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.

AGS Poll: Top 25 Week 4 Results

Week 4 in the AGS poll was not a volatile at the top as last week but there was plenty of movement towards the bottom of the top 25. North Dakota State maintained it’s stranglehold on the top spot followed once again by Jacksonville State and Eastern Washington at #2 and #3, respectively. Chattanooga makes their first appearance in the top 5 coming in at #4 as they leapfrogged Sam Houston State who stayed at #5.

Among the biggest risers of the week were the Cal Poly Mustangs who jumped up 9 spots to #8 after a second consecutive impressive, but close, win – this time at home against Montana. The Southern Utah Thunderbirds also rose 9 spots to #20. Last week we saw one team come from outside the top 40 the previous week to the top 25 in the Stony Brook Seawolves. This week three teams accomplished that feat; the Indiana State Sycamores who debuted at #21, the Central Arkansas Bears who came in at #23, and the Sacred Heart Pioneers who used a stunning upset of the aforementioned Stony Brook to jump to #25.

Montana (down 7 spots to #11),  Illinois State (down 7 spots to #19), and William & Mary (down 11 spots to #22) all saw their rankings take a tumble this week. Stony Brook, Samford, Colgate, and Portland State all dropped out of the top 25 this week after sustaining losses.

The MVFC led the way in terms of representation with 7 teams in the top 25. They were followed by the CAA with 5 and the Big Sky with 4.

One final note; for proof that every vote matters check out the spread between numbers #4-#5 and #16-#17.

Full results below:

Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes Previous Wk.
1 North Dakota State Bison 2050 82 1
2 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1890 2
3 Eastern Washington Eagles 1874 3
4 Chattanooga Mocs 1695 6
5 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1694 5
6 Western Illinois Leathernecks 1655 8
7 James Madison Dukes 1483 7
8 Cal Poly Mustangs 1363 17
9 The Citadel Bulldogs 1284 9
10 Richmond Spiders 1238 10
11 Montana Grizzlies 1224 4
12 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 997 14
13 Northern Iowa Panthers 961 13
14 Albany Great Danes 865 18
15 Youngstown State Penguins 855 16
16 Eastern Illinois Panthers 833 19
17 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 832 15
18 Villanova Wildcats 763 20
19 Illinois State Redbirds 389 12
20 Southern Utah Thunderbirds 327 29
21 Indiana State Sycamores 290 NR
22 William & Mary Tribe 286 11
23 Central Arkansas Bears 278 NR
24 Harvard Crimson 228 25
25 Sacred Heart Pioneers 166 NR
ORV:
26 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 150 31
27 Colgate Raiders 138 23
28 Samford Bulldogs 128 22
29 North Carolina A&T Aggies 103 27
30 Dartmouth Big Green 88 30
31 McNeese State Cowboys 84 28
32 Stony Brook Seawolves 73 21
33 Fordham Rams 64 32
34 Southern Illinois Salukis 45 33
35 Wofford Terriers 44 NR
36 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 42 38
37 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 36 26
38 Tennessee State Tigers 31 36
39 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 19 34
40 Elon Phoenix 16 NR
Fell Out Of Poll:
Mercer Bears
Nicholls State Colonels
Portland State Vikings
South Carolina State Bulldogs
Western Carolina Catamounts

 

Most Significant Win: Cal Poly Mustangs

Most Significant Loss: William & Mary Tribe

SOCON: Week 4 Review and Power Rankings

It was a light week for the Southern Conference as three teams (The Citadel, Mercer and Western Carolina) had the week off.  VMI played out of conference at Bucknell and Furman was at FBS bound Coastal Carolina.  The conference race actually cleared a small amount with a key match up between UTC and Samford.  Wofford also faced off against a rising ETSU.

Wofford 31 ETSU 0   (box score)

In its first conference game of the season, Wofford made a big statement by knocking off ETSU in dominating fashion, 31-0. In its second consecutive shutout, the Terriers also made a statement about its defense.  After holding ETSU to just 76 total yards, it has now passed fellow SOCON member UTC for the number one spot for total defense in FCS.

Running up an impressive rushing total of 350 yards, Wofford moved into the #3 spot in rushing in FCS. Wofford’s leading rusher was Lorenzo Long who finished with 156 yards on 18 carries for an impressive 8.2 average.  He added 2 TDs as well.

Wofford began the game with a solid 79 yard drive of 12 plays which took nearly 6 minutes. After a three and out by ETSU, Wofford did it again for 60 yards in 13 plays and it took almost another 6 minutes off the clock. The TD came on a 4th and goal from the 4.  That was one of four, fourth down conversions by Wofford on the day.  They also scored on a 13 yard scamper on another 4th down later.

By the end of the 1st quarter ETSU was still on its second possession, and they had to punt that one away as well. That is how the day went for ETSU.  Wofford totaled nearly 40 minutes of possession in the game.  In the second quarter the ETSU defense stiffened up a bit and the teams traded a few punts to leave it at 14-0 in Wofford’s favor at the half.

The third quarter saw Wofford score on its first possession after holding ETSU to a 3 and out. After trading a few punts, the Terriers again scored on a 60 yard drive at the beginning of the 4th to make it 28-0.  They tacked on a FG late in the 4th for a 31-0 victory.

Bucs QB Austin Herink was held to just 80 yards going 14-22. The Wofford defense registered 3 sacks on the day.  The Wofford defense held ETSU to a minus 7 on the ground, sunken greatly by the sack yardage.  Overall, the Terriers defense recorded 9 tackles for loss against the Bucs.

The only blemish for Wofford’s numbers was a disappointing 3rd down conversion record of 3-15. But with 21 1st downs they really didn’t need them.  The Terriers also did not need any passing yards to get the job done finishing with just 14 yards through the air on the day.

It was a fairly mistake free and clean game for both teams with no turnovers and a mere 4 penalties called in the entire game.  On special teams, Wofford got a 34 yard field goal and missed a 45 yarder.

ETSU gets no break as they face the #2 FCS defense of Chattanooga next week at home. Wofford will travel to Samford to see if they can contain Samford’s aerial attack as well as UTC did last week.

# 6 Chattanooga 41  #22 Samford 21 (box score)

Last September, UTC dimmed Samford’s conference championship hopes 31-21. They did it again in an even more convincing manner and put Samford in the hole for the conference title.  Mocs QB Alejandro Bennifield delivered a great effort going 19/34 for 236 yards and 2 TDs.  But the star for the Mocs, at least in the second half, was running back Derrick Craine who ran for 222 yards for a scorching 9.7 average and 2 TDs.  Although Samford had some success through the air, the Bulldog’s anemic running game was held to a dismal 46 yards by the stout Mocs defense.

The game started out with the foes trading punts or turnovers for most of the 1st quarter except for a UTC TD which came after a 5 play 91 yard drive which nearly ended in disaster for the Mocs. After Bennifield connected with his receiver, and on his way to the goal after a 70 yard jaunt, Samford forced a fumble.  Luckily for UTC they fell on it in the end zone for the first score.

At the beginning of the second quarter a Samford fumble at midfield gave the Mocs great field position which they capitalized on with a 51 yard, 8 play drive for the second score. After trading more punts, both teams would then trade scores, with Samford finally getting a sustained drive of 85 yards in 9 plays to cut the score to 21-7 prior to half.

After forcing a three and out to start the second half, Samford had excellent field position at the UTC 48 after a great punt return. Two plays later Bulldog QB Devlin Hodges connected for a long pass and a near TD only to have UTC force a fumble of its own and get a touchback out of it.  That about sums up Samford’s outing for the day.  They suffered 1 interception and 2 fumbles in the game.  Against a dominating Chattanooga defense, this was fatal.  To be fair, the UTC secondary did have something to do with those turnovers.  Even so, Hodges had fairly impressive numbers going 33/53 and 343 yards, but couldn’t piece it together to put points on the board.  He also didn’t have enough time with UTC holding the ball for an enviable 39+ minutes.   And when he did have it, Hodges had to dodge Preseason All American Keionta Davis who recorded 3 sacks on the day.  UTC would get to the Samford QB 5 times in all.

Samford did score on their next possession and again in the fourth, but UTC would match them each time and tack on a couple FGs as well. As well as Bennifield played, the second half could have been called the Derrick Craine show.  Samford had no answer for the elusive Mocs running back who tallied nearly 200 yards in the second half alone.  It was his career high and third highest in school history.  That is how you play conference games.

As mentioned, it was a bit of a sloppy game by both teams. In addition to the 2 turnovers, UTC had 8 penalties for 79 yards with one of those keeping a Samford drive alive.  Samford turned it over three times.  Also, UTC again had poor numbers on 3rd downs making only 6 of 18 attempts, but they got all the yardage they needed racking up 518 in total.  But they were also 2 of 2 on 4th downs making the first one on a 4th and 4, fake punt, direct snap to Craine at their own 39.  He picked up 32 yards.  The other one they got on a 4-1 at the Samford 35.  Craine ran that one as well…for 35 yards and a score.

Now at 4-0 and tied with the Citadel at 2-0 in conference, UTC is in the driver’s seat having knocked off one of the best teams able to threaten its chance at another conference championship.   They travel to Johnson City next week in what will probably be a one sided affair at ETSU.  Samford, now 2-1 and 0-1 in the SOCON, has to get up, dust itself off and face a disciplined Wofford team at home next week.

VMI 23   Bucknell 17 (3OT) (box score)

VMI had not won two consecutive road games since 1982. Wow!  I was a cadet back then.  It took 3 overtimes to do it, but they pulled out their second consecutive road win of the year, this time against Bucknell.  And in what can only be viewed as a bizarre ending, the first 2 OTs were completely scoreless.

VMI looked like they took control early. To open the game, they held the Bison to a couple first downs and forced a punt.  The Keydets then marched 88 yards in 8 plays.  This included 4 runs by VMI’s leading running back, Daz Palmer, who ran for 27 yards including a 9 yard TD run on the drive.  It also included 4 passes by their solid QB, Al Cobb, who passed for 61 yards.  Cobb also became VMI’s leading career passer on this drive.  VMI didn’t convert and the score was 6-0.

After this first score, the two teams first traded interceptions, then missed field goals. Bucknell struck next at the beginning of the second on an 8 play, 69 yard drive to make it 7-6.   On the very next drive Cobb threw his second interception on a long ball deep in Bucknell territory and it looked as though he was again infected with the turnover bug.  He had held them check so far this year with none coming into this game.  But neither team could produce much except punts for the rest of the half and the score remained 7-6 at the break.

Bucknell held VMI on their opening drive of the second half and then drove 70 yards in 10 plays to go up 14-6. VMI answered right back with an 8 play 64 yard drive.  They also got back even at 14 with a two point conversion.

On the next drive Bucknell made an impressive 11 play 67 yard effort but VMI stopped them on a 4th and 2 at the VMI 6 yard line to get the ball back. Bucknell held VMI in turn and went on another drive at the start of the 4th quarter, this time ending with a 22 yard FG to make it 17-14 Bucknell.

With 8:28 to go VMI began what they hoped was a game winning scoring drive. The Keydets moved the ball well, but Bucknell snapped up yet another Cobb interception at their own 20.  But the VMI defense stepped up and forced a 3 and out.

With 5:44 to go VMI tried it again. They drove 59 yards in 15 plays only to be stopped at the Bucknell 7.  They did kick a 25 yard FG to even things at 17.  Bucknell threatened on their final drive with less than a minute to go, but the game headed into OT.

VMI won the toss and obviously elected to go on defense. Bucknell made it to the 5 but decided to go for it on 4th and 2 only to be stuffed by the VMI defense.  Only needing a field goal to win it, VMI required ball security and a few yards to seal it.  Oh yeah, and a good kick as well.  They made it to the Bucknell 5 only have their FG attempt blocked.

In the next OT VMI only got to the 21 and missed the 38 yard attempt wide left. Wow.  Now Bucknell only needed a FG to win.  Enter VMI’s defense.  They held the Bison to 0 yards and the 42 yard attempt missed as well.  I am not sure I have ever heard of two scoreless OT periods before.

Now in the 3rd OT, the VMI defense stepped up again with an interception on Bucknell’s first play. Not taking any chances this time with an iffy field goal attempt, the Keydets ran 5 times.  The last run was by Daz Palmer for 12 yards and the win.

It is easy to look at Cobb and Palmer as the VMI saviors, but the real heroes appear to be the Keydet defense. Specifically linebackers Cratsenberg and Francis who combined for 34 tackles between them, including 6 tackles for loss.

Cobb did finish 34/52 and 285 yards, and as mentioned, the all time leading career passer at VMI. His three interceptions could have been costly, but VMI’s defense did not let Bucknell convert any into scores.  VMI ended with 443 total yards to Bucknell’s 403.

It will definitely be remembered by the VMI faithful as one for the history books. And it could very well give the Keydets some much needed confidence as they head into conference play.  They open with Mercer at home next week.

Coastal Carolina 41   Furman 21 (box score)

The good news for Furman is that they scored more points in this game than in any so far this year. They also outgained CCU and they held a hefty advantage in TOP.  Their defense was actually pretty good as well.  The bad news is their special teams broke down on multiple levels and led to at least 3 Coastal scores.  Ouch.  It’s hard to recover mentally from that.

Coastal took the opening kickoff down to the Furman 35 to give them the short field and an eventual score to go up less than 2 minutes into the game. After a short drive Furman had to punt, but they held CCU as well. Furman’s next drive fared no better and they had to punt again.  This time the Chanticleers drove 77 yards in 13 plays but were forced to settle for a FG.  Score one for the Furman D.

After a decent kickoff return Furman’s offense got some traction and made it to the CCU 25 yard line. But they were held and they had to settle for a FG attempt.  But CCU blocked it, scooped it, and scampered 60 yards for a score to make it 17-0 mid way through the 2nd quarter.

As if this was not enough, after Coastal kicked off, Furman ran two plays deep in their territory and fumbled it. But CCU got nowhere and they had to settle for a field goal again to make it 20-0.  Score another one for the Furman D.

After CCU’s defense forced a 3 and out, Furman punted and suffered an 80 yard punt return for another score to make it 27-0 toward the end of the 2nd quarter.

Furman did engineer a ten play, 72 yard scoring drive to make it 27-7 at the half, but Furman would have to dig deep to come back from such a poor half time showing.

To their credit, Furman did come out in the third ready to play. They drove their opening possession 7 plays and 65 yards for a TD to close the gap to 27-14.  CCU answered right back to keep it a 20 point lead at 34-14.

The next 4 possessions for Furman were disasters; one punt and 3 interceptions. CCU moved the ball each drive, but got no more offensive scores.  But they did return one of the three interceptions for a TD to make it 41-14. Furman scored late on a 65 yard drive to make 41-21.

Furman’s senior QB Reese Hannon started after P.J. Blazejowski left the game at UTC last week with an injury. Hannon went 26/45 for 305 yards with 3 interceptions and 2 TDs.  Furman ended up with a mediocre 103 yards rushing.  Furman outgained the Chanticleers, who had 253 on the ground and only 130 in the air.  But who need yards when your defense and special teams can score 21.

This was a disappointing finish to Furman’s brutal September schedule. They may get a break next week at home with Kennesaw State.

Power Rankings:

1) Chattanooga

2) The Citadel

3) Wofford

4) Samford

5) VMI

6) Mercer

7) Western Carolina

8) Furman

9) ETSU

 

MVFC: Week 4 Review

MVFC LogoMaybe it’s just me, but this seemed like a weird weekend in the MVFC. There were 2 ½ games played this weekend, with two potentially considered “upsets” (depending on your own personal ranking system). Also, just for clarification, since only 4 of the 10 teams in the conference were in action this week, it was a much smaller pool of players to choose from for the weekly conference awards.

In case you’re just here to see what the scores were, here’s those:

#9 Illinois State – 31
Indiana State – 34

#13 Western Illinois – 28
FBS Northern Illinois – 23

Missouri State – 0
FBS Kansas State – 35
(game called at halftime due to weather)

And now for the details and insight…

First game up was Illinois State at Indiana State. In probably the closest thing to a “normal” game that happened this weekend, the Redbirds traveled 2 hours down the road to visit the Sycamores’ home field. Illinois State started backup QB Tristan Smith due to an injury to starting QB Jake Kolbe’s shoulder last weekend. After nearly 2 quarters and falling behind 17-7, the Redbirds decided that a banged-up Kolbe would still be better than a full-strength Smith. It took a while to get warmed up, and IN State would get up 24-7 early in the 3rd quarter, but IL State would battle back, coming within 3 points twice in the 4th quarter…27-24 with just under 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and then 31-34 with 3:07 left. The Redbird defense held the Sycamores to a 3 and out on the following possession, but then after a couple of decent passing plays, Kolbe was sacked by Indiana State LB Jonas Griffith. Kolbe fumbled the ball on the play and it was recovered by Indiana State DL Kenyota Rollins. Indiana State was then able to pick up a first down, after which they were able to take a couple of knees and run out the clock on the Redbirds, making 34-31 the final score.

Illinois State WR Anthony Warrum caught 151 yards and 2 TDs and their QB Kolbe passed for 258 yards and 3 TDs (in only slightly more than 2 quarters of work), but was sacked 3 times. The lead rusher for Illinois State was RB George Moreira with only 37 yards, but he did have 1 TD. Indiana State’s lead receiver, WR Bob Pugh, finished the game with 93 yards receiving. Pugh also picked up 92 yards on kick returns (196 all-purpose yards) which was good enough for the MVFC Newcomer of the Week award. WRs Robert Tonyan and Miles Thompson each had a receiving TD also. RB Roland Genesy had a good day running the ball, picking up 112 yards and 2 rushing TDs, and QB Isaac Harker (last week’s MVFC offensive player of the week) put up 237 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT and was sacked 3 times. Indiana State’s kicker Jerry Nunez had a couple of key FGs, hitting a 41 yarder in the 2nd quarter, and a 27 yarder in the 4th quarter, as well as going 4 for 4 on XPs. Considering the difference in the game was only 3 points, he definitely contributed in a significant way to the Sycamore win. Nunez was awarded the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Defensively, the Redbirds had two players with 13 total tackles, Safety Alec Kocour (who also had 1 interception), and LB Brent Spack. Indiana State DB Tsali Lough finished with 11 tackles, LB Jameer Thurman with 10 including 1.5 for loss and 1 forced fumble, and LB Jonas Griffith with 8 tackles, and 1 tackle for loss…the key sack/forced fumble that effectively ended the game.

The Redbirds fall to 2-2 (after starting the season beating Valparaiso and the Big 10’s Northwestern, then falling to both Eastern Illinois and Indiana State) and will have to head up to the Fargodome to take on the Bison of NDSU at their Homecoming game next week. Indiana State moves up to 3-1 overall (after beating Butler, losing to Big 10’s Minnesota…the MVFC’s only loss to a Big 10 team this season, then beating Southeast Missouri State and Illinois State) and will host the Missouri State Bears next weekend in their own Homecoming game.

Next up, we have a game where an occasionally successful 2-win FCS team travels a few hours northwest to take on a currently winless in-state G5 FBS opponent that they’ve actually played quite a few times throughout their history. As usual, the FBS team is favored, but the FCS team holds off a late surge to come away with a 28-23 victory and another FCS over FBS scalp for the season. The winning FCS team flies their purple flags proudly, and the losing FBS team packs up their red and black ones and their mascot goes home with his doggy tail between his legs. Of course, I’m talking about….the Central Arkansas Bears beating the Arkansas State Red Wolves….no…wait….sorry….the Western Illinois Leathernecks beating the Northern Illinois Huskies. The parallels between these two games are a bit insane…from the final score, the in-state aspect, the level of the teams, the team colors…even the distance between the two schools, the size of the FCS schools, and the size of the FBS schools all being roughly equivalent.

Anyway, enough about UCA and A-State, I’m here to talk about my own Leathernecks taking on the NIU Huskies, which was the game I attended this weekend. With the Huskies doing pretty badly so far this season (0-3 prior to the game), and Western doing surprisingly well (2-0 up to that point), NIU was technically favored with most rankings/oddsmakers, but only by a few points…roughly the difference of home-field advantage + or – a couple of points. The Leathernecks started off very strong in the game, going ahead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Huskies started to step things up a little bit in the second quarter, putting up a TD themselves, and making it 14-7 at the half. In the 3rd quarter, Western had 2 more TDs in the first half of the quarter to bring them to 28 points, with a 28-7 lead going into the 4th.

In the 4th however, the Leathernecks “let off the gas” and went to pretty conservative playcalling, punting on 4 straight series and only picking up 2 first downs the entire time. The Huskies were able to capitalize on some big-gain plays, first picking up a touchdown on a 2-play drive (38 yard pass, then 23 yard TD run), and then another touchdown on a 6-play drive that finished with a 39 yard TD pass. NIU went for two on that last TD, but was unable to convert, making the score 28-23 at that point. NIU would get within the 20 on their next drive, but needing a TD to take the lead, went for it on 4th down and was turned away.

Three plays and 23 game seconds later, the Leathernecks would be forced to punt again, giving the Huskies another chance at it with about 2 ½ minutes left on the clock. Again the Huskies drove down the field picking up first down after first down until they reached the Western 16-yard line. They hit a 6 yard run, then a 1 yard run, making it 3rd and 3 from the 9. After an incomplete pass, it was 4th and 3, and again, needing a TD to take the lead, they went for it. With pressure coming from the left side from LB Brett Taylor, NIU’s QB Maddie went for a pass down the middle to a NIU receiver in the end zone that was knocked out of the way by LB Riggs Baxter (despite the announcers saying it was David Griffith…I went back and reviewed the replay repeatedly to double-check). One kneel-down later to run out the final 35 seconds and Western had taken down the NIU Huskies by a final score of 28-23.

Something interesting about this game, and I’m sure it happens every now and then, although it’s the first time I can remember seeing it in person, every score of the game happened in the south end zone (which just happened to be the area right in front of where I was sitting). All of Western’s scoring came in the 1st and 3rd quarters…NIU’s in the 2nd and 4th.

Western’s QB Sean McGuire finished the game with 315 yards and 1 TD passing, as well as 11 yards and 1 TD rushing, which garnered him a MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award as well as College Sports Madness FCS Offensive Player of the Week Award. The Huskies keyed into WIU RB Steve McShane pretty well, holding him to only 80 yards and 1 TD rushing (plus 43 yards receiving, so 123 all-purpose yards). Transfer RB Jamie Gilmore also picked up a TD. On the receiving end, WR Lance Lenoir was covered well, catching only 83 yards, while (usually #2) WR Joey Borsellino racked up 148 yards receiving…his 5th 100+ yard receiving game. Defensively, WIU’s Brett Taylor had 13 tackles (12 solo), and a ½ sack, earning him a MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

NIU had two QBs combine for 251 passing yards and 2 TDs, with 1 INT. Their top rushing performer was Jordan Huff, who racked up 130 yards and 1 TD on 9 attempts (a 14.4 yard per carry average). Receiver Kenny Golliday burned the Western DBs for 113 receiving yards and 1 TD, as well as picking up 39 yards on the ground. Their top tackler was Brandon Mayes with 12 total tackles including 1 tackle for loss.

Western stays “perfect” at 3-0 on the season (also defeating Eastern Illinois and Northern Arizona) and will head up to Brookings, SD to take on South Dakota State next weekend. Northern also stays “perfect” and 0-4 on the season (having lost to Wyoming, South Florida, and San Diego State earlier). They will head over to Indiana and attempt to salvage some semblance of even a mediocre season against Ball State.

Finally, we have our ½ game…and I do mean “finally” because the game between Missouri State and Kansas State was initially delayed quite a bit due to a significant amount of lightning in the air. The ½ part comes in due to the fact that the game was called at halftime for the same reason, and since it looked like it wasn’t going to let up for most of the evening. The game itself was essentially a “shortened blowout” of what was expected, with the Bears falling 35-0 through two quarters of play. MSU started the game already handicapped somewhat due to the suspension of their starting QB, Breck Reddick, who was suspended Friday night for “conduct detrimental to the team” tied to allegations of animal abuse against him. The university’s Office of Student Conduct is handling the investigation and Reddick will not return to team activities until the situation is resolved.

So, starting their #2 QB Brodie Lambert, as well as giving a shot to backup QB Michael Briggs, the Bears didn’t have much success. To get an idea of how the game played out, all you have to do is look at the end result of each of the drives for each team. For MSU, it went: punt, fumble, punt, punt, punt, punt, interception. On the KSU side of things: TD, TD, punt, TD, TD, TD, punt, missed FG (I assume due to the storm/wind situation). To MSU’s credit, the two drives where Kansas State had to punt, the Bears defense held pretty well, defending passes mostly, and holding them to 3-and-outs for each of those two possessions.

Offensively, MSU didn’t have much going on. The QBs combined for 24 total passing yards and 1 interception and their top rusher was WR Malik Earl with 11 yards on 1 attempt. Receiving-wise, TB Phoenix Johnson led the way with 1 catch for 9 yards. In total, the Bears had 54 yards of offense. On the defensive side of things, LB Eric Greely had 5 total tackles with 1 for loss, S. Cameron Price and LB Dylan Cole each had 3 tackles.

For KSU, it was pretty much the opposite story. QB Jesse Ertz passed for 94 yards and 2 TDs and rushed for 85 yards. FB Winston Dimel only rushed for 19 yards but accounted for 2 TDs on the ground. RB Charles Jones picked up the other rushing TD. On the receiving end there wasn’t a ton of yards through the air…again, half a game, in wind and rain, but it looks like they spread the ball around quite a bit, with 8 players getting at least 1 catch. WR Byron Pringle had 30 yards and 1 TD and WR Dominique Heath had the other receiving TD.

Overall, I think this was pretty much a game that Missouri State would like to just forget and move on from, for a multitude of reasons. Despite the loss, the Bears are still 2-1 after previously beating Southwestern College (NAIA) and Murray State and will head over to play Indiana State next weekend.

K-State is also 2-1 now, after previously losing to Stanford and beating Florida Atlantic. They head over and play at West Virginia to open up Big 12 play for the season.

So, a couple of close exciting games, one an FCS over FBS upset, and one particularly ugly game. Last week in my Week 4 preview article, I made predictions for the games. Here’s what I predicted and how I did:

Illinois State by 7 – missed on this one, Indiana State won by 3
Western Illinois by 4 – nailed this one, almost on the button, Western won by 5
Kansas State by 51 – I’m going to go ahead and count this as a win, if you don’t mind. K-State was up by 35 at halftime and it’s entirely likely that if the game hadn’t been shortened by weather, they would have continued to pile on points for a bit more, probably getting up in the range of a margin of 40-50 or so before letting off the gas and getting some of the younger players some time on the field. It’s possible that MSU might have picked up a FG or even a TD, but nothing that I saw or read tells me that it wouldn’t have likely ended up roughly in the vicinity of a 50 point win.

So, for my first week of predictions in the MVFC, I’d say I’m 2-1.

Next week begins the “meat grinder” that is the Missouri Valley Football Conference season. It’s that time of year where all the MVFC teams just beat the heck out of each other until a few teams emerge, bloody, beaten, but in the majority of their games, victorious, and proceed to drag themselves off to the playoffs where they quite frequently dismantle some of the FCS’s better teams before often running into another MVFC team. It’s also the time of year that gave North Dakota State 4 of their 5 losses over the previous 5 years. If any team isn’t intimidated by the Fargodome crowd, it’s a MVFC team. This is part of the reason why only MVFC teams have beaten the Bison at home, despite having many very good teams show up to play there throughout 5 years of playoffs and into this year with Charleston Southern and Eastern Washington both failing to defeat the Bison at their dome/barn/shed/not a stadium.

Stay tuned for my Week 5 preview article later this week, where we’ve got Illinois State at North Dakota State, Missouri State at Indiana State, South Dakota at Youngstown State, Southern Illinois at Northern Iowa, and Western Illinois at South Dakota State.

Patriot League: Week 4 Preview

For the first time since week 1 all seven Patriot League teams are in action. This weekends  slate features four traditional Patriot League vs Ivy Leagues games. All of which will be played on the Patriot League team’s home turf. There’s also two intriguing games featuring #10 Richmond and #20 Villanova from the CAA. The league will be hoping Lafayette and/or Colgate can notch a win to prevent the Patriot League from putting up an “O’fer” against the CAA in out of conference play. After two straight losses Bucknell will be looking to get back on track against Southern Conference member VMI.

Princeton @ Lehigh – 24 Sept. 12:30 P.M. Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA

(Patriot League Network)

Lehigh (1-2) and Princeton (1-0) will do battle for the 59th time this weekend. The Tigers currently own a 40-16-2 series record but Lehigh has won 11 out of the last 15 meetings. Princeton won last year’s game 52-26 by taking advantage of numerous Lehigh mistakes. The Mountain Hawks turned the ball over 4 times and committed 10 penalties in the loss. As a result of those numerous self-inflicted wounds Lehigh managed only 26 points on their 561 yards of total offense.

There’s the potential for a lot of yards and points to be posted again this year. Both teams are coming off very good offensive performances. Lehigh racked up 548 yards and 49 points against Penn while Princeton put up 35 points by using a balanced attacked (178 passing/182 rushing) versus Lafayette. Leading the charge for the Tigers and Mountain Hawks are two talented and experienced quarterbacks. Nick Shafnisky and Chad Kanoff (2nd team All-Ivy League preseason) have proven their ability to light up defenses for quite some time.

Kanoff’s ability to attack every level of the defense allows Princeton to score from anywhere on the field. Kanoff will look to fellow senior Joe Rhattigan to lead the ground attack. The senior running back is coming off an excellent season opening performance (136 yards, 3 TDs) against Lafayette. The Tiger’s 2015 leading WR Isaiah Barnes also started the year with a bang. The 6’3 210 pound second year starter torched the Leopards for 5 receptions and 102 yards.

Lehigh’s defense will also have to contend with Princeton’s fast paced and diversified attack. The Tigers will go anywhere from hurry up to NASCAR fast at times in an attempt to apply added stress an opposing defense. The Tigers offensive coordinator James Perry will often turn a trick play when he feels a defense is on its heels. Lehigh’s defense will look to carry over the momentum from their second half performance against Penn last week when they shutout the Quakers.

Of Note: It took Lehigh 33 attempts to finally notch their first win over Princeton in 1930. Lehigh did manage to salvage two ties in that span (1911, 1924). The then Engineers never scored more than 6 points against Princeton until their 13-9 win in 1930.

Penn @ Fordham – 24 Sept. 1 P.M. Jack Coffey Field Bronx, NY

(Patriot League Network)

Fordham (1-1) hosts their first FCS opponent of 2016, the Penn Quakers (0-1), on Home Coming in the Bronx. The Rams have been on both ends of blowouts to start the year. They took it on the chin against Navy in the season opener then proceeded to rout Division 2 Elizabeth City College 83-21 in historic fashion two weeks ago. Penn opened their 2016 campaign last weekend with a 49-28 loss to Lehigh. Fordham used a late field goal to sneak by Penn 48-45 last year in Philadelphia. Penn QB Alek Torgersen missed that game with an injury.

The Rams will look for an improved defensive performance this time around. However, that might be easier said than done given the amount of injuries the unit is dealing with. Defensive tackles Emmanual Adeyeye and Tony Fox will both miss the Penn game leaving a large void in the middle of the defensive line. Fordham will hope the added time off to prepare will allow the new faces to step-up and fill the void without too many hiccups. If the Rams aren’t able to successfully get the defensive up to speed it might be a long day for the unit given the weapons the Quakers possess on offense.

The Penn QB and WR duo of Alek Torgersen and Justin Watson form a deadly passing duo. It will be imperative for Fordham to get pressure on Torgersen early and often in order to keep the passing attack out of sync. Lehigh was able to get after Torgersen in the second half which was a major reason their defense was able to hold the Quaker offense scoreless in the second half.

Should the Rams defense struggle, the offense seems more than capable of keeping up. Like Fordham, Penn is also trying to sort things out on defense after surrendering 561 yards to Lehigh last weekend. Having uncertainty on defense is never a good thing when facing an offense led by arguably the best running back in FCS, Chase Edmonds. The Quakers will hope the improvement made from game one to game two is enough to slow down Edmonds and Co.

Of Note: Fordham is currently on a 19 game home winning streak dating back to the final contest of the 2012 season when they lost to Patriot League Champions Colgate 41-39. Penn is part of the streak due to their 60-22 loss to Fordham the last time they visited the Bronx on October 11, 2014.

Dartmouth @ Holy Cross – 24 Sept. 1:05 P.M. Fitton Field Worcester, MA

(Patriot League Network)

After opening the season with three consecutive road games, Holy Cross (1-2) gets an opportunity to defend their home turf against the Big Green of Dartmouth (1-0). The Crusaders are coming off of two straight disappointing road losses to CAA conference mates New Hampshire and Albany. Meanwhile, Dartmouth is coming off of a potential program defining win over of their in-state rival New Hampshire. It’s easily Buddy Teevens biggest out conference win over the course of his 12 seasons in Hanover. Dartmouth won the most recent meeting against Holy Cross 24-21 in 2014. The all-time series is tied up 37-37-4.

A major key for the Crusaders will be tightening up a rush defense that yielded 362 yards to New Hampshire and 220 yards against Albany. The inability to stop the run also allowed the opposing quarterbacks to make big plays in the passing game the last two weeks. Holy Cross will likely have their hands full again against Dartmouth. Juniors Ryder Stone (RB) and Jack Heneghan (QB) spearheaded a rushing attack that piled up 206 yards in the win over New Hampshire. Heneghan added 220 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

The Crusaders chances of victory will likely lie in the hands of Peter Pujals again. The senior quarterback continues to put up huge numbers in the passing game (leads nation in completions per game) despite being without stud WR Brendan Flaherty the last two games. If there’s one chink in Pujals’s armor so far this year it’s been turnovers. He has five interceptions and a fumble lost so far this year. A few of those turnovers have come at especially inopportune times.

Both teams’ defenses are led by exceptional talents at linebacker. Holy Cross’s junior Nick McBeath leads the team 29 total tackles, 3 of which being for losses. Dartmouth will look to Folarin Orimolade (First Team preseason All-Ivy League) to pick up where he left off against New Hampshire. The senior LB had 9 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and a pass break-up in Dartmouth’s big win.

Orimolade’s teammate Joe Cascarano earned Ivy League Defensive POW honors for his key fumble recovery and game ending sack.

Of Note: Dartmouth is the Crusaders second most played out of conference opponent with 78 meetings. Boston College remains Holy Cross’s most played (82 meetings) non-conference opponent despite the two having not played since 1986. Holy Cross is scheduled to play Boston College in 2018.

Columbia @ Georgetown – 24 Sept. 2:00 P.M. Cooper Field Washington D.C

(Patriot League Network)

Georgetown (2-0) will be seeking their first 3-0 start since 1999 when they play host to the Columbia Lions (0-1) Saturday afternoon. The Hoyas were members of the MAAC in 1999 when they began the 5-0 season en route to a 9-2 final record and league championship. Columbia will also be seeking to build some early season momentum under second year head coach, and Ivy League Legend, Al Bagnoli. The Lions showed considerable progress in 2015 even though their record (2-8) did not reflect that. The defense kept them in nearly every game but a limited offense killed their chances at a .500 or better record. Columbia’s offensive woes appeared last week in a 13-9 loss to Saint Francis to begin the year.

Based on the first two games, Georgetown might not be the defense Columbia’s “O” wants to see. The Hoyas have limited their first two opponents to 15.5 ppg. Perhaps even more impressive has been their ability to shut down the run (69 ypg). Lion’s junior RB Chris Shroer was able to have some success last week against Saint Francis on the ground. As a team, Columbia did manage to post 154 rushing yards. The passing game continues to be the Lion’s biggest Achilles’ heel. Senior Skyler Mornhinweg’s 2015 struggles showed (15-32 112 yards 1 TD, 1 INT) up in the season opener. Mornhinweg will need to give Columbia balance if the Lions want leave our nation’s capital with a win.

Georgetown’s quarterback Tim Barnes has enjoyed a solid start to his 2016 season. If he can avoid costly mistakes and continue to get the ball in his talented wide receiver’s hands the Hoyas should have some success passing the ball. Junior Alex Valles will look to take advantage of a Lion defense that surrendered 273 rushing yards last week.

Of Note: This will be the second battle for the Lou Little Trophy between Georgetown and Columbia. Lou Little coached for both Georgetown (1924-1929) and Columbia (1930-1956) with great success. Georgetown won last year’s game 24-16.

VMI @ Bucknell – 24 Sept. 3:00 P.M. Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA

(Patriot League Network)

After two straight losses, Bucknell (1-2) will try to get back on track this weekend when they welcome Southern Conference member VMI (1-1) to Central Pennsylvania. The Bison played without starting quarterback R.J. Nitti in last weekend’s game against Cornell. It’s uncertain if Nitti will be under center when the offense takes the field against VMI. If not, junior Matt Muh figures to get the start. The Bison beat VMI 28-26 last year in an OT thriller.

VMI opened 2016 with a tough 44-27 loss to FBS Akron but were able to bounce back with 17-13 win over non-scholarship Morehead State. The Keydets had last week off.

VMI is led by preseason All-SoCon first team duo QB Al Cobb and WR Aaron Sanders. Cobb has the potential to break three career school records on Saturday. He needs 30 yards to become the career leader in passing yards, 1 passing TD to own the record for touchdown passes, and 21 completions to break that record. Needless to say, the usually stingy Bison defense will have their work cut out trying to slow down the Keydets passing attack. Bucknell will also have to deal with a rushing attack that utilizes several backs. Freshman Daz Palmer has led the way but Quan Myers and Brice Tucker have also contributed through the first two games.

Regardless of who starts at QB for Bucknell, VMI should expect to see a healthy dose of Bison RB Joey DeFloria. The junior RB has been the one true constant (132 ypg rushing) for an otherwise struggling Bucknell offense. Talented senior WR Will Carter is also a play-maker but the lack of production from the QB spot has hurt his ability to consistently produce.

Of Note: Amazingly, the Keydets will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2005. But that’s not the most shocking stat of the week. The Keydets have not won back-to-back road games since 1981!

#23 Colgate @ #10 Richmond – 24 Sept. 3:30 P.M. Robbins Stadium Richmond, VA

(Spider TV)

Colgate (1-1) heads into the showdown with #10 Richmond (2-1) brimming with confidence following their historic 55-13 rout of Yale last weekend. The three headed monster of QB Jake Melville, RB James Holland and WR Joe Maddaluna led the offensive explosion for the Raiders. Those three will once again need to bring their best if Colgate wants to leave Virginia victorious.

Richmond comes into this game a little wobbly after being knocked out by Stony Brook 42-14. The Spiders arrived on Long Island ranked second in the country but left battered, bruised and emphatically defeated. The Spiders struggled to run and stop the run. Stony Brook’s powerful running attack leaned on the Spider’s front seven most of the day while amassing over 200 yards. Star QB Kyle Lauletta had 411 yards passing but had 3 interceptions in the loss.

Colgate will try to employ a similar physical offensive game plan (run and stop the run) the Seawolves used with great success last week. The Raiders used that simple premise to perfection in their dominating win over Yale. If Colgate can get RB James Holland and co. going, the Raiders have to like their chances to control the clock and wear down the Spider’s front seven.

While the Eli are a talented team, their skill players are a notch or two below Richmond’s. The Spider’s have a lethal Quarterback Kyle Lauletta (321 ypg 6 TDs, 5 INTs) and WR Brian Brown (20 rec. 104 ypg 2 TDs). There might be added pressure on those two given the Spiders recent inconsistent play from the running back position. The Spiders will have to do much better than the 32 rushing yards they racked up against Stony Brook last week. A lack of balance against Colgate may very well lead to another Spider loss.

Of Note: Colgate won their first meeting against Richmond 43-14 in 1983. They’ve lost their lost three meetings (’84, ’96, ’97) to the Spiders by a combined score of 91-31.  

#20 Villanova @ Lafayette – 24 Sept. 6:00 P.M. Fisher Field Easton, PA

(Patriot League Network)

For the first time in 96 years Lafayette (1-2) and Villanova (2-1) will meet on the gridiron. Lafayette enters the game off a hard fought 35-31 road loss to Princeton. The Leopards nearly pulled off the upset thanks to another solid performance (28-36 356 yards 3 TDs 2 INTS) by senior quarterback Drew Reed. Villanova is coming off an impressive 40-21 win over former Patriot League member Towson. The Wildcats were propelled by Zach Bednarczyk’s 3 touchdown passes.

If the Leopards want to pull off the upset on Saturday they’ll need to take the pressure off of quarterback Drew Reed by finding some semblance of a ground attack. After 3 games the Leopards rank 118th out of 122 FCS teams in rushing with a 53.3 ypg average. A team of Villanova’s caliber will be able to tee off on Drew Reed if Lafayette becomes too one dimensional. All-American Wildcat DE Tanoh Kpassagnon would love nothing more than to rush the passer all night.

The Leopards defense will have to contend with an efficient (335 ypg) Villanova offense. The Wildcats have shown the ability to win with a dominating rushing attack (Lehigh) and with timely passing (Towson). Lafayette’s usually stout defense will need to clean up the mistakes they made against Princeton. The Wildcat’s offense is not as quirky as the Tiger’s but it is still equally difficult to defend given Bednarczyk’s ability to distribute the ball to his fellow skill players. Senior running back Jevon White leads the team with 6 TDs while Taurus Philips is the leading receiver (53 ypg 2 TDs).

Barring a playoff matchup, legendary Villanova coach Andy Talley will be facing a Patriot League opponent for the final time. Talley and Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani have spent a combined 60 years at their respective schools.

Of Note: Villanova is 27-4 all-time against current Patriot League teams under Andy Talley. The last loss came against Fordham in 2013. The Wilds have since won 3 straight games (Fordham 2x, Lehigh 1x) over Patriot League opponents.

FCS TV/Streaming Guide: Week 4

Thank you to FargoBison on AGS again for the accumulation of FCS games on TV/Streaming.

All times are in central time, as usual I listed the Direct TV channel the game is on…If there are any games I missed please post them and I will get the list updated…

TV Guide:
9/24
James Madison at Maine 11 a.m. SNY: 639 / CSBA: 696
Harvard at Brown 1 p.m. OWS: 623
Montana at Cal Poly 2 p.m. RSNW: 687 / RSRM: 683 / RSSW: 674/ AUD: 601
Colgate at Richmond 2:30 p.m.  Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic+ 642-1
Delaware State at Missouri 3 p.m. SEC Network: 611
Eastern Washington at NAU 6 p.m. FSPT: 693 / FSAZ: 686
Elon at William & Mary 6 p.m. CSNE: 630 / CSMA: 642
Sam Houston State at Houston Baptist 7 p.m. FCS Central

ESPN3
CCSU at Bryant noon
Charleston Southern at Monmouth noon
Wagner at Boston College noon
ETSU at Wofford 12:30 p.m.
Gardner Webb at Ohio 1 p.m.
Davidson at Valparaiso 1 p.m.
Illinois State at Indiana State 2 p.m.
WIU at Northern Illinois 2:30 p.m.
SEMO at Murray State 6 p.m.
Nicholls State at South Alabama 6 p.m.
Howard at Morgan State 6:00 p.m.
Abilene Christian at Stephen F. Austin 6 p.m.
Central Arkansas at Arkansas State 6 p.m.
Jacksonville at Stetson 6:00 p.m.
JSU at Liberty 6:00 p.m.
Northwestern State at SLU 6 p.m.

ESPN Extra:
CCSU at Bryant noon TBA
WIU at Northern Illinois 2:30 p.m. TBA
Howard at Morgan State 6:00 p.m. TBA
Jacksonville at Stetson 6:00 p.m. TBA
JSU at Liberty 6:00 p.m. TBA
Northwestern State at SLU 6 p.m. TBA

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

The FCS Wedge – 2016-0921 – MVFC 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 MVFC.

Kris & Lance bring in Rob Weiss, one the authors on  thefcswedge.com to get his analysis on the MVFC so far this year.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download