve had in most of their games so far this season, but I also think that USD will be able to shut down YSU’s run game more effectively than most other teams have been able to. I think that this is a really tight matchup, with the win going to whomever can put together one or two big plays. It could easily go eather way, but I think I have to lean towards USD due to them being the home team and it’s their homecoming, so the dome should be lound and excited and should give them just enough of a boost to come away with a win. I think Coyotes by 3.

#12 Western Illinois at Northern Iowa

Last Week:

  • Western Illinois lost to South Dakota, 38-33
  • Northern Iowa won at Southern Illinois, 24-17

History: The Leathernecks and Panthers have met up 45 times starting back in 1967 (and every year for the past 39 years). UNI has the 31-14 series lead overall and are 15-6 at home against the Leathernecks. Last year’s meeting was a 30-23 win in Macomb for the Panthers, and the last win for Western was a 24-19 victory in 2015 in Cedar Falls.

Western Illinois is 3-1 coming off their first loss of the season at home against South Dakota. WIU is very much a second-half team, putting up 23% of their points in the first half of games, but 45% of their points in the third quarters alone. The offense is putting up 41 ppg, in no small part due to WR Jaelon Acklin, who’s averaging an FCS-leading 146 receiving ypg w/ 5 TDs plus an additional 26 ypg and 2 TDs on the ground, and had a conference record-breaking performance last week against USD with 343 yards and 3 TDs on 19 catches. On the other side of things, the switch to the 3-4 has seemed to improve things somewhat over last year’s horrible pass defense situation, as the Leathernecks are only giving up just over 20 ppg so far. They’re led by LB Brett Taylor, who tied a school record last weekend with 28 tackles and currently leads the FCS with 14.5 tackles per game. DB Xavier Rowe is doing better this season with more experience, currently leading the conference in passes defended with 1.5 per game.

Northern Iowa is at 2-2 and spent last weekend in a game with SIU where…if you’re looking at the drive chart…it appears nobody wanted the football in the 4th quarter. The Panther defense appears to be coming together, allowing only 17 points when they’d been averaging over 34 ppg allowed before that game however they are giving up an uncharacteristically high 445 ypg. LB Jared Farley is averaging 11.5 tackles per game and is 4th in the FCS in solo tackles per game (7), and DB Malcolm Washington has picked up 2 INTs in their 4 games. On offense, the Panthers are a much more pass-oriented team, with QB Eli Dunne throwing for 284 ypg and about 1/3 of that going to WR Daurice Fountain. The ground game is not really UNI’s forte, however, with them only averaging 82 ypg and RB Trevor Allen picking up over 70% of those yards.

This is something of a down year for UNI, and WIU has played really well at times, but also struggled in certain early-game situations. I know it’s UNI’s Homecoming game, but if I’ve seen one thing so far about the Leathernecks…playing on the road doesn’t hinder them much. I think we’ll see something a bit more “offense-oriented” than UNI’s game last week, with heavy emphasis on the passing game. Seems like a pretty close game is fairly likely, but I think my Leathernecks will be down at halftime and pull ahead in the 4th quarter for a 6-point win.

Southern Illinois at #9 South Dakota State (Hall of Fame Game)

Last Week:

  • Southern Illinois lost to Northern Iowa, 24-17
  • South Dakota State lost at Youngstown State, 19-7

History: The Salukis and Jackrabbits have played 7 times, with SDSU holding a 4-3 series lead. Last year’s matchup was a 45-39 SDSU win at Carbondale.

Southern Illinois has played well at times; last weekend was not one of those times, however, as they had 3 turnovers in the loss. QB Sam Straub is completing slightly over 50% of his passes this season, with 12 TDs, 4 INTs, and 240 ypg. Quickly scanning through their offensive stats as compared with the rest of the FCS, I would say that for the most part, they are solidly mediocre. They have had a few bright spots though, like RB Daquan Isom running for 126 yards and LB Kyron Watson having 15 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and a forced fumble & recovery last week. But, for the most part, they are giving up just about as many yards and points as they’re putting on the board themselves.

It’s kinda hard to tell if South Dakota State is down a bit from last year’s lofty standard, or if they’ve just played some tougher opponents to start the season. They’re 3-1, but played a close game with Montana State earlier and last week were only able to manage a TD in the loss to Youngstown State. Their offensive line has been solid so far, giving up an FCS-best 3 tackles for loss per game and 3 sacks total in 4 games but they don’t have a player averaging over 50 ypg rushing and both WR Jake Wieneke and TE Dallas Goedert are averaging fewer than 70 ypg (their averages were 101.2 and 99.5 respectively at the end of last season) so far. On defense, they’re holding teams to just over 17 ppg, but when you only put up 7 like last weekend, 17 (or in that specific case, 19) doesn’t really help. One of last year’s best freshman at any position in the FCS, LB Christian Rozeboom, is leading the team at 31 tackles and LB Logan Backhaus has 2 INTs and 2 passes defended so far this year.

SDSU is down a bit from where I (and I think many people) had thought they would be this season, but they’re still a very good team, they just ran into a defensive juggernaut last weekend. I think they’ll make up for it with a strong game against a struggling Saluki team. Jackrabbits by 14.

#8 Illinois State at Northern Arizona (Hall of Fame Game/Family Weekend)

Last Week:

  • Illinois State beat Indiana State, 24-13
  • Northern Arizona beat Northern Colorado, 48-20

History: This is the first meeting between the Lumberjacks and Redbirds.

Illinois State is off to a hot start a 4-0 and is the only team with 2 MVFC wins so far, having beaten Missouri State solidly and then defeating Indiana State last weekend. QB Jake Kolbe leads an offense that’s putting up 458 ypg and 36.8 ppg so far, with WR Christian Gibbs snagging 86 ypg and 4 TDs and RBs James Robinson and Markel Smith running in the 60-70 ypg range and 4 and 3 TDs respectively. The Redbirds have one of the top performing defenses in the FCS, allowing only 166.5 ypg and 8.8 ppg so far, and equally good in both run and pass defense. In nearly all those categories, they are second only to fellow MVFC member NDSU. They’re also currently leading the FCS in tackles for loss, averaging 9.5 per game.

Northern Arizona started off the season with a couple of losses before rebounding with two conference wins. Their offense seems to be starting to find it’s rhythm, having averaged only 24 ppg in the first three games, but putting up 48 against Northern Colorado last weekend. QB Case Cookus is averaging 301 ypg and has 9 TDs w/ 3 INTs with his primary target being WR Elijah Marks, who’s snagging 117 ypg and has 3 TDs. On the defensive side, the Lumberjacks are struggling at stopping the run, giving up 240 ypg on the turf. Their defensive tackle leader is LB Byron Evans who has 32 tackles so far and S Kam’ron Johnson has had an interception in each of the last three games.

For the second time this season, NAU is inviting a MVFC member from Illinois to their place. NAU seems to be doing better offensively than when Western Illinois played there back in week 2, but Illinois State has a better defense than Western Illinois at this point. I think that ISU will spend much of the game running the ball against the NAU defense, letting the Redbird defense rest (which they’ll likely need a little more of playing at 7,000 ft above sea level). I don’t see this game going too much differently than it did when NAU played WIU. That game was an 18 pt WIU win and I think this game will be an 18 pt ISU win.

Patriot League: Week 6 Preview

Week 6 is highlighted by two key league games. Lehigh heads to Hamilton, NY to take on Colgate in their annual grudge match. The Mountain Hawks have not lost a conference game since the Raiders defeated them at the end of the 2015 season. The other Patriot League game to keep an eye on is Lafayette hosting struggling Fordham. The Leopards are fresh off a huge win over of Holy Cross and can move to 2-0 in Patriot League play with a win over the Rams. In other action this week, Holy Cross welcomes a surging Monmouth team to Worcester while Georgetown hits the road to tangle with Princeton.

Lehigh (0-5, 0-0) at Colgate (2-3, 0-0) – Oct. 7th 1 PM Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY

Live Streaming – Patriot League Network

When the schedule was released months ago no one could have imagined that Lehigh and Colgate would enter their annual showdown a combined 2-8. But with Lehigh’s historically bad defense and Colgate’s struggling offense that’s where these teams are as the calendar turns to October. The vast majority of pundits had Lehigh as the prohibitive league favorite with Colgate lying in weeds behind the Mountain Hawks and Fordham. It’s still possible, perhaps even probable, that Lehigh and or Colgate end up with a piece of the Patriot League title but the road has become a lot bumpier than expected.

If Lehigh wants to turn their season around the defense must become at least competent. To this point in the year the Mountain Hawk’s defensive statistics are beyond horrific; 48 ppg (121st in FCS), 287 rushing ypg (120th in FCS), 533 total ypg (123rd in FCS, dead last). Colgate figures to be a reasonable matchup for the hapless group but so did Wagner. The Raiders are averaging a paltry 16.2 ppg (102nd in FCS). The main reason for the lack of point production is a passing game that has yet to get going with freshman quarterback Grant Brenerman getting comfortable as the starter. As luck would have it for the Lehigh defense, Brenerman is coming off his best game of the year against Cornell. For his 2 passing TD and 1 Rushing TD performance this freshman QB was named the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Week. Given Lehigh’s failure to stop the run all season, the elusive Brenerman along with RB Alex Mathews have to be licking their chops. The Mountain Hawks must force Colgate to throw the ball. Otherwise the Raiders are going to control the ball, the clock and the game.

Colgate’s defense is coming off their best performance of the year against the Big Red. With All-American rush end Pat Afriyie back in the fold the Raiders “D” is arguably the stingiest unit in the league. While Lehigh’s offense is littered with household names it hasn’t completely clicked like it did last week. The main reason for the so-so production is an offensive line that simply hasn’t lived up to its potential to this point in the year. If it doesn’t bring its “A” game on Saturday it will be another long day for the Brown and White.

Prediction: Colgate 37 Lehigh 24

Georgetown (1-3, 0-0) at Princeton (2-1) – Oct 7th 1 PM Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ

Live Streaming – Ivy League Digital Network

The Hoyas will look to end their 3 game losing streaking as they head to New Jersey to square off against Princeton. After opening the season with a hard fought 16-10 win over Campbell Georgetown’s defense has not been able to slow teams down enough to overcome one of the worst offenses in FCS (253 Total ypg 108th in FCS). Not helping matters is the loss of the 5th year QB Tim Benson and a rushing attack that has done next to nothing so far this year despite having two experienced running backs (Alex Valles and Isaac Ellsworth). Princeton is coming off a surprising 28-24 loss to Columbia. The Lions beat Georgetown 35-14 two weeks ago.

The Tiger offense is loaded with skilled playmakers but have yet to find a way to light up the scoreboard. If the Hoyas want to keep Princeton from breaking out they’ll first have to account for veteran QB Chad Kanoff (306 ypg 9 TD 5 INT) and his two very dangerous wide receivers, Stephen Carlson and Jesper Horsted. Then there’s the Princeton rushing attack which is led by Charlie Volker (91 ypg). Georgetown’s defense will need to get pressure on Kanoff and force him into mistakes. Despite being one of the most experienced quarterbacks in FCS, Kanoff has a history of questionable decision making. That has continued this year with 5 interceptions. If Georgetown’s defense can win the turnover battle it’ll go a long way towards pulling the upset.

Additional possessions would at least increase Georgetown’s chances to improve upon their 11 ppg average. To call the Hoya’s offense anemic to this point would be generous. They’ve struggled mightily to start the year before finally bottoming out last week with a 0 point performance against Harvard. The Tigers are going to enter this game mighty angry after their loss to Columbia. With that in mind, odds say Princeton takes out a decent amount of frustration on a bruised and battered Georgetown team.

Prediction: Princeton 47 Georgetown 17

Monmouth (4-1) at Holy Cross (2-3, 1-1) – Oct 7th 1 PM Fitton Field Worcester, MA

Live Streaming – Patriot League Network

Holy Cross welcomes the Monmouth Hawks to New England as the Crusaders will look to halt their two game losing skid. The Crusaders enter the game attempting to right the ship after an embarrassing 10-7 loss to previously winless Lafayette. With the loss, Holy Cross no longer controls their destiny in the league race. Getting the positive mojo going again won’t be easy against a Monmouth team that has already notched 3 convincing wins over Patriot League teams (Lafayette, Lehigh and Bucknell) this season. I’ll be interesting to see how Holy Cross responds to being the underdog once again. They certainly failed miserably the last two weeks as the favorite.

It’s no secret that Peter Pujals (263 ypg 8 TD 3 INT) will need to lead the way if Holy Cross wants to take down Monmouth and get their record back to .500. The 5th year senior is coming off one of his worst performances as quarterback for the Crusaders so motivation shouldn’t be an issue. If the Monmouth defense has a weakness it’s against the pass (244 ypg allowed) so Pujals and company should have some opportunities to make plays. They’ll need to because the Hawks have the 11th ranked rush defense in FCS (75.2 ypg allowed). Leading the Hawk defense is Mike Basile. The senior safety is one of the top defensive players in all of FCS so he must be accounted for at all times. His ability to make plays can at every level is what makes him so dangerous. Pujals needs to be aware of where he lines up on each play.

Monmouth isn’t flashy on offense but they are well balanced. Leading the way for the Hawks is Freshman RB Peter Guerriero (84 ypg 5 TD). The former New Jersey high school star has busted onto the scene with an excellent start to the season. If he continues his current pace he’ll be a candidate for the Jerry Rice Award (best freshman in FCS). The Holy Cross defense must limit his damage and hope Monmouth QB Kenji Bahar is forced to throw the ball more than 30 times in the game. The Hawks want the running game to set up opportunities down the field for Bahar.

Prediction: Monmouth 33 Holy Cross 27

Fordham (1-4, 0-0) at Lafayette (1-4, 1-0) – Oct 7th 3:30 PM Fisher Stadium Easton, PA

Live Streaming: Patriot League Network

Lafayette and Fordham tangle on College Hill in Easton in a key early season league game. The Leopards enters the game fresh off a shocking 10-7 win over once ranked Holy Cross. The Leopards used a stifling defense and buzzer beating field goal to knock off the Crusaders. Lafayette was able to pull off the upset despite another lackluster performance from the offense. The ground game managed an abysmal -6 yards in the win and now ranks 122nd in FCS with an 11 ypg average. The Rams on the other hand are limping into their league opener. Fordham got run off the field in the first half quarter last week against Yale and never recovered. It’s been a hugely disappointing season so far for the Rams but they can still win the league and return to the playoffs in Chase Edmonds’ senior season.

If there was a silver lining in the 31 point loss to Yale it was the return of Edmonds. The all world RB missed the previous 2 games with an ankle injury. Edmonds showed some flashes in his return before finishing with 83 yards on 16 carries. Unfortunately for the Rams, he wasn’t able to do enough to overcome another poor performance by the Ram offensive line. Kevin Anderson has been under constant pressure all season (sacked 19 times) and as a result his stats have fallen off significantly from the last two years. Lafayette has a very capable front 7 so unless Fordham was able to fix some of their protection issues this week it could be another long game for Anderson.

If the Lafayette defense plays like it did last week they’ll have a chance to go 2-0 in the league. Their ultimate fate will be determined by the offense. Fordham’s defense ranks near the bottom in nearly every major statistical category on defense (120th ppg allowed 47.4, 121st total ypg 496, 115th rushing defense 255.2 ypg) while the Leopard offense in or near the basement in most offensive categories so something has to give. Assuming Edmonds is back up to game speed it’s hard to see Lafayette being able to outscore the Rams even if the Leopard defense plays well again.

Prediction: Fordham 38 Lafayette 23

Big Sky: Week 6 Preview

One attempt at filling out a power ranking for the Big Sky will make a person realize that the race for the title will be a battle. Three teams have emerged as early favorites in Weber State, Eastern Washington, and Northern Arizona. Then one could argue three teams have an already poor outlook for the rest of the season unless things change dramatically. Those teams are Portland State, Cal Poly, and North Dakota. That leaves 7 squads all hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce on the top 3 contenders.

1-3: Weber State, Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona

4-10: Montana State, Northern Colorado, Idaho State, UC-Davis, Montana, Sacramento State, Southern Utah

11-13: North Dakota, Cal Poly, Portland State

Long opening stanza aside, lets get into the discussion for week 6. The slate of games features a rare October non-conference game between Northern Arizona and Illinois State. In terms of excitement across the board, there will definitely be more exciting weekends in the Big Sky. Sandbagging aside, we’ll still learn a lot about teams after this weekend.

(All times listed are local times to the location of the given game.)

Game 1: Portland State @ Montana State – Bozeman, MT – 11 a.m. MST

                                               

The Vikings started the season well with two competitive games against FBS opponents, but since then they have struggled, especially on defense. In their two losses to UC-Davis and Montana, they gave up 41 points per game. The defense will need to step it up as the offensive opposition doesn’t get any easier going forward in the Big Sky.

Portland State’s schedule has been tough, but Montana State’s has been brutal. Their losses have come against #9 South Dakota State, #13 Weber State, and FBS #11 Washington State. One key category they have shown struggles is defensive third and fourth down conversions. Opponents have converted 53% and are 100% (5/5) on fourth down. Chris Murray is a rising star for the Bobcats, but the defense needs to get off the field quicker to give him more chances to take charge.

Leaders for PSU:

QB/WR Josh Kraght – Took every snap at QB against Montana, but has also played WR with true freshman Jalani Eason taking the reins. Kraght’s stat line against Montana: 18-42 for 249 yards with 3 INTs and 1 TD – 12 rushes for 132 yards and 1 TD.

WR Darnell Adams – 17 receptions, 214 yards, 3 TDs

S Beau Duronslet – 32 total tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FR

DE Davond Dade – 18 total tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF

Leaders for MSU:

QB Chris Murray – Dangerous dual threat QB, especially on third downs. 51-95 for 637 yards with 3 INTs and 8 TDs – 63 rushes, 417 yards, 1 TD

WR Mitchell Herbert – 19 receptions, 202 yards, 2 TDs

LB Mac Bignell – 32 total tackles, 6 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF

The Bobcats have done relatively well against the run this season, so Portland State will need to find success through the air to have a chance in this tough road matchup. That should mean Josh Kraght will be running the show from the QB position again as he’s a better passer than Eason. The Vikings already have 8 turnovers on the year, but MSU has only forced 3. Portland State will need to have their best defensive performance of the year to pull of the win. I don’t think that is going to happen.

Prediction: Montana State 36 Portland State 17

 

Game 2: Northern Colorado @ North Dakota – Grand Forks, ND – 2:30 CST

                                                 

The Bears have relied pretty heavily on the pass, but RB Trae Riek has held his own for the most part. It’s hard to know what you’re going to get from UNC. They competed well against a sold Colorado team, had a meaningless game against a poor NAIA school, an impressive home win over Idaho State, and an ugly road loss to NAU. Their biggest problem this season has been penalty yardage, averaging nearly 80 yards in penalties per game, worst in the conference.

To say UND has hit the injury bug this season would be a major understatement. It’s getting to the point where Bubba will soon be scouting intramural games looking for able-bodies to fill roster positions. Their one win is impressive as no other opponent has beaten Missouri State by as much as the Fighting Hawks and no team has shut them out either. However, their losses are terrible. For a team that used to be known for their ability to stop the run, UND has given up 283.5 rushing yards per game in their 4 losses.

Leaders for UNC:

QB Jacob Knipp 82-131 for 1154 yards, 3 INTs, 8 TDs.

RB Trae Riek 77 rushes, 325 yards, 4 TDs

WR Alex Wesley 23 receptions, 386 yards, 3 TDs

DE Keifer Morris 22 total tackles, 6 TFL, 6 sacks

Leaders for UND:

RB John Santiago 54 rushes, 347 yards, 2 TDs

RB Brady Oliviera 46 rushes, 334 yards, 1 TD

ILB Jake Disterhaupt (out for UNC game) 51 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT

With all the problems on the defensive side for UND, their offense will need to step it up to be able to compete with the high scoring Bears attack. I think they’ll need a heavy dose of Santiago/Oliviera to get their second home win. UNC may look to Riek a little more than usual in this game, but Knipp should be a top performer as well.

Prediction: Northern Colorado 35 North Dakota 27

 

Game 3: Montana @ Idaho State – Pocatello, ID – 2:30 MST

                                               

Montana has started the season 3-2, but their wins have come against teams with a combined 1-11 record against Division 1 competition.   Gresch Jensen has filled in pretty well at the QB position after Reese Phillips went down for the season a couple games ago. The Griz have struggled on defense giving up over 315 passing yards and over 158 rushing yards per game. Their only saving grace has been forcing 11 turnovers, but the offense has also given up 11 turnovers on the season.   They need to take care of the ball to have a chance against such a dynamic offense in Idaho State.

The Bengals are a last second field goal by Northern Colorado away from being 4-1 coming into this game. They’ve definitely been one of the early surprises to this season considering they struggled so greatly the last two seasons winning only 2 games against Division 1 competition. Idaho State has developed a triple threat attack from RB James Madison, QB Tanner Gueller, and WR Michael Dean. However, like Montana, the Bengals have greatly struggled on defense giving up 208 rushing yards and 270 passing yards per game.

Leaders for UM:

QB Gresch Jensen 64-108 for 847 yards, 4 INTs, 6 TDs

RB Jeremy Calhoun 85 rushes, 350 yards, 5 TDs

LB James Banks 52 total tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks

S Justin Strong 23 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 3 INTs

Leaders for ISU:

QB Tanner Gueller 85-149 for 1345 yards, 5 INTs, 12 TDs

RB James Madison 74 rushes, 422 yards, 3 TDs

WR Michael Dean 21 receptions, 396 yards, 5 TDs

LB Mario Jenkins 59 total tackles, 5.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF

Two high-powered offenses facing two pretty weak defenses is a tough game to predict outside of assuming the score will likely be high. With the game being indoors, there will be no weather complications, so this game will come down to turnovers.   I think Montana has the slight advantage with all their capable turnover inducing DBs. The Bengals are at home, though, so this is basically a toss-up.

Prediction: Montana 43 Idaho State 42

 

Game 4: #8 Illinois State @ Northern Arizona – Flagstaff, AZ – 5:00 MST

                                               

The Redbirds come in as the one of the top 10 teams in the country according to the AGS poll. They are undefeated, but they haven’t exactly faced a murderer’s row of a schedule. Things only get tougher for them as their final 7 opponents have a combined 21-7 record. Their strength so far has been Jake Kolbe running the show at QB posting a 152.65 efficiency rating. Finding a weakness is tough, but they are just 33% on third down conversions.

Northern Arizona has had a schedule similar to Montana State where most other teams would have lost the same amount of games with the same schedule. They have a loss to FBS Arizona and another to #9 South Dakota State. Their wins have come against Cal Poly and Northern Colorado. One impressive factor with their last two wins has been they have shut down their opponents to their lowest scoring output of the season. The Jacks have struggled against the run giving up 240 yards per game.

Leaders for ISU:

QB Jake Kolbe 73-117 for 1069 yards, 2 INTs, 6 TDs

WR Christian Gibbs 18 receptions, 344 yards, 4 TDs

LB Tyree Horton 29 total tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF

Leaders for NAU:

QB Case Cookus 97-157 for 1204 yards, 3 INTs, 9 TDs

WR Elijah Marks 31 receptions, 468 yards, 3 TDs

S Kam’Ron Johnson 25 total tackles, 2 TFL, 3 INTs

With two varying styles it’s tough to predict how this game is going to go. Illinois State is one of the top 10 teams in the country and bring in a defense that can shut down NAU’s elite offense. The Lumberjacks will need to slow down the Redbirds’ offense to keep this one close.

Prediction: Illinois State 31 Northern Arizona 20

 

Game 5: Cal Poly @ Southern Utah – Cedar City, UT – 6:00 MST

                                             

The season could not have started any worse for Cal Poly. Coming off a playoff appearance, hopes were high for the Mustangs. However, they opened with a loss to Colgate and things went downhill from there. A close road loss to Northern Iowa provided hope, but they’ve lost two more since that point. With Joe Protheroe lost for the season, they’ve needed someone to step up as the focal point of the triple option attack. QB Khaleel Jenkins did have a solid performance against Idaho State running for 202 yards, so that should provide hope going forward.

Southern Utah has had an up and down season so far. After a tough loss to offensive juggernaut FBS Oregon, the T-Birds slaughtered Stephen F. Austin, and posted an impressive home victory over Northern Iowa. They followed that up with a blowout loss to Sacramento state where they seemingly couldn’t stop anything. Their rushing defense seemed to be a strength after holding UNI and SFA to a combined 19 yards, but they then gave up 333 yards on the ground against Sac State. At this point, it’s hard to know what you’re going to get from Southern Utah. It helps that they are coming off a bye week.

Leaders for Cal Poly:

QB Khaleel Jenkins 28-66 for 597 yards, 2 INTs, 8 TDs – 96 rushes, 377 yards, 4 TDs

RB Jared Mohamed 102 rushes, 431 yards

LB RJ Mazolewski 36 total tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF

Leaders for Southern Utah:

QB Patrick Tyler 62-108 for 811 yards, 5 INTs, 6 TDs

WR Landen Measom 17 receptions, 349 yards, 2 TDs

LB Chinedu Ahanonu 39 total tackles, 7 TFL, 1 sack, 2 FF

After Southern Utah’s struggles against Sacramento State’s spread offensive attack, you have to think that bodes well for Cal Poly. Southern Utah will need to get their offense going the way they did against SFA.

Prediction: Southern Utah 40 Cal Poly 35

 

Game 6: Eastern Washington @ UC-Davis – Davis, CA – 6:00 PST

                                                

The Eagles struggled mightily to start the season, but they have regained form since then rattling off three straight wins averaging 52 points per game. Consistency on both offense and defense was a weakness in their early losses to Texas Tech and North Dakota State. We haven’t seen much from EWU’s run game so far, but the last three games it hasn’t really been necessary as Gage Gubrud has been on a tear. Like many Big Sky teams, the defense has been a struggle. Eastern has given up 213 yards per game on the ground and 281.6 through the air.

UC-Davis has had a great start to the season in comparison to recent years. New coach Dan Hawkins must be making some great changes, especially to the offense. It was a surprise that they only scored 3 against Weber State, because they have moved the ball so easily the rest of the season.   QB Jake Maier has arguably had just as good of a season as EWU All-American Gage Gubrud. The Aggies have been futile against the run allowing 229.6 yards per game.

Leaders for EWU:

QB Gage Gubrud 140-220 for 1736 yards, 6 INTs, 13 TDs

WR Nic Sblendorio 41 receptions, 385 yards, 2 TDs

WR Nsimba Webster 34 receptions, 386 yards, 1 TD

S Mitch Fettig 48 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack

Leaders for UCD:

QB Jake Maier 125-174 for 1685 yards, 5 INTs, 12 TDs

WR Keelan Doss 41 receptions, 662 yards, 4 TDs

WR Wesley Preece 20 receptions, 319 yards, 4 TDs

LB Ryan Bua 28 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 3 FRs

This will be yet another battle of two high-powered offenses against two relatively weak defenses. Eastern Washington has found success when they’ve been able to take the lead early, but they also proved they can come from behind in the game against Montana. Both teams need to take care of the ball. Eastern has 12 turnovers on the season, and UC-Davis has 10.

Prediction: Eastern Washington 45 UC-Davis 38

The FCS Wedge – 2017-1004 – WEEK 6 PREVIEW

In this week 6 preview Lance leads Kris down the road to a discussion of a few of the leagues (CAA, Southland, SoCon, & BSC) to see who it looks like might pose a challenge to the top dogs in each conference. They will cover a few more conferences next week as well as the rest the week after that.

The top games of the week rating a L&K discussion are as follows:

Youngstown State @ South Dakota

Western Carolina @ Wofford

Illinois State @ Northern Arizona

Jacksonville State @ Austin Peay

Albany @ Richmond

Western Illinois @ Northern Iowa

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Patriot League: Week 5 Recap and Power Rankings

The teams in the Patriot League tried their hardest to replicate last week’s nightmare. Slightly less alarming point totals and a solid road win by Colgate over their rival Cornell prevented week 5 from reaching week 4’s dumpster fire mess. Holy Cross, who had built up quite a bit of momentum nationally, suffered a horrible league loss to previously winless Lafayette. After beating New Hampshire and finding their way into the national rankings the Crusaders have fallen flat on their face the last two weeks. Lehigh and Fordham continue to be the biggest underachievers in FCS thanks to two of the worst defenses in the subdivision. Bucknell was latest team to take it on the chin from Monmouth. The Bison need to figure out a way to run the ball if they want get back into the league race. Georgetown has major issues on both sides of the ball which will make winning another game an uphill battle.

Harvard 41 Georgetown 2

Georgetown (1-3, 0-0) lost their third game in a row as they fell to Harvard (2-1) in decisive fashion at RFK Stadium. The Hoyas were playing without starting quarterback Tim Benson for the second straight game and simply couldn’t get anything going on offense in the first half (70 total yards) to keep up with a quality Crimson squad. Clay Norris (13-29 129 yards 0 TD 1 INT) once again got the starting nod in Benson’s absence. Isaac Ellsworth was the lone Hoya to have success racking up yards against Harvard. The senior RB/KR racked up 282 all-purpose yards in the loss. The Georgetown defense was able to hang in for the first 15 minutes of the game but the flood gates eventually opened up in the 2nd quarter.

Harvard was able to jump on the board first thanks to their special teams. Justice Shelton-Mosely 91 yard punt return with 12:38 left in the opening quarter gave the Crimson an early 7-0 lead. Harvard made it 14-0 a few minutes later when Charlie Booker’s 11 yard TD run capped a 10 play 66 yard drive. Harvard’s defense got in on the action when Raishaun McGree returned a Norris pass 23 yards for a pick six to stretch the lead to 21-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. Following a Harvard FG, Georgetown finally got points when the snap went over the punters head and out of the end zone for a safety. The Hoyas were unable to fully take advantage of the mistake as they fumbled the ensuing free kick back to Harvard. 58 seconds later Booker added his second rushing TD of the game to give Harvard a commanding 31-2 half time lead.

Up Next: Georgetown travels to Central New Jersey to take on Princeton. The Tigers took down the Hoyas 31-17 last year.

Lafayette 10 Holy Cross 7

Lafayette (1-4, 1-0) made sure their first win of the John Garrett era was both thrilling and stunning. The Leopards took down the recently anointed Patriot League favorite Crusaders (2-3, 0-1) thanks to a 43 yard FG by Jeffrey Kordenbrock as clock hit zero. The Leopards were able to pull off the upset despite their offense amassing a total of 220 yards. Factored into that total is a beyond ugly -6 yards on the ground. Lafayette now ranks 122nd in FCS (out of 123 teams) in rushing with an 11.4 per game average. The star of the day for the Leopards was the defense. They held Pujals (26-47 191 yards) and company well below their season averages for points and yards in the win. The defining play of the game came when Crusader head coach Tom Gilmore elected to go for a 4th and 1 on their own 33 with less than 2 minutes. On the play, Lafayette’s Brandon Bryant stonewalled Diquan Walker to give the ball back to his offense in ridiculously good field position.

Holy Cross drove deep into Lafayette territory on their second and third possessions of the game but failed to score (downs/missed FG). The Crusader’s fortunes would change the 4th time their offense touched the ball. Miles Alexander rambled in from 9 yards to give the Crusaders a 7-0 lead with 11:47 left in the 2nd quarter to cap a grinding 9 play 55 yard drive. The game would remain a defensive slugfest until the final seconds of the 3rd quarter. That’s when Leopard quarter Sean O’Malley (27-40 226 yards 1 TD 3 INT) found Rocco Palumbo (7 rec 78 yards 1 TD) for a 32 yard touchdown. The game would ultimately come down to Gilmore’s decision to gamble on the 4th one 1 on his own 33 yard line. The calculation ultimately proved wrong which could prove very costly for the Crusader’s and perhaps even Gilmore down the road.

Up Next: Holy Cross hosts a red hot Monmouth team while Lafayette welcomes Fordham in an important Patriot League contest.

Colgate 21 Cornell 7

Colgate (2-3, 0-0) used a strong defensive performance to take down their long-time rival Cornell (0-3) in Ithaca. The return of preseason All-American Pat Afriyie was a very obvious boost to the defense that got run over by Furman the week before. So much so that Afriyie and company set a school record for sacks (9) in a single game. The offense also played better after struggling mightily the previous 3 weeks. Grant Brenerman (13-21 119 yards 2 TD, 25 yards rushing 1 TD) had his most effective game of year in the win which is the main reason the “O” clicked a little better.  In many ways it was a vintage “Colgatesque” win; run the ball, control the clock and play sound defense. With league play about to start Coach Hunt has to be feeling quite a bit better after the rough 1-3 start.

Both teams made key 4th down stops in the 1st quarter to keep the game scoreless through the first 15 minutes of action. Colgate finally broke the 0-0 tie with 10:42 left in the 2nd quarter when Brenerman hit Thomas Ives for a 7 yard TD. Brenerman added a rushing TD on Colgate’s next possession to extend the lead to 14-0. The 8 yard TD scamper capped a grueling 12 play 64 yard drive. Cornell would close the gap to 14-7 with 1:25 remaining in the 3rd quarter. They would get no closer as the Raiders would march 50 yards in 15 plays for the game clinching TD. Colgate’s defense would finish the game with 3 straight interceptions to preserve the win.

Up Next: Colgate returns to Andy Kerr to play long time league rival Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks ran away from the Raiders in the second half last year on their way to victory.

Yale 41 Fordham 10

Yale (3-0) got off to a quick start and never looked back in a dominating 31 point win over Fordham (1-4, 0-0) at Jack Coffey Field. The loss sends Fordham into league play on their first 3 game losing streak since 2011. The Rams went on to finish a dreadful 1-10 that year. Fordham’s defense was once again gashed on the ground (227 yards). The Eli racked up 416 total yards on a rather modest, by today’s standards, 56 total plays. On a positive note, preseason All-American running back Chase Edmonds (16 carries 83 yards) returned to action after missing the previous 3 games with an ankle injury. If Fordham wants to salvage their season by winning the league Edmonds has to shine. In order for that to happen the offensive line must play better. Anderson has been harassed all season which has greatly reduced the offense’s effectiveness.

The game started with a quick 3 and out by the Ram offense. The Eli offense then got things going with a brisk 5 play 60 yard TD drive on their opening possession of the game. Yale then made it 14-0 the next time they touched the ball. Following another 3 and out by the Ram offense the Eli struck again with a short 4 play 38 yard TD. As a result of the early onslaught Fordham was down 21-0 with 2:34 left in the opening quarter. The Ram “O” finally got things going the next time they touched the ball. Unfortunately, they could only manage a FG following a 14 play 63 yard drive that reached the Yale 13 yard line. The Eli would really step on the Ram’s throat following the FG. DeShawn Salter scored his second TD of the game with 7:36 left in the 2nd quarter to make the score 28-3. Fordham had two chances before half to climb back into the game but a missed FG and failed 4th down at the Yale 13 yard line resulted in zero points.

Up Next: The Rams begin league on the road against Lafayette. Fordham won 54-38 shootout against the Leopards last year in the Bronx.

Wagner 37 Lehigh 20

Wagner (2-3) added to Lehigh’s 2015 misery by notching an impressive 17 point win over the Mountain Hawks (0-5, 0-0) on a blustery night on Staten Island. The Lehigh “D” was gouged for the 5th straight game in the loss. The Seahawks racked up 249 yards on the ground and 205 through the air in the win. The Mountain Hawks rush defense, or lack there of, now ranks 120th (287 ypg allowed) out of 123 teams in FCS. The Lehigh offense was able to move the ball but Mayes’s (18-45 309 yards 0 TD 5 INT) 5 interceptions put a halt on too many scoring opportunities. The Mountain Hawks need to be virtually flawless on offense to overcome their historically bad defense. The pressure might have finally gotten to Mayes (who now ranks 1st in FCS in passing yards) given his uncharacteristically poor performance. The loss sent Lehigh to their second 0-5 start in the last 4 years.

For the first time all season Lehigh scored the opening points of the game. Dom Bragalone’s 26 yards TD run finished off a 5 play 83 yard drive that gave Lehigh an early 7-0 lead. As has been the case all year, the Lehigh defense allowed an opponent to go right down the field following a scoring drive. This time it took the Seawolves only 78 seconds to tie the game at 7. Lehigh would retake the lead with 10:43 left in the 2nd when Mayes scored on a 3 yard quarterback keeper. Wagner would respond with a FG and TD before half to take a narrow 17-14 lead into the locker room. The Seawolves took firm control of the game by scoring on their first two possessions of the second half

Up Next: Lehigh heads to the Central New York to take on Colgate in the Patriot League opener for teams. The Mountains Hawks beat the Raiders 45-31 last year.

Monmouth 35 Bucknell 13

Bucknell (2-3, 0-1) was the latest Patriot League team to try their luck against Monmouth (4-1) and come up woefully short. The Hawks were able to shut down Bucknell’s struggling offense in the dominating win. The Bison were held under 100 yards rushing for the fourth time in five games. Until the Bison can figure out a way to get the rushing attack (117th in FCS) going on a consistent basis they have almost no chance to beat the better teams on their schedule. DeFloria has 205 total yards rushing through 5 games after rushing for over 1,000 yards last year. Bucknell doesn’t have the firepower at the receiver position to be as one dimensional as they are. Matt Muh has played reasonably well at quarterback but he nor anyone else in the passing game is scaring anyone.

It took Monmouth little time to jump out to a 7-0 lead. Freshman RB Peter Guerriero’s six yard TD run finished off a 6 play 79 yard drive that gave the Hawks the lead with 12:16 remaining in the opening quarter. Bucknell had a chance to respond early in the 2nd quarter but a bad snap on a 31 yard FG attempt resulted in an interception on the scramble drill. Monmouth made the Bison pay by going 86 yards in 9 plays to take a 14-0 lead. Bucknell returned the favor a few minutes later following an interception of their own. John Chiarolanzio’s 3 yard TD toss to Marcus Ademilola closed the gap to 14-6 (blocked XP). It wouldn’t take Monmouth long to get the lead back to two possessions. Less than 2 minutes after Bucknell cut the Monmouth lead to 8 points, Vinny Grasso busted loose for a 39 TD run to push the Hawk advantage to 21-6. Monmouth put the game away with two 4+ minute touchdown drives in the 3rd quarter.

Up Next: Bucknell gets a much needed bye week to try and get the offensive line/rushing attack going. They finsh the out of conference portion of their sechedule October 14th against Cornell in Ithaca.

Power Rankings

  1. Colgate – More by default than by merit at this point. The win over Cornell was nice but a win over Lehigh would be much more important in the grand scheme of things.
  2. Holy Cross – The loss to Lafayette will leave the faithful in Worcester scratching their heads for years. They need to right the ship quickly to salvage a once promising season.
  3. Bucknell – They were outgunned outgunned Monmouth but have a bye week to recover.
  4. Fordham – The out of conference portion of the schedule was a disaster. However, a win over Lafayette would change the vibe in the Bronx.
  5. Lafayette – The Leopards pulled off arguably the biggest upset the league has seen this decade. Despite the win over Holy Cross they’re still underdogs against the Rams.
  6. Lehigh – At 0-5 the Mountain Hawks are FCS’s biggest disappointment. The defense remains a mess and the offense is starting to crack.
  7. Georgetown – The offensive is non-existent and the defense isn’t up to recent standards. Another win might be hard to come by.

The FCS Wedge – 2017-1004 – WEEK 5 REVIEW

Lance & Kris give us a rundown on all the top teams and matchups from the last weekend and the surprising number of teams that got toppled. Seems like we have a week like this one every year, and if we’re lucky, we get two of them!

The lads review these particular games this week:

Youngstown State 19 South Dakota State 7

Samford 35 The Citadel 14

Central Arkansas 41 Sam Houston State 30

Weber State 25 Montana State 17

Austin Peay 7 Tennessee Martin 0

Elon 6 Albany 0

James Madison 20 Delaware 10

Check them out this week.

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SOCON: Week 6 Preview

Week 6 in the Southern Conference may prove to be as disruptive as the previous week. In what is obviously the game of the week in the conference, and maybe in all of FCS, the Western Carolina Catamounts travel to Spartanburg to meet the Wofford Terriers in a pivotal conference game. The Citadel hosts the Mercer Bears in a key game both teams. Samford travels to Lexington Virginia to meet the VMI Keydets. The Furman Paladins take on the Chattanooga Mocs. And finally The Bucs of ETSU host Robert Morris.

Regardless of who wins in Spartanburg, both WCU and Wofford will still be sitting comfortably in the conference. If Mercer loses, they will be done.  If The Citadel loses, they will most likely be in win out situation.  Same goes for Furman.  Chattanooga could all of a sudden come alive, but it is a steep road due to their personnel issues. ETSU could play spoiler, but they will not go the distance unblemished. Samford will not lose and be right there sitting at one loss.  But it is the SOCON, and with half the conference games decided by a score or less already, anything is possible.

Since I am on the road, at the beach with my wife, I will be making more condensed summaries. Please check out the detailed stats at the links for the SOCON and team notes.

SOCON Notes

#20 WCU at #6 Wofford  1:30PM ESPN3 WCU notes Wofford notes

The Catamounts have been on a roll lately. Now at 4-1, 2-0, WCU is poised to take a huge step forward if they can knock off Wofford (4-0, 2-0), the preseason SOCON favorite.   The winner will be the only remaining unbeaten team in conference play and in the early drivers seat for the conference title.  The game will feature WCU’s steamrolling offense against Wofford’s stout defense. And Wofford’s grinding, time consuming option attack against the Catamounts rejuvenated, but largely untested, defense. WCU’s defense was tested against Samford’s prolific passing attack a couple weeks ago. They won that game, but they gave up 600+ yards. They obviously will not give up that many yards against Wofford’s option offense, but the question remains, can they get enough stops against a Wofford offense that has been historically competent, but a little uneven this year?

Turnovers are Wofford’s, or any option team’s, Achilles heel. This will be especially true against as potent an offense as WCU seems to have this year. If Wofford holds onto the ball and cashes in most of its long drives, it will probably be enough to win. On defense they need to merely get some stops.  They will not stop WCU every time.  WCU has too many potent weapons on offense. But if Wofford keeps the ball away from them, WCU’s offense can’t score. All that said, Wofford needs to play passable on special teams as well and not give WCU any short fields, if able.

On the flip side, if WCU can get Wofford into a hole and force them to pass more, something they can do, but obviously are not as proficient at, WCU can control the tempo. The Terriers do pass fairly well, and something that the they have always been good at is blending their passing game into their running scheme. If Western can get a few stops and rob Wofford of some potentially long drives, they will force their type of game on Wofford. Wofford has been proficient, but not dominating on defense. WCU needs to mix it up and make the Terriers defense earn it on every play. The Cats dual threat QB and outstanding running backs can make that happen.

This will be a close game. Both teams will be fighting hard for the conference lead. In the end, the nod goes to Wofford, if for nothing else: experience. They have a more veteran team and will handle the pressure better. Wofford takes it at home 28-24.

Mercer at #21 The Citadel 2PM ESPN3 Mercer notes The Citadel notes

It was a tough loss last Saturday for The Citadel Bulldogs, 3-1, 1-1. Down 35-0 early in the second quarter was humbling for them. But they made a good show of it after that. They simply ran out of gas after driving deep into Samford territory on numerous occasions and coming up empty and eventually lost 35-14. The Mercer Bears, 2-3, 1-2, started slow last week, but had a blow out win over VMI in the end. Since joining the SOCON three years ago, Mercer has yet to beat the Bulldogs. They are 0-3 against the Dogs, but they lost those three games by a total of 5 points. Wow.

The Citadel got stuffed last week by a pretty determined Samford defense that had been maligned by many. Mercer’s defense is pretty decent. Last year they held the Dogs running game in check for most of the game. They may do even better this year. The Bulldogs offensive line has not been as dominant as it was. There are lots of freshman on it. But an additional difference from last year is a freshman stater, versus an All American, at the critical B-Back position. There is still a bit of work in progress as a result. The dual QB strategy has also been in use for many games so far this year for the Dogs. Both QBs have had ups and downs. Not sure if a real controversy is occurring or not. But both are good players and supportive teammates so even if there is a competition, no big deal. If Mercer can slow the Dogs running game down and get just a few stops, they will be sitting pretty considering their offensive capabilities.

Mercer seems to have found a pretty good freshman QB. They have some fairly decent receivers and running backs as well. There is little doubt that Mercer will try to emulate Samford’s magic last week by tossing some deep balls and trying to put the Bulldogs in a hole quickly. Whether there are actual cracks in the Dogs defense or last week was just a one-off, horrendous performance, is yet to be seen.

Mercer went toe to toe with Wofford and held up well against Auburn by mainly forcing turnovers. When you couple the Bears abilities with a burning desire to finally beat the Bulldogs, especially considering the Bulldogs may be down, Mercer will probably win this. Look for a close victory by the Bears, 27-24.

#22 Samford at VMI 1:30PM  ESPN3  Samford notes  VMI notes

Samford has one of the most potent offenses in FCS. VMI has a pretty bad defense overall. VMI also has a really bad offense and Samford has a defense that appears to be coming alive. Result: it may get really ugly in Lexington this week.

I see Samford taking this opportunity to really try and improve it running game. VMI does have some pretty good linebackers and it will be a good test for Samford to see if they can sustain any sort of running game. The Samford coach would be foolish to not try and run a bit more this game. If it sounds like this game will be a scrimmage, it will. Samford is that good and VMI is that bad. Samford wins easily 52-10.

Furman at Chattanooga  4PM  ESPN3 Furman notes  UTC notes

This game should have been a big one with a lot at stake in regard to the SOCON race. It might still have an impact if Chattanooga wins. Furman, 2-3, 1-1, is two scores from being 4-1 with tight losses to ranked Wofford and Elon. They seem to be coming together nicely under first year head coach Clay Hendrix. That is good news for the Paladin faithful who have been lost in the wilderness for the last few years.

On the flip side, Chattanooga, 1-4. 1-1, has probably fallen faster than any FCS ranked team from last year. Also under a new head coach, Tom Arth, the Mocs faithful, may not be nearly as faithful if the slide continues. The big problem for the Mocs is on offense. They scored 63 against VMI, but most of those were short field gifts from the Keydets. Take away that game and they have scored 13, 10, 7, and 7 points in each of their other games. This is not last year’s Chattanooga team for sure. To top it off, they lost their starting QB in camp to academics, then they got him back last week, then they lost him on their first drive last week. Then they lost their previous starter as well later in the same game. They are down to a freshman walk-on as QB or maybe pulling a red shirt off another. The extent of the injuries to the other two veteran QBs is still TBD.  They have also been down from injuries or other suspension issues on defense. Yes, the Mocs have issues. It may be a couple years until they return to form. What they did not need this week was a seemingly hot Furman team coming to town seeking some redemption after having dropped their previous five against the Mocs.

Furman has got it going on offense apparently. Their defense is a little uneven and young, but they may look real good against a decimated Mocs offense this week. In a battle of new first year coaches, Furman takes it comfortably, 31-14.

Robert Morris at ETSU 3:30PM  ESPN3  ETSU notes

The ETSU Bucs, 2-3, 1-2, are not rolling over as a still relatively new team. They scored a good OT win over Mercer, and played The Citadel and Furman close for a good portion of those games. They get better and better every game. You can see the confidence of the young Bucs rising every week. Maybe it is their new stadium. They have a decent QB who has a nice touch when needed. Their defense has not been stellar, but not bad at times. They fought hard last week against Furman in what turned out to be a track meet of sorts. They scored the most points they have all year last week, 35. Look for them to continue with that offensive momentum this week as they knock off Robert Morris, 28-17.