Patriot League: Week 5 Preview

The fifth week of the season signals the start of league play. That’s a welcome relief for Holy Cross and Lafayette who enter their game each having lost three straight to out of conference foes. Meanwhile, Colgate and Lehigh face their final Ivy League opponents of the year before their showdown in Bethlehem next week. Georgetown puts their 3-0 record on the line Friday night against a ranked Harvard squad in Cambridge. Finally, Fordham takes a 90 minute drive to Monmouth University for an intriguing battle with the Hawks. Bucknell will be enjoying a much needed bye.

 Georgetown at #24 Harvard – 30 Sept. 7:00 P.M Harvard Stadium Cambridge, MA

(ESPN3)

The Hoyas put their 3-0 to the test on Friday night against Ivy League favorite Harvard (2-0). The Hoyas have gotten off to their best start in 17 years by using a stout defense (15 ppg) and a fairly soft schedule (Davidson, Marist, Columbia). The 24th ranked Crimson will certainly be a jump up in weight class. Especially in Harvard Stadium where they’ve lost three games this decade. If Georgetown wants to be in position to steal a win they’ll have to rely on the on the recipe (15 ppg, +5 turnovers) that has propelled them so far this season.

Harvard enters the game having swept the state of Rhode Island (Rhode Island & Brown) to start the year. Georgetown’s defense will be put to the test by a Harvard offense that has been tough to contain. Senior QB Joe Viviano (3 TDs 0 INT) is averaging 247 ypg passing and another 64 ypg game on the ground. Not bad for a guy who did not start a game until this year’s opener against Rhode Island. WRs Justin Shelton-Mosley (15 rec. 88 ypg) and Anthony Firkser (11 rec. 96 ypg) have combined to be a force in the passing game. The Hoya’s will also have to contend with junior RB Semar Smith (98 ypg 3 TDs). Georgetown’s rush defense (103 ypg) has excelled in September. How they handle Harvard’s balance will go a long way in determining their fate.

Georgetown’s offense has been pedestrian at best through three games. QB Tim Barnes has done a good protecting the ball and making some key plays with his arm (6 TDs) when needed. He’ll need to have his best game of the year in order for the Hoya’s to escape Cambridge with a win. Their already so-so rushing attack doesn’t figure to have much success against a stout Harvard front that features 3 of top DL (Doug Webb, Miles McCollum, James Duberg) in the Ivy League. They’ve been a major reason why opponents are rushing for a mere 88 ypg.

A Georgetown win would be a game changer for a program that is always searching for something positive to grasp on to. The 3-0 start is nice but it hasn’t caused the Hoya’s to be noticed because of the level of competition. Taking down the Crimson on their home field would turn plenty of heads around the nation.

Of Note: This will be the third straight year the teams have met. Harvard has won the two previous meetings rather easily (34-3 ’14, 45-0 ’15). Those are the only two times Georgetown and Harvard have met.

Fordham at Monmouth – 1 Oct. 1:05 P.M. Monmouth Stadium West Long Branch, NJ

(ESPN3)

Fordham (2-1) takes the 70 mile bus ride to East Central New Jersey to take on the Monmouth Hawks (2-2) for an intriguing match-up between Patriot League and Big South conference members. Monmouth notched a 23-21 win over Lehigh to open the year. They backed that up with a win over Delaware State but it’s been a bumpy road since then having lost their last two. Their most recent loss (35-7) came at home against Big South favorite Charleston Southern. The Hawks offense was stymied by the Bus stout defense all game. It will need to be much better Saturday against the high scoring Fordham Rams.

Fordham seems to be picking up steam as out of conference play wraps up. The Rams jumped on Penn early last week then used several key defensive stops to preserve a 31-17 win. Chase Edmonds (152 yards 3 TDs) once again keyed the Rams attack. The super talented junior RB will be the best individual player Monmouth has faced so far this year. That is not good news for a Hawk rush defense that is giving up 190 ypg.

Surprisingly, the Hawks were able to hold Edmonds under 100 yards rushing last year. It was their pass defense that let them down. Ram QB Kevin Anderson torched them for 340 yards and 5 TDs in the 54-31 Fordham win. Through 4 games Monmouth’s pass defense (123 ypg) has been among the best on the country. The unit is led by safety Mike Basile who might be the best player at his position in the country.

Monmouth will need QB Cody William to be at his best this week if Monmouth hopes to keep up with Fordham. The sophomore was knocked out of the game against Kent State two weeks ago and completed less than 50% of his passes against CSU. He’s had a running back by comity behind him that’s provided the ground game. Lavon Chaney and Zach Welch have basically split the carries down the middle. The Monmouth Hawk offense should be a good test for a Fordham defense that really doesn’t know what they have yet given their schedule (only 1 FCS opponent). In general, the unit played well in last week’s win over Penn.

This will be the third meeting all-time between the schools. Monmouth won 23-9 in 2006 while Fordham evened the series 54-31 last year. Given the two school’s proximity to one another they should play far more often.

Of Note: Since the start of the 2012 season Fordham is undefeated against FCS out of conference teams not named Villanova. The Wildcats are 3-1 against Fordham in that time while the rest of FCS is 0-15.

Cornell at Colgate – 1 Oct. 1:05 P.M. Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY

(Patriot League Network)

The two Central New York academic powers meet for the 98th time on Saturday afternoon in a now enticing football matchup. Cornell has been the surprise team in the Ivy League so far with their 2-0 start (1-9 previous two years). The Big Red enter their game with Colgate (1-2) off an impressive 27-13 win over Yale. It was Cornell’s first win over Yale since 2012. That was also the last time they won their Ivy League opener. If Cornell wants to beat Colgate for the first time since 2007 they need to have every facet rolling. Colgate will want to get the bad taste of last week’s 38-31 gut wrenching loss to Richmond out of their mouth. It will also be Raiders first home game of 2016.

If Cornell wants to pull the upset they need to figure out a way to slow down the Raider offense. Colgate has had no trouble putting up points (55 pts vs Yale, 31 pts vs Richmond) the last two weeks. They were able to overcome a poor passing performance last week by Jake Mellville ( 5-22 57 yards 3 INTs) with timely special teams and a steady ground game. Mellville made up for his struggles in the passing game by leading the Raiders ground attack with 97 yards a TD. James Holland chipped in with 74 yards on 16 carries.

The Big Red defense has provided plenty of resistance (14 ppg) through two games but they haven’t faced a team with as many weapons as Colgate. OLB Jackson Weber has been the defensive leader so far. The senior LB is going off an exceptional game against Yale (9 solo tackles, 1 INT, 1 TFL).

Cornell QB Dalton Banks will look to build off his excellent game against Yale (23-32 306 yards passing 2 TD, 52 yards rushing). Banks was named Ivy League offensive player of the week for his performance against the Eli. He did an excellent job spreading the ball around. Twelve different Cornell players caught a pass in the win. That’s not good news for a Colgate defense that was chewed up by Richmond’s quarterback last Saturday. That game was just a continuation of the Raider’s trouble stopping teams through the air (306 ypg) early in the year.

Of Note: Colgate did not host Cornell until the 34th meeting. Thirty-two meetings were held in Ithaca with Syracuse and Richfield Springs hosting the other two. To this day, Cornell still hosts the rivalry more often than Colgate.

Lehigh at Yale – 1 Oct. 1:30 P.M. Yale Bowl New Haven, CT

(Ivy League Digital Network)

The second Patriot League vs Ivy League battle of the day features two teams heading in opposite directions. Lehigh (2-2) is coming off of two consecutive impressive performances against the Ancient Eight (Penn, Princeton). The Lehigh offense has put up 40+ points in both wins. Yale on the other hand enters the game reeling. The Eli are off to their first 0-2 start since 1997. They have no started 0-3 since 1993 when legendary coach Carmen Cozza was still on the sidelines. The Eli offense (253 ypg, 15 ppg) must have a breakout performance if they want right the ship against the Mountains Hawks. A still work in progress Lehigh defense might be the perfect remedy for the Yale’s woes on “O”.

Yale desperately needs junior QB Rafe Chapple to get things going. His play to start the year has been underwhelming to say the least. Through two games he’s averaging 98 yards a game passing and has a 5 INTs to just one passing touchdown. He might not be able to out-duel Lehigh’s Nick Shafnisky (3rd in the country in passing yards) but improved play is a must if Yale wants to have a chance to pull the upset on Saturday.

The same can be said for the running back Dale Harris and DeShawn Salter (rushed for 233 yards and 2 TDs against Lehigh last year). The rushing attack figured to be a strength heading into the year but through the first two games the two RBs are averaging less than 60 yards combined per game. The Mountain Hawk run defense (allowing 243 ypg) might again provide an opportunity for both backs to get going.

The Eli defense figures to have their work cut out against a Patriot League offense for the second time this year. After yielding 55 points to Colgate to open the year they must contend with another explosive unit. Lehigh averaging 584 yards a game in their last two wins. They’ve been able to do it via the air and the ground. Talented junior WR Troy Pelletier has really stepped up his play (156 ypg last two games) after starting the year slowly. The Yale defense has been led by secondary mates Hayden Carlson (22 TOT) and Jason Alessi (15 TOT) to start the year.

Of Note: Yale leads the all-time series 17-6. The Eli have won 5 out of the last 6 meetings against Lehigh. Prior to Yale’s recent run of success the Mountain Hawks won five straight.

 Holy Cross at Lafayette – 1 Oct. 3:30 P.M Fisher Field Easton, PA

(Patriot League Network)

Both teams begin Patriot League play on three game losing streaks. Holy Cross (1-3) heads to Easton off of a disappointing performance at home against Dartmouth. To make matters worse, the Crusaders enter Saturday’s game against Lafayette (1-3) unsure who their QB will be. Peter Pujals hurt his ankle in the second quarter against the Big Green and never returned. Backup QB Blaise Bell is also nursing an injury. If those two can’t go or aren’t effective Holy Cross might have to rely on sophomore Geoff Wade to lead the way.

Lafayette has also seen their fair of struggles. Their issues have primarily been turnovers and a lack of a running game (57 ypg). QB Drew Reed has been impressive at times this season but key interceptions (7 INTs) have kept him from really taking off. Part of the problem has been the anemic rushing attack putting most of the offensive load in his shoulders. That could change against a Holy Cross defense that’s allowing 237 ypg. If Lafayette could find some balance on offense they could a dangerous team as conference play heats up.

How the Crusaders attack Lafayette is anyone’s guess. If Pujals does play his mobility figures to be severely limited. The two other quarterbacks (Wade and Bell) are relative unknowns at this point. One thing Holy Cross has going for them is the return of Brandan Flaherty last week. The dynamic WR could be a huge difference maker for a team searching for playmakers on offense. The Crusaders could also use a RB to step up and provide some balance against a physical Lafayette defense. The Leopard D might not be overly impressive statistically due the offense’s struggles but it has the ability to make offenses really work.

There’s no doubt Lafayette will be looking for revenge for last year’s 42-0 embarrassment in Worcester. Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani openly stated this week that he and his players have carried that memory for 12 months.

Of Note: Lafayette owns the all-time series lead 16-14. Perhaps no victory was bigger than their 1988 win over the then nearly unbeatable Crusaders. It would be Holy Cross’s only Patriot League loss from the start of 1986 (when the league was formed) until November 7, 1992 when Lafayette got them again.

The FCS Wedge – 2016-0929 – SLC SotC Show

What the heck is “SotC”?

State of the Conference.  These are short 8 to 10 minute shows we will be doing every once in a while.  Should be a different conferences each week if I got my guess right.  This week, it is the SLC.

The crew brings in reporter Mr. Dustin Helton from thefcswedge.com to discuss what is going on right now with the SLC as well as what you might want to watch for in the near future.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

MVFC: Week 5 Preview

MVFC Logo(in my best John Facenda voice…that’s the NFL Films guy)

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, where every Saturday is a battle. It doesn’t matter what the rankings are; it doesn’t matter if you’re the 5-time defending national champions or a team that only won one game last year, because in this league, upsets happen all the time. In this league, we pride ourselves on tough defenses, hard-nosed running games, and winning the game in the trenches. This is the land of deafening domes and frozen tundra; fighting for playoff spots in blizzards and trying to call out plays when you can’t even hear yourself think. This is Missouri Valley football.

(how’s that…one take…we good?)

Last week the conference matchups technically began with a battle of ISU’s, but this week, the conference kicks it into high gear with all ten teams in action against one another. Here are the matchups for this Saturday (all times listed in Central and all rankings from the AGS Weekly Poll):

#19 Illinois State at #1 North Dakota State – 1 PM
Missouri State at #21 Indiana State – 2 PM
South Dakota at #15 Youngstown State – 3 PM
#34 Southern Illinois at #13 Northern Iowa – 4 PM
#6 Western Illinois at #17 South Dakota State – 6 PM
All games available on ESPN3/WatchESPN.com

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#19 Illinois State (2-2) at #1 North Dakota State (3-0) – 1 PM

First up, we have the ISU Redbirds traveling to Fargo to take on the Bison of NDSU.

Illinois State is now 2-2 on the season after starting off hot by beating Valparaiso handily, taking down Northwestern, but then losing to OOC rival Eastern Illinois and at Indiana State. North Dakota State is 3-0 after beating Charleston Southern and Eastern Washington, both in OT and both at the Fargodome, and then heading down to Iowa City to take down the (at the time, #13 FBS ranked) Hawkeyes. Last weekend, the Bison had their bye.

In general, ISU has had a fairly stingy defense (allowing 14.6 points per game) in the first three games, but was unable to contain Indiana State’s surprisingly potent offense, allowing 34 points against the Sycamores. Still, ISU’s strength is their defense…currently the 8th best in the FCS in terms of total yards allowed, with a focus on passing defense…allowing 165.8 yards per game through the air and 113 yards per game on the ground. This defense is led by a pair of talented linebackers in Sr. Alejandro Rivera (32 tackles, 1 sack, 1 int) and Sr. B.J. Bello (29 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles), as well as preseason All-MVFC DB Junior Alec Kocour (28 tackles, 1 int).

Offensively, the Redbirds are down significantly from the last couple of years, although they’re still fairly decent (that’ll happen when you lose two key pieces of one of the best offenses in the FCS) and are ranked 35th in the FCS for yards per game. Their passing offense is a bit stronger than the running side of things this year, being 49th in rushing offense, but only 30th in passing offense. This is headlined by QB Jake Kolbe and WR Anthony Warrum. Warrum has picked up 403 yards and 2 TDs this season through the air. Rushing-wise, the top guy is RB George Moreira, who’s averaging 60 yards per game (6.9 yards per carry) and has 3 TDs so far.

Now for the Bison. Even if you consider them a bit down from the last year or two (young QB, two games going to OT), there’s still very little that NDSU does poorly. I would say that this year, it looks like their real strengths are their ground defense, punt coverage, and the ability of their offense to grind away at a defense (something most of us have probably seen them do time and time again). Currently they have the #1 punt defense, averaging allowing -4 yards per punt (there’s only 5 FCS teams with a negative number there, and most don’t have anywhere near the strength of schedule that the Bison do, with the possible exception of Eastern Kentucky, who’s played two FBS teams…not very good FBS teams, but still, FBS teams).

I think NDSU’s defense probably took a little bit of a hit with the loss of preseason All-MVFC LB (and legitimate NFL prospect) Nick DeLuca with a season-ending shoulder injury, but the Bison have always been all about the “next man up” and they’ve never seemed to have a problem filling a hole with a player who can get the job done. DeLuca was leading the team in tackles with 26, but you’ve got a few others that aren’t slouches either. SS Robbie Grimsley is now active team leader in tackles with 20, 1 sack, 1 int, and 1 forced fumble. Past that, they have 3 other defensive players with interceptions and another with a forced fumble. Really, though…a large part of the defensive strength is the front line, headed by preseason All-MVFC (as well as a slew of other awards) DE Greg Maynard.

Offensively, QB Easton Stick is well qualified to step into the role vacated by current Eagles star QB Carson Wentz. He’s less of a passing QB than Wentz was, but can still make things work (as evidenced by the 3-0 start). Stick has only put up 191.7 yards per game and 5 TDs through the air, but he also has 46.7 yards per game and another TD on the ground, so he can scramble pretty well when the need arises. Primary receiving targets are WRs Darrius Shepherd and RJ Urzendowski, who are both averaging over 45 receiving yards per game and have 3 receiving TDs between them. The primary focus of the offense is to use the run game to grind down the opposing defense as well as the clock. They do this with a combination of the running QB as well as a pair of talented RBs in Lance Dunn and King Frazier. Both Dunn and Frazier average over 70 yards per game, Dunn has 2 TDs, and Frazier has 3.

So, looking at all of that, plus the fact that the game is at the Fargodome, I think definitely gives the advantage to the Bison. Due to MVFC scheduling, ISU hasn’t played a game at the Fargodome since November 2013. They did play NDSU in the FCS championship game two years ago in “Fargo South”, but that’s not quite the same as actually being in the dome…on Homecoming…coming off a Bison “upset” of a highly-ranked FBS team. NDSU seems like they usually get hit with one “speed bump” just about every season, usually a loss to an unexpected MVFC team, but I don’t think this one’s it. I think that the Bison will shut down the Redbird’s offense and come away with a win by a couple of scores.

TL:DR – North Dakota State by 14

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Missouri State (2-1) at #21 Indiana State (3-1) – 2 PM

Hey Bears, shouldn’t your record be 2-½? MSU is coming off a loss at K-State in a game that was called at halftime due to the weather (it was already well on it’s way to a blowout at that point anyway) and without their starting QB due to…let’s call them “legal issues”. Meanwhile, Indiana State had a great weekend, beating the Illinois State Redbirds in Terre Haute, IN in a close, exciting game.

ISU QB Isaac Harker has been something of a “breakout success” so far this season, putting up rather impressive numbers for a player that many outside of western Indiana hadn’t been paying much, if any, attention to. Harker currently is 5th in the FCS in passing TDs and 9th in passing yards. To be fair, the two ISUs have had one more game to play than the rest of the conference teams, but even in terms of yards per game, Harker is 16th in the FCS…not too shabby for a team that was expected to finish probably lower-middle of the conference. ISU has two receivers currently averaging over 77 yards per game, WRs Bob Pugh (82 ypg and 1 TD) and Robert Tonyan (77 ypg and  5 TDs). Pugh does double-duty, also returning kicks, making him the team leader in all-purpose yards with 154.3 per game. The Sycamores don’t have much in the way of a “big yardage” rusher, but RB Roland Genesy can get the job done when needed, averaging just under 59 yards per game but also putting up 3 TDs. He had 2 of them against Illinois State, both from 2 yards out, so it sounds like the Sycamores generally look to move the ball downfield primarily with passing, but then call on Genesy to punch the ball in for the score once they get close.

On the other side of the ball, LB Jameer Thurman leads a defense that, while not always looking that strong on paper (allowing 438.8 yards per game), has been able to make some key plays in specific situations to help them win games. Thurman leads the team with 32 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery. ISU has four other players with over 20 tackles this season, but it was the sack by Redshirt Freshman LB Jonas Griffith that caused the Illinois State fumble and sealed the win for the last weekend.

Missouri State, despite having a 2-1 record, has been struggling the last…well…decade. It did seem like they were starting to get better this year, but with the stuff going on this last week, it’s hard to say if they’ll be able to sustain any of it, or if they will sink back to the position of MVFC whipping-boy. It’s actually really hard to determine much from their offensive statistics, since their starting QB, who was putting up 212 yards per game, has been suspended indefinitely (as of this “going to press”) and the backup QBs who got playing time against K-State didn’t do so well, because K-State is a halfway decent Big 12 team and MSU is not NDSU or UNI. It looks like they spread the ball around a bit on the ground, with three players averaging between 44 and 52 yards per game (TBs Calan Crowder, Nick Masoner, and Jason Randall). Their current top receiver is Malik Earl, with 42.3 yards per game, although it remains to be seen if the combination of Brodie Lambert (likely the new starting QB for the foreseeable future) and Earl will be able to put up decent numbers against a FCS team.

Things look a little better for the Bears on the defensive side of the ball, with the 8th best rushing defense in the FCS, allowing 89.3 yards per game on the ground. They are currently 18th in the FCS for passes intercepted with 5 so far this season and they’re allowing 19 points per game, good for 13th. The defense is led by preseason All-MVFC LB Dylan Cole with 22 tackles, 1 int and 1 forced fumble. LB McNeece Egbim is next with 18 tackles, ½ sack, and 1 int. DL Colby Isbell currently leads the team in sacks with 2.5 and has a total 5.5 tackles for loss resulting in 27 yards of “receding offense”. MSU also has a pretty good kick returner in Deion Holliman, who’s currently 9th in the FCS with 31.5 yards per return and has return for a TD so far this season.

I think that overall, things are looking much better for the Sycamores than they are for the Bears right now, both on the field and off, and that will help lift ISU to a win by a relatively wide margin.

TL:DR – Indiana State by 20

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South Dakota (1-2) at #15 Youngstown State (2-1) – 3 PM

South Dakota is off to a 1-2 start after losing at FBS New Mexico, then beating Weber State in a come-from-behind, 2 OT victory, and then laying a 4th quarter “egg” by giving up 17 points in the 4th and last couple of minutes of the 3rd quarter to force another pair of overtime sessions, this time against North Dakota and this time ending in a USD loss. Youngstown State is 2-1 with solid wins over Duquesne and a really bad (sorry RMU fans) Robert Morris. Their only loss was to FBS West Virginia in a game that was tied at halftime and required a career performance by WVU’s QB to pull away in the second half.

The South Dakota Coyotes (that’s kai-oat, just fyi, there’s no “eee” sound at the end of it) are led offensively by dual-threat QB Chris Streveler. Streveler is putting up 169 yards per game and 9 TDs through the air, but also 115.7 yards per game and 4 TDs on the ground…he’s actually 8th in the FCS in rushing yards per game currently. His two primary receivers are WRs Shamar Jackson and Riley Donovan, both with between 41 and 46 yards per game; Jackson with 4 TDs and Donovan with 2. Overall they have been putting up 406.7 yards per game, 227.3 of it rushing and 179.3 of it with passes, so they’re primarily a “run-first” team.

Defensively, USD is giving up 459.7 yards and 48 points per game (both put them in the bottom 20% of the FCS. Most of that is their 117th ranked rushing defense, allowing 267.3 yards per game. LB Jet Moreland, Alex Coker, and Jim Litrenta, and DB Jacob Warner each have between 22 and 25 tackles this season, Warner with a forced fumble and fumble recovery, and Coker with 3 sacks with a net result of a 20 yard deficit for opposing offenses. USD’s kicking game is very strong, with Sr. K/P Miles Bergner currently averaging 47.9 yards per punt (leading the FCS) as well as being 4-4 on FGs (three in the 30-39 yard range, and one from 50 yards).

Their opponent, Youngstown State is a bit harder to track on the offensive side of the ball. Their top rusher, TB Martin Ruiz, has been pretty consistent, averaging just over 100 yards per game and has 4 TDs so far. Beyond that though, their starting QB, Ricky Davis,  was held out of their last game due to concussion symptoms, and their other primary rusher, TB Jody Webb sat out for a couple of games, I assume after getting a bit banged up in their opener. What I do know is that both those guys will be back this weekend after having a bye week to heal up, so the offense that USD sees will be somewhat different than the one that played against Robert Morris.

YSU has one of the better D-lines in the business, headlined by MVFC preseason All-Conference DE Derek Rivers, who along with DE Avery Moss, who each have 2 sacks and combined have 10 QB hurries, so they’re both pretty good at getting in there and pressuring opposing QBs. SS Jameel Smith currently leads the team in tackles with 17. Overall, the Penguins have the 6th best rushing defense in the FCS, allowing only 85.3 yards per game on the ground, although they do give up 231 yards per game through the air.

Overall, I think this matchup leans heavily towards a Penguins victory. YSU is weak against the pass, but against a run-first offense like USD’s, they should be able to shut them down pretty effectively. With YSU being also a very run-heavy team (and good at it) against USD’s horrible run defense, I think that YSU will mostly just do that all day, with occasional passes thrown in there to “spice things up a bit” and keep the USD defense spread out a little. I don’t really see this one going USD’s way at all, so I think they’ll fall by a couple of scores. Side prediction: YSU goes to town on USD’s run defense and puts up over 300 yards on the ground alone.

TL:DR – YSU by 12

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#34 Southern Illinois (2-1) at #13 Northern Iowa (1-2) – 4 PM

SIU and UNI…these two MVFC/MVC foes have a long history of competitive games in a variety of sports, although the last couple of years (at least on the football field and the basketball court) the Panthers have held the advantage. SIU is 2-1 after a fairly close season-opening loss at FBS Florida Atlantic, then beating Southeast Missouri State and Murray State (so, SIU is now 2-0 in the Ohio Valley, I suppose). UNI kicked off the season with a win at in-state FBS “doormat” Iowa State, but then followed that up with losses at home against a good Montana team and then out on the “Inferno” against Eastern Washington…honestly, I think so far, Iowa State has been the easiest opponent UNI has faced, which really says something about the strength of the top teams in the FCS this year.

SIU’s offense is led by Senior transfer QB Josh Straughan. Straughan is averaging 307 passing yards and 2 TDs per game, good for 5th in FCS in ypg. I looks like the receptions are spread around quite a bit, with 3 WRs all getting 12 or more catches so far this year and all having between 48 and 60 yards per game. WR Billy Reed has 2 TDs and WRs Connor Iwema and Jimmy Jones each have 1. Rushing the ball is primarily RB Daquan Isom, who has been putting up 84.67 yards per game and has 1 TD, and Jonathan Mixon who has 2 TDs this season. The Salukis’ offensive production of 497 yards per game is good enough for 7th in the FCS.

On defense, the team tackles leader is preseason All-MVFC LB Chase Allen who has 29 tackles, 3.5 for loss (1 sack) and 1 forced fumble. DE Deondre Barnett only has 12 total tackles so far, but has 4 for loss (3 sacks), and 2 forced fumbles. Overall, they’re giving up 388.7 yards and 25.7 points per game (both roughly middle-of-the-pack in the FCS). They are a bit better at their run defense, holding teams to 145.3 yards per game as opposed to 243.3 yards through the air.

The Salukis currently have the best kickoff return game in the country, averaging 34.1 yards per return…mostly based on the play of Freshman RB DJ Davis, who has had 9 returns at 34.33 per return and kick returned for a TD.

While SIU is strong in the passing game, UNI is strong in the running game. QB Aaron Bailey doesn’t put up huge passing numbers, averaging 167.67 yards per game and passing for 2 TDs, but it’s on the ground where he can really burn an opposing defense. Bailey is averaging 74.33 yards per game running the ball and has 3 rushing TDs. They also have RB Tyvis Smith with 83.67 yards per game and 1 TD. When Bailey does pass, he frequently targets WRs Jaylin James (9 catches w/ 43.67 ypg) and Daurice Fountain (11 catches w/ 39.67 ypg and 1 TD). Previously mentioned RB Tyvis Smith also gets in on the receiving game with 9 catches, 24.33 yards per game, and 1 TD.

The Panthers defense is headlined by preseason All-MVFC DL Karter Schult. Schult currently leads the FCS in both tackles for loss (12) and sacks (6.5) as well as having 21 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 1 safety. Other defensive stars include DB A.J. Allen with 24 tackles, and (son of the Head Coach) Jared Farley with 22 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 interception. UNI boasts the 5th best rushing defense in the country, only giving up 67.3 yards per game on the ground, however, they do seem to be vulnerable to the passing game, giving up 238 yards per game.

I think that this game will go a long way towards showing if UNI is really not as good of a team as most people thought they’d be this year, or if they’ve just been matched up with incredibly tough teams all season so far (I know the second one is true…a Big 12 team, and the current #3 and #11 ranked FCS teams…everyone would have a tough time with that schedule). It’s definitely going to be an interesting game with an interesting mix of matchups. The one that I see as being key to this game though, is SIU’s rushing offense against UNI’s run defense. UNI has a HUGE advantage here and I think they’ll use it to their advantage to shut down the run, put pressure on the QB and force him into uncomfortable positions. That, plus homefield advantage suggests to me a UNI win.

TL:DR – UNI by 10

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#6 Western Illinois (3-0) at #17 South Dakota State (1-2) – 6 PM

Disclaimer: I’m a huge Western fan and have been to all of the games so far this season, so my descriptions and info for WIU will be a bit of a different style, having seen them play in person.

The final MVFC game of the day matches up a surprisingly strong Western Illinois team (and yes, until they stop exceeding my expectations going into the season, I’ll keep calling them that) with an offensive powerhouse in South Dakota State. Western is 3-0 on the season, having defeated current #16 Eastern Illinois, #37 (in the ORV section) Northern Arizona, and holding off a late charge to take down the FBS NIU Huskies. SDSU hasn’t fared quite as well, although it’s also been against a couple of VERY good teams. They started the season by putting a bit of a scare into then FBS #13 TCU, being only 4 points down until nearly halfway through the 4th quarter, then beating Drake (although by not as much as I thought they would) and then losing a (at the time) surprising game against Cal Poly. Cal Poly has since demonstrated that they are much better than initially thought with a win over Montana, so that loss hurts the Jackrabbits a bit less than it might have at first. SDSU had a bye last weekend to sit at home and watch the Leathernecks play NIU to see what they’d need to get ready for.

The Leatherneck offense is run by QB Sean McGuire. A sophomore QB who won the starting job from 3-year starter Trenton Norvell (who’s still on the team), McGuire has put up 253.33 yards per game and has 4 passing TDs as well as 2 rushing TDs. Primary WR Lance Lenior is putting up 109.67 yards per game and 1 TD receiving, including a 231 yard day against Northern Arizona. The #2 WR Joey Borsellino has 61.67 yards per game, including 148 against FBS Northern Illinois last weekend. Sophomore Isaiah “Zeke” Lesure has caught 2 TDs and really has the ability to get up in the air to snag a high pass or way down low to grab a TD throw that’s going under a defender’s hands. Running the ball, it’s primarily the “McShane Show” with Sophomore RB Steve McShane currently sitting at an FCS-best 147.3 yards per game. McShane is also 6th in the FCS with 5 rushing TDs so far. Overall, the Leathernecks offense puts up 444 yards per game, 20th in the FCS and is fairly balanced in general. They put up a few more yards in the air than they do on the ground, but the ground game is the focus generally.

Defensively, the star is preseason All-MVFC LB Brett Taylor who is currently 4th in the FCS averaging 12 per game. Taylor also has 3.5 tackles for loss including 2.5 sacks, and 1 int and really has the ability to break through and put pressure on a QB. Sophomore DB Xavier Rowe is second on the team with 24 tackles. Looking at the defense overall gives some interesting numbers…check out these rankings for the Leatherneck defense (and then I’ll explain):

Total Defense – 481.7 ypg, 107th in the FCS
Passing Yards Allowed – 305.7 ypg, 113th in the FCS
Rushing Yards Allowed – 176 ypg, 75th in the FCS
Scoring Defense – 21.3 ppg, 26th in the FCS
Red Zone Defense – .444 scoring %, #1 in the FCS (and the only one under .500).

So, the best red zone defense, but one of the worst defenses in terms of yards allowed, especially through the air. How does that work? Western has a phenomenal front line and LBs, but the secondary is “suspect” at long range. Similar to last year, Western has been burned by long pass plays. If a team gets off a long play, usually a pass, and gets to the end zone, they score (duh). But, if the player gets taken down in the red zone, or the team is trying to conduct a sustained drive down the field and they reach the red zone, the Leatherneck defense is able to really step up and in the majority of situations, stop them from scoring, or at least, hold them to a 3 point attempt. Out of the 9 times that opposing teams have reached the red zone, they’ve only had 3 TDs and 1 FG, which means that 5 of the times, the opposing team came away with no points. Part of that was due to NIU having to go for it on 4th down to try to take the lead near the end of the game…twice…and twice they were turned away, but still, that was stopping an FBS team from getting a TD or even a FG.

A couple of other things that Western has going for it is turnovers and time of possession. Through 3 games, they have not lost the ball. Zero fumbles, zero interceptions. Combine that with the 4 turnovers that they’ve gained, and Western is 13th in the FCS in turnover margin. Also, because Western pretty much either forces a 3-and-out after a 1st down or two, or gives up a big quick play for a score, they are currently #2 in the FCS in time of possession, averaging 34:58 per game.

Now, onto South Dakota State. Like Western, SDSU has a very talented offense, although the Jackrabbits have a bit more of a pass focus. That’ll happen when you have a pretty decent QB and probably the second best WR in the FCS. The preseason All-MVFC WR Jake Wieneke is currently averaging 109.7 yards per game and has caught an FCS-high 8 TDs, which brings him to 35 career TD receptions and holds the SDSU record for that (and he’s only 3 games into his Junior year). In addition, they have an extremely talented TE who was also a preseason all-conference selection, in Dallas Goedert, who currently has 83 yards per game and 3 receiving TDs. The QB making those throws is primarily Taryn Christion, a sophomore who’s putting up 269.7 yards per game through the air and has thrown for 10 TDs and rushed for 2 more. Christion is currently 3rd in the FCS in points responsible for per game (that’s TDs he’s throwing + TDs he’s running for). What this adds up to is 290.3 total yards per game (16th in the FCS) and an offense that puts up 42.7 points per game (8th in the FCS).

As good as the offense has been, SDSU’s defense has kinda been heading the opposite direction (playing a couple of very good offenses though, so you should take it with a grain of salt). They allow 41.7 points per game and are giving up 524.3 yards per game, 247 through the air and 249 on the ground…all of which put them in the bottom 20% of the FCS rankings. SDSU has 3 players with 20 or more tackles: LB Jesse Bobbit with 29 and 1 interception, LB Cristian Rozenboom with 24 and ½ sack, and DB Nick Farina with 20.

So, up to this point, SDSU hasn’t had any trouble putting points on the board, but they have had trouble stopping opponents from doing the same. Western, on the other hand, is a little more balanced with a bit better defense, but not quite as good (but still pretty darn good) offense. Before the start of the season, I had Western’s game with SDSU penciled in as a loss for the Leathernecks, but given what I’ve seen so far this season, I think it’s much closer than I initially thought. I think that the teams will likely trade scores throughout the game resulting in a “whoever gets the ball last wins” type of game. Wieneke will have a big day receiving, McShane will have a big day running, but (and I realize that this is the “homer” in me) I think Western can come away with the win. It’ll be close…maybe even OT….but due to the ability to stop a drive in the red zone, I think that actually gives Western a slight advantage, even though the game is at SDSU.

TL:DR – Western Illinois by 3

FCS TV/Streaming Guide: Week 5

Provided by FargoBison on AGS again this week.

 

Solid FCS slate this week, games start Thursday with a MEAC battle on ESPNU. As usual all times are in central time and I’ve added the corresponding Direct TV channels

TV Guide:
9/29
Hampton at North Carolina A&T 6:30 p.m. ESPNU 208
9/30
Penn at Dartmouth 6 p.m. NBCSN 220
10/1
Princeton at Columbia 11 a.m. FCS Atlantic 608
Lehigh at Yale 12:30 p.m. OWC 623
Illinois State at NDSU 1 p.m. NBC ND
Cal Poly at North Dakota 1 p.m. MidcoSN
Bryant at Maine 2:30 p.m. FCS Central 608-1
Central Arkansas at ACU 2:30 p.m. Altitude 681
Towson at Richmond 2:30 p.m. Comcast Sports MA 642
UC Davis at E. Washington 3 p.m. Root Sports NW 687/Direct TV 601
Southern Utah at Montana 3:30 p.m. Cowles
Montana State at Sacramento State 8 pm Cowles

ESPN3
9/30
Hampton at North Carolina A&T 6 p.m.
10/1
Duquesne at Jacksonville noon
Mercer at VMI 12:30 p.m.
Illinois State at NDSU 1 p.m.
North Greenville at The Citadel 1 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Furman 2 p.m.
UT Martin at Tennessee State 2 p.m.
Wofford at Samford 2 p.m.
The Citadel at Western Carolina 2:30 p.m.
South Dakota at Youngstown 3 p.m.
Southern Illinois at UNI 3 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Sam Houston State 3 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Wagner 5 p.m.
Nicholls State at McNeese 6 p.m.
Western Illinois at South Dakota State 6 p.m.
Incarnate Word at Texas State 6 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana at Lamar 7 p.m.

ESPN Extra:
Illinois State at NDSU 1 p.m.
South Dakota at Youngstown 3 p.m.
Southern Illinois at UNI 3 p.m.
Nicholls State at McNeese 6 p.m.

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

Big South: Week 5 Preview (10/1)

(1-3) Presbyterian    OPEN

Presbyterian gets the week off to try and assess the damage.  Obvious areas of concern are the health of the quarterback position and the defensive line as well as rapid deterioration of the defensive unit as a whole.  On a couple of occasions in years past, PC head coach Harold Nichols has used the bye week to make wholesale changes to his team.  In 2011, he parted ways with his defensive coordinator during the bye and, in 2014, benched two veteran but ineffective quarterbacks in favor of freshman Hays McMath who ultimately led the team to four of their six wins that year.

What Presbyterian has to do in the bye week:  Get the defense squared away and give RB Darrell Bridges some time off.  Until the Florida Tech game, PC hadn’t given up more than 300 yards passing in nearly three years and FIT made it look easy.  A year ago Bridges rushed for over 1,000 yards but was hampered by injuries toward the end of the season.  Currently, he is ahead of that pace in number of carries but well behind it in number of yards.

Best case scenario for PC – The Blue Hose come out of the open date re-energized and re-focused for their next opponent, Gardner-Webb.

Worst case scenario – With no game to play, the home loss to a D2 program erodes the team and their support.

 

(3-0) Fordham @ (2-2)  Monmouth – Saturday, Oct 1st, 1:00pm ( ESPN3, Big South Network)

After getting blown out by Charleston Southern at home – again –, Monmouth returns to the scene of the crime to take on a very strong program from Fordham.

Fordham enters the game at 2-1 with a legitimate win over Penn in the books along with a loss to FBS Navy and an absolute 80-point pasting of D2 Elizabeth City State.  Monmouth and Fordham met a year ago at FU’s Jack Coffey Field and the Rams just ran roughshod over the visiting Hawks.  Fordham QB Kevin Anderson threw for more than 300 yards and RB Chase Edmonds added another hundred on the ground as Fordham took care of Monmouth 54-31.

Fordham returns both Anderson and Edmonds this season.  The Rams’ offensive numbers are a little skewed thus far on the season due to playing a good FBS and a bad D2 but the Penn game shows that the Fordham offense is pretty balanced run/pass, so Monmouth will have to deal with both equally on defense.

Monmouth comes into this game having won their first two games but now having lost two straight and needing answers on offense as well as a really good cloning program on defense.  Monmouth’s offense is built around rushing the football and a short, precision passing game.  With RB Lavon Chaney hampered by injury, Monmouth’s offense went just north of nowhere against CSU a week ago.  Part of that was the effectiveness of the CSU defense but part of it was also that Monmouth doesn’t have a real substitute for Chaney.  RBs Zach Welch and Ed Royds have tried to fill the void but simply aren’t the dynamic runner that Chaney is.   On defense, S Mike Basile was and continues to be an outstanding player.  The only problem is that there’s only one of him and no one else in the MU secondary comes close to his level of play.  Last Saturday, CSU seemed content to simply move the ball wherever Basile wasn’t.

What Monmouth has to do against Fordham:  Protect the end zone, not the field.  A year ago, Monmouth tried to pressure the Rams and they responded by scoring on big play after big play.  If Monmouth can be OK with giving up the midfield yardage, they can use the condensed space of the red zone to bog Fordham down and make them settle for field goals.  Offensively, the run game as it is isn’t working so they may as well open up the passing game with either quarterback, Cody Williams or Kenji Bahar.

Best case scenario for Monmouth against Fordham – Monmouth controls the tempo and field position of the game.  If the Hawks can turn this into a war of attrition, they have a chance.

Worst case scenario – Getting blown out at home two weeks in a row.  MU only has three home games on the year but, unfortunately, they’ve come against two of the stronger teams on the schedule.

 

(2-1) Kennesaw State @ (0-4) Furman– Saturday, Oct 1st  3:00pm EST (ESPN3)

Kennesaw takes to the buses for the first time this year and heads over to Greenville, SC to visit their neighbors at Furman University.  This will be the KSU’s first ever game against a non-scholarship opponent that offers at or near the full FCS limit of 63 scholarships.  Every other OOC game in the school’s history to this point has been against either lower division or limited scholarship programs.

Furman comes into this game as probably the best completely winless team in the country. The Paladins have had the misfortune of playing a top-25 FBS team (Michigan State), two top-25 FCS teams (Chattanooga & The Citadel) and a transitional FBS team (Coastal Carolina) to start the season.  With the exception of Coastal, Furman has played each of their opponents tough but, ultimately, have lost all four.  Furman has been hampered by injuries at the quarterback position and haven’t been very good at running the ball.  Other than that, their offensive and defensive numbers have been extremely even with their very high levels of competition.  It seems odd to say but the remaining two months of the season may be Furman’s easiest portion of the schedule, starting this week with Kennesaw State.

Kennesaw comes into this game in an effort to prove a). that I am a liar and Furman’s schedule is not any easier this week and b). that KSU is prepared to compete with the rest of FCS.  Last week, KSU quickly developed an offensive strategy of waiting for the Duquesne quarterback to throw the ball to the wrong-colored jersey, running the ball into the line on first and second down and then, on third down, throwing the ball up in the air for WR Justin Sumpter to go get.  And, if he didn’t catch it on third down, they just tried it again on fourth down.  That worked against limited scholarship Duquesne but that’s probably not going to be as effective against a tradition-rich program like Furman.  There’s also the question of who exactly KSU would have throwing the ball.  Third-team QB Daniel David performed well Saturday after second-team QB Chandler Burks’ face became suddenly and intimately familiar with the playing surface and he was forced to leave the game.  First-team QB Trey White has now missed three weeks with an adductor injury with no return date set in sight.  If Burks is cleared from what was at least an obvious concussion, then the Owls are in a good spot.  If not, it’ll be curious to see who KSU digs out of the inventory to be the backup to David.  There are five QB’s on the Kennesaw roster, one of whom is a true freshman that we can probably assume is being redshirted.  The other is redshirt junior Jantzen Jeffrey whose team headshot makes him look like an extra from the barfight scene in every 80’s karate movie.  KSU’s other QB option – no pun intended – is current starting FB Jake McKenzie who served as Trey White’s backup a year ago.

What Kennesaw has to do against Furman – Protect the football and protect the quarterback.  Kennesaw turned the ball over three times against Duquesne and were fortunate that only of them resulted in points for the Dukes.  Officially, Burks only took two sacks but Duquesne was all over him on every play.

Best case scenario for Kennesaw against Furman – No turnovers and KSU survives their fourth game of the year without using their fourth quarterback of the year.

Worst case scenario for Kennesaw against Furman – The game turns into a passing contest.  You wouldn’t normally think that’s likely from a triple-option team but that’s exactly what happened against DU.  But, FU is not DU.  Sumpter is an impressive weapon for KSU, he’s the Owls’ only proven target.  Furman has a greater variety of receiving options and two quarterbacks who have a lot more experience in the passing game.

 

(2-2)    Charleston Southern @ (3-1)   Coastal Carolina – Saturday, Sept 24th, 6:00pm (Chanticleer Sports Network)

While Coastal is no longer a member of the Big South Conference, they aren’t playing a Sun Belt schedule yet either.  Desperate to fill out their 2016 schedule, Coastal agreed to shell out a series of modest paydays that will see them play nearly all of their former conference mates once again this season.  As a result, this game against Charleston Southern, which had routinely been a rivalry contest with conference title implications played in mid-November, is now just another pay-for-play game on the first day of October.

Coastal isn’t at the full FBS allotment of scholarships yet but they do enjoy a depth advantage on most of their FCS opponents this season as well as an existing skill advantage on them.  However, against Jacksonville State two weeks ago, Coastal lost their starting quarterback for the season.  Subsequently, they went through three more QB’s in that game with none of them particularly effective so there was a real question as to what or who their solution was going to be.  After their most recent game against Furman, the answer to that question may be that they don’t need one.  Coastal got two touchdowns on special teams, another from the defense and 180 yards rushing and a touchdown from RB DeAngelo ‘Hop’ Henderson on their way to a 41-21 victory over hapless Furman.

CSU comes into this game after putting a thorough second-half pummeling on Monmouth.  Monmouth held the Buccaneers’ offense largely in check during the first half, due in part to some shaky play on the part of the CSU quarterbacks.  In the second half, however, it seemed that CSU made a concerted effort to get the quarterbacks out of the way and put the ball in the hands of their true playmakers, their running backs.

It will be interesting to see how Charleston Southern approaches this game.  CSU is 5-8 all-time against Coastal but have won two of the last three and there has, historically, been a great deal of bad blood between the two programs.  (**Just get a Coastal fan and a CSU fan in the same room, mention the words “Super Safety” and watch what happens.  It’s good entertainment.**)  However, with no other implications on the line and an all-important conference game already in hand, there has to be a slightly lower sense of significance this week.  On the other hand, should CSU slip up in conference, this will likely be their last opportunity to earn a quality non-conference win.

CSU still really hasn’t answered the question of who is the quarterback.  Shane Bucenell started last week against Monmouth but bowed out after a few series to Robert Mitchell.  Mitchell engineered CSU’s only touchdown drive of the first half but it was Bucenell who got the start after halftime and stayed in for the majority of the remainder of the game.  By the time, Mitchell came back in in the fourth quarter, the game was already well in hand.

What Charleston Southern needs to do against Coastal Carolina:  Attack.  Offensively, they gain nothing by letting their QB’s try to pick Coastal apart.  Defensively for CSU, Coastal’s fourth quarterback, Tyler Keane, is the starter now and, even if they shut down Henderson, the worst thing CSU can do is sit back and let Keane get into a rhythm.

Best case scenario for Charleston Southern – Turnovers aplenty.  The best way to neutralize the Coastal offense is to take the ball away and lock it in a safe place, i.e., the hands of the CSU running backs.

Worst case scenario for Charleston Southern – Revenge.  Most of the seniors on this Coastal team remember losing to CSU last year in a game that cost the Chanticleers their #1 ranking and, combined with a later loss to Liberty, their last shot at a conference title and a playoff seed in their last shot at a national title.  If Coastal goes off, this could get ugly.

 

(3-1) Benedict @ (1-3) Gardner-Webb  – Saturday, Oct. 1st, 6:00pm (Big South Network)

Gardner-Webb returns home for an evening date with the Benedict Tigers.  Benedict hails from D2 and the SIAC conference, a group that should be somewhat familiar to Big South fans by now.  In an odd coincidence, of the six games against D2 competition in the Big South this year, four of those opponents come from the SIAC.

In any event, Benedict was 0-10 in 2015 and carried a 12-game losing streak into 2016.  This year, however, Benedict has flipped the script and currently sits at 3-1 thanks in large part to a stifling defense.  The Tigers won their opening game by the whopping score of 5-3 and haven’t given up more than 19 points in a game this season.  They haven’t been all that superior to their opponents statistically but they are doing a fantastic job of defending the goal line, giving up only three touchdowns this year in the red zone.  Offensively, Benedict is all about running the ball and controlling the clock.  Their two leading rushers on the year are RB’s George Myers, Jr and Jeremy Johnson.  I bet you didn’t know:  Myers is 5’6” and weighs 175 pounds while Johnson is 5’11”, 270.  Standing next to each other, they must look like half a set of Russian nesting dolls.

Gardner-Webb comes into the game fresh off a visit to Ohio University where they were beaten soundly despite not playing poorly.  Ohio was so mechanically relentless in pressing their size and depth advantages that Gardner-Webb was powerless to put up much of a fight. This game against Benedict represents G-W’s final tune-up before conference play begins next week.  While Gardner-Webb hasn’t been anything special on defense so far this year, they should have enough in the tank to handle Benedict’s offense easily.  The question will be, can Gardner-Webb score touchdowns on the Tigers’ defense? Against Ohio, Gardner-Webb got to run their offense, especially in the second half when the OU backups were in.  QB Tyrell Maxwell’s rushing numbers were down but his passing numbers were up which is a very encouraging sign for the Bulldogs.

What Gardner-Webb has to do against Ohio:  Don’t take the lower-division team lightly again.  In the last two years, Gardner-Webb struggled mightily to beat D2 Virginia Union and looked completely unimpressive in a win over Virginia University-Lynchburg.  They should beat Benedict handily but, with a 1-3 record, G-W doesn’t have the luxury of phoning this one in.

Best case scenario for Gardner-Webb against Ohio – Gardner-Webb’s offense proves efficient in the red zone.  That will take away Benedict’s greatest strength and will decide the game in the Bulldogs’ favor.

Worst case scenario for Gardner-Webb – Give up defensive touchdowns.  G-W’s defense should be enough to stop Benedict when they have the ball but, if Benedict’s defense is scoring, this could be a bad day for the home team.

 

(1-3) Robert Morris @ (1-3) Liberty– Saturday, Oct. 1st  7:00pm EST (ESPN3, LFSN)

After playing two obviously FBS teams in Virginia Tech and SMU and a team that may as well have been FBS in Jacksonville State all within the first three weeks of the season, Liberty is desperately in need of a “get-right” game before the bye week.

Enter, Robert Morris.

The Colonials of Robert Morris University will arrive in Lynchburg out of the NEC conference.  The two teams have met twice before.  In 2010, a ranked Flames team – fresh off the school’s first-ever victory over an FBS program just a week earlier – rolled into Moon Township, PA and promptly fell flat on their collective burning face as the Colonials pulled off a last-second upset win.  RMU would go on to the playoffs that season with the NEC’s first auto-bid and get blown out by NDSU in the first round.  A year later, LU did exact a measure of revenge beating Bobby Mo by 30 points in Lynchburg but the two programs haven’t played each other since.

This time around, the Robert Morris program is vastly different.  When longtime RMU coach Joe Walton retired after the 2013 season, assistant head coach and local Pittsburgh Steelers legend John Banaszak was named his successor.  Under Banaszak, the Colonials hallmarks have been defense and special teams – which they have been occasionally good at – but, apparently, at the expense of the offense – which has not been good at any point.  Thus far this season, RMU has had to deal with injuries at the quarterback position (that is just going to be a theme this year, isn’t it?) and multiple weather delays that have served to only exacerbate the ineffectiveness of their offense.  Examples:

  • Already down their starting quarterback to a practice injury for the opening game, RMU scored on the opening kickoff of the season but almost immediately lost the backup quarterback to injury and did not score again. They lost that game to D2 Alderson-Broaddus 14-7.
  • The following week at Dayton, RMU started a converted freshman safety at QB with poor results. Down 13-0 in the 50th minute, the game was delayed for over two hours due to lightning and, eventually, called completely. At that point, RMU had just over 60 yards of total offense for the game.
  • At Youngstown the week after that, the game was, again, delayed due to weather concerns. Once play resumed, the Colonials finally scored an offensive touchdown for the first time this year on a trick play.  This was the only bright spot as the Penguins held RMU to negative rushing yards on 25 attempts.

By contrast, Liberty’s issues at quarterback this year have been self-inflicted rather than injury-related.  Starting QB Stephon Masha has been, at best, inconsistent against every opponent other than Jacksonville and the Liberty coaching staff made the decision this week to turn over the reins of the offense to true freshman signal-caller Steven Calvert.  Calvert has already gotten quite a bit of playing time this season, partly by design and partly due to Masha’s erratic play.  In places, he has looked sharp and every bit the highly-recruited athlete that he was out of high school and, in other places, he has looked like the true freshman that he is.  Either way, naming Calvert the starter going into this game with a bye week on the other side should allow Calvert to gain valuable starting experience going into conference play. Defensively, RMU doesn’t present nearly the challenge that any of the Flames’ first four opponents have, however, the difficulty factor should go up a bit with the return of the Colonials’ (original) starting quarterback from injury.

What Liberty has to do against Robert Morris – Run the ball and allow Calvert to get settled in.  Despite the up-tempo nature of the offense, Liberty’s identity is still built around an ability to run the ball.  When the offense has struggled is when they’ve been unable to do that.

Best case scenario for Liberty against Robert Morris – There’s a sizeable talent gap here so simple consistency from the offense and defense should win the day.

Worst case scenario for Liberty – Liberty gives up special teams touchdowns.  Despite their offensive woes, RMU has run two kicks back for score on the year and LU just gave one up last week to Jacksonville State.  If the RMU defense can manage to keep the score down, special teams plays will become a huge factor.

The FCS Wedge – 2016-0928 – LISTEN UP!

fcs wedge logo bSo what are the fella’s talking about this week?  Kris has the wheel this week and they jump into a couple more FBS upsets, they also discuss the big games from last week like UM/Cal Poly, Jax State/Liberty, and all the others.  They look at WIU and the win over NIU and just the general studliness the Necks have shown thus far.

AGS Poll and the fast moving fluidity and the great job done by the voters each week is up next with the discussion of the teams in the poll this week.

They move along to the upcoming big games this week.  SFA/SHSU, W&M/UNH,  Ill. State/NDSU, and several others on the slate this week.

In the final quarter these fine young men go over some of the other fine young men on FCS offenses around the country that you should maybe be paying a bit of attention to if you consider yourself a person in the know.

You are here, the podcast is here, it seems like a match made in heaven so na na na, hey hey hey click play.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CAA: Week 4 Review and Power Rankings

With Week four in the books, the volatility and toughness of the CAA is now on full display. As many of the teams entered conference play, some of the leagues favorites quickly learned that no CAA opponents are to be taken lightly. While others got a surprise from some out of conference opponents who ended up being more then they could handle.

The biggest upset of the day came when Elon dispatched conference opponent William & Mary 27 to 10. William and Mary one of the favorites in the conference going into the season, struggled to get anything going against the Phoenix defense. The Phoenix defense gained three turnovers from the Tribe, which led to their offense being put into short field situations.

The other major upset came when Stony Brook; another team favored coming into the season lost to NEC Sacred Heart.  Sacred Heart struck early and never looked back as they put up 377 yards of offense on the Sea wolves, with the defense of Stony Brook giving up 38 points.

Across the rest of the league James Madison held on to defeat a Maine team that fought them till the bitter end, and gave the Dukes quite a scare. New Hampshire took care of business down in Kingston Rhode Island against the URI Rams, while the rest of the CAA got the job done against their out of conference opponents.

Scores

James Madison 31

Maine20

 

New Hampshire 39

Rhode Island 17

 

Richmond 38

Colgate 31

 

Sacred Heart 38

Stony Brook 10

 

Villanova 31

Lafayette 14

 

Albany 20

St Francis (PA) 9

 

Elon 27

William & Mary 10

 

CAA Power Rankings

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

 

 

 

Must Watch Week 5

The conference battles are heating up this weekend. As a new feature this week you can now click the streaming links to watch the games live. ESPN3 does not provide links to individual games this far in advance and the Montana-Southern Utah game seems to be lacking a direct link as well. For the rest of the games, clicking the link will take you right to the game. Here’s a breakdown of the games you need to see in Week 5:

Saturday, October 1st Time(CST) TV
Delaware @ James Madison 12:30pm STREAM
Cal Poly @ North Dakota 1:00pm MidCoSN/ STREAM
Illinois State @ North Dakota State 1:00pm NBC(ND)/ESPN3
Wofford @ Samford 2:00pm ESPN3
William and Mary @ New Hampshire 2:30pm ESPN3
Villanova @ Elon 2:30pm STREAM
Towson @ Richmond 2:30pm CSN/ STREAM
Stephen F Austin @ Sam Houston State 3:00pm ESPN3
Southern Utah @ Montana 3:30pm STREAM
Southern Illinois @ Northern Iowa 4:00pm ESPN3
Western Illinois @ South Dakota State 6:00pm ESPN3
Nicholls State @ McNeese State 6:00pm ESPN3
  • Delaware is off to a good start in 2016 and Saturday they will start their conference slate against James Madison. The Dukes are 3-1 with their only loss coming to FBS opponent North Carolina. JMU is the current favorite to win the conference so this game should give us an idea of how much improvement Delaware has made.
  • Cal Poly is coming on as the dark horse candidate in the Big Sky this season. Their back-to-back wins over South Dakota State and Montana have them rocketing up the polls. This weekend they take on a North Dakota team that has righted the ship, winning their last two games after opening the season 0-2. Can the Mustangs keep it rolling against a feisty UND squad?
  • Illinois State lost some pieces in the off-season but jumped out to a 2-0 start to the season including a win over Northwestern (Big Ten). In the past two weeks they have struggled and find themselves back at .500. This weekend isn’t any easier as they head to Fargo to take on 5-time champion North Dakota State who is off to an undefeated start and almost made the FBS Top 25. Which streak will continue: The Redbirds losing streak or the Bison win streak?
  • Wofford has performed as expected in their first four games. They won the three games they were expected to and lost to their FBS opponent (Ole Miss). Samford is coming off a loss in their first challenge of the SoCon season. The lost at Chattanooga leaves the Bulldogs in an early hole for the auto-bid. This game will be huge towards deciding which team challenges for the SoCon crown and which team finishes in the middle of the pack.
  • William and Mary left the nation stunned when they fell to Elon last weekend 27-10. New Hampshire is off to a lackluster start and hasn’t generated much excitement in the fan base, but they are 1-0 in the CAA. This game should go a long ways towards deciding which way this season will go for both teams.
  • Speaking of Elon, they won’t be sneaking up on Villanova this weekend after the aforementioned victory over William and Mary. Nova should still be the favorites, but we will find out if we need to keep an eye on Elon for the rest of the season.
  • Keeping things in the CAA we have Towson and Richmond battling for their first conference wins. Richmond was the heavy favorite to win the CAA until Stony Brook demolished them two weeks ago. They bounced back with a nice win over Colgate.
  • Stephen F Austin stepped up as a challenger for the Southland title with an early win against McNeese State. We’ll see if the Lumberjacks have what it takes when they take on Sam Houston State in the Battle of Piney Woods in Houston. SHSU lacks any signature wins to start the season but is once again expected to win the SLC crown. The winner of this game will have a leg up in the race but will still have to contend with Central Arkansas.
  • Southern Utah is off to a solid start but faces their biggest challenge of the season when they head to Missoula to face a Montana team coming off of a tough loss. The Grizzlies had a record-breaking passing day against Cal Poly and fell just short due to some untimely turnovers. Will Montana right the ship or will Southern Utah continue their climb towards another playoff berth?
  • Northern Iowa has had two straight games that just didn’t quite go their way. This weekend they host Southern Illinois for homecoming. When these teams meet you can set aside all of the stats and records. Southern Illinois seems to have improved since last season and will be looking to keep the Panthers on their losing streak.
  • Western Illinois joins Cal Poly as one of the most shocking starts to the season. The Leathernecks are off to a 3-0 start with an FBS win. South Dakota State is coming off of a bye week, but the week before that they were roughed up by that same Cal Poly team. The Jackrabbits are hoping for some defensive improvement to keep them in the playoff hunt.
  • Nicholls State had a chance to essentially tie North Dakota State for the biggest FBS upset of the season when they had Georgia on the ropes. Then they headed to South Alabama and ended up with a 2nd close loss to an FBS school. This will be Nicholls’ first FCS challenge of the season and many of us will be keeping an eye on this score to know what to make of this year’s squad. McNeese State is off to a slow start and needs this win to stay in the Southland autobid.

SOCON: Week 5 Preview

The Southern Conference cranks up a full slate of conference play with 4 games scheduled this week. Furman plays Kennesaw St from the Big South in the lone out of conference game.  The Paladins are looking for their first win after a cruel September schedule left them 0-4.  One of the biggest games is Wofford at Samford where the Bulldogs hope to bounce back in the conference title run after being handled last week by Chattanooga. (SOCON Weekly Notes)

#4 Chattanooga at ETSU 12PM (SDN Video) (UTC Game Notes)

After rolling Samford last week the Mocs of Chattanooga hope to continue their winning ways as they travel to Johnson City, TN to face the Bucs of ETSU. Chattanooga has been proficient on both sides of the ball putting up 436 yards a game and holding opponents to just 220 yards.  After winning their opening two games in upsets against Kennesaw St and Western Carolina, ETSU got thumped by Wofford last week by a disappointing 31-0 score.  It will only get worse for the Bucs against the UTC defense.

The Mocs QB, Alejandro Bennifield has gone 49/74 for 796 yards with 3 interceptions and 11 TDS. He has rushed for 145 on the year as well.  Chattanooga running back Derrick Craine is averaging 114 yards a game and just came off a huge, career high, 222 yard performance in last week’s game against Samford.  And not to be forgotten, the Mocs defense, # 2 in FCS, has allowed only 35 points in 4 games.  The Mocs Keionta Davis and Vantrel McMillan are leading the SOCON in sacks with 5 and 4 respectively.

ETSU is averaging only 290 yards a game including 101 on the ground. Bucs QB Austin Herink has gone 56/85 for 563 yards in 3 games with no interceptions and 3 TDS.  The Bucs offense moved the ball fairly well against their first two opponents, but against a pretty good Wofford defense last week they were shut down and gained a mere 76 total yards.  It will be a long day again for the ETSU offense against a ferocious Mocs defense which is holding opponents to a scary 15% third down conversion rate.

The last time these teams met in 2003, ETSU put a hurt on the Mocs 68-7. Look for the Mocs to return the favor.  Chattanooga will win by as much as they want.

Mercer at VMI  1:30PM (ESPN3)  (Mercer Game Notes) (VMI Game Notes)

VMI did something last week that they haven’t done since Reagan was president. They won back to back road games.  It is week 5 and this is also their first home game.  The Mercer Bears are coming to town to avenge a 28-21 loss to VMI last year in Macon.  So far this year Mercer has lost a close one against The Citadel, didn’t get blown out at Ga Tech, and did better than the score indicated against Tenn Tech.  VMI has played respectable against Akron, and squeaked by both Morehead and Bucknell on the road.  Now back in the friendly confines of Foster Stadium in Lexington, VMI is setting its sights on a third consecutive victory.

VMI’s Jr QB Al Cobb is 76/121, for 691 yards, 3 interceptions (all coming this past week) with 4 TDs. VMI has been running for 143 a game with Daz Palmer leading the way with 63 yards a game.  VMI is converting only 39% of their 3rd downs and has made only 1 of 6 on 4th down tries.  Cobb is dangerous and his O line has protected him allowing only about 1 sack a game.  His interceptions are down from last year, but as the last game showed, he can get sloppy.

The Mercer defense has been fairly effective with the Bears holding opponents to 347 yards a game including only 133 through the air, but with both The Citadel and Ga Tech games in those averages, that is skewed a little bit. They did hold Tenn Tech to 249 yards passing which was bit below their average.  Mercer has held opponents to 215 yards on the ground, but again that included some fairly run heavy offenses.  The Bears are allowing 50% on third down conversions, which could be a bit better.

On offense Mercer is led by Sr QB John Russ who has gone 62/98 for 656 yards in 3 games. He has only 1 interception and 3 TDs.  Overall, Mercer produces 371 yards a game with 149 on the ground.  Their leading rusher is Payton Usher who is gaining 56 a game.  But Usher is quite dangerous.  He put up 89 at The Citadel on 10 tries.  Mercer has a respectable 45% 3rd down conversion rate.

Last week VMI’s defense had a standout game. Keydet linebacker Ryan Francis had a career high 16 tackles along with 2 sacks, four tackles for loss, and a pass break up.  His efforts gained him SOCON Defensive Player of the Week.  But as good as last week’s performance was, VMI does have issues on defense giving up 449 yards a game including 300 through the air.  However, they are still coming up with plays when they need them though, holding opponent to a 34% 3rd down conversion rate and 37% on 4th downs.

On special teams, the Keydets are averaging 35 yards a punt with Mercer at 39. On  kickoffs, VMI is gaining 22 each time to Mercer’s 20.  They are both in the plus column on turnovers.  The one edge VMI has is in penalties.  The Keydets are disciplined averaging just 39 yards a game.  Mercer has been called for about 73 yards each game.  Mercer has an edge on field goals making 6/7 with a long of 49.  VMI has gone a dismal 3-11 with a long of 37 with 2 blocked.

Mercer will be prepared for this game and probably have some good success against the VMI defense. The Keydets will move the ball with Cobb throwing it around, but be unable to string together enough scoring drives.  VMI will also have to deal with the emotions of last week’s 3 OT win.  Look for Mercer to win by at least 2 TDs.

Kennesaw State at Furman 3PM (ESPN3)

I hate to say that there is such a thing as a must win game, but it might be appropriate in this case. Furman played an ambitious schedule in September and paid the price going 0-4.  They need a win…BAD.  Kennesaw, in its second season of football, is looking for a banner win against a marquis program.

Furman’s offense has been poor averaging just 297 yards a game and putting up a measly 15.5 points a game. Granted they faced with good teams and stout defenses, but Furman needs a breakout game to get out of its rut.  Kennesaw may be the answer.  Although the Owls have held their opponents to just 315 yards a game, this has come against ETSU, Point, and Duquesne.   And Furman has had some success here and there.  They have had sustained scoring drives against all their opponents, but they are inconsistent.  They have a depressing 32% 3rd down conversion rate.  Although PJ Blazejowski started the first two games at QB, Reese Hannon has played the last game and a half.  Last week he went 26/45 for 305 yards with 3 interceptions and 2 TDs. It will again be interesting to see if Blazejowski returns or Hannon continues to start.

Furman’s strength has been in its defense. The Paladins have held their 4 good opponents to an average of 332 yards a game including 143 through the air and 189 on the ground.  But they are allowing 42% on 3rd down conversions and have not been effective in the red zone allowing opponents to score every time.  Kennesaw has been racking up 451 yards a game with 242 on the ground, but again, the opposition was somewhat weak.

Although Furman had been solid on special teams, it failed them utterly last week at Coastal. They gave up long returns including a punt return for a TD.  They also had a FG blocked and returned for a score.  Take away their surprisingly bad special teams play and they would have been in it.

They also had a problem with turnovers this past week losing 4. They are last in the conference, by a good bit, in turnover margin.  But they have a bright spot in that they are limiting their penalties at 39 yards a game, so they got that going for them.

At this point, Kennesaw may be just what the doctor ordered for what ails Furman. It may be a gut check for them, but Furman should be able to move the ball well and put some points on the board.  If their defense continues to play as they have, they should be able to limit Kennesaw’s yardage as well.  Look for Furman to recover from its doldrums and win big.

Wofford at Samford 3PM (ESPN3) (Wofford Game Notes) (Samford Game Notes)

Wofford has had a fairly quiet schedule so far. They handled a mediocre Tenn Tech on the road, had a respectable outing at Ole Miss, and handled JC Smith and ETSU as they should have.  In their first true test of the year they face a Samford team bent on recovering some prestige after getting manhandled by Chattanooga.

Wofford has a more than competent running game averaging 315 yards a game which is good enough for #3 in FCS. Tack on 70 yards through the air each game to keep their opponents honest, and they are gaining 385 a game.  They are making over 47% of their 3rd downs and 73% of their 4th downs.  If there is any issue, it is getting going each game.  A lot of their points, twice as many, have come in the second half.  They have used a couple QBs this year with Brad Butler the primary one, but he was injured in the ETSU game and it looks like Brandon Goodson will start this week so expect some issues for their offense.  Their leading rusher is has been Lorenzo Long with 106 yards a game, but they are deep with runners.  They have done a pretty good job not dropping the ball, losing only 2 funbles in 4 games.

Samford’s defense has been average at best. They gave up huge chunks to Central Arkansas late, but they held on to win anyway.  Against UTC they also gave up ridiculous amounts on the ground.  They are giving up an average of 449 total yards with 187 on the ground each game.  Take out the Mars Hill game and they are giving up an average of 550 total yards a game between UCA and UTC.  Granted they are two top 25 teams, but this stands out as a concern.

While Samford’s defense may have issues, their offense is pretty potent, or at least their passing is. They are averaging 406 yards a game with 326 in the air.  But their ground game is seriously lacking averaging just 81 a game.  Again, take out the Mars Hill game and they drop to just 21 yards…total…in 2 games.  People sometimes criticize option teams for having no passing game.  For a passing team, I think this is worse having no running game.  You can’t normally win if you run for 10.5 yards a game.  But Samford has been effective with their QB Devlin Hodges going 98/140 with only 2 interceptions and 11 TDs. However, if Samford hopes to have a descent season, they have got to step it up on the ground.

The Terrier defense looks pretty formidable on paper. They are now ranked 1st in FCS for total defense giving up a mere 213 yards per game.  Take out the JC Smith game and this jumps to 252 yards.  Still pretty good considering they had Ole Miss in there.  And for the record they allowed Ole Miss 416 yards, but that was also with a TOP advantage of 11 minutes for the Terriers so they gave it up in huge chunks.  They did hold Tenn Tech to only 257 yards.  The best defense that Wofford has is probably their ball hogging strategy.  They hold the ball about 34 minutes a game.  The other team can’t score if they don’t have the ball.

On special teams Wofford punters are averaging about 48 yards per kick which is not bad to say the least. Samford is getting about 44 yards a kick. Wofford has gone 4 for 7 on field goals and Samford has yet to try one.  On kick returns Wofford has had a poor showing with only 16 yards on kickoffs and 4 yards on punt returns.  Samford has done a bit better at 22 and 11 yards each.

Wofford’s defense will surely be tested by Samford’s prolific passing attack. That is, if Samford can get time enough to execute it.  Likewise, Samford will be sorely tested to stop Wofford’s grinding running game.  All things considered Samford should be able to keep Wofford’s secondary on its heels and prevail at home by at least 10.

#9 The Citadel at W. Carolina 3:30PM (ESPN3) (The Citadel Game Notes) (WCU Game Notes)

With each of these teams enjoying a week off, they should both be itching and prepared to notch a SOCON victory this week. The Citadel has been enjoying being 2-0 in the SOCON to start the season, while WCU emotions have gone from ecstasy in thumping Gardner-Webb, to misery in getting beat by ETSU.  The Citadel is probably hoping for not just a victory, but one that does not entail a fourth quarter comeback, which has become their trademark in the first three games.

The Citadel has had rough going in their first three games in executing their option attack. Averaging just 291 yards a game, they are well off their 2015 averages.  With their veteran QB Dominique Allen finally back in action most of the last game, and a week off to catch up on reps which he missed in fall camp due to an injury, he may finally be back in form for this game.  And he is listed as the starter for the first time this year.  Fullback Tyler Renew fell off a bit at Gardner-Webb as they were able to shut him down, and he now averages 85 yards a game.  Even if they have had problems, The Bulldogs lead the SOCON in 3rd down conversions with a 49% success rate, and have accomplished the scoring drives when needed.

WCU has had problems on defense allowing 506 yards a game including 250 on the ground. This places them last in the SOCON in both categories.  Their defense is also allowing 3rd down conversions at a 59% rate.  To make matters worse, the Cats only hold the ball for 26 minutes a game.

But while the Catamount defense may have problems, their offense has been impressive. They are averaging 314 yards a game through the air and 170 on the ground.  Western’s red shirt freshman QB Tyrie Adams leads the SOCON in passing per game.  He has gone 74/106 with 3 interceptions and 7 TDs.  Their impressive running back Detrez Newsome averages 77 yards a game and leads the conference in scoring with 7 TDs.  However, they will face an aggressive defense in the Bulldogs.

The Citadel’s defense is holding opponents to 339 yards a game including 169 both through the air and on the ground.   The Bulldogs are limiting 3rd down conversions to just 35% and held both 4th down attempts made against them.  They are also enjoying a +1.33 turnover margin per game.  The one blemish is that they have allowed all 7 red zone attempts to score against them, although they have limited them to just 4 TDs.  Western’s passing attack will be the stiffest test yet for the Bulldogs secondary led by standout CB Dee Delaney who has recorded 2 interceptions in 3 games.  The Bulldog defense is also very stingy in the 4th quarter.  The have only allowed 7 total points in 3 games and an average of 41 yards per game in the final period.

Special teams have been a bright spot for The Citadel which leads the SOCON in both kickoff and punt return yardage including a punt return for a TD. The Dogs have gone 2/4 on field goals. Western is 2/3.  The Citadel is averaging 45 yards a game in penalties while WCU has the largest SOCON total with 74 yards a game.

The game will come down to how effective the Citadel’s defense is in stopping WCU’s passing game. If it can limit it, the Bulldogs can simply grind the yardage and come out on top.  The Citadel should go to 4-0 with a win of at least 2 scores.

Big Sky Conference: Week 4 Review and Power Rankings

Big Sky

Another week in the Big Sky is done. With that week over we have fully submerged ourselves in the conference play. Many of the games were very good games, such as Montana and Cal Poly, as well as Montana State and North Dakota. Sacramento State gave it a good effort to get into the win column with a mad fourth quarter dash, but couldn’t get it done against Idaho State. Eastern Washington stepped on the gas early against Northern Arizona and never let up. UC-Davis made a run at Weber State in the final quarter, but also faded late.

Cal Poly certainly has been a surprise this season. The Mustangs were picked low in the media poll, as well as the poll put together by yours truly. They are now 3-1 on the season, and really should be undefeated. They are also tied atop the Big Sky Conference standings with Eastern Washington with their most recent win over Montana. The team was supposedly very angry to start the season because of being picked so low. They are now rolling thanks to Joe Protheroe and Kori Garcia.

At the bottom of the pile is Sacramento State and UC-Davis. The Hornets have yet to pick up a win this season and they may not have any chances for a win until they travel to Greeley to Northern Colorado, or at the end of the season against UC-Davis. UC-Davis’s best chances of winning look like Northern Colorado and Sacramento State.

At this moment there are three teams from the Big Sky ranked in the FCS Stats poll, Montana (11th), Eastern Washington (4th), and Cal Poly (16th). Southern Utah is just outside of the poll. In the Any Given Saturday poll has Eastern Washington (3rd), Montana (11th), Cal Poly (8th), and Southern Utah (20th). In the way too early playoff predictions we should see at least three, perhaps four teams in the BSC in the playoffs.

Scores

Montana 41
Cal Poly 42

North Dakota 17
Montana State 15

Sacramento State 34
Idaho State 42

Eastern Washington 50
Northern Arizona 35

Portland State 31
Southern Utah 45

Weber State 38
UC-Davis 35

Player of the Week

Jerry Louie-McGee, wide receiver, Montana. Louie-McGee set a Montana record with 21 receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Cal Poly. Louie-McGee was named the FCS STATS freshman of the week this week as well.

Big Sky MVP Candidates

Gage Gabrud, Eastern Washington. 35/56, 392 yards, 2 touchdowns. 11 carries, 85 yards, 1 touchdown.
Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington. 11 receptions, 111 yards.
John Santiago, North Dakota. 19 carries, 57 yards.
Joe Protheroe, Cal Poly. 17 carries, 90 yards. 1 reception, 55 yards, 1 touchdown.
Case Cookus, Northern Arizona. 17/28, 245 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception.
Emmanuel Butler, Northern Arizona. 5 receptions, 56 yards.

Big Sky Power Rankings

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

Looking Ahead to Week 5

In the game of the week in the Big Sky Southern Utah heads to Montana to take on the Grizzlies. Both teams are 2-1 coming into the weekend. Cal Poly will make the long trip to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota. Northern Arizona will drive up the road to Greeley to take on the Northern Colorado Bears. UC-Davis will be heading north to take on Eastern Washington. Idaho State will take on Portland State. Montana State will face off with Sacramento State.

Final Thoughts and Hot Takes

– Sacramento State is baaaaaaad. Jody Sears is probably not going to get another year for the Hornets.

– Montana was the sole team so far to bottle up Joe Protheroe, he still had 145 total yards and a score.

– Cal Poly is a pretty good team. Their quarterback looks like he used to play for Air Force, he looked that skilled running the triple option. He took some pretty mean hits on Saturday from the Grizzlies defense though.. and kept on ticking.

– The top four in the Big Sky are looking pretty tough to beat right now. We’ll find out more about Southern Utah this weekend in Missoula. I didn’t think they’d be this good this year considering they lost their coach, quarterback, a couple of pretty good defensive players, etc. Yet, here they are.

– Gage Gabrud had a huge game for Eastern Washington, a week after he was jerked out of the game in favor of Riley Hennessey. I guess Beau Baldwin knows how to motivate his starting quarterback.

– Good to see Cooper Kupp back on the field. Once he gets his feet back under him he’ll be dominating Big Sky secondaries.

– Perhaps next time Bruce Barnum wants to run his trap he should make sure his team is prepared to back up his mouth, Southern Utah fans showed out in force in response to his “Whoville” comments earlier in the week. Better win something first, Bruce, before you shoot your mouth off.

– The Vikings are now 1-3 on the season.