MVFC: Week 11 Review

Second to last week of the regular season, and the second to last game for some of the MVFC teams (although for two, the last game of the regular season and possibly the end of the season).

MVFC Logo
First up, the scores from this last weekend:

Southern Illinois – 14
Youngstown State – 21

Missouri State – 0
Illinois State – 37

Northern Iowa – 30
Western Illinois – 23

South Dakota – 21
South Dakota State – 28

Indiana State – 17
North Dakota State – 41

Southern Illinois at Youngstown State

SIU came into this game hoping to play the spoiler and get some experience for their younger players, having been eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago. YSU on the other hand, came in looking like a near-lock for the playoffs, having already won 6 DI games and needing just one more in the final 2 games to reach the 7-win mark that should put them in the playoffs. Something interesting about this game…both teams were starting QB’s that had not started for most of the season. SIU having put sophomore Sam Straub in the starting spot a couple of games ago to replace the senior transfer who had been starting, since they were pretty much out of playoff contention at that point, and YSU convincing junior Hunter Wells, the starter from the previous two years, to come back (he had been sitting out the season with the plan to maybe transfer after this season) and play the last few games and help finish out the season and get them into the playoffs, after not having a great deal of offensive success with their other QBs.

It took a little while for the scoring to get going…SIU’s offense having difficulties against the YSU defense and YSU having not much of an offense to speak of…but, with 21 seconds left in the first quarter, the Penguins put the first points on the board with a 1-yard TD run by RB Tevin McCaster. Their next drive, early in the 2nd quarter, they scored another on a 10-yard TD pass to WR Alvin Bailey. The rest of the drives in the half ended in punts other than the one at the end of the half, a 44-yard missed FG for Youngstown State, which made the score 14-0, YSU, at halftime. The second half started similarly, but SIU was finally able to get their first points on a 3 yard TD run by RB Jonathan Mixon. On their next possession, a 9-yard TD pass to WR Connor Iwema (highlighted by a 73-yard pass to WR Israel Lamprakes) helped the Salukis tie up the game at 14-all early in the 4th quarter. Eventually, YSU was able to put together another TD drive finishing with a 10-yard TD pass to WR Darien Townsend to go ahead by 7. The next drive, SIU was able to get down to 4th and goal from the YSU 6 yard line, but YSU was able to make the stop and force the turnover on downs. YSU was held to a punt on the next drive, but then SIU, despite moving 75-yards down the field, ran out of time, coming up just 5 yards short of a potential game-tying TD.

YSU QB Hunter Wells finished with 124 passing yards and 2 TDs. RB Jody Webb picked up the majority of the yardage for the offense, with 167 rushing yards and RB Martin Ruiz had 83 yards. YSU receivers Alvin Bailey and Darien Townsend each finished with 38 receiving yards and 1 TD. LB Armand Dellovade led the team with 8 tackles, 1 for loss and 2 QB hurries.

SIU QB Sam Straub had 366 passing yards and 1 TD as well as 3 sacks. WR Israel Lamprakes caught 156 yards including a 73-yarder, and WR Billy Reed had 96 yards. SIU didn’t do much on the ground, with their top rusher being RB Cameron Walter with all of 25 yards. RB Jonathan Mixon (their short-down/goal-line back) picked up the rushing TD but had a total of 3 yards in the game. LB Chase Allen finished with 9 total tackles including 1 for loss, and S Jeremy Chinn also had 9 tackles.

Youngstown State is now 3rd in the MVFC at 5-2, and 7-3 overall. They’ll head down to Springfield, MO to take on Missouri State in the final regular season game for the Penguins. They should be in the playoffs either way, but a win would cement their inclusion.

Southern Illinois is now last (10th) in the MVFC at 1-6 with a 3-7 overall record. They’ll return home to try to again play spoiler to a potential playoff team when they host the Western Illinois Leathernecks next weekend.

Missouri State at Illinois State

Like SIU, Missouri State came into this game having been eliminated from playoff contention a couple of weeks ago. Illinois State, however, was hoping to make a statement to the playoff committee by beating the Bears to complete a late-season turnaround involving three straight wins, with two over ranked teams (SDSU and WIU the previous two weeks). A win would put them at 6-5, and while a 6-5 team has only ever made the playoffs once before as an at-large, ISU would be in a good position to be the second if everything fell their way. Due to Illinois State playing Indiana State a week earlier than the rest of the conference season started, the ISU’s both have their bye week at the end of the regular season, so this game would be the Redbirds final regular season game.

The first half started out pretty slow, with ISU hitting a 42-yard FG on their first drive, but then missing on a 34-yarder later. The second quarter, however, the Redbirds found another gear and started off with a drive ending in a 38-yard TD reception by WR Anthony Warrum. MSU was held on a 4th and 1 turning the ball over on their own 35-yard line. One 35-yard pass to WR Christian Gibbs later and ISU would have themselves their second TD within ~2 minutes. Later on in the half, MSU would throw an interception that ISU would use 7 plays to turn into a 22-yard FG to go up 20-0, which would be the score going into halftime.

A couple of possessions into the second half, ISU RB Jamal Towns would run 50 yards for a TD, putting ISU up by 27. Their next drive kicked off with a 22 yard pass and 34 yard pass and ended in a 1-yard TD pass to FB Jake Hendershot. Early in the 4th quarter, ISU QB Jake Kolbe would throw an interception, but MSU was unable to do anything with it, and on ISU’s next possession they were able to get close enough to hit a 20-yard FG, running the score up to 37-0. This would prove to be the final score as time would run out on the Bears in a pretty lopsided game where MSU would only find their way to the ISU side of the 50-yard line twice in the entire game, at one point getting as close as the ISU 36 yard line before having to punt the ball.

ISU QB Jake Kolbe threw for 246 yards and 3 TDs with 1 interception and 2 sacks. WR Anthony Warrum caught 133 of those yards and 1 of the TDs. RB Jamal Towns racked up 134 yards and a TD, and RB DeMarco Corbin finished with 102 yards. LB Brent Spack led the team with 10 total tackles and DL Dalton Keene and S Mitchell Brees each had an interception.

MSU QB Brodie Lambert finished with 77 yards and 2 interceptions passing, as well as 44 yards and 1 sack running the ball (he was both the passing and rushing leader for the team this game). The top receiver was WR Zach Hoover who caught 22 yards on 2 receptions. Defensively, LB Dylan Cole led the team with 13 tackles (9 solo) and CB Matt Rush had an interception.

Missouri State falls to 2-5 in the conference and 4-6 overall and will host Youngstown State next weekend. Illinois State moves up to 4-4 in the conference and 6-5 overall. With wins over SDSU and WIU, as well as the Big 10’s Northwestern, and a demolishing of MSU for their finale, it still remains to be seen if they’ll be able to slip into the playoffs at 6-5. It’ll probably depend greatly on what happens next weekend with WIU (currently 6-5) and UNI (could reach 6-5 with a win) as well as other playoff “bubble” teams, but at least they know that when their backs were against the wall and they absolutely had to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, they did, and did so against some pretty good teams.

Northern Iowa at Western Illinois

This was one of the more interesting games going on in the MVFC this last week, and I’m not just saying that because it involved “my” Leathernecks. UNI, in a similar situation to Illinois State, had had a rough go of things in the first half of the season and many had written them off as not really having a chance to get to the playoffs this year. But then, after swapping out their RB who occasionally throws for an actual passing QB, they had suddenly started playing more like the UNI that many of us remember and keeping their slim playoff chances still alive. Western Illinois had something of the opposite kind of season., starting the first half 5-1 with only a loss to playoff-bound SDSU, but then losing a couple of close games that they could have had but were just unable to finish a drive or two. They came into this game with 6 wins, still needing one more to really solidify their playoff chances.

UNI got the scoring started early, driving 78 yards down the field and finishing with a 2-yard TD run by RB Michael Malloy. Both defenses stepped up at that point, holding each other to punts over the next 5 possessions, before UNI was able to pick up another TD on a 9-yard TD pass to WR Logan Cunningham. WIU finally got their first points of the game on a 29-yard FG late in the first half, which made the halftime score 13-3. Early in the second half, UNI would pick up another TD on a 3-yard pass to WR Daurice Fountain, but the highlight of the drive was a 51-yard pass to WR Jalen Rima that would have been a TD but the receiver was chased down by WIU DB Xavier Rowe and caught at the 3 yard line. WIU worked down the field on their next drive, taking just over 8 minutes to finish with a 2-yard TD pass to WR Isaiah Lesure to make it 20-9 Panthers. UNI would be held to a 3-and-out, but WIU would fumble the ball two plays later. Thankfully for the Leathernecks, 6 plays after that, UNI threw an interception in the end zone, resulting in a touchback. WIU would then fumble the ball back to UNI on the next drive, and this one they would turn into points with a 6-yard TD run by Michael Malloy. WIU would come roaring down the field covering 80 yards in ~1 ⅓ minutes for a Td on a 9-yard pass to WR Lance Lenoir to pull within 11 with about 6 minutes left in the game. UNI tried to take as much time off the clock as possible, eventually getting a 21-yard FG with less than 2 minutes left. Again WIU was able to move downfield quickly and get more points on a 14-yard TD pass to Isaiah Lesure to pull within 7 points with less than 30 seconds left. The WIU onside kick was unsuccessful however, and UNI would hold on to win, 30-23.

UNI QB Eli Dunne passed for 209 yards and 2 TDs with an interception and a sack. WR Jalen Rima had 79 yards receiving, and WR Daurice Fountain and WR Logan Cunningham each had TD receptions. RB Michael Malloy had 92 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. LB Duncan Ferch led the team with 11 tackles and DL Karter Schult added to his (#1 in the FCS) sack total with 3 as well as a forced fumble.

WIU QB Sean McGuire threw for 237 yards and 3 TDs in the air, and ran for 48 yards on the ground. WR Isaiah Lesure caught 68 yards and 2 TDs, and WR Lance Lenoir had 35 yards and 1 TD. LB Brett Taylor led the team with 18 total tackles including 13 solo tackles. He is currently #3 on the FCS tackles list and #1 on the solo tackles list, averaging 8.7 per game.

Northern Iowa is now 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the MVFC and are looking to keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a home game against a good South Dakota State team to finish out the regular season. Western Illinois is now 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the MVFC and will head down to Southern Illinois next weekend. If WIU wants to make the playoffs this year, they really need to finish out the season with a win, otherwise, they will most likely be spending Thanksgiving break watching football from their couches.

South Dakota at South Dakota State

South Dakota came into this rivalry game with only 4 wins and some questionable losses, so even with a couple of wins to finish out the season, would likely be on the outside looking in with regards to the playoffs. South Dakota State was sitting at 6 wins, and would need to win at least one over their last two to cement their playoff position. A couple of solid wins and they might just compete for a low seed depending on how other things played out. But first, they’d need to beat their in-state rivals.

This game was one of those “back-and-forth” kind of games, where it stays close the entire time. SDSU got the only points of the first quarter with a 3-yard Kyle Paris TD run. SDSU would get a few more chances for points in the first half, but would come away empty-handed with FG misses from 43 and 52 yards out. USD would then get their first points on a 16-yard TD pass to WR Brandt Van Roekel tying the game up at 7-all going into halftime. Nearly halfway through the third quarter, SDSU notched their second TD on a 47-yard Isaac Wallace run, but USD would respond on the next possession using a 42-yard pass to set up a 8-yard TD pass to WR Dakarai Allen, again tying the game up…14-14. SDSU would come right back with another TD on a 20-yard TD run by QB Taryn Christion to retake the lead. Early in the 4th quarter, USD would drive down the field, finishing with a 3-yard TD run by their QB Chris Streveler to once more tie the game…21-all. SDSU threw an interception on the second play of their next possession setting up a 32-yard FG attempt for USD’s Miles Bergner that he would miss. This is very uncharacteristic of him, since it’s the first attempt under 40 yards that he’s missed this season, so I don’t know if it was partially blocked or really windy or what. On their next drive, SDSU found the end zone again on another QB TD run, this one from 7-yards out, to take the lead for good, with the final score being 28-21, South Dakota State.

South Dakota State QB Taryn Christion threw 215 passing yards but had 1 interception. He also ran for 79 yards and 2 TDs and was sacked once. RB Brady Mengarelli led the team in both rushing (161) and receiving (55) yards…a very uncharacteristic result since SDSU has two of the best receivers in the FCS with WR Jake Wieneke (only getting 45 yards this game) and TE Dallas Goedert (22 yards). RB Isaac Wallace also picked up 102 yards and a TD on the ground, and RB Kyle Paris had 74 and a TD. Again…215 yards in the air, but 415 yards on the ground…which is definitely not what we’re used to from the Jackrabbits. LB Christian Rozeboom finished with 13 tackles in the game and DB Dallas Brown had an interception.

For South Dakota, QB Chris Streveler led the team in both passing and rushing with 217 yards, 2 TDs and 1 interception through the air and 66 yards, 1 TD and 2 sacks on the ground. WR Riley Donovan caught for 53 yards, and both WR Brandt Van Roekel and WR Dakarai Allen caught TD passes. LB Jet Moreland led the team with 14 tackles and LB Alex Gray had 8 tackles and an interception.

South Dakota State is now 7-3 overall and will finish up their regular season next weekend with a game at Northern Iowa and are looking for a win to possibly get into the discussion for a top-8 seed for the playoffs. South Dakota falls to 4-6 overall and heads back home to play North Dakota State with not really much on the line outside of bragging rights (even a win for USD won’t knock NDSU out of the playoffs at this point, and it won’t get USD into the playoffs either).

Indiana State at North Dakota State

Indiana State took their 4-6 record to the Fargodome to finish out their 2016 season. Even a win wouldn’t get them into the playoff conversation (they’d only be at 5 wins), so this was really just a hope for them to finish out the season with a win. North Dakota State on the other hand, is solidly in the playoffs but want to continue their winning ways to finish out the season strong and likely nab one of the coveted top 2 playoff seeds (ensures home field throughout the playoffs until the championship game…which, regardless of who’s technically the “home team”, always feels like a Bison home game).

This was one of those games that, for the losing team, went downhill quickly and never really recovered. NDSU scored 3 TDs on their first 2 possessions…wait, what? Yea…well, kinda. The first time NDSU touched the ball was an ISU punt that was returned for a TD…do we consider that a possession?…maybe, but nevertheless, punt returned for a TD, 16-yard and 42-yard TD runs by QB Easton Stick and the Bison were up 21-0 after one quarter. They’d pick up 3 more on a 29-yard FG and another TD run, this time 2-yards by RB King Frazier to make it 31-0 before ISU would finally get some points themselves on a Kelvin Cook TD run. A 45-yard NDSU FG at the end of the first half would make it 31-7 at the midpoint.

The first drive in the second half, NDSU would get another TD on a 14-yard run by RB Lance Dunn to go up 41-7. At this point, NDSU essentially just started running the ball to kill time. ISU was able to pick up a 41-yard FG early in the 4th quarter and then an TD on a 2-yard run by RB Roland Genesy to reach 17 points with less than 5 minutes remaining. NDSU then essentially ran out the clock to take the 41-17 win.

Despite the high score for NDSU, nobody really had any huge numbers in this game. NDSU QB Easton Stick passed for 65 yards and ran for 85 yards and 2 TDs. RBs Lance Dunn and King Frazier each had a TD. WR Darrius Shepherd led the team with 40 receiving yards. LB Pierre Gee-Tucker led the team with 12 tackles, 2 for loss including a sack. DE Greg Menard had a sack and a fumble recovery, and CB Jalen Allison nabbed an interception and ½ sack.

ISU QB Aaron Young threw for 90 yards and was sacked 3 times. WR Miles Thompson led the team with 27 receiving yards. RB Roland Genesy actually had the biggest numbers of the day, running for 108 yards and 1 TD, and WR Kelvin Cook also had a receiving TD. LB Jameer Thurman led the team with 11 tackles.

Indiana State finished their season with a 4-7 overall record and 2-6 in the conference. Since next week is their bye week and they will not be in the playoffs, the book of the 2016 season for the Sycamores is now closed. NDSU meanwhile will head down to South Dakota next weekend to look to improve their record and reach 10 regular season wins again after only winning 9 last year.

My Predictions

What’d I say, and how’d I do? In my preview last week, I said…

YSU over SIU by 6 – actual result, YSU by 7…that’s a win for me.
ISUr over MSU by 11 – ISUr by 37…kinda underestimated how good ISU was playing…still a win
WIU over UNI by 4 – I really should start picking with my head instead of my heart. I was really hoping WIU could pull out the win, even though the odds weren’t in their favor. I was thinking UNI by 7 originally, but changed it later to WIU winning. Still I picked WIU and they lost…that’s a loss for me.
SDSU over UDS by 10 – SDSU by 7…another win.
NDSU over ISUb by 26 – NDSU by 24, a win. This one actually kinda “weirded” me out. I actually said in my prediction last week “NDSU put up 24 points against probably the best defense in the conference (YSU) last weekend, so I think they could easily reach 40. Meanwhile, they’ve been holding some pretty good offenses to the 13-20 point range. I don’t see ISU getting past 14 points probably.” The actual score was 41-17 and if it weren’t for that darn FG in the 4th for the Sycamores, I’d have been dead-on with ISU and within 1 point for NDSU.

So, I did pretty well this week, going 4-1, which added to my previous 21-12 record, means I’m at 25-13 for the season.

Later this week I will preview the final slate of MVFC games. With the ISU’s having their bye week at the end of the season, there’s only 4 games going in the last weekend before the playoffs. We’ll have Youngstown State at Missouri State, North Dakota State at South Dakota, Western Illinois at Southern Illinois, and South Dakota State at Northern Iowa.

Must Watch Week 12

One last weekend of games that showcase some old rivalries and decide the playoff picture. Here are the ones you should be watching:

Saturday, November 19th Time(CST) TV
Kennesaw State @ Charleston Southern 10:45am ESPN3
Yale @ Harvard 11:30am CNBC
Lehigh @ Lafayette 11:30am STREAM
New Hampshire @ Maine 12:00pm STREAM
Stony Brook @ Albany 12:00pm STREAM
Villanova @ Delaware 12:00pm STREAM
Montana State @ Montana 1:00pm ROOT
North Carolina A&T @ North Carolina Central 1:00pm ESPN3
Tennessee-Martin @ Jacksonville State 1:00pm STREAM
The Citadel @ North Carolina 2:30pm ACCN
South Dakota State @ Northern Iowa 4:00pm ESPN3
Chattanooga @ Alabama 6:00pm ESPN2
Central Arkansas @ Sam Houston State 6:00pm ESPN3
Northern Colorado @ Cal Poly 8:05pm STREAM
  • Everyone is ready to hand the Big South to Charleston Southern, but Kennesaw State is standing in their way. A KSU win sends Liberty to the playoffs. The Buccaneers are in control of their own destiny.
  • This game doesn’t carry a lot of significance for the Ivy League title, but it is one of the oldest and most significant rivalries in the history of college football. Tune in for a bit and enjoy the spectacle.
  • Another game that doesn’t effect the playoff picture or league standings, but this historic rivalry is playing their 152nd game this weekend.
  • The Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket adds an extra twist this year with both Maine and New Hampshire sitting at 6-4 with a playoff bid on the line. New Hampshire is coming off a rough loss to Albany. Should be a great game.
  • Albany picked up a big upset over New Hampshire last weekend after losing 4 out of their last 5. Stony Brook has lost 3 straight. Another potential CAA playoff bid on the line.
  • Villanova is hurting after a rough loss this weekend and needs a win over their rival Delaware to feel confident about their playoff odds. “The Battle of the Blue” has been very one-sided with Villanova winning 9 of the last 10.
  • The Brawl of the Wild was first played in 1897. Montana State hasn’t had much to cheer about this fall, but knocking the Grizzlies from the playoffs would be more than enough to leave them feeling warm and fuzzy this winter.

SOCON: Week 12 Preview

With the conference championship already decided and 3 FBS games on the slate, it will be fairly quiet in the SOCON this week. The only conference game of interest will be VMI at Wofford. Wofford needs to win it to remain a viable playoff candidate. The other game with possible playoff implications is The Citadel at UNC. A win could propel the Dogs to a higher seed. Chattanooga plays Alabama and while could have an impact, that is not likely. Western Carolina takes on South Carolina. Samford travels to ETSU. And Mercer hosts Furman.

VMI at # 18 Wofford 2PM (ESPN3)

VMI gave The Citadel some fits last week. The Keydets held the Dogs to 233 yards rushing and dusted off some trick plays to make it interesting. I expect they will play Wofford hard, but the motivation will not be as great as against the Dogs. Wofford just keeps playing lights out since they lost to the Citadel. They know this is also a must win game for their playoff hopes.

The Citadel aired it out a bit more against VMIs stiff rushing defense. They did pretty well passing, but I think Wofford has just a tad bit better passing game and they will use it even more if VMI holds them on the ground.

Expect Wofford to take care of business at home and win by 2-3 scores.

#5 The Citadel at North Carolina 3:30PM (TV – ACC Network/ESPN3)

Playing an FBS team is always tough. Playing one in the AP top 25 is even tougher. Playing one the year after a high profile win over another FBS team has to make The Citadel’s job even more difficult. North Carolina will be ready and waiting to make sure the Bulldogs don’t take another FBS scalp.

With UNC playing another FCS team, James Madison, earlier this year, it gives us a unique opportunity to see what we are up against. I am not sure that JMU has as good of a defense as The Citadel. On the other hand, I do not think that The Citadel’s offense is as explosive as JMUs. They scored 21 points by early in the second quarter against UNC. The Tar Heels hung with them score for score until they pulled away for a 56-28 final. Not a bad showing.

North Carolina has a very good passing attack. They are in the top tier of the ACC in passing with 306 yards a game. The Citadel has done fairly well against the pass allowing just 181 yards a game. And that includes the likes of Samford, WCU, VMI, Furman, and UTC. All of which have a pretty good passing games. The step up in competition will be more difficult and if anything, I can see the Dogs getting burned a few times. How do you combat it?  You don’t let them have the ball.  And the Dogs certainly need to blitz more.

The Citadel needs to have sustained, clock eating drives. If The Citadel can hold onto the ball for 38-40 minutes, it can be in this game. Anything less and they will likely lose. Can the Dogs sustain drives against UNC? Maybe. The Tar Heels are dead last in rush defense in the ACC. They allow 222 yards a game.

All this said, the Dogs need the ball to bounce their way a few times as well. A turnover or two would help. Low penalties and no turnovers for the Dogs is also a must.

When it is all said and done, the Dogs do not need this one, but I am sure they will give it their all and try and bring home another FBS scalp. Look for a 2-4 score UNC victory.

#11 Chattanooga at Alabama 7PM (TV – ESPN2)

I am not really going to go into depth in this one. Suffice it to say, if Chattanooga plays well, they will still be thumped. No harm, no foul against the #1 team in the nation. If they come out with no injuries and a big fat check, they win in the big scheme of things. If they happen to make some noise, all the better. I would love to see Derrick Craine have a 100 yard day though. Tide will win by as much as their feel necessary.

#12 Samford at ETSU 3:30PM (SOCON Network)

Samford has one of the best QBs in FCS. He is money. But I am still not sure why they play so many games close. Their defense is ok. I think the problem is that they score so quickly sometimes, that their defense is playing over time. They need to seriously get a running game that is reliable to, if nothing else, extend their drives by a minute or two. They have had some injuries on defense and it is no wonder. Samford has one of the lowest TOP in FCS. Their defense plays most of the game.

They will have no problem against ETSU. They can score all they want. They need to get back to a more balanced offensive scheme and give their defense a rest. It is nice scoring in 1-2 minutes every time, but not at the expense of your defense getting a breather. They are in the top of the FCS in plays per game as well. This works great when your defense gets stops and your offense goes on 4-6 minute drives, but they are not getting enough stops.

Samford will win by at least 35.

Western Carolina at South Carolina 4PM (TV – SEC Alternate/ESPN3)

I know some of the Catamount faithful were excited about this game earlier in the year. They thought it could be close. With their offensive weapons, it might have been. But Western Carolina has serious issues on defense. They give up over 500 yards a game to SOCON teams. South Carolina is licking its chops right now.

Western Carolina needs to dig deep into its soul and come up with a defensive plan for this game or it could be ugly. I think they can score a couple times on the Gamecocks. Their QB Tyrie Adams and running back Newsome are dangerous weapons. But if they can’t get some stops on defense, it will be over quickly. Look for the Gamecocks to score early and often. South Carolina by 5 scores.

Furman at Mercer 3PM (TV – Fox Sports SE)

The Bears can be like a nagging headache that just will not go away. Look at some of their games. The Citadel, UTC, and Samford all had nice leads on them and they just kept coming back. It’s the mark of a good team. And they are a good team. Now at 5-5 they are again trying for a winning season in their last game. Samford ruined their party last year. Furman might this year.

Furman is a tale of two seasons. Starting 0-6, they have now won three of their last four. Their QB Reese Hannon is having some great games. But so is Mercer’s John Russ. This game may very well come down to which senior wants it more.

Unfortunately for Mercer, I think Furman rejuvenation is still blooming and the Paladins win by 1-2 scores.

AGS GOTW: Week 11 | James Madison at Villanova

James Madison played a part in the AnyGivenSaturday.com Game of the Week for the second week in a row. This was quite a different battle than last week’s shootout against Richmond.

The Dukes opened the game with a six-minute and forty second touchdown drive. JMU still held that 7-0 lead when quarterback Bryan Schor left the game, but Villanova would pull things even just a few minutes later on a 56 yard Zach Bednarczyk touchdown run. From there it was a defensive battle.

James Madison managed to grab a field goal in the 3rd and 4th quarters to build a 13-7 lead, but the game was too close for comfort for the Dukes. Luckily their defense forced 4 turnovers and held Villanova to 239 yards on the day. Following the second JMU field goal the Wildcats had the ball with 4:43 on the clock and a chance to take the lead. On the second play from scrimmage Bednarczyk threw an interception to Martez Stone which gave the Dukes the ball on the Villanova 7 yard line.  5 plays later James Madison took a 20-7 lead on Khalid Abdullah’s second touchdown run of the day. Another Villanova interception officially sealed the deal and James Madison can now celebrate a CAA championship.

For the Dukes, Schor had a great day before leaving the game. In 1 quarter of play he went 10 for 11 through the air for 108 yards. He added 20 yards on 4 rushing attempts. Backup quarterback Cole Johnson had a rough day.  He completed 5 passes on 12 attempts for 43 yards and threw 2 interceptions. With Schor going out early, Abdullah had to bear the load with 33 rushing attempts for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Dukes defense came up with 4 interceptions on the day by 4 different players.

For the Wildcats, Bednarczyk was 12 of 30 for 71 yards and 4 interceptions (ouch!).  He did run the ball 4 times for 62 yards and 1 touchdown. Aaron Forbes helped in the ground game with 65 yards rushing on 17 attempts.

Moving Forward:

James Madison is CAA champions and should be able to win easily against Elon next weekend. The biggest issue? Schor appears to be headed for surgery with what is being reported as a broken collar-bone on the non-throwing side. Optimistic view seem to think he could potentially return in 3 weeks, but I think 6-8 is more realistic. We will have to wait and see as the week progresses, but I think JMU needs him ASAP. They will get a bye and might be able to win the 2nd round without him, but a quarterfinal game without Schor could be an uphill battle.

Villanova looked pretty rough yesterday. They need to beat Delaware to feel confident heading into playoff selection Sunday. Delaware has won two of their last 3 games and anything can happen in a rivalry game.

AGS Poll: Top 25 Week 11 Results

The AGS Top 25 was more stable at the top in week 11 than it was last week but the bottom half had all sorts of movement. The top 6 teams all maintained their position except for The Citadel dropping a spot to #5 after James Madison broke the tie between the two teams at #4 following their big road win at Villanova. Eastern Washington, North Dakota State, and Jacksonville State maintained their spots in the top 3 in that order.

There were a lot of movement after that starting with Samford, Youngstown State, North Carolina A&T, Lehigh, and Charleston Southern all moving up 2 spots within the top 17 due to teams in front of them losing. Wofford and Grambling State both jumped up 4 spots to #18 and #20, respectively. Maine (#21), Illinois State (#23), and Northern Iowa (#25) all moved up 5 spots to break back into the top 25.

On the flip side, with all the teams moving up there had to be plenty moving down as well. That started with Chattanooga who dropped 4 spots to #11 after their upset loss to Wofford. Cal Poly and Montana both dropped 6 spots each to #19 and #22, respectively, following their losses to Weber State and Northern Colorado. New Hampshire, Harvard, and Liberty all dropped out of the top 25 this week.

The MVFC led the way putting 6 teams into the top 25. The Big Sky, CAA, and SOCON followed placing 4 each.

Full results below:

Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes Previous Wk.
1 Eastern Washington Eagles 2013 46 1
2 North Dakota State Bison 1977 22 2
3 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1869 7 3
4 James Madison Dukes 1808 3 4T
5 The Citadel Bulldogs 1767 1 4T
6 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1705 4 6
7 Richmond Spiders 1517 8
8 Central Arkansas Bears 1479 9
9 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 1397 10
10 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 1355 11
11 Chattanooga Mocs 1091 7
12 Samford Bulldogs 1052 14
13 Youngstown State Penguins 1028 15
14 Villanova Wildcats 989 12
15 North Carolina A&T Aggies 824 17
16 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 820 18
17 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 792 19
18 Wofford Terriers 777 22
19 Cal Poly Mustangs 545 13
20 Grambling State Tigers 354 24
21 Maine Black Bears 293 26
22 Montana Grizzlies 258 16
23 Illinois State Redbirds 210 28
24 Western Illinois Leathernecks 205 21
25 Northern Iowa Panthers 162 30
ORV:
26 New Hampshire Wildcats 120 20
27 Weber State Wildcats 115 37T
28 North Carolina Central Eagles 105 29
29 Saint Francis Red Flash 58 31
30T Albany Great Danes 56 36
30T Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks 56 35
32 San Diego Toreros 45 33
33 Harvard Crimson 28 23
34 Princeton Tigers 23 39T
35 Northern Colorado Bears 22 NR
36 Fordham Rams 21 NR
37 Liberty Flames 13 25
38 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 8 27
39T Pennsylvania Quakers 7 NR
39T Western Carolina Catamounts 7 NR
41 Southeastern Louisiana Lions 4 NR
  Fell Out Of Poll:
Nicholls State Colonels
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Stony Brook Seawolves
Tennessee State Tigers

Most Significant Win: Wofford Terriers
Most Significant Loss: Chattanooga Mocs

BIG SOUTH: Week 11 Review

(8-2) Kennesaw State 45,    (2-8) Presbyterian 10                              

Kennesaw avenged last year’s loss to Presbyterian in a big way.

Early on, it was the Chaston Bennett Show for KSU and that’s all the show they would need.  Bennett scored twice in the first seven minutes of the game, once on a 47-yard run and then on a 36-yard pass from Chandler Burks.  Those two touchdowns spotted the Owls a 14-0 lead against a Presbyterian offense that had been held to a touchdown or less in six of their nine games on the season.

After Bennett’s brace of touchdowns, the Blue Hose did manage to put together a drive that got as far as the KSU 8-yard line but had to settle for a field goal that cut the lead to 14-3.  From there on, however, it was all Kennesaw State.  Justin Thompson stroked a field goal of his own and Justin Sumpter hauled in a short TD pass to give the home Owls a 24-3 halftime lead.

After the break, the KSU defense forced a Presby punt and their offense went right back to work.  Burks hit Xavier Harper for a 46-yard score and the rout was on.  The only highlight for PC came late in the quarter when KSU coughed up the ball deep in their own territory and set the Blue Hose up on the 9-yard line.  Even so, the Owls almost held PC out of the end zone again but an unsportsmanlike conduct on KSU set Presby up with 1st-and-goal inside the KSU 1.  From there, Presbyterian QB Ben Cheek called his own number and dove into the end zone for PC’s only touchdown of the day and only their 10th on the season.

All three KSU quarterbacks got on the scoring sheet for the afternoon.  Trey White added another score for KSU in the 4th quarter and Daniel David threw a mop-up duty touchdown to TJ Reed to round out the final tally.

What does this win mean for Kennesaw? – Given the results of the Charleston Southern-Liberty game, KSU is now right back in the hunt for a share of the conference title.  It should be remarkable that a program in just their second year of existence could win the conference title, except that the last start-up program in the Big South – Coastal Carolina – did just that in their second year as well (2004).

What does this loss mean for Presbyterian? – Not much.  At this point, it’s just one more mile marker on the road to Thanksgiving.

 

(6-3) Charleston Southern 48, (6-4) Liberty 26   

What had shaped up to be a slug-fest at the top of the Big South standings turned out to be anything but.  For Charleston Southern, it was a return to the efficient form they hadn’t shown since defeating Coastal Carolina over a month ago.  For Liberty, it was the Jacksonville State game all over again.

It started off pretty promising for Liberty, however.  For the second week in a row, the Liberty defense forced a turnover on the second play of the game.  This time it was CB Chris Turner picking off an out route to WR Kam Brown.  Turner was headed for a game-opening pick-six when Brown got just enough of his ankle to make him lose his balance and Turner windmill-ed to the ground at the CSU 14.  That’s when the problems first started to show for the Flames.  Set up in prime field position, the LU offense simply did not execute.  They actually lost a yard on the possession and had to settle for a field goal.

Getting the ball back, CSU worked their way down the field and QB Shane Bucenell hit TE Travay Hatten for a short pass over the middle and he dragged a Liberty defender into the end zone to put CSU up 7-3.  Liberty came back down the field, mostly on the back of RB Carrington Mosely and added another field goal to cut the lead to 7-6 just before the 1st quarter whistle.  CSU, however, got a monster kickoff return from Darius Hammond and added a field goal of their own to start the second quarter.

This is where the wheels really fell off for Liberty.  The passing game for LU completely fell apart with QB Buckshot Calvert completely missing open receivers and those open receivers dropping passes when the pass was on target.  Calvert’s passing line for the 2nd quarter was 1-10 for 12 yards and with one interception.  That interception came when the ball bounced out of his intended receiver’s hands and into the arms of the defender who was laying on the ground behind him.  It was that kind of night.

On the CSU side, they had everything clicking – or mostly so – in the second quarter.   RB Ben Robinson scored on a run off right tackle and Bucenell found RB Mike Holloway in single coverage over the middle for another touchdown.  After the above-mentioned interception gave CSU the ball at Liberty’s 45-yard line – and with a 24-6 lead – Bucenell simply heaved the ball up in the air in the general direction of Kam Brown.  Brown and Chris Turner essentially fought for rebound position with Brown winning the battle and hauling in the touchdown pass giving the Bucs a 31-6 lead with five minutes remaining in the half.

CSU’s next two drives would end in interceptions as Turner picked off another Bucenell pass intended for Brown and Tyron Holloway intercepted CSU’s “other” QB Robert Mitchell in the end zone to close the half.  The damage, however, had been done.  Liberty’s offense again sputtered coming out of an extended halftime break and, given the ball, Bucenell put the game away for good.  The Flames’ defense gambled with a full blitz and Bucenell, keeping the ball himself, ran straight up the middle for 57 of his 65 rushing yards on the night and gave CSU a 38-6 lead.

Liberty would eventually – but too late – find some offensive footing.  TE Kendall Couamin got behind the CSU defense for a 65-yard touchdown pass up the home sideline from Calvert and the Flames would add two more scores through the air to WR’s BJ Farrow and Dante Shells.  CSU added another field goal and a 1-yard plunge from Mitchell to settle the scoring.

What does this win mean for CSU? – The Bucs absolutely had to win to keep their postseason hopes alive and they did.  It was their most complete game in over a month.

What does this loss mean for Liberty? – The Flames’ postseason hopes are now out of their hands.   Liberty is now 14-3 under Turner Gill in the month of November with all three losses coming against Charleston Southern.

Big South Standings:

Liberty                                                                           4-1                   6-4 overall

Charleston Southern                                                  3-1                   6-3 overall

Kennesaw State                                                           3-1                   8-2 overall

Gardner-Webb                                                            2-2                   4-6 overall

Presbyterian                                                                1-4                  2-8 overall

Monmouth                                                                  0-4                   4-6 overall

 

Implications of the week (playoffs included):

  • Liberty is guaranteed at least a piece of the Big South title but they will split it with either CSU or Kennesaw. If KSU beats CSU on Saturday, Liberty wins the autobid.  With six D1 wins, Liberty is eligible for an at-large bid to the playoffs but theirs is a resume with zero quality wins.
  • Charleston Southern can win a share of the title and the autobid by defeating Kennesaw State at home. Charleston Southern CANNOT win an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs.  The Bucs only have five D1 wins in hand and must win their last game just to be playoff-eligible.
  • Kennesaw State will be playing for a share of the Big South title this weekend but cannot win the autobid. Even at 8-2, Kennesaw’s at-large resume is pretty lacking.  Three of those wins are against sub-D1 programs and the other OOC wins are Duquesne (currently sitting in 2nd place in the limited-schollie NEC) and Furman (currently 3-7).  Beating CSU would add an absolutely necessary quality win to the Owls record but would that be enough to balance out a season-opening double OT loss to ETSU?
  • Presbyterian is gamely playing out the poker hand they were dealt. Unfortunately, that hand is just a bunch of red UNO cards.

SLC: Week 12 Preview

Well 11 is in the books with Houston Baptist beating SFA 31-24, UCA stopping the Colonels march and getting the win 31-24, and Southeastern over Abilene Christian 31-19. As predicted, we had a Cardinal win on Saturday, with the Incarnate Word Cardinals beating the Lamar Cardinals 35-28, and not surprisingly, Sam demolished Northwestern State 48-16.

Now, we have reached the final week of the regular season with the match up that everyone has wanted to see between Central Arkansas and Sam Houston. Unfortunately for teams who made good runs (Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese) their season will probably come to an end this week.

Before we go into the week 12 predictions, I wanted to take a moment to thank you, the readers, for taking a few minutes out of your day to read my non-Pulitzer prize winning work. Your support here, plus for the other columns, and the FCS Wedge is just what we need at the FCS level of football. Hopefully, I’ll get to come back next year and do this again, but know that it was a pleasure to do it for you this year.

One last time, without further ado, it’s time for the week 12 “Rev”-elations.

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Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls State

It’s River Bell week in Southeastern Louisiana as the Lions head to Thibodaux to face the Colonels. This is a great rivalry to watch in the Southland as the schools are 80 miles apart and usually put on a good show for the River Bell Trophy. This year has bigger implications as Southeastern Louisiana needs this win in order to have an outside shot at an at-large bid in the playoffs. The Lions would finish 7-4 (7-2) and losses to Southern Utah and Lamar might hurt their chances to play over Thanksgiving weekend. The Colonels have the chance to finish at over .500 for the first time in nearly a decade, and would end up with a very impressive 6-3 finish in the Southland Conference. Their defense should be strong enough to put a stop to the Lion offense, and I think the River Bell stays in Thibodaux, and crushed playoff dreams live in Hammond, as the Colonels win 24-21.

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Houston Baptist at Incarnate Word

Can we start calling this game the “Holy War”? I’m open to suggestions for this one. Houston Baptist coming in after beating the Lumberjacks, and, no matter the result of this week’s game, will have had their most successful season of football since starting the program, with a potential 5-6 finish on the line in San Antonio. For UIW, this hasn’t been the season to remember, with losses to D2 A&M-Kingsville amongst their woes, but the school has the money to grow and develop their program at the FCS level. As for this game, I think the Huskies take the win, beating Incarnate Word 28-17.

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Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State

Here it is folks, your Southland Conference Game of the Week and Game of the Year wrapped up in one. Central Arkansas comes in to this game barely getting past Nicholls state, and they are looking to go undefeated in the conference, win the championship, and get a potential seed in the playoffs. This, without a doubt, is one of the best teams UCA has fielded, and regardless of outcome, they’ll be playing in the post season and have the potential to go deep in the playoffs. One issue they have is that they tend to start games very slowly, and Sam could use this to their advantage. Sam comes in to this beating the hapless Demons, and they are trying to show the Playoff Committee that if they win, they deserve the top seed over schools like EWU, JSU, and NDSU. There has been zero question of Sam’s offensive prowess. Jeremiah Briscoe has shown that he flat out deserves the Payton award for his performance this year, and they have so many weapons in their arsenal. Sam’s secondary is their only weakness, and it will be interesting to see if UCA can contain Sam’s front seven and exploit the secondary.

This is a tough game to call, but I have to go with Sam Houston on this. If UCA starts slow, Sam could jump to a big lead that UCA won’t be able to catch up from, and I think that happens. Sam wins 41-31.

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Lamar at McNeese

It’s the Battle of the Border as the Cardinals cross the Sabine River and head to Lake Charles. For Lamar, the wheels are falling of the bus, and they are limping their way through the rest of the season. It will be interesting to see how Lamar rebounds for the 2017 campaign, and hopefully they put together a competitive team, as the Southland needs it. McNeese has had their own ups and down this year and there haven’t been many reasons to sway and clap. If McNeese gets the win, they will finish 6-5, and you know they will be back in the title hunt in 2017. McNeese wins big 35-18.
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Northwestern State at Stephen F Austin

It’s the Battle for Chief Caddo, the tallest trophy in NCAA Division 1 football, as the Demons head to Nacogdoches to face the Jacks. For both teams, this has been a season to forget. Northwestern State has the potential to end the season without a win in conference and against Division 1 competition, period. For SFA, after a loss to Houston Baptist, it’s hard to imagine that Clint Conque keeps his job, even if they beat Northwestern State, given that he will finish the past two seasons with sub .500 records. While SFA has the talent, the quarterback by committee design failed. For how bad SFA has been this year, the Demons are worse and I think Chief Caddo will like his home in Nacogdoches, as SFA wins 42-17.

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Patriot League: Week 11 Review and Power Rankings

The penultimate week in the Patriot League saw the Fordham Rams easily take care of Holy Cross in The Ram-Crusader Cup at Yankee Stadium. The combination of QB Kevin Anderson and RB Chase Edmonds proved far too difficult to stop for the Holy Cross defense. Like Fordham, Colgate road their experienced signal caller, Jake Melville, to an easy victory this weekend. Lafayette’s defense had no answer for Melville’s running and passing in the Raiders 21 point win. In the final game of the weekend Bucknell outlast Georgetown 20-7 in Washington D.C. The Bison offense was led by Joey DeFloria’s sixth 100 yard rushing game of the season.

Colgate 38 Lafayette 17

Colgate (4-5, 3-2) took one step closer to finishing the 2016 campaign with a .500 record by downing Lafayette (2-8, 1-4) 38-17 on a cool, crisp November afternoon in Hamilton, NY. Jake Melville led the way for the Raider’s offense with arguably his best game of the year. The senior QB rushed for 141 yards (1 TD) and threw for another 202 yards (2 TDs) in the victory. Melville’s 202 passing yards moved him to 5th on Colgate’s all-time passing list with 5,640 yards. The Colgate defense also stepped up with another impressive performance. They sacked Drew Reed 7 times and limited the Leopards to 47 net yards rushing. With Georgetown’s struggling offense on tap next week, Colgate’s rush defense has an excellent chance to finish ranked in the Top 3 in the country for the year.

While Colgate has turned their season around in recent weeks, Lafayette’s misery has continued on into November. The Leopard’s issues along the offensive line continue to plague them. Drew Reed has spent most of the year scrambling for his life while the Lafayette running backs have been hurling themselves into a brick wall week after week due to the ineffectiveness of the OL.

The Leopard offense once again got off to a slow start (32 total yards on first 4 drives) on Saturday. The Raiders on the other hand were able put points on the board on their first two drives of the game. John Wilkins (8 carries 59 yards 2 TDs) 1 yards TD plunge finished off an impressive 7 play 65 yard opening drive for Colgate. Jonah Bowman’s 39 yard FG on the Raider’s next possession gave Colgate a 10-0 lead with a little over a minute left in the 1st quarter.

Colgate extended their lead to 17-0 on Melville’s 19 yard TD pass to Owen Rockett (4 rec 93 yard 1 TD) midway through the 2nd quarter. Lafayette would finally put together a promising drive but on 4th and 1 at the Colgate 19 yard line Drew Reed’s pass fell incomplete to end the threat. The Raiders offense would take advantage of the momentum with their 3rd touchdown drive of the game. Melville found Nick Martinsen for a 12 yard TD strike to finish off a brisk 5 play 81 yard drive that took a little over 91 seconds off the clock. Lafayette would finally get on the board on their final possession of the half. Drew Reed (24-41 202 yards 1 TD) went 5-6 passing the ball including a 36 yard TD strike to Rocco Palumbo with a little over a minute left in the first half.

Lafayette would carry the momentum over from the late first half TD out of the locker room with a safety on Colgate’s first offensive possession to close the deficit to 24-9. Following Colgate’s free kick the Leopard offense once again got things going. This time Lafayette turned to RB DeShaun Brown (15 carries 91 yards 1 TD) to lead the way. The junior had 43 yards rushing on the drive. He finished it off by plowing into the end zone from a yard out. Lafayette’s 2 point attempt would be successful which cut the Colgate lead to 27-17 with 11:00 left in the 3rd quarter.

Colgate’s defense would make sure the Leopards would get no closer the rest of the way by holding Lafayette to 54 total yards rest of the game. The Raider offense finally got things going late in the 3rd with a 3 play 44 yard drive that ended with a 24 yard Melville TD run. Colgate would tack on one more TD midway through the 4th quarter to close out the scoring.

UP Next: Colgate will try to even their record at 5-5 when they host Georgetown to close out the 2016 season. Lafayette will try to salvage their season against Lehigh when the two clash for the 152nd time next week in Easton.

Fordham 54 Holy Cross 14

Fordham (7-3, 4-1) continued their late season playoff push with an emphatic 40 point route of Holy Cross (4-7, 2-4) in front of 21,375 people at Yankee Stadium. The win gives Fordham a 16-15 all-time lead in The Ram-Crusader Cup. It was Fordham’s first win at Yankee Stadium (then the old Yankee Stadium) since 1941. The Rams are now at 13-8-1 at the home of the Bronx Bombers. The win was also highlighted by Chase Edmonds Patriot League record breaking 58th and 59th career TD. The Fordham junior passed former Colgate RB Jordan Scott’s mark of 57 career TDs that was set in 2008.

Holy Cross’s attempt to end their disappointing 2016 season on a positive note did not come to fruition. The Crusaders were outgunned from the start of the game and were never able to mount a serious bid to make the game competitive. It proved to be a continuation of Holy Cross’s struggles against the top teams in the Patriot League this year. The Crusaders were outscored by a combined 126-36 against Colgate, Fordham and Lehigh on the season.

It didn’t take long for the Crusaders to find themselves in a hole against Fordham. The Rams received the opening kickoff and proceeded to go on a 6 play 68 yard TD drive in 2:42. Chase Edmonds (23 carries 119 yards 4 TDs) capped the drive by racing around the edge for a 41 yard TD. The Rams offense would get rolling again following a defensive stop. Edmonds 1 yard TD dive with 7:25 left in the 1st quarter capped an 8 play 67 yard drive. Holy Cross would get to Fordham’s 24 yard line on their second possession of the game before being stopped on a 4th and 3. Following the defensive stand, the Ram offense once again would prove to be too difficult to stop. Kevin Anderson (28-34 426 yards 3 TDs) would go 4-4 on Fordham’s third TD drive of the game. The Marshall transfer hit Jorge Solano for a 27 yard score to finish off the drive. The score extended the Fordham lead to 21-0 with 2:06 left in the first quarter.

The Rams made it 27-0 (failed XP) midway through the 2nd quarter on Edmonds third TD of the game. Holy Cross would finally break through on their ensuing possession. Geoff Wade (21-36 307 1 TD) connected with Lacy Darrius for a 55 yard gain to set up the Crusaders with a 1st and goal at the Ram 8 yard line. Holy Cross RB Diquan Walker would find pay dirt on the next play to cut the Ram lead to 27-7. The Crusader momentum would be short lived as Anderson and Co. would put together a 7 play 75 yard TD drive to push the Ram lead to 33-7 (failed 2 pt try). Holy Cross would make into the Fordham red zone again on their next possession but on 4th and 15 from the Ram 17 Wade’s pass fell incomplete. Fordham’s offense would once again march down the field. Anderson’s short 2 yard TD toss to Robbi Cantelli (5 rec 70 yards 1 TD) finished off a fast paced 8 play 83 yard drive that lasted a little over a minute. The late first half TD gave Fordham a commanding 40-7 lead as the two teams headed into the Yankee Stadium locker room.

Holy Cross would cut the lead to 40-14 with a TD drive on their first possession of the second half. Geoff Wade hit Richie DeNicola for a 36 yard TD to close out the drive. The Rams would answer the Holy Cross score with a lengthy 5 minute TD drive that pushed the lead back to 33 points. Edmonds 4th rushing TD of the game midway through the 4th quarter closed out the scoring.

Up Next: Fordham will try to keep the playoff, and Patriot League title, hopes alive when they travel to Lewisburg to take on Bucknell. Holy Cross’s season ends with an extremely disappointing 4-7 record. Tom Gilmore’s status as head coach seems to be tenuous at best at this point.

Bucknell 20 Georgetown 7

Bucknell (4-6, 3-2) overcame their disappointing loss to Lehigh last weekend by dispatching of Georgetown (3-7, 0-5) 20-3 in a game that resembled a UFC brawl at Madison Square Garden. With two stout defenses on display, the game figured to be a low scoring slugfest and it was. Bucknell limited the Georgetown offense to 9 first downs and 33 net yards rushing on the day.

The Hoya defense also did a good job for the most part by holding the Bucknell “O” to 295 total yards. The only player they couldn’t get a beat on was Bison RB Joey DeFloria (31 carries 150 yards 2 TDs). Freshman QB John Chiarolanzio surprisingly got the start for Bucknell rather than senior R.J. Nitti. Nitti ( 4-7 41 yards) did see action during the game so he wasn’t held out due to injury. The Bison and Hoyas combined for 13 punts on the day.

Georgetown’s offense had been treading water since league play started and Saturday was no different. The rushing attack (33 net yards) continues to offer very little productivity for the Hoyas. The passing game was once again plagued by multiple interceptions (3) and only one TD pass. Georgetown has the worst passing TD to INT ratio in the Patriot League by a wide margin.

Bucknell received the opening kickoff and proceeded to put together a promising drive before the Hoya defense came up with a big 4th and 7 stop at their 17 yard line to end the scoring threat. Neither team would mount any real offensive surge for the rest of the first quarter. It took until the Bison’s sixth possession of the game for the scoreboard to finally light up. Joey DeFloria’s 14 yard TD run capped off a grinding 8 play 67 yard drive that took over 4 minutes off the clock.

Georgetown got the ball to start the second half. On 2nd down Hoya QB Clay Norris (17-34 157 yards 1 TD 3 INTs) was intercepted by Bucknell’s Bryan Marine at the Hoya 32 yard line. It wasn’t easy, but 8 plays later the Bison took advantage of the excellent field position when Chad Freshnock muscled his way into the end zone from a yard out to extend the lead to 14-0 with 9:38 left in the 3rd quarter. The Hoyas offense would finally break through on their third possession of the second half when Clay Norris hit Jim McLaughlin for a 23 yard TD with 5:10 left in the 3rd quarter. Following the Hoya score, Bucknell’s defense preserved the 7 point lead until Joey DeFloria’s 28 yard TD run with a little over 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter put the game on ice.

Up Next: Bucknell will look to upset Fordham to close out the 2016 on a high note. The Bison have come close to defeating the Rams each of the last 3 years. Georgetown will try to end their 7 game losing streak when they travel to upstate New York to take on Colgate. The Hoyas have not defeated the Raiders since 2011.

Power Rankings

  1. Lehigh
  2. Fordham
  3. Colgate
  4. Bucknell
  5. Holy Cross
  6. Lafayette
  7. Georgetown

SOCON: Week 11 Review and Power Rankings

In a week of upsets all across the college football landscape, the SOCON was not immune.  Wofford, in a mild upset over Chattanooga, gave its playoff hopes a shot in the arm.  VMI gave The Citadel fits before the Bulldogs put it away to claim the Silver Shako once again.  Oh, they also claimed sole possession of the SOCON Championship with a perfect 8-0 conference record.  Samford almost let Mercer come back on them, but held on the secure a likely playoff berth.  Furman racked up another win, this time over Western Carolina.  And ETSU was victorious over Cumberland, although it was a bit close for the Bucs.  The game reviews are bit shorter compared to my usual summaries.  Sorry, am under the gun with family commitments.

#22 Wofford 36  #7 Chattanooga 28 (box score)

Wofford needed to win and they did.  Now at 7-3, the Terriers are most likely playoff bound with a win next week.

Wofford did what they do best, they ran and used up clock time. They totaled 247 yards on the ground and they held back a late rally by Chattanooga.

Chattanooga scored on its first drive of the day. But Wofford scored right back with a 100 yard kickoff return. It went a back and forth in the first quarter, but Wofford went up early in the second quarter and maintained the lead from there. Chattanooga continued to nip at their heels but could not close the gap. A late fourth quarter field goal by Wofford put the gap at 8 and although the Mocs made it deep into Wofford territory with seconds remaining, they could not score.

Alejandro Bennifield went 19/32 for 177 yards for the Mocs with 4 TDs and 2 interceptions. The stingy Terrier defense held the Mocs to only 88 yards on the ground. The Terriers also forced a safety on the Mocs.

Brandon Goodson went 6/11 for 95 yards and 1 TD.  On the ground for the Terriers, Lorenzo Long led with 123 yards.

The win put Wofford in position for at large playoff berth. Chattanooga who was in position for a possible seed and an opening bye week in the playoffs, mostly likely lost any hope of a seed.

Wofford faces VMI next week on the road and Chattanooga will travel to Tuscaloosa to face FBS #1 Alabama.

#4 The Citadel 30  VMI 20 (box score)

With this victory, in addition to retaining the Silver Shako, The Citadel completed a perfect 8-0 season in SOCON play.  VMI did not make it easy.  They pulled out a bunch of gadget plays and caught the Bulldogs flatfooted with them.  On one play, the Keydets executed a double reverse, lateral back to the QB and pass.  I think 5 guys touched the ball on that play.  But The Citadel ground out some long drives late to put it away.

The Bulldogs actually rested at least 3 of their starters in this game including a couple of their running backs and a WR (aka blocker).  It showed.  Couple that with a stubborn VMI defense that held the Dogs to 233 yards on the ground and the Keydets made a game of it. But the Dogs also passed for a season high with Dominique Allen going 6/14 for 133 yards and 1 TD.  Unfortunately for the Dogs, they also suffered their first sack of the season this game.  It came on a blitz.  Allen also led the Dogs in rushing yards with 113.

VMI has some serious issues at QB. With Cobb still out, Austin Coulling started, but he was knocked out of the game with a possible concussion.  Before he left he went 5/7 for 33 yards.  Oh yeah, he also caught a TD pass from WR Ryan Swingle.  Jake Paladino came in to replace Coulling and did a very good job for the Keydets.  He went 9/13 for 100 yards and 1 TD.  The Dogs held the Keydets to 82 yards rushing.

One aspect of the game which VMI did very well in was sustaining drives and chewing up clock.  They held it over 32 minutes which turned the tables on the Dogs.  It was also a fairly sloppy game for the Dogs.  They lost one fumble and also had 8 penalties for 82 yards which did not help their cause.

VMI hosts Wofford next week.  The Citadel travels to Chapel Hill to face FBS top 25 UNC.

#14 Samford 24 Mercer 19 (box score)

Usually if a team outscores an opponent 21-0 in the first quarter, they would be expected to win easily. That is, unless you are playing Mercer. They have a habit of not giving up. That is what happened Saturday. Samford went up 21-0 after one quarter and fought to hang on 24-19.

After three successful drives Samford suffered 4 punts and 2 fumbles before scoring a field goal in the fourth. Samford QB Devlin Hodges still went 39/43 for 401 with 3 TD and no interceptions, which is pretty ridiculous. Mercer held Samford to just 54 yards on the ground.

For Mercer, John Russ went just 13/30 for 183 yards and 1 TD. But he went huge on the ground with 185 yards as well. Mercer held the ball for over 38 minutes which seems to be the best way to beat Samford. Keep the ball away from Hodges. It almost worked.

The win puts Samford at 7-3 and in a good position for an at large playoff berth. The Bulldogs face ETSU on the road next week. Mercer hosts Furman.

Furman 49 Western Carolina 21 (box score)

The Furman Paladins did something Saturday they have not done in well over a year. They won at home. And they did it in a big way. They racked up over 600 yards of offense. This is a team that was averaging under 300 yards a game after their first four games.

Furman’s QB Reese Hannon went 15/21 for 232 yards and 1 TD. On the ground Furman’s Kealand Dirks and Antonio Wilcox both had 100 yard days with 171 and 105 respectively.

Down 14-13 at half, Furman exploded in the second half for 22 points in the third.

WCU’s QB Tyrie Adams had a good day. He went 19/27 for 295 yards with 1 TD and no interceptions. The Catamounts gave up two fumbles on the day. Western’s Detrez Newsome got 56 yards rushing and 2 TDs on 9 tries.

Furman’s defense made a couple stops, but it was really their offense which won them this game. It may have come out of hibernation finally. Or it could be WCU’s defense is sliding deeper into despair. They trail the SOCON in yards given up at 516 a game.

It will not get any easier for the Catamounts as they face FBS South Carolina next week. Furman travels to Macon to face the Mercer Bears.

ETSU 23  Cumberland 16 (box score)

It should have been an easy victory for the ETSU Bucs against NAIA Cumberland. It wasn’t. Cumberland scored on its first two possessions. The Bucs scored on their first three. But Cumberland got a bonus when ETSU had their last XP blocked and Cumberland returned it for 2. ETSU tacked on a field goal late in the second and that was the end of the scoring for the game.  It was all defense from there.

ETSU’s Austin Herink went 11/20 for 163 yards with 1 TD and 2 interceptions. The Cumberland QB, Justin Snyder went 22/36 for 226 yards and gave ETSU’s defense fits most of the night. Jajuan Stinson had 114 yards for the Bucs. Cumberland managed just 116 yards on the ground.

ETSU probably relaxed just a bit for this game when they should have stepped up, especially on defense.

The Bucs host Samford next week and the wicked arm of Devlin Hodges.

Power Rankings

1 – The Citadel – Conference Champions – 8-0

2 – Wofford

3 – Samford

4 – Chattanooga

5 – Furman

6 – Mercer

7 – VMI

8 – Western Carolina

9 – ETSU

MVFC: Week 11 Preview

MVFC LogoMissed last week’s review this time, so here’s just a quick update on that.

MVFC Week 10 Game Scores:

Northern Iowa – 39
Indiana State – 6
UNI WR Marcus Weymiller ran for 171 yards and RB Michael Malloy got 3 rushing TDs. ISUb’s offense held to 201 yards and 0 TDs total and threw 2 interceptions.

Illinois State – 31
Western Illinois – 26
ISUr QB Jake Kolbe passes for 265 yards and 4 TDs and WIU QB Sean McGuire passes for 312 and 2 TDs, but 1 interception.

South Dakota – 28
Southern Illinois – 35
SIU looks to the future, starting Sophomore QB Sam Straub over the Senior transfer that had been starting most of the season. Straub throws for 339 yards and 2 TDs and rushes for 68 and a TD. USD’s talented QB Chris Streveler throws for 219, 2 TDs, and 2 interceptions and runs for 113 yards and 1 TD.

Missouri State – 24
South Dakota State – 49
SDSU’s run game sees 4 different players get rushing TDs (6 total between the 4) and QB Taryn Christion passes for another. SDSU WR Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert both top 100+ yards receiving.

Youngstown State – 3
North Dakota State – 24
NDSU QB Easton Stick only passes for 89 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception, but the run game more than makes up for it, picking up 2 more TDs. The YSU offense performs as expected, notching 1 32-yard FG in the second quarter.

How’d I do against last week’s picks?….

Predicted UNI by 15, actual result is UNI by 33 – W
Predicted WIU by 7, actual result is ISUr by 5 – L
Predicted USD by 13, actual result is SIU by 7 – L
Predicted SDSU by 30, actual result is SDSU by 25 – W
Predicted NDSU by 4, actual result is NDSU by 21 – W
Went 3-2 this week, so I’m now I’m 21-12 for picking MVFC games this season.

Playoff Picture:

Current standings in the conference are…

#2 NDSU: 5-1, 8-1
#10 SDSU: 5-1, 6-3
#15 YSU: 4-2, 6-3
#21 WIU: 3-3, 6-3
#30 UNI: 3-3, 4-5
USD: 3-3, 4-5
#28 ISUr: 3-4, 5-5
MSU: 2-4, 4-5
ISUb: 2-5, 4-6
SIU: 1-5, 3-6

If we consider 7 wins to be the “threshold” for playoff consideration then here’s what the teams need to do to have a shot at the playoffs (outside of the conference autobid):

NDSU – already reached 7+ wins
SDSU – need to win 1 out of 2
YSU – need to win 1 out of 2
WIU – need to win 1 out of 2
UNI – can only reach 6 wins
USD – can only reach 6 wins
ISUr – can only reach 6 wins
MSU – can only reach 5 DI wins (one win over NAIA school)
ISUb – can only reach 5 wins
SIU – can only reach 5 wins

So, NDSU is in the playoffs, they’re just playing for seeding now.
SDSU, YSU, and WIU each need at least 1 win in their last 2 games to be likely in the playoffs.
Everyone else is probably outside looking in, although UNI and ISUr both have an outside shot at playoffs if they win out, being 6-5 and both having wins over P5 FBS teams.

On to the games…

This week, we have:

Southern Illinois at #15 Youngstown State @ 11 AM
Missouri State at #28 Illinois State @ 12 PM
#30 Northern Iowa at #21 Western Illinois @1 PM
South Dakota at #10 South Dakota State @ 2 PM
Indiana State at #2 North Dakota State @ 2:30 PM

Southern Illinois at #15 Youngstown State

SIU is well out of the playoff picture at this point, but could still play spoiler to the Penguins, who need to win 1 more game (out of their final 2) to have a solid shot at the playoffs. This one’s going to be interesting. The Salukis have the FCS’s 8th best passing offense, which appears to have only gotten better when they went with Sophomore QB Sam Straub last week. They’ll have to match up with the FCS’s 9th best passing defense at YSU. The Saluki’s don’t have a great run game, however, which could be an issue against the excellent Penguin run defense. When YSU has the ball, the offense is…well….anemic. Their run game is decent, putting up over 200 yards per game on the ground, but their passing game is horrible, accounting for less than 160 yards per game, which is in the bottom 20 of all FCS teams. Luckily for YSU, the SIU pass defense is also pretty bad and their run defense isn’t great (7th in the conference).

The YSU defense is one of the best in the FCS in keeping opposing teams from scoring, but also one of the worst at scoring themselves. SIU is much more balanced, although their offense is a little bit better than their defense overall. I think we’ll see quite a bit of pressure on the young SIU QB (in only his second ever start) and he’ll struggle…couple of interceptions, maybe 3-4 sacks. The YSU offense will be able to put up just enough points to get past SIU, mostly on the ground.

TL:DR – Youngstown State by 6

Missouri State at #28 Illinois State @ 12 PM

The Bears are also out of the playoff picture, although the Redbirds have an outside shot at an at-large spot if they win this game dominantly and get lucky with some other key “bubble team” losses. They’d be at 6-5 with wins over probable playoff teams SDSU and WIU, as well as the Big 10’s Northwestern, and they would have won the last 3 straight to end the season. It’s probably not hugely likely, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

ISU is ranking slightly ahead of MSU in most areas. They’re very good at not getting penalized and have one of the better pass defenses in the conference. MSU’s offense is currently last in the conference, and generally geared more towards the passing game, although they have thrown 14 interceptions this season, which is worst in the conference.

The other thing is that ISU is just flat-out playing good football right now. Back-to-back weeks with wins over decently ranked teams (SDSU and at WIU). You can argue that the refs helped them out with the SDSU game, but they did get themselves into a position to win both times. The other thing is that sometimes you’ll see teams looking past some of the bottom teams towards the next week’s opponent. This won’t be an issue with ISU, since they have their bye week next weekend, and they need another win to hold on to their (admittedly very slim) playoff hopes. MSU meanwhile is playing on the road, with not much to play for beyond bragging rights. I think ISU will do fine in this game and spend next weekend watching a lot of football on TV and rooting against some other playoff “bubble” teams.

TL:DR – Illinois State by 11

#30 Northern Iowa at #21 Western Illinois

Around the middle in the season, when I was looking at the schedule and what WIU would probably have to do to make the playoffs (win 1 out of the last 3 games against ISUr, UNI, or SIU) I was thinking that it shouldn’t be a problem, since none of the three teams were playing great football and at that point, WIU had only lost one. I’m definately a lot more nervous now that we’re nearing the end of the season. WIU struggled against Illinois State and lost, and UNI has been playing pretty well now that they’ve found an offense. UNI is kinda in the same position as Illinois State, needing to win out to have a slim chance at the playoffs (it’d be a harder road for UNI though, having to beat WIU and then SDSU, whereas ISU just has the one game vs Missouri State left).

It’s kinda hard to just look at stats with Northern Iowa on the offensive side of the ball, since they’ve essentially run 3 different offenses so far this season. The first 6 games, they were running QB Aaron Bailey…and I do mean running, as he was averaging 71 yards per game and had 6 rushing TDs in those 6 games. So…strong run game, but Bailey didn’t really pass much or put up huge yardage through the air (147 yards per game). After dropping to 2-4 on the season after the loss at YSU, they put in sophomore QB Eli Dunne as the starter. Dunne immediately made an impact, throwing for an average of 317 yards and 2 TDs per game over two games, although he did throw 4 INTs against NDSU. Then last weekend, with Dunne out with an injury, they went with a couple of other backup QBs, but actually seemed to do their most damage by direct snapping to WR Marcus Weymiller in the wildcat formation, who rushed for 171 yards. This is even more impressive due to him not touching the ball until around halfway through the 2nd quarter. This week, however, it looks like Dunne will be back at the starting QB spot, but with a newfound option of direct snapping to Weymiller, in addition to the passing ability of Dunne…UNI has suddenly become a rather dangerous offense.

Meanwhile, the UNI defense has rolled along consistently as one of the best in the conference behind only Youngstown State. They have the best player in the FCS at sacks (DL Karter Schult) and are the second best team in the FCS at snagging interceptions.

Western Illinois has had a fairly solid offense mostly, generally set up to go to the pass more often than running the ball, but with transfer RB Jamie Gilmore picking up steam and the talent of Steve McShane, defenses can’t ignore that side of things either. The Leatherneck O-line is also the best in the conference at preventing sacks. Defensively, however, Western has struggled, especially against teams with a good passing game, giving up ~290 yards per game just through the air, mostly through long passing plays. Special teams has also been an issue at times recently, with 5 blocked kicks and a blocked punt allowed this season.

I think that Western could win this game (and I really hope they do), but I think that the advantage is with Northern Iowa right now. That being said, I think that Coach Fisher will have the guys ready to come out and play right off the bat (something they did not do against Illinois State). They’re practically in “playoff mode” already, since I’m not sure 7-5 would be a secure spot if it included losses to a couple of possible 6-5 teams (ISUr and UNI)…that’s assuming they win at SIU next weekend. So a win against UNI would really help solidify their playoff hopes. I realize it’s a “homer” pick, but I think that we’ll finally put together a mostly “full game” and pull off the minor upset in a close, but high scoring game.

TL:DR – Western Illinois by 4

South Dakota at #10 South Dakota State

South Dakota started off the conference season well, winning their first three straight, but then losing the last two against WIU and at SIU. Now probably the toughest part of their schedule is up, with games against SDSU and NDSU to finish out the regular season. I think their playoff hopes are essentially gone, although if they did pull off wins against SDSU and NDSU, then they’d be at 6-5 with those wins and very close losses to likely playoff teams North Dakota, YSU, and WIU. They do have an ugly loss against a bad SIU team last week though, and no FBS win to help counteract that. Meanwhile SDSU is already at 6 wins, but would like to win out and possibly snag a top 8 seed in the playoffs. This is also a rivalry game, sometimes called the South Dakota Showdown Series), with this weekend being the 110th meeting and the overall series actually being tied at 52-52-7.

Statistically, SDSU has the advantage in most categories, with the best offense in the conference, although USD is #2. SDSU has a much better passing game, with QB Taryn Christion passing to probably the best WR in conference history (at least statistically) Jake Wieneke, and likely the best TE currently in the FCS, Dallas Goedert. Both players have 10 or more TDs and 1000+ yards receiving this season (they’re the only two players in the conference with over 1000 yards already). USD’s offense is a bit more balanced, although is stronger in their run game, with the #3 and #5 rushers in the conference. #3 is their QB Chris Streveler, who last week threw for 219 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 113 yards and 1 TD, although did throw 2 interceptions in the loss to SIU.

Defensively, neither team is great against the run, being the last two teams in the conference at giving up yards on the ground, but SDSU’s pass defense is fairly solid. USD has the advantage over SDSU (and really, over nearly every FCS team) in the kicking game, with K/P Miles Bergner being #1 in the FCS in punting average, #3 in the FCS in FGs per game and is a perfect 9 for 9 on FGs less than 40 yards, 4 for 5 in the 40 range and 1 for 3 in the 50+ range.

I think that generally, you can throw out “expected” results when it comes to big rivalry games, but I just don’t think USD will be able to stop SDSU’s offense enough to keep up with them. I think the scores will be high (maybe combined 70-80), but SDSU will pull away enough to win by a bit.

TL:DR – South Dakota State by 10

Indiana State at #2 North Dakota State

ISU is out of the playoff picture now, since they’re at 4 wins and only have this game left to finish out their season. NDSU meanwhile is aiming to finish out their season strong and grab a top seed for the playoffs giving them homefield advantage.

Indiana State has had a few bright spots in their somewhat disappointing season. QB Isaac Harker is #2 in the conference in passing yards with a bit under 2,600 and #2 in passing TDs with 19. They are also the best team in the conference at recovering fumbles. Unfortunately they’re also the worst team in the conference at losing fumbles and at intercepting passes. They also have the worst rushing offense in the MVFC.

North Dakota State, meanwhile, is very good at their run game, on both sides of the ball….#1 in the conference in both rushing offense and their run defense. They don’t pass a ton (QB Easton Stick runs for ~40 yards per game), but they’ve got multiple options for running the ball that are very good, so they don’t often need to, preferring to just keep pounding away on the ground to get their offensive yardage. When they do pass, they generally do it in short bits, but are selective, with the 2nd best passing efficiency in the conference. Overall, this means that they nearly always pick up some positive yards on every play and rarely end up on the “wrong” side of the line of scrimmage…they’re #4 in the FCS and best in the conference at not allowing tackles for loss.

So…on one hand a team that has struggled this year, with not much to play for outside of garnering a bit of respect, and playing away at one of the toughest and loudest stadiums in the FCS. On the other, one of the best teams in the country, playing near the end of the season (when they always play their best) at home, and fighting for a top playoff seed. I’m afraid I don’t really see this one being very close. NDSU put up 24 points against probably the best defense in the conference (YSU) last weekend, so I think they could easily reach 40. Meanwhile, they’ve been holding some pretty good offenses to the 13-20 point range. I don’t see ISU getting past 14 points probably.

TL:DR – North Dakota State by 26