FCS TV/Streaming Guide: Week Ending 10/15/2016

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

Its been a busy week so a bit later than usual but without any further ado here is this week’s FCS TV guide…As usual all times are in central time and if there is anything I missed please share and I will update accordingly…

TV Guide:
Albany at Maine 11 a.m. FCSA: 606
James Madison at UNH 11 a.m. NESN+: 628-1 / SNY: 639 / (CSNC: 665 / CSCA: 698)
Lafayette at Army 11 a.m. CBSSN: 221
SUU at UND 1 p.m. MidcoSN
Chattanooga at The Citadel 2 p.m. FSSE: 649 / FSNO+: 668-2 / FSSD: 694 / ESPN Extra: 793
Columbia at Penn 2 p.m. OWS: 623
South Dakota State at North Dakota State 2:30 p.m. NBC ND
Montana State at Weber State 2:30 p.m. RSNW: 687 / RSRM: 683 / AUD: 601 / RSSW: 674
Villanova at Richmond 2:30 p.m. SNY: 639 / CSMA: 642
Sac State at Montana 3:30 p.m. Cowles
Idaho State at NAU 6 p.m. FSW: 692 / FSAZ+: 686-1
Southern Illinois at Illinois State 6 p.m. CSNC+: 665-1
Nicholls State at Houston Baptist 7 p.m. Fox Sports Go stream

ESPN3
Dayton at Jacksonville 11 a.m.
North Carolina A&T at Bethune Cookman noon
Valparaiso at Stetson noon
Wagner at CCSU noon
WIU at Missouri State 2 p.m.
South Dakota at Indiana State 2 p.m.
VMI at Samford 2 p.m.
South Dakota State at North Dakota State 2:30 p.m.
Western Carolina at Mercer 3 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana at Stephen F. Austin 3 p.m.
Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State 3 p.m.
Northern Iowa at Youngstown State 6 p.m.
Northwestern State at Lamar 6 p.m.
Robert Morris at Duquesne 6 p.m.
Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee State 6 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Illinois State 6 p.m.
Central Arkansas at McNeese 6 p.m.
Liberty at Kennesaw State 6 p.m.

ESPN Extra:
WIU at Missouri State 2 p.m. ESPN Extra: 792
Southern Illinois at Illinois State 6 p.m. ESPN Extra: 789

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

 

The FCS Wedge – 2016-10-13 – SoCon SotC Show

The State of the Conference (SotC) show this week features our guest Marc Goold.  These are short 10 to 15 minute shows we will be doing every week.  This week, it is the SoCon’s turn and that is why we asked Marc to come along for the ride and help guide us through one of the oldest conferences in the nation.  Give this young up and comer a listen, he has knowledge on the topic.

Oh yeah, Kris Berndt & Lance Kallem are both there too.

Since I never get a comment out of them on the show descriptions we’ll see if that wakes anyone up.

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BIG SOUTH: Week 7 Preview

Conference play begins in earnest in the Big South this week.  After this week’s results, I’ll include the conference standings in next week’s review along with a brief look at what those standings mean.  It won’t be a power poll but, hopefully, something that provides a little context to the wins and losses.

 

(3-2) Charleston Southern    OPEN…again

Due to playing in the FCS Kickoff game a week earlier than the rest of the nation and now having a game cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew, CSU will enjoy their third open date of the season this week.  It will also be their second consecutive day off.  By the time CSU hosts Presbyterian on October 22nd, it will have been three weeks since the Bucs’ last game action at Coastal Carolina and seven weeks since they last played at home.

What CSU has to do in the bye week:  Do a little clean up after the storm, I guess, but I don’t what they need to get accomplished during their third bye week that they couldn’t get done in the first two.

Best case scenario for CSU – CSU comes out of the break refreshed for the home stretch and prepared to play more than three games in a row.

Worst case scenario – The extended break dampens their forward momentum at the worst possible time.

 

(4-2) Monmouth @ (1-4) Presbyterian – Thursday, Oct 13th,7:00pm (Big South Network) 

Presbyterian welcomes Monmouth to Clinton, SC in an extremely rare mid-season Thursday night conference game in the Big South.  It’s so rare, in fact, that this is the first time ever.  Liberty and Coastal Carolina played a Thursday night conference game just last year but that was a schedule alteration thanks to the game being broadcast on ESPNU and was also the last scheduled game of the season for both teams as well as being a rivalry game that typically carried conference title implications.  This instance, however, is none of those things which makes this game one of the more inexplicably-scheduled dates in recent memory.

Why a Thursday night game between these two teams?

  • Television? No. Aside from an in-person ticket, the only viewing option is streaming the Big South Network.
  • Venue scheduling conflict? Not obviously.  Bailey Memorial Stadium is PC’s on-campus stadium and they are its only tenant.  There don’t appear to be any other scheduled events for the site that weekend.
  • Higher attendance? No chance.  Typically, mid-week games have lower attendance than Saturday games because students have classwork to do and paying ticket-holders have to take off work to get any kind of gameday experience.  Then factor in that Presbyterian College has only 1,200 students, is located in a town of just 8,500 people and is nearly an hour’s drive from anything that resembles a metro area.
  • Rivalry? The schools have only met twice before with both teams winning the home game.  The final margin in both games was less than a touchdown but neither game had significant impact on either programs season or final standings within the Big South.  There’s nothing here that would naturally suggest a rivalry between a college in rural South Carolina and a university located practically within the shadow of New York City.

All in all, this is a game that seems to have placed where it is on the schedule entirely because of a dare.

Anyway.

Monmouth comes into this game fresh off their dissection of Howard, a game in which the Hawks could seem to do no wrong on offense.  Presbyterian, meanwhile, comes home from a visit to Gardner-Webb in which the Blue Hose could seem to do no right on any side of the ball.

As mentioned, these two teams have split the all-time series at 1-1 and, in both cases, defense has been the hallmark of the game with neither team scoring more than 21 points.  This year, however, the two teams are moving in diametrically opposite directions.  Monmouth is averaging nearly 400 yards/game on offense and have scored 101 points in the past two weeks while the heretofore unshakable Presbyterian defense has given up at least that same amount of yardage in every game against scholarship competition and have scored just 13 points against that same group for the entire season.

What Monmouth has to do against Presbyterian:  Get the ball to Reggie White, Jr.  Presbyterian will likely crowd the box, hoping to take away a Monmouth ground game that has finally found some consistency even without the full-time contributions of RB Lavon Chaney.  White is a physical receiving threat on the outside that can force the PC linebackers to turn their backs to the line of scrimmage.

What Presbyterian has to do against Monmouth: Generate something – anything – on offense.  Even with the 31-point outburst against Campbell, the Blue Hose are still scoring less than 10 points/game.  The offense is geared around the talents of RB Darrell Bridges but, to this point, no one else has shown an ability to take some of the defensive focus.

 

(3-2)    Coastal Carolina   @   (3-3)   Gardner-Webb – Saturday, October 15th, 1:30pm (Big South Network)

Gardner-Webb faces Coastal Carolina in their last non-conference game of the year and the Runnin’ Bulldogs are probably more happy than most to see the Chants leave the Big South.  G-W is 2-11 all-time against Coastal and have lost the last four straight by an average score of 45-13.  Of their two wins in the series, both have come, oddly enough, at Coastal and, in more than a decade of trying, Gardner-Webb has never beaten the Teal at home.  This, then, makes one wonder why in the world Gardner-Webb chose to schedule Coastal Carolina for homecoming.

For their part, Coastal is still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Matthew.  While much of the east coast was touched by the outer edges of the storm, the eye of the storm came ashore directly over the Myrtle Beach area and the state governor declared the region to be in a state of emergency. As of this writing, the campus is still closed.  The CCU football team had a fortunately-timed open date last weekend but, currently, the program is operating out of hotels while they wait for the school to re-open.

For their part, Gardner-Webb has found a rhythm with an offense built around running the ball with dual-threat QB Tyrell Maxwell and RB Khalil Lewis.  This is bad news for a Coastal defense that has not demonstrated much improvement in stopping the run.  The Bulldogs had a banner night last week against Presbyterian in which Maxwell and Lewis combined for over 250 yards rushing just between the two of them.  This opened up areas downfield that allowed G-W to hit on some big pass plays and put Presby in a hole early.

Coastal, on the other hand, has been stewing for two weeks in the rancid juices of a 59-58 double overtime loss to former Big South rival Charleston Southern in a game decided by a blocked extra point.  Despite gaining more than 400 yards of offense in that game, they gave up more than that to CSU and also gave away 11 points on turnovers.  As distracting and discombobulating as the storm may have been, it’s certain that the team can’t wait to get the taste of that last game out of their collective mouth.

What Gardner-Webb needs to do against Coastal:  Hold the ball.  Coastal’s brand of hurry-up offense was effective at moving the ball against CSU last week but it left the Chants with just 17 minutes of possession time.  Any team that gets to keep possession of the ball for more than literally twice the time of the other team, stands a really good chance of winning.

Best case scenario for Gardner-Webb – Maxwell and Lewis keep doing their thing.  It should be a great atmosphere for homecoming in Boiling Springs and Gardner-Webb has, historically, been a team that feeds off of their own momentum.

Worst case scenario for Gardner-Webb – More of the last four years.  Regardless of turbulent circumstances at the moment, Coastal’s two losses this year are by a single point apiece to opponents ranked in the top 10 of FCS.

 

(2-3) Liberty @ (4-1) Kennesaw State – Saturday, Oct 15th, 7:00pm (ESPN3)

Kennesaw State and Liberty open Big South conference play with a bang on Saturday night.

A year ago, KSU went up to Lynchburg at 5-1 and had all the momentum against a below-.500 Liberty team that was reeling from a disappointing four-game road trip that included losses to Monmouth and Gardner-Webb. But, in front of a homecoming crowd, Liberty held a 17-point lead at halftime and pretty much held that advantage through the second half in a 45-35 win.  KSU would go on to win just one more game the rest of the season while the win served as a springboard for Liberty to claw their way back into a winning record on the year.

This time, however, KSU is coming into this game on a hot streak at 4-1 while Liberty comes in sitting just below .500 after a couple of disappointing road losses.  The homecoming crowd can expect to see a lot of firewo – wait….OK, well, this time the game is at Kennesaw.

Kennesaw comes into this game on a four-game win streak and, after scoring just 10 points in regulation in the opener against ETSU, have put up no less than 36 points on every opponent since.  For their part, this will be Liberty’s first game of the season against a team that is not a limited-scholarship school, an FBS school or Jacksonville State.

Liberty struggled to run the ball against Robert Morris in their most recent outing.  Still, the Flames’ receiving corps along with the arm of QB Buckshot Calvert were more than enough to put plenty of points on the board a stingy defense that managed to score a touchdown of its own certainly helped.

Kennesaw’s QB, Chandler Burks, has really settled into the starting role leading the Owls’ triple-option offense.  He struggled with making the correct reads against D2 Missouri S&T a week ago but his athleticism and passing ability give the KSU offense a dimension that wasn’t as much of a threat a year ago. That said, Burks’ top receiving target, WR Justin Sumpter, is not listed on the KSU 2-deep for the second week in a row after limping off the field at Furman.  A deep threat passing attack wasn’t quite as necessary against Missouri S&T but it very likely will be against Liberty.

This game will the centerpiece of Kennesaw’s homecoming events this week.  A stadium “Black Out” is scheduled — which I assume to be a good thing — and it should be an exciting gameday environment.

What Kennesaw has to do against Liberty – Avoid turnovers.  The Liberty defense has taken the ball away 17 times in just 5 games and gotten 50 points – more than a third of their season’s total output – off of those turnovers.

What Kennesaw has to do against Liberty – Score early and often.  The visible key to LU’s win a year ago was putting KSU in an early hole on the scoreboard.  Without a home run receiving threat – which Sumpter is – the triple-option does not typically score points quickly and allows the clock to become another opponent for the offense.

The FCS Wedge – 2016-1012- LISTEN UP!

Kris & Lance do the usual diving in to the great matchups from around the country last week.  There are  a couple from the CAA, the MVFC, BSC, PL, hell we’re all over the place this week…in a good way.  Sorry about that cursing, I should have said H-E-double toothpicks there but I got excited.

Lance has some problems (small ones) with the order of a few teams based on actual occurrences on the field  and the young barrister makes a fairly convincing case and at the end Kris folds up like a cheap suit.

The fellers then get into some discussion about the top matchups for next week:

South Dakota State @ North Dakota State
Villanova @ Richmond
Chattanooga @ The Citadel
James Madison @ New Hampshire
Central Arkansas @ McNeese State
Southern Utah @ North Dakota
&
Northern Iowa @ Youngstown State

They round out the show by completing a series.  This week they discuss some coaches that have been doing a superlative job so far this year.

This show runs about 10 minutes longer than normal because of so much great stuff these guys went over but lets not kid ourselves here…you got nothing but time.  Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day. Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.  Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town.  Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Well here I am, this is the way, now go click play.

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CAA Week 6: Review and Power Rankings

With week six in the books, the CAA enjoyed a full slate of conference games beginning with a very wet game on Friday between UNH and Elon and capping off with a triple overtime thriller between the Spiders of Richmond, and the Great Danes of Albany.

New Hampshire 13, Elon 10

Coming off a big loss to Villanova after their statement wins against William and Mary, Elon set out to show a home crowd that they could bounce back. With Hurricane Matthew wreaking havoc, Elon showed UNH that they wouldn’t go down without a fight. Taking the lead in the third quarter, Elon felt they were on their way to a win. Until Kicker Morgan Ellman from UNH kicked two field goals to take the lead and seal the deal for the Wildcats.

Villanova 35, Rhode Island 0

Week in and week out Villanova has slowly emerged as one of the top teams in the CAA. With five touchdowns on the day 3 rushing and 2 receiving, Villanova showed Rhode Island that they came to play. Villanova QB Zack Bednarczyk threw for 133 yards and went 8/9 on receptions. The 463 total yards for Villanova was too much for Rhode Island to overcome as they were shut out, and combined for only 103 team yards on the day.

James Madison 31, William and Mary 24

After dropping its first two conference games to Elon and New Hampshire, William and Mary traveled to Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday with the hopes of upsetting interstate rival James Madison, and showing the FCS that they weren’t out of the playoff picture just yet. Unfortunately, James Madison had other plans for the Tribe as they put up 511 total yards with 194 of those coming on the ground carried by Duke RB Khalid Abdullah. William and Mary mounted a late comeback but fell short when Tribe QB Steve Cluely was picked off late in the fourth quarter to seal the end of the game.

Richmond 36, Albany 30

When Richmond traveled to Albany, NY on Saturday they traveled knowing that they would be playing a team that was up and coming as a power in the CAA. What they didn’t know was just how tough this game would be. With the game tied going into the fourth quarter, Richmond though they had put it away with a four-yard run by Deontez Thompson to put the spiders ahead 20-13. This lead wouldn’t last for long though as Albany’s Jordan Crockett caught a 51-yard pass from Neven Sussman to tie the game at 20-20. Three overtimes late the game was decided by Richmond as David Broadus scored on a four-yard run to give the Spiders a final 36-30 advantage.

Maine 28, Delaware 21

The Black Bears from Maine stunned the Delaware Blue Hens as they traveled to Delaware and defeated the Blue Hens at home to secure their first CAA victory. Delaware trailed into the fourth quarter until an 11-yard pass from Dan Collins to Jaleel Reed tied the game at 21-21. Less than five minutes later, Black Bear Austin Brown would return a Delaware fumble 62 yards in front of a stunned Delaware home crowd to seal the deal for the Black Bears.

Stony Brook 27, Towson 20

QB Ellis Knudson for Towson has a successful day passing for 250 yards and completing 20 of his 33 attempts. It would be his two turnovers of the day though that would prove costly as Towson dropped a tough one at home against the Seawolves of Stony Brook. Towson would win the total yards battle coming in at 406 total yards to Stony Brook’s 370 total yards, but Stony brook would ultimately win the day off three running touchdowns from; QB Joe Carbone, RB Jordan Gowins, and RB Stacey Bedell.

Power Rankings

  1. Villanova
  2. James Madison
  3. Richmond
  4. Albany
  5. New Hampshire
  6. Stony Brook
  7. Maine
  8. Towson
  9. William and Mary
  10. Delaware
  11. Elon
  12. Rhode Island

 

OVC: Week 6 Review

The last undefeated team in the league fell Saturday when #21 Eastern Illinois knocked off Tennessee State in Charleston.  With Tennessee State suffering a loss in league play it means that Jax State (1-0 OVC)  is now in the driver’s seat for the conference championship.

In other news: EKU got their first Division-I win of the season to improve to 2-3 when they defeated SEMO in Richmond and Austin Peay lost a game.  …Austin Peay losing isn’t really news at this point, is it?

Oh well, let’s get dig into what went down this past weekend in the OVC.

Austin Peay 31 UT-Martin 45

Austin Peay looked like a hot mess going into halftime down 31 to 7. They had fumbled away the ball twice and allowed UT-Martin to get a four possession lead by halftime.  However, the Austin Peay team that went into the locker rooms at halftime was not the same one that started the third quarter. Austin Peay stepped up at the beginning of the third by forcing a fumble on the Skyhawk’s opening drive that kept the Skyhawks out of the red zone.  Peay put up three then let UT-M score twice to widen the lead to 45-10.  The Govs then went on to rack up 219 yards and 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to close the gap to the final of 31-45.  Quarterbacks for both teams had a good day as APSU’s Timarious Mitchell went 17/23 (73.9%) for 227 yards and two touchdowns whereas Skyhawk’s shot caller Troy Cook completed 17 of his 21 attempts (81%) for 253 yards and three touchdowns.

UT-Martin will look to get above .500 as they head to Murray State to take on the 1-4 Racers and Austin Peay will drop out of the frying pan and into the fire as they head to Jacksonville to take on the #2 Gamecocks.

Eastern Kentucky 31 Southeast Missouri State 16

Remember when I said the Colonel’s wouldn’t win if they continued to rely solely on Bennie Coney in the preview last week? Well this week the Colonels didn’t just rely on Coney’s arm, they also ran the ball a 52 times for 190 yards and they sent SEMO home with an L. Despite all the rushing Coney still put up the biggest numbers in the OVC on the day.  The redshirt senior accounted for 337 yards as he went 23 of 37 for four touchdowns and a pick. His favorite target on the day was senior wideout Devin Borders who hauled in 7 catches for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Redhawks could get their running game established and it hurt them in the end.  The Redhawks had 26 rushes for 101 yards, which doesn’t sound too bad until you consider that 45 yards of it came off of one run by senior running back Will Young.  Aside from that one run the Redhawks only averaged 2.2 yard per carry.

Eastern Kentucky will head to Nashville this weekend to take on 4-1 Tennessee State and SEMO will have a bye before heading to Tennessee Tech on the 22nd.

Tennessee State 34 #21 Eastern Illinois 35

EIU escaped with a narrow win over the previously undefeated Tigers.  Tigers kicker Lane Clark missed a 46 yard field goal attempt with 3:00 left in the fourth that would have given TSU a 37-35 lead. The Tigers forced an EIU punt five plays later and with only 36 seconds left couldn’t make it back into field goal range. The Panther’s defensive line are the unsung heros of this game. The Panther’s defensive line held the Tigers to just 76 yards rushing on 35 carries and kept pressure on Ronald Butler all day. Panther’s defensive end David Johnson was awarded OVC co-Defensive Player of the Week honors his 9 tackle performance Saturday.  The junior had 9 tackles, a sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss on Saturday. With their win over Tennessee State EIU is now second in the OVC standings behind the undefeated Gamecocks and are tied with UT-Martin and SEMO.

Eastern Illinois will travel to Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State will host Eastern Kentucky in Nissan Stadium.

#2 Jacksonville State 40  Tennessee Tech 21

Senior Gamecock running back Josh Clemons had a career day as he rushed for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Golden Eagles. JSU had 249 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns as the muscled their way past Tennessee Tech. The JSU defense also had a big day as they forced five turnovers and held Tech to 229 total yards and only 62 yards rushing.  Tennessee Tech only had 67 total yards going into halftime and had gone three and out (or had a turnover) on 5 of their first 6 drives. Tennessee Tech quarterback Michael Birdsong had his worst game of the season as he went 19 for 32 for 167 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.  Despite a good performance on the stat sheet JSU still has a lot of work to do if they want to have another deep run in the playoffs. Penalties are still a major issue and special teams MUST get better.

JSU fans should also be thanking Eastern Illinois.  With EIU’s win over Tennessee State this weekend JSU is in the driver’s seat for the OVC.

JSU will host Austin Peay this weekend and Tennessee Tech will host #21 Eastern Illinois.

Murray State enjoyed a bye week.  They will host UT-Martin this weekend.

Power Rankings

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (4-1, 1-0 OVC)

Eastern Illinois Panthers (4-2, 2-1 OVC)

Tennessee State Tigers (4-1, 1-1 OVC)

UT-Martin Skyhawks (3-3, 2-1 OVC)

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (2-3, 1-1 OVC

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

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

Murray State Racers (1-4, 1-1 OVC)

Austin Peay Governors (0-5, 0-4 OVC)

MVFC: Week 6 Review

MVFC LogoAnother week of MVFC action, games seemed to go mostly as expected in terms of the end results other than one of them.

First up, here’s the “quick and dirty”…just the scores:

#13 Youngstown State – 20
#25 Illinois State – 6

#1 North Dakota State – 27
#33 Missouri State – 3

#11 Northern Iowa – 25
South Dakota – 28

#31 Indiana State – 35
#16 Western Illinois – 36

#12 South Dakota State – 45
Southern Illinois – 39

#13 Youngstown State at #25 Illinois State

In my preview of this game, I said that Illinois State was going to attempt to salvage their conference season. Well…technically they could finish with a winning record in the conference, but at this point, the way their offense is playing, I’m not sure they’re going to win any games in the conference. This game was actually a pretty even defensive/field position battle for the first three quarters with the first 10 possessions all ending in punts. Finally, with slightly over 3 minutes left in the first half, the Penguins were able to break the stalemate with a 42 yard field goal, putting them up 3-0. After a Redbird fumble on the next possession, YSU took the 3 point lead into halftime. The 3rd Quarter saw slightly more action, with ISU starting with the ball and ending with a 20 yard FG. The Illinois State defense held YSU to 13 yards on the next drive, forcing a punt, and again was able to get close enough for a FG, this time from 27 yards out, giving ISU the lead, 6-3. It would be their only lead of the game, however, as YSU would come right back with a 17-play, 91 yard drive that took just under 7 ½ minutes of game time and finished with a 20-yard TD pass a few minutes into the 4th Quarter. The next ISU drive ended in a punt, but YSU gave them another chance after throwing an interception 3 plays in…but again, the YSU defense held the Redbirds and forced another punt. This time, the Penguins were able to make something of it, driving 87 yards down the field for a TD. The key play of that drive was a 56 yard run by YSU’s Tevin McCaster down to the ISU 3 yard line. At that point, YSU was up 17-6. ISU threw 3 incomplete passes in their “last chance drive” and was sacked on 4th down to turn the ball over to YSU. The Penguins were able to position the ball a bit over the next 20 seconds and get themselves 3 more points on a 35-yard field goal. ISU then started to drive back down the field, but simply ran out of time halfway there, making the final score 20-6, Penguins.

Due to the nature of the game, there weren’t a ton of big numbers put up by much of anyone. YSU QB Ricky Davis only had 89 yards passing (nearly half on one 42-yard passing play), 1 TD and 1 interception. Davis did also rush for 97 yards, so offensively he did account for 186 total yards. RB Tevin McCaster ran for 81 yards (again, mostly on one play…the previously mentioned 56 yard run) and a TD. WR Damoun Patterson led the team in receiving with the catch of that one 42 yard pass and WR Alvin Bailey had 1 20-yard TD catch. Kicker Zak Kennedy led the team in scoring, going 2 for 2 on FGs and hitting both XPs and Punter Mark Schuler got the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week award with a 45.7 yard per punt average on 6 kicks including 3 inside the 20 yard line. Defensively, FS LeRoy Alexander and LB Armand Dellovade each had 6 tackles. DE Derek Rivers ended up with 4 tackles including 3 sacks which got him the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award. DE Avery Moss had 2 sacks, and CB Kenny Bishop had 1.

For Illinois State there were no TDs…QB Jake Kolbe had 134 yards passing, WR Christian Gibbs and RB James Robinson had 51 and 50 yards receiving (respectively). Robinson was the rushing leader with 103 yards, and had 65 yards on kickoff returns, so he was the team leader with 281 all-purpose yards. LB B.J. Bello and DL Dalton Keene each had 8 tackles, and LB Brent Spack had 6 tackles, with 2 for loss including 1 sack.

The Penguins are now 4-1 overall, 2-0 in the conference and will invite the UNI Panthers to Youngstown, OH next weekend. The Redbirds drop to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the conference and will host the SIU Salukis in Normal, IL next weekend.

#1 North Dakota State at #33 Missouri State

In a matchup that last year resulted in a 55-point blowout win for the Bison (to finish off MSU’s 1-win season), Missouri State would come into the game looking significantly more improved over last year, and getting this game at home. Would it be enough for them to come away with an upset victory over the defending national champs? Well…no, but I did think that MSU, especially their defense, performed significantly better than last year. It’ll be interesting to see if they continue to trend up as they finish out season #2 under HC Dave Steckel and into the next few.

Starting off the game, the Bears came out fairly strong on both sides of the ball, moving down the field 30 yards and then hitting a 50 yard field goal. Defensively, they held the Bison to -1 yards in their first two drives and 37 total yards and 0 points in the first quarter, which put the Bears up 3-0 at the end of 1. From that point on, though, all the scoring was on the other side, with the Bison getting a 38-yard FG and then intercepting a pass two plays into the next series and taking advantage of it with a drive ending in a 21-yard TD pass. An MSU fumble on the next possession gave the ball back to NDSU, but they were forced to punt after going 3 plays and losing 8 yards. The Bison defense held the Bears to a 3-and-out and then would get a 21-yard field goal with just under ½ minute left in the 2nd quarter, putting the halftime score at 13-3, NDSU. The second half, NDSU started with the ball, but fumbled it in the MSU red zone. MSU made it 40 yards before having to punt, then NDSU went 73 yards back the other way before missing a 42 yard field goal. MSU fumbled the ball back to NDSU, and again they took advantage with a 1-play “drive” of a 22-yard TD run with just under 5 minutes left in the game. MSU was held to a punt on the next drive, but a Bison fumble on the catch was recovered by the Bears. 5 plays and 1 intercepted pass later, and the Bison were able to run out the clock and come away with the 27-3 victory. A solid win for NDSU, but also a surprisingly good performance by MSU, holding the Bison to “only” a 24 point win and winning the turnover battle 4-2.

NDSU QB Easton Stick threw for 159 yards and a TD, but was also sacked twice. RB King Frazier ran for 126 yards and 2 TDs and WR RJ Urzendowski led the team in receiving yards with 73. WR Darrius Shepherd had 62 yards and a TD reception. CB Jaylaan Wimbush led the team with 7 tackles, SS Robbie Grimsley had 6 tackles and an interception, and LB Matt Plank would pick up 6 tackles including 3 for loss. DE Greg Menard and LB MJ Stumpf would each have 2 tackles for loss, with one of Menard’s being an 8-yard sack.

MSU QB Brodie Lambert threw 146 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 interceptions. The majority of those yards (53) went to WR Malik Earl. TB Jason Randal led the team with a whopping 17 yards rushing…actually, the team total for rushing yards was 30. Defensively the Bears were led by LB Dylan Cole with 15 tackles including 2.5 for loss and 1 forced fumble. DL Colby Isbell had 1 solo sack and ½ sack, assisted by LB Kurran Blamey.

The Bison remain perfect with a 5-0 record overall and 2-0 in the conference and will head home next weekend to take on South Dakota State in the annual “Dakota Marker” game, a rivalry series that has been played 104 times starting back in 1903. The Bears fall to 3-2, 1-1 in the MVFC and will host Western Illinois next weekend for their Homecoming game.

#11 Northern Iowa @ South Dakota

Now, this game really surprised me. Going into the season with a new coach, losing one of their top young defensive players, I figured USD wouldn’t do all that well. They don’t have a winning record yet, but they’ve done fairly well in games that I thought they wouldn’t do that well in, and then they took down UNI, which is a team that I thought would be up from last year. Then again, maybe USD is just one of those teams that’s good for 1 really surprising upset per year…NDSU last year…UNI this year.

USD QB Chris Streveler handled the majority of the offense for the Coyotes, getting the scoring started 3 plays in with a 69 yard TD run. UNI would respond on the next possession with a drive capped by a 12 yard TD run to tie it up. Back to USD and a 75 yard drive ending with a 10 yard TD run to put them up by 7. UNI again comes back and goes 76 yard to finish with a 17 yard TD pass. USD would throw an interception on their next drive and a high-scoring 1st quarter ended in a 14-14 tie. A couple of back and forth stalled drives and UNI would finally get in FG range, hitting a 29 yarder to break the tie…but then on the second play from scrimmage, USD would hit a 75 yard pass for TD to take the lead. A few more punts back and forth and the half would end with USD up 21-17. A couple of possessions into the second half, UNI would throw an interception, which 5 plays later would allow them to hit a 29 yard TD pass to increase their lead to 11. The Panthers would work themselves back into the game on the next drive on a 19 yard TD run and successful 2-pt conversion early in the 4th quarter to pull within 3. A USD turnover on downs gave UNI another opportunity, which was squandered on a 34 yard missed FG that would have tied the game. A UNI turnover on downs on their next possession would lock in the win for the Coyotes, with a final score of 28-25.

USD QB Chris Streveler would earn MVFC Newcomer of the Week with his performance of 182 yards and 2 TD passing, as well as 128 yards and 1 TD rushing. He also had 1 interception. WR Tacari Carpenter caught the majority of the passes, going for 109 yards (mostly on 1 75-yard TD reception) and 2 TDs. RB Trevor Bouma also rushed for 72 yards and 1 TD. LB Jet Moreland was the tackle leader with 14. DB Tyson Graham, and DLs Colin Mertlik and Lambert all got 2 sacks, with 10, 7, and 3 total tackles respectively. DB Andrew Gray had 5 tackles and an interception.

UNI QB Aaron Bailey passed for 149 yards and 1 TD through the air and 95 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. He also had 1 interception. RB Tyvis Smith had his second 100+ yard game of the season, going for 113 yards on 21 attempts. WR Christian Jegen led the team with 48 yards receiving, and RB Michael Malloy would have a couple of catches for 26 yards and a TD. Defensively, DL Karter Schult, as he frequently does, led the team in tackles with 8. LB D’Shawn Dexter ended with 7 tackles, including 1 for loss. Also DB Malcolm Washington ended up with an interception.

UNI and USD now have identical records at 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The Panthers will travel to Youngstown State for a tough game against the Penguins next weekend, and the Coyotes will be heading down to Indiana State.

#31 Indiana State at #16 Western Illinois

Now for the game I attended this weekend…Homecoming at Western Illinois. It was a pretty crazy weekend for me personally (I organize and perform in the WIU Alumni Band every year, so I was really busy with that stuff all weekend and barely had time to pay attention to the other games going on around the MVFC)…and it was capped off with what I thought was a pretty crazy and long (over 3 ¾ hours) game.

An early defensive stalemate saw the first 5 possessions end in punts, before ISU completed a 61 yard drive highlighted by a 63 yard run to the WIU 1 yard line and got it over the line on the next play for a TD. A few possessions later and early into the second quarter, a WIU QB run went 11 yards for a TD tying up the game. On the next play from scrimmage (you’re going to hear this phrase a few times) Indiana State hits a crazy 65-yard TD pass that bounced off the back of the receiver, up in the air just out of the reach of two WIU defenders, rolling down the back of one WIU defender’s back and right into the hands of the original ISU receiver. Video quality isn’t great, but you can check out kinda how it went down here. On the next play from scrimmage, WIU would respond with a 68 yard TD pass of their own, but “donked” one side of the uprights to miss the XP. 3 plays later, ISU would throw an interception, but on the next play from scrimmage, WIU gave it right back with their own thrown interception. Back and forth a bit more and Western would find their way into the end zone again with a 1 yard TD pass with 13 seconds left in the half. This would make the score at halftime 20-14, advantage Leathernecks.

Early in the second half, Western would open up the lead with a 2 yard TD run. The WIU defense would hold on the next series forcing a punt, which was fumbled and recovered by the Sycamores at the 16. This allowed ISU to come roaring back in the 3rd quarter with a 10 yard TD run, then a couple plays later, a 32-yard pick-6 followed by a defensive 3-and-out (complete with bad punt) and a 4 play drive resulting in another ISU TD. By this point, the Sycamores found themselves up 35-27….still in the 3rd quarter. Early in the 3rd quarter, WIU would get back on track with a 9 yard TD pass, a 3-and-out of their own (which pushed ISU back 11 yards) and then a 41 yard field goal on the next possession. ISU would have to punt on their next drive, and WIU would take just over 7 minutes on their next one, going for it (successfully) on 4th and 1, but then going for it again (unsuccessfully) later the same drive on 4th and 1 from the ISU 28 (which seems really odd to me since the FG kicker had already nailed a 41 yarder earlier…but maybe they were really being aggressive and pushing to just put the game away at that point with a TD).

The next drive, ISU would at one point hit a 14 yard pass on 4th and 13 to keep the ball moving, but then after a few more plays, on 4th and 1, from the WIU 29 yard line, ISU lined up to go for it (44 seconds left in the game, down by 1, with 3 timeouts left). Apparently, the idea was that they were going to wait at the line, see if any Western players jumped offsides…if so, the center was told to snap the ball, but if not….time out and probably kick a FG. Well, a WIU player did jump, but it’s unclear if he got back in time or was over the line, because as the ISU center snapped the ball, the QB wasn’t able to grab it cleanly, picked it up and tried to move it forward, losing a couple of yards and turning the ball over on downs. There was no flag on the WIU defense (and I honestly can’t say if he was over the line or not…my perspective from where I was sitting for the game wasn’t great for that play), so the play stood as called on the field. Personally, I’m not sure why ISU didn’t just go for the FG from there, since their kicker was apparently perfect on the year and the ball was sitting on right about the 29 yard line. But anyway, according to the refs…no flag, no foul, WIU gets the ball back on downs. They’re able to run the ball a few times but have to punt it back due to ISU using all of their 3 time outs. WIU then allows ISU 40 yards on 2 plays, but time runs out without them getting any more points, giving Western the 36-35 Homecoming victory.

WIU QB Sean McGuire threw for 363 yards and 3 TDs, but also had 2 interceptions (including the previously mentioned pick-6…his 3rd in the last two games, which is somewhat worrisome for Leatherneck fans). He also ran for 28 yards and 1 TD himself. WR Lance Lenoir caught for 204 yards and 2 TDs, but also had a punt return fumble which gave ISU the ball with short field position. RB Steve McShane ran for 89 yards and 1 TD. On the Leatherneck Defense, LB Brett Taylor had 11 tackles w/ 1 for loss. LB Quentin Moon had 10 tackles. DLs Pete Swenson and Jordan Veloz, and LB Adam Brott had 1 sack each, and DB Timothy Smith had an interception.

ISU QB Isaac Harker threw for 241 yards and 1 TD, but also had 1 interception and was sacked 3 times. WR Robert Tonyan had 82 yards and 1 TD receiving (mostly on that crazy 65-yard TD reception). RB Roland Genesey led the team with 78 yards, RB Dimitri Taylor had 66, and RB Jaquan Keys had 24…all three had one rushing TD each. DB Devin Brockington, LB Katress Moss, and DL Conlan Cassidy all finished with 6 tackles. LB Jameer Thurman had 3 tackles, but also had the 32-yard pick-6. DB Rondell Green had 5 tackles and also had an interception.

Indiana State falls to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in the MVFC and will head back home to take on South Dakota next weekend. Western Illinois moves to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference, and will head down to Missouri State to play the Bears at their Homecoming Game next weekend.

#12 South Dakota State at Southern Illinois

Missouri Valley Football….hard-nosed, strong defense, run the ball down their throats over and over again, low scoring….wait….SDSU….SIU….what are you doing….that’s not….no….wait…..hey……stahp!

So, in a game that saw both teams pass for over 420 yards, it felt a little more like Big Sky football than it did Missouri Valley Football. The first quarter started with a 75 yard SDSU drive that ended in a 17 yard TD run. A couple of punts back and forth and SIU is able to slowly work their way down the field getting their own TD on a 6 yard run. The next drive is significantly faster, with two passes totaling 80 yards and ending with a TD for the Jackrabbits. Both defenses held for the next few possessions, bringing the 1st quarter to an end with a 14-7 SDSU advantage. Second quarter started the way the 1st ended…6 more possessions ending in punts….however….the next one was a 2-play, 19-second TD drive for SDSU, then a 3 play, 47 second TD drive for SIU, then an 8 play, 58 second TD drive for SDSU, then a 7 play, 42 second drive for SIU ending in a 45 yard field goal….phew. For those who might have lost track, that’s 25 points between the two teams in the last 2 ¾ minutes of the half…making it 28-18, SDSU, at halftime.

Coming out of halftime, SIU is held to a 3-and-out, which SDSU follows up with a 1 play, 56 yard TD pass. Another 3-and-out for SIU and SDSU gets within long FG range, but misses a 48 yarder. Now it’s SIU’s turn to battle back, getting a TD on a 69 yard drive finishing with an 11 yard run. A 3-and-out for SDSU, and SIU gets themselves another TD on an 11 yard TD pass. Again SDSU is held to a 3-and-out, but this time SIU gives it right back to them on an interception. At the end of 3, it’s 35-32 Jackrabbits. In the 4th quarter SDSU hits a 27-yard TD pass, then SIU with a 75 yard TD drive that included 3 30+ yard plays (two passes and a run). SDSU would hit a 33-yard field goal later, and then sack SIU on a 4th and 8 to essentially end the game with the final score of 45-39…another Jackrabbits win.

SDSU QB Taryn Christion threw a school record 466 yards in the game as well as 5 TDs and picked up the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award. LIke last week, two receivers reached 100+ yards, with WR Jake Wieneke hitting 164 yards and 2 TDs, and TE Dallas Goedert catching for 108 yards and 1 TD as well as running for a 10-yard TD. RB Brady Mengarelli and WR Alex Wilde both caught TDs as well. RB Isaac Wallace led the team with 58 yards on the ground. Also, SDSU LG Sepestiano Pupungatoa received the MVFC O-lineman of the Week award for his part in allowing the QB time for all those throws and opening up holes for the RBs. For the Jackrabbit Defense, Christian Rozeboom had a huge day with 20 tackles, 1 for loss, and 1 forced fumble. LB Jesse Bobbit had 10 tackles and DB Jordan Brown had an interception. SDSU’s Punter, Brady Hale, had 8 punts with an average of 42.9 per punt, a long of 50, 1 inside the 20.

SIU QB Josh Straughan threw 380 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 interception. WR Connor Iwema caught 107 yards of that and a TD and WR Billy Reed caught 86 yards. WR Jimmy Jones also had a TD reception and a TD run. RB Jonathan Mixon ran for 37 yards and 2 TDs. LB Kyron Watson finished with 7 tackles, 2 for loss including 1 sack, and a forced fumble. SIU Punter, Lane Reazin, also punted 8 times with an average of 41.6 yards per punt and 2 inside the 20.

SDSU moves up to 3-2 overall, 2-0 in the conference, and will head up to the Fargodome for a rivalry game against North Dakota State next weekend. SIU drops to 2-3 and 0-2 in the MVFC; they’ll head up to Illinois State next weekend.

So, let’s take a look at what I’d predicted and see how I did.

Youngstown State over Illinois State by 6 – actual result, YSU by 14…so I was a little off on the margin. I assumed ISU would be able to put up a few more points. But, still, that’s a win.

North Dakota State over Missouri State by 28 – actual result, NDSU by 24…I knew this would be a lot closer than last year’s blowout win for the Bison. Only 4 points off the margin too, so that’s a win for me.

Northern Iowa over South Dakota by 13 – actual result, USD by 3….can’t win them all…just one of those somewhat unexpected results. That’s a loss for me.

Western Illinois over Indiana State by 14 – actual result, WIU by 1….it was WAY closer than I thought it’d be, but WIU did still come away with the win…and so did I.

South Dakota State over Southern Illinois by 10 – actual result, SDSU by 6. I also predicted a pretty high-scoring game, total score of 70+ or so…I almost put 80+ points, but was trying to be conservative…total score ended up being 84 points. This was pretty darn close, I’d say…so that’s a win.

So, this week, I went 4-1. I was 5-4 on the season so far, so that puts me at 9-5 overall for picking MVFC games.

Later this week I’ll preview the MVFC Week 7 slate of games, which include (and these are the updated/current AGS Poll rankings): #30 South Dakota at #35 Indiana State, #14 Western Illinois at #36 Missouri State, #11 South Dakota State at #1 North Dakota State (in the annual Dakota Marker Game), #23 Northern Iowa at #12 Youngstown State, and Southern Illinois at #33 Illinois State.

Must Watch Week 7

There are a couple of huge match-ups in Week 7 and we’ve got a list of where to find them. Click on the STREAM or ESPN3 for a direct link to the game!

Saturday, October 15th Time(CST) TV
James Madison @ New Hampshire 11:00am NESN+/American Sports Network (click to find local)
Sacred Heart @ Cornell 11:30am STREAM
Lehigh @ Georgetown 1:00pm STREAM
Southern Utah @ North Dakota 2:00pm STREAM
Chattanooga @ The Citadel 2:00pm Fox Sports Southeast /ESPN3
Western Illinois @ Missouri State 2:30pm ESPN3
South Dakota State @ North Dakota State 2:30pm NBCND/MidcoSN

ESPN3
Villanova @ Richmond 2:30pm STREAM
Southeastern Louisiana @ Stephen F Austin 3:00pm ESPN3
Cal Poly @ Portland State 4:30pm STREAM
Northern Iowa @ Youngstown State 6:00pm ESPN3
Eastern Kentucky @ Tennessee State 6:00pm ESPN3
  • A battle of CAA unbeatens will take place in Durham, NH on Saturday and it’s a great way to start a full day of football. James Madison was picked 3rd in the CAA Preseason Poll and New Hampshire was picked 5th, but here we are in the middle of October with the teams on top of the standings. New Hampshire came out of the gates slow but has made their way to 4-2. The Wildcats have a tough battle ahead of them when the Dukes come to town. James Madison is undefeated against FCS opponents. Tune in to find out if New Hampshire is a legitimate contender for the CAA title or just started off with a favorable schedule.
  • Sacred Heart was undefeated with a win over an upstart Stony Brook team until Wagner handed them their first loss 2 weeks ago. They had a bye week to straighten things out. Cornell followed a similar path, undefeated until their loss to Harvard this past weekend. Which team will get back on track in this NEC-Ivy League match-up?
  • Lehigh rocketed their way to the top of the Patriot League standings with a 14 point win over Colgate last weekend. Georgetown is off to a 3-2 start, but this will be their first PL game of the season. Will Lehigh have a let down or will they continue to put up a lot of points and continue the path towards the PL auto-bid?
  • North Dakota finds themselves tied at the top of the league standings with Eastern Washington. The Fighting Hawks are a couple of plays away from being undefeated in 2016. Below them in the standings is quite the logjam, and just behind them is a Southern Utah team that is 2-1 in Big Sky play. Will the Fighting Hawks increase the gap between the top and the middle of the pack or will the Thunderbirds pull North Dakota back down to earth?
  • One of the biggest games of the week is the defacto SoCon Championship game between The Citadel and Chattanooga. Right now both teams appear to be playoff bound, but the winner of this game is looking at securing the auto-bid and a strong possibility of a seed come playoff time as long as they don’t slip up.
  • Western Illinois narrowly avoided back to back losses when they kicked a game winning field goal with a few minutes left in the 4th quarter against Indiana State. Missouri State has been stronger than expected this year and could give the Leathernecks a challenge.
  • The Dakota Marker is one of the most exciting FCS rivalry games, often deciding conference championships and playoff seeding. Last year got a little lopsided in the Bison’s 28-7 win, but the Jacks’ offense has some new weapons in 2016. It will be interesting to see how the two teams match up in this year’s edition of the Dakota Marker at the Fargodome.
  • Villanova-Richmond is another huge conference deciding match-up. Richmond is coming off of a 3OT win over Albany that keeps them in control of their own destiny for the CAA title. Villanova has won five straight games since a season opening loss to Pittsburgh (FBS). Both teams have some tough games ahead of them, but it all starts Saturday at Richmond’s Homecoming.
  • Southeast Louisiana still has an outside chance at the playoffs or being involved in the SLC championship race with a little bit of help. Stephen F Austin is playing the role of the spoiler after two straight losses in conference play.
  • Cal Poly was riding high after back-to-back wins over South Dakota State and Montana but slipped up on the road against an improved North Dakota squad. They come off the bye week and head back on the road to take on a struggling Portland State squad. Can the Vikings get back to 2016 form or will the Mustangs run all over them?
  • UNI is a mess. Coach Farley may have lost the locker room with his postgame comments after their loss to South Dakota last weekend. Youngstown State looks to be improved but has a tendency to fall off later in the season. Add in the Farley tends to have the Penguins number and this could be quite the game. The Panthers need the win if they want to stay in the playoff race.
  • Tennessee State had an undefeated season going until they lost by 1 on the road at Eastern Illinois last weekend. Eastern Kentucky normally finds themselves towards the top of the conference, but they are at risk of falling to the cellar.

SOCON: Week 7 Preview

Week seven in the Southern Conference has some great matchups.  First, two top ten teams will go at it as The Citadel hosts Chattanooga.  There will also be an aerial showcase as two of the most talented passers in FCS will be going at it as VMI travels to Samford.  Both Mercer and Western Carolina will try and get back to winning ways as they meet in Macon, and Furman will see if it can find a win at ETSU.  Wofford is idle. (SOCON weekly notes)

#5 Chattanooga at #7 The Citadel 3PM (TV FoxSSE/ESPN3) (Cid game notes) (UTC game notes)

The Citadel Bulldogs will host the Mocs of Chattanooga in the last matchup of unbeaten FCS teams this season. The Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0) are ranked #1 in FCS in rushing per game and #3 in tackles allowed for a loss.  The Mocs (6-0, 4-0) claim the #1 spot in FCS for total defense and the #3 spot for rushing defense.  It should be a hard fought and exciting game.  The winner will have a leg up on the Southern Conference championship and result in a likely seed in the FCS playoffs.

The Citadel started the season a bit slow winning by slim margins to Mercer, Furman and Gardner Webb with fourth quarter come from behind victories each time.  But its starting quarterback was out the first game and got limited playing time in the next two.  Since then, with Dominique Allen at the helm, the Dogs have averaged 600 yards a game.  The average rushing yards gained by the Dogs’ option attack outweigh the pass yards by a wide margin, 389 to 65 each game.  But the Bulldogs usually hit pay dirt when they do connect and they get 18 yards per completion.  Overall the Bulldog passers are 18/38 with 3 TDs and 1 interception.  The Dogs have a solid 49% third down conversion rate which keeps drives going.  They are at 50% on 4th down tries.  In the red zone the Dogs have not done well scoring TDs on just 12 of 21 tries.  The Citadel checks in at # 2 in FCS in TOP at 35:00 minutes a game.

On defense the Bulldogs have allowed a stingy 119 yards a game on the ground and 183 per game through the air.  The defense has especially been effective in the fourth quarters.  It has only allowed 14 fourth quarter points, total, in 5 games and a total of 208 yards in all 4th quarters for an average of 42 yards a game.  They finish games well.  The Dogs are tied for #6 in FCS allowing only 17.8 points a game.  The Citadel defense has also snagged a conference leading 6 interceptions on the year.  It also leads the SOCON in sacks with 18 for 129 yards.  The Citadel defense is allowing opponents to convert third down only 26% of the time and have stopped all 3 of the fourth down tries it has faced.  Red zone defense has allowed 8 scores in 8 tries, but only 5 TDs.  The key number here is there have not been many drives into the red zone.

Special teams have been solid for The Citadel.  Kickoff returns are averaging a hair under 25 yards.  Kickoff coverage allows 23 yard returns on average.  Bulldog punt returners have averaged 14 yards a try with one TD return.  The Citadel has allowed 3 punt returns all year for a total of 4 return yards.  The field goal kicker has attempted 6 field goals making 4 of them.  He connected on long of 45 and has missed a 42 and 44 yard try.  The Citadel has averaged 59 yards in penalties per game.

The Mocs have an extremely balanced and effective offense led by quarterback Alejandro Bennifield.  They have passed for an average of 215 yards a game and ran for 231.  Overall Mocs passers have gone 93/139 with 15 TDs and 4 interceptions.  The Mocs also hold the lead in passing efficiency in the SOCON with 174.5.  On third downs UTC has gone 37%.  On fourth downs they have converted 7 of 9.  They lead the SOCON in total first downs with nearly 22 a game.  In the red zone the Mocs have made 21 TDs in 28 tries.  Chattanooga has a TOP of 34:10 per game.

On Defense the Mocs are tops, literally.  They lead the FCS in total defense giving up a mere 226 yards a game which equates to 3.8 yards a play.  They come in at #3 in FCS for rushing defense allowing only 72 yards a game.  They are at #4 for passing defense giving up 154 a game.  This has allowed them to also lead the nation in scoring defense at grudging 12.2 points a game.  They also lead the FCS in 3rd down conversion defense allowing just a 22% success rate.  They have gotten to the opposing QBs 16 times for 2.67 sacks a game for 122 yards on the year.  They have registered 6.8 tackles for loss per game which is what they need to do to stop The Citadel.  In red zone defense UTC has allowed 8 TDs on 10 tries.  Like The Citadel, they didn’t let many get to the red zone.

There are only a couple issues on special teams, otherwise they are sturdy.  They are last in the SOCON on kickoff returns with 17.4 yards per try, but that includes 2 on-side kicks which they foiled.  They are averaging 8.4 yards on punt returns.  They have a net punting average of 38 per kick and return.  The Mocs field goal kicker has attempted 6 times and made 5 with a long of 52.  He missed a 45 yarder. They have had two kicks blocked.  They have also had a punt blocked.  They are averaging about 60 yards per game in penalties.

In addition to the Outstanding QBs for each team, the Mocs have Derrick Craine running the ball for 113 yards a game and averaging 7.2 yards a carry.  He leads the SOCON in rushing.  Mocs receiver Xavier Borishade is averaging 4.2 receptions and 83.2 yards per game.  On defense the Mocs have Dale Warren, Vantrel McMillan and Keionta Davis all recording loads of tackles for loss.  Davis has 5 sacks.

The Citadel has 5 of the top 10 SOCON rushers including Tyler Renew, Reggie Williams, and Cam Jackson leading the way with a combined 230 yards a game between them. DeAndre Schultz is the Dog’s punt returner and has a league leading 14.5 yard average return.  On defense, The Citadel’s Kailik Williams is averaging 8 tackles a game.  Travis Johnson has three sacks on the year.  Cornerback Dee Delaney has 3 interceptions and linebacker Joe Crochet has two fumbles recovered.

This game will obviously pit the option attack of The Citadel against the stubborn defense of Chattanooga. The one dimensional nature of the Bulldogs offense will give the Mocs an advantage, but it can also be punishing.  If the Bulldogs can sustain drives and maintain TOP, they can control the pace of the game.  But if the Chattanooga defense can force lots of 3rd and longs and stay off the field, it may be a long day for the Dogs.  It is imperative for The Citadel to not turn it over as well.  If they give a team like Chattanooga extra possessions, it will be over quickly.  If the Mocs get the ball often, they are very capable of grinding some long drives of their own.  Chattanooga can chew up clock in a very methodical way, but they can also be explosive as well with 30 plays gaining 20 or more yards so far this season.

My head says Chattanooga by 14, but my heart says The Citadel by 3.  One of them will be right.

VMI at #19 Samford 3PM (ESPN3) (VMI game notes) (Samford game notes)

The VMI Keydets travel to Samford to face the #19 Bulldogs this week. This is an interesting game in that it will include two of the best QBs in FCS, Samford’s Devlin Hodges and VMI’s Al Cobb.

Hodges comes into the game 145/199 with 17 TDs and 3 interceptions. He averages 327 yards a game.  The Bulldog’s passing attack is explosive.  1-2 minute drives are very common.  Cobb is 121/184 with 8 TDs and 3 interceptions.  And while VMI’s passing game is not quite as explosive as Samford’s is, VMI has a little bit better running game.  VMI is averaging 138 yards a game to Samford’s meager 75 yards.  Samford did up their game a bit last week against Furman, but their running game is still pitiful.

Samford’s and VMI’s defenses are not that good and they come in at #7 and 8 in the conference. Samford allows 409 yards a game and VMI 411 yards.  But VMI gives up a lot yards per game through the air; 264 a game.  This does not bode well for the Keydets.  VMI has recorded 10 sacks on the year and Samford has allowed a league worse 16 sack so far.

If VMI is to stop Hodges they will need to put some pressure on him. They will also need to get some long drives to keep the ball away from Hodges.  VMI converts about 38% of the time on 3rd downs. Samford has converted only 32% on third downs, but it really doesn’t need to with Hodges tossing it deep and accurately so often.  If Samford could get a running game going as well, they will be a seriously dangerous team.

Look for Samford to continue their high powered passing game and throw it past the Keydets by at least 14 points.

Western Carolina at Mercer 4PM (ESPN3) (WCU game notes) (Mercer game notes)

With both teams coming off losses, it will be a hard fought battle. The Mercer Bears are stinging from their beat down at the hands of the Mocs last week.  Western played well against Wofford but came up short.

Mercer is a disciplined team and does not get rattled easily. QB John Russ is 105/164 with 6 TDs and 3 interceptions on the year.  He averages 227 yards a game.  Mercer also has good running backs in Payton Usher and Alex Lakes.  They were shut down a bit by the Mocs defense last week, but should have success against WCU which is giving up over 300 yards a game on the ground.

WCU’s QB Tyrie Adams is 115/173 with 9 TDs and 5 interceptions. He is racking up 262 yards a game.  A bit inexperienced, he is still dangerous if his line gives him time.  The Catamounts have given up 14 sacks on the year.  The Mercer defense has recorded 13 sacks on the year.  WCU also has a play maker in Detrez Newsome.  He is getting 73 yards a game rushing, 30 yards receiving, returns Kickoffs as well.  He leads the SOCON in all purpose yards at 175 yards a game.

Western Carolina allows opponents to convert on 3rd downs 55% of the time and they are giving up almost 500 yards a game.  Mercer will be hungry this game.  They can move the ball well and convert on third downs 44% of the time.  Expect Mercer to execute some long drives and stay ahead of the Cats and win by at least 10.

Furman at ETSU 12PM (SOCON Network)

The Furman Paladins are still looking for that elusive win. Now at 0-6, for the first time since 1955, they may be able to get one this week against the struggling Bucs of ETSU.  ETSU started the season well, but continue to falter and are now 2-3.

Furman has been hit a bit with injuries on defense. But they are expected to get back some talent this week and that it not good news to the Bucs.  ETSU has scored a total of 14 points in the last 3 games.  The Bucs are averaging just 253 yards a game  QB Austin Herink has gone 78/127 and 3 TDs with 2 interceptions.  ETSU is also gaining just 98 yards per game on the ground.  Furman has been giving up yards and it has held opponents to about a 40% 3rd down conversion rate.  But as mentioned previously, its competition has been pretty severe to date including Mich St, The Citadel, UTC, Coastal Carolina, and Samford.  The Massey Computer ranks their schedule as the 4th toughest in FCS.

Meanwhile Furman, who has struggled early in moving the ball, seems to finally be doing better.  They are now averaging 342 yards a game and are scoring a bit more as well.  The change came when Reese Hannon took over as QB in the UTC game.  They still have an anemic running game totaling just 88 yards per game, but against an ETSU defense that gives up over 200 a game they might find some success.  The Bucs are giving up 400 yards a game total.  ETSU has gotten to the opposing QBs for sacks just 8 times this year.

Turnovers have plagued Furman as they have surrendered 5 fumbles and 10 interceptions on the year so far.  In one bright spot for the Paladins, they lead the SOCON in fewest penalties with 43 yards a game.  ETSU has held on to the ball well and is at +2 for the year.

As dismal as Furman may feel right now, they didn’t look that bad this past week against Samford.  At this point, they have got to be ready to put a game together.  With ETSU struggling, this may well be the game to get that win and the Paladins may go big to get some frustration out of their system.  Furman will prevail by at least 28.

Big Sky Week 6: Review and Power Rankings

Big Sky

Another week in the Big Sky and another week that Eastern Washington put up gaudy stats on some hapless team. This time that hapless team was Northern Colorado. The Bears are looking like a much improved team this year, but they simply did not have the fire power to compete with Eastern Washington. Gage Gabrud turned in another fine performance, totally a little over 500 total yards and five touchdowns. The Eagles are loaded with weapons on offense. Their defense, however, ranks among the worst in all of FCS. It should be an interesting matchup on Halloween weekend when Montana, with a top ten defense rolls into Cheney to take on the Eagles.

Speaking of Montana, the Grizzlies looked dominant in their win over Mississippi Valley State. Granted, the Delta Devils were a really bad team who does not even fully fund their team, they have 41 scholarships available to their players. However, Montana put up 67 straight points on the Delta Devils after giving up an opening drive touchdown. Montana’s defense was the star of the show by holding the Delta Devils, who average 14 yards per game rushing to -61 yards rushing. Needless to say, that’s a pretty solid effort from the Grizzlies.

In other news, Bruce Barnum hoped for a big crowd in Ogden this week for when his Portland State Vikings went on the road to take on Weber State. In another effort of Bruce Barnum opening his mouth his Vikings were once again beaten in Utah. Eventually he’s going to learn to keep his mouth shut, as his team does not seem capable of cashing the checks his mouth is writing.  At least he makes for some good sound bites throughout the week.

Northern Arizona and Montana State had a nice tussle in Bozeman over the weekend. The Bobcats needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and the Lumberjacks needed a win for a chance at remotely saving their season. The Lumberjacks, playing without star quarterback Case Cookus managed to pull off a victory in Bozeman. The Bobcats struggled in many parts of the game, unable to generate a lot of offense. The Lumberjacks rode the legs of Joe Logan to the tune of 147 yards and two touchdowns for a win. The Bobcats are now in an 0-3 hole in conference play.

Scores

Mississippi Valley State 7
Montana 67

Northern Colorado 31
Eastern Washington 49

Northern Arizona 20
Montana State 14

UC Davis 3
Southern Utah 24

Portland State 10
Weber State 14

North Dakota 40
Sacramento State 7

Big Sky Player of the Week

Gage Gabrud of Eastern Washington is the Big Sky player of the week this week. Gabrud completed 33/39 passes for 435 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 11 carries for 79 yards in their victory over Northern Colorado.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

Gage Gabrud, QB, Eastern Washington. 33/39, 435 yards, five touchdowns. 11 rushes, 79 yards.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington. Five receptions for 59 yards.
John Santiago, RB, North Dakota. Eight carries, 76 yards, 1 touchdown.
Case Cookus, QB, Northern Arizona. Did not play.
Emmanuel Butler, WR, Northern Arizona. Seven receptions for 68 yards.
Joe Protheroe, RB, Cal Poly. Bye.

Big Sky Power Rankings

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

Looking Ahead to Week 7

Next week will get started with Southern Utah heading to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota. This game has some pretty big implications in the Big Sky for the playoff picture going forward. Expect a good one here. Montana State will head to Weber State. Sacramento State will head to Missoula to take on Montana. Cal Poly goes north to take on Portland State. Northern Colorado will take on UC-Davis. Idaho State will head south to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona.

Final Thoughts and Hot Takes

– There is a definite three way race at the bottom of the Big Sky for worst team. I honestly can’t even pick who’s the worst, they all have their .. qualities.

– But at the top of the Big Sky it looks like it’s Eastern Washington and Montana.. everyone else is back in the pack.

– Big win for Northern Arizona in Bozeman this weekend, they needed a win just to try to right the ship. But on the other hand, bad loss in Bozeman this weekend for the Bobcats. Should have been a game they capitalized on.

– Northern Colorado put up a fight in Cheney this weekend for a while. The Bears might be improving.

– Gage Gabrud is piling up a lot of big numbers this season. Dangerous through the air and on the ground. Hard to think what’ll happen when Cooper Kupp really gets going again. Gabrud, in my opinion, is the leader in the clubhouse for Big Sky offensive player of the year right now.

– Montana did some baaaaad thing to Mississippi Valley State this weekend. A very outmatched MVSU team, sure, but that was a pretty healthy beating. Not sure I’ve ever seen a worse team in Washington-Grizzly Stadium in the 12 years I’ve been attending games. There might be a couple.