Kris & Lance give us a recap of the week 2 action with discussions about several games and talk of UNH’s victory over GSU as well as an exciting games between MSU/SDSU and a couple we expected much more of like EWU/NDSU and Monmouth/Lehigh along with several others.
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Week 2 of the Patriot League season saw all seven teams in action. The big winner of the weekend was Holy Cross who notched a key league road victory over Bucknell. Georgetown also has to feel good about how the weekend went. The Hoya’s escaped North Carolina with a narrow win over future Big South member Campbell. Fordham overcame several key injuries in a comeback win over Central Connecticut State. All-American RB Chase Edmonds was one of the Rams that went down in the “W”. Meanwhile, Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh all came up short in their out of conference games. The Raiders put forth an excellent performance against #10 Richmond before falling by a FG. The same can’t be said for Lafayette and Lehigh who were run over and around in their double digit defeats.
Holy Cross 20 Bucknell 0
The Crusaders (1-1, 1-0) got off to a 1-0 start in Patriot League play by using a dominant defensive performance last Saturday against the Bucknell Bison (1-1, 0-1). Overall, Holy Cross’s defense has looked very good to start the year. The Crusaders held FBS UConn in check for most of the game prior to notching their first shutout in nearly two years (10/15 against Lafayette) in the win over the Bison. While Bucknell’s offensive troubles have been well documented, Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore and his staff have to be happy with what they’ve seen from the defense so far this season. On the other hand, Bucknell head coach Joe Susan has to be concerned about the offense, espically the offensive line. The O-line must develop some sort of consistency if the Bison want to post a winning season in 2017. Their talented running back duo of DeFloria and Freshnock were held under a 100 combined yards (58 against HC) for the second straight game to start the season.
Bucknell’s troubles started early in their loss to Holy Cross. The Bison fumbled the opening kickoff which led to a Diquan Walker (10 rushes 72 yards 2 TDs) touchdown run a few plays later. The Crusaders extended their lead to 10-0 late in the 1st quarter when A.J. Well knocked through a 26 yard FG. Following another Bison fumble, Wells tacked on 3 more points to extend the lead to 13-0. Diquan Walker’s second TD of the day in the 3rd quarter closed out the scoring for the game.
Bucknell had 8 first half possessions; 3 ended via fumbles, 3 with punts, 1 on downs and 1 on a missed FG. The Bison managed just 214 total yards for the game.
Up Next: Both teams take on opponents from the CAA this week. Holy Cross welcomes New England rival New Hampshire to Worcester while Bucknell heads to Williamsburg, VA to take on William & Mary.
Fordham 38 Central Connecticut State 31
Fordham (1-1, 0-0) might have lost the war of attrition but the Rams managed to escape with the ultimate victory against a game Central Connecticut State (0-2) team Saturday afternoon. The Rams lost All-American running back Chase Edmonds in the 2nd quarter with an ankle injury and his backup Jarred Brevard had to be taken off the field on a stretcher in the 3rd quarter after suffering an apparent broken leg. The Rams were also without starting WR Austin Longi on offense. Given the numerous injuries, Fordham showed tremendous resiliency in the victory over the Blue Devils after putting forth a very lackluster performance against Army the week prior.
The Rams had to battle from the start against Central Connecticut after the Blue Devil’s Tajik Bagley returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a TD. CCSU tacked on a FG and a defensive TD in the opening 5 minutes of the game to take a 17-0 lead before everyone was settled in their seat. Fordham would get on the board late in 1st quarter when Kevin Anderson (17-29 265 yards 3 TD 1 INT, 37 yards rushing 1 TD) scrambled for a 7 yard TD. Anderson added two 2nd quarter touchdown passes to give Fordham a 21-17 lead. However, CCSU would retake the lead 24-21 right before half. The Blue Devils extended their lead to 31-21 following an 8 play 78 yard drive that ended in a Cameron Nash TD run. Now down 10 Fordham would once again pick themselves off of the canvas. Anderson tossed his 3rd pass of the game and Kyle Facibene converted a 40 yard FG to even the score at 31. Then with 1:27 left in regulation Lawrenc Menyah intercepted a Jake Dolegala pass and turned it 29 yards for the game winning score.
Up Next: Fordham welcomes FCS power Eastern Washington to the Bronx for an enticing out conference matchup between the Patriot League and Big Sky.
Monmouth 46 #19 Lehigh 27
For the second straight season Lehigh (0-2, 0-0) opened their season with losses to Villanova and Monmouth (2-0). While the Mountain Hawks were able to reel off 9 straight wins last season on the way to the Patriot League title, the odds of Lehigh duplicating the feat two years in a row are certainly stacked against them. The biggest issue for Lehigh remains their defense, more specifically their rush defense. The Monmouth Hawks were able to rack up 351 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground in the win. Freshman Monmouth RB Peter Guerriero led the way with 189 yards and 2 TDs on 25 carries.
Guerriero got Monmouth off to a blazing start when he returned the opening kickoff 70 yards. The Hawks were able to take advantage of the excellent field position thanks to Devell Jones 6 yard TD run. Monmouth’s defense also rose to the occasion early in in the game. The Hawks “D” was able to turn Lehigh over on downs on the Mountain Hawk’s first possession. Following the change of possession Guerriero struck again. This time the freshman raced untouched up the middle for a 71 yard TD to push the Monmouth lead to 14-0. Lehigh would finally wake up and respond with 2 Brad Mayes (23-38 334 yards 3 TD 1 INT) TD passes to tie the game at 14. The Mountain Hawks would eventually grab a 21-20 half time lead. On the second play from scrimmage in the 3rd quarter Lehigh extended their cushion to 27-20 when Mayes hit slot receiver Luke Christiano for a 54 yard TD. From that point on it would be all Monmouth. The Hawks scored two 3rd quarter touchdowns to take a 33-27 lead heading into the final 15 minutes. They added 2 more scores in the 4th quarter to win going away. It was Monmouth’s 3rd straight win over Lehigh after losing the first 5 games in the series.
Lehigh suffered two key injuries in the loss. Leading WR Luke Christiano (13 rec 247 yards 2 TDs) is likely lost for the year with a broken bone in his hand and starting RB Dominic Bragalone suffered a shoulder injury that will possibly sideline him for a few weeks.
Up Next: Lehigh returns home to face Yale. The Mountain Hawks flew past Yale 63-35 last year in New Haven. The Eli will be playing their first game of the year.
#10 Richmond 20 #21 Colgate 17
Richmond (1-1) needed a late FG to sneak past Colgate(1-1, 0-0) in a battle of ranked teams in Hamilton, NY. The Raiders defense proved once again it was one of the top units in FCS by holding the high flying Spider attack in check for 60 minutes. Colgate’s “D” held Richmond to 62 total rushing yards and stopped the Spiders twice on downs inside the Raider 10 yard line in the 1st half to keep the game within reach. Unfortunately for Colgate, the offense continues to search for a passing attack. Starting QB Carmine Scarfone was replaced by Grant Brenamen early in the game but the results didn’t change much. Despite the lack of balance the Raider ground attack performed well (201 yards).
After a scoreless opening 15 minutes Colgate took a 7-0 lead in the 2nd quarter when Brenamen (10-21 99 yards 1 TD 1 INT) connected with Alex Greenawalt for a 7 yard TD pass. Richmond tied the game on their next possession when Deontez Thompson found paydirt from 5 yards away. Colgate was able to reclaim the lead early in the second half. RB James Holland plunged into the end zone from a yard out to push the Raiders ahead 14-7 with 8:06 left in the 3rd quarter. The Spiders would score the games next 10 points to take a 17-14 lead midway through the 4th quarter. Chris Puzzi’s 25 yard FG tied the game up with 3:58 left in regulation. Richmond’s offense was able to respond on their ensuing possession. Spider QB Kyle Lauletta led a 9 play 64 yard drive that culminated in Trau Griffin’s go-ahead 27 yard FG. The Raiders had one last chance but Grant Breneman was intercepted on 1st down with 1:23 left in the game.
Up Next: Colgate heads to Western New York to face FBS Buffalo. The Raiders defeated the Bulls in 2003 on their to the national title game.
Georgetown 16 Campbell 10
After an opening week bye, the extra wait to start the 2017 season was worth it for Georgetown (1-0, 0-0). The Hoyas used a strong defensive performance to sneak past Campbell (1-1). Georgetown forced 4 turnovers (including one scoop and score) and 10 Camel punts in the Hoya’s 6 point win. Campbell’s offense was coming off a 70 point effort in their season opener so the Hoya’s have to be feeling good about how the defense performed in game 1. Meanwhile, the veteran offense struggled at times (8 1st downs, 294 yards) in Tim Barnes’s return under center. One positive on offense was the 114 rushing yards. Georgetown struggled mightily to establish any semblance of a ground attack in 2016 so to start the year by going over the century mark has to make Coach Sgarlata pleased.
The 1st half was an uphill battle for both teams on offense. Georgetown’s Brad Hurst booted a 42 yard FG for the only points during the first 30 minutes of play. The Camels took their first lead of the game thanks to a 9 play, 67 yard TD drive on their opening possession of the 2nd half. The Hoyas would immediately respond with a touchdown march of their own. Tim Barnes (14-28 180 yards 1 TD 2 INT) hit Michael Dereus for a 32 yard strike to put the Hoyas back in front at 10-7. Campbell would tie the game at 10 early in the 4th quarter. Georgetown’s winning TD came on Jelani Williamson’s scoop and score fumble recovery with 1:27 left in the game. The Hoya defense came up with one more big play to secure the win. CB David Akere intercepted Campbell’s Anthony Robbins with 34 seconds left to end the game.
Up next: Georgetown hosts Marist Saturday afternoon. The Hoyas defeated the Red Foxes 20-17 last year.
Sacred Heart 38 Lafayette 24
The Lafayette (0-2, 0-0) defense could not slow down the Pioneers rushing attack (287 yards) Saturday evening as the Leopards failed get John Garrett his first career win. In total, Sacred Heart (2-0) rolled up 504 yards in the 14 point win over Lafayette in Easton. Not only couldn’t Lafayette stop the Pioneers rushing attack, they couldn’t establish one of their own. The Leopards tallied a scant 40 rushing yards against the Pioneer defense. This is after posting -1 yards rushing against Monmouth to open the year. One bright spot for Lafayette in the loss was the performance of freshman quarterback Sean O’Malley (25-44 287 yards 3 TD 1 INT). Until the Leopards have some semblance of a rushing attack O’Malley will be forced to carry the offense.
Lafayette got off to strong start in their home opener. The Leopard’s tallied a FG on their second possession of the game and a touchdown the next time they touched the ball to take a 10-0 lead with 9:09 remaining in the opening quarter. Sacred Heart would even the score at 10 in the second quarter with a FG and touched of their own. The Pioneers put together two 9 play touchdown drives in the 3rd quarter to take 24-10 lead into the final stanza. Ose Imeokpari’s 2 yard touchdown plunge with 10:44 left in the game effectively put the game out of reach at 31-10. The Leopards would tack on 2 late touchdowns while the Pioneers added 1 to close out the scoring.
Up Next: Lafayette heads to suburban Philadelphia to take on #7 Villanova. The Wildcats defeated the Leopads 31-14 last year in Easton.
Power Rankings
Nine Missouri Valley Football Conference games this week, with Illinois State taking an early bye week.
YSU posts first shutout since Sept. 9, 2012, in 30-0 win over Robert Morris. Mays, McCaster, Rader scored TDs for the Penguins. pic.twitter.com/Tx5PDu1OZF
— YSU Football ? (@YoungstownStFB) September 9, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| RMU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| YSU | 6 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 30 |
Quick Hits:
Pretty much as expected. Robert Morris only put up 13 points a week ago in their win against Dayton. It was probably a credit to their defense that they held the Penguins to only 30 points.
Next week, Youngstown State hosts Central Connecticut State (0-2, NEC) for their “Hall of Fame Game”. Robert Morris will head back home to take on the VMI Keydets.
My Pick in Review:
I said – Penguins by 32
It was – Penguins by 30
Pretty close pick, I’d say.
Got it done today #GBO pic.twitter.com/fJ5xRfDWxN
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 9, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| INSU | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| TENN | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Quick Hits:
Pretty much “as expected” when a Top 25 FBS team takes on a team picked to finish last in their FCS conference. I think ISU did about as well as they could hope for in this game…there were some flashes of solid play at times, but not enough to overcome what the Vols were bringing to the field.
Indiana State will have another tough game next week when they head down to Virginia to take on a team transitioning to the FBS…Liberty.
Tennessee will take on the Gators of Florida in The Swamp next weekend.
My Pick in Review:
I said – Tennessee by 35
It was – Tennessee by 35
I don’t see how you get much closer than that pick.
NDSU held the ball for 24+ minutes in the 2nd half & rolled up 532 yards of offense to beat EWU. https://t.co/0F4TVFVxut
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| NDSU | 9 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 40 |
| EWU | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
Quick Hits:
Bison started off the first quarter a little slow, going into the 2nd with only a 9-7 lead and then turned the ball over twice early in the 2nd Quarter. From there it was all NDSU though, as they held Eastern Washington to 2 FGs over the rest of the game, and put up 31 points themselves.
NDSU will now take a week off to clear the smoke out of their lungs (from the nearby wildfires) and will host the currently 1-1 Robert Morris Colonials the following weekend in their “Trees Bowl” game.
EWU will head to NY and take on the 1-1 Fordham Rams next weekend.
My Pick in Review:
I said – 3 point Bison win
It was – 27 point Bison win
Ok…so I kinda underestimated the Bison defense or overestimated the Eagles offense (probably a bit of both). Margin quite a bit more than I expected, but I did get the pick right.
RECAP | Panthers Win Overtime Thriller Over Mustangs
: https://t.co/e1fIY6jRrC#UNIFight pic.twitter.com/pUuROV5ADD
— UNI Football (@UNIFootball) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Final | |
| CP | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 38 |
| UNI | 0 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 45 |
Quick Hits:
I don’t really know if UNI just had more trouble than they expected with the Cal Poly Triple Option, or if the Panther defense is not quite as good “as advertised”. The Mustangs rolled up 543 yards of offense on UNI, and if it weren’t for a couple of false start penalties on the part of Cal Poly during the overtime period, this game could very well have had a different result.
Next week, 1-1 Northern Iowa heads out to Cedar City, Utah, for another Big Sky matchup…this time with 1-1 Southern Utah.
Cal Poly meanwhile, drops to 0-3 and will head home to face fellow Big Sky member, 0-2 Northern Arizona.
My Pick in Review:
I said – 14 point UNI win
It was – 7 point UNI win
I guess I overestimated the Panther defense…still, got the pick right, and within 1 score on the margin.
If you weren’t at the @AlerusCenter yesterday, you sure missed out. A recap of the shut out victory in the 52nd annual Potato Bowl #DaybyDay pic.twitter.com/UClTfidQhV
— UND Football (@UNDfootball) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| MSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UND | 3 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 34 |
Quick Hits:
Back in 2014, Missouri State shut out North Dakota, 38-0. Three years later and the Fighting Hawks flipped the script, shutting out the Bears. Is UND’s defense just that good?…is Mizzou’s defense just that bad?…Are the Bears just a fairly young team who are probably going to have a very “up and down” season?…I don’t know for sure, but my guess is a “yes” to all three.
Missouri State is now 0-2 and will head back down to Springfield to take on the (possible future MVC member) Murray State Racers, who sit at 1-1.
North Dakota picks up their first win to go to 1-1 and will take on a likely much tougher MVFC opponent next week when they head down to take on the 2-0 South Dakota Coyotes.
My Pick in Review:
I said – UND by 7 points
It was – UND by 34 points
Not really what I was anticipating following last week’s offensive performance, but I did figure UND would win the game.
PHOTOS from tonight’s win at Bowling Green. #GoYotes #FeaRED pic.twitter.com/Xye1wtPHqw
— SouthDakota Football (@SDCoyotesFB) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| USD | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| BGSU | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 27 |
Quick Hits:
The Coyotes blew open a 21-3 lead in the 1st Quarter. Eventually, the Falcons regained their composure and started to claw their way back into the game, but USD had enough offensive capabilities to stay ahead of them until the end. I think this one kinda surprised me…not so much that USD ended up winning, but more that the game was essentially dominated by the Coyotes.
USD is now 2-0 will head back home and welcome past (and future) conference rivals UND (1-1) to the DakotaDome next weekend.
Bowling Green is 0-2 and will head to Chicago to take on the 1-1 Northwestern Wildcats.
My Pick in Review:
I said: BGSU by 3
It was: USD by 8
Missed this one. To be fair, I did say that “it would not at all surprise me to see South Dakota win a close game in Ohio”, but I didn’t think they’d come away with the win.
RECAP: #W1U improve to 2-0 following 38-20 winhttps://t.co/HUJk5YzK0n
— Leatherneck Football (@WIUfootball) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| WIU | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| NAU | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
Quick Hits:
I know it’s still early, but the Leathernecks have looked strong in their first two games, allowing a total of 57 rushing yards in two games (28.5 per game). They are 4th in the FCS in that stat, but guess what…they’re also 4th in the MVFC in that stat, because 1, 2, and 3 are SIU, IL State, and NDSU. They went into NAU’s home stadium…sitting at 7,000 ft above sea level…and took on a strong offensive team, and came away with a larger margin of victory than they did last year in Macomb.
The Leathernecks are now 2-0 and have next weekend off before heading down to take on the newly-FBS team Coastal Carolina.
Northern Arizona falls to 0-2 and will head out to Cali and take on 0-3 Cal Poly.
My Pick in Review:
I said – Leathernecks by 6
It was – Leathernecks by 18
I gotta say, I was hoping for a big win, but trying to be conservative in my prediction. So far, Western has exceeded my expectations, especially considering our starting RB has been out for all but the first bit of the first game.
RECAP | #Salukis roll through MVSU in season opener, 55-3.
Story » https://t.co/hpsKa3JPYw
— Saluki Football (@SIU_Football) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| MVSU | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| SIU | 21 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 55 |
Quick Hits:
MVSU was back for more from the MVFC after getting rolled by NDSU. Pretty much as expected, SIU also had a field day with the MVSU defense, putting up all 55 points in the first 3 quarters. There’s not too much else to say, I think…Mississippi Valley State was pretty well overmatched by the Salukis in SIU’s season and home opening game.
SIU is now 1-0 and will head just under an hour down the road to take on 0-2 Southeast Missouri State next week.
MVSU is 0-2 and, while they have completed the MVFC portion of their schedule, the road doesn’t get much easier. They have a weekend off and then their home opener with current #24 Grambling State followed by #16 Charleston Southern.
My Pick in Review:
I said – 50 point SIU win
It was – 52 point SIU win
So…there we are then.
Jackrabbits hold off Montana State https://t.co/N99bHe3GeD
— SDSU Football (@GoJacksFB) September 10, 2017
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| SDSU | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| MSU | 0 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 27 |
Quick Hits:
The Jackrabbits got ahead early, taking a 17-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter, but the Bobcats fought back, eventually being down by only 3, 24-21, at the end of the 3rd quarter. SDSU was able to stay ahead of MSU by the use of a fake FG->TD and held on to win the game. MSU actually had more offensive yards than SDSU, 491 to 426.
South Dakota State is now 2-0 and will head back home to become the second SD team to play Drake (1-1) this season after the Bulldogs lost to USD 77-7 in week 1.
Montana State drops to 0-2 and takes a week off before heading up to North Dakota for a matchup with the (currently 1-1) UND Fighting Hawks to open Big Sky play.
My Pick in Review:
I said – SDSU by 17
It was – SDSU by 4
A much closer game than I thought it was going to be with the Bobcats staying close a large part of it.
So, the MVFC went 7-2 overall this week, and 4-1 in the MVFC/Big Sky “Challenge Series”. Next weekend we’ll have NDSU and WIU taking their bye weeks, two more MVFC vs Big Sky matchups, and something of an OOC “Rivalry Week” for a few of the teams. I picked 8 out of the 9 right, missing on USD over Bowling Green, which, added to my 8-1 from last week, puts me at 16-2 so far (this is the “easy” time for picks…gets A LOT harder once conference games start up).
The AGS top 25 poll stayed pretty calm at the top after week 2 but saw some significant shifting towards the bottom. The top 5 remained unchanged with James Madison, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Sam Houston State, and Jacksonville State maintaining that top 5 order for the 2nd straight week.
The New Hampshire Wildcats jumped 4 spots up to #8 following their win over FBS Georgia Southern. Western Illinois also jumped 4 spots to #14 following their win at Northern Arizona. South Dakota leaped up 10 spots to get into the rankings at #17 following their win over FBS Bowling Green. Despite significant movement in the bottom half of the poll there were no other new teams in the top 25 this week.
Eastern Washington dropped 7 spots down to #16 following their blowout home loss to North Dakota State. Despite losing to a top 25 FBS team in LSU this week the Chattanooga Mocs dropped 4 spots to #19 following their 0-2 start. Wofford also dropped 3 spots to #9 following their lackluster 1 point win over Mercer and Colgate dropped 3 spots to #24 after a close loss to #11 Richmond. Lehigh dropped out of the top 25 after their loss to Monmouth dropped them to 0-2.
The MVFC led the way again placing 7 of their 10 teams into the top 25. They were followed by the CAA and SOCON with 4 each and the Big Sky with 3. The Southland and the MEAC each placed 2 teams into the top 25.
Full results below:
| Rank | Team | Total Points | First Place Votes |
| 1 | James Madison Dukes | 2095 | 79 |
| 2 | North Dakota State Bison | 2016 | 5 |
| 3 | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 1896 | |
| 4 | Sam Houston State Bearkats | 1790 | |
| 5 | Jacksonville State Gamecocks | 1590 | |
| 6 | Youngstown State Penguins | 1515 | |
| 7 | Villanova Wildcats | 1494 | |
| 8 | New Hampshire Wildcats | 1487 | |
| 9 | Wofford Terriers | 1473 | |
| 10 | North Dakota Fighting Hawks | 1319 | |
| 11 | Richmond Spiders | 1312 | |
| 12 | The Citadel Bulldogs | 1141 | |
| 13 | Illinois State Redbirds | 927 | |
| 14 | Western Illinois Leathernecks | 924 | |
| 15 | Central Arkansas Bears | 899 | |
| 16 | Eastern Washington Eagles | 839 | |
| 17 | South Dakota Coyotes | 683 | |
| 18 | Samford Bulldogs | 618 | |
| 19 | Chattanooga Mocs | 615 | |
| 20 | Charleston Southern Buccaneers | 392 | |
| 21 | Northern Iowa Panthers | 377 | |
| 22 | North Carolina A&T Aggies | 283 | |
| 23 | Weber State Wildcats | 244 | |
| 24 | Colgate Raiders | 212 | |
| 25 | Howard Bison | 193 | |
| ORV: | |||
| 26 | Tennessee State Tigers | 171 | |
| 27 | Maine Black Bears | 133 | |
| 28 | Nicholls State Colonels | 130 | |
| 29 | Albany Great Danes | 100 | |
| 30 | Saint Francis Red Flash | 50 | |
| 31 | Stony Brook Seawolves | 42 | |
| 32 | Portland State Vikings | 38 | |
| 33 | Montana Grizzlies | 37 | |
| 34 | Monmouth Hawks | 29 | |
| 35 | Sacred Heart Pioneers | 25 | |
| 36 | William & Mary Tribe | 24 | |
| 37t | Lehigh Mountain Hawks | 21 | |
| 37t | Southern Utah Thunderbirds | 21 | |
| 39 | Southern Illinois Salukis | 19 | |
| 40 | Grambling State Tigers | 18 | |
Most Significant Win: New Hampshire Wildcats
Most Significant Loss: Eastern Washington Eagles
This weekend in the Ohio Valley features some great FCS match ups like Tennessee Tech at Kennesaw State, Southeast Missouri State at Dayton, and a chance for Murray State to test themselves with one of the best the Southland has to offer when #16 Central Arkansas comes to visit.
#28 Tennessee State (1-0) vs. Jackson State (0-1) @ Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, TN
When: Saturday 6PM Central
Where to Watch/ Listen: Fox Sports South/ http://www.1021theville.com/
Tennessee State will meet Jackson State on Saturday night in Memphis for the 28th Annual Southern Heritage Classic. Tennessee State currently leads the series 16-9 with the last year’s meeting resulting in a 40-26 win for the Tennessee State Tigers.
This match up looks like another favorable one for Tennessee State. It’s hard to tell what Jackson State will be able to do offensively after their beatdown at TCU last week but I’m willing to bet that Tennessee State’s defense is about to have a field day. Jackson State was held to .6 yards per rush last week and only completed half of their 14 pass attempts for 41 yards.
Treon Harris will look to pick up right where he left off last week and likely thrive against a weaker defense than what we saw TSU play last week. Look for Harris to improve on his passing efficiency from last week. Harris completed less than half his passes against Georgia State, if he can show improvement it should be a good sign for the TSU offense as they move forward with their season. I also expect we will see a heavier dose of TSU’s rushing attack. The Jackson State defense gave up nearly 7 yards per rush against TCU last weekend and I expect Rod Reed will want to keep the ball on the ground if he can. After all, running the ball was a big part of their success against Georgia State.
Stick with your strengths. Don’t be the Falcons.
Prediction: Tennessee State 48 Jackson State 7
Eastern Kentucky (0-1) @ Kentucky (1-0)
When: Saturday 11AM Central
Where to Watch: SEC Network/ WatchESPN
Last time this game happened Eastern Kentucky almost pulled off one of the largest upsets the SEC has seen in years when the Wildcats had to rally in the 4th quarter to force overtime and eventually win the game.
It’s hard to say whether we will learn much more about the defense from this game than we did last week. Even if the defense improves Kentucky is still a better team than WKU… maybe. The key here for EKU is to hold onto the ball and force some turnovers. Southern Miss almost took down the Wildcats last week after giving the ball away 3 times. If EKU can stifle the run like the did against WKU this game might look a whole lot like last time.
Offensively the Colonels need to establish a rushing attack. 25 rushing yards ain’t beatin’ no one. EKU had 180 rushing yards in their last meetup with the Wildcats. This game WILL come down to which team can run the ball better and if EKU can run the ball with some degree of consistency they have a shot at doing what they should have done in 2015.
Prediction: Kentucky 28 EKU 17
UT-Martin (1-0) vs Ole Miss (1-0)
When: Saturday 11AM Central
Where to Watch: SEC Network/ WatchESPN
UT- Martin is going to have their hands full this weekend in Oxford. With any luck this won’t look like the 76-3 beatdown the Skyhawks received in Oxford two years ago. With all the happenings going on in athletic offices in Oxford this past year the Skyhawks may have a chance to keep this game respectable.
Based on the Rebel’s performance in week 1, the loss of QB Chad Kelly isn’t a big deal. Shea Patterson threw for 429 yards and 4TDs in his 47-27 debut over South Alabama. Ole Miss did have issues running the ball against USA and it will be worth watching to see how UTM’s defense can capitalize on those issues and whether they will be able to slow down Patterson. Offensively the key is to be able to hold onto the football, control the clock, and keep the defense off the field. If UT-Martin can run the ball against non-DII opponents we will find out this week and Troy Cook will need some help if the Skyhawk’s don’t want to get run out of Mississippi again.
Prediction: Ole Miss 42 UT-Martin 13
Southeast Missouri State (0-1) @ Dayton (0-1)
When: Saturday 12PM Central
Where to Watch: Youtube
With SEMO coming off a beating in Kansas and Dayton losing a close one to RMU on the road both teams will be looking to bounce back in week 2. SEMO still has a lot to prove this season if they want to show they can stay competitive in the conference this year.
Offensively the Redhawks need to find a rushing game to replace the production of Will Young and Tremane McCollough. Marquis Terry showed a little flash against KU but he will need some help from the boys up front if he wants to have sustained success. Jesse Hosket look serviceable in the passing game last week and I expect we will see him have a great game this weekend against a non-Power 5 defense.
Defensively the Redhawks need to just keep doing what they’re doing and stop the run. They held Kansas to just 2.9 yards per rush last weekend and if they can keep Dayton in front of them and don’t get beat over the top this could be a long day for the Flyers.
Prediction: SEMO 27 Dayton 17
Austin Peay (0-1) @ Miami (OH) (0-1)
When: Saturday 2:30PM Central
Where to Watch: ESPN3
Call me crazy but I think Austin Peay can take this game. I didn’t say they will, I said I think they can. This is a team that Eastern Illinois beat last year and they didn’t look all that great in their season opener at Marshall. Miami has a weak rushing attack and will likely try to air it out on the Govs.
Austin Peay’s rushing defense looked stout against Cincinnati and if they can have a repeat performance they may have a shot at pulling the upset. The problem is they will have to limit Miami’s passing attack that put up nearly 300 yards of offense on Marshall. If Austin Peay can get pressure and get off the field on third down the effort will liekly keep them in it with Miami.
Offensively I’d like to see the same game plan we saw last weekend. Run the ball. Peay managed 224 rushing yards against Cincinnati and will need the run game to keep Miami’s offense off the field. One thing the Govs must fix is their 3rd down conversion percentage. The Govs only completed 3 of their 16 third downs last week and if they can increase that number and extend drives I see no reason they can’t hang with the RedHawks.
Prediction: Austin Peay 24 Miami (OH) 27
Eastern Illinois (1-0) @ Northern Illinois (0-1)
When: Saturday 2:30 Central
Where to Watch: ESPN3
Last time these two teams met the Panthers had Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback and NIU was a 12-2 MAC West Champion. While I don’t think EIU will have quite as good a chance to beat NIU as they did back in 2013 when they were edged out 43-39, I do think if the defense can hold up for 60 minutes they may stay competitive. NIU opened up their season last weekend with a loss at Boston College and looked anything but impressive. NIU’s punter had nearly as many yards as the offense did in part because the offense was only 2 of 15 on third down. I don’t think Eastern Illinois will be able to do much to slow down the Huskies run game but if Mitch Kimble can get some help from his offensive line he may be enough to keep them in the game.
Prediction: Eastern Illinois 10 Northern Illinois 34
Tennessee Tech (0-1) @ Kennesaw State (0-1)
When: Saturday 6PM Central
Where to Watch: Big South Network
Kennesaw State looked solid in their opener at Samford last week as they racked up 545 yards of offense. That said, the key here for Tennessee Tech is to slow down the rushing attack of Kennesaw State. After giving up 298 yards rushing to Western Illinois last week that may be easier said than done.
On paper I would expect Tennessee Tech to have a better offensive performance than they did against #18 WIU. After all, it’s difficult to do worse than zero yards rushing on 21 attempts. If Tech can find a way to run the ball it will help Sale and Satterfield will be able to open up the offense a little bit. The defense will have to find a way to contain the run and get off the field on third down. Samford wasn’t able to get KSU off the field on third down and it almost cost them the game. If Tech allows KSU to run and hold onto the ball it could be another long game for Golden Eagle fans. However, I do think Tech will be able to bounce back from a rough week one loss.
Prediction: Tennessee Tech 23 Kennesaw State 21
#16 Central Arkansas (0-1) @ Murray State (1-0)
When: Saturday 6PM Central
Where to Watch: OVC Digital Network
The only home game this weekend in the OVC will feature #16 Central Arkansas and the Murray State Racers. Murray State will have their hands full this weekend as they take on their first DI opponent without KD Humphries at the helm. The Bears feature a great rushing attack that garnered them 223 yards against Kansas State on 55 attempts and an efficient passing attack that saw quarterback Hayden Hildebrand complete over 77% of his passes for 198 yards, a TD, and a pick.
The Racers are coming off a dominating week one win over Kentucky Wesleyan will have their chance to show what they can do against DI competition. Murray State had an impressive 6.1 yards per carry in their debut and will have to attempt to repeat that success if they want to hang with one of best teams the Southland conference has to offer. The Racers will also need to work on slowing down the Bears run heavy offense and getting pressure on Hildebrand if they want a chance at pulling the upset.
Prediction: Central Arkansas 34 Murray State 13
#5 Jacksonville State (1-0) @ Georgia Tech (0-1)
When: Saturday 11:30 AM Central
Where to Watch: ACC Network/ WatchESPN
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks will travel to Atlanta this weekend to take on the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech in what is setting up to be a potential trap game for the Yellow Jackets. After a heartbreaking triple-overtime defeat that saw GT amass 655 yards of offense and 535 rushing yards the Wreck has to face the number #5 team in the country in JSU that is coming off a bye week. The Gamecocks have a history of playing their FBS opponents tough and I expect this game will be no different. It will take a near perfect game for the Gamecocks to pull the upset but you can be sure they won’t be some pushover.
If Jacksonville State wants to have a shot to stun the Wreck they will have to do 8 things:
-Sustain long drives on offense.
-Score on those drives and make each possession count.
-Control the clock. The less time GT’s offense has the ball the better.
-RUN THE BALL, SHANAHAN.
-Score early and force Tech to play catch up.
-Win on first and third down defensively.
-Create negative plays to get Tech’s offense behind schedule.
-Force turnovers
These may sound like generic things but GT’s clock munching offense amplifies a team’s miscues. This game will come down to who can run the ball, who can control the clock, and whether JSU’s defense has enough gas in the tank to last 60 minutes. It’s going to be an uphill battle but it’s not impossible by any means. Unfortunately, I think GT’s TaQuon Marshall will be the difference maker for the Jackets. I hope I’m wrong.
Prediction: Gamecocks 24 Wreck 31
Fordham (0-1, 0-0) at Central Connecticut State (0-1) – Sept. 9th 12 PM Arute Field New Britain, CT
Live Stream: NECFrontRow.com
Fordham will look to get back on track against NEC member Central Connecticut State Saturday afternoon. The Rams head to the Nutmeg State an angry bunch after an embarrassing 58 point loss to Army last Friday night. While giving 64 points is never a good thing, the offense being held to a single Chase Edmond TD should be the main concern for Ram head coach Andrew Breiner. Fordham led the Patriot League in points scored (40 ppg) and figured to be just as strong in 2017. Army was able to control the Ram’s experienced offensive line which grounded Edmonds and Co. Central Connecticut should provide the Rams an opportunity to get the “O” back on track. At the same time, struggling against the Blue Devils potentially suspect defense (36.6 ppg allowed in last 6 games dating back to last year) should send up huge red flags in the Bronx.
CCSU was picked 4th in the NEC preseason poll after posting a 2-9 season in 2016. They opened their 2017 season with a 50-7 loss to ACC member Syracuse.
The Blue Devils are led by a solid group of skill guys in offense. QB Jacob Dolegala, TE K.J. Smith and West Virginia transfer Cameron Nash at RB will give the Ram D some trouble. One important Blue Devil Fordham won’t have to plan for is senior preseason all-conference selection WR Joey Fields (46 rec 732 yards 6 TDs in ‘16). The issue for CCSU on “O” is a young offensive line (R-Fr, So, Sr, Fr, So).
The oft maligned Ram front 7 will have much more success this week than it did against Army last Friday night. As will the Fordham offense.
Prediction: Fordham 41 Central Connecticut State 17
Holy Cross (0-1, 0-0) at Bucknell (1-0, 0-0) – Sept. 9th 12 PM Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, PA
Live Streaming: Patriot League Network
The Bison and Crusaders do battle in a key early season Patriot League contest. Both teams are coming off of strong opening week performances and should feel confident in their chances to start league play 1-0. The Bucknell defense was dominant in their 45-6 win over Marist. The unit will be tested far more this week when QB Peter Pujals and the Crusader offense comes calling. The 5th year senior QB and his Holy Cross teammates nearly pulled off a program changing win last week against FBS UConn. After leading 20-7 at half, the Crusaders ultimately fell 27-20. Despite the loss, such a strong showing should still be a confidence builder for Holy Cross.
The key for both teams will be establishing the running game. If the Bucknell offensive line can find some continuity DeFloria and Freshnock could be in a line for a big day against a Holy Cross defensive front that has historically struggled to stop the run. The Bison RB duo (55 combined yards) failed to get gain traction against Marist. Getting it going this week has to be a priority for Coach Susan. Bucknell QB Matt Muh (16-24 205 yards 2 TD 1 INT) played well against Marist but he’s not yet proven the ability to win games with his arm. While Pujals has shown the ability to win a game nearly himself, Holy Cross can’t count on him to be superman for 11 games. The Crusaders offensive line must find room for Guild and Walker to have success on the ground. If Abdullah and the rest of the talented Bucknell front 7 are able to tee off on Pujals it will be a long day for the veteran QB.
Bucknell looked really good against Marist but Holy Cross will be a major step up in competition. This should go down to the wire.
Prediction: Holy Cross 27 Bucknell 24
#19 Lehigh (0-1, 0-0) at Monmouth (0-1) – Sept. 9th 1 PM Kessler Field West Long Branch, NJ
Live Streaming: ESPN3
Lehigh heads to the Jersey Shore looking to exact some revenge on Monmouth after the Hawks went into Goodman Stadium last year and escaped with a surprising 23-21. The key to Monmouth’s win last year was their defense that limited Lehigh’s high flying offense to 239 total yards. It’s hard to imagine Monmouth duplicating that type of performance two years in row. While the Hawks put forth a strong performance in their season opening 31-12 win over Lafayette, Lehigh has established itself as one of the top offenses in FCS since that 23-21 loss to open last season. The Mountain Hawk’s “O” was able to put up 35 points in their hard fought 3 point loss to #9 Villanova last week. Lehigh QB Brad Mayes was named Patriot League Player of the Week for his performance in the defeat.
If Lehigh wants to end their two game losing streak to Monmouth the Mountain Hawk defense much set the tone. Monmouth RB Peter Guerriero rushed for 139 yards and 2 TDs and was named Big South Freshman of the Week for his performance against Lafayette. Given Lehigh’s well known struggles stopping the run, Guerriero has to be a focal point on defense. QB Kenji Bahar, WR Reggie White and TE Jake Powell are also extremely dangerous in the passing game.
Lehigh has to be chomping at the bit to atone for last week’s loss to Villanova and last year’s setback to Monmouth. Monmouth has the weapons to score on the suspect Lehigh defense but not enough to outpace the Lehigh offense.
Prediction: Lehigh 44 Monmouth 27
Sacred Heart (1-0) at Lafayette (0-1, 0-0) – Sept. 9th 6 PM Fisher Stadium Easton, PA
Live Streaming: Patriot League Network
Lafayette welcomes the Sacred Heart Pioneers to College Hill in John Garrett’s home debut as head coach of the Leopards. Lafayette put forth a strong first half performance last week against Monmouth but a sluggish offense and a tired defense led to their demise during the final 30 minutes. Lafayette must be able to get some semblance of a rushing attack going if they want to notch a few “Ws” this season. Starting RB DeSean Brown managed a meager 22 yards on 13 carries against Monmouth. Sacred Heart has two defensive players, DE Dylan Ackerson and LB Kevin Berry, on the preseason All-NEC team. The work-in-progress Leopard offensive line will need to be aware of those two are at all times.
Sacred Heart (picked 5th in NEC preseason poll) opened their season with a dominating 42-3 win over Stetson last week. Pioneer QB Kevin Duke (13-16 155 yards 1 TD, 81 yards rushing 3 TDs) was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Hatters. Lafayette’s talented front 7 will need to be aware of Duke’s ability to run if nothings available downfield. Outside of Duke the Pioneers don’t have any weapons that should seriously scare the talented Lafayette D. If the Leopards can contain the Pioneers rushing attack (301 yards last week), Sacred Heart will have a tough time putting points on the board.
Since wins might be tough to come by for Lafayette this is a crucial game for the Leopards psyche. O’Malley and the talented group of receivers must get some help on offense. The Leopard “D” should be able to contain the Pioneers just enough to scrape out a much needed win.
Prediction: Lafayette 20 Sacred 17
Georgetown (0-0, 0-0) at Campbell (1-0) – Sept. 9th 6 PM Barker-Lane Stadium Buies Creek, NC
Live Streaming: Big South Network
Georgetown heads to North Carolina to open their season against the Campbell Camels from the Pioneer League. With an opening week bye the Hoyas got an extra 7 days to prepare for the game against the Camels. Meanwhile, Campbell started their 2017 campaign with a resounding 70-0 win over outclassed Division 3 Methodist. Campbell will be joining the full-scholarship Big South next year. The Camels have really ramped up recruiting since announcing they would be awarding free rides. Campbell is coached by former NFL safety Mike Minter. Minter spent his entire 9 year career with the Carolina Panthers.
The Hoyas return a veteran team that has to be itching to get the season started. 5th year Senior QB Tim Barnes leads an offense loaded with experience at every position. If the Hoyas were ever to have a breakout season on offense this could be it. Campbell could have their hands full since they don’t have any game film to go off. Plus, Barnes was hurt for most of last year so the Hoya offense was a shell of itself during the course of the season. If the Hoya RB combo of Alex Valles and Isaac Ellsworth can take some of the pressure off of Barnes the Hoyas will have a great chance to get out of the Tar Heel state with a win.
Campbell will find out quickly the Hoya defense is far more formidable than Methodist’s. While Campbell has scholarship players, Georgetown has a ton of experience and several talented players of their own.
Prediction: Georgetown 31 Campbell 21
#10 Richmond at #21 Colgate – Sept. 9th 1 PM, Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY
Live Stream: Patriot League Network
Colgate will try to make it 2 for 2 against ranked opponents to start the 2017 season as the 10th ranked Richmond Spiders head to Central New York for a highly anticipated out of conference battle between the Patriot League and the Colonial Athletic Association. The Raiders had an extra week to get ready for Richmond since they started their season a week early (August 26th) against Cal Poly. The Spiders were also scheduled to have a bye last week but their game against highly ranked Sam Houston State was postponed until Friday September 1st due to the effects of Hurricane Harvey. In addition to being pushed back 6 days, the game was moved to Baylor’s football stadium in Waco. Richmond got down big early to the Bearkats but made a furious second half comeback. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough as the Spiders lost to SHSU 48-34 in a game that featured video game like stats. In defeat Richmond racked up 652 total yards. Leading the way was star QB Kyle Lauletta and his school record 546 passing yards.
These two met as ranked teams last year when Richmond escaped at home with a 38-31 win. The Spiders controlled the action for much of the game but had to withstand a spirited Colgate comeback. Richmond racked up 465 yards in the win. Current Spider QB Kyle Lauletta accounted for 307 of those yards through the air. The Spider defense limited the Colgate “O” to 12 first downs and 251 total yards. The Raiders really struggled establishing a pass game (57 yards) against the Spider secondary.
Colgate will need to get the offense going this Saturday if they want to pull the off the upset at home. Sophomore quarterback Carmine Scarfone did just enough (8-15 94 yards 1 INT) to lead Colgate in their 20-14 win over Cal Poly. With an unproven group of receivers and an inexperienced QB, the Colgate coaching staff has their work cut out trying to figure out how to get better production from the passing attack. The Spiders defense has been shaky against the pass dating back to last season so there should some opportunities for Scarfone and company to find their rhythm. Raider running backs James Hollond and Alex Mathews (combined for 169 yards and 2 TDs against Cal Poly) will need to have success early in the game to open up some opportunities for Scarfone to make plays downfield. Richmond will likely sellout against the run at the start of the game and dare the sophomore quarterback to beat them with his arm.
Richmond’s multi-dimensional offense will test the highly touted Colgate defense in a way Cal Poly’s triple option couldn’t. The Raiders defense is built to shut down the run and for the most part they did just that against the Mustangs. Duplicating that feat this week figures to be much more difficult. While Lauletta gets much of the attention, he has a tremendous backfield mate in preseason All-CAA RB Deontez Thompson. The lethal backfield combination of Lauletta and Thompson makes the Spider’s offense one of the very best in FCS. Richmond also has a plethora of talented wide receivers. Cotrelle Simpson (7 rec 204 yards 1 TD) and Dejon Brissett (9 rec 172 yards 1 TD) are coming off monster performances against Sam Houston State. There’s no doubt the Colgate secondary that features 2 (Tony Castillo & Abdu Daramy-Swaray) preseason All-Patriot League cornerbacks will be severely tested on Saturday. The usually stout Raider rush defense will also find life much more difficult without the services of Pat Afriyie. The All-American rush end is expected to miss a few weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain at the end of the Cal Poly game.
Colgate will enter this game with a ton of confidence after their victory over then nationally ranked Cal Poly two weeks ago. Richmond on the other hand heads to beautiful Hamilton, NY rather cranky following their hard fought opening season loss to an elite Sam Houston State team. Colgate always plays tough at home but the Spiders are good enough to negate much of the Andy Kerr advantage.
Until the Raiders prove they have balance on offense it’s hard to see them keeping up with the explosive Spiders. Not having Afriyie is a huge setback for the Raider defense. Coach Hunt and his staff will have their cut out trying to figure out the best way to limit the damage caused by the All-American’s absence.
Prediction: Richmond 41 Colgate 16
Lance & Kris give us the rundown on the upcoming Week 2 games for the 2017 season. Of note, EWU/NDSU tops the list along with several other great games. Give a listen to see what the fellers have to say on the games this week.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
While the majority of the OVC opened their seasons with either cupcakes or money games there were still several great games this past week. Including a few better than expected performances from Austin Peay and Tennessee State. The Tigers were the first FCS team of the year to get themselves an FBS scalp when they opened up Georgia State’s new stadium by handing them a loss, Jacksonville State showed they have the defensive firepower to make a return trip deep into the playoffs, and Eastern Illinois had a thrilling win as they won their game over Indiana State with no time left on the clock.
#5 JSU 27
#15 UTC 13
Jacksonville State kicked off the FCS season last weekend on ESPN in dominating fashion as they rolled to a 27-13 win over the Chattanooga Mocs. This marks the fifth consecutive win in the series for JSU and the largest margin of victory during the Gamecocks’ winning streak.
Offensively the headline was Roc Thomas’ 190 yards of offense. The senior running back went for 122 rushing yards on 19 carries, 68 receiving yards, and a TD against the Mocs defense. Bryant Horn also showed a lot of promise after a rough first half. He finished the game completing 14 of his 20 attempts for 182 yards, a TD, and two picks. After settling down in the second half Horn was 6 for 6 for 85 yards and a TD. If JSU can get steady and quality play out of their offensive line this offense could see a lot of improvement from last year despite not having #7 and #12 on the field.
Defense is where the Gamecocks really shine. Darius Jackson spent most of his evening in the UTC backfield terrorizing everyone. Jonathan Hagler had himself a big game topped off by a 52 yard pick six. The defense overall only allowed UTC to muster 6 points, 13 rushing yards, and 153 yards of total offense before the starters were pulled early in the fourth quarter. The Mocs finished the night with 13 points and 294 yards of total offense.
The Gamecocks travel to Atlanta this Saturday to take on the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech.
Roc Thomas = AMAZING#FCSKickoff #FCSTop10
(via @JSUGamecocks)pic.twitter.com/thAI4Ac1L2
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) August 27, 2017
#28 TSU 17
Georgia State 10
The Tennessee State Tigers opened the season with an impressive win over FBS Georgia State. The game was the first to be played in the Panthers’ new home stadium formerly Turner Field.
Offensively the headliner was Florida transfer quarterback Treon Harris as he accounted for 236 of TSU’s 383 total yards. In addition to his 145 passing yards, Harris was also the Tigers’ leading rusher with 91 yards on 11 carries. However, what impressed me the most about the Tigers’ offensive performance wasn’t Harris, it was the amount of help he was getting. Patrick Smith showed why he was the Preseason OVC Offensive Player of the Year as he hauled in 6 catches for 70 yards and the offensive line paved the way for a rushing attack that put up 238 yards and averaged 5.7 YPC. The only complaint I have is the Tigers HAVE to start finishing drives. Missing two field goals is a good way to get yourself beat. Just ask Georgia Tech.
The defensive side of the ball is where I was REALLY impressed. Despite Ogundeko being fairly bottled up most of the night the Tiger defense had a fantastic showing in their debut. The star of the night was senior linebacker Chris Collins who racked up 12 total tackles (9 solo), 3 TFLs, a sack, AND the forced fumble that allowed TSU to get their first points of the night. Collins also picked up FCS Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance. I thought the defensive line as a whole played a great game as they held the Panthers to just 1.7 yards per rush on 29 carries. Those are JSU type numbers and if this team can continue to improve they may be taking home some hardware on November 16th.
https://twitter.com/HEROSportsFCS/status/903441482543095810
Congratulations to the Tennessee State Tigers on their first ever win over an FBS program. You guys played well and earned it.
UT-Martin 36
Clarion 0
Tennessee-Martin opened their season with the creamiest of creampuffs as they took on DII Clarion. This game marks the first time UTM has shut out an opponent since 2011 when the Skyhawks dropped 63 on NAIA team Union (KY).
Normally games against lesser opponents don’t really tell us much but there were a couple red flags when examining UTM’s offense. First off, Troy Cook only completed 13/28 of his passes which was likely because of the downpour that the game was played in, so that’s not something to worry about yet. Second, it seems like the only consistent thing on the offense is Jr RB Ladarius Galloway and his 9.2 YPC, once again probably because of the monsoon. Third, the Skyhawks racked up TWELVE penalties for 110 yards and three turnovers. More often than not that’s a death sentence for teams playing tough competition but thankfully for the Skyhawks Clarion doesn’t fit that description. As I said at first though, these games often don’t give us much useful info and rain doesn’t help either so I’m really hoping that’s the case here.
Defensive performance was as you would expect against a lower division opponent. The UTM defense held Clarion to 147 total yards, 0 points, and 2.6 yards per rush. One stat line that did surprise me was that Clarion’s QB only completed 4 of his 22 pass attempts, unfortunately 2 of those competitions were to guys in Skyhawks jerseys. As said before, maybe it was the rain, or maybe UTMs secondary is good. We will find out this Saturday as the Skyhawks travel to Oxford, MS to take on the Ole Miss Rebels. Hopefully it won’t rain.
Did I mention the rain?
FB: Check out a postgame recap of @UTM_FOOTBALL's 36-0 victory over Clarion in the team's season opener! pic.twitter.com/XTz9pT7dOZ
— UT Martin Athletics (@UTMSports) September 1, 2017
Austin Peay 14
Cincinnati 26
Bold Prediction: Austin Peay is going to win some games this year.
Bolder Prediction: The Govs finish .500 or above in OVC play.
Yup. I said it. Fight me.
The Govs were another team that impressed me in their season opener. On offense, they ran. A lot. Austin Peay’s 60 rushing attempts garnered them 224 rushing yards and 37:41 of the play clock. Unfortunately for the Govs two turnovers thwarted what could have been a MASSIVE upset.
The Govs offense racked up 313 total yards against Cincy but there were still issues that were apparent. For one, the third down conversion rate needs to be addressed. 3 of 16 on third down isn’t going to win you any games. Second, sophomore quarterback JaVaughn Craig looked unimpressive throwing the football as he completed just half of his 14 attempts for just 63 yards, a TD, and a pick.
The Govs defense was the surprising thing to me. The Govs only allowed Cincy to get 248 yards of total offense, limited them to 3.3 yards per rush on 29 carries, and held the Bearcats to 3-11 on third down. That stat line should be very encouraging considering the program has lost 28 games straight. Healy’s hard work is starting to pay off and we will likely start seeing the fruits of his labor around week 3.
https://twitter.com/AustinPeayFB/status/903480945885364228
Tennessee Tech 14
#18 Western Illinois 41
I’m not sugar coating it… that was a mess. I thought coming into the season losing Birdsong would be the biggest issue for Tennessee Tech, turns out it’s just one of several issues.
The Tennessee Tech offense was held to ZERO rushing yards. Zip. Nada. None. On 21 attempts! I get that WIU is a great team but if Austin Peay can put up 224 rushing yards against an FBS team then TTU should have gotten at least a yard. The passing game, however, did get more than a yard. 252 of them in fact. Which doesn’t sound bad until you consider only half of the attempts were completions and they matched their 2 TDs with 2 picks. I’m going to reserve further judgment of the offense until Kennesaw State because I think Tech is better than what we saw this past weekend.
Defensively, it went about as I expected it to go. They defense wore down in the second half gave up 298 rushing yards but that’s a fairly regular occurrence against Missouri Valley teams. However, one nugget that can be improved going forward is working to not give up explosive plays. WIU had multiple runs longer than 20 yards and those were the plays that allowed WIU to pretty much blow the doors off in the second half. If TTU can have performance like they did in the first half they will be fine, but they have to cut down and limit the big plays.
HIGHLIGHTS from our season opener vs. Western Illinois: https://t.co/zORAOqbsUE
— TTU Football (@TNTechFootball) September 1, 2017
Murray State 67
Kentucky Wesleyan 7
Murray State was one screwed up punt attempt away from their first shutout since 2011. Murray opened their season by playing local Jr. High Kentucky Wesleyan (They aren’t actually a junior high, they were just 3-8 last year in DII). This game won’t tell us exactly where Murray stands but it tells us a little.
First off, Brently looked solid while filling in KD’s shoes, even in the rain. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 162 yards, 4 TDs, and 1 pick. They also ran 40 times for 243 yards, three more TDs, and averaged 6.1 yards a carry. Murray doesn’t normally run that much but they don’t normally blow teams out either.
Defensively, the Racers seemed solid as they limited KWU to zero first downs, 159 total yards of offense, and 30 rushing yards on 31 carries. They also got 4 picks.
We will learn a lot more about where this team stands on Saturday when they take on #16 Central Arkansas.
Thank you #RacerNation for the support last night, in the pouring rain!! 🏈🏇🏼A great crowd & a great Racer WIN. pic.twitter.com/OtDoY0O7bw
— Murray State Racers Athletics (@MSURacers) September 1, 2017
Eastern Kentucky 17
Western Kentucky 31
And
SEMO 16
Kansas 38
I’m lumping these two together because these were two more money games that went about as you’d expect but I’ll go ahead and highlight some of the standout things from each game.
First off for SEMO, they were able to limit the Jayhawks to just 73 rushing yards on 25 carries and were able to force three turnovers. If they can continue to stop the run they may see some success in the OVC this year. I’m sure we will see their offensive numbers pick back up once they start playing FCS competition. They finished with just 253 yards of offense and had 83 rushing yards on 34 carries.
For EKU, playing old time rival WKU was good to see. However, the Hilltoppers were able to stuff EKUs rushing attack and only allowed 25 yards on 22 carries. Fortunately for EKU, that didn’t bother senior quarterback Tim Boyle. Boyle completed 29 of his 46 passes for 320 yards and 2 TDs. Also, while WKU was able to take away EKUs run game, the Colonels were able to return the favor as they only allowed the Hilltoppers to gain an average 2.5 yards per rush. Unfortunately, the Colonels had trouble getting off the field on third and fourth down and that allowed the Hilltoppers to wear them down.
Check out some photos from SEMO's football season-opener at Kansas https://t.co/JoemYMXs23
— SEMO Redhawks (@SEMORedhawks) September 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/EKUFootball/status/905822306848481280
#32 Eastern Illinois 22
Indiana State 20
Eastern Illinois started their season off in thrilling fashion as Mitch Kimble threw the game winning touchdown pass with no time left on the clock. The Panthers were also able to capitalize on a pick six in the first quarter to jump out to lead they would keep until late in the fourth quarter when a 32 yard return by ISU’s Dimitri Taylor set the Sycamores up on the EIU 14 yard line, which the Sycamores turned into a TD.
Offensively, the Panthers were able to run the ball against the Indiana State front, but 5 sacks for a loss of 35 yards made the final rushing stat line 76 yards and a TD on 33 carries. Mitch Kimble looked solid and should be in for a great senior campaign. If I had one quibble with the offense it would be I wish they ran more. 15 carriers for Johnson wasn’t enough for me but we will see what happens this weekend with NIU before I make a big deal out of it.
Defensively, holding Indiana State to less than 300 yards of offense and 2 of 11 on third down is impressive. The secondary limited Indiana State to just 7 completions on 19 attempts and 133 yards between ISU’s two quarterbacks and if EIU can continue to work on stopping the run and keep forcing turnovers this could be a stout ballclub in the OVC this season.
https://twitter.com/EIUPantherFB/status/903443887250919424
Power Rankings
We are now fully into football season, heading straight towards our Week 2 matchups. Last week, we learned a little bit about a few teams, but for the most part, everyone took care of business and did what they were expected to do. This week, however, we’re getting a lot more matchups with somewhat more “comparable” teams and finding out how everything really stacks up. It’s still pretty early, but we can start figuring out a few things about each team.
We have five games that are part of the conference’s Big Sky “series”, two that feature FBS matchups (one that will likely be close and one that likely…will not…at all), and two against teams that, while technically FCS, are ranked pretty low overall in the division and will likely not be close either:
Here’s the full conference schedule for the Week #2 (all times listed in Central)
1:00 PM – Robert Morris (1-0) at #8 Youngstown State (0-1) – ESPN3
3:00 PM – Indiana State (0-1) at AP #25 Tennessee (1-0) – SECN
3:05 PM – #2 North Dakota State (1-0) at #7 Eastern Washington (0-1) – ESPN3
4:00 PM – Cal Poly (0-2) at #21 Northern Iowa (0-1) – ESPN3
4:00 PM – Missouri State (0-1) at #11 North Dakota (0-1) – Big Sky Network/Pluto TV
5:00 PM – South Dakota (1-0) at Bowling Green (0-1) – ESPN3
6:00 PM – #22 Western Illinois (1-0) at Northern Arizona (0-1) – Big Sky Network/Pluto TV
6:00 PM – Mississippi Valley State (0-1) at Southern Illinois (0-0) – ESPN3
7:00 PM – #4 South Dakota State (1-0) at Montana State (0-1) – MSU Bobcat All-Access
#18 Illinois State is taking this weekend off before their rivalry game with Eastern IL the following weekend.
MVFC weekly notebook is now available — read about it here: https://t.co/Y5Viu0xkuq pic.twitter.com/xir5IXdSJa
— Valley Football (@ValleyFootball) September 5, 2017
@ Stambaugh Stadium (“The Ice Castle”), Youngstown, Ohio – Capacity: 20,630
Last Week:
Robert Morris defeated Dayton, 13-10
Youngstown State lost to Pitt, 28-21 in OT
Youngstown State’s performance last week showed that despite the loss of a large part of their dominating defense from 2016, they are still a force to be reckoned with, narrowly losing to Pitt in overtime. The story this year though (still early, but seems like it at this point) is a more balanced team that can do fairly well on both sides of the ball. We’ll have to see if both sides are good enough for a repeat appearance in the FCS championship game though.
Robert Morris nearly swept the NEC “Players of the Week” awards, with LB Gerald Ferguson winning Defensive POW (8 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 QB hurry), PK Nick Bisceglia receiving the Special Teams POW (1 for 1 on PAT’s, 2 for 3 on FGs including the game winner in the final seconds), and WR Tavin Allison nabbing the Rookie of the Week (76 yards, 1 TD on 2 receptions). Biscegila is a true freshman and Allison is a redshirt freshman, so they’ve got some young talent on their hands that could develop down the road.
I think that Robert Morris is probably trending up at this point, but considering they were 2-9 last season and picked 7th (last) in the NEC preseason poll, they still have a long way to go until they can compete with a defending NC runner-up (did they get t-shirts for that or was that just that one team?).This is the third year in a row that YSU has played RMU (both were YSU wins), and I think that this year’s result will likely be similar to last year’s (a 38-6 Penguin victory). Probably right about the same margin too. I say Youngstown wins this one by 32 points.
@ Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee – Capacity: 102,455
Last Week:
Indiana State lost to Eastern Illinois, 22-20
Tennessee defeated Georgia Tech, 42-41 in OT
My one “whiff” last week was thinking that Indiana State would be able to edge out Eastern Illinois. They weren’t able to hold on to their lead and lost to EIU on a TD in the final seconds of the game. ISU has a pretty good placekicker in Jerry Nunez, who hit ⅔ of his FGs (long of 43) and both XPs in last week’s game, and they’ve got a guy who rushed for over 150 yards against Eastern (SR Lamonte Booker). Unfortunately for the Sycamores, they’re not playing EIU again, they’ve got a run-in with…
The Tennessee Volunteers are a member of the top echelon of FBS football teams, having been a member of the SEC since it’s founding in 1932, winning two national championships (they claim 6, NCAA says 2), an overall .680 winning record (second only to Alabama in the SEC) with 13 conference championships and play in the 6th largest stadium in the world. Over the last two years, they have a record of 18-8 with two bowl wins and they are currently ranked #25 in the AP poll after defeating Georgia Tech in 2 overtimes on Monday evening.
So, to say that the Sycamores are likely to be overmatched on all sides of the ball is a pretty big understatement. While reading up a bit on Tennessee, apparently their defense does seem to have trouble with running quarterbacks. This might bode somewhat well for a team like South Dakota (Streveler) or North Dakota State (Stick), but Indiana State’s Isaak Harker is pretty much the definition of a traditional “pocket-passer” QB…throwing for 2,559 yards last season and rushing for -154. I don’t know if this game will get quite as ugly as a couple of the 70+ point dismantlings we saw last week, but it sure isn’t going to be pretty for the Trees. The only good news is, for Indiana State, it only gets “easier” from here (as easy as the MVFC ever is, I guess). Indiana State has never played Tennessee in their history, and after this weekend, they may not ever want to again. Vols by 35 points.
#2 North Dakota State (1-0) at #7 Eastern Washington (0-1)@ Roos Field (“The Inferno”), Cheney, Washington – Capacity: 8,600
Last Week:
North Dakota State beat Mississippi Valley State, 72-7
Eastern Washington lost to Texas Tech, 56-10
North Dakota State took care of business last week against Mississippi Valley State but will face a much stiffer test this week at Eastern Washington in the day’s first MVFC/BSC matchup. NDSU is currently the #2 ranked team in the FCS, behind only last year’s national champion, James Madison. They had 5 players named to the STATS Preseason All-America Team and 7 named to the All-Conference Preseason Team, so they loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. As most of you reading this probably know, one of the strengths of NDSU is their defense. Last year…a “down year” by recent Bison standards, they gave up a “whopping” 16.6 points per game, 5th best in the FCS…however, the most points they gave up last season was 44 points (in OT) in their second game, at the Fargodome, against the then #8 ranked team Eastern Washington.
Eastern Washington spent last week getting embarrassed by a Texas Tech team that most people thought they would probably beat or at least stay close with…they lost by 46 points. Gone is 2015 Walter Payton Award winning (and current LA Ram) WR Cooper Kupp, but that doesn’t mean the 7th ranked (by STATS) FCS team in the country is without offensive weapons. They still have the Preseason Conference Offensive Player of the Year, QB Gage Gubrud, who last year finished 3rd in Payton Award voting, as well as the WR who actually caught the most yardage-wise in their game against the Bison last year, Stu Stiles (169 yards and 1 TD). On the other side of the ball, they have preseason All-American D-Lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli, as well as preseason All-Big Sky D-Lineman Albert Havali, and Safety Mitch Fettig.
This is going to be a tough test for the Bison…probably their toughest regular-season game this year outside of South Dakota State and maybe Youngstown State. I like the matchup between the strong Bison defense and the Eagles offense. I think we’ll probably see fewer points this year as opposed to last year, but no less of an intense, hard-fought battle. I think that the biggest “gains” will be found when NDSU has the ball, since I feel that EWU’s defense, while good, especially by Big Sky standards, isn’t quite up to the task of stopping their Preseason All-Conference RB Lance Dunn and pair of All-Conference Honorable Mention WRs Darrius Shepherd and RJ Urzendowski. It’ll be close, it’ll be exciting, it’ll be bright freakin’ red, but I think the Bison will come away with the win..by 3 points.
@ The UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa – Capacity: 16,324
Last Week:
Cal Poly lost to San Jose State, 34-13
Northern Iowa lost to Iowa State, 37-20
Cal Poly is one of only a few FCS teams to have two games already under their belts, having played a “Week 0” game against Colgate (and losing 20-14). They then took on FBS San Jose State and padded their “loss total” again. In their game against SJSU, Cal Poly had trouble holding onto the ball, fumbling it away 3 times. With their triple-option offense, they tend to have possession longer than their opponents, although it doesn’t seem to be doing so well for them this year, putting up only 264 yards (most of it on the ground) and 13.5 points per game. They’ve got two preseason All-Big Sky players, with Joey Kuperman at Center and Joe Protheroe at Fullback, and their top tackler is LB Mason Montgomery, who has 23 tackles in their first two games.
Northern Iowa only has their one loss against Iowa State to go off of. Even though this was an FCS vs P5 FBS matchup, UNI had won 3 of the previous 6 meetings, so a win wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Despite the loss, UNI competed well, being very close to ISU statistically in many areas. As usual, their defense appears to be pretty solid led by preseason All-Conference SR LB Jared Farley, who picked up 14 tackles in their game with ISU. The UNI offense has struggled so far this season as well as through much of last season, so we’ll see if they’re able to get some things going this game.
The 2nd MVFC vs BSC game will be the 6th time that the Panthers have faced the Cal Poly Mustangs (all in the last 20 years), with UNI winning the last 5 meetings. When done well, a triple-option offense can be very difficult to plan for and to defend against. This year though, it doesn’t really look like Cal Poly has the players to make it work well, and UNI has the defense to be able to stop it. I think we’re likely to see a fairly low-scoring game, with Cal Poly making it barely into double-digits and UNI maybe having a mistake or two, but overall being able to move the ball fairly well. I think we’re likely to see something in the neighborhood of a 14 point Panther win.
@ The Alerus Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota – Capacity: 12,283
Last Week:
Missouri State lost to Missouri, 72-43
North Dakota lost to Utah, 37-16
North Dakota is a team that most MVFC members are going to get much more familiar with starting in 2020, when they join the other three DI schools in the Dakotas in the MVFC. UND kicked off their season at FBS Utah, staying close through most of the first half, but ultimately being outmatched. Despite the results, UND does have a very strong team this year. When you (or maybe it’s just me) think about Big Sky teams in general, you often think of high-powered passing offenses and kinda soft defenses…and when you think about MVFC teams in general, you often think of strong running games, strong defenses, and grinding it out in the trenches. In this case though, North Dakota is a Big Sky team that looks a lot more like a MVFC team. They have a strong ground defense, led by Preseason Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, Safety Cole Reyes. They also have Preseason All-Big Sky CB Deion Harris roaming the backfield as well. Offensively, they have a Preseason All-Conference Offensive Guard (with a great name)…Demon Taylor, and two Preseason All-Conference RBs with John Santiago (who was also a preseason all-conference return specialist) and Brady Oliveira, who combined for 1,949 rushing yards and 17 TDs last season. Interestingly, even though their “star” players on defense are DBs, last year they were 6th in the FCS against the run, but 107th in passing yards allowed.
Facing off against the Hawks will be Missouri State, who, while losing to the Mizzou Tigers, were still able to put up 43 points against them. So, it sounds like the Bears might just have an offense. They did, however, give up 72 points…which means they don’t really have much of a defense. MSU got most of their yards through the air, which should give them an advantage against a UND defense that hasn’t excelled at that aspect. Despite the loss of their stud LB from last year, this might be, at least offensively, the best Bears team we’ve seen in quite a while.
Despite how lopsided this game might have looked initially…MSU was 4-7 last year (after a 1-10 year), while UND went 9-3 and played in the first round of the playoffs…this game feels like it could end up closer, especially if the MSU offense that showed up last weekend arrives in Grand Forks. I think that MSU will get a lot of yardage through the air against UND, while the Hawks will essentially run the ball “at will” against a Bears defense that only has 2 seniors out of all 11 starters. This could be a high-scoring game, but I think that UND will be able to pull out a few more stops and get the job done. North Dakota will win Big Sky vs Missouri Valley Game #3 by a TD.
@ Doyt Perry Stadium, Bowling Green, Ohio – Capacity: 24,000
Last Week:
South Dakota defeated Drake, 77-7
Bowling Green lost to Michigan State, 35-10
Last week, Bowling Green took their team north to Lansing, MI and came away with a defeat at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans. The Falcons weren’t able to generate much of any kind of offensive production against MSU, putting up a grand total of 212 yards and 9 first downs, and only 3 points from the offense. Unfortunately for BGSU fans (at least, last year) they are worse on defense, coming in nearly last in the overall turnover margin (mostly from throwing intercepted passes), scoring defense, and passing yards allowed.
South Dakota on the other hand, spent the weekend doing their best old-school Michael Vick impression by beating some (Drake) bulldogs within an inch of their lives in a 70-point victory on Drake’s home field. QB Chris Streveler had a field day, throwing for 248 yards and 5 TDs and running for 53 yards and a TD. In general, though, the Coyotes’ offense is more run-based than “air attack”, at least over the last year or so.
Generally when you match up an FCS team that hasn’t had a winning season in the last 5 years with an FBS team, but when the FCS team appears to be trending upwards and the FBS team plays in a conference that is barely, if at all, better than the conference that the FCS team plays in, then you end up with a fairly even FCS vs FBS matchup. I think that USD QB Streveler will do well throwing against the Falcons defense, but BGSU will have more luck moving the ball against the Coyote’s defense than they did against Michigan State’s. This could be a very close game, and while I’m not going to predict it, it would not at all surprise me to see South Dakota win a close game in Ohio. Still, my gut tells me that they’ll come up just short…Bowling Green by 3 points.
@ Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff, Arizona – Capacity: 11,230, Altitude: 6,880 ft
Last Week:
Western Illinois beat Tennessee Tech, 41-14
Northern Arizona lost to Arizona, 62-24
Hey, it’s “my” team (for those that aren’t aware, I am a Western Illinois fan, although I do try my best to be as unbiased as I can when doing my reviews and comments about my own team), and we’re playing at Northern Arizona in Big Sky vs Missouri Valley #4.
NAU finished last season a disappointing (considering their preseason expectations) 5-6 overall, 4-4 in the Big Sky conference, including a loss to Western in Macomb as their second game, by a score of 34-20. Part of their struggles later in the season were due to the season-ending injury to their star QB, FCS STATS National Freshman of the Year/Jerry Rice Award Winner Case Cookus in game 4 of their 2016 season. They also have WR threat Emmanuel Butler, OG Tyler Strank, and PK Griffin Roehler who were all named to the preseason All-Conference team this year. Overall, in the Big Sky preseason poll, NAU is expected to finish 3rd (out of 13 teams). In the loss to Arizona last week, Cookus threw for 306 passing yards and 2 INT. They had two players go over 100 rushing yards, JR transfer from Boise State, Cory Young (115 yards, 2 TDs), and SO Joe Logan (101 yards, 1 TD). SR WR Elijah Marks was their top receiver with 147 yards.
Western did well last week against Tennessee Tech, holding them to 0 net rushing yards and winning 41-14 in a game where TTU didn’t score at all until the 4th quarter (with WIU up 34-0 at the time). Other than a couple of big passes late in the game against the second string DBs, the Leatherneck defense did much better than they did most of the last year. Preseason All-Conference RB Steve McShane came out of the game early due to an injury, but the stable of other backs was able to pick up the slack. McShane is listed as week-to-week with an ankle sprain, but my guess is that he’ll be back by the time the conference games start, possibly a little sooner.
Despite Cookus being out for much of the season, he did play in the game last year against WIU, and the Leathernecks held the NAU offense to 30 points. This year, from what I saw in last week’s game, the Leatherneck defense appears to be improved…however, the game is out in Flagstaff…at nearly 7,000 ft above sea level…the second highest altitude for a DI stadium in the country (just a few hundred feet below Wyoming’s stadium)…so, that could present some issues later on in the game, although if the team gets out there a day or two early, they shouldn’t have too much trouble. I think that it’ll be a much closer game than last year, but WIU should come away with a close win. Leathernecks by 6.
@ Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, Illinois – Capacity: 15,000
Last Week:
Mississippi Valley State lost to North Dakota State, 72-7
Southern Illinois did not play
After an utter obliteration at the hands of NDSU, MVSU is once again heading into MVFC territory, this time to face off against SIU in the Egyptian dogs’ first game of the season. Mississippi Valley State is currently ranked third-to-last out of all 254 DI football teams (by both Massey and Sagarin), and have the lowest ranked defense. The offense is slightly better, but really, this is going to be a really tough game for the Delta Devils. Southern Illinois had the 4th best passing offense in the entire FCS last season. The Saluki run game wasn’t much to write home about and their defense had a lot of problems, but in terms of offensive production…at least last year…the Saluki offense was better than the Bison offense that just put 72 points up against MVSU last weekend. If the SIU defense hasn’t gotten much better, then MVSU might get up into the double-digits in terms of points, but this is another one of those games that’s just going to get ugly. I think probably around a 50-point Saluki win is likely.
@ Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, Montana – Capacity: 17,777
Last Week:
South Dakota State beat Duquesne, 51-13
Montana State lost to Washington State, 31-0
The fifth game pitting a Missouri Valley team against a Big Sky team features Bobcats vs Bunnies…lynx vs lepus…kitty cats vs the jack attack…ok, I’ll stop. MSU kicked off their season last weekend with a matchup with current FBS AP #24 Washington State…and a loss where they only were able to accumulate 143 total yards of offense and 7 first downs, mostly on the ground. They do have a Preseason All-Big Sky Linebacker, Mac Bignell, who had 9 tackles in the game, and Senior DB Bryson McCabe leading the team with 13 total tackles. Montana State is a much better team than the game indicates (remember…borderline Top 25 FBS team), and they do have a halfway decent run game, led by their running QB Chris Murray who averaged 78.2 yards per game last season, and a pretty good defense with the defensive guys mentioned above. In 2016, they were rather weak against the pass…which is not a weak spot you want to have when going against one of the best offenses in the FCS.
South Dakota State rolled to a win over 2016 playoff team Duquesne last weekend to open their season. QB Taryn Christion and WR Jake Wieneke did their usual pitch-and-catch for a bunch of TDs, etc…etc. All-in-all, they have 9 players on the preseason All-MVFC team, with 7 of those on offense. Christian Rozeboom “headlines” the defense with a preseason All-Conference award, and they’re currently the 10th ranked defense (by Massey) so although offense is their greatest asset, the defense rarely lets them down either.
I think that Montana State might do well against a team who’s weak spot is their defense against the run or a team who doesn’t have a great passing offense…pretty much the opposite of the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State should come away with a pretty convincing win in this game, my guess…by about 17 points.
