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.

Patriot League: Week 4 Review and Power Rankings

The fourth week of Patriot League football saw the continuation of two trends that have emerged so far this year; success against the Ivy League and failure against the CAA. Fordham and Lehigh both posted 14 point wins over their Ancient Eight opponents. Georgetown was able to notch their first 3-0 start in 17 years by downing Columbia. On the flip side, Colgate and Lafayette both fell to ranked CAA opponents. The Raiders put up a tremendous battle before falling short at #10 Richmond. Finally, Bucknell’s early season misery continued against VMI.

Lehigh 42 Princeton 28

Lehigh (2-2) rolled up 621 yards of offense as the Mountain Hawks exacted some revenge on Princeton (1-1) for last year’s blowout loss in New Jersey. Lehigh’s offense was led by senior quarterback Nick Shafnisky who passed for a career high 461 yards (4TDs) in the win. 190 of those yards, and a TD, went to Troy Pelletier while Gatlin Casey enjoyed a career high 148 yards and 2 TDs on 6 receptions. Dominic Bragalone led the ground attack with 124 yards and a TD.

Lehigh got the scoring started less than 5 minutes into the game when Shafnisky hit WR Derek Knott for a 7 yard TD. The two teams traded punts before Princeton tied the game on Charlie Volker’s 8 yard TD run following an 11 play 71 yard drive. The Mountain Hawks retook the lead when Nick Shafnisky found Gatlin Casey for a beautiful 42 yard touchdown bomb with 11:52 left in the 2nd quarter. Lehigh extended their lead to 21-7 following an impressive 13 play 98 yard drive that ended with when Micco Brisker plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out. Princeton responded on their next possession with an impressive scoring drive of their own. Volker found pay dirt for the second time cutting Lehigh’s lead to 21-14 with 1:38 left in the half.

The Mountain Hawks were able to seize control of the game in the 3rd quarter with two Shafnisky TD passes to push the lead to 35-14. Princeton would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. The Tigers final threat of the game ended when Evan Harvey picked off Kanoff with a little over 2 minutes left in the game to preserve the Lehigh win.

Up Next: The Mountain Hawks travel to the historic Yale Bowl to take on the Eli. Yale has won the last two meetings (2014, 2015) and own a 17-6 all-time series lead.

Dartmouth 35 Holy Cross 10

The friendly confines of Fitton Field did not help Holy Cross (1-3) escape their recent struggles. The Dartmouth Big Green (2-0) proved their win over New Hampshire last weekend was no fluke by backing it up with an impressive 25 point win over Holy Cross in Worcester. The Crusaders problems on defense and propensity to turn over the ball once again cost them on Saturday. To make matters worse, all everything quarterback Peter Pujals left the game in the 2nd quarter and did not return. Pujals was seen on the sideline using crutches. His status moving forward will be known as the week goes on.

The day did not start out on a bad note for Holy Cross. The Crusaders took their opening possession of the game and marched right down the field for a TD. Pujals hit Jordan Montgomery from 18 yards out to give Holy Cross a very early 7-0 lead. From that point on Dartmouth would dominate the game thanks to a balanced offense (208 yards rushing, 245 yards passing) that kept Holy Cross on their heels. Dartmouth’s Hunter Hagdorn got the ball rolling when he scored a rushing a TD with 10:36 left in the 1st quarter to finish off an 8 play 73 yard drive. The Big Green’s next scoring drive was setup when Darius George stripped the ball from the Crusader’s Brandon Flaherty and Lucas Bavaro recovered it. Miles Smith busted off a 35 yard TD run only moments later to make the score 14-7 Dartmouth.

Darius George once again made a big play for Dartmouth to close out the first half. The Big Green defensive back recovered the ball in the end zone for a TD after the Holy Cross punter couldn’t handle the snap properly. Dartmouth basically put the game away on their first possession of the second half. Ryder Stone capped an impressive 7 play 65 yard drive with a 4 yard scamper to push the Dartmouth lead to 28-7. Holy Cross would tack on a 42 yard FG midway through the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 28-10. Unfortunately for the Crusaders that would be the last points they scored for the day.

Up Next: Holy Cross hits the road for the third time in four games to start the season. This time it’s against league foe Lafayette in Easton, PA. The Crusaders blasted the Leopards 42-0 last year in Worcester.

Georgetown 17 Columbia 14

Georgetown pushed their record to 3-0 for the first time since 1999 with a hard fought 17-14 win over the Columbia Lions (0-2). Given Georgetown’s struggles since joining the Patriot League in 2001 the 3-0 start has to feel darn good in Hoya land even if they didn’t have to go through a murders row of opponents. The Hoyas used an opportunistic defense (+4 turnover ratio) and a “just good enough” offense (195 total yards, 8 first downs) to claim the Lou Little Trophy for the second straight year.

Georgetown’s most impressive drive of the game came on their first possession. The Hoya’s jumped out to a 7-0 advantage three minutes into the game when QB Tim Barnes found freshman WR Dereus Michael for a 44 TD. Columbia’s offense could not get any traction in the first quarter. Of the Lion’s five possessions in the quarter, 3 ended in turnovers (2 INTs, 1 Fumble) while the other two resulted in a punt. Georgetown was able to parlay the fumble into a lengthy 47 yard FG to push their lead to 10-0 with a minute left in the opening quarter. The Hoyas extended their lead to 17-0 midway through the 2nd quarter when Tim Barnes finished off a quick 3 play 36 yard drive with a 9 yard TD scramble.

Columbia finally broke through early in the second half. The Lions used a grinding 11 play 46 yard drive that ended with a Chris Schroer TD run to cut the Hoya lead to 17-7. Following four straight Georgetown punts Columbia was able to get their offense going again. The Lions cut the lead to 17-14 early in the 4th quarter on Anders Hill 9 yard TD run. Columbia’s defense continued to stifle the Hoya “O” the rest of the way but they couldn’t find a way to add points. The Lions had two chances late in the game to either tie or take the lead but their threats ended on downs and a fumble. Georgetown held on despite having only 53 total yards of offense in the second half.

Up Next: The Hoyas take a major jump in competition when they travel to Cambridge for a Friday night battle with Ivy League favorite Harvard (2-0). The Crimson won the two other meetings between the schools (2014, 2015) by a combined score of 79-3.

Fordham 31 Penn 17

The Rams (2-1) were able to notch their 3rd straight win over the Quakers (0-2) in large part to a very solid defensive performance. They did an especially good job limiting Penn’s potent passing attack. Fordham held Ivy League Offensive POY Alek Torgersen to 131 passing yards. His favorite target, WR Justin Watson, had only 33 yards on 3 receptions. If Fordham can build off of this type of defensive performance they will be very difficult to beat once league play begins in two weeks.

One constant for Fordham is Chase Edmonds. The junior running back once again led the Rams offense on Saturday with his 152 yards rushing and 3 TDs. Edmonds also factored into the passing attack (4 receptions, 49 yards, 1 TD). His 22 yard TD reception gave the Rams a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Penn responded with a 10 play 72 yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7. Fordham then proceeded to use two Edmonds rushing TDs and a short 22 yard Makay Redd FG to pull ahead 24-7. The Quakers cut the lead to 24-10 at half on their own 23 yard chip shot FG.

Penn would close the gap to 24-17 on Alek Torgersen’s 2 yard QB plunge with 4:50 left in the 3rd. From that point on the Rams defense would really put the clamps on the Quakers offense. Penn’s final three possessions of the game ended either on downs or with a punt. Fordham put the game on ice when Edmonds found the end zone from a yard out with 5:31 left in the game.

Up Next: Fordham takes the short bus ride to West Long Branch, NJ to face the Monmouth Hawks (2-2). The Rams beat Monmouth 54-31 last year in the Bronx.

#10 Richmond 38 #23 Colgate 31

Colgate’s (1-2) comeback attempt fell just short as the Raiders lost a hard fought 38-31 decision to Richmond (3-1) in front of a sold out Robins Stadium. Both team entered the game looking for a victory to propel themselves back into the national conversation. As it turned out, Richmond left their home field as the team that picked up a crucial out conference. The Spiders star QB Kyle Lauletta’s had arguably his best game (23/34 307 4 TDs 1 INT) of the year in the win. His favorite target Brian Brown also stepped up with a big time performance ( 7 rec. 148 yards 2 TDs). The two were helped out by RB Xavier Goodall’s 130 yard 1 TD performance.

Richmond got out to a quick 10-0 lead after a 45 yard FG by Trau Griffin and Goodall’s 1 yard TD run. Colgate would not be deterred however. The Raiders responded with three consecutive scores to take a 17-10 lead. Perhaps the biggest play came when Ben Hunt had a pick six with 2:45 left in the 1st quarter to put Colgate ahead by 7. The Spiders would tie the game right before half on Lauletta’s first TD pass of the game.

Whatever message Coach Rocco was trying to convey at half time got through because Richmond came out of the locker room on fire. Richmond’s defense forced a three and out on Colgate’s first possession of the second half to quickly get the ball back in the hands of Kyle Lauletta. The redshirt-jr QB proceeded to march his team on a 7 play 68 yard drive that culminated in a 23 yard TD pass to Brian Brown that gave Richmond a 24-17 lead. Lauletta would tack on two more second half TD passes to give the Spiders a commanding 38-17 lead.

However, the Raiders would not give up. Following Abu Daramy’s 84 yard kickoff return, Jake Melville scored from 4 yards out to draw the Raiders to within two scores. Colgate cut the lead to 7 with 3:34 left in the game on Keyon Washington’s 4 yard TD scamper. The Raiders had one last chance to tie the game with under a minute to go but Melville was picked off by Richmond’s Tafon Mainsah to preserve the 38-31 win.

Up Next: Colgate gets to defend their home turf for the first time of the year when their Central New York rivals, the Cornell Big Red (2-0), pay a visit. Cornell owns a 48-46-3 advantage in the series but Colgate has won the last seven games.

VMI 23 Bucknell 16 3OT

It was a historic evening in Lewisburg for the visiting Keydets! VMI’s (2-1) thrilling OT victory meant that two dubious streaks ended on Bucknell’s (1-3) home turf. The back-to-back road wins (VMI won @ Morehead State prior to their bye) were the Keydets first since they closed the 1981 season with a 6-0 win at Virginia Tech and opened the 1982 campaign with a 21-3 win over Eastern Tennessee in Johnson City. It was also VMI’s first back-to-back wins of any kind since 2005.

Not to be overshadowed, VMI’s senior QB Al Cobb set two school records in the win. He broke the all-time record for career passing yards and career completions in the victory. The outstanding QB finished the game 34/52 for 285 yards. He did have 3 interceptions.

VMI took an early 6-0 (2 pt try failed) on Daz Palmer’s 9 yard TD. The next three Keydet drives would end with 2 interceptions and a missed FG. Bucknell would jump ahead 7-6 early in the 2nd quarter when Matt Muh (20/30 226 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs) connected with WR Will Carter for a short 2 yard TD. The two teams traded 3rd quarter touchdowns which resulted in the score being tied at 14 (VMI converted a 2 pt conversion) heading into the final fifteen minutes of regulation. The Bison would retake the lead with 8:37 left on Jack Chamber’s 22 yard FG. Following a Bison punt, the Keydets went on a 15 play 46 yard drive that ended with King Reed’s game tying 25 yard FG with 59 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Bucknell had one last attempt to win the game but Matt Muh was sacked at VMI 40 yard as time expired.

The OT sessions were all about defense and missed field goals. VMI stopped a 4th and 2 from the five yard line on Bucknell’s first possession of OT. The Keydets first chance to win ended when Julie’n Davenport
blocked King Reed’s 39 yard FG attempt. The second overtime saw both teams miss field goals. The Bison started the third OT frame with the ball. Unfortunately for Bucknell they would only run one play as VMI’s Riuq Trotman intercepted Matt Muh to end the Bison possession. VMI would not let another opportunity to win slip away. On the 5th play of the drive Daz Palmer scored the game winning touchdown from 12 yards out. What ensued was pure exultation from the Keydets!

Up Next: Bucknell will have a much needed bye before heading to Worcester to start league play against Holy Cross on October 8th.

#20 Villanova 31 Lafayette 14

The Wildcats (3-1) got their first ever win over Lafayette in five tries on a beautiful evening in Easton. In a game that was 96 years in the making, Villanova’s defense stole the show in the 17 point victory. The Wildcat D had a scoop and score fumble recovery to set the tone early in the game and finished off the scoring with a pick 6. The win was Villanova’s 4th straight over a school from the Patriot League. Lafayette’s last win over a CAA opponent was in 2012 when they took down William & Mary 17-16.

It did not take long for Villanova to make Lafayette play catch-up. Wildcat’s All-American DE Tonah Kpassagon picked up DeSean Brown’s fumble on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 25 yards for a TD. The rest of first quarter would remain rather uneventful as both defenses controlled play. Villanova would get back on the board early in the 2nd quarter when Gerard Smith nailed a 37 yard FG to extend the lead to 10-0. On Villanova’s next possession Jevon White found the end zone to put the Wildcats up 17-0 with 7:48 left in the first half. Lafayette would cut the lead to 10 before half time when Drew Reed (19/27 229 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs) hit Yasir Thomas for a 14 yard TD pass and catch.

Lafayette closed the gap to 3 following a 7 play 68 yard drive that ended with Reed tossing a 19 yard TD pass to Tim Vangelas early in the 3rd quarter. The Leopards would get no closer the rest of the way. Villanova put the game away on two late third quarter touchdowns. The second of which occurred when Jeff Steeb returned a Drew Reed pass 45 yards for a pick 6.

Up Next: Lafayette opens Patriot League play at home against Holy Cross (1-3). The Leopards will be looking avenge last years 42-0 shellacking the Crusaders dished out in Worcester.

Power Rankings

1. Colgate

2.Fordham

3. Lehigh

4. Lafayette

5. Georgetown

6. Holy Cross

7. Bucknell

Big South: Week 4 Review

Saturday was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to be a home team in the Big South.

EXHIBIT A:

(2-2) Charleston Southern 35,  (2-2) Monmouth  7

Monmouth came into this, their first home game of the 2016 season, with the best overall record in the Big South at 2-1.  CSU came into this game after a much-needed bye week, desperate to move on from a month of meaningless games and off-the-field issues.  Given that the Big South conference now only consists of six teams, it was imperative that each team come out firing on all cylinders.

Neither team did.

CSU started Shane Bucenell at quarterback in his first game action since coming into the Kentucky State game as an injury replacement three weeks ago only to leave with his own injury several minutes later.  In his first career start, Bucenell was uninspiring in the first half but, then again, so was the rest of the CSU offense.  The Buccaneers were able to move the ball pretty much at will but repeatedly shot themselves in the peg leg with turnovers and poorly-timed penalties.  They did manage a score when QB Robert Mitchell arced a pass perfectly into the back corner of the end zone for WR Kameron Brown between two Monmouth defenders who appeared to be suddenly unaware that passing the ball was an option.  Monmouth, however, fared no better on offense.  The Hawks were able to get a little bit of a passing game going but every drive in the first half stalled at or near mid-field.  At the half-time break, Monmouth had six first downs – all through the air – and had -2 rushing yards on the day.

In the second half, somebody must have yelled something memorable and wholly inspirational in the CSU locker room because the Bucs came out on fire.   They took the second half kickoff and RB Mike Holloway promptly scored from 75 yards out on the first play from scrimmage.  Monmouth, however, finally did something with their turn with the ball and a scrambling QB Cody Williams hit WR Reggie White in the back of the end zone to cut the lead 14-7.  But, that was the extent of the Monmouth offensive output.  CSU running backs would score on each of the next three possessions on their way to a 322-yard rushing day as a team and Monmouth would only gather 89 total yards for the rest of the game.

Ultimately, CSU continued their dominance over the Monmouth program.  In the three years that the two teams have played each other, CSU has now won all three games by a combined score of 96-14. Somehow, that level of non-competition is unique between these two teams as Monmouth has been very competitive with virtually every other team in the Big South and CSU, even at their best, has had a fight on their hands with the same opponents.  Somehow, CSU just has Monmouth’s number.

A couple thoughts on the game itself:

  • For the first half, CSU looked like a team trying to find itself and that’s due in part to the quarterback situation. For the last two years, CSU had a known quantity starting at the position in Austin Brown and at backup in Kyle Copeland.  Even when one or both were hurt, there was a level of consistency.  Now, however, Brown is graduated and Copeland is in a brace, awaiting reconstructive surgery on his knee.  Neither Bucenell or Mitchell looked like “the guy” early and it’s telling that the CSU RB’s got most of the workload in the second half.  They went to what they do best and that is get those guys the ball.
  • Offensively, Monmouth has to have a healthy Lavon Chaney at running back. He did play in this game and was Monmouth’s leading rusher.  But, it’s obvious that he isn’t recovered from his injury two weeks ago.  What was originally explained as a shoulder injury turns out to be – according to the Monmouth TV announcers, anyway – a dislocated rib which is simply not an injury that can be recovered from in two weeks.

What does this win mean for CSU? – They’re 1-0 in-conference which is huge since there’s only five conference games this season.  The Bucs won’t play another game against Big South competition until October 24th so having a conference game in hand now should take a little bit of pressure off over the next several weeks.

What does this loss mean for Monmouth? – It hurts their postseason chances badly but doesn’t eliminate them.  Of every school in the Big South, Monmouth is the only team with a strong enough non-conference schedule remaining (Fordham and FBS-transitional Coastal Carolina) that could argue for an at-large bid should they win out.  It’s unlikely, yes, but possible.

 

EXHIBIT B:

(3-1) Jacksonville State 48,  (1-3) Liberty 19

Liberty, meet woodshed.

This was as thorough a beating as Liberty has taken at home since the dark dark days of the Ken Karcher era.  LU had developed a reputation for knocking off highly-ranked teams at Williams Stadium but, honestly, Jacksonville State is not just a highly-ranked team.  The Gamecocks are on another level right now and that was obvious Saturday night.

JSU scored pretty much every way you can score in the first half as QB Eli Jenkins threw for a touchdown early, ran for a touchdown a little bit later, probably cheered wildly as WR Josh Barge ran a punt back for score and, then, Jenkins came back in to run another one in.

Meanwhile, Liberty had no answer on the other end.  The LU offensive line got little push up front to start the run game and the quarterbacks found themselves on the run for most of the night.  Defensively, the Flames tried to run-blitz early in order to bottle up Jenkins and RB Roc Thomas.  That opened up the passing lanes for Jenkins and, when, LU tried to play more straight-up defense, JSU made them pay on the ground.

The only bright spots on the night for Liberty were the kickoff returns from RB Frankie Hickson and a nice throw and catch from a sprinting-for-his-life QB Steven Calvert over the shoulder of WR Dante Shells.  Other than that, it was all JSU all the time.

Personal note:

  • I have watched a lot of FCS football over the last two decades and there are only a few players that I have ever seen in person that were so dominant at their position that they dominated every aspect of the game even when they weren’t on the field. Even when they were on the bench, each of the other team’s decisions in every other phase – be it offense, defense or special teams – had to be based on how it would help them contain that singular player once he stepped back between the lines. In short, without denigrating FCS football or FCS players, these are guys who I’ve seen who simply didn’t belong on an FCS field with FCS players.  It’s a very short list:  Randy Moss, Terrence West, Vince Redd.  Until Saturday night, that was the entire group.  Now, add Roc Thomas to it.  I’ve never before seen such a combination of speed, power, balance and spatial awareness in one person.  The stuff he was doing on Saturday was some mutant X-Men level shape-shifting teleportation nonsense.  I’m talking about spinning off of a full hit, juking another guy and accelerating past a third all in one movement and faster than an eye blink.  I still don’t know exactly what he did and it’s too unpleasant to go back and watch the broadcast to figure it out.  It was painfully impressive.

What does this loss mean for Liberty? – The Flames’ only path to the postseason runs through the Big South conference autobid.  Liberty needed to pick up a quality non-conference win and too many of those slots were filled with FBS teams or Jacksonville State. The only non-conference games left on the LU schedule are Robert Morris and Coastal Carolina and Coastal is probably not enough on its own.  The good news is that Liberty gets each of the three conference teams they lost to on the road in 2015 at home in 2016.

 

EXHIBIT C:

(3-1) Florida Tech 28, (1-3) Presbyterian 7

Presbyterian finally played a game at home on Saturday and, to mark the occasion, the Blue Hose lost to a team from Division 2.  In fairness, despite being in just their fourth year as a program, Florida Tech was ranked at #19 in the D2 polls and will surely rise after this past weekend.

Early in the first half, FIT proved they were there to win.  After PC’s opening drive went 3-and-out, the Panthers drove the length of the field and capped it with a 1-yard dive for touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.  The score remained the same for most of the first half even though FIT was clearly the dominant force in the game.  Just as Chattanooga and Central Michigan did in previous weeks, Florida Tech stacked the box on defense against RB Darrell Bridges and dared the PC quarterbacks to beat them and, just as in previous weeks, those quarterbacks weren’t up to the challenge. Presby QB Will Brock, who was starting in place of the injured Ben Cheek, left the game early with an ankle injury himself and was replaced by walk-on QB John Walker.  Neither were particularly effective.  On defense, despite giving up the early touchdown, the Blue Hose managed to keep FIT out of the end zone until right before the half.  After Presby kicker Brett Norton pushed a field goal attempt wide right, the Panthers took over the ball at their own 20-yard line with just over a minute left in the first half.  Over the course of the next 28 seconds, FIT went the full 80 yards on three straight screen passes to the same player and took a 14-0 lead into halftime.

That would be enough.

PC taped Brock’s ankle up and sent him back into the game but he couldn’t save them.  After FIT hit a wheel route to the tight end for an 80-yard touchdown play early in the third quarter, the game was essentially over.  Brock’s touchdown pass to WR Darquez Watson gave the Blue Hose a flicker of hope but Florida Tech slammed that door shut with a pick-six in the fourth that ended the scoring.

On the whole, Florida Tech was clearly the more experienced team.   The Panthers found a weaknesses in the PC secondary and exploited them, going so far as to pretty much abandon the run entirely in spite of their mounting lead.  Presbyterian, on the other hand, having found themselves down 21-0 early in the third quarter, also abandoned the run.  The result was a combined 95 passing attempts between the two teams.  Presby’s threw the ball 63 times on the night, almost as many attempts as they had through the prior three games combined.

To touch on the same questions from last week:

  • How significant is QB Ben Cheek’s injury? It’s serious enough that, despite being listed on the depth chart, Cheek didn’t even dress for the game.  What’s curious is that Brock – a former walk-on – was replaced by John Walker, a current walk-on.  Is Cheek the only scholarship-recruited quarterback at PC?  That’s just odd.
  • Presby’s defense is not what it was. There have been some injuries here and there but youth and lack of depth have taken their toll.   PC gave up 400+ yards of offense to Florida Tech.  FIT is a good D2 team but are no better than what Presby is going to see in the rest of the Big South.
  • Bridges’ 16 carries for 67 yards was his lowest output of the season to date.

What does this loss mean for PC? – If Campbell was a win you can build on, this was a loss that will eat you.  Losing to a D2 is bad enough but this comes at the worst possible time, just before an open date that allows the frustration to fester a little bit. Presbyterian has nothing left to play for but a conference title and an out of sync defense along with the round-robin at quarterback makes that the longest of long shots.

 

(2-2) Ohio  37,  (1-3) Gardner-Webb 21

Gardner-Webb traveled up to Athens, OH and fell in a game that was nowhere as close as the final score would indicate. It’s not that Gardner-Webb was bad, it’s just that they had no chance. Ohio was simply methodical and relentless until they no longer had to be.

Gardner-Webb answered Ohio’s opening score with a long touchdown march of their own. But, after Ohio scored again, G-W was stuffed at mid-field on back-to-back short yardage plays and turned the ball over on downs early in the second quarter. The Bobcats drove another score in and the Bulldogs next possession ended with QB Tyrell Maxwell taking a third down sack.  Ohio drove again and scored again and followed that up by sacking Maxwell on third down again, this time in his own end zone for a safety.  Getting the ball back one more time before the half, OU went down the field again but missed a field goal on the last play, leaving the halftime score at 30-7.  That was the only drive in the first half where Ohio didn’t get into the end zone.

As dominant as Ohio was in the first half, under head coach Frank Solich, they haven’t been a program interested in humiliating other teams.  In the second half, the Bobcats came out and ran their offense but, after scoring once more to take a 37-14 lead, it was obvious the sense of urgency was gone.   The two teams traded punts and turnovers for the bulk of the remaining time.  By the time, G-W tacked on a late score with just over two minutes remaining, the game had long been well decided.

There was really nothing remarkable about this game.  Once Ohio stuffed the Bulldogs on 3rd-and-1 and again on 4th-and-1, it was clear that Ohio wasn’t going to allow Gardner-Webb to win this game and there was nothing that G-W could do about it.  After that, it the game felt more like a working scrimmage for both teams.  By game’s end, Ohio had scored touchdowns on five of their ten possessions.  Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb took the opportunity to work on their offense and improve the downfield passing game.  At 1-3, Gardner-Webb’s record isn’t great but they looked better offensively against Ohio than they did against The Citadel.  Defensively, not so much but it was pretty clear early that Ohio was going to set the stage in that regard.

What does this loss mean for Gardner-Webb? – Just like almost everyone else in the conference, the road to the post-season leads through the Big South autobid.  G-W’s only remaining non-conference opponent is D2 Benedict.

 

(2-1) Kennesaw State 36, (2-2)  Duquesne 28

In the first ever flight for the Owls, Kennesaw landed in Pittsburgh to take on the Dukes of Duquesne.

Early on, Duquesne made this a physical contest and Kennesaw State wasn’t completely prepared for it.  The result was a chippy first half that saw the officials having to get in between some jaw-jacking players every few plays and, occasionally, deliver some friendly chatter of their own.  For the first half, momentum swung back and forth between the two teams like an undecided voter on debate night.  KSU scored first on a quarterback dive from the 1-yard line and got the ball back on a defensive stand only to fumble the ball directly into the hands of a DU defender who returned it for touchdown.  In the second quarter, KSU would return the favor as DB Justin Blackmon would intercept a Duquesne pass and return it for touchdown.  Even so, the Dukes would score again just before the half and went into the break with a 17-16 edge.

The second half, however, belonged to KSU WR Justin Sumpter.  Early in the third quarter, Sumpter slipped his defender and got behind everyone.  Backup QB Daniel David hit Sumpter in stride and it was a 67-yard foot race to the house.  After another KSU touchdown on the ground, David found Sumpter again in the fourth quarter, this time for 15 yards and another touchdown that put KSU up by 16 with just over six and a half minutes left.  But, in between touchdowns, Sumpter and his pogo-stick jumping ability were snagging jump balls out of the air and bailing his team out of one jam after another.  Sumpter finished the day with eight catches for 187 yards and two TD’s.  Equally as important, however, five of those catches converted 3rd or 4th downs for KSU and another one bailed them out of a backed up situation at their own goal line.

Duquesne pulled within eight points on a late touchdown but elected to kickoff deep and play defense.  But, the Owls and their triple-option offense successfully ran out the clock and the Dukes never got the ball back.

As much as KSU’s identity is wrapped up in their run-oriented offense, it was their defense and their passing game that decided the day.  Kennesaw picked off Duquesne four times – three from Blackmon alone – and threw the ball for 312 yards as opposed to just 147 yards on the ground.

Two concerns for Kennesaw from this game:

  • The kicking game was a little shaky. They missed a makeable FG in the second quarter that would have put them up by two scores and shanked an extra point to start the game.  Officially, the PAT was blocked but it was blocked by the right upright.
  • Who’s the next QB on the roster for KSU? You might want to get him warmed up.  Through three games, the Owls have used three quarterbacks and only one has finished a game he started.  Season starter Trey White hasn’t returned yet from his groin injury suffered against ETSU and Chandler Burks – who started this game – was forced out when a Duquesne defensive end slammed him face first into the turf of Rooney Field.  It was a legal but completely vicious hit and Burks didn’t move for a while.  It would be surprising if he made the trip to Furman this week.

What does this win mean for Kennesaw? – Well, aside from being the Big South’s only non-conference win on the day, by virtue of Duquesne being a conference champ and playoff participant in 2015, it’s probably the biggest non-conference win of the season for the Big South which isn’t saying much at all.

 

Biggest surprise of the week:  Kennesaw’s passing game.  Lobbing the ball to Sumpter on fourth down was very effective.

Biggest disappointment of the week:  Presbyterian losing being dominated at home by a D2 school.  Ranked or not, that’s just…wow.

SLC: Week 5 Preview

Week 4 proved to be a great week in Southland Conference football (and also my prediction accuracy) as Central Arkansas got their FBS scalp vs Arkansas State, while Nicholls State came within a two point conversion of knocking off South Alabama. Stephen F Austin and Sam Houston both had dominating wins, while McNeese righted their ship, and Southeastern Louisiana gained their first conference win. Let’s take a look at what week 5 has in store for us

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Sam Houston at Stephen F Austin

Sorry readers from other schools; this is the most important conference game this week and it gets top billing. It is the 91st edition of the Battle of the Piney Woods and this game already has huge conference implications. Sam is looking to tie the record for longest winning streak in the series (6) which was set back in 1946! Sam Houston is definitely the cream of the crop when it comes to the Southland, and it is hard to discount them while they are still winning, but so far this year they haven’t really had a schedule of teams who could actually test them. With games vs OPSU, Lamar, and Houston Baptist, it’s hard to tell if this team is as good as previous years. Stephen F Austin almost blew a 31 point lead vs ACU due to complacency in the second half, but they were still able to get the win thanks to forcing six turnovers. While Zach Conque started, Hunter Taylor came in and cleaned house, earning Southland Player of the Week accolades, and the offense seems to click better under Taylor, as opposed to Conque.

It is very hard to pick a winner in this one, because you can usually throw out the record books when these two get together, and I have a feeling it will come down to whomever scores last. If Taylor starts over Conque, then SFA has a very good chance of ending the streak and taking the win. If Coach Conque resorts to starting his son, it could turn into a long day for the SFA offense. I am going to assume Taylor starts, and SFA ends the streak and takes it 42-35.

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Central Arkansas at Abilene Christian

It’s the annual palindrome game, as UCA heads to Abilene to take on the Wildcats. Abilene Christian, after being down 31 points, attempted a valiant comeback, but fell just short against SFA. Unfortunately, the six turnovers by their offense and special teams helped put the nails on the coffin, and it just seems that their streak of bad luck is continuing. They are now 0-4, and with losses to HBU and SFA, it looks like their season is near the point of no return. Central Arkansas comes into this game riding the wave of a FBS victory, beating Arkansas State in Jonesboro 28-23, and they should notch a conference win this week on the road. UCA is going to win, and they are going to win big. Look for a score of 35-7.

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Nicholls State at McNeese State

It’s the battle of Southern Louisiana as the Colonels roll into Lake Charles to face the Cowboys. Nicholls State is probably the most interesting 1-2 team in the country at the moment, as they have a conference win vis Incarnate Word, and two FBS losses by a combined total of three points. They took South Alabama into OT and were stuffed on their second attempt at a two point conversion, and we all remember them almost beating Georgia between the hedges. They aren’t overpowering on offense, but their defense is doing a great job of keeping them in games. McNeese was able to eke out a win vs Incarnate Word in San Antonio. They actually were up big early, and survived a comeback attempt by the Cardinals. Their defense and special teams were able to contribute to the scoring, but fourth quarter turnovers brought Incarnate Word within a touchdown. I think this game will show us what each team is made of, and while in most years McNeese would be the heavy favorite, I am taking Nicholls in this one 28-24.

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Southeastern Louisiana at Lamar

SLU got their first conference win over the hapless Northwestern State Demons and look to make it two in a row vs the Cardinals of Lamar. It was an offensive slugfest in Hammond last weekend, with SLU putting up over 500 yards of offense. Southeastern’s defense gave up over 400 yards of offense, but they made big stops and key plays to keep Northwestern State from notching their first win. Lamar is coming off of their bye week, and are looking for their first win of the year. Kade Harrington, their stellar running back, hasn’t been able to get the wheels turning this year as he has faced three stellar defenses (Coastal Carolina, Houston, and Sam Houston). It will be interesting to see if he can get it going vs a porous Lions defense, and if so, the game will be close, but Southeastern should win this one 24-17.

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Houston Baptist at Western Kentucky

I owe HBU a bit of an apology; they aren’t the worst team in conference this year so I should quit beating up on them, however, this won’t be the week to do so. HBU played well against a Sam Houston team who was just too powerful for them to contend with, and this week will be more of the same. Western Kentucky should win easily, 42-10.

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Incarnate Word at Texas State

A perk to this game is that UIW fans only have to travel about an hour or so to enjoy this one, but that’s about it. Incarnate Word did a great job coming back against McNeese and definitely made a game of it, but they are going to be overmatched against a Texas State team who is still smarting from the shellacking the Houston Cougars laid on them last weekend. Texas State takes this 31-17.

Week 4 AGS GOTW | Montana at Cal Poly

This week’s poll winner for Game of the Week gave us exactly what we were looking for. A shockingly small crowd of just over 8,000 witnessed the Mustangs and Grizzlies battled back and forth for four quarters with seven lead changes and one tie. Cal Poly added what would end up being the game-winning score on a 39 yard TD pass from Dano Graves to running back Kyle Lewis with 4:29 left in the game. Montana had a chance to grab the lead back but missed a 48 yard FG with 1:55 on the clock. After forcing a punt the Griz got one last play, a desperation play with quite a few laterals that only gained a few yards. The game ended and gave Cal Poly their third win in a row over Montana.

Montana quarterback Brady Gustafson had a career day completing 47 passes (a Griz record previously held for over 20 years by Dave Dickenson) on 59 attempts for 418 yards and 2 TDs. His day was smudged by two turnovers; a 2nd quarter interception on a tipped pass which was followed up on the next series by a fumble. Graves, his Cal Poly counterpart, threw only 10 passes on the day, but 3 of those passes went for touchdowns, including the game winner.

In addition to Gustafson’s new record, Montana wide receiver Jerry Louis-McGee set a new record with 21 receptions in a game. He also had both of the Griz touchdowns through the air. (Griz Highlights)

The Mustangs managed to rack up 274 yards on the ground with their physical option attack, down from the 392 they averaged over the first three games of the season. With the Griz stacking the box, Graves made some key throws and was able to connect with his receivers in some one-on-one situations. He made some tough throws under a lot of pressure. (Cal Poly Highlights)

Moving Forward:

Montana has to be disappointed in losing such a close battle, but the Griz are still in control of their playoff destiny. They return to Missoula to host the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in another game that should prove to be important in the Big Sky race.

Cal Poly has moved into the discussion for a Top 4 seed. If they can get through Big Sky play undefeated the playoff committee will have to consider them as a strong candidate. The only issue is that a loss to a team like Eastern Washington would most likely leave the Eagles as the only seed from the Big Sky.  The Mustangs head back to the Dakotas this week to take on conference foe North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks seem to be improving and could present a challenge for the Cal Poly ground game.