OVC: Week 7 Review and Power Rankings

Two of the OVC’s matchups this weekend came down to the wire with EIU and TSU holding on to their wins because of last second defensive stands.  The OVC hierarchy looks to be laid out pretty clearly now but if this weekend taught us anything, nothing is for certain.  Jacksonville State looked extremely vulnerable in their matchup with Austin Peay, Tennessee State despite being 5-1 is still doing just enough to win their games and winning by slim margins, and Eastern Illinois had their second nail-biter in a row with Tennessee Tech.  

Murray State 31 UT-Martin 38

This game went as expected, lots of offense and minimum amounts of defense. The two teams combined for over 800 yards of offense on the day. UT-Martin was able to capitalize on a pick six and a fumble by the Racers in the first quarter to jump out to an early 20-7 advantage. However, the Racer’s weren’t the only ones having trouble holding onto the ball, 14 of Murray State’s points in the first half came off of Skyhawk fumbles that set up Murray at the Skyhawk 23 and Skyhawk 6 yard lines. The game would go into half at 27-21 in favor of the Skyhawks.  At the beginning of the fourth quarter after a Skyhawk’s field goal, Racer quarterback KD Humphries showed why he is one of the conference’s best quarterbacks. The redshirt sophomore put together put together 6 play 84 yard touchdown drive to move the score to 30-28.  After a quick Skyhawks three and out Humphries moved his squad down to the Skyhawk’s 33 yard line and set up kicker Connor Mitchell to kick a 50 yarder to take the lead 31-30.  The very next play, Skyhawk quarterback Troy Mitchell found receiver Greg McKillion for a 75 yard bomb to take the lead right back, 38-31.

Humphries finished the day 23-44 for 248 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a pick. Troy Cook would finish 21-38 for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Racers will travel to EIU this weekend and the Skyhawks will take on Georgia State in the Georgia Dome.

Eastern Kentucky 28 #26 Tennessee State 35

Tennessee State continues to take care of business as they defeated EKU this weekend in a thriller.  The defense continues to be the brightest spot for the Tigers as they improve to 5-1.  The Colonels were driving and junior Tiger linebacker Chris Collins stepped up in crunch time to make the game saving interception. The Tigers defense overall was able to generate 5 turnovers and even had a touchdown. Had Eastern Kentucky not turned the ball over 5 times they probably would have won the game.  The Colonels had 584 yards of offense, 350 passing, and a season high 234 (No, Pikeville doesn’t count) on the ground and averaged a healthy 5.8 yards per carry. This game, however, was Eastern Kentucky’s last chance at saving their season.  Even if the Colonels can upset Jacksonville State this weekend and win out they will still be 6-4 against D-1 opponents and that likely won’t be impressive enough for the committee with JSU, EIU, and TSU all playing solid football in the conference right now. Speaking of TSU, if they can win the rest of their OVC matchups they will likely be 9-2 on selection day with losses only to #19 EIU and Vanderbilt.  If they have a respectable showing this weekend at Vandy and handle business for the rest of their OVC slate they should be a shoo-in for an at-large bid.

Tennessee State takes on Vanderbilt this weekend on ESPNU and EKU will host #2 Jacksonville State

Tennessee Tech 24 #19 Eastern Illinois 30

This game came down to the wire and one offensive pass interference call was arguably the deciding factor in this contest.  On TTU’s potential game-winning drive, EIU linebacker Nick Horne was able to stop Michael Birdsong just 3 yards short of the first down marker with 36 seconds left in regulation to ice the game and seal the victory for EIU. The game was a hodgepodge of mistakes at critical moments.  In the first half EIU was intercepted at the goal line and missed a chip shot field goal. Tennessee Tech also managed to gift EIU 3 points when they fumbled on the kickoff to set up the Panthers in field goal range at the end of the first half.  In the second half with the game 20-17 in favor of the Panthers the Golden Eagles made the mistake that allowed EIU to open the game up.  Golden Eagle freshman running back Yeedee Thaenrat fumbled the ball at the TTU 21 yard line and EIU was able to make a touchdown out of it, opening the lead to 27-17. Two possessions later Birdsong was able to string together a 8 play 90 yard drive for a touchdown to close it back up to 27-24 but an EIU field goal 5 minutes later meant the Eagles would need at least a touchdown to take the lead and saved the Panthers from a possible trip to overtime.

EIU will host KD Humphries and the Murray State Racers as Tennessee Tech will host SEMO this weekend in Cookeville.

Austin Peay 14 #2 Jacksonville State 34

So lately I’ve been giving APSU a lot of crap and after Saturday’s game I feel like I owe them an apology.  But they aren’t getting one because they’re still 0-6. However, like I said last week, this team is different, this team has drive.  For the first half Austin Peay looked like a team that believed they could win. They played like it too.  I remember sitting in the stands in the second quarter with the game tied thinking “Gosh, this is it, isn’t it? Our first OVC loss in nearly three years.” The game went into halftime at 14-7 and should have been closer but Austin Peay had their 39-yard field goal attempt blocked.  The Cocks looked weak on offense and the defense had trouble containing Timarious Mitchell all day.  The Gamecocks day was saved when a bad snap deep in the Govs’ territory in the third quarter caused the ball to drop right in the Darius Jackson and set up Eli Jenkins at the 1 yard line.  This mistake by the Govs blew the game wide open and the Gamecocks capitalized on the momentum.  The contest finished 34-14 with Austin Peay’s final touchdown coming with :27 left in the game, deep into garbage time. Had a few more breaks gone the Gov’s way, this game could have been awkwardly close, or a full on upset.  Either way, saying JSU just had a flat game isn’t fair to Austin Peay.  They played extremely well most of the game and are a MUCH improved team.  If they can bottle the intensity they had Saturday and play that well consistently they will definitely pick up a few wins before the end of the season.

The Gamecocks need to lock back in quick if they don’t want to be upset on the road at EKU this weekend and Mercer better be on upset alert when they head to Austin Peay this weekend.

Power Rankings

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-1, 2-0 OVC)

Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-2, 3-1 OVC)

Tennessee State Tigers (5-1, 2-1 OVC)

UT-Martin Skyhawks (4-3, 3-1 OVC)

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (2-4, 1-2 OVC

Southeast Missouri Redhawks (2-4, 2-1 OVC)

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-4, 2-2 OVC)

Murray State Racers (1-5, 1-2 OVC)

Austin Peay Governors (0-6, 0-5 OVC)

 

SOCON: Week 8 Preview

It’s week eight and the race for the Southern Conference title is still up for grabs.  The Citadel is in the driver’s seat after knocking off Chattanooga last week, but there is a lot of football yet to play.  The Citadel travels to Spartanburg to face Wofford who hopes to get a much needed win over a top 10 team to bolster its playoff hopes.  VMI visits Chattanooga as the Mocs try and bounce back after losing this past week.  Mercer goes out of conference to face the Austin Peay Governors of the Ohio Valley Conference.  Western Carolina is still looking for its first conference win at Samford.  But first, the ETSU Bucs go out of conference with a Div II opponent on Thursday night when they face West Virginia Wesleyan. (SOCON Weekly notes)

West Virginia Wesleyan at ETSU Thursday 7:30PM (SOCON Network)

ETSU, now in its second year back playing football, had a great start. They knocked off Kennesaw State of the Big South, also in its second year of football, and also beat an inconsistent Western Carolina team.  It has been all downhill from there.  The ETSU Bucs have scored a total of 21 points in the last 4 games.

The Bucs are ranked at or near the bottom in the SOCON in many statistical categories.  They are simply getting overwhelmed by very experienced SOCON teams.  Their QB, Austin Herink, has gone 86/148 through the air for 777 yards on the year and has 3 TDs and 2 interceptions.  They have only averaged 103 yards a game on the ground.  ETSU is actually converting third downs 42% of the time, so they have moved the ball occasionally on drives.  They just are not finishing them.  The way they won their first two games was by finishing drives and maintaining a good TOP to keep their inexperienced defense off the field.  But they have steadily gotten worse in that department.

This week they face a mediocre to poor Div II team in the WV Wesleyan Bobcats.  If the Bucs don’t relax too much and execute well, they should be able to gain some much needed confidence, and their third win of the season.  Bucs by at least 2 TDs.

#5 The Citadel at #25 Wofford 1:30PM (ESPN3) (The Citadel game notes) (Wofford game notes)

The Citadel faces its second top 25 team in as many weeks, this time on the road.  It will be the 5th road game of the year for the Bulldogs in seven games.  Wofford had last week off while The Citadel is coming off its biggest win in a while as it took down Chattanooga.

It’s run against run this Saturday in Spartanburg.  With both teams running the option, they execute very good ball control.  The Citadel is #1 in FCS in time of possession at over 35 minutes a game.  Normally that would be a huge advantage, except Wofford in #2 in this stat and only behind by a few seconds a game.

The Citadel has had a lot of success lately in keeping drives going.  It converts 52% of its third downs.  Wofford has done almost as well at 48%.  The Citadel leads FCS in yards rushing per game at 381.  Wofford is at #4 with 312 yards a game.  Neither team can expect to gain much advantage by holding the ball a long time on grinding drives.

The game is going to be decided by how well each team’s defense performs.  However, they both know how to defend against the option.  While there may be some passing here and there, these teams are ranked dead last at #121 and 122 in passing yards this season so don’t expect a lot of passes.  Last year’s matchup did featured 26 pass attempts between them.  So far this year The Citadel is averaging 7 attempts a game and Wofford is averaging 10 attempts a game.  Who knows, they might just have to open up an aerial attack if they are both successful stopping each other on the ground.  Wofford is allowing the lowest rushing total in FCS so far at 50 yards a game, but they have not had any serious running offenses to deal with either.  The Citadel has allowed 108 yards on the ground a game, but they have faced credible running attacks in both Mercer and UTC.  Overall, The Citadel is giving up 301 total yards a game and Wofford is allowing 254 a game which is good enough for the #2 spot in FCS.

In stopping drives The Citadel has a slight edge holding opponents to a 33% success rate on third downs.  Wofford is allowing conversions 43% of the time.  In the red zone, Wofford has allowed TDs in 10 of 14 tries.  The Citadel held opponents to TDs 6 times in 10 tries.  The Citadel defense has done a good job in the second half this year and specifically the fourth quarter.  It has only allowed 14 points all year in the 4th.  However, Wofford has done almost as well only allowing 17 points in the final period.  Both of these teams know how to finish games.

With very similar game plans and capable defenses, the game might be decided by turnovers and special teams.  Both teams are on the plus side on turnovers with Wofford at +6 and The Citadel at +5.  On special teams, Wofford has the SOCON punting leader who averages 47 yards a kick.  The Citadel punter averages 41.  On punt returns The Citadel averages 12 yard a return, Wofford averages 4.   The Citadel is leading the SOCON in kickoff returns at 24 yards a return and Wofford is last with 17 yards a return.  Wofford’s field goal kicker has gone 7 for 10, but one of those was a 57 yarder so he has a pretty good leg.  The Citadel’s kicker has been successful on 6 of 8 with a long of 45.  Both teams appear fairly matched on specials as well.

Although Wofford has been successful running, their current QB has not gotten a lot of yards since taking over completely a few weeks ago.  Wofford had been playing QB by committee previously.  Brandon Goodson is the third QB this year after they lost the first two to injuries.  The dynamic Bulldog QB Dominique Allen will be the difference in the game and will keep the chains moving a bit more than the Terriers.  In the first three games this year The Citadel averaged 291 yards rushing a game.  Allen got some playing time in two of those games but didn’t start.  In the next three games, with Allen starting, the Dogs have averaged 471 yards a game rushing.  The experience he brings was really demonstrated in the game against Chattanooga where he rushed for a career high 135 yards.  As a result, the Bulldogs should win by more than a TD.

VMI at #10 Chattanooga 2PM (SOCON Network) (VMI game notes) (UTC game notes)

VMI was manhandled a bit last week by Samford.  The Chattanooga Mocs lost their first one of the year as they lost at The Citadel.  They will be hungry to stay in the hunt for the title, especially if The Citadel stumble later on.  The biggest question for this game is whether the Mocs outstanding running back Derrick Craine will play.  He tweaked an ankle during the game in Charleston.  Chattanooga will no doubt take a hit without him.  He is a play maker.

The Mocs are averaging 424 yards a game on offense.  Craine accounted for 119 of those on average. Chattanooga’s QB, Alejandro Bennifield has gone 105/160 for 1474 yards with 16 TDs and 4 interceptions on the year.  Even without Craine, the Mocs are formidable.  On the ground, UTC is averaging 206 yards a game.

As good as those numbers are, the Mocs real strength lies in their defense.  They give up only 245 yards a game.  Good enough for the #1 spot in FCS.  Against the pass, they are #1 as well, but their numbers were obviously bolstered by the huge 7 yards they gave up to the Citadel.  Still, they are giving up only 135 yards a game through the air and have 5 interceptions.  The Mocs have 16 sacks on the year as well.

That isn’t good news for the Keydets who thrive on the pass.  Although VMI has attempted to run more this year than they have, their success is primarily through the air and the arm of Al Cobb.  Cobb has gone 144/215 for 1459 yards and tossed 8 TDs and 5 interceptions.  The Keydets have 129 yards per game on the ground.  They are converting 36% of their third downs.

On defense VMI continues to give up huge chunks of yards, 435 a game.  But they are stopping opponents on third downs fairly well and are holding them to a third down conversion rate of 34%.  They only have 10 sacks on the year with Jr linebacker Ryan Francis leading the way with 6.  They average just over 6 tackles for loss a game on defense.

VMI will probably not give up the huge number of yards through the air that it allowed against Samford’s Hodges.  However, they will still have their hands full with Bennifield and the Mocs outstanding receiver Xavier Borishade.  If Cobb can keep from turning it over, they may be able to keep it close, especially if Craine does not play.  But the Mocs should win in either event and by at least 3 TDs.

Mercer at Austin Peay 4PM (OVC Network) (Mercer game notes)

Mercer finally opened up a little against WCU last week. They got a little help with some turnovers, but they executed well and finally got a comfortable win this year.   This is the third time that the Bears will face the Governors of Austin Peay.  They won the first two fairly easily.  This year Austin Peay has yet to win a game and is at 0-6.  However, they tried to make a game of it against Jacksonville State this past week and were only down 14-7 at half.

The Bears have done well on offense this year and have averaged 401 yards a game.  They have a fairly balanced offense with 230 through the air and 171 on the ground.  QB John Russ has gone 123/196 for 1373 total yards with 9 TDs and only 3 interceptions.  Alex Lakes and Payton Usher are top 10 SOCON rushers and average 115 yards a game combined.   Mercer has moved the ball well and converted third downs 45% of the time.  The Bears has benefited in turnovers and is at +5 for the season.

On defense Mercer has given up 407 yards a game, including 174 on the ground and 233 through the air.  They have 14 sacks on the year.  Their special teams are solid.  One area that the Bear could improve in is penalties.  They average 7 a game for 77 yards.

Austin Peay only gains about 312 yards a game and surrender over 550.  Mercer should be able to move the ball against them fairly easily.  The Governors allow over 300 yards through the air each game so Russ should have a good day.  Look for the Bears to win by at least 14.

Western Carolina at #17 Samford 7PM (TV-ASN) (WCU game notes) (Samford game notes)

The Samford Bulldogs have one of the most explosive passing offenses in FCS.  The Catamounts of Western Carolina are going to have their hands full.  The Cats have a pretty good pass attack as well, but it doesn’t come close to Samford’s.  If the Bulldogs has a weakness, it is their dismal running game.  But since they keep winning it has not hurt them lately.  They have only lost to Chattanooga so far.  The Central Arkansas game was tight at the end although the Bulldogs pull that one out after going up big to start.  In both those cases, Samford simply could not keep the ball away from the opposing offenses long enough to keep them from scoring.  Samford’s scoring drives are usually under 2 minutes and some under a minute.  In other words, their defense is on the field a lot.

The Samford defense gives up yards to the tune of 396 a game so far.  That includes 222 in the air and 174 on the ground.  Their time of possession is pretty low at about 25 minutes a game.  That might have really helped WCU in this game if it were not for the fact that they are even worse at only 23 minutes of possession a game.  The Cats can move the ball, but they do it in big chunks and not steady drives.  They average 398 yards a game with 284 through the air on average.  Western is only converting its third downs at a 34% rate.

Tyrie Adams, the Cats redshirt freshman QB, has done well in his first year starting going 140/212 with 11 TDs and 7 interceptions.  Western has been sacked 16 times so far this year though and he hasn’t always had time to get off good passes.  But when he does, he is pretty accurate.  WCU does have a passable running game with Detrez Newsome leading the way.  He is averaging 75 yards a game rushing, 36 receiving, as well as returning kickoffs.  He is an athlete for sure.  If the Cats have any hope in getting a win on Saturday they at least have to keep the ball away from Samford’s Devlin Hodges for as long as possible.

Hodges has gone 180/249 for 2070 yards so far.  He has 22 TDs and only 4 interceptions.  He is quite a capable passer.  He put up over 400 yards passing in the last two games against Furman and VMI.  He had over 300 at Wofford and UTC.  Samford is currently at #3 in FCS in passing yards.  As mentioned already, the only weakness Samford has, especially if someone can shut Hodges down, is that they have no running game.  At all.  If you take away the 221 yards they got against Div II Mars Hill, they have a total of 252 yards in 5 games for just about 50 yards a game against Div I opponents.  That’s even worse than The Citadel’s or Wofford’s passing game.

Western’s defense has giving up almost 500 yards a game, but only 186 of those through the air.  But it should be noted that they have faced The Citadel, Wofford and Gardner-Webb who all have predominantly running games.  So the numbers are a bit skewed as a result.  Against ECU they gave up 413 passing yards and 224 in the air against Mercer’s balance attack.  The Cats defense only has 5 sacks on the year as well.

The one area that WCU has got to get under control is its turnovers.  They are at -8 right now.  They have lost 8 fumbles and 7 interceptions.  Samford is going to eat them alive if they turn it over.  The Bulldogs already have 2 pick sixes and 2 scoop and scores on fumbles.

All that said, Samford and Hodges are on a roll right now and they will be just a bit much for the Catamounts defense.  Samford is probably also looking to avenge the thumping the Catamounts gave them last year in Cullowhee.  Samford should win by at least 3 TDs.

 

BIG SOUTH: Week 8 Preview

After three straight weeks of one program or another taking the week off, it’s a full slate of conference games this week in the Big South.

 

 

(4-2) Kennesaw St @ (3-4) Gardner-Webb – Saturday, Oct 22nd, 12:00pm (American Sports Network) 

A week after hard-fought losses, both these teams come into this game looking to get back on the right track.  The hard reality is that this game will likely determine the course of the rest of the season for both teams.  The winner still has an outside shot at winning the conference and the loser is likely playing for next year.

Kennesaw comes into this game looking for some redemption.  Unlike a year ago, they were in the game with Liberty all night long.  The upstart Owls came up short, however, and have still yet to prove they belong in the upper tier of the Big South.

A year ago at home against Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw couldn’t find the end zone but got four Justin Thompson field goals and the defense made those points stand up in a 12-7 win over the visiting Bulldogs.  KSU’s triple-option offense has significantly improved this season with the emergence of a real passing attack with Chandler Burks and Daniel David under center and an absolute weapon at receiver in Justin Sumpter.  Sumpter, however, has missed the last two games with an injury and isn’t on the depth chart for this game either.  Xavier Harper has performed well in his absence but isn’t the same kind of game-changing player.

Kennesaw’s defensive is as aggressive as ever and is productive.  Dante Blackmon leads the conference in interceptions, DL Desmond Johnson leads the conference in sacks and DL Tornarius Portress leads the league in tackles for loss.

The Owls’ kicking game, however, is suddenly shaky all the way around.  Against Liberty, Justin Thompson missed a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter that would have re-established KSU’s early lead. If KSU had hit that early field goal, perhaps they would have been more confident in sending the kick unit out instead of going for it on 4th down.  The Owls were 0-3 on 4th down and all of them were within what would be considered reasonable field goal range. In the 4th quarter, the KSU coaching staff sent Jordan Genovese out to kick a crucial extra point only to see him crank the kick wide right while, simultaneously, getting a false start penalty called on himself (he did convert after the ball was moved back 5 yards).  To top it off, the kickoff unit gave up the only kickoff return touchdown in the conference so far this season on a play in which the Liberty returner caromed off of three KSU tacklers without slowing down.

For their part, Gardner-Webb is looking to bounce back after an extremely poor offensive effort against Coastal Carolina.  Aside from an absolute gift from Bulldog defense that gave them the ball at Coastal’s 8-yard line just before the half, G-W did not cross midfield on offense until there was only a minute remaining in the game and they were down by two scores.  The ground game is the heart and soul of Gardner-Webb’s offense and primary ball carriers QB Tyrell Maxwell and RB Khalil Lewis only managed 75 total rushing yards between them.  The result was that G-W lost the time of possession battle to Coastal, a team running a hurry-up spread offense.  A pattern is developing here where the G-Webb offense needs to get a big play or have the defense/special teams establish favorable field position for them.  The Bulldogs haven’t had a scoring drive of longer than eight plays since their last garbage-time drive against Ohio.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are much improved over just a month ago.  After getting railroaded by Western Carolina – a loss that’s looking worse with every passing week –, The Citadel and Ohio in September, G-W has now only given up 20 points in three games in the month of October.  Granted, two of those opponents were D2 Benedict and Presbyterian – an offensive Bermuda Triangle – but Coastal had been averaging more than 42 points going into that game.  This same defense kept Kennesaw out of the end zone entirely in their game last year and it’s reasonable to expect that they would perform nearly or equally as well this time around.

What Kennesaw has to do against Gardner-Webb:  Score in the red zone.  KSU was only 1-of-4 in the red zone against Liberty and has only scored 20 touchdowns in 32 trips to that section of the field this year.  That’s just under 63% against a schedule that has not been exactly overwhelming.

What Gardner-Webb has to do against Kennesaw – Sustain drives.  The best defense that Gardner-Webb has against Kennesaw’s triple-option offense is to keep it on the sidelines.

 

(4-3) Monmouth @   (3-3)   Liberty – Saturday, October 22nd, 3:30pm (LFSN, ESPN3)

A year ago, Monmouth defeated a ranked Liberty team 20-17 in overtime for one of the landmark wins in program history.  This time around doesn’t have nearly the same cache around it.  Liberty is receiving votes in some polls but a Monmouth win here would hardly be called an upset.

Monmouth comes into this game having started off strong with wins over Lehigh and Fordham but suffered a startling loss at Presbyterian on Thursday that dropped the Hawks to 0-2 in the Big South standings. No FCS team has ever lost to Presbyterian in the regular season and gone on to make the playoffs.  This is an inherent and tautological truth.

Offensively, the Hawks’ Lavon Chaney returned to his electric athletic self against the Blue Hose, rushing for over 150 yards and providing a spark that Monmouth desperately needed.  Reggie White, Jr., however, was nowhere to be found.  He caught three passes for 40 yards but had almost no impact on the game.  White did catch an apparent touchdown pass in the 4th quarter that would have given Monmouth a lead but the play was called back because White had obviously pushed the off defender to catch the ball.  Instead of a go-ahead score, the Hawks were forced to punt from the PC 39.  To be fair, much of White’s ineffectiveness had to do with Presby pressuring the Monmouth quarterbacks.  Presby’s defensive line had been hit hard by the injury bug for the first portion of the season but MU starting quarterback Cody Williams was forced to scramble for most of the first half. When he left the game to an ankle injury, Kenji Bahar didn’t fare much better.   Head coach Kevin Callahan has listed Cody Williams as “hopeful” for this week – that’s an injury designation that’s new to me; it’s better than “hopeless”, I suppose – but it’s hard to imagine that that won’t be the case again this week.

Defensively, Monmouth is led by S Mike Basile and have a pretty strong defensive front of their own, particularly in DL’s Darnell Leslie and Manny Maragoto.  Still, it’s been quite some time since the Hawks’ D has put together anything that could be considered a quality outing.  They shut down Lehigh for most of the game and Delaware State – again, for most of the game – but are averaging 30 points a game against over the last four weeks.  Against Presbyterian, the secondary looked completely confused and it’s easy to believe, at this point, that the road warrior schedule might be catching up with them.

On the other side, Liberty comes into this game fresh off a solid win at Kennesaw that was as balanced a game as the Flames have put together all year.  Offensively, LU got key contributions from three different running backs and QB Buckshot Calvert completed 73% of his passes while distributing the ball to 11 different receivers.  Defensively, while Liberty gave up a lot of yards between the goal lines, they were strong where it mattered – the last one.  Despite not getting any turnovers for the first time all season, two dramatic goal line stands will do wonders for a defense’s confidence and the Flames have got to be feeling good on that side of the ball.  Meanwhile, freshman kicker Alex Probert banged home kicks from 47 yards, 50 yards and 47 yards again, becoming the first player in conference history to hit three kicks from beyond 45 yards in a single game.

Offensively, Liberty will try to pick up right where they left off, spreading the ball around and forcing the Monmouth defense to pick their poison.  LU has had some injuries up front but, coming out of the bye week, appear to have finally found an OL combination that works. Defensively, Liberty will have to contain Chaney while, at the same time, getting pressure on Williams and/or Bahar.  Bahar doesn’t see the field and get rid of the ball quite as quickly as Williams but he’s more of a physical athlete.  Chaney, however, is the key cog in the Monmouth engine and how Liberty defends him will determine how well the Flames’ defense succeeds.

What Monmouth needs to do against Liberty:  Keep the ball.  A year ago, Liberty doubled Monmouth up in nearly every significant statistical category but gave the ball to Monmouth three times.  This year, the LU defense was averaging more than three takeaways prior to the Kennesaw game.  That number is under 3.0 now and Monmouth needs to make it go down even further.

What Liberty needs to do against Monmouth – Don’t let Reggie White, Jr., beat you.  The defensive focus has to be on shutting down Chaney but White is still a big, physical receiving target and he’s turned more than one short catch into a long, highlight score simply by running through tackles.

 

(2-4) Presbyterian @ (3-2) Charleston Southern – Saturday, Oct 22nd, 6:00pm (ESPN3)

Presbyterian and Charleston Southern have played every year since CSU began their program in 1993 even through PC was in a lower NCAA classification for most of that time span.  In their D2 days, PC owned a 12-game win streak against CSU but have gone just 2-7 against the Bucs since moving to FCS.  The last several years have been very tight contests, however.  In their last visit to Buccaneer Field in 2014, Presbyterian scored a touchdown on their opening drive and then made that single touchdown stand up for a 7-3 Blue Hose win.  Last year’s matchup in Clinton was heading much the same way until CSU finally cracked the end zone midway through the 4th quarter to earn a 10-7 victory in the closest game of their season.

Presbyterian comes into this game fresh off a home win over Monmouth last Thursday night.  Springing to life much like a California wild fire – burning brightly and once every few years – the PC passing game overwhelmed the Monmouth defense.  Even after starting quarterback Ben Cheek – who was on his way to a career night – was forced out of the game to injury, John Walker picked up right where he left off.  The result was the most yards through the air for PC since 2013 and finally allowed the offense a bit of balance to offset the ground game.  Can Cheek/Walker and the receiving corps continue that pace against a CSU defense that hasn’t played a live game since October 1st?  I don’t know because there are other questions that line up first:

  • Is Cheek even available to play? During the Monmouth game, Cheek and his throwing shoulder were propelled directly into the Bailey Memorial turf by an unblocked linebacker.  He was helped off the field by the PC medical staff and did not return.  Head Coach Harold Nichols has said that Cheek’s status is day-to-day but it’s hard to look at that hit and assume that the player will be back in nine days’ time.
  • If Cheek is out, is John Walker even the next man up? Presbyterian has seven quarterbacks on the roster and not much is known about any of them.  Of those seven, only three (Cheek, r-Fr. Cal King and Fr. Mario Cusano) are Signing Day signees, typically the group where your first-team players eventually come from.  Presumably, the rest – Walker and previous game-starter Will Brock included – are or were at one time walk-on players.
  • Does it even matter? RB Darrell Bridges has been a constant for PC but the rest of the offense, regardless of starting QB, has been wildly inconsistent.  There’s a very reasonable possibility that the wildfire against Monmouth may been more of a momentary blaze and that the Blue Hose offense will revert to a more recent form which in non-ironic fashion is pretty much formless.

As mentioned previously, this will be the Buccaneers’ first time setting foot on a game field since storming Coastal Carolina’s following a 59-58 double OT win three weeks ago.  This will also be CSU’s first home game since facing Kentucky State all the way back on September 3rd seven weeks ago.  Thanks to the unscheduled portion of the schedule – namely, Hurricane Matthew – CSU is pretty much in uncharted territory here. No FCS team in recent memory has ever had three open dates in the middle of an 11-game season. *(Eastern Washington did it in 2014 by playing in the FCS Kickoff game and scheduling only 11 games in a 12-game year)*  Also, no FCS team in recent memory has ever had back-to-back open dates in the middle of the season.  Through eight weeks, CSU has played five games and only three of those against comparable competition.  This could make CSU the most rested and refreshed team in the country and it could also make them the least experienced and least mentally prepared.

One more thing is that CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell had been scheduled to sit out the Albany State game as a consequence of their NCAA issues earlier in the season.  When that game was cancelled there was no indication of when that suspension would be moved to.  Given the competitive nature of this series, its import to the season and the simple fact that this is CSU’s homecoming, it’s doubtful that this week will be that game.

There’s not much to say about CSU from a personnel standpoint at the moment.  QB Shane Bucenell should start and pitch the ball to their stable of running backs.  At this point, CSU has to be the healthiest team in the conference.  Any lingering minor injuries left over from the Coastal game should have cleared up by now.

What Presbyterian has to do against CSU:  Get a first-half touchdown.  In Presby’s two wins this year, they’ve gotten the ball into the end zone at least once before halftime.  In the games they’ve lost, they haven’t.

What CSU has to do against Presbyterian:  Shake off the rust early because Presby is going to try to knock it off.  Presby’s defense was aggressive against Monmouth and they’ll only be even more so against the conference front-runners.

 

One more miscellaneous note: as mentioned, this is both CSU’s and Liberty’s homecoming.  Two other Big South programs (Gardner-Webb and Kennesaw State) held theirs this past weekend and both lost.

The FCS Wedge – 2016-1019- LISTEN UP!

It was a big week with some underdogs coming away with some very big wins. The terrible two of Lance & Kris go over those games along with some other tag along’s for good measure.  Check out what they have to say on these:

The Citadel 22 Chattanooga 14

South Dakota State 19 North Dakota State 17

James Madison 42 New Hampshire 39

North Dakota 45 Southern Utah 23

Youngstown State 14 Northern Iowa 10

Maine 20 Albany 16

Richmond 23 Villanova 0

They go over this week’s poll, the upcoming games of note, and also give a brief thought on Delaware and the decision to fire coach Brock.  Class begins today when you hit “play”.

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CAA Week 7: Review and Power Rankings

Week 7 of FCS football is in the books and already teams are fighting for their spot in the postseason. At 4-0 in league play, James Madison is the clear favorite to win the league, but as we all know. Nothing is ever guaranteed in the meat grinder known as the Colonial Athletic Association. Will anyone knock off the number one team in the league? Or, will the preseason polls be proven wrong?

Maine 20, Albany 16

When the Great Danes of Albany traveled to Maine on Saturday they did so coming off an exciting triple overtime loss to the Richmond spiders. Maine would hand them their second straight loss in league play as QB Dan Collins threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns to carry the Black Bears toward a 20-16 victory. RB Darian Davis-Ray had the most rushing yards for Maine coming in at 81 yards off of 16 carries.

James Madison 42, New Hampshire 39

When James Madison traveled to New Hampshire on Saturday they did what most teams have been unable to do before them. Defeat the Wildcats in Durham. Although UNH would outgain JMU 569-437 yards, and beat JMU in time of possession 34:46 to 25:14, the efficiency of the JMU offense, and mistakes by the Wildcats would prove too much for UNH to overcome. QB Bryan Schor for JMU would end up completing 15 of 24 passes, and come away with 242 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead his team to victory.

Dartmouth 20, Towson 17

While a CAA matchup between JMU and UNH was taking place in NH, another team was fighting for their lives against out of conference Dartmouth in Hanover NH. Towson was hoping to pick up its second win of the season in the only out of conference game on the CAA slate, but a last second field goal by Dartmouth would quickly dash those dreams. Towson would outgain Dartmouth in total yards 470 to 253, but it would be the defense for Dartmouth coming up with two interceptions that would help to seal the deal hand Towson their fifth loss of the season.

Richmond 23, Villanova 0

What was billed as the CAA game of the week, ended up becoming quickly lopsided as the Spiders of Richmond blanked the Wildcats of Villanova. QB Kyle Lauletta for Richmond would put the Wildcats away completing 17 of 26 passes, for 218 yards and 1 touchdown.

 William and Mary 24, Delaware 17

William and Mary picked up a much-needed win as they put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to snatch victory away from the Blue Hens of Delaware. RB Kendall Anderson was instrumental in their win as he gained 115 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown.

Stony Brook 14, Rhode Island 3

Stony brook picked up its third conference win Saturday as the struggling Rhode Island Rams fell to 1-6 on the season, and 0-4 in the conference. Running backs Stacy Bedell and Jordin Gowins for Stony Brook ran for a combined 248 yards from 47, and a touchdown each carries to help put away the Rams.

Power Rankings

1. Richmond

2. James Madison

3. Villanova

4. Stony Brook

5. New Hampshire

6. Albany

7. Maine

8. William and Mary

9. Towson

10. Delaware

11. Elon

12. Rhode Island

 

Must Watch Week 8

For the first time in quite a while, this week’s games start early. Be sure to catch the key NEC match-up on ESPN3 on Friday night. A lot of conferences have big games this weekend. We cover them all below.

Friday, October 21st Time(CST) TV
Duquesne @ St. Francis 6:00pm ESPN3
Saturday, October 22nd
Lehigh @ Holy Cross 11:00am NESN+/*ASN / STREAM
Harvard @ Princeton 12:00pm ESPN3
The Citadel @ Wofford 12:30pm ESPN3
Youngstown State @ South Dakota State 2:00pm ESPN3
Jacksonville State @ Eastern Kentucky 2:00pm STREAM
Albany @ Villanova 2:30pm STREAM
Sam Houston State @ Nicholls State 3:00pm *ASN / STREAM
Lamar @ Central Arkansas 6:00pm ESPN3
North Dakota State @ Western Illinois 6:00pm ESPN3
Weber State @ Southern Utah 7:00pm STREAM

 

    • Duquesne started the season as the clear-cut favorite to win the NEC. St. Francis was picked third. Both teams come into this weekend undefeated in conference play. St. Francis drew some attention with better than expected performances in their non-conference schedule. The winner of this game has high odds of going to the playoffs representing the NEC.
    • Lehigh is off to a strong start in Patriot League play after a big win over Colgate and taking care of business against perennial basement dwellers Georgetown. This game wasn’t on my radar until Holy Cross showed signs of life last weekend with an upset win over Harvard. It changed my thinking that Lehigh only had to worry about Fordham.
    • Speaking of Harvard, they are still undefeated in Ivy League play. They take on another squad that is perfect in the IL when they head to Princeton on Saturday. The Ivy League insulates itself from much of the FCS world, but we do get chances to watch some of their premiere match-ups.
    • The Citadel is coming off of a huge win over Chattanooga and heads to Spartanburg to take on a Wofford team that is fighting for a playoff spot. This should be a quick game with a lot of yards on the ground for both teams so be sure to squeeze it into your schedule.
    • Youngstown State finished their win over Northern Iowa last Saturday with their 3rd string quarterback. They will need all hands on deck for their trip to take on South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits are a high octane offense that just came out of Fargo with a win over North Dakota State. Is the highly regarded Penguin defense up to the challenge?
    • Jacksonville State hasn’t been challenged for over a month. Eastern Kentucky has been tough in OVC play, even in their losses. Any chance the Colonels catch the Gamecocks looking ahead to their Homecoming game against Eastern Illinois?
    • Albany finds itself in a hole after losing two very close CAA matchups. Villanova got smacked around by Richmond last week. Both teams need this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Tough to pick a winner in this one.
    • Nicholls State is on a two game win streak and might be the Bearkats toughest challenge to date. Sam Houston State has run through their SLC slate undefeated with their closest game being a 13 point win. Can the Colonels slow down a potent SHSU offense?
    • Lamar has won three straight SLC games since falling to SHSU and Central Arkansas is undefeated since slipping to Samford in Week 1. Lamar most likely needs to win out to get an at-large bid as the 2nd place team in the Southland. Central Arkansas could still be in play for a seed with SHSU coming up on November 19th.
    • North Dakota State got shocked by South Dakota State with :01 left on the clock last weekend. Western Illinois has been in a tailspin since getting pounded in Brookings a few weeks ago. They needed late-game theatrics to beat Indiana State and Missouri State. I predict the Bison come out firing on all cylinders and put the game away early. WIU is still in the MVFC race, playoff hunt, and potentially the hunt for a seed if they can win out. It will be interesting to see who wants this more.
    • Weber State is a surprise team so far this season. They would have been ranked weeks ago if not for a 3 point loss in 2OTs to South Dakota. The next 2 weeks will tell us a lot about the Wildcats as they take on Southern Utah and North Dakota. Southern Utah is up against the wall after losing two Big Sky games in the last 3 weeks. They need to win out in Big Sky play or steal a win from BYU on November 12th for a shot at the playoffs.

 

*  American Sports Network (click the link to find local channels)

Big Sky Week 7: Review and Power Rankings

Big Sky

The Big Sky season didn’t get any clearer this past weekend as there is a crush of teams at the top of the conference trying to secure the autobid to the playoffs as the season enters the second half. North Dakota kept their undefeated record in conference play intact by taking down Southern Utah in Grand Forks over the weekend. The Fighting Hawks are now 4-0 in conference play. The Hawks used a balanced attack to beat the Thunderbirds who struggled to get anything going on the ground against UND’s talented defense.

Montana took advantage of having Sacramento State in town and decided to put up 68 points on them in Missoula. Montana won their past two games by a combined 135-14. Sacramento State broke Montana’s point streak in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. Prior to that the Griz had rolled off 129 consecutive points without giving up a score. Montana currently ranks in the top 15 in total offense and total defense. This is setting up a great football game in Cheney later this month.

Northern Colorado had a slip-up this week in their quest to finish near the top of the Big Sky standings by stumbling against previous winless (in conference) UC-Davis. UC-Davis, prior to that game, had only one win on the season. Needless to say, the Bears offense suffered a power outage when they switched time zones. Northern Arizona turned in a good ball game against Idaho State this past weekend. The Lumberjacks let the ball fly for 319 yards from back-up Blake Kemp and put up 52 points on the hapless Idaho State Bengals. Weber State continued their undefeated play in conference by taking down the even more hapless Montana State Bobcats.

Scores

Sacramento State 7
Montana 68

Southern Utah 23
North Dakota 45

Montana State 27
Weber State 45

Cal Poly 55
Portland State 35

Northern Colorado 21
UC-Davis 34

Idaho State 7
Northern Arizona 52

Big Sky Player of the Week

Blake Kemp, Northern Arizona. Kemp was 23/37 for 319 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in the Lumberjacks’ win over Idaho State on Saturday.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

Gage Gabrud, QB, Eastern Washington. Idle.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington. Idle.
Emmanual Butler, WR, Northern Arizona. 6 receptions, 88 yards, two touchdowns.
Joe Protheroe, RB, Cal Poly. 16 carries, 101 yards, two touchdowns.
Caleb Kidder, LB, Montana. 7 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.5 sacks.

Big Sky Power Rankings

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

Looking Ahead to Week 8

The Big Sky week 8 schedule starts off with Eastern Washington taking on Montana State in Bozeman. Sacramento State will head to Greeley to take on Northern Colorado. North Dakota will head across the mountain to take on Idaho State in Pocatello. Weber State will make the trip down I-15 to take on Southern Utah. Montana will head south to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona. To cap off the weekend the Cal Poly will host UC-Davis.

Final Thoughts and Hot Takes

– Jeff Choate has to be feeling a little fire under his seat already in Bozeman. Yes, he’s new on the job and is rebuilding his roster, but man.. the Cats haven’t even looked competitive this year.

– Just think of the awful things Eastern Washington is going to do to that Montana State defense. Going to be a blood bath in Bozeman this week.

– Pillow fight of the week gonna be in Greeley this week with Sac State and Northern Colorado. Can’t decide if the Bears are coming back to Earth or if they had a complete mental lapse against UC-Davis.

– Montana and Northern Arizona could result in a broken scoreboard the way both teams have scored points in the last week or so. If Montana’s defense can shut down the NAU passing attack only half of it may break.

– Weber State and Southern Utah should be a pretty good game, and pretty under the radar. Southern Utah is undoubtedly angry about that North Dakota loss and Weber is rolling through conference opponents right now. Should be a fun one in Cedar City.

– Portland State mercifully has this week off.

– North Dakota’s assault on the bottom of the conference continues this week with Idaho State. Only one game left on their schedule that presents any kind of challenge, in my eyes, and that’s their final game of the season at home against Northern Arizona.

MVFC: Week 7 Review

MVFC LogoI knew this was going to be a week of close matchups, but holy cow…I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many close games by one conference in one weekend. Let’s start it off with the scores…

#30 South Dakota – 33
#35 Indiana State – 30
In 2 overtimes

#14 Western Illinois – 38
#36 Missouri State – 35

#11 South Dakota State – 19
#1 North Dakota State – 17

#23 Northern Iowa – 10
#12 Youngstown State – 14

Southern Illinois – 28
#33 Illinois State – 31

Look at those margins…5 games, average of 3 point margin per game, one in double-overtime, pretty much all of them still “in doubt” with less than 30 seconds left in the game, and most of them decided on the last play of the game. Essentially, there was only one instance of a team having the ball and the lead and being able to just kneel a few times to run out the clock, and that was only following an interception of the team that was down with about 30 seconds left (WIU at MSU). You could maybe put the SIU at ISUr game in that category as well, since ISU was kinda doing that, but ran out of time…sorta…and…well, I’ll explain it in the game recap below.

Thanks to ESPN and their various device apps, I was able to watch essentially the last minute or two of all of the MVFC games (in addition to watching all of the WIU at MSU game).

On to the recaps…

#30 South Dakota at #35 Indiana State

In last week’s preview of the game, I said that USD has a better running game, ISU has a better passing game, but USD has a better kicking game and that they’d win by a FG. Well, here’s how that went down…

Indiana State got the scoring started with a FG, but then a USD 69-yard touchdown pass, ISU fumble, and another USD touchdown had the Coyotes up early, 14-3. South Dakota had a 49 yard FG and then ISU was able to find the end zone with a 46 yard TD pass, making the score 17-10 after the first quarter. Fumbles on both sides and a missed ISU FG in the 2nd…otherwise, fairly uneventful and 17-10 was the score going into halftime. In the 3rd, USD actually missed a FG for the first time this season, ISU had a 48-yard TD pass, then USD with a 38 yard FG. An interception gave USD the ball on the ISU 13, which they took into the end zone 3 plays later, making the score 27-17 USD after 3. Trading drives ending in punts ate up much of the 4th quarter, but then with 2 minutes left, ISU scored on a 23-yard TD pass. The Sycamores defense held the Coyotes to a 3-and-out and was able to get within FG range and hit a 42 yard FG with 12 second remaining to tie it up at 27 going to OT. In the first OT, nobody got much of anywhere trying to move the ball, so an ISU 46-yard FG, then USD 41-yard FG kept it tied going to the second OT. USD started with the ball, and again had to settle for a 41-yard FG, but then, three plays into the ISU possession, the Sycamores threw an interception to end the game.

I’m not quite sure what happened to USD QB Chris Streveler, since he played the first half, but QB Ryan Saeger played in the second half. As near as I can tell, he got hit late in the first half and was taken out, possibly “concussion protocol”. Streveler is a big part of the USD run game, so it’ll be interesting to see how they do if he’s out for the next game or so. Streveler threw for 122 yards and 1 TD in the first half and Saeger threw for 54 yards and 1 TD in the second half. USD RBs Michael Frederick and Trevor Bouma each had 70+ yards and Bouma had a rushing TD. WR Alonge Brooks had 93 yards receiving and a TD, but also gave up a fumble. LB Jet Moreland finished with 9 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and DB Jacob Warner had 8 tackles and an interception. DB Graham Tyson had a sack and a fumble recover (along with 7 tackles) and DB Alex Gray finished with a fumble recovery and an interception (along with his 7 tackles). Kicker Miles Bergner had a great game despite missing his first FG of the season (a 40 yard attempt), nailing FGs from 49 and 38 yards out, and then two 41-yarders during OT, and as a result, was awarded the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor. Bergner also had 9 punts with an average of 42.8 yards per punt.

Indiana State QB Isaac Harker threw for 325 yards and 3 TDs, but also had 1 interception (the other interception was thrown by WR Kelvin Cook in the second OT to end the game). WR Miles Thompson caught 152 yards of passes and had 2 TDs and WR Robert Tonyan Jr. had 59 yards and a TD. RB Roland Genesy ran for 109 yards. DL Conlan Cassidy led the team with 11 tackles including 3 for loss and 1 sack. LB Jameer Thurman had 8 tackles. ISU PK Jerry Nunez also had a pretty decent game, going 3 for 4, all from 40+ yards…hitting from 42, missing from 46, hitting another 42 and then making up for the earlier miss by hitting from 46 in OT. Punter Thomas Bouldin had 6 punts averaging 43.7 yards per punt with 3 inside the 20.

So, previewing the game, I said that USD had a better running game (they did, by 24 yards, but probably would have been by more if Streveler had been in the entire game), ISU had a better passing game (they did, by 149 yards, although they did throw 2 interceptions…one thrown by the QB), USD had a better kicking game (4 for 5 with a long of 49 vs ISU’s 3 for 4 with a long of 46…both were good, but USD’s was better), and that USD would win by a FG (they did…by exactly that…maybe I need to start buying lottery tickets). South Dakota is now 3-3 overall, 2-1 in the conference and will start a 2-game homestand against the other ISU…Redbirds this time…next weekend. Indiana State falls to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the conference, and heads down to Southern Illinois next weekend.

#14 Western Illinois at #36 Missouri State

Missouri State is much improved over last year’s dismal season, plus they were playing at home against a Leathernecks team that, while winning most of their games, have been very up and down during the games themselves. The “Nerve Wracking ‘Necks”…”Nail-biting ‘Necks” (still workshopping that bit) have now had three of their last four games where they got up early and had to hold off a second half comeback to win by, at most, 5 points.

The first quarter was all Leathernecks, with MSU being held to 1 first down in their first 3 drives. Meanwhile, Western was able to find the end zone for a TD and hit a 33 yard FG to go up 10-0 after 1 quarter. Second quarter started with MSU throwing an interception, but then things started to turn back the Bears’ way. WIU missed a 40-yard FG attempt, and on the next drive, MSU used a 63-yard run on a direct snap to the RB to get them down to the 6 yard line which they took in for a 6 yard TD pass on the next play. A few drives later, Western was able to get another TD with 6 seconds left in the first half, putting the halftime score at 17-7.

WIU started with the ball in the second half, but was stalled after 5 plays. The next drive, MSU moved down the field, finishing with a 32-yard TD pass. Western answered their own TD drive, keeping the Leathernecks ahead by 10. WIU got another TD a few drives later on a 3-yard run that followed a 34-yard pass; Western was up by 17 at the start of the 4th quarter and the Bear’s fans started heading for the exits.

But wait…this is the Leathernecks we’re talking about…wouldn’t be complete without having to make it a close game….so….early in the 4th quarter, MSU nails a 49-yard TD pass. The next play from scrimmage, Western fumbles the ball and Missouri State takes over at the 21…4 plays later, another Bears TD and it’s suddenly a 3 point game…a 14 point swing in about 1 ¼ minutes. Western is held to a punt, but then MSU throws an interception a few plays later. Not to be outdone, the Leathernecks throw their own interception 4 plays later. Another MSU drive highlighted by a 37-yard pass ends in a 11-yard TD pass and the Bears are up 35-31 with under 5 minutes left in the game. Western drives down the field, eating up time, needing a TD to win (remember…they were up by 17 at the start of the quarter), and with 43 seconds left, going for it on 4th and Goal from the MSU 1 yard line, the first run at the pile stalls, but the runner steps back and goes around the side, taking it in for a TD to put the Leathernecks up 38-35. Two plays from scrimmage later and MSU throws another interception, after which Western was able to kneel a few times and end the game.

WIU QB Sean McGuire finished with 323 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception. RB Steve McShane ran for 66 yards and 1 TD and RB Jamie Gilmore had 43 yards and 2 TDs. RB Devon Moore only ran for 1 yard on 1 attempt, but that one attempt was the 1-yard game-winning TD. WR Lance Lenoir had another 100+ yard receiving game, putting up 142 yards. LB Quentin Moon finished with a career-high 14 tackles and 1 interception and LB Brett Taylor had 11 tackles. DBs Xavier Rowe and David Griffith each had an interception as well. Kicker Nathan Knuffman averaged 48.4 yards on 5 punts with 2 over 50 yards and 2 downed on the 1 yard line.

MSU QB Brodie Lambert had 290 yards and 5 TDs through the air but 5 interceptions. His primary target was WR LeMarcus Stewart who finished with 95 yards and 1 TD. WR Deion Holliman had 59 yards and 2 TDs and RB Jason Randall finished with 91 yards rushing. Defensive standout, LB Dylan Cole had 16 total tackles w/ 1 for loss. LB McNeece Egbim finished with 14 tackles, and LB Kurran Blamey had 10 and a sack.

Western Illinois moves to 2-1 in the conference and 5-1 overall and will head home to take on a very angry NDSU Bison team next weekend. Missouri State falls to 1-2 in the conference and 3-3 overall. They’ll head up to Cedar Falls to take on the UNI Panthers next weekend.

#11 South Dakota State at #1 North Dakota State

While not the official “AGS Game of the Week”, this looked to be one of the most exciting and important (to the conference race and playoff seeding) games on the schedule this weekend. SDSU would get a chance to test their big-time offense against the punishing NDSU defense. It was the 105th meeting of the two teams in the Dakota Marker Game, a series going back to 1903.

SDSU started with the ball and moved 85 yards down the field, only to have the drive stall and have a turnover on downs (you’ll see that phrase a few times in this game recap) on the NDSU 1 yard line. NDSU responded with a long, grinding, stereotypical Bison drive 99 yards in 18 plays and taking just over 9 minutes, finishing with a 1-yard QB TD run….early in the 2nd quarter…seriously…not even two full drives in the entire quarter. SDSU again had a long sustained drive (78 yards) that ended in….turnover on downs at the NDSU 3. This time, the SDSU defense held NDSU to a 3-and-out and was able to get a 38-yard FG on their next drive to get some points on the board. NDSU responded with a 49-yard FG of their own, which made the score 10-3 going into halftime.

First drive of the second half and the Bison again work their way down the field, finishing with a 26-yard QB TD run, at which point NDSU was up 17-3 and considering how they were playing, that looked to be a near insurmountable lead. Another SDSU turnover on downs (at the NDSU 46 this time) gave the Bison the ball with a good lead and good field position….but then, two plays later an NDSU fumble would give the Jackrabbits the ball, which, 5 plays later, would turn into a 12-yard TD pass. NDSU was held to a punt and the 3rd quarter came to an end during SDSU’s next drive, with the score sitting at 17-10. Two plays into the 4th and NDSU would come up with an interception, but wasn’t able to make anything of it, going 3-and-out. SDSU was able to hit a 42-yard FG on the next drive to pull them within 4. NDSU was held again, and SDSU was able to head back, eventually getting to the NDSU 31 before another turnover on downs. The Jackrabbit defense really stepped up though and held the Bison to another 3-and-out. Again, SDSU would get down to nearly on top of the NDSU goal line, going for it on 4th and 1 on the NDS 2 with only seconds left on the clock….this time, however, they’d hit a 2-yard TD pass to give them the two point lead and the victory with a final score of 19-17 and their first Dakota Marker win since 2009 (when they were both just finishing up the transition to Division I).

SDSU QB Taryn Christion threw for 303 yards with 2 TDs and an interception, as well as running for 141 yards, which combined earned him the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Tight End/M3A3 Dallas Goedert caught 150 yards and a TD and WR Jake Wieneke caught 108 yards and the game winning TD. LB Christian Rozeboom (a redshirt freshman, which means we have to deal with him for 3 more years) had 12 tackles and a sack as well as the MVFCU Newcomer of the Week award. DB Nick Farina had the fumble recovery that really kickstarted the Jackrabbits. SDSU kicker Chase Vinatieri went 2 for 2 on FGs from 38 and 42 yards out.

NDSU QB Easton Stick passed for 143 yards and ran for 86 and 2 TDs. RB King Frazier ran for 45 yards and WR Darrius Shepherd caught 74 yards on 6 receptions. SS Robbie Grimsley had 14 tackles and LB Matt Plank had 12. LB Pierre Gee-Tucker had 9 tackles and 1 sack, and FS Tre Dempsey had 7 and an interception. Kicker Cam Pedersen hit on the one FG he was called for, from 49 yards out.

SDSU is now 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference and will now head home to take on the other conference front-runner, Youngstown State, next weekend. NDSU falls to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference and will look to take out their anger on Western Illinois in Macomb next Saturday.

#23 Northern Iowa at #12 Youngstown State

A team that everyone thought would be mid-pack turns out to be in the running for the conference championship, and a team that everyone thought would be in the running for the conference championship appears to be “bottoming out”. Two very defensively-strong teams fighting it out in Youngstown, OH, the hometown of literally every college football coach…right?…isn’t that what ESPN said or something? Anyway…on to the game…Panthers at Penguins.

First quarter can pretty much be summed up like this (for those of you who know BASIC):

10 Drive go nowhere
20 Punt
30 GOTO 10

Yup…6 ½ drives, 6 punts (the rest of the ½ drive went into the 2nd quarter and also ended in a punt)….80 total yards of offense combined for both teams, and we’re scoreless going to the 2nd quarter. Finally, YSU coughs up a fumble which UNI is able to work down the field over 7 plays before getting points on the board with a 27-yd FG. Three plays later and YSU throws a 34-yard pick-6 giving UNI a 10-0 lead. YSU would throw another interception on their next drive, but UNI would give it back on a fumble 6 plays later. A turnover on downs by YSU 4 plays later as time expired took the teams into the locker rooms with a halftime score of 10-0, advantage Panthers.

Second half was much of the same to start off with…YSU 3-and-out and punt, UNI 3-and-out and punt, YSU 3-and-…well…missed FG, UNI 3-and-out and punt (wonder if the fans thought they were watching the movie Groundhog’s Day). Finally, YSU starts to put together a long drive that starts with 8 ½ minutes left in the 3rd and doesn’t end until about 3 ¼ minutes into the 4th with a 1 yard TD run…the first offensive TD of the game. That drive took 22 plays, went 86 yards and ate up 11:40 from the clock….very Bison-esque. UNI goes with another 3-and-out and YSU starts moving the ball again…9 plays, 32 yards, and an…..interception. That’s ok, because UNI just goes and 3-and-outs again. This time, YSU holds onto the ball, moves down the field and is able to find the end zone with a 1 yard TD run, giving them a 14-10 lead with about 30 seconds left to go. UNI starts getting the ball moving finally, but runs out of time….maybe. Apparently there was some question about if there was one second that should be left on the clock when the last pass was ruled incomplete, but the refs called it “game over”, and the Penguins came away with the win with a final score of 14-10.

I almost feel like I could say that offensive stats were “nothing”…like “nothing happened”…obviously that’s not literally true, so here’s what did happen.
UNI QB Aaron Bailey threw for 44 yards and was sacked 4 times. Not sure if he left due to injury or just for not playing well. Backup QB Eli Dunne had pretty much the same result…37 yards, 1 sack. RB Tyvis Smith ran for 71 yards, and UNI had two receivers catch for ~30 yards, WRs Logan Cunningham and Jalen Rima. DBs Elijah Campbell and A.J. Allen each had 9 tackles and Campbell had a fumble recovery. LB Duncan Ferch had 7 tackles and the pick-6 and DBs Malcolm Washington and Jamison Whiting each had an interception. Behind the QB, Center, and one RB, I think that Punter Sam Kuhter actually touched the ball more than anyone else on the team with 8 punts going for 43.6 yards per punt and 2 inside the 20.

YSU churned through QBs this game starting with Ricky Davis passing for 3 yards, an interception and a fumble…he would leave the game in the 2nd quarter (I’ve seen ankle injury from one source but also rib injury from another, so unsure at this point but likely won’t be playing next weekend). Next up was QB Trent Hosick who threw an interception and got crushed…like, broken collarbone, surgery, out for the season (possibly end of football career) kinda crushed….not good. The third YSU QB would be Nathan Mays, who would actually have the most success, throwing for 25 yards and an interception. RB Martin Ruiz led both teams in offensive yardage with 100 and a TD and RB Tevin McCaster ran for 29 yards and a TD. WR Darien Townsend led the team with 14 receiving yards. Punter Mark Schuler had 4 punts averaging 46.5 yards per punt. SS Jameel Smith led the team with 8 tackles and had a fumble recovery. LB Armand Dellovade had 8 tackles, 1 for loss. DT Savon Smith had two sacks, D-linemen Avery Moss, Derek Rivers, and Donald Mesier as well as FS Jalyn Powell had one sack each.

So…apparently if you don’t protect your QB, the UNI defense will eat you alive. This is not a big realization, but just a point worth mentioning. UNI didn’t really do any better though…I don’t know if any of their QBs got hurt, but quite a few sacks, very little yardage…no offensive TDs. Youngstown State moves up 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference, currently tied for the lead with SDSU, and next weekend will head to….SDSU….to decide for sure who is in the #1 spot in the conference at this point in the season. Northern Iowa falls to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the MVFC and will head home to take on Missouri State next weekend.

Southern Illinois at #33 Illinois State

In the 79th meeting of these two teams, it was a battle to see who would be able to “right the ship” after a string of losses. SIU had lost the last two and ISU the last four, and while it appears that neither will be likely playoff teams (barring some craziness involving winning out and other teams having drop-offs), they were both looking to attempt to salvage some amount of respectability in their season.

The first quarter started fairly similarly to the UNI @ YSU game…5 drives, 5 punts, 1 total first down, but then with just under 6 minutes left in the 1st, SIU broke through with a 29-yard TD run. ISU would continue the 3-and-out punting fun, which SIU would follow up with a 51-yard FG. On the next drive, ISU would finally get on the board with a 14-yard TD run that was set up by a 55-yard TD run, which made the score at the end of 1 quarter 10-7. The second quarter, Illinois State threw an interception on their next drive, but SIU wasn’t able to get any points out of it, missing on a blocked 47-yard FG attempt which was returned for 14 yards and gave the Redbirds the ball nearly to midfield. A few short plays, a 42-yard pass, and an 18-yard TD pass later, and the Redbirds would go ahead 14-10. SIU would fumble on the next drive, allowing ISU to run out the clock on the half.

Second half, SIU started by picking up a 39-yard FG, but ISU responded the next drive with a 51-yard TD pass to stay ahead, 21-13. A couple of 3-and-out drives later and SIU would pick up a TD on a 5 yard pass. A successful 2-point conversion later, and the game was all tied up at 21 with just under 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The SIU defense would hold on the next drive, but then their offense would give it right back three plays later with an interception. In one play, ISU would take that interception and turn it into a 38-yard TD pass. Two drives later, ISU would come away with a 50-yard FG just a couple of minutes into the 4th quarter putting them up by 10…and then we were back to more 3-and-outs…on 6 consecutive drives. SIU was able to complete a 35-yard TD pass with about 1 ¼ minutes left in the game to pull within 3 points, after which ISU was able to run a few plays and run out the clock…or not…because SIU still had a couple of timeouts and they were able to force ISU to have to punt the ball back, giving SIU one last chance with just a few seconds left to try and do something. But…when ISU went to punt the ball, defensive penalty, offsides on SIU…5 yard penalty + 10-second clock runoff = time’s up…game over…ISU wins by a FG, 31-28.

SIU QB Josh Straughan threw for 244 yards, 2 TDs, 1 interception, and was sacked 3 times. WR Darrell James caught 84 of those yards and both of the TDs. RB Cameron Walter ran for 72 yards and a TD. Safety Jeremy Chinn led the team with 7 tackles and had an interception. Punter Lane Reazin had 8 punts that averaged 44 yards per punt, a long of 57, and 3 over 50 yards.

ISU QB Jake Kolbe had 200 yards passing with 3 TDs, 1 interception, and was sacked once. WR Anthony Warrum caught 98 yards and 2 passing TDs, and WR Christian Gibbs had 79 yards and 1 TD. RB James Robinson ran for 122 yards and a TD. S Mitchell Brees had 11 tackles including 2 for loss and LB Brent Spack had 10 tackles including 1 for loss. DL Dalton Keene had 9 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and the blocked FG, which earned him the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

Illinois State is now 3-4 on the season and 1-3 in the MVFC and will look to continue a new streak by heading up to South Dakota to take on the Coyotes next weekend. Southern Illinois drops to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the conference and will head home to take on Indiana State for Homecoming next weekend.

How’d I Do

Last week, in my preview article, here’s what I predicted as compared with what really happened:

South Dakota over Indiana State by 3 – as mentioned earlier, I picked USD over ISU by a FG, so I pretty much nailed this one…that’s a win.

Western Illinois over Missouri State by 7 – WIU up by 17 at one point, but wanted to both give me a heart attack and a result much closer to my picks…so they gave up a bunch of points and finished 3 points up. Western still won, pretty close on the margin, but it was a little tougher than I thought it’d be. Still, I’d call that a win for me.

North Dakota State over South Dakota State by 6 – I did say that SDSU looked like the most likely team to upset the Bison this season, but I didn’t end up predicting that they would. SDSU won by 2 points, so that’s a loss for me.

Youngstown State over Northern Iowa by 3 and a total score for both teams combined of maybe 40 at the most – YSU beat UNI by 4 and the total score for both teams was 24. I honestly thought about putting down 30 points as the total score, but thought that would be a bit too “bold”…guess I need to go with my gut a bit more. Still, I got the winner, within 1 point of the margin, and that it’d be a defensive battle, so that’s a win for me.

Illinois State over Southern Illinois by 6 – ISU held off SIU to win by 3, so that’s a win also.

I was pretty good overall this week, going 4-1 on my picks…and in a week where the teams were all pretty evenly matched, that’s not too shabby, I’d say. Combined with 9-5 from the previous couple of weeks, and I’m 13-6 in picking MVFC games.

Later this week, my Week 8 preview article will cover Missouri State at Northern Iowa, Illinois State at South Dakota, Indiana State at Southern Illinois, the battle for the top spot in the conference when Youngstown State heads up to South Dakota State, and what happens when an angry herd of Bison travel to Macomb to take out their aggression on a decent squad of Leathernecks with North Dakota State at Western Illinois.

BIG SOUTH: Week 7 Review

Finally, every Big South team has played a conference game so the standings actually make some semblance of sense.

Charleston Southern                                                   1-0       1.000               3-2 overall

Liberty                                                                           1-0       1.000               3-3 overall

Gardner-Webb                                                             1-0       1.000               3-4 overall

Presbyterian                                                                 1-1       0.500               2-4 overall

Kennesaw State                                                           0-1       0.000               4-2 overall

Monmouth                                                                   0-2       0.000               4-3 overall

  • CSU is going to go nearly a full month between playing conference games but four of their next five games at home. Their outlook is good.
  • On the road at Kennesaw was a big test for Liberty but the Flames get the next two Big South games at home. Both of them (Monmouth & Gardner-Webb) are against teams that Liberty lost to on the road in 2015.
  • Despite losing to Coastal, Gardner-Webb is still in the exact same position in-conference as CSU and Liberty. Next week at Kennesaw will determine if G-W is ready to make a statement this year.
  • Presbyterian is a looooooooonng shot at best to win the conference title but, mathematically, are still in the hunt.
  • Losing at home to Liberty hurt Kennesaw’s chances of the conference title in a big way but didn’t completely end them. KSU’s non-conference schedule did them no favors in terms of earning them an at-large.
  • Monmouth is still technically alive for the conference title but needs a Domesday Book-like list of things to go their way just to get a share of the title, let alone win any tiebreakers. For all intents and purposes, Monmouth is playing for next season.

 

On to the games:

  (3-2) Charleston Southern                          BYE

The Buccaneers enjoyed an open date – this one scheduled – for the third time this season.  No FCS team has had three open dates during an 11-game schedule since at least 2009.

 

(2-4) Presbyterian 17,    (4-3) Monmouth 13                       

A quick congratulations goes out to Presbyterian who actually won twice this week.  A couple of hours before kickoff, news broke out of Gainesville that the University of Florida had bought out their November 19th game with Presbyterian to the tune of around half a million dollars.  A couple of days later, Presbyterian and South Alabama made the announcement that they will, instead, play each other that day with PC getting another six figures to play in Mobile.  Kudos to Presby AD Brian Reese and his staff for getting two FBS payouts for the price of one.  Add in that season-opening trip to Central Michigan and the Blue Hose have made bank this season.

Now, on to this week’s game.

Given that Presbyterian QB Ben Cheek had never thrown for 125 yards in a game over the course of his entire career, one would be forgiven for assuming this game would be won or lost for Presbyterian in the trenches.  But, when Cheek had hit that mark by halftime against Monmouth, it became obvious that he and the Blue Hose were winning the battle where it was least expected, in the defensive secondary.

For much of the first quarter, this was less of a defensive slugfest and more a frat party chest bump standoff.  Both teams struggled to build any momentum and, when they did, penalties or injuries shut it down again.  Presby committed drive-stalling penalties on each of their first four possessions.  Monmouth, on the other hand, nearly converted a 3rd-and-20 on their first drive but MU QB Cody Williams was hit low while scrambling for the first down.  He came up limping and was ineffective for the rest of the night, eventually being replaced for good by Kenji Bahar early in the 3rd quarter.

Both teams came to life in the second frame, however.  PC put together a lengthy 14-play drive down to the 12-yard line only to watch Monmouth block their field goal attempt.  Monmouth, for their part, started feeding RB Lavon Chaney the ball as often as possible.  Chaney, who looked as healthy as he has since opening day at Lehigh, responded and carried the ball for 46 yards on the drive including the last one into the end zone to put the Hawks up 7-0 with 4:15 remaining in the half.  That was just enough time for Presbyterian though as Cheek’s arm and legs carried his team the length of the field over that time span, finally lofting a pass to WR DaShawn Davis in the back corner of the end zone with just twelve seconds remaining before the halftime whistle.

Presbyterian got the ball to start the second half and picked up right where they left off.  However, on the 4th play of the drive, Monmouth LB Payton Minnich came through the line completely untouched and planted Cheek into the ground for a 10-yard loss.  Cheek got up slowly holding his throwing shoulder and was escorted to the locker room from whence he did not return.  John Walker came on for PC and completed the drive – helped out by a huge penalty on Monmouth for roughing the punter –, culminating in a 27-yard field goal that just barely got through the uprights and which gave Presby a 10-7 lead.  The two teams traded punts as neither Bahar nor Walker were able to get particularly comfortable but, eventually, Monmouth went back to the one thing that was working for them: more Lavon Chaney.  Chaney got the ball on five straight plays and carried it into the end zone from five yards out to give the Hawks the lead once again at 13-10.

That lead lasted for just under three minutes.  On PC’s next drive, and after an offensive pass interference had set them back to 1st-and-25, Monmouth had a complete breakdown in pass coverage and allowed Presby WR Daryl Wilson to wander completely uncovered up the home sideline where Walker hit him for a 44-yard touchdown pass to put the Blue Hose back on top for good.

Monmouth would not go quietly, however.  Cheney and Friends put together one last surge that got them as far as the PC 7 but another ill-timed penalty and an incomplete pass on 4th down essentially ended the game.

What does this win mean for Presbyterian? – It is absolutely massive for Presbyterian and it’s not just the win, it’s how they did it.  PC has relied heavily on their ground game with RB Darrell Bridges partly because they can – Bridges is good enough – and partly because they couldn’t rely on a consistent passing game.  Bridges still got 80 yards on the ground and was a vital part of the offense but it was the sudden emergence of an air attack that stole the show.  On the Big South telecast, you could see the Monmouth DB’s turning to each other, pointing and shaking their heads in frustration as they gave up one key play after another through the air.

What does this loss mean for Monmouth? – It’s bad.  Monmouth still has the opportunity to win eight games for the first time since 2006 but this loss is an absolute back-breaker for the Hawks post-season hopes.  Any realistic shot at winning the conference title is now gone and this loss pretty much washes out the Fordham win in terms of an at-large resume.  No team has ever made the FCS playoffs after losing to Presbyterian.  Really, Monmouth has no one to blame but themselves, too.  The Hawks are easily the most-penalized team in the nation let alone being easily the most-penalized team in the conference and penalties played a huge part in this game. PC got a first down on both of their first two scoring drives due to MU penalties and Monmouth’s last shot at winning the game was made more difficult thanks to a false start that pushed the Hawks even farther away on 4th down.

 

 (4-2) Coastal Carolina 17, (3-4) Gardner-Webb 7   

This game was a study in monotony and frustration, particularly for the Coastal offense.  Coastal came into this game averaging just north of 42 points a contest.  However, the first quarter consisted largely of both Gardner-Webb and Coastal running the ball outside followed by running into the line followed by a short pass and neither team progressing past the 50.  Coastal finally got a little bit of a breakthrough when returner Chris Jones brought a Gardner-Webb punt out to midfield and the Chanticleers were able to drive into the red zone.  However, G-W freshman DB Jaylon Foster stepped in front of a Tyler Keane pass in the end zone and snuffed out the drive.

Gardner-Webb went three-and-out and, again, Coastal drove into the red zone and all the way down to the goal line.  But, the offense stalled at the 1-yard line and they came away with just a field goal to go up 3-0.

After two more Gardner-Webb drives ended at midfield, Coastal got the ball back at their own 20 with 2:12 left in the first half and made one more push to get into the end zone before the break.  The Chants got as far as the Runnin’ Bulldog 31-yard line where they threw a receiver screen pass to the left but G-W’s Chad Geter ripped the ball out of the Coastal player’s hands and Foster picked up the fumble and ran it back inside the Coastal 10.  Two plays later and with just four seconds on the clock, QB Tyrell Maxwell found Adonus Lee for an 8-yard touchdown pass that gave G-Webb a 7-3 halftime lead.  At that point, Coastal had outgained Gardner-Webb 174-84 in total offense.

The third quarter was more of the same.  Neither team put together a drive that went longer than four plays or farther than 13 yards.  Coastal finally got something going at the end of the frame by force feeding Gardner-Webb a steady diet of DeAngelo Henderson.  The Chants drove once again into the red zone and the opening of the fourth quarter found them standing on the G-W 10-yard line.  Henderson went left down to the 1 and then, on the next play, dove over the top to extend his NCAA-record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown to 32.  However, Henderson landed awkwardly on his shoulder and gingerly exited the field.  He would not return.

Down 10-7, the Gardner-Webb offense still could not find a way to manufacture yards.  After three plays, they punted the ball back to Coastal.  Having finally found a rhythm even without Henderson on the field, Coastal marched right back deep into Gardner-Webb territory.  Keane found WR Bruce Mapp from eleven yards out and it was a 17-7 ball game.  Gardner-Webb got one more desperate shot though.  With just two minutes to play and starting at their own 11-yard line, the Bulldogs rolled 69 yards in under 90 seconds – far and away their best offensive output of the day – but Maxwell threw an interception in the end zone to seal their fate.

What does this loss mean for Gardner-Webb? – Aside from boring the homecoming crowd silly, it means nothing substantial, really.  Gardner-Webb’s only path to the post-season lies in the conference title and this wasn’t a conference game.  While the defense was stout, what could be of concern here is that, for 58 minutes, the Bulldog offense was completely stagnant.  Their final desperation drive in the fourth quarter was effective but accounted for 31% of their total offense on the day.  That’s not ideal.

 

 (3-3) Liberty 36, (4-2) Kennesaw State 21

The marquee conference matchup from Saturday – also the only conference matchup from Saturday – saw perennial Big South contender Liberty visiting the hot upstart program at Kennesaw State.  KSU had won four straight coming into the game while LU had lost five straight on the road going back to last year.  But, it was homecoming at Kennesaw and anything can happen at Kennesaw.

Both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions but the Owls caught a break when their low, gnarly-looking punt took a backwards hop and hit a Liberty gunner in the back of the leg.  KSU fell on the live ball at Liberty’s 26-yard line and, seven plays later, QB Chandler Burks dove in from a yard out to put the home team up 7-0.

That lead lasted eighteen seconds.

Frankie Hickson received the ensuing kickoff at his own goal line – in just about the same spot that Burks had just scored from moments before – and ran it 99 yards the other way to tie the game at 7-all.  It was Liberty’s first kickoff return touchdown since taking one back against VMI in 2011.

Not to be outdone, KSU RB Darnell Holland took a pitch on the first play from scrimmage and ran 53 yards down inside the Liberty 30.  That drive would stall, however, and the Owls were forced to attempt a field goal from 26 yards.  It went wide left.  That would be important later.

Liberty did nothing with their turn with the ball this time and had to punt.  That kick was partially blocked, though, and KSU was again sitting in prime field position to take the lead once more.  They got as far as the LU 25 and chose to go for it on 4th-and-9 instead of attempting a long field goal.  That failed.  Taking over the ball, the Flames finally got some offense going and advanced as far as the KSU 30 before settling for a 47-yard field goal attempt from Alex Probert.  Right down the middle and the visitors went up, 10-7.

On KSU’s next possession, the Liberty defense held and forced a quick punt.  They then drove across into KSU territory but got held up at the KSU 33.  Probert came in again – this time from 50 yards out – and, again, he split the uprights to put LU up by six.  The Flames couldn’t keep the Owls in check for long, however.  On 3rd down from his own 37, RB Chaston Bennett took a pitch around the right side, eluded two tacklers, cut back across the field and ran 63 yards straight into the KSU student section behind the end zone.  Kennesaw was up by a point with 2:18 remaining in the half.  That was just enough time for Liberty.

QB Buckshot Calvert engineered a dink-and-dunk drive that went 10 plays, 73 yards and took all but the last nine seconds off the clock. It ended with WR BJ Farrow making a gymnastic leaping grab in the front corner of the end zone and Liberty was back up six going into halftime.

After the break, KSU got the ball but went three-and-out.  Given the opportunity to extend the lead and put pressure on Kennesaw’s offense, LU did just that.  Calvert hit Zack Parker down the middle for a big gain and, three plays later, RB Todd Macon would punch it in from three yards out to extend the Flames’ lead to twelve.  A two-point conversion attempt failed.

Liberty and Kennesaw traded punts but, in the closing moments of the third quarter, KSU hit two big pass plays that put them on the Liberty goal line at the start of the 4th quarter.  The Liberty defense, however, stood strong.  1st-and-Goal from the 5 turned into 4th-and-Goal from the 1, where Burks was stonewalled for the third straight play and LU took over on downs.  The Flames got out from under the goal posts enough to punt the ball away to their own 43.  On the next play, however, a scrambling Burks reversed field twice before hitting Bennett in stride and running up the home sideline.  He raced untouched into the student section again and the Liberty lead was now just five points.

LU got the ball back and took another five full minutes off the clock, eventually getting as far as the KSU 30-yard line.  In came Probert one more time from 47 yards and, one more time, he booted it through.  With 7:29 remaining, the Flames were up 29-21 and it looked like this game might come down the wire.   However, KSU was called for an illegal block penalty on third down and were forced to punt.  Liberty began to dink-and-dunk again with short passes and direct runs, just keeping the clock moving.   With three and a half minutes left, KSU gambled on defense and called a blitz as Liberty RB Carrington Moseley broke through the hole up the middle. When the KSU linebacker bounced off of him, there was no one there to stop him and Moseley raced 52 yards untouched to pay dirt.

Kennesaw refused to go quietly, however.  Burks and the Owls took to the air getting all the way down to a 1st-and-Goal from the Liberty 5-yard line.  1st-and-Goal – again – turned into 4th-and-Goal from about a foot out and, again, Burks called his own number.  The Flames’ defense stoned him again to preserve the final margin.

What does this win mean for Liberty? – It’s a pretty big deal.  As mentioned, Liberty was on a 5-game losing streak and to get a win in someone else’s house is significant.  Add in the raucous homecoming crowd and an up-and-coming team out to prove a point and it gathers even more meaning.  Liberty’s confidence has to have been a little shaky after the early season struggles but Calvert handled himself and the offense like a veteran, the offense was balanced and productive, Probert banged in three monster field goals – both in distance and in import – and, while the defense gave up a lot of yards, had not one, but two goal line stands and held the opponent to 1-of-4 in the red zone.

What does this loss mean for Kennesaw? – The margin of defeat to Liberty in this game was larger than that of their loss a year ago but, unlike the 2015 meeting in Lynchburg, this one was actually a close game.  The loss, however, puts them behind the 8-ball in the standings with three of their remaining four conference games on the road.

 

Biggest surprise of the week:  Liberty’s defense coming up with two goal line stands against a triple-option team.

Biggest disappointment of the week:  Monmouth’s pass defense.  PC had not passed for 250 yards in a game since 2013.

SLC: Week 8 Preview

Lions, and Kats, and Bears! Oh my, it was an interesting week 7 in the Southland Conference as Southeastern Louisiana deflated any hopes Stephen F Austin had of making the playoffs in the span of 2 plays, winning 58-34. Sam Houston has kept the train rolling, destroying the Wildcats of Abilene Christian 48-21, and Central Arkansas did something few teams have ever done, and that is shut out McNeese at the Hole 35-0. Northwestern State took Lamar to the very end, but lost on a last second touchdown pass 32-31, and Nicholls beat Houston Baptist 33-30.

Before taking a look at week 8, let’s take a moment to send condolences to McNeese State coach Lance Guidry, who lost his brother Saturday morning. Even though we fight like cats and dogs, we’re all family in the Southland, and Coach Guidry and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.

Let’s see what we have coming up in Week 8

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Incarnate Word at Abilene Christian

It’s a battle of former division 2 conference mates, as the Cardinals of UIW travel up to Abilene to face the Wildcats. Incarnate Word is coming off of their bye week, and the week before, they hung in with Sam Houston for most of their game, losing 63-48. Incarnate Word has shown some signs of bringing it together, and they could make a late reason run as a spoiler in the conference. They head to Shotwell Stadium to face ACU, who are looking to end their streak of imperfection, as they are still winless this season. ACU normally fields the talent to be competitive; it just seems that this year the cylinders are misfiring for the Wildcats. This week, ACU ends the streak, taking out UIW 28-24.

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Sam Houston State at Nicholls State

This could potentially be the game of the week in the conference, depending upon which Nicholls defense shows up. Sam has been just steamrolling the opposition, and they are leading just about every offensive stat category. Jeremiah Briscoe is one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, and it is going to take a stout defense to keep him, running back Corey Avery, and star wide receiver Yedidiah Louis in check. Nicholls comes in to this game after beating the Huskies of HBU, and they were able to do it with some solid defense and special teams play, including a blocked field goal for a touchdown. If the Nicholls defense can keep Sam in check, this could be an interesting game. I think Sam wins, but it will be a lot closer than most expect, with the final of 42-31.

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Houston Baptist at Southeastern Louisiana

The Huskies travel to Hammond to attempt to play spoiler to the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana, who are starting to pull things together and are gaining momentum through the second half of the season. HBU played Nicholls really well, but just didn’t have enough to pull the upset victory. While this season is a wash, HBU has shown that they are developing the talent to be competitive in the conference. Southeastern Louisiana comes in after ruining any hopes Stephen F Austin had of a postseason in the span of two plays. First, while up 37-34, they blocked a game tying field goal attempt and ran it back for a touchdown, and then on the next drive, they intercepted quarterback Hunter Taylor and took it to the house. Southeastern is sitting at 3-1 and conference and 3-3 overall and should be a concern for Central Arkansas, as their game may decide who gets an at-large spot. Quarterback Justin Alo has been solid in leading the Lions offense, and their defense has made pretty solid plays. This game should be an easy win for the Lions, and they’ll take it 42-10.
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McNeese at Northwestern State

McNeese is coming off of a horrible week, and they are looking to rebound against the Demons. McNeese, while showing some spark this year, just seem to be struggling this year, and it could be due to transitioning under a new coach. The DWA was just outclassed by the Central Arkansas Bears, who had a field day in Lake Charles and won the Red Beans & Rice bowl. Thankfully for the Pokes, they get an easy match against Northwestern State, who is now basically just playing for pride’s sake. The Demons come in still winless in conference, and their only win this year is over Kentucky Wesleyan. Their offense just hasn’t come together, and their defense has been abysmal. McNeese will bounce back and move back to .500 on the year. Final score will be 38-13.

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Lamar at Central Arkansas

Well, this would have been the game of the week in the Southland, except bad news has come out of Beaumont, as Lamar has announced that stud running back Kade Harrington broke his foot, and his career at Lamar is done. Kade had been the offensive spark for the Cardinals, and had been a force to reckon with. Lamar is going to have to depend on their passing game, which performed well enough to eke out the win last week vs Northwestern State, but it looks to be a long second half of the season for the Cardinals. Central Arkansas comes in after destroying McNeese in Lake Charles, and the Bears are showing that their rankings in the top 25 are no fluke. While it’s still a month out, their game vs Sam Houston is looking to be the potential Southland Conference championship game. The Bears defense has been stifling, specifically their run defense, as they have only allowed 395 yards on the ground this season, and their secondary has forced 8 interceptions thus far. Central Arkansas should take control of this game and put in the second stringers early, as the Bears roll 42-14.