MVFC: Week 8 Review

Well, ok then. This was an interesting week. There were a few fairly expected results, one that was a bit of a larger margin than most were expecting, and then one game that was a surprise blowout.

MVFC LogoTo see what I mean, let’s start with the scores:

#37T Missouri State – 7
#35T Northern Iowa – 61

#35T Illinois State – 24
#24 South Dakota – 27

Indiana State – 22
Southern Illinois – 14

#11 Youngstown State – 10
#7T South Dakota State – 24

#3 North Dakota State – 21
#13 Western Illinois – 13

My reviews are going to a be a bit shorter than usual this time due to lack of time to work on them on Sunday (I’m a lifelong Cubs fan…I was kinda busy Saturday night and pretty much slept all of Sunday).

#37T Missouri State at #35T Northern Iowa

So, last week, if you happened to read my MVFC preview article, you might remember (or if you didn’t, here’s kinda what I said) that I said that Northern Iowa had been having some serious offensive struggles, mostly because (and this is not at all “news” to many of the UNI fans) the quarterback was essentially a decent RB who could also sometimes throw the ball, but that “QB Aaron Bailey would probably actually be better as a RB than as a QB”. In my prediction, however, I did not take into consideration the possibility of just sitting Bailey and starting the next QB, Dunn. To be honest, even if I knew that they were starting Dunne over Bailey, I pretty much would have just thought the result would be about the same and putting it down as a “well…can’t really do much worse, can he?”. Well, for myself and anyone watching the game, the “can’t do much worse” very quickly turned into…

The first play from scrimmage started off poorly for Missouri State, throwing an interception that was taken back to the MSU 2 yard line. UNI wasn’t able to get it across the line though, settling for a FG. MSU’s next possession ended in a punt (in fact,..unless otherwise stated, just assume all of MSU’s possessions ended in punts). UNI on the other hand, well, here’s how the rest of the half went for them:

6 plays, 71 yards – TD
5 plays, 61 yards – TD
7 plays, 79 yards – TD
5 plays, 90 yards – TD
11 plays, 67 yards – FG

In that time frame, MSU would end up putting together a decent drive that ended in a TD, which made the score at halftime 34-7. UNI had put up 369 total yards of offense in the first half alone. For comparison, they had been averaging 336.7 total offensive yards per game up until this game, only exceeding 369 yards twice (398 vs SIU, 378 vs USD) and only exceeding 34 points in an entire game once (42 vs SIU)….and this was just the first half. UNI kept pushing through the 3rd half before letting off the gas in the 4th. They put up “only” 79 yards of offense in the 3rd, although it accounted for another 20 points in large part to two defensive pick-6’s. For the most part, UNI would spend the 4th quarter running the ball down the middle just to finish up the clock, but they did end up getting one more TD on a 14 play drive (of which 11 were just QB handing off to RB J’Veyon Browning for a run). In that time, outside of the two interceptions that the UNI defense returned for TDs, MSU would miss a 34-yard field goal attempt, and punt 4 times, making the final score 61-7.

So, UNI QB Eli Dunne is good…possibly really good. It’s way to early to be crowning him the “second-coming of Carson Wentz” or anything, but it’s obvious that the UNI offense is WAY more effective with Dunne leading it. Dunne would finish the game with a total of 418 yards passing (first time a UNI QB has passed for 400+ yards in 7 years) and 2 TDs and would receive the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award. A large chunk of the yardage went to RB Trevor Allen, who had 108 yards receiving (on 2 passes) and 1 TD. WR Daurice Fountain had 87 yards, and WR Jalen Rima had 68 and a TD. RB J’Veyon Browning rushed for 50 yards and a TD, and RBs Tyvis Smith and Michael Malloy each had 35-40 yards and 1 and 2 TDs (respectively). LB D’Shawn Dexter led the team with 8 tackles and DL Karter Schult had 5 tackles and 1 sack. DB A.J. Allen had the first interception taken back to nearly a pick-6, and LB Duncan Ferch and DB Elijah Campbell each had pick-6’s in the 3rd quarter.

Missouri State QB Brodie Lambert would finish with 103 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions, and 3 sacks. QB Michael Briggs would also throw an interception. TB Jason Randall would lead the team with 35 receiving yards and their only TD, as well as 36 yards on the ground. TB Calan Crowder would lead the team with rushing yards with 39. LB Dylan Cole had 13 tackles.

Northern Iowa moves to 2-2 in the conference, and 3-4 overall (and despite the win, many UNI fans are mourning what “could have been” with Dunne at the helm for the entire season so far) and will test their newfound offense against North Dakota State next weekend. Missouri State falls to 1-3 in the MVFC, and 3-4 overall and heads home to take on Southern Illinois next weekend.

#35T Illinois State at #24 South Dakota

A couple of fairly evenly-matched teams this time…ISU with a little better passing offense and USD with a little better running offense. The game started off with a USD 29-yard FG, which ISU responded to with a 17 yard TD run on their next possession. The next couple of USD possessions would result in TDs while holding ISU to punts. A few drives later, ISU would thrown an interception, which USD would drive down the field with, turning into another TD, making the score 24-7 and giving the Coyotes their biggest lead of the game. ISU would get a 44-yard FG and then a TD a couple of drives later to make the halftime score 24-17 USD.

In the second half, South Dakota was throw an interception, which ISU fumbled back to them 6 plays later on. USD would pick up a 39-yard FG a little while later, and then it was mostly just 3-and-outs for both teams until an ISU TD about midway through the 4th, pulling them within 3 points. Eventually ISU would have to go for it on 4th down, but an incomplete pass would turn it over, essentially ending the game with a final score of 27-24, South Dakota.

Coyotes starting QB Chris Streveler didn’t play (still dealing with concussion issues, I believe), so backup QB Ryan Saeger was in for a little bit, throwing for 42 yards. He was knocked out of the game early on though, so R-Fr. QB Austin Simmons took over, throwing for 205 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 interception and running for 36 yards and earning the MVFC Newcomer of the Week award. WR Donovan Riley caught 64 yards and 1 TD, and WR Tacari Carpenter caught 59 yards and a TD. RB Trevor Bouma ran for 55 yards and RB Michael Fredrick ran for 24 and a TD. LB Jet Moreland finished with 12 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a fumble recovery, and DB Jacob Warner had an interception taken back for 28 yards. Special teams standout Miles Bergner went 2-2 on FGs hitting from 29 and 39, as well as kicking 7 punts that averaged 50 yards per punt and snagging him the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.

Illinois State QB Jake Kolbe threw for 241 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception and was sacked 3 times. WR Spencer Schnell caught for 83 yards, WR Anthony Fowler caught 72, and WR Christian Gibbs caught 61 and a TD. RB DeMarco Corbin ran for 108 yards and a TD and RB James Robinson also had a rushing TD. LB Alejandro Rivera led the team with 12 tackles, and S Mitchell Brees had 9 tackles w/ 1 for loss. DB Davontae Harris had a forced fumble and an interception to go along with 5 tackles. Punter Reece Attard would average 42 yards on 6 punts.

South Dakota is now 3-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall and will host Western Illinois next weekend. Illinois State drops to 1-4 in the MVFC and 3-5 overall and will continue what has been a disappointing season so far with a home game against conference “top dog” South Dakota State next weekend.

Indiana State at Southern Illinois

Outside of Sycamore and Saluki fans, I’m not sure there was much interest in this game going into it, considering both teams were sitting pretty low in the conference rankings. For the most part, the game lived up to the “hype”. In the first quarter, SIU was able to get on the board first with a TD and later ISU got their first points off a 44-yard FG. Otherwise, each team had a fumble, each had a missed FG, and everything else was punts or turnovers on downs. In the second quarter, SIU would miss another FG, and then later, ISU took the lead with a 9-yard TD pass to put them ahead 10-7 going into halftime. In the second half, it was punts back and forth until ISU would get a 12-yard TD pass (missed XP) to put them ahead 16-7. Turnovers on downs for both sides would take them into the 4th quarter. ISU would hit an 85-yard TD pass early in the 4th, putting them ahead 22-14, but then SIU would respond with their own TD drive, highlighted by a 54-yard pass, and a FG attempt->roughing the kicker penalty->first down, which would bring the score to 22-14. A few drives later, and an ISU missed 22-yard FG would keep the score the same until the end, with the Sycamores claiming the fairly ugly victory.

ISU QB Isaak Harker threw for 336 yards and 3 TDs in the win. WR Miles Thompson would end up with 147 receiving yards and 1 TD, while WR Robert Tonyan caught for 131 yards and 2 TDs. RB Dimitri Taylor led the team with 79 rushing yards. LB Jameer Thurman finished with 13 total tackles in the game, and LB Katrell Moss had a fumble recovery.

SIU QB Josh Straughan threw for 250 yards, but was sacked 4 times. QB Matt Desomer threw 3 passes for 14 yards and ran for 40 yards and 2 TDs. WR Ryan Sousa caught 72 yards on 3 catches. LB Chase Allen led the team with 9 tackles, 1 for loss. DE Khari Waithe-Alexander had 1 sack and a forced fumble.

Indiana State moves up to 2-3 in the conference, 4-4 overall, and will head over to Youngstown State next weekend. Southern Illinois falls to 0-4 in the MVFC and 2-5 overall and will play at Missouri State in another “Battle for the Bottom” next weekend.

#11 Youngstown State at #7T South Dakota State

Now we move from “ugly game of the week” to all-around “FCS Game of the Week” with the Youngstown State Penguins and their “brick wall” of a D-line going against the passing attack of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. With both teams heading in undefeated in the MVFC, the winner of this game would earn the top spot in the conference at this point in the season.

SDSU got out to an early lead in the game thanks to a TD on the first drive headlined by a 61-yard pass. Three plays later and YSU would throw an interception that was taken back to the YSU 4 yard line. One TD pass later and SDSU was already up 14-0. YSU would end up with a 28-yard FG to give them a few points in the first quarter, but from then on it was mostly defense on both sides of the ball. In the second quarter, SDSU would hit a 20-yard FG to put them ahead 17-3 going into halftime. In the second half, YSU would fumble on their first drive, which SDSU would turn into another TD. YSU would finally find the end zone late in the 4th quarter on a 2 yard TD run, but it was too little, too late, as the Penguins would fall 24-10.

SDSU QB Taryn Christion threw for 189 yards and 2 TDs with 1 interception and would run for 60 yards. TE Dallas Goedert caught 108 yards of passes and WR Jake Wieneke would catch for only 33 yards but did get a TD. WR Connor Landberg would make one catch, but it was a 4-yard TD catch. RB Brady Mengarelli ran for 74 yards and a TD. LB Jesse Bobbit had 10 total tackles, and LB Christian Rozeboom had 6 tackles, ½ sack, a forced fumble, and an interception returned for 26 yards. DT Kellen Soulek had 5 tackles including 2 sacks and a pass breakup, earning him the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

Youngstown State QB Ricky Davis passed for 115 yards and 1 interception as well as running for 45 yards. QB Nathan Mays also got playing time, throwing for 37 yards and running for 30. WR Damoun Patterson led the team with 31 receiving yards. RB Martin Ruiz led the team with 50 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards. RB Tevin McCaster ran for only 6 yards but picked up YSU’s only TD. SS Jameel Smith led the team in tackles with 11 and LB Armand Dellovade had 10, including 2 for loss. FS LeRoy Alexander had an interception, and DT Savon Smith would pick up a fumble recovery.

South Dakota State is now sitting at the top of the conference at 4-0, with a 5-2 overall record and will head down to Normal to take on Illinois State next weekend. Youngstown State is still in good position at 3-1 in the conference and 5-2 overall and will head back home to take on Indiana State next weekend.

#3 North Dakota State at #13 Western Illinois

In the late game, which was also something of a secondary “FCS Game of the Week”, the Bison headed to Macomb to play the Leathernecks. NDSU got on the board first with a 63 yard TD drive that included a 48-yard pass. WIU responded by driving down the field well, but was unable to get the final yard to make the TD, settling for a FG. The next drive, NDSU threw an interception, but again WIU was unable to get into the end zone, settling for a 28-yard FG to make it 7-6 Bison. In the second quarter, NDSU put together two TD drives to make the halftime score 21-6. In the second half, NDSU was held to a punt and WIU was able to put together their own TD drive, bringing them within 8 points, 21-13. NDSU threw another interception, but WIU was unable to get points, missing on a blocked 33-yard FG. In the 4th, NDSU had their own 28-yard FG blocked. The Western offense then essentially fell apart, fumbling the ball on 4th and goal from the NDSU 1 yard line, throwing an interception three plays into their next drive, and then another interception on the first play from scrimmage their next drive (down by 8 with less than a minute left…they were just going for it at that point). To WIU’s credit, their defense was able hold NDSU’s offense scoreless in the second half.

In my preview I mentioned how both teams were VERY good at time of possession. Well, Western won that battle, holding onto the ball for 32:25 of the game, although part of the reason that the Leathernecks have a large TOP is because when they score, it’s often a long drive down the field, but when their opponents score, it’s a short drive, including a long pass, that only takes a minute or two. Western had trouble stopping the run, giving up 197 yards on the ground, but turnovers and missed opportunities killed the Leathernecks chances of coming away with a win (2 times getting to the 1 yard line but not getting a TD, and having a FG blocked).

North Dakota State QB Easton Stick threw for 160 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions and ran for 45 yards. WR Darrius Shepherd caught for 74 yards, and TE Jeff Illies caught 37 yards and a TD. RB King Frazier ran for 89 yards and 2 TDs. DT Nate Tanguay led the team in tackles with 9. LB Pierre Gee-Tucker had 8 tackles and a fumble recovery. CB Jalen Allison had 6 tackles including 1 sack and an interception, and FS Trey Dempsey also had an interception.

Western Illinois QB Sean McGuire finished with 183 passing yards, 2 interceptions, and 2 sacks as well as leading the team in rushing yards with 37. RB Jamie Gilmore had 13 net yards but did pick up a rushing TD. WR Lance Lenoir was held to 61 receiving yards and WR Joey Borsellino had 41. LB Brett Taylor finished with 14 tackles including 1 for loss and DB David Griffith had 8 tackles including 1 for loss. True freshman WR-turned-DB Darron Wheeler had his first interception of his career with one returned for 25 yards, and LB Adam Brott also had an interception.

North Dakota State moves up to 3-1 in the conference and 6-1 overall and will have another tough road game at Northern Iowa next weekend. Western Illinois is now 2-2 in the MVFC and 5-2 overall and will also play a tough and likely emotional road game against South Dakota next weekend. Remember, WIU’s HC coach from the previous 3 years (Bob Nielson) is now the HC at South Dakota and he took much of his coaching staff with him (for comparison…here’s WIU’s staff last year and here’s USD’s staff this year…by my count there’s 8 coaches that were on both). What this means is that, for a large majority of Leathernecks on the field in this game, they were recruited to Western by the coaches that will be on the other sideline. Add in the fact that there was some WIU players not entirely happy with how the whole transition went down, and there’s going to be quite a big of emotion in this one.

On to my picks…

Last week, in my preview articles, here’s what I had picked for the game results as compared with what actually happened:

Northern Iowa over Missouri State by 7 – Well, UNI beat MSU…I got that much right. I didn’t expect it to be by 54 points…I don’t think anyone saw that coming, but I did get the pick right, so that’s a win (barely).

Illinois State over South Dakota by 3 – Come on Redbirds…losing to South Dakota by a field goal?….so cliche. Guess I missed it by thaaaat much |——|.

Southern Illinois over Indiana State by 7 – Well, I got the margin about right, but it was ISU by 8, not SIU by 7. I expected a bit more out of SIU’s QB, but apparently they’ve decided to write this season off and just go for a good draft pick….wait…..that’s not how this works? Then I don’t know what SIU is doing…other than losing…just like me with this pick.

South Dakota State over Youngstown State by 6 – SDSU won by 14…a little larger margin than I was expecting, but for the most part, a similar result. YSU had a hard time scoring, SDSU was able to get some big plays, but not putting up quite the numbers that they’d done in most of their games so far. Still, I call that a win.

North Dakota State over Western Illinois by 7 – Do I know my team or what? I really wanted to be wrong on my pick, and the D-line did step up quite a bit when they needed to, but with essentially no ground game, and not being able to punch it in on a couple of goal-line stands (much credit to the NDSU front-line guys…they’re really really good)…that might fly against lower teams, but it’s not going to cut it against the Bison. I picked NDSU by 7….they won by 8…that’s a sad win for me, and a failure of my Leathernecks to take a big step forward in their improvement over the past 5 years.

So, that makes me 3-2 on my picks for this week, added to my 13-6 from previous weeks, and I’m now 15-8.

Later this week, you can expect to see my MVFC Week 9 preview article which will discuss South Dakota State at Illinois State (could be very 1-sidedly ugly), Southern Illinois at Missouri State (probably just ugly all-around), Western Illinois at South Dakota (close and emotional), Indiana State at Youngstown State (loooooow scoring), and North Dakota State at Northern Iowa (the top conference game this week, I’d say, and there’s probably a lot of NDSU fans a bit nervous after seeing the numbers that UNI put up last weekend). Could be an interesting weekend.

SLC: Week 9 Preview

It was a fun week in the Southland, as Abilene Christian finally notched a win vs Incarnate Word 52-27, and Southeastern Louisiana put a muzzle on the Huskies of HBU 37-3. Central Arkansas’ offense decided to take the week off, but still handled Lamar 22-12. Sam Houston stays undefeated, knocking off Nicholls State 38-21, and McNeese State stuck a fork in the Demons, getting the win 48-27. We are hitting the home stretch and the last four weeks of the season are shaping up to be good ones.

Here are your week 9 “Rev”-elations.

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Central Arkansas at Southeastern Louisiana

Central Arkansas is still rolling undefeated through the Southland, coming off of a win against Lamar 22-12. While the Bears’ offense decided to take the week off, their defense stepped up and kept Lamar from getting anything done. Overall this season, UCA has looked to be the only team in conference who can give Sam a good fight, and November 19th should be circled on everyone’s calendars. Southeastern Louisiana is on a roll, and they are looking to sneak into the playoffs as an at-large bid. With the win over Houston Baptist, they are on a three game win streak and sit at 4-1 in Southland Conference play. This is the Southland Conference game of the week, as Southeastern could put a wrench in UCA’s playoff plans. I think Central Arkansas will narrowly pull off the victory 38-31.

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Houston Baptist at Lamar

Well the good news for both of these teams is that the season is two-thirds of the way done. Houston Baptist has shown some improvement this year and have been able to hang in during games, but they are on a four game losing streak and sitting near the bottom of the conference. They travel to Lamar, who in the span of two weeks lost their star running back Kade Harrington, and then lost their starting quarterback to a shoulder injury, and it will be interesting to see how they recover. They are 3-2 in conference and while they probably won’t make the playoffs, they can finish in the top half of the conference if they can persevere with a backup quarterback and backup running back. I think they beat the Huskies 28-17, and get their fourth conference win.

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Stephen F Austin at Incarnate Word

The Lumberjacks come off of their bye, and we shall see if they managed to recover from Southeastern Louisiana destroying their playoff hopes. At this point, Clint Conque has to be on the hot seat, and how SFA plays the final four games could determine if Conque gets to coach his son through his senior season. SFA travels to San Antonio to take on the Cardinals, who sit at 1-4 in conference and are coming off of a loss at Abilene Christian. Incarnate Word has a decent offense, but their defense is subpar, and SFA should be able to pick it apart. I think the Jacks get back to .500 and beat the Cardinals 42-24.
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Nicholls at Northwestern State

Nicholls is having an interesting season, sitting at 3-4 overall and 3-2 in conference. The Colonels defense has been keeping them in games, and they played Sam Houston tough. Nicholls has the opportunity to play spoiler to both Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana, and if they win out, they’d finish at 7-4 and could potentially sneak an at-large bid into the playoffs. They travel to Natchitoches to face the hapless Demons, who are still looking for their first win in conference, and their first win against a Division 1 school. Their offense just cannot get it together and their defense is porous. The Colonels should march through the Demons’ defense, and take this 28-7

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Texas Southern at Sam Houston

First in total offense and scoring offense, second in passing offense, and pass efficiency, and third in sacks allowed, and no I’m not talking about Texas Southern. That’s Sam Houston this year, and they are just steamrolling through the competition. While their strength of schedule is weak, they are a force to be reckoned with. This week, they take a break from Southland action and take on the Tigers of Texas Southern. TSU is 3-4 right now and 3-3 in the SWAC, and they lost against Houston Baptist in their only other game vs a Southland Conference foe. I think this one gets ugly early and Sam rolls 63-7.
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Abilene Christian at McNeese

There was a party at Shotwell Stadium last weekend as ACU finally ended their streak of imperfection and got their first win of the season, taking out Incarnate Word. Now, the Wildcats hope to keep that momentum going as they head to Lake Charles. ACU has the talent to be a top tier team in the Southland, but this season they just seemed to have misfired, and perhaps having a season like this while they are ineligible for the postseason is better than doing it during their first year of eligibility. They now look to be a spoiler to the Cowboys, who are sitting at 3-3 in conference and 4-4 overall. If McNeese can win out their games, they’d sit at 7-4, but would probably still be on the outside looking in for playoffs. This game could be a trap game for McNeese, as the Cowboys draw the Bearkats next weekend in Huntsville, and hopefully they aren’t looking past the Wildcats. I think McNeese wins this one, but I don’t think it’ll be a blowout. Final score here of 35-31.

AGS GOTW: Week 8 | Youngstown State at South Dakota State

The Game of the Week for Week 8 did not live up to expectations. It was over almost at quickly as it began. South Dakota State ran away with things early as the Jackrabbits put up 2 touchdowns in the first 4 minutes of the game. Brady Mengarelli capped off a 75 yard drive with a 2 yard run for the first SDSU touchdown and Jacks QB Taryn Christion connected with Connor Landberg to give the Jackrabbits a 14-0 lead with 11:14 left in the first quarter. Youngstown State tagged on a FG to make it 14-3 heading into the 2nd quarter.

But it was tough sledding from there for the Penguins. Their next 8 drives would stall out with 4 punts, a missed FG attempt, the end of the half and a turnover on downs. They scored their only touchdown of the day with 2:59 left in the game and it was too little, too late.

In a lopsided game like this between two highly ranked teams you would think there must have been a large discrepancy in the turnover margin. That was not the case in this one. Each team lost a fumble and threw an interception.

Christion had a fairly quiet day by his standards. He went 15 for 21 through the air for 189 yards, 2 touchdowns, and the aforementioned interception. He would add 60 yards on the ground on 11 carries.

Mengarelli was the leading rusher on the day for the Jacks with 74 yards on 15 carries and the first touchdown of the game.

The Penguins held SDSU WR Jake Wieneke to 33 yards on 5 catches, 1 for a touchdown. They couldn’t contain TE Dallas Goedert. He pulled in 6 catches for 108 yards to lead the SDSU offense in receiving yards.

The Penguin offense had a decent day and they did it by committee. Two different quarterbacks took snaps, five players had rushing attempts, and seven different players caught a pass. They combined for 159 yards on the ground and 152 yards through the air.

Youngstown State had not posted any highlights at the time of publication. They will be added later if they post any.

Moving Forward:

South Dakota State continues to hold their destiny in their hands. They have a road game against an Illinois State team that has dropped off quite a bit from 2015 before hosting Missouri State and South Dakota. Their biggest challenge may be a Northern Iowa squad with a brand new quarterback and offense. If the Panthers get things rolling then the last game of the season in the UNI-Dome may be a battle against a Northern Iowa team trying to get into the playoffs. That could be a concern given how SDSU finished against Western Illinois last season.

Youngstown State SHOULD be fine. Whether or not they will be is another story. The only real challenge left on the schedule is North Dakota State, so at worst the Penguins should be in the playoffs at 8-3. The issue is that YSU has a history of falling apart as the season rolls on. I’ll withhold the negativity unless they drop the game with Indiana State this weekend.

AGS Poll: Top 25 Week 8 Results

The week 8 AGS Top 25 poll was not nearly as volatile this week as it was last week. The top 5 remained unchanged as Eastern Washington, Jacksonville State, North Dakota State, Sam Houston State, and The Citadel all maintained their positions in that order. 5 teams received 1st place votes; the top 4 along with James Madison who came in at #6.

There were no big risers on the week amongst teams previously included in the top 25 but several teams jumped 3 spots including Cal Poly, Central Arkansas, and North Dakota to come in at #11-#13, respectively. New Hampshire reclaimed a spot in the top 25 rising four spots to come in at #23 and Weber State made their 2016 debut in the top 25 rising up 8 spots to #24.

Montana had one of the biggest drops of the week falling 6 spots into a tie at #15 following their loss to Northern Arizona. Western Illinois also dropped 5 spots to #18 after dropping a tight contest to 3rd ranked NDSU. Eastern Illinois also dropped 6 spots to barely cling onto their top 25 ranking coming in at #25 after a surprising loss to Murray State. Albany and Wofford dropped out of the top 25 following losses last week.

The Big Sky, CAA, and MVFC each had 5 teams make the top 25. The SOCON followed with 3.

Full results below:

Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes Previous Wk.
1 Eastern Washington Eagles 1992 41 1
2 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1931 20 2
3 North Dakota State Bison 1921 12 3
4 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1773 7 4
5 The Citadel Bulldogs 1716 5
6 James Madison Dukes 1618 3 6
7 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 1614 8
8 Richmond Spiders 1580 7
9 Chattanooga Mocs 1385 10
10 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 1273 12
11 Cal Poly Mustangs 1177 14
12 Central Arkansas Bears 1003 15
13 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 939 16
14 Youngstown State Penguins 933 11
15T Montana Grizzlies 925 9
15T Samford Bulldogs 925 17
17 Villanova Wildcats 856 18
18 Western Illinois Leathernecks 836 13
19 North Carolina A&T Aggies 540 20
20 Stony Brook Seawolves 500 21
21 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 348 23
22 South Dakota Coyotes 271 24
23 New Hampshire Wildcats 185 27
24 Weber State Wildcats 131 32
25 Eastern Illinois Panthers 100 19
ORV:
26 Harvard Crimson 88 28
27 Grambling State Tigers 68 29T
28 Tennessee State Tigers 60 26
29 Maine Black Bears 55 29T
30 Albany Great Danes 53 22
31 Sacred Heart Pioneers 48 31
32 Wofford Terriers 46 25
33 Northern Iowa Panthers 22 35T
34 North Carolina Central Eagles 20 34
35 Liberty Flames 18 37T
36 Fordham Rams 9 39T
37 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 7 NR
38 William & Mary Tribe 5 39T
39T Saint Francis Red Flash 2 NR
39T San Diego Toreros 2 NR
37
Fell Out Of Poll:
Illinois State Redbirds
Missouri State Bears
Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Most Significant Win:    South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Most Significant Loss:    Montana Grizzlies

 

 

 

Patriot League: Week 8 Review and Power Rankings

Week 8 in the Patriot League saw Lehigh and Fordham get key conference wins to set up their showdown next week in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks posted an impressive road win over Holy Cross to run their winning streak to 6 games. Fordham overcame injuries and a key suspension to pull out a grinding 17-14 win over Georgetown. Edmonds had another excellent game in the “W”.  The final game of the weekend was highlighted by Bucknell’s dominating 4th quarter  that allowed the Orange and Blue to pull away from Lafayette on homecoming in Lewisburg. The win kept the Bison’s league title dreams alive.

#23 Lehigh 46 Holy Cross 14

Lehigh (6-2, 3-0) secured their 5th winning season in 6 years with an impressive 32 point win over Holy Cross (3-5, 1-2) in Worcester. The Mountain Hawks once again turned to backup QB Brad Mayes (20-30 287 yards 3 TDs) to lead the way on a windy, rainy New England afternoon. The sophomore signal caller put forth another great performance in the victory. The Crusaders had to dig a little deeper on the depth chart for their starting QB. Third stringer Blaise Bell (14-27 157 yards 3 INTs) was surprisingly pressed into the starting role when Geoff Wade was unable to go due to a calf injury he suffered against Harvard last week. The game started well for Bell and Co. but things would spiral downhill rather quickly.

Holy Cross received the opening kickoff and promptly went on a 6 play 75 yard TD drive. Bell’s 38 yard completion to Jake Wieczorek (4 rec 76 yards) was the key play of the drive. Fellow WR Brandon Flaherty (5 rushes 18 yards 1 TD, 5 rec 15 yards) finished off the drive with a 5 yard TD scamper. The Crusaders would not be able to capitalize on the early momentum. After the two teams traded punts Lehigh’s offense got things rolling. Dominic Bragalone (17 carries 182 yards 2 TDs) carried the ball 4 out of 5 plays on a 56 yard TD drive that lasted less than 90 seconds. Following the TD drive the Lehigh defense would really assert itself. Of the Crusaders five remaining first half possessions, 4 would end in punts while the other resulted in a Bell interception.

Lehigh would get things going again early in the 2nd quarter. The Mountain Hawks put together an impressive 11 play 81 yard TD drive that pushed them into the lead for the first time. RB Micco Brisker capped the drive with a 1 yard plunge. After a bobbled snap on the point after attempt Mountain Hawk QB Nick Shafnisky found defensive lineman Tyler Cavenas for a 2 point conversion which gave Lehigh a 15-7 lead with a little over 10 minutes left in the first half. The Mountains Hawk would tack on a 34 yards Ed Mish FG in the first half to take an 18-7 lead into the locker room.

Lehigh would take firm control of the game on their opening possession of the second half with an efficient 7 play 75 yard TD drive. Mayes got his first passing TD of the day when he found Gatlin Casey (6 rec 94 yards 1 TD) on a short 2 yard crossing pattern to extend Lehigh’s lead to 25-7. Following a quick Crusader 3 and out Lehigh added another nail in coffin when Dominic Bragalone busted through the line and went 66 yards untouched into the end zone to give Lehigh a commanding 32-7 lead with 11:14 left in the 3rd quarter. Mayes would connect with Troy Pelletier (9 rec 70 yards 2 TDs) for two short touchdowns to close out the scoring for Lehigh. Holy Cross would add a late Domenic Cozier (17 rushes 59 yards 1 TD) TD run.

Up Next: Lehigh welcomes Fordham to Goodman Stadium for a huge game that will have league and national ramifications. Holy Cross ventures to the almost frozen tundra of Hamilton, NY to take on Colgate.

Fordham 17 Georgetown 14

Fordham (5-2, 2-0) was able to survive the suspension of starting QB Kevin Anderson and numerous mistakes to sneak by upset minded Georgetown (3-4, 0-2) by 3 points. Luke Medlock (12-21 95 yards 2 TDs 1 INT) got the start for the Rams but was forced to leave the game in the 3rd quarter with an injury. Fordham then had to turn to 3rd stringer Colton Smith (1-2 6 yards) to close out the win in crunch time. The one asset the Rams did have on a chilly day in the Bronx was Chase Edmonds. The junior RB’s 179 yards allowed him to surpass Kirwin Watson in the record books to become the all-time leading rusher in Fordham history. Georgetown could have used some of Edmonds yards themselves. The Hoyas finished with -2 total rushing yards for the game. Like Fordham, Georgetown turned to a 3rd string QB in the second half.

There was little indication this would turn out to be a low scoring slugfest based on the start of the game. Ram backup QB Luke Medlock led Fordham on a very impressive 13 play 85 yard TD drive on their opening possession of the game. Medlock notched his first collegiate TD pass when found Robbi Cantelli (2 rec 40 yards 2 TDs) from 3 yards out to give Fordham a 7-0 lead with a little over 10 minutes left in the first quarter. The Rams offense got things going again after Jihaad Pretlow intercepted Clay Norris (6-15 112 yards 1 TD 3 INTs) and returned the ball to the Hoya 42. Medlock connected with Cantelli again, this time from 37 yards out, to give Fordham a 14-0 lead with 4:04 left in the opening quarter. Just when it looked like the Rams were going to win going away the Hoyas changed the complexion of the game with one play. One 1st and 10 from their own 41, Clay Norris hit a streaking Brand Williams for a 59 yard TD strike to draw the Hoyas to within 7.

Georgetown’s special teams would step up with a huge blocked punt deep in Fordham territory early in the second quarter. It wasn’t easy but six plays later Hoya RB Isaa Ellsworth found pay dirt from a yard out to tie the game at 14 with 11:27 left before half time. Fordham fumbled the ensuing kickoff but the Hoyas were unable to take advantage. Clay Norris’s 3rd down pass was picked off Antoni Jackson at the Ram 14 yard line to squash the Hoya’s momentum. The rest of the first half would see both teams continue to make ugly mistakes. The only scoring threat came when Makay Redd missed a 48 yard FG.

The third quarter was plagued by quarterback changes and more turnovers. Following Clay Norris’s interception on Georgetown’s opening possession of the second half head coach Rob Sgarlta turned to Brock Johnson (8-14 57 yards 2 INTs). Fordham’s Luke Medlock was forced to leave the game with an injury when he was strip sacked by Phil Novacki midway through the quarter. The Hoyas had 44 total yards in quarter while Fordham could only muster up 17.

The Rams finally put together a promising drive to start the 4th quarter. Fordham would rush the ball 9 straight times to get to a 4th and 1 at the Hoya 1 yard line. Rookie Ram head coach Andrew Breiner elected to go for it but on the 10th play of the drive Edmonds was stuffed by the Georgetown front 7. Georgetown would get the ball out of harm’s way before Johnson was intercepted Caleb Ham. Ham returned the pick to Hoya 28 yard line. The Rams would get the ball inside the 10 before the Hoya defense once against stiffened. Faced with another 4th and short, Breiner elected to send in Redd for a chip shot FG. Redd knocked it through to give Fordham a 17-14 lead with a 3:03 left in regulation. Georgetown would get one last chance to tie or win the game but Johnson threw his second pick of the game to end the Hoya’s upset bid.

Up Next: Fordham travels to Lehigh for what should be the Patriot League game of the year. The Rams have won the last 3 meetings against the Mountain Hawks. Georgetown heads to Easton, PA to take on a struggling Lafayette team.

Bucknell 42 Lafayette 17

The Bison (3-4, 2-1) put forth an impressive display on homecoming en route to a 42-17 over Lafayette (1-7, 0-3). R.J. Ritti returned at quarterback for Bucknell. The senior field general had not seen game action since he sustained an injury against Duquesne on September 10th. Nitti’s numbers weren’t Heisman worthy (8-18 90 yards 1 TD 1 INT) but his experience and leadership certainly helped the Bison in the victory. Nitti and the rest of the Bucknell offense benefited from another big game from Joey DeFloria (27 carries 130 yards 1 TD). The junior RB is making a strong case for 1st team all-league honors. Fordham’s Chase Edmonds already has the one spot wrapped up. Talented WR Will Carter also had a solid game. The school record holder in receiving yards added 2 rushing TD’s in the win.

The game started with both teams trading punts on their first possessions. Lafayette got their offense going the second time they touched the ball. The Leopards were able to put together a solid 10 play 62 yard drive that ended with a Jacob Bissell 25 yard chip FG. Following their third straight 3 and out of the game Bucknell’s offense finally awoken. Will Carter capped a 3 play 43 yard drive with a 17 yard TD run off of a jet sweep to give Bucknell a 7-3 lead with a little over 1 minute left in the first quarter. The Bison extended their lead the next time they touched the ball. This time it was Nitti finding TE Andrew Podbielski for a 9 yard TD midway through the 2nd quarter.

The Bison got to work on their first possession of the second half with an impressive 9 play 75 yard drive. Will Carter finished it off with his second TD on a jet sweep. Now trailing 21-3, the Lafayette offense finally found their groove. Drew Reed (12-21 167 yards 1 TD 1 INT) hit a streaking Joey Chenoweth for a 65 yard TD on the Leopards first play from scrimmage in the second half to cut the Bison lead to 21-10. The Lafayette defense would step up with an interception on Bucknell’s next possession. The offense took advantage of the excellent field position by notching their second TD in a 90 second span. RB Mike Dunn found the end zone from 18 yards out to draw the Leopards to within 4 points. The score would remain 21-17 heading into the 4th quarter.

Bucknell made sure Lafayette would not complete the comeback during the final 15 minutes of the game. The Bison opened up the 4th quarter with an impressive 8 play 76 yard TD drive to push their lead back to 11 points. Chad Freshnock (18 carries 81 yards 2 TDs) ended the drive by bulldozing his way into the end zone from 1 yard out. The Bucknell defense would keep the momentum going. Brett Berg intercepted Drew Reed and returned the ball to the Leopard 24 yard line. The Bison would take advantage of turnover 2 plays later on DeFloria’s short 4 yard TD run to extend the lead to 35-17. Freshnock scored his second TD of the game with 4:04 left in 4th quarter to finish off an impressive final quarter by the Bucknell.

Up Next: The Bison head south for a late season out of conference game against Top 15 Charleston Southern. Lafayette will try to end their 7 game losing streak against Georgetown in the friendly confines of Fisher Field. 

Power Rankings

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

SOCON: Week 8 Review and Power Rankings

There was a wild finish in Spartanburg as The Citadel snatched a victory in OT over Wofford after being down for much of the game.  Chattanooga took care of business against the VMI Keydets.  ETSU got its third win of the season by beating West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday night.  Mercer got a scare from a late Austin Peay rally in a crazy game.  And Samford handled Western Carolina.

#5 The Citadel 24   #25 Wofford 21 (OT) (box score)

Wofford shut down The Citadel’s running game fairly well for most of this game.  In fact, they held the FCS leading Bulldogs to their lowest rushing total all year at 190 yards (Furman held the Dogs to 191 early).  That should have been enough to win.  Should have been, but the Terriers did something else they haven’t done all year, and that is turn the ball over.  This game is destined to become a classic in SOCON lore.  Well, at least in Bulldog lore.  It was nail biter from towards the end of the third quarter when The Citadel started to rally, all the way into OT.  This game had it all: fumbles (real and imagined), big runs, an interception (of sorts), and blocked kicks.  (If you didn’t see it, it is worth it to view the condensed highlights here)

The first half was a defensive coach’s dream. The teams traded four punts to open the game.  On Wofford’s third possession they finally got it going and drove 66 yards in 6 plays to go up 7-0.  The key play on this drive was the first of the drive as Wofford’s QB, Brandon Goodson, ran for 26 yards to the Bulldog 40.  Enter the Refs.  As Goodson got wrapped up, Kailik Williams took the ball right out of his hands before they hit the ground.  Ruling on the field?  Down by contact.  This seemed to deflate the Dogs a bit.  It is easy to complain about the refs, but it is not their decision in regard to replay.  It is part of the game and they can’t see everything.  At home on a big screen with lots of replays it is easy to see.  Not on the field.

The Citadel still couldn’t get it going and they were forced to punt yet again on their next possession.  Only this time a Wofford defender got a hand on the punt at The Citadel 19 yard line and it seemed like the Bulldogs were coming apart at the seams.  But the Dogs got a break.  Call it karma.  Call it luck.  Call it the bad SOCON refs.  As the Terriers drove their way for another score, the Bulldogs forced a fumble and recovered at the 6.  Only problem was, the Terriers runner was clearly down on his butt when the ball came loose.  So call it a swap of bad calls by the refs.

But the defenses were still in form and the teams traded 4 more punts with a few first downs interspersed in there. The Citadel got the ball back with 2:16 to go in the half.  It looked like they might have had something going as Rod Johnson made a great 16 yard run on a third and 10 to cross midfield.  But Bulldog QB Dominique Allen tossed an interception the next play and Wofford went to work with 37 seconds remaining in the half.  Two plays later they were on the Bulldog 22.  But the Terriers ran out of time to try to score a TD and they kicked a field goal to go up 10-0 at half.

It was clear that the Citadel offense would have to make some adjustments in the second half against a very good Wofford defense. The Bulldogs were held to only 100 total yards in the first half.  They had been gaining 437 total yards each game coming into this contest.  Wofford’s defensive players were outstanding in playing their assignments both inside and outside.  The Citadel’s defense was only fairly effective in limiting the Terriers and Wofford still gained 183 yards in the first half and more importantly, 10 points.  This was the first time that The Citadel has been down at the half all year and Wofford definitely had the momentum going into the break.

It seemed that the second half was going to be a rerun of the first, at least to start with.  The Citadel took the opening kickoff and Wofford quickly inflicted a three and out on them and the Bulldogs punted it away.  But The Citadel defense was just as effective and forced their own three and out.  Take two.  Wofford again forced a three and out and got the ball back near mid field.  This time Wofford had some success and the key play was a timely 20 yard pass from Goodson to the Bulldog 22 yard line.  But the pass came on a 3rd and 24 and the Terriers had to settle for a field goal to make it 13-0.

With 6:46 to go in the third quarter, the Bulldogs again tried to find the play calls to move the ball against a stubborn Wofford defense.  And they did this time.  The Citadel went on their best drive of the day.  They marched 75 yards in 11 plays.  Allen went 2-3 in the air on this drive.  Those two completions only gained 7 yards each, but it was enough to make Wofford a bit cautious and the Dogs finally got some yards on the ground.  Allen also had a good run when he was forced out of the pocket attempting to pass yet again. The key play came when the Bulldogs found themselves with a 4th and 2 on the Wofford 34.  With the Terriers expecting the fullback to take it, the Bulldogs pitched it and Reggie Williams took it around the edge untouched for a 34 yard TD run.

Now trailing 13-7 with 1:26 in the third quarter, The Citadel defense needed to make a stop.  Wofford began their subsequent drive at their 27.  On the first play from scrimmage, Goodson made a bad pitch and The Bulldog’s Tevin Floyd scooped it up and got it to the 16 before being forced out of bounds.  Credit Wofford’s defense in that they made it hard for the Bulldogs to score after the turnover.  After making a first down at the 5, The Citadel soon found themselves with a third and goal from the 8.  They got 7 on a reverse, but found themselves with another 4th down situation.  But Allen punched it in from the 1 and The Citadel had their first lead of the day 14-13 with 12:55 to go in the game.  Just like that it seemed that the momentum had changed.

But the Terriers were not done yet and they went on an 11 play 75 yard drive.  They spread the running around a bit and had runs of 19, 16, and 16 yards by three different runners.  The TD was a 16 yard run by Lennox McAfee.  They went for two and got it on a play action pass by Goodson to make it 21-14 with 8:09 to go.  This drive seemed to re-motivate the Terrier defense and they forced a three and out on the Bulldogs.  With only 7:16 to go, one more long Wofford drive might have sealed the game for the Terriers.

But The Citadel’s defense was not done either.  After making a tackle in the backfield and stuffing another run for no gain, one of the most bizarre plays occurred deep in Terrier territory.  Goodson was attempted to pitch it to the short side on the right.  The only problem was that The Citadel’s Kailik Williams was already in the back field and did a jump ball to make a one handed snatch of the pitch and proceeded to stroll into the end zone.  Call it a flip 6.  The Citadel’s defense, burned a few times during the game, stood up big time and saved the game with this play.

Now tied at 21 with 5:57 to go in the game, Wofford was still in a good position to win, especially considering the range of their ace field goal kicker.  David Marvin made a 57 yarder earlier this year.  The Terriers drive made good headway and nine plays later they were on The Citadel 32.  The Dogs held them and they opted to try for a 49 yard field goal, and the likely win, with 1:17 to go.  Enter the Bulldog defense one more time.  The Bulldog’s got a good push and blocked the low kick.  The Citadel’s offense had one more chance to win it but couldn’t put anything together and had to punt it back with seconds remaining and the game went to overtime.

The Citadel went first in OT and was forced to try a field goal on a 4th and 1 at the 16 yard line.  They got it but Bulldog’s Coach Brent Thompson decided to take the points off the board after Wofford was called for an off sides.  The Citadel made it to the Wofford 4 but were forced to make yet another field goal try.  They made it to go up 24-21.  On Wofford’s possession Lorenzo Long quickly ran it for 11 yards on the first play.  On the next play, Bulldog Joe Crochet ripped it out of Terrier running backs hands and the Dogs jumped on it to seal the win.

As mentioned, Wofford was very successful in stopping the Bulldog’s running game.  Tyler Renew lead the Dogs with 84 yards for only a 3.7 average per carry.  Wofford was only a bit off their running game with 299 yards on the ground.  Lorenzo Long was the top Terrier runner with 103 on the day.  The Citadel attempted 14 passes and only completed 3 for 50 yards, but they had to try against such a good Wofford running defense.  Wofford went 4/7 in the air for 44 yards.  They each had an interception, but the Wofford one was actually the pitch gone awry.  The Terriers held about a 5 minute advantage in time of possession.  There were only 5 penalties all game, with The Citadel getting flagged three times and Wofford twice.

The key stat in the game was obviously the four Wofford turnovers including three that were forced.  The Wofford turnovers include a fumble inside The Citadel 5, one inside their 20 that led to a score, one for a “flip 6,” and the last fumble in OT to seal it for The Citadel.  While the Terrier defense did what they needed to, so did the Citadel’s defense when it mattered, even if their offense had been stymied.

The Citadel is now 7-0 for the first time in program history.  They meet ETSU in Charleston next week.  Wofford, now 4-3, probably needs to win out to have a realistic shot at the post season.  They get Mercer at home next week.

#10 Chattanooga 30   VMI 13  (box score)

The Chattanooga Mocs grinded out a victory over the VMI Keydets on Saturday to improve their record to 7-1, 5-1.  VMI falls to 3-4, 1-3.

The two teams got off to slow starts and traded four punts to open the game.  The Mocs struck first after getting great field position when VMI was forced to punt from their 8 yard line.  A short return put the Mocs on the VMI 38 to start the drive.  The drive of 4 plays ended when QB Alejandro Bennifield tossed a 21 TD pass to Bingo Morton.

After a quick three and out by VMI, UTC again scored on a 9 play 80 yard drive.  This time they scored on a 14 yard run by Bennifield and went up 14-0.  After VMI was forced to punt again after a short drive, Chattanooga was again successful, but was held to a field goal with about nine minutes to go in the first half.

The teams traded three more punts and then each turned it over on downs to go into the half.  Without Derrick Craine, one question for the Mocs was whether they could find success with another rusher.  They passed quite a bit in the first half with Ruchardre Bagley getting a good work out running the ball as well.  They ended the first half with 272 yards of offense.  The Chattanooga defense was also in form and held the Keydets to just 39 total first half yards and 1 first down.

VMI started the third quarter very well by returning the opening kickoff 71 yards to the UTC 28 yard line.  But the Mocs defense stiffened up and force VMI to try a 28 field goal, which they missed wide left.

After a short drive by the Mocs, the Keydets led by QB Al Cobb struck fast in one play on a 79 yard TD pass to make it 17-7.  UTC then went on an 8 play drive for 65 yards to increase their lead back to 17 at 23-7.  The XP was blocked.  The score came on a downfield pitch from Bennifield to Bagley.

VMI answered with a scoring drive of their own which went for 82 yards on 12 plays to close it to 23-13. VMI went two and didn’t make it.

After trading a few more punts, VMI got another drive going but was stopped at their own 45 and found themselves with a 4th and 1 with 8:22 to go in the game. They went for it. They didn’t make it and the Mocs made them pay.  On their first play Bagley went the distance to make it 30-13.

VMI went on one more long drive only to get stopped on the UTC 40 and they turned it over on downs.  The Mocs ran the clock out and chocked up their 7th win of the season.  Bennifield went 21/33 and 224 yards with 1 TD and no interceptions.  Bagley went 189 yards on the ground with two TDs.  I guess they found someone as effective as Craine.  Overall, the Mocs gained 519 yards on the day.  They did not turn the ball over, but they did have an unusually high number of penalties with 12 for 84 yards.  VMI leading tacklers were linebackers Cratsenberg and Francis who had 14 and 10 respectively.

VMI gained 249 yards on the day with nearly all of them in the second half.  Al Cobb went 18/35 for 238 with 1 TD and no interceptions.  VMI’s leading rusher, Daz Palmer was stuffed with only 12 yards all day.  Chattanooga’s Keionta Davis had 3 sacks on the day and three QB hurries.  No wonder Cobb had problems.  VMI had no turnovers and one penalty.  It was hard for VMI to get anything going and they held the ball for only 23 minutes.

With the win Chattanooga stays close to The Citadel in the hunt for the SOCON title and automatic berth in the playoffs.  They travel to Cullowhee next week to meet Western Carolina.  VMI hosts Furman next week.

ETSU 38  West Virginia Wesleyan 7  (box score)

The Bucs of ETSU faced off against the West Virginia Wesleysan Bobcats last Thursday night.  As poor as the Bucs have done lately against the tough SOCON schedule, they easily handled the Bobcats.

After holding the WVW to a three and out to start the game, ETSU went on a 10 play, 70 yard scoring drive which took just over 5 minutes.  Having only scored 21 total points in the last 3 games, this was badly needed.  But the teams traded four punts after this until the Bucs got going again.

The Bucs scored on their next two drives going 70 and 86 yards to go up by 21.  Their last score came with 54 seconds remaining in the first half.  After holding the Bobcats to just 49 yards by this point, the ETSU defense must have relaxed a bit.  WVW drove on a textbook 2 minute drill to score as the half ended to make it 21-7.

ETSU made a 9 play 51 yard drive to open the third quarter but were forced to settle for a field goal to make it 24-7.  The Bobcats next two third quarter drives ended in fumbles and ETSU capitalized on both with TD drives to make it 38-7.  The teams just traded punts for most of the4th quarter.

This was just what ETSU needed to gain a bit of confidence. They totaled 421 yards on offense including 323 on the ground and 98 in the air.  Bucs QB Austin Herink went 9/14 for 93 yards.  Jajuan Stinson was the Bucs leading rusher with 127.  ETSU only had 4 penalties and no turnovers.

Now at 3-4 on the year, the Bucs travel to Charleston next week to meet The Citadel.  The Bucs and Bulldogs last met in 2003 when the Bucs won their last game before terminating their football program.

Mercer 41  Austin Peay 34 (box score)

Austin Peay is having a pretty bad run right now.  They haven’t won a game since October 2014, the only win since the beginning of the 2013 season.   Even so, there are indications that the Governors of Austin Peay are getting better.  The Mercer game on Saturday was a prime example.  Mercer won the last couple years and I am sure they fully expected to walk away with an easy win.  What they did not expect was a wild and crazy 4th quarter where the Governors almost came back.

The Mercer Bears took the opening kickoff and drove 86 yards in 12 plays for the game’s first score.  The Governors began their first drive and seemed to be making some headway when they fumbled it on the Bear’s 34.  But Mercer could do much and gave it back to AP after a three and out.  The Governors suffered their own three and out and Mercer got to work again going 56 yards in 7 plays to go up 14-0.

Austin Peay answered with a scoring drive of their own that went 8 plays, 71 yards to make it 14-6 at the start of the second quarter.  They failed in the 2 point conversion attempt.  After trading punts again Mercer scored a field goal after being held at the AP 7 to make it 17-6.  But the Governors started to have some success and after a good kickoff return, they connected on a 45 yard pass and were threatening at the Mercer 13.  Alas for the Governors, they fumbled it again on the next play and Mercer scored again in 11 plays to go up 24-6.  At this point it looked like Mercer was going to have a easy game it after all.

The Governors got the ball back with 32 seconds left in the half, and they would not go away easily.  And little did anyone know that there were still three possessions left in the half.  After AP went three and out, they punted it back to Mercer.  On its first play Bears QB John Russ threw an uncharacteristic interception, but the long ball was probably worth the risk with so little time left.  AP connected on one play for 22 yards, but ran out of time before halftime.  Both teams were obviously going to make every second productive if they could.

The Governors took the opening kickoff of the second half and got some success. They made it to the Bears 33 after 13 plays and attempted a 50 yard field goal which they missed short.  Mercer then went on a 58 yard drive and was also forced into trying for a field goal, which they made to make it 27-6.

Austin Peay again made good progress and drove to the Mercer 44 before the Governors QB, Timarious Mitchell threw an interception deep in Mercer territory.  After holding the Bears to a three and out and getting some help on a bad Mercer kick, AP made their move.  They went on a 39 yard drive in 13 plays to make it 27-13 with 11:33 to go in the game.  After a short kick, Mercer started their drive from their 36 yard line.  It went quick.  Three plays later they scored on a 50 yard run by Kyle Trammell to make it 34-13.

The Governors started their next drive from their 23 with 10:50 to go in the game.  At this point they were in desperate straits and elected to go for a 4th and 5 from their own 28 after the Bears had stopped them.  They didn’t make it and it looked even worse for them.  But the Bears couldn’t do anything and also got a false start penalty and they attempted a 45 field goal but missed it left.  The Governors had a little life left in them though and they drove it 72 yards in 8 plays to make it 34-20.  After Mercer got the ball back on their 30 it looked like Austin Peay was going to hold them.  On a third and 10 the Governor’s defense got a forced fumble, recovered it and then proceeded to fumble themselves and Mercer got it back.  But they held Mercer again and the Bears were forced to punt.

With only 2:38 remaining the Governors needed to score quickly if they had any hope. They scored, but it took 1:23 to go 53 yards in 10 plays.  With score now 34-27 and only 1:15 remaining, they elected to go for an onside kick.  Good idea, bad execution.  They kicked it right to one of the Mercer up men who proceeded to sprint for a 45 yard TD to make it 41-27.

But the Governors were still not going away easily and on their next drive they went 61 yards in 3 plays to close it to 41-34 with 42 seconds remaining.  They tried another onside kick, but had a off sides penalty and Mercer got the ball at the AP 41 and ran out the clock along with the Governors time outs.  Wow, talk about determination.  Mercer is a good team, but I think Austin Peay might be a little better than folks think.

Mercer finished with 358 yards including 203 on the ground and 155 through the air.  Mercer’s Russ finished 15/29 with 1 interception.  Kyle Trammell was the Bears leading rusher with 108 yards.  Mercer defenders had 3 sacks against the Governors QB for 16 yards.  The Governors finished with 500 total yards exactly.  Mercer gave up 1 fumble, but got it back immediately, and Austin Peay had 3 fumbles given up and 1 interception.   Both teams were penalized a lot with 8 for Mercer and 11 for Austin Peay.

Mercer is still alive in the playoff hunt, but at 4-3 they are on the bubble.  They meet Wofford next week in Spartanburg hoping to burst the Terrier’s playoff bubble.

#17 Samford 30   Western Carolina 17  (box score)

While Chattanooga and The Citadel have been taking the headlines in the SOCON lately, The Samford Bulldogs have been quietly amassing wins.  Now at 6-1 and climbing in the polls, they are poised to make some noise in the SOCON title race.  But first they had to take care of business against an uneven Western Carolina team.

Samford QB, Devlin Hodges has put up some impressive numbers this year.  If WCU had any hope to win this they needed to stop Samford’s passing attack.  They didn’t.

After a quick three and out by the Western Carolina Catamounts, Samford got rolling on an 8 play 40 yard drive which ended on a 4th and 2 and forced Samford to try a field goal. They missed wide right.

After forcing the Catamounts to punt after a short drive, the Bulldogs drove 98 yards in 7 plays.  Samford rushed once and Devlin Hodges went 5/6 for 93 of the 98 yards including a 36 yard TD pass.  The Drive took 1:54.  That about sums up Samford’s usual  MO.

After trading punts Western went on a pretty good drive, but it ended at the Samford 32 yard line when WCU went for a 4th and 2.  The Cats scored anyway three plays later when Hodges threw his only interception of the game for a pick 6 to make it 7-7.

Samford drove fairly well their next possession and they even ran the ball a bit more than they have.  But the Western defense stood up and stopped them on a 4th and 7 at the Catamount 42.  It appeared that the Bulldogs were going to go for it when Hodges did a quick kick.  They do that every once in a while.

After another three and out by the Catamounts, Samford began their drive on their own 38.  After a couple quick first downs, on four passes, Samford did something that they have not done all year.  They ran the ball.   Not only that, they ran it three times in a row, and for a first down.  WCU called for a time out at this point.  I guess they were wondering who they were playing.  The Cats did hold the Bulldogs and Samford was forced to kick a field goal which they made to go up 10-7.

The Samford defense was being pretty stingy and they yet again held the Cats to a three and out.  Samford went on another effective drive with a good mix of pass and run.  But WCU held them again at the Western 4 and the Bulldogs were forced yet again to kick a field goal which they again made to go up 13-7

After trading punts Western got the ball back at their 9 and started to drive with 55 second to go in the first half.  On a third and 5 from their 40, the Cat’s QB, Tyrie Adams tossed his only interception of the day on a deep ball with 4 seconds remaining and Samford took a knee, and a 13-7 lead into half.

The biggest surprise of the game was that Samford had so many rushing attempts.  I think they realized their weakness and decided they needed some reps.  On their first drive of the third though, they mostly passed again and scored after a 9 play, 75 yard drive to go up 20-7.  Western answered back with a 12 play drive covering 53 yards and got a field goal to make it 20-10 about half way through the third quarter.

Samford answered right back though with an 11 play drive for 72 yards to extend the lead further at 27-10.  They again ran more than normal, at least for them.  After three more punts by the teams, Samford again made some progress and got another field goal, this for 36 yards to go up 30-10.  Western made one more good drive of 13 plays and 74 yards to close the gap to 30-17 with 1:39 remaining and Samford ran out the clock on their final possession.

I think the big news for this game is that Samford ran for 215 yards.  That almost doubled their yearly total against Div I teams.  They also passed for 375 which is about par for them.  Hodges went 32/49 with two TDs and the one interception.  WCU managed only one sack on the day.  Samford’s leading rusher was K’rondis Larry with 167 yards in the game.  Who?

Western’s Adams went 17/31 for 122 yards with 1 TD and the 1 interception.  He was also the leading rusher with only 48.  Overall WCU gained only 255 yards in the game with 133 on the ground.

With all the running that Samford did, 41 attempts, they actually ended up on the plus side of possession at almost 32 minutes.  It was clear they needed to up their running game and they did.

As a side note Samford apparently had some injuries in the game.  Both were linebackers.  Not good for a team that strikes quick on offense and needs to have a fresh, healthy defense.

Samford faces a tough test next week as they meet the SEC Bulldogs of Mississippi State. Western Carolina faces Chattanooga at home next week.

Power Rankings

1 – The Citadel

2 – Chattanooga

3 – Samford

4 – Wofford

5 – Mercer

6 – Furman

7 – VMI

8 – WCU

9 – ETSU

Patriot League: Week 8 Preview

With non-conference play over the schedule lightens up with only three Patriot League games this weekend. The biggest of which is red hot Lehigh invading New England to take on Holy Cross Saturday. Holy Cross will be looking for their second consecutive win over a ranked opponent. The Crusaders defeated then #20 Harvard last weekend. The other game that could factor into the title chase is Georgetown at Fordham. The Rams are also undefeated in league play and can’t afford to be caught looking ahead to next week’s potential showdown with Lehigh. Lafayette travels to Central Pennsylvania to take on Bucknell in the final league game this weekend. Both teams have struggled to varying degrees this year. A win could set the tone for a strong finish to the 2016 campaign.

 #23 Lehigh at Holy Cross – 22 Oct. 12:00 P.M. Fitton Field Worcester, MA

(Patriot League Network)

Lehigh (5-2, 2-0) puts their five game winning streak on the line when they travel to Massachusetts to take on Holy Cross (3-4, 1-1) in a pivotal Patriot League contest. The Mountain Hawks are coming off an impressive 35-3 win over Georgetown. Lehigh’s offense has received all of the attention in recent weeks but the defense put forth their best outing since 2009 against the Hoyas. Another strong performance will be needed against a Crusader offense that is slowly building momentum without all-league QB Peter Pujals.

Speaking of injured quarterbacks, Lehigh’s Nick Shafnisky is currently listed as the starter but the senior has been limited in practice this week. Shafnisky left last week’s game in the second quarter with an ankle injury and never returned. Brad Mayes (19-26 247 yards 2 TDs 1 INT) had another great outing in relief.

Holy Cross enters the game off an impressive 27-17 win over then 20th ranked Harvard. It was Harvard’s first non-conference loss since 2011 (also against Holy Cross). Geoff Wade bounced back from his poor outing against Bucknell with a very good performance in the win (23-35 244 yards 2 TDs) over the Top 25 Crimson. He was helped out by a dominant second half  by the “D”. A similar type of defensive effort will need against the a very explosive Lehigh offense. The Crusaders struggled mightily last season to contain the Mountain Hawk “O”. Lehigh put up 41 points in the first half points while on their way to a 51-38 victory in Bethlehem.

The Crusaders are led by LB Nick McBeath on defense. The junior leads the team in tackles (52 solo, 64 total) and in intangibles. He and his fellow defenders will be forced to tackle in space against the Lehigh offense on Saturday. Lehigh has numerous weapons but none are more potent than their WR duo. The Mountain Hawk’s Troy Pelletier (60 rec 838 yards) and Gatlin Casey (38 rec 799 yards) currently rank #1 and #2 in FCS in receiving yards respectively. How well the Crusaders slow Pelletier and Casey down will go a long way in determining their faith. Holy Cross rush defense (127 ypg allowed) should be able to effectively contain Lehigh’s Dominic Bragalone (76 ypg 7 TDs).

While Lehigh’s defense has shown improvement this year, they’ve given up yards and points in bunches at times. The Brown and White are coming off their best performance in years but it was against a struggling Georgetown offense. Holy Cross figures to present a far tougher test this week given their talented skill players. Like Lehigh, Holy Cross’s offense is led by a dynamic WR combination. Brandon Flaherty and Jake Wieczorek don’t have the gaudy stats like the Lehigh duo but they are extremely dangerous. Flaherty will be used at various positions on the field which puts added pressure on the defense. He battled an injury early in the year but seems to be 100%. Wieczorek has stepped up this year to lead the team in receiving (75 ypg).

This game could be a shootout or a low scoring slugfest like it was in 2011 (14-7 Lehigh win). Both teams need a win to keep a league title in their grasp. The weather could forecast is calling for windy and rainy conditions in the afternoon.

Of Note: Nearly 25 years ago to the day (10/26/91) #3 Holy Cross defeated #19 Lehigh 43-42 in easily the greatest game in the series. The game received national attention throughout the day. Holy Cross dominated Lehigh and the rest of the Patriot League during that time. But, Lehigh has won 5 out of the 6 meetings this decade to take a 17-13-1 series lead.

Lafayette at Bucknell – 22 Oct. 1:00 P.M. Christy Mathewson Stadium Lewisburg, PA

(Patriot League Network)

Lafayette (1-6, 0-2) will try notch their first win in eight weeks against Bucknell (2-4, 1-1) in Lewisburg. The Leopards are experiencing their second difficult (1-10 ’15) season in a row. Lafayette enters the game off a demoralizing 62-7 loss to Army last weekend. The Leopards were run over and around to the tune of 517 yards in the loss. One positive for Lafayette is the fact that Bucknell’s top RB, Joey DeFloria might miss the game due to an injury he suffered in the Colgate loss.

In addition to DeFloria’s potential absence, the Bison are dealing with a revolving door at QB. Bucknell might have to turn to their third different starting QB this season. Walk-on John Chiarolanzio filled in for Matt Muh last week and will likely get the nod if original starter R.J. Nitti is not yet ready to return from an early season injury. The QB injuries have caused the offense to be inconsistent all season. After a solid second half against Holy Cross the Bison could only muster up 7 points against a shaky Colgate defense last week. The game could have been had at 13-7 in the 4th quarter but the Bison offense couldn’t put together a key scoring driving late. Bucknell ultimately lost 27-7. With Fordham and Lehigh still on the schedule, a loss to Lafayette will likely mean another losing season for the Bison.

Given the issues at QB a major key for Bucknell will be getting the ground attack back on track after a subpar outing against Colgate. Lafayette’s rush D (allowing 287 ypg) is extremely porous so whether DeForia or Freshnock (46 ypg 2 TDs) start at RB for the Bison should see ample space to operate. While it’s getting late in the year, the Leopards need to show signs of life against the rush. Having to face FBS Army and Fordham’s Chase Edmonds will hurt most team’s yards again average so there figures to be some improvement moving forward by default. Given Bucknell’s injury woes, this would be the prefect week for Lafayette to get things turned around on defense.

This could be an opportunity for talented Bucknell WR Will Carter (78 ypg 3 TDs) to have breakout performance should Nitti return. Carter has been solid this season but has yet to have a stat stuffing outing.

The defense must step up for Lafayette because the offense will likely have a tough team against the Patriot League’s top defense (22.3 ppg allowed). The Leopard offense currently ranks 6th in the league in scoring (20.6 ppg). The Lafayette offensive line will have their hands full against a talented Bison front 7. QB Drew Reed (65 % comp 202 ypg 8 TDs 8 INTs) has been harassed all season and he hasn’t received an help from a rushing attack that has failed to gain traction (63 ypg). DeSean Brown is the leading rusher with 39 ypg and a paltry 3.1 ypc.

Of Note: Lafayette is Bucknell’s most played opponent with 93 previous meetings. The Bison in turn are Lafayette’s second most frequent opponent (Lehigh, 151 is 1st). After winning 11 out of 12 meetings (including 9 straight) Lafayette has lost the last two against Bucknell. The Leopards still own a commanding 52-35-6 all-time series record.

Georgetown at Fordham – 22 Oct. 1:00 P.M. Jack Coffey Field Bronx, NY

(Patriot League Network)

Two big time football giants of a by gone era battle it out Saturday afternoon when Georgetown (3-3, 0-1) takes on Fordham (4-2, 2-0) in the Big Apple. The Hoyas will be looking to put a damper on the Rams league championship aspirations. Fordham enters Saturday having won 4 out of their last 5 games since a season opening loss to FBS Navy. Chase Edmonds has been the story all season but QB Kevin Anderson showed what he is capable of in last week’s win over Yale. The transfer from Marshall earned the Patriot League Offensive POW honors for his 5 TD performance against the Eli. The Hoya’s defense is no doubt solid (23.7 ppg, 2nd in PL) but they’ll likely have a difficult time containing the league’s top offense (45.5 ppg).

Georgetown has to find a way to get its offense going. Like other teams in the Patriot League, the Hoyas have been plagued with injuries at the QB position. Clay Norris (92.5 ypg passing 2 TDs as starter) is expected to start his second game in a row. Usual starter Tim Barnes is still recovering from an injury he suffered against Harvard last month. Norris could certainly use some assistance from the rushing attack. Starting RB Alex Valles (53 ypg 1 TD) has yet to post a 100 yard rushing game this season. Both Norris and Valles struggled in last week’s 35-3 loss to Lehigh.

Fordham’s defense has allowed points (33.8 6th in PL) all season so there’s reason to believe the Hoyas will have some opportunities to put points on the board. They key will be generating some big plays against Fordham rather than trying to grind out drives. It would seem to make sense to try and keep the ball away from Fordham but Georgetown has struggled all year to put together extended drives. Several of their TDs this year have come on explosive plays (25+ yards). They’ve also been able to generate points on special teams and defense. Getting points from all three phases will be needed if the Hoyas have any hope of pulling the upset.

The Hoya’s defense has held up admirably all season despite not receiving a lot of help on the scoreboard. Their DL has good size and athleticism. Hunter Kiselick is one of the best, if not the best, defensive ends in the entire league. They’ll make things difficult for the Rams for at least a while. Georgetown held Lehigh’s high scoring offense to 14 first half points. If the offense can provide a few sparks this could be a 4 quarter game.

Chase Edmonds currently leads the nation in rushing with 1065 yards; nearly 200 yards more than North Carolina A&T’s Tarik Cohen (890). The sensational running back is on everyone’s national Offensive Player of the Year short list.

Of Note: Georgetown has not won in the Bronx since a 35-7 romp in 1974. Fordham leads the all-time series 35-22-3. The series is 32-20-3 without the five meetings as club teams between 1965-1969. Fordham has won 4 straight and 14 out 16 meetings since Georgetown joined the Patriot League in 2001.

MVFC: Week 8 Preview

MVFC LogoA weekend of stupidly close games and we are inching ever closer to deciding who wins the conference, who’s making themselves known to the playoff committee for at-large bids, and if anyone appears to be taking over Missouri State’s former “home” at the bottom of the conference standings. Without further ado, here’s where things stand as of this week (conference record listed first, then overall record):

South Dakota State – 3-0, 4-2
Youngstown State – 3-0, 5-1
North Dakota State – 2-1, 5-1
Western Illinois – 2-1, 5-1
South Dakota – 2-1, 3-3
Missouri State – 1-2, 3-3
Northern Iowa – 1-2, 2-4
Illinois State – 1-3, 3-4
Indiana State – 1-3, 3-4
Southern Illinois – 0-3, 2-4

Incredibly, there is a situation where the top four teams in the conference could all finish 9-2 overall. If, for example:

  • SDSU wins the rest of their games
  • NDSU loses to YSU and wins the rest of their games
  • YSU loses to SDSU but beats NDSU and wins the rest
  • WIU loses to NDSU and wins the rest

In that scenario, SDSU would win the conference championship at 8-0 in the MVFC, YSU would be second at 7-1, and NDSU and WIU would both be at 6-2, although NDSU would get the 3rd place nod due to head-to-head results. Some of those results aren’t entirely likely, but there is still a possibility that this is how it could go down.

The matchups for this Saturday are (all time listed in Central and all rankings from the AGS Weekly Poll):

#37T Missouri State at #35T Northern Iowa – 1 PM
#35T Illinois State at #24 South Dakota – 2 PM
Indiana State at Southern Illinois – 2 PM
#11 Youngstown State at #7T South Dakota State – 2 PM
#3 North Dakota State at #13 Western Illinois – 6 PM

All games available on ESPN3/WatchESPN.com

#37T Missouri State at #35T Northern Iowa

Missouri State will be taking their 3-3 record (1-2 in the MVFC) up to Cedar Falls to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers, who find themselves sitting at 2-4 (also 1-2 in the MVFC). Missouri State lost a close one to Western Illinois last weekend in the Bears’ Homecoming game and Northern Iowa. Also, if there are any MSU Bears fans out there that were hoping that maybe their original starting QB Breck Ruddick would be back at some point this season, you can turn that “hope” into a “nope” with the recent news that his suspension will stand for the remainder of the season. The Northern Iowa defense spent the weekend hunting penguins in eastern Ohio, but to no avail, as the Panthers fell 14-10 to Youngstown State. I think the best news that Panther fans saw this weekend was former UNI standout David Johnson having a great game for the Arizona Cardinals.

The visiting Bears have been struggling offensively with the previously mentioned suspension of their starting QB as well as having their top WR Malik Earl sidelined with (I believe) a foot injury. I have not heard if he will be playing in this weekend’s game or not at this point. Missouri State’s strength this season is their (currently #29 in the FCS) defense…a big improvement over last year’s dead-last in the FCS finish for yards allowed per game. LBs Dylan Cole and McNeece Egbim have been leading the defense with 66 and 47 tackles respectively. Cole also has 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles, while Egbim has 1 tackle for loss and 1 interception. Contributing strongly to the QB pressure front is DL Colby Isbell who has 25 tackles, but 10 of them are for losses (5.5 sacks) accounting for 53 yards. Isbell also has 4 QB hurries and a forced fumble. The Bears “bread and butter” this season has been turnovers…they’re 12th in the FCS for gained turnovers. On the offensive side of the ball, there have been some issues (mostly due to previously mentioned personnel absences), although they do have a few strengths. If WR Malik Earl is playing, then he’s the team’s top receiver, accounting for 68.2 yards per game and 2 TDs. WR Deion Holliman can be a threat at both the receiving position (33 yards per game and 3 TDs) and on kick returns (25.9 yards per return w/ 1 TD). The two top RBs for the Bears are averaging right around 50 yards per game.

The Panthers have had their own offensive difficulties lately, currently sitting at #93 in the FCS for total offense…primarily an issue with their passing game (106th). Their running game isn’t doing too badly, but most of that is due to the fact that QB Aaron Bailey would probably actually be better as a RB than as a QB. He currently averages 71 rushing yards per game and has 6 rushing TDs (that’s actually good enough for 3rd in the MVFC). Bailey averages 147 yards in the air per game and has 6 TDs (which makes him about the 9th or 10th best QB in the conference, depending on what you’re looking at specifically). Their other top RB is Tyvis Smith with 82.67 yards per game and 2 TDs. The top WR is Daurice Fountain with 39 yards per game (so that gives you an idea of how much and how effectively Bailey throws the ball). Like Missouri State, UNI’s real strength is their defense. The 18th best defense in the FCS boasts the #1 player in the country in both sacks and tackles for loss with DL Karter Schult who has 41 tackles, 14 for loss and 8.5 sacks, as well as 1 interception, 2 qb hurries, a forced fumble and a safety. The team tackles leader is actually (son of the HC) LB Jared Farley, who has 45, 2 for loss, and 1 interception. UNI overall is also very good at handling turnovers, with 14 gained and only 6 lost this season (overall that’s #6 in the FCS).

So, is this the year that MSU finally gets a win over UNI (it would be their first since 2005 and first in Cedar Falls since 1998)? Well, I don’t think UNI will put up a ton of points against a decent MSU defense (although not as good as YSU’s last weekend)…maybe 24ish. For Missouri State though, I don’t see them having a ton of luck against UNI’s very tough defense. Having Malik Earl back will help them quite a bit, if he’s ready to go, but I’d say something like 10 points is likely without him and maybe 17 points if he’s playing. At this point I’m going to go with the assumption that he is playing and base my prediction on that.

TL:DR – Northern Iowa by 7

#35T Illinois State at #24 South Dakota

The Redbirds got themselves back on the winning track with a close victory over Southern Illinois last weekend. It was their first conference win this season, so they’re 1-3 in the MVFC and 3-4 overall so far. South Dakota is doing a little better, I think, than most people expected them to, currently with a 2-1 conference record and 3-3 overall following their 2-OT victory against the other ISU (Sycamores) last weekend. Actually, I just realized that this is the second year in a row that a Bob Nielson-led MVFC team beat the Sycamores in OT in Terre Haute (last year’s WIU win over ISUb was essentially QB Sean McGuire’s “coming out” party).

Unlike a lot of MVFC QBs these days (or so it seems), ISU QB Jake Kolbe is pretty much your standard passing QB and not generally a running threat. He’s averaging 229.3 passing yards per game and has 10 TDs. The majority of that yardage goes to WR Anthony Warrum, who averages 86 yards per game and has 4 of those TDs. For the first part of the season, the Redbird’s primary RB was George Moreira, who was averaging just under 60 yards a game rushing, although it looks like he was injured in their game at NDSU a couple of weeks ago (sounds like broken collarbone, done for season)…luckily for ISU, RB James Robinson has picked up some of the slack, running for an average of 112.5 yards per game over the last two games and has 1 TD. Robinson also handles kick return duties, averaging 21.2 yards per return. Safety Alec Kocour leads a defense that is 18th in the FCS against the pass, with 58 total tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception and 3 QB hurries. LB Alejandro Rivera also gets in on the action with 55 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception (returned for 27 yards) and 2 forced fumbles). Getting pressure on the QB is a bit part of LB B.J. Bello’s gameplan, with 7.5 tackles for loss including 5 sacks (out of 49 total tackles) and also has 6 QB hurries and 2 forced fumbles. Another thing to note about the Redbirds is that they are not very likely to shoot themselves in the foot with penalties…being the 12th best in the FCS (#1 in the conference) at having the fewest penalties per game.

Remember that I said it seems like most of the MVFC have very mobile QBs that are almost RBs who throw the ball (except UNI QB Bailey…he’s a RB who really shouldn’t throw the ball)…South Dakota fits that mold pretty closely. QB Chris Streveler averages 158.2 yards per game through the air and has 14 passing TDs. He also is #2 on the team in rushing yards with 79.8 per game and 5 TDs. The primary RB is Trevor Bouma, who picks up 83.8 yards per game and has 3 TDs, as well as being the primary receiving target (in terms of # of catches, with 13) although it looks like it’s mostly short pass stuff, since he only gets 6.6 yards per catch. The actual team yardage leader for receiving is WR Alonge Brooks who has 38 yards per game and 2 TDs. Defensively, LB Jet Moreland is the team’s top tackler with 54 on the season including 2 for loss. DL Colin Mertlik is the sack leader with 5 for 26 yards as well as 2 qb hurries and 1 forced fumble. But the big story for the Coyotes is their kicking game. Kicker/Punter Miles Bergner is averaging 45.8 yards per punt, second in the FCS, which in and of itself would be pretty solid, but he’s also their FG kicker and up until last week, was a perfect 6 for 6 on FGs. He did miss a 40-yarder last week, but he’s hit from 50 yards out, 4 of 5 in the 40 range, 4 for 4 in the 30 range and 1 for 1 from the 20s…and perfect 24 for 24 at PAT’s. Not surprisingly, he leads the team in scoring with 54 points.

In general, I think that the teams are fairly evenly matched on the ground. USD has a better rushing offense, but ISU has a halfway decent rushing defense. In the air, though, ISU has the advantage, with a much better passing game going against USD’s not so great pass defense. USD is better at special teams and while I think that will make a difference in this game, I think ISU has a little bit of an edge overall. I feel like once or twice, we’ll see an ISU passing TD traded for a USD FG and that will give ISU enough of a boost to come away with a close win.

TL:DR – Illinois State by 3

Indiana State at Southern Illinois

The only two teams in the conference who aren’t listed anywhere on the AGS poll go head to head to see who’s really the conference’s “cellar dweller” at the midpoint of the conference season. Indiana State heads down to Carbondale sitting at 1-3 in the conference and 3-4 overall after losing by a FG at home to South Dakota last weekend, and Southern Illinois returns home after losing to Illinois state by a FG last weekend to put them at 0-3 in the conference and 2-4 overall. It’s a unique mascot showdown in the “barn burner for the basement”, as the Sycamores take on the Salukis.

ISU QB Isaac Harker has had a pretty good amount of success so far this season, picking up 285.9 yards per game and 15 total TDs. His 2,001 total passing yards is good enough for 5th in the FCS and #1 in the MVFC (the two ISUs have played one more game than everyone else in the conference though), and he’s 9th in passing yards per game in the FCS. His main passing targets are WRs Robert Tonyan (72.4 ypg, 7 TDs) and Miles Thompson (68.8 ypg, 5 TDs). It sounds like WR Robert Pugh will likely be back as well after sitting out the last couple of games with an injury. Pugh had been picking up 61.5 yards per game in receiving and also handled kick return duties averaging 23.8 yards per return prior to his injury. RB Roland Genesy leads the team with 67.6 yards per game and 6 rushing TDs. Defensively, LB Jameer Thurman is on top with 57 tackles, 9 for loss (1 sack), as well as 1 interception and 2 fumble recoveries. DL Conlan Cassidy has 44 tackles w/ 6 for loss and is the team’s sack leader with 3.5. Cassidy also has 4 qb hurries and 1 fumble recovery.

For the Salukis, they also have a pretty good passing QB in senior transfer Josh Straughan who has 308.67 yards per game and 13 TDs. Overall, SIU has the 7th best passing offense in the FCS. SIU has three receivers who all average over 50 yards per game, with WRs Connor Iwema (65.7 ypg, 3 TDs), Jimmy Jones (54.7 ypg, 2 TDs), and Darrell James (54.2 ypg, 2 TDs). WR Billy Reed is also a frequent target with 47.6 ypg and 3 TDs. RB Daquan Isom gets the majority of the carries with a 61 ypg average and 1 rushing TD, although RB Jonathan Mixon gets called on frequently in short yardage situations (like goal line) with only a 17 ypg average, but leading the team in rushing TDs with 4. LB Chase Allen is the defensive leader in tackles with 39, as well as 3.5 for loss, 7 qb hurries, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick.. DE Deondre Barnett also gets pressure on the QB frequently with 4 sacks for 26 yards, 4 QB hurries, and 3 forced fumbles.

So, SIU has a good passing game that really spreads the ball around…they don’t have one big standout receiver like WIU’s Lance Lenoir for example, but they have 4 guys who are all pretty solid and are all in the top 15 in the conference in receiving yards per game, which can make it kinda hard to defend when they’ve got 3-4 of them on the field at one time. Because of this, they have the 7th best passing offense in the FCS. ISU also has a good passing offense (15th in the FCS), but both teams are below 100th place for passing defense. The ground game appears to be fairly evenly matched for both teams though, so I’d expect a fairly high-scoring, pass-heavy game. I think SIU has a little bit of an advantage in the passing game, plus with them playing at home and on Homecoming, I think this gives the edge to SIU by about a TD…specifically a TD pass to one of the four previously mentioned receivers.

TL:DR – Southern Illinois by 7

#11 Youngstown State at #7T South Dakota State

At the same time as the ISU/SIU “Battle for the Bottom”, we’ll also have Youngstown State and South Dakota State fighting it out to see who is the conference “top dog” at this point in the season. Youngstown State comes in at 3-0 in the MVFC and 5-1 overall following a defensive battle with UNI that resulted in a 4-point Penguin win. South Dakota State is headed back to Brookings with the Dakota Marker trophy/brick after having defeated North Dakota State by 2 points in the Fargodome last weekend and are also at the top of the conference standings at 3-0 and with an overall record of 4-2. Will the Jackrabbits have a letdown from last week’s emotional victory? Will the oppressive Penguin defense be able to stop the offensive firepower that SDSU can bring to bear? Should be an exciting game no matter which way it goes.

Youngstown State has had some problems offensively, most notably with injuries at the QB position. At one point in last week’s game, they were playing essentially their 4th string QB. Their #2 (or maybe he’s #1, I’m kinda unsure at this point) QB, Ricky Davis, had a minor injury and was knocked out of the game, but it sounds like he will be starting this weekend’s game. The original #1 QB Hunter Wells (the starter for the previous year or two) is sitting this season and will likely transfer at the end of the season. The #3 QB on the roster, Trent Hosick, had his season and possibly football career ended after having a broken collarbone. QB #4, Nathan Mays, got into the game against UNI, but didn’t have a great deal of success (although they did win the game, so it’s not like he screwed everything up or anything). It sounds like Davis will start and Mays will be backup, which, if Davis is healthy, is a good thing for YSU. Davis is a decent runner for a QB, picking up 59 yards a game on the ground and throwing for 149.8 yards per game with 5 TDs. Beyond the QB position, the offense mainly revolves around RB Martin Ruiz who’s putting up 82.3 yards per game and has 7 rushing TDs and 1 receiving TD. Receivers are mostly used for short throws, picking up first downs, getting into the end zone…that kind of stuff. Every receiver has less than 30 yards per game, although a couple of them (WRs Alvin Bailey and Darien Townsend) have a couple of TDs each.

The real strength of YSU is their dominating (5th in the FCS in yards per game) defense. The Penguins have the best pair of DE’s in the conference, possibly the entire FCS, with Avery Moss (27 tackles, 6.5 for loss of 38 yards, 5 qb hurries, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery) and Derek Rivers (19 tackles, 9 for loss for 49 yards…including 8 sacks, 10 qb hurries and a fumble recovery). Their team tackles leader is the talented LB Armand Dellovade (35 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 qb hurries), which all together helps explain why they have the 9th best run defense. Their DBs are pretty decent as well (14th in the FCS in passing yards allowed, #1 in the MVFC).

South Dakota State has a blistering offense that really has been held in check only once this season, last weekend at North Dakota State (and they still pulled out the win). They’re averaging 40.7 points per game due to some stellar play by “top 5 in the FCS” QB Taryn Christion (323.2 yards per game, 22 TDs, 2 interceptions), another “top 5 in the FCS WR in Jake Wieneke (117.2 yards per game, 11 TDs) and the best TE you will find at the FCS level (hell, you’d have a hard time finding a better one at any level of college football), Dallas Goedert (118.5 yards per game, 9 TDs). They don’t do a ton with the running game, preferring to mostly use short passes to move the ball, so their top RBs, Brady Mengarelli and Isaac Wallace, only get about 46 yards per game and Wallace is the only one with a TD. Defensively, Redshirt Freshman LB Christian Rozeboom has been making a lot of noise with 66 total tackles, good for 7th in the FCS (and the only freshman in the top 90 of that list), as well as 2.5 sacks, a 37-yard pick-6, a forced fumble and has twice received the conference Newcomer of the Week award. Additionally, LB Jesse Bobbit has contributed 52 tackles and 1 interception. In general, good offensive teams have put up quite a few points on the Jackrabbits (averaging 32.5 points per game), but they do seem to be doing mostly better the last few games, averaging 23.3 points per game against three teams who are all in the top half of the FCS in scoring.

So, in general, Youngstown State does really well against teams that like to run the ball, and good but not stellar against teams that like to pass the ball. SDSU passes…a lot…on the level of practically nobody else in the FCS outside of Cheney, WA. I think if the Jackrabbits can get their big receivers out beyond YSU’s front line, they can find the ball enough to be successful…won’t be easy, but they can get it done. When YSU is on offense and assuming Davis is something close to 100%, they’re going to try to run the ball quite a bit, which, if the SDSU LBs are having a good day, won’t work all that well. I think that if Davis isn’t 100% or gets knocked out of the game fairly early and Mays goes in to play, SDSU is likely to win by a couple of TDs. If Davis does play and is near full-strength, I think it’s a much closer battle, but SDSU still has the advantage.

TL:DR – South Dakota State by 6

#3 North Dakota State at #13 Western Illinois

And finally, we have the late game (all the others start at 1 or 2 PM, but this one doesn’t start until 6 PM), which, while not quite as big as the YSU at SDSU game in terms of who might win the conference championship, is still pretty huge for considerations like playoff seeding and determining where these two programs are at right now.  A lot of eyes will be on this game to see if the Bison’s loss last weekend was just their “one loss per year” en route to another championship or if it was a sign of slipping a little from being the completely dominant team we’ve seen over the last half-decade. People will also be interested to see if Western is the “real deal” and ready to take the next step upwards. It’s been quite a while since WIU has been in consideration for most people’s top 10 rankings…a win this weekend would likely do it…but can the Leathernecks put together a complete game of playing like they have the ability to and make it happen?

The visiting Bison are coming off an emotional loss to South Dakota State last weekend and are currently at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Led by QB Easton Stick, the Bison seem to mostly be a “run first” offense. Stick passes for 188.8 yards per game and has 9 TDs, but he can run the ball well too, rushing for just under 40 yards per game and 3 TDs. They also hand the ball off to their pair of talented RBs King Frazier (77.3 ypg, 5 TDs) and Lance Dunn (56.7 ypg, 2 TDs). That isn’t to say that they don’t pass, because they do have two WRs both averaging between 50 and 54 receiving yards per game: Darrius Shepherd, who has 3 receiving TDs, and RJ Urzendowski, who has 2. Defensively, SS Robbie Grimsley has been making his presence known with 47 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, and a forced fumble. LBs MJ Stumpf and Pierre Gee-Tucker also get in on the action with 37 tackles, 1 sack, and an interception (for Stumpf) and 32 tackles, 2 sacks, and a fumble recovery (for G-T).

The Leathernecks had their own close game (really, everyone in the conference did), at Missouri State last weekend, where, for the second game in a row (and third time this season), WIU snached victory from the jaws of defeat, this time coming back with a TD in the last minute (after giving up a 17-point lead) to win. The victory gave them an identical 5-1 overall, 2-1 in MVFC record. Western has a potent offense (not on the level of SDSU, but still good) headlined by the 3rd best WR in the FCS (in yards per game with 126.5), Lance Lenoir. Lenoir had already equalled or surpassed most WIU career receiving records even before the start of this season, so by most metrics, Lenoir is the best WR in WIU history. The other primary WR, Joey Borsellino is averaging 54.7 yards per game and has 1 TD. QB Sean McGuire is a semi-mobile QB, passing for 259.8 yards per game and 10 TDs while rushing for around 15 yards per game and 3 TDs (he’s really good at the QB keeper to pick up one yard when they really need it). Primary RB Steve McShane gets the vast majority of carries, and puts up 108.3 yards per game with 7 TDs and transfer RB Jamie Gilmore has also started to get a decent number of carries, getting the ball 12 times for 42 yards and 2 TDs last week against Missouri State. The Leathernecks defense is led by LB Brett Taylor. The Macomb native has accounted for 61 tackles including 2.5 sacks and 1 interception. LB Quentin Moon has also stepped up this year, putting up 50 tackles with 1 sack, 1 interception, 4 QB hurries, and 1 blocked kick.

Obviously the Bison are an all-around really good team and don’t have a ton of weaknesses. One that SDSU and EWU were able to exploit is their vulnerability to the passing game, which is WIU’s strength. Not sure if it’ll be good enough to put up a good number of points against NDSU, but as I said, it is one of the better ones in the conference. If the Leathernecks want to win this game though, they’ll need to put together a complete game of playing to the best of their ability. Their problem lately is that they just haven’t been consistent. Western will get ahead usually and then often lets teams back in the game in the second half. I don’t know if that’s just them getting tired or complacent with their lead and the letting things slip, or if it’s just a lack of focus, but they do seem to generally have problems in the later stages of the game. They’ve been lucky that in those close “comeback” games, the defense has been able to step up and make some huge stops to save the game, but they won’t always be able to do that.

A couple of interesting stats to look at for this game: NDSU has always prided themselves on their Time of Possession advantage, and they are good…currently 9th in the FCS with an average of 33:27. WIU…currently 4th with an average of 34:36. Obviously something is going to give, both teams can’t have the ball for 33+ minutes in a 60 minute game. Also, Red Zone Defense…the strength of both of the teams on defense is their short game…D-line and LBs mostly. What this means is that when offenses get down into the red zone, the defense is often able to step up and make a stop. NDSU is the 12th best FCS team in this stat…WIU is the 13th….so maybe we’re in for a decent amount of yardage, but few points.

Another thing to consider is that, for some reason, NDSU seems to have difficulties in Macomb. They haven’t ever lost here (in case you didn’t know, I’m a Leatherneck fan who lives in Macomb, so for me, “there” would be “here”), but the last time they played here, it took a 4th quarter comeback of a couple of TDs by a combination of Carson Wentz and John Crockett to win by 7. Will their struggles at Hanson Field continue? That’s hard to say, but personally, I think that NDSU comes in angry about the loss and has some success offensively against the Leathernecks. I think that Western is too good not to score at all (or minimally), but I could see NDSU winning by a TD or so. If Western wins it’ll be on the strength of the passing offense and the ability of the D-line to step up and make stops when they need to. As much as I’d love to pick Western to win (my heart says Leathernecks ❤️ )…I know that NDSU has the advantage at this point (my head says Bison). Probably something in the range of a 28-21 NDSU win is what I think we’re likely to see…but of course, those of you who know me know that I bleed purple and gold (maybe I need to get that checked by a doctor) and I would absolutely love to be proven wrong on this. I’ll take a Leatherneck win over a tough opponent over a correct pick any day.

TL:DR – North Dakota State by 7

The FCS Wedge – 2016-10-20 – NEC SotC Show

Lance & Kris shine a little light on the NEC in this week’s State of the Conference and talk about how truly competitive and interesting this conference is.  Even though they operate on a slight scholarship budget these teams compete very well with some of the bigger names in FCS year in and year out and this one is no different.

Listen in if you follow the conference and know it well.  Especially listen in if you don’t follow it because then you can pretend to know something if the topic comes up.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

FCS TV/Streaming Guide: Week Ending 10/22/2016

Provided by FargoBison on AGS again this week.  ALL TIMES CENTRAL.

Another big week of FCS football is upon us with games starting Friday night. As always all games are in central time and if I missed anything please post below and I will update the guide accordingly….

TV Guide:
10/21
Penn at Yale 6 p.m. NBCSN: Direct TV Channel 220
10/22
Lehigh at Holy Cross 11 a.m. SNY: 639 / CSCA: 698
Kennesaw State at Garnder 11 a.m. Webb MASN: 640
Cornell at Brown 11 a.m. FCS
Lafayette at Bucknell noon MASN2
Dartmouth at Columbia 12:30 p.m. OWS: 623
EWU at Montana State 1 p.m. RSRM: 683 / RSNW: 687 / AUD: 601
Missouri State at UNI 1 p.m. CSNC: 665
Youngstown State at South Dakota State 2 p.m. MidcoSN
JSU at Texas Southern 2 p.m. RSSW: 674
Monmouth at Liberty 2:30 p.m. MASN: 640-1
New Hampshire at Towson 2:30 p.m. CSNE: 630 / SNY: 639
Western Carolina at Samford 6 p.m. MASN: 640
North Dakota State at Western Illinois 6 p.m. NBC ND
Montana at NAU 6 p.m. FSAZ: 686 / FSPT: 693 / FSSD: 694
Tennessee State at Vanderbilt 6:30 ESPNU: 208
Sam Houston State at Nichols State 2:30 Altitude 2: 681-1

 

ESPN3
10/21
Duquesne at Saint Francis 6 p.m.
10/22
Harvard at Princeton noon
The Citadel at Wofford 12:30 p.m.
Missouri State at UNI 1 p.m.
Bethune Cookman at Norfolk State 1 p.m.
Illinois State at South Dakota 2 p.m.
Indiana State at Southern Illinois 2 p.m.
Youngstown State at South Dakota State 2 p.m.
Monmouth at Liberty 2:30 p.m.
UT Martin at Georgia State 2:30 p.m.
Presbyterian at Charleston Southern 5 p.m.
Lamar at Central Arkansas 6 p.m.
North Dakota State at Western Illinois 6 p.m.

ESPN Extra:
Missouri State at UNI 1 p.m. Direct TV Channel 790
Youngstown State at South Dakota State 2 p.m. 795
Monmouth at Liberty 2:30 p.m. 788

Where to find other FCS games(FREE) online….
http://lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm (Guide to all games on TV or online webcasts)
Big Sky Conference…http://eversport.tv/big-sky
Big South Conference…http://www.bigsouthsports.com/
Colonial Athletic Association…https://portal.stretchinternet.com/caa/
Northeast Conference…http://www.necfrontrow.com/
OVC Conference…http://www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com/watch/
Patriot League…http://campusinsiders.com/network/patriot_league
SoCon Digital Network…http://www.socondigitalnetwork.com