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.

BIG SOUTH: Week 6 Review

Hurricane Matthew caused a little drama this week but turned out to have only minor significance.

(2-3) Liberty                       BYE

Liberty had the weekend off which saved the Flames from playing in the steady rain that fell over most of Virginia and the southeast US last weekend.  It’s just as well.  Fire and water don’t mix.  Badum-bum.

 

(3-2) Charleston Southern v. Albany State                           CANCELLED

Due to Hurricane Matthew, CSU and Albany State had initially agreed to move this game up from Saturday to Thursday evening.  However, that became impossible when South Carolina’s governor began issuing evacuation orders for all coastal localities on Tuesday.  Despite CSU being 25 miles inland and not in real danger of a storm surge, cancelling the game was obviously.  Most of the Lowcountry was left with localized flooding, especially on roadways, and without power.  Obviously, not the best environment for a football game.

The cancellation of a game against a D2 opponent doesn’t especially hurt CSU’s strength of schedule bu what is a little bit interesting here is that Albany State was the game that CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell was supposed to sit out as part of the penalties for CSU’s bookstore scandal which is still in need of a catchy name (Kindle Kerfuffle?  Nope.  We’ll get there).    CSU has five games remaining on the schedule and, at this point, the two most likely candidates for Chadwell to miss are the Bucs’ upcoming home dates with Presbyterian or Bucknell.  The argument for Bucknell is that it’s the only non-conference game left on the slate and, therefore, the least meaningful.  The argument for Presbyterian is that, while PC is a Big South game, they are also the next game coming up and, for right now at least, PC is one of the weaker teams in the country.

 

(4-2) Monmouth 59, (1-5) Howard 27   

Monmouth got off to a slow start offensively against Howard.  After the Bison scored a touchdown on their first possession, Monmouth was already down a score before their offense took the field.  Their first drive went 3-and-out and their second drive took five and a half minutes off the clock but only went 31 yards and netted the Hawks a field goal.  Fortunately, Monmouth’s offensive style of running the ball mixed with a short passing game suited the wet, windy conditions well as did the fact that Howard features one of the worst defenses in America.  RB Lavon Chaney returned, wearing what looked like a flak jacket under his jersey to protect his rib injury, and looked as nimble as ever.  Chaney was crucial in the early going for Monmouth and, at the end of the first quarter, he was the guy carrying the ball into the end zone for MU’s first touchdown and a lead they would never relinquish.

And that’s the last we saw of him.   Chaney didn’t appear to be re-injured but he didn’t return to the game either.  In fairness, it was obvious the Hawks weren’t going to need his services to be successful on the day so the decision not to play Chaney after the first quarter was likely simple discretion on the part of the coaching staff.  In his absence, the Monmouth backfield just went off:

  • Every Monmouth running back that touched the ball scored at least one touchdown
  • Every Monmouth running back not named Chaney had at least 65 yards rushing
  • Backup RB’s Ed Royds and Michael Jolly had 4 touchdowns and 247 yards rushing between them…on 13 carries. That’s 19 yds/carry

Through the air, QB Cody Williams had 188 yards passing on 22 completions without playing in the second half.  It’s worth noting that most of Williams’ passes were completed within just a few yards of the line of scrimmage but the Hawks receivers picked up a huge amount of yards after catch.  Credit goes to the Monmouth players playing to the whistle but these offensive numbers also reflect just how astonishingly terrible is the Howard defense.  Exactly how bad is it?  One play should illustrate it:

Deep in MU territory late in the third quarter, Jolly took a handoff going around the left side of the line and 5’8” 185 slot WR Darren Ambush tried to get out in front to block for him.  Ambush ran up next to the Howard safety who simply fell down when Ambush got close, taking out the middle linebacker as well.  Ambush kept running and caught up to the Howard spur who also promptly fell down.  Ambush kept going, trying to get in front of a Howard corner who had the last shot at stopping Jolly.  Ambush couldn’t quite get there but he was apparently close enough because that guy fell down, too.  On one 78-yard play, the smallest person on the field “took out” four Howard defenders without ever actually touching a single one of them.

Defensively, things weren’t so rosy for Monmouth.  Howard’s offense is significantly more stacked with playmakers than their defense isn’t.  HU RB Anthony Philyaw is an outstanding talent out of the backfield and he rolled up 234 yards rushing and three touchdowns by himself.  Monmouth simply had no answer for him other than to hold the ball and score themselves.  A ten-minute TOP advantage aided by weather and Howard’s sob story of a defense did the trick.

What does this win mean for Monmouth? – The stats from this game are eye-popping but a bit misleading based on the opponent.  The important thing, however, is that the win keeps the Hawks’ positive momentum going into a short week and Big South conference play.

 

(4-1) Kennesaw State 49,  (3-3) Missouri S&T 16

After hammering Furman, KSU returned home to face their second D2 school of the year with the visiting Miners of Missouri S&T.  (For the record, it’s a ten to twelve-hour bus ride from Rolla, Missouri to Kennesaw, Georgia.  You’ve got to love football to be able to deal with that.)   Despite giving up a long touchdown pass on the third play of the game, it was all KSU in the early going.  The Owls scored on their first possession to tie the game and then got another INT from DB Dante Blackmon – his fifth of the year – and KSU got the ball into the end zone again to take a 14-7 lead.  Just inside the beginning of the second quarter, KSU QB Chandler Burks punched the ball into the end zone from a yard out to give Kennesaw their third straight scoring drive and a commanding 21-7 lead.  Unfortunately, Burks seemed to spend the rest of that quarter trying to keep the Miners in the game.  On KSU’s next play, Burks pitched the ball directly to a defender who took it the other way to get the visitors back within eight points and, on the series after that, Kennesaw put together a lengthy drive that ended when Burks made another errant pitch on 3rd down followed by taking a sack on 4th down.  That allowed Missouri S&T to kick a field goal and close the gap to 21-16 just before halftime.

The third quarter, however, was a different story.  Burks hit WR Xavier Harper for a deep touchdown pass on the second play of the second half and the KSU defense held the Miners to 20 total yards in the quarter and ended their fourth quarter threats by blocking a field goal, recovering a fumble and getting a 4th-down sack.  In the meantime, Burks and the offense put together several late clock-eating drives for touchdowns that put 21 more points on the board and, essentially, buried the visitors in the fourth quarter.

What does this win mean for Kennesaw? – It’s a positive but it wasn’t impressive.  KSU was easily the dominant team but their first-half focus was not at that level.

 

 (3-3) Gardner-Webb 24 (1-4) Presbyterian 3

This game turned out to be significantly less affected by Hurricane Matthew than anticipated which probably worked in Gardner-Webb’s favor.

G-W QB Tyrell Maxwell had a banner night with 222 yards passing to go along another 155 yards on the ground.  More impressively, all those yards came on just 18 plays (7 completions, 11 rushing attempts) for an average of nearly 21 yards per play from the arm or legs of Maxwell.  He wasn’t the only one by any means.  RB Khalil Lewis added another 100+ yards rushing and a touchdown while WR Kyle Horton had 131 yards receiving and a touchdown on just three catches.  All in all, it was a quick-strike big-play night for the G-W offense.

Meanwhile, the Presbyterian defense just could not avoid giving up the big play.  Maxwell heaved a 74-yard touchdown on his first play and hit TE Mike Estes for another 64 yards on his next pass.  After Maxwell’s first two passes went for 138 yards combined and it looked like Gardner-Webb was going to simply walk over PC, the Blue Hose defense firmed up.  Instead of being in a two-touchdown hole after just three plays, it was 10-0.  PC made the ten-spot stand until halftime and got a field goal right before the break to head to the locker room only down 10-3 in a situation that could have been a lot worse.  If not for DB Kevin Green curling into the fetal position around Mike Estes’ right ankle and DB Robert Baker slapping the ball out of Lewis’ hand at the goal line, PC would have found themselves in a three-touchdown hole at the break.

As it was, however, the damage was done for PC.  After their field goal drive late in the second quarter, Presby got no farther than the G-W 28-yard line the rest of the game.  Maxwell broke loose for an 87-yard touchdown run late in the third and Lewis added his score in the fourth to get the gaudy stats and the final score but the Blue Hose offense never really mounted a credible threat.  QB Ben Cheek started his first game for Presbyterian since September 17th at Chattanooga and threw for 124 yards on 29 attempts while RB Darrell Bridges got 67 yards on 19 carries.  That amounted to a lot of short gains that kept the clock moving but not a lot of actual movement down the field.  Despite holding the ball for more than 32 minutes, not turning the ball over and not taking sacks, PC only earned ten first downs for the entire game.

What does this win mean for Gardner-Webb? – They’re 1-0 in conference but, also, Gardner-Webb is hitting their stride at a really good time.

What does this loss mean for Presbyterian? – PC has long hung their hat on defense when/because the offense was struggling.  That defense just isn’t there this year due to a combination of youth and injuries and the offense is less dynamic than ever.  The Blue Hose need to figure something out fast.

SLC: Week 7 Preview

Week 6 in the Southland turned out to be an interesting one, as Sam Houston let Incarnate Word hang with them for a bit, but pulled out a 63-48 win, while SFA and Nicholls went to double OT, with Nicholls getting a 35-28 win, and Southeastern Louisiana pulling a heartbreaker on McNeese, taking the victory 31-24. Let’s take a look at the week 7 matchups:

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Southeastern Louisiana at Stephen F Austin

It’s homecoming in the Piney Woods as the Lumberjacks host the Lions. Southeastern Louisiana comes off of a last second victory over McNeese, getting the game winning score on a 82 yard touchdown with 8 seconds left on the clock. Justin Alo threw for 339 yards, and Southeastern had a fumble recovery for a touchdown as well. They look to be clicking as they head into Nacogdoches to take on the Lumberjacks. SFA is on a two game skid after taking a loss to Nicholls in double overtime. SFA went up early on the Colonels, but then the Nicholls defense turned it on and held SFA scoreless until the second half, and a fumble in the second OT frame sealed the win for Nicholls. SFA still is running a quarterback by committee, as Zach Conque took most of the snaps vs Nicholls. When one team is clicking, while the other has questions, it’s hard to pick the latter over the former, so I think Southeastern takes this and crushes any post season hopes SFA has remaining. Final score, SLU 38-31 over SFA.

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Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State

Sam finally gets a home game after being on the road for the past three weeks, and they look to keep the undefeated season going vs the winless Wildcats. Sam comes off of a 63-48 win at Incarnate Word, and Sam definitely had troubles with the Cardinals, as Sam’s offense was scoring so fast, it was keeping their defense out on the field for long stretches of time. Jeremiah Briscoe is without a doubt the best quarterback in the conference, and with him at the helm, Sam looks to have an undefeated season. Their next true challenge is vs Central Arkansas in November. Abilene Christian’s woes just continue, as Lamar ran them out of Shotwell Stadium 38-10. ACU went for 187 on the ground, but couldn’t get their passing game going, only getting 119 yards through the air. ACU’s defense allowed Kade Harrington and the Cardinals to go for 309 yards on the ground, with Harrington amassing 149 of them. I cannot imagine that ACU has the same effect on Sam that Incarnate Word did. Sam takes this big, 63-21.

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Central Arkansas at McNeese

If there is one team who is feeling pretty good right now, it’s Central Arkansas. After the week one loss to Samford, UCA has turned it on, blowing out their opponents and getting a FBS win over Arkansas State. UCA is averaging 39 points per game versus allowing 21, and they have been very balanced in their attack, amassing almost 1,200 yards in both rushing and passing. Coming off of the bye, they should be very focused to go play in the Hole. McNeese is coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Southeastern Louisiana, in which they allowed a last second 82 yard touchdown that sealed the win for the Lions. McNeese has had their struggles this year, and I think you can attest them to getting used to a new coach and new system. One thing they have going for them is a solid win over Nicholls, and they tend to play very well in Lake Charles. Quarterback James Tabary has a 137 efficiency rating, throwing for 12 touchdowns while only tossing 3 picks. If McNeese can get their passing game going, they might give UCA some fits and perhaps can give the DWA (Defense With Attitude) some breathing room. It’s definitely the game of the week in the Southland, and I think UCA inevitably takes this one 34-24.

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Northwestern State at Lamar

Northwestern State comes into this game on a high, after finally getting their first win of the year over division 2 Kentucky Wesleyan 49-7. Northwestern State has struggled this year moving the ball on offense, while their defense has just been porous, giving up over 400 yards of offense per game. They travel to Beaumont to take on the Cardinals, who are coming off of the aforementioned win over Abilene Christian. Lamar’s Kade Harrington is one of the best running backs in the country, but their passing game is not strong, so if Northwestern State can stop the run, they could have a chance to pull the upset. I don’t think it happens, Lamar wins big 42-7

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Nicholls State at Houston Baptist

Nicholls State is looking to make it two in a row in conference as they head to Houston to take on the Huskies. The Colonels are coming off of a double overtime win over SFA, in which their defense took control of the game. Overall, the Nicholls defense has kept them in for most of the games they have played, forcing 8 interceptions, and playing lights out. They have a pretty tough task in the Huskies, who surprisingly aren’t the doormat they have been in the conference. HBU has been able to move the ball on the ground, but their biggest weakness is their secondary. They have given up over 1,400 yards in the air, and if Nicholls can air it out, it could be a long day for the Huskies. Nicholls will take this, 24-17.

AGS Poll: Top 25 Week 6 Results

Week 6 left the AGS poll relatively calm as the only change within the entire top 10 was Richmond and Montana swapping spots to settle in at #8 and #9, respectively. North Dakota State once again was the near unanimous #1 followed by Jacksonville State, Eastern Washington, Sam Houston State, and Chattanooga rounding out the top 5 in that order.

There weren’t any big risers on the week as no team moved up more than two spots. New Hampshire and Southern Utah both broke back into the top 25 after exiting earlier this year, coming in at #24 and #25, respectively.

The big fall of the week was Northern Iowa who fell 12 spots to #23 after being upset on the road at South Dakota. McNeese State and Illinois State dropped out of the top 25 after sustaining losses last week on top of already shaky resumes.

The Big Sky, CAA, and MVFC all had 5 teams represented in the Top 25 to lead the way in terms of conference representation. They were followed by the SOCON with 3 teams and the OVC and Southland who each had 2 teams in the top 25.

Full results below:

Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes Previous Wk.
1 North Dakota State Bison 1999 79 1
2 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1849 2
3 Eastern Washington Eagles 1835 1 3
4 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1735 4
5 Chattanooga Mocs 1708 5
6 James Madison Dukes 1558 6
7 The Citadel Bulldogs 1423 7
8 Richmond Spiders 1396 9
9 Montana Grizzlies 1386 8
10 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 1199 10
11 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 1165 12
12 Youngstown State Penguins 1095 13
13 Villanova Wildcats 1058 15
14 Western Illinois Leathernecks 963 16
15 Cal Poly Mustangs 843 17
16 Albany Great Danes 813 14
17 Central Arkansas Bears 650 18
18 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 584 20
19 Samford Bulldogs 575 19
20 Harvard Crimson 411 21
21 Eastern Illinois Panthers 377 22
22 North Carolina A&T Aggies 344 23
23 Northern Iowa Panthers 268 11
24 New Hampshire Wildcats 238 26
25 Southern Utah Thunderbirds 170 27
ORV:
26 Stony Brook Seawolves 130 29
27 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 49 36
28 Wofford Terriers 44 39
29 Grambling State Tigers 28 32
30T South Dakota Coyotes 19 NR
30T Tennessee State Tigers 19 28
32 McNeese State Cowboys 14 24
33 Illinois State Redbirds 13 25
34 Sacred Heart Pioneers 10 35T
35 Indiana State Sycamores 9 31
36T Missouri State Bears 5 33
36T Monmouth Hawks 5 NR
36T Sacramento State Hornets 5 NR
39 William & Mary Tribe 4 35T
40 Fordham Rams 1 NR
Fell Out Of Poll:
Cornell Big Red
Dartmouth Big Green
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Wagner Seahawks

 

Most Significant Win:     Richmond Spiders

Most Significant Loss:    Northern Iowa Panthers

AGS GOTW: Week 6 | Richmond at Albany

The AGS Game of the Week  could not be contained by four quarters of play. The Spiders and Great Danes needed three overtime periods to settle this important CAA battle. The teams traded scores all day with neither team leading by more than seven points all day. The game was brought to an end by an errant pass from Albany QB Neven Sussman on 4th and 2 in the third overtime.

Both teams entered the game looking for their second conference win of the season. Albany was undefeated coming into the game and was 1-0 in CAA play. This game was a chance for the Great Danes to show that they were truly contenders for the CAA crown in 2016. For Richmond, this was an important game for them because they had already suffered a CAA loss to Stony Brook in their third game of the season.

Albany started the scoring for the day on a 19 yard run by Sussman to put them up 7-0. Richmond would counter with a field goal and would not score their first touchdown of the game until just before halftime when running back Deontez Thompson scored on a 1 yard run with 16 seconds left on the clock. The teams traded blows back and forth and Albany would force the tie for overtime with a 51 yard pass from Sussman to Jordan Crockett with 1:17 left in regulation.

Both teams had turnovers issues on Saturday. Sussman and Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta each threw 2 interceptions and Lauletta also lost a fumble in the 2nd quarter.

The Great Danes struggled on offense in this match-up. Even with three overtime sessions the Spiders held them to their lowest rushing total of the season at a meager 83 yards. Sussman went 11 for 33 through the air for 207 yards, a career high for the sophmore. He ended the day with 1 passing touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown and 2 interceptions. Albany running back Ibitokun-Hanks was held to 34 yards on 16 attempts and 1 touchdown with a long run of 9 yards. Zee Roberson would lead the Danes in receiving with 5 catches for 98 yards.

For the Spiders a lot of the credit has to go to the defense. Making Sussman beat them with his arm was clearly a good strategy at 33% completion percentage and 2 interceptions. Offensively for Richmond Deontez Thompson was the highlight of the day with 20 rushes for 112 yards and 3 touchdowns. All 4 touchdowns for the Spiders came from their running game.

Moving Forward:

Richmond faces another tough battle this coming week when they return to Robins Stadium for Homecoming against Villanova. The Spiders hold their playoff and CAA championship destiny in their hands.

Albany can bounce back next weekend when they hit the road to take on the Maine Black Bears. Maine got off to a rough start but has rebounded and they are now on a two game win streak. The Great Danes can still secure the CAA auto-bid with losses by Richmond and James Madison (in which case it would go to conference tiebreaker procedures).

 

Patriot League: Week 6 Review and Power Rankings

Week six of the season saw three teams get off to 1-0 league starts. Bucknell did so in the weekend’s most exciting game. The Bison used a second half rally to take down Holy Cross in Worcester. Lehigh also won their first league game. The Mountain Hawks took down defending Patriot League champion Colgate 45-31 to extend their winning streak to 4 games. Chase Edmond’s record setting day propelled Fordham to an easy win over league foe Lafayette. The junior tailback set the single game rushing record as well as the Patriot League mark for career points. In the only non-conference game, Georgetown’s offense once again struggled in a 31-17 loss to Princeton.

Lehigh 45 Colgate 31

The Mountain Hawks (4-2, 1-0) made an early league statement against defending champion Colgate (1-4, 0-1). Lehigh used a third quarter burst to pull away in the earliest meeting between these two rivals since 1997. The win was Lehigh’s 4th in a row overall and 4th in the last 6 meeting meetings against Colgate. The Raiders have now lost three in a row after a dominating win over Yale a month ago. Their defense continues to be a major area of concern (38, 39, 45 ppg allowed) during the losing streak. To be fair, the Raiders have faced some of the top offenses (Richmond, Lehigh) in FCS

It didn’t take long for Colgate’s defense to a hit. After receiving the opening kickoff, Lehigh went on 4 play 64 yard drive in 1:44 to jump ahead 7-0. Nick Shafnisky (27-40 394 yards 5 TDs 1 INT), who returned after missing the Yale game, hit Gatlin Casey (11 rec 196 yards 3 TDs) in the back of the end zone from 33 yards for the score. Colgate’s offense, and Lehigh’s defense for that matter, weren’t to be outdone. Jake Melville (9-23 248 yards 2 TD 1 INT, 18 carries 151 yards 1 TD) took the Raider’s first play from scrimmage 75 yards for a TD on a perfectly executed zone read play. The two teams would trade interceptions before Colgate once again mounted a scoring drive. This time Melville connected with Thomas Ives on a 59 yard TD to give Colgate a 14-7 lead. The Raiders extended their lead to 17-7 with 9:57 to go in the 2nd quarter on Jonah Bowman’s 22 yard FG. The Mountain Hawks responded with a key TD drive before half time. For the second time, Shafnisky found Gatlin Casey for a score to cap an efficient 10 play 61 yard drive in just over 2 minutes.

The Mountain carried the momentum from the late TD over to the second half. Shafnisky (27-40 394 5TDs 1 INT) directed another productive drive which ended with a 25 yard Ed Mish FG that tied the game at 17. Lehigh retook the lead (24-17) midway through the 3rd quarter when Shafnisky found Casey for a 59 yard TD. Following a Colgate 3 and out the Mountain Hawks offense put together an impressive 8 play 70 yard drive that ended when Shafnisky rolled out and found a diving Troy Pelletier (6 rec 102 yards 1 TD) in the end zone for a 31 yard TD to extend the lead to 31-17. Colgate immediately answered with a 4 play, 75 yard scoring drive. Kenyon Washington (25 carries 107 yards 1 TD) found the end zone from 14 yards out to close the Raider deficit to 7 points. What came next was arguably the play of the game. Gatlin Casey received the ensuing kickoff and proceeded to race up the home sideline for a 92 yard TD that pushed Lehigh’s lead back to 14 points. After stopping Colgate on 4th down, the Lehigh offense put the game away with 8:40 left in the game when Shafnisky found RB Dominic Bragalone on swing pass that resulted in a 25 yard TD.

Colgate RB James Holland missed his second game in a row with an injury. It was determined late last week that Lehigh’s Quentin Jones will miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious concussion last week against Yale.

Up next: Lehigh hits the road to face Georgetown Saturday afternoon at Cooper Field. Lehigh is 15-0 against the Hoyas in Patriot League competition. Colgate will also be traveling. The Raiders will be playing their 5th road game in six games when they pay Bucknell a visit.

Fordham 58 Lafayette 34

It’s become nearly impossible to use the correct adjective to describe Chase Edmond’s greatness. The junior RB outdid himself in the Patriot League record books in the Rams win by rushing for 359 yards on 17 carries in Fordham’s (3-2, 1-0) win over Lafayette (1-5, 0-2). The 359 yards broke the previous mark of 347 yards he set against Lehigh last year. The performance helped get Fordham back on track after last week’s disappointing loss to Monmouth. Meanwhile, Lafayette’s misery continues. The Leopards have not won since taking down Central Connecticut on September 2nd to start the year.

Things did not start out poorly for the Lafayette Saturday afternoon. Phillip Parham had a pick six less than two minutes into the game to give the Leopards an early 7-0 lead. The Leopard lead was short lived however. It only took Fordham 2 plays and 30 seconds to respond on their next drive. Edmonds notched his first TD of the game from 29 yards out to tie the game. Fordham would take the lead on their next drive. Ram QB Kevin Anderson (12-18 181 yards 3 TDs 1 INT, 10 carries 108 yards 1 TD) broke free for a 33 yard rushing TD with 7:16 left in the 1st quarter. The Leopards closed the gap to 14-10 when Jacob Bissell hit a 35 yard FG to cap a grinding 10 play 49 yard drive that took a little over a 3 minutes off the clock. The two teams would trade TDs on their next possessions to finish off a wild 1st quarter with Fordham leading 20-14 ( FU missed 2 pt try).

The Rams would take control of the game in the 2nd quarter. Edmonds got things going 57 seconds into the quarter when he scampered for a 19 yard TD. Following a Leopard FG, Edmonds exploded for a 74 yard TD to extend the Fordham lead to 34-20. After a Lafayette interception, Anderson tossed his second TD pass of the day. This time he found Rob Cantelli from 22 yards out to give Fordham a commanding 41-20 lead heading into the locker room.

Following a Lafayette 3 and out to start the second half Edmonds went back to work. This time the sensational RB exploded for a 65 yard TD to give Fordham a 48-20 lead with 13:02 left in the 3rd quarter. Makay Redd would push the Rams point total over 50 when he connected from 44 yards out midway through the 3rd quarter.

Edmonds broke two more records in the win. His 21.1 yards per carry average bested VMI’s Gene Brown (1988) 19.07 average. His 372 points scored also set the Patriot League record. The previously benchmark (358) was owned by Colgate’s RB Jordan Scott.

Lafayette QB Blake Searfoss (25-41 325 1 TD 2 INTs) started for second game in a row while injured Drew Reed recovers.

Up Next: Fordham will host Yale for their final non-conference game of the year. Yale (1-3) is coming off a surprising 21-13 win over Dartmouth.

Princeton 31 Georgetown 17

On a rainy day in Washington D.C. the Princeton Tigers (3-1) handed Georgetown (3-2) their second straight defeat. It happened to be the Hoyas second loss in a row by the score of 31-17 (lost to Harvard last week). A limited offense continues to hold the Hoyas back in their attempt to notch a signature win this season. Not having the services of starting QB Tim Barnes did not help matters. Clay Norris (13-26 103 yards 1 INT), who filled in Barnes last week, struggled in the defeat. The Hoyas also failed to get the ground game going (88 net yards). It was Princeton’s second win over a Patriot League team this year (beat Lafayette & Georgetown, lost to Lehigh).

Georgetown used a terrific special teams play to get on the score board first. Hunter Kiselick broke through the middle of the Princeton line and blocked the Tiger’s 42 yard FG attempt. Jelani Williams scooped up the ball and returned it 51 yards to give the Hoyas a 7-0 lead midway through the 1st quarter. The Tigers would miss 4 FGs on the day. Princeton would respond on their next drive. Backup QB John Lovett finished off a 7 play 69 yard drive with a 1 yard quarterback sneak to tie the game at 7. Lovett would score his second TD of the day on the Tiger’s next drive to extend the lead to 14-7. The second string signal caller would put his arm to use early in the second quarter on a 3 yard TD toss to Graham Adomitis to push the lead to 21-7. Georgetown would climb back into the game on their next drive. Alex Valles’s (13 carries 91 yards 1 TD) 13 yard TD run finished off an impressive 6 play 75 yard drive. Both defenses would hold serve the rest of the half.

The Tigers would come out locker room swinging. Their defense forced a 3 and out on Georgetown’s first possession of the second half. The Princeton offense then proceeded to march 58 yards on 8 plays for a TD. John Lovett notched his third short TD run of the day to give the Tigers a two possession lead. Princeton pushed their lead to 31-14 on their next drive when Tavis Rice hit a 22 yard chip shot FG. The Hoyas could only muster up a FG the final 30 minutes of the game. Of their 7 second half possessions, 5 ended in a punt, 1 on downs and the other was the before mentioned FG.

Up Next: The Hoyas will look to halt their two game losing skid next Saturday when Lehigh visits Cooper Field. Georgetown has not beaten Lehigh since 1925.

Bucknell 21 Holy Cross 20

The Bison (2-3 1-0) used a dominating second half to notch an important league win over Holy Cross (2-4 1-1) in Worcester. The Crusaders, who were playing without all league QB Peter Pujals for the second straight week, stormed out to an early 17-0 before the Bison rallied. Geoff Wade (2-7 37 yards) started the game at QB for Holy Cross but was replaced by Blaise Bell (11-23 81 yards 1 TD) in the first half. Bucknell also turned to backup QB Matt Muh. The junior made his second straight start for the injured R.J. Nitti. Muh’s job was made easier by RB Joey DeFloria’s (28 carries 149 yards) 3rd 100 yard rushing game of the year. Fellow Bison star WR Will Carter also had a big day in the victory. The senior broke the school record for receptions and receiving yards.

The Crusaders scored first by using a little razzle-dazzle following Jake Wieczorek’s 53 yard punt return to the Bison 24 yard line. All everything Crusader playmaker Brandon Flaherty executed the flanker pass to perfection when he found Wieczorek (3 rec 61 yards 2 TDs) for a 24 yard TD. Holy Cross extended their lead to 14-0 a few possessions later on Wieczorek’s second TD reception of the day. This time Blaise Bell connected with senior WR on a short TD pass to finish off a time consuming 12 play 44 yard drive. Zane Wasp booted a short 23 yard FG a few minutes later to extend the Holy Cross lead to 17-0 with 8:34 left in the second quarter. Bucknell answered with an impressive 10 play 81 yard that took over 5 minutes off the clock to get on the score board. Joey DeFloria capped it off by plowing into the end zone from a yard out. The Crusaders however weren’t done putting up points in the first half. Zane Wasp knocked through his second short (32 yards) FG of the day to send the Crusaders to the locker room with a 20-7 lead.

The second half would be dominated by the Bucknell defense. The Bison forced 4 straight Holy Cross 3 and outs to start the half and held the Crusaders to 72 totals over the course of the final 30 minutes. Bucknell’s offense didn’t get things going until their final possession of the third quarter. That’s when the Bison put together an impressive 5 play 80 yards drive that ended with Chad Freshnock’s 3 yard TD run to close the deficit to 20-14 with a little under 2 minutes left in 3rd quarter. Freshnock’s second TD of the game gave Bucknell their first lead with 6:37 left in the final quarter. Holy Cross would mount their best drive of the second half on their ensuing possession but it would all be for not. Zane Wasp missed the potential game winning 42 yard FG wide right with 3:39 left. Holy Cross had one last chance but were stopped on downs.

Up Next: The Bison will look to make it 2-0 in Patriot League play when they welcome Colgate to Christy Mathewson Stadium. Bucknell’s last win over Colgate in Lewisburg came in 2006. Holy Cross will host Harvard for their final non-conference game of the year.

Power Rankings

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

 

 

 

AGS Top 25 – How They Fared Week 6 2016

This is the incomparable tool put together each week by our friend on AGS for use by the voters in our poll.  It is a very useful tool we all utilize.  Even if you are not a voter it will provide a quick and concise review of the weekend’s happenings.  This is a very truncated version of the full sheet available on anygivensaturday.com each Saturday night.

superman7515, we tip our caps to you!

Rank Team Week 6 Result Total Points First Place Votes Overall Record Conference Record
#1 North Dakota State Bison Won at #33 Missouri State Bears 27-3 2199 87 5-0 2-0
#2 Jacksonville State Gamecocks Won vs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 40-21 2025 4-1 1-0
#3 Eastern Washington Eagles Won vs (ORV) Northern Colorado Bears 49-31 2023 1 5-1 3-0
#4 Sam Houston State Bearkats Won at Incarnate Word Cardinals 63-48 1919 5-0 4-0
#5 Chattanooga Mocs Won vs (ORV) Mercer Bears 52-31 1852 6-0 4-0
#6 James Madison Dukes Won vs #34 William & Mary Tribe 31-24 1698 5-1 3-0
#7 The Citadel Bulldogs Won at (D2) North Greenville Crusaders 38-14 1547 5-0 3-0
#8 Montana Grizzlies Won vs Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils 67-7 1480 4-1 1-1
#9 Richmond Spiders Won at #14 Albany Great Danes 36-30 (3OT) 1458 5-1 2-1
#10 Charleston Southern Buccaneers Cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew 1278 3-2 2-0
#11 Northern Iowa Panthers Lost at South Dakota Coyotes 25-28 1220 2-3 1-1
#12 South Dakota State Jackrabbits Won at Southern Illinois Salukis 45-39 1207 3-2 2-0
#13 Youngstown State Penguins Won at #25 Illinois State Redbirds 20-6 1061 4-1 2-0
#14 Albany Great Danes Lost vs #9 Richmond Spiders 30-36 (3OT) 1060 4-1 1-1
#15 Villanova Wildcats Won vs Rhode Island Rams 35-0 1046 5-1 3-0
#16 Western Illinois Leathernecks Won vs #31 Indiana State Sycamores 36-35 1031 4-1 1-1
#17 Cal Poly Mustangs BYE 925 3-2 1-1
#18 Central Arkansas Bears BYE 622 4-1 3-0
#19 Samford Bulldogs Won at Furman Paladins 38-21 491 4-1 2-1
#20 North Dakota Fighting Hawks Won at Sacramento State Vikings 40-7 413 4-2 3-0
#21 Harvard Crimson Won vs #30 Cornell Big Red 29-13 388 4-0 2-0
#22 Eastern Illinois Panthers Won vs #28 Tennessee State Tigers 35-34 266 4-2 2-1
#23 North Carolina A&T Aggies Won vs Norfolk State Spartans 35-0 253 4-1 2-0
#24 McNeese State Cowboys Lost at Southeastern Louisiana Lions 24-31 242 3-3 2-2
#25 Illinois State Redbirds Lost vs #13 Youngstown State Penguins 6-20 174 2-4 0-3
Next 15
#26 New Hampshire Wildcats Won at Elon Phoenix 13-10 154 4-2 3-0
#27 Southern Utah Thunderbirds Won vs UC Davis Aggies 24-3 129 3-2 2-1
#28 Tennessee State Tigers Lost at #22 Eastern Illinois Panthers 34-35 127 4-1 1-1
#29 Stony Brook Seawolves Won at Towson Tigers 27-20 91 3-2 2-0
#30 Cornell Big Red Lost at #21 Harvard Crimson 13-29 50 3-1 1-1
#31 Indiana State Sycamores Lost at #16 Western Illinois Leathernecks 35-36 32 3-3 1-2
#32 Grambling State Tigers BYE 23 4-1 3-0
#33 Missouri State Bears Lost vs #1 North Dakota State Bison 3-27 21 3-2 1-1
#34 (t) Sacred Heart Pioneers BYE 15 4-1 0-1
#34 (t) William & Mary Tribe Lost at #6 James Madison Dukes 24-31 15 2-4 0-3
#36 Lehigh Mountain Hawks Won vs (ORV) Colgate Raiders 45-31 14 4-2 1-0
#37 (t) Dartmouth Big Green Lost at Yale Bulldogs 13-21 10 2-2 0-2
#37 (t) Wagner Seahawks Lost vs Columbia Lions 13-15 10 3-2 1-0
#39 Wofford Terriers Won at Western Carolina Catamounts 31-19 9 4-2 2-1
#40 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Lost at Nicholls State Colonels 28-35 (2OT) 7 3-3 2-2

 

Perfection: We are down to five undefeated teams: Chattanooga, The Citadel, Harvard, North Dakota State, and Sam Houston State. Running the table in reverse is Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Bethune-Cookman (who have really fallen off since Brian Jenkins left for Alabama State), Delaware State, Furman, and Mississippi Valley State.

Chattanooga and The Citadel play each other next weekend, Bethune-Cookman and Delaware State play just before Halloween, so at least two teams will fall off the list.

How Close Is Close: A few teams lost this week, to teams they were supposed to lose to, in close games. So how do you rank them? For example: #9 Richmond beat #14 Albany, at Albany, by 6 points in triple overtime… Does Albany drop, or does that mean we had Albany in the right spot, and they stay where they are?

Not just #9 Richmond/#14 Albany have me wondering; #16 Western Illinois over #31 Indiana State 36-35 and #22 Eastern Illinois over #28 Tennessee State 35-34 fit the bill this week as well.

The Coaches Poll : South Dakota State should probably be getting the 14 points from South Carolina State, which would move them up to #14 from #15. They might even get the 13 points from the South Dakota Coyotes, which would still have them at #14, but just 2 points behind Youngstown State. That being said, I put in the results that they published, even if it does continue to look like they aren’t paying attention to what their voters are sending in.

Biggest Disappointment? Who would you say is the biggest disappointment through the first half of the season? I’m leaning towards Colgate, who goes from preseason Patriot champs to mid-season Patriot chumps, with a 1-4 record and no chance of seven D1 wins thanks to a 10-game schedule.