CAA: Week 2 Review and Power Rankings

In week two the CAA continues to show itself as one of the premier FCS conferences. Going 8-3 over the weekend with two of the losses coming from FBS opponents, and the last one from an inter-conference game.

Temple 38 Stony Brook 0

Stony Brook put up 133 total yards of offense, and gave the ball over 4 times in their shutout loss to FBS Temple. Stony Brook Quarterback Joe Carbone went 8/17 for a total of 84 yards, and RB Jordan Gowins had the most yards on the ground for Stony Brook with 36 total yards coming from 11 carries. In the end, Temples 301 total yards of offense, proved too much for Stony Brook to overcome.

Albany 35 Rhode Island 7

In the CAA’s first conference matchup of the year, Albany’s ground game proved too much for the Rhode Island Rams to overcome. Most impressive for Albany was RB Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks. Who rushed for 178 yards on 27 carries and ran in for 3 touchdowns. In the end, Rhode Island’s 4 turnovers and lack of production at QB proved too much for them to overcome.

James Madison 56 Central Connecticut State 21

James Madison continued making a statement during week 2 with their lopsided win over the Blue Devils of CCSU. The Dukes of James Madison hit the Blue devils from all sides posting 517 total yards of offensive. 205 of those yards came in the air, while 312 came on the ground. The Dukes QB Bryan Schor went 17/21 with a total of 205 yards. While Running Backs Cordon Johnson got it down on the ground posting a combined 234 yards on a combined 35 carries.

Delaware 24 Lafayette 6

The Lafayette Leopards of the Patriot League gave the Delaware Blue Hens quite a scare as they led 6-3 late in the third quarter. But it would be the 21 unanswered points from Delaware that would put them over and win them the game. Delaware relied on backs Thomas Jefferson and Jalen Randolph to put up most of their offense. Both backs went for a combined 229 yards off of 35 carries.

Charlotte 47 Elon 14

Elon continues to struggle as it dropped its second straight game of the season to 1st year FBS Charlotte. Charlotte easily bested Elon during their 506 yards’ offensive performance, and 4 forced turnovers from the defense.

Towson 35 St Francis (PA) 28

Towson put their week 1 loss behind them when they put away the Red Flash of St Francis (PA). The Red Flash took the lead early in the first half, but a second half rally by the Towson Tigers would prove to much for the Red Flash to overcome.  QB Ellis Knudson proved crucial for Towson going 10/22, and leading to 305 yards in the air, and 2 touchdowns.

Villanova 26 Lehigh 21

The Villanova Wildcats found themselves locked into a tight battle on Saturday against the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh before finally pulling ahead for the win. RB Javon White led the Wildcats on the ground with 23 carries for 155 yards, while QB Zack Bednarczyk was right behind him with 92 yards on 13 carries, while also completing 6 out of 13 pass attempts for 63 yards.

William & Mary 24 Hampton 14

Steve Cluley went 19/33 for 294 yards passing in the Tribes 24-14 win against Hampton Saturday. William and Mary relied on their passing game with WR DeVonte Dedmon catching 7 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. On Defense, the tribe was also successful forcing two interceptions from Hampton’s QB Jaylian Williamson.

Richmond 34 Norfolk State 0

Richmond repeated their lights out football performance of last week when they blanked Norfolk State 34-0. QB Kyle Lauletta threw 216 yards completing 15 of his 27 pass attempts for 2 touchdowns. Receivers Tyler Wilkins and Brian Brown both had 4 receptions each for 76, and 71 yards respectively. Each had a touchdown on the night.

Toledo 45 Maine 3

The Black Bears of Maine had about all they could handle when they fell to the Rockets of Toledo on Saturday night. Toledo’s QB Logan Woodside completed 13/25 passes totaling 329 yards through the air. Maine was unable to answer and found themselves unable to overcome the defense of Toledo with Maine totaling 235 yards of total offense to Toledo’s 516.

New Hampshire 38 Holy Cross 28

The Crusaders from Holy Cross gave the Wildcats of New Hampshire quite the scare as they opened up their brand new Wildcat Stadium on Saturday night. Crusaders QB Peter Pujals was surgical as he completed 42 of his 64 passes, totaling 427 yards and 3 touchdowns. For UNH, it would end up being RB Dalton Crossan who would save the day for them on his 24 carry, 199 yard, two touchdown performance.

Power Rankings:

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

 

 

 

 

 

AGS Poll: Top 25 Week 2 Results

Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes Previous Wk.
1 North Dakota State Bison 2082 68 1
2 Richmond Spiders 2049 16 2
3 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1696 4
4 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1677 5
5 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 1658 6
6 Illinois State Redbirds 1626 11
7 Montana Grizzlies 1606 13
8 Eastern Washington Eagles 1513 9
9 Chattanooga Mocs 1496 8
10 James Madison Dukes 1439 10
11 Northern Iowa Panthers 1413 3
12 Western Illinois Leathernecks 1082 16
13 The Citadel Bulldogs 1060 14
14 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 1003 7
15 William & Mary Tribe 985 12
16 McNeese State Cowboys 781 15
17 Youngstown State Penguins 596 18
18 Portland State Vikings 488 17
19 Albany Great Danes 449 22
20 Villanova Wildcats 445 20
21 Samford Bulldogs 444 23
22 Colgate Raiders 274 21
23 North Carolina A&T Aggies 265 37
24 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 215 19
25 Towson Tigers 161 24
ORV:
26 Southern Utah Thunderbirds 142 28
27 Cal Poly Mustangs 123 26
28T New Hampshire Wildcats 108 29
28T Eastern Illinois Panthers 108 NR
30 Harvard Crimson 94 27
31 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 58 39
32 Fordham Rams 57 32
33 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 50 34
34 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 48 33
35 Liberty Flames 44 35
36 Furman Paladins 42 30
37 Pennsylvania Quakers 36 40
38 Nicholls State Colonels 34 NR
39T Mercer Bears 26 36
39T Southern Illinois Salukis 26 NR

 

Week 2 AGS GOTW | Eastern Washington at North Dakota State

This week’s Game of the Week has been six years in the making. North Dakota State’s faithful fans have been waiting for revenge ever since the Bison’s quarterfinal loss involving a controversial call on the road in 2010. Despite five FCS championships in a row starting in 2o11, this game has been circled on their calendars since it was announced.

The AGS community overwhelmingly voted this as the Game of the Week (75% of the votes) and the teams did not fail to deliver. It was a back and forth game with the largest lead of the game being held by the Bison at 21 to 7 in the 2nd quarter. The teams traded scores for most of the 2nd half before heading to a brief overtime period that featured only 3 total plays. On the second play of overtime EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud overthrew a crossing route and was intercepted by Tre Dempsey. The Bison finished the game off with a 25 yard scamper by Lance Dunn on their first offensive play to seal the 6 point victory.

Eastern Washington only held one lead in the game when Tamarick Pierce scored a 1 yard rushing TD with 4:32 left in the 4th quarter. This gave their defense the chance to hold on and secure the victory, but Easton Stick led the Bison on a 71 yard drive that ended with a 28 yard game tying FG with under one minute left. EWU would have one last chance. The Eagles kicker, Jordan Descalo attempted a 49 yard FG with six seconds left, but the errant kick never had a chance as it went short and wide to the left forcing the teams to head to overtime.

Key Stats:
The Eagles offense performed well in Fargo: Three time All-American, Cooper Kupp, had five catches for 62 yards and two first half touchdowns before a shoulder injury led him to miss most of the second half. Gubrud was 26-40 for 450 yards and 4 TDs, but his 3 interceptions were the big story of the day with one being returned for a touchdown with 9:29 left in the 4th quarter and the other ending their chance to score during their overtime possession.

For the Bison, Dunn amassed 128 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. Easton Stick threw for 2 touchdowns, no interceptions, and hit 8 different targets for 257 yards through the air and picked up 60 yards on 10 carries. The Bison offense converted 71% of their 3rd downs.

The season opener was the first overtime game the FargoDome had seen and now the Bison have had back to back overtime games at home. Luckily for the NDSU fan base, both games ended up going their way.

Moving Forward:
The Bison continue their momentum as the 5-time champions who have not lost a game since week 6 of the 2015 season. They head to Iowa City at 2-0 to take on the 13th ranked team in FBS, the Iowa Hawkeyes. NDSU is not quite in post season form yet, but Iowa has a tendency to be overrated. I think the Bison have a chance to escape Kinnick Stadium with a win. Even if they do lose, NDSU would still be in control of their own destiny for a top 2 seed come playoff time.

Eastern Washington has to bounce back with another tough game. The Eagles head back home to Cheney, WA to host the UNI Panthers. Northern Iowa is bouncing back from a tough loss to the Montana Griz. Both EWU and UNI have FBS wins over an in-state rival and both will be looking to build some momentum for the conference season. I’d call it a toss up.

SOCON: Week 2 Review and Power Rankings

In the second week of the season the SOCON saw 2 FBS games,  4 FCS OOC games, and one conference game.  Both Wofford and Mercer had respectable outings in their FBS games.  The SOCON went 4-0 in the FCS OOC games including wins against the Southland, Pioneer, and two wins against the Big South.  In the conference standings, The Citadel is out to an early lead going 2-0 in SOCON play to start the season.

#8 Chattanooga 34 – Presbyterian 0 (box score)
The Blue Hose of Presbyterian College slipped into the Chattanooga Mocs Finley Stadium for a Big South – SOCON match up. Presbyterian struggled the week prior gaining just 126 yards against a Central Michigan squad now in the spotlight. Any hope PC had was dashed by a stout Chattanooga defense that allowed them only 196 total yards and a meager 2.1 yards per rush on the day. After crushing Div II Shorter last week the Mocs hoped to get a better test for their new starting QB Alejandro Bennifield. The defense did their part for the Mocs forcing PC to punt 6 straight times and forcing a turnover on downs to account for PCs 7 first half possessions. But it took a while to get the Chattanooga offense in gear as they had to punt on their first 2 possessions. While the Blue Hose allowed the Mocs 496 total yards they also exposed an apparent weakness in the Mocs offensive play calling or execution in that they prevented Chattanooga from converted any 3rd downs. The Mocs went 0-9. They obviously did not need them gaining 16 first downs, but that is a poor statistic nonetheless. The Mocs offensive output was fairly balanced with 217 rushing and 279 through the air. Bennifield went a respectable 11/15 and hurled 4 TDs. Mocs running back Derrick Craine had 118 yards on 9 attempts for an impressive 13 yards per carry. The Mocs will get their stiffest test to date next week as they make their first road trip of the year to face the Furman Paladins in Greenville.

Georgia Tech 35 – Mercer 10 (box score)
In their first game against an FBS opponent since restarting their program, the Mercer Bears struck first on a John Russ to Avery Ward TD pass for 32 yards. Mercer played the kind of game they needed to in order to give themselves a chance in this game. They had zero turnovers and a moderate 45 yards in penalties. TOP was even. They racked up 320 yards of total offense and went 10-18 on third down conversions. QB John Russ went 24-38 for 225 yards. They averaged nearly 46 yards on their 4 punts and their special team coverage did not give up any long returns. The one thing they could not do is contain the Ga Tech rushing attack. The Yellow Jackets ran for 364 yards and averaged 7 yards a carry. After fumbling on their open possession, Ga Tech scored on 3 of their next 4 first half possessions to go up 21-7 at the half. Mercer came out in the second half determined and achieved a 17 play, 61 yard drive. The drive ate up over 8 minutes and even though they were held to a FG to make it 21-10, they kept it within striking distance. Although Ga Tech only had 3 possessions in the entire 2nd half, they scored on two of them for a comfortable win of 35-10. Mercer returns home next week as they host Tenn Tech where they hope to avenge last year’s loss at the hands of the Golden Eagles.

#19 Ole Miss 38 – Wofford 13 (box score)
The Terriers traveled to Oxford, Mississippi to face the expected wrath of #19 Ole Miss after they melted down at Florida State last Monday. To sum up, Wofford did pretty good. Wofford used its option attack to keep the ball out the hands of the Rebels and recorded of TOP advantage of 11 minutes over the Rebels. The Terriers racked up an impressive 233 yards on the ground while holding Ole Miss to just 174 yards rushing. The Terriers also recorded eighteen 1st downs and went 2-3 on 4th downs. FBS games are clearly a time to get your players some experience and the Terriers took full advantage of this by having 11 players rush the ball. Although the game was never in doubt, and down 24-3 at the half, Wofford had an impressive, short drive in the second half led by QB Brad Butler ending with his 17 yard TD run to make it 31-10 mid way through the fourth quarter. Wofford hosts Div II JC Smith next week and opens its SOCON schedule, also at home, with ETSU on 24 Sept.

#14 The Citadel 19 – Furman 14 (box score)
In its home opener, and for the second week in row, The Citadel faced a SOCON opponent. After sticking with Michigan St into the fourth quarter the previous week, Furman was poised to make a statement early in the SOCON race. Always a hard fought game between these South Carolina rivals, special teams, penalties, and turnovers would mostly likely play a pivotal role in the outcome. The Citadel took the opening kickoff and proceeded to fumble it deep in their own territory on the return. Furman went to work behind QB P.J. Blazejowki and quickly scored in 5 plays to go up 7-0. But The Citadel methodically answered back with a long 17 play, 75 yards drive that ate up half the 1st quarter where they converted 4 third downs. On the next drive Furman appeared to move the ball well although the Bulldog defense was keeping Furman’s rushing game in check. Forced to keep it in the air, Blazejowski tossed his first of three interceptions on the day. Both defenses settled in for the next few possessions and the teams traded punts and Furman missed a 51 yard FG attempt. Late in the second, after stalling out again in the teeth a determined Furman D which held the Citadel’s option in check most of the night, The Citadel punted yet again only to recover a muffed, ill-advised punt reception by Furman at its 4 yard line. Although The Citadel scored fairly quickly, it suffered an uncharacteristic missed PAT by graduate student and FBS transfer Cody Clark to make it 13-7. Furman missed another long 47 yard FG attempt and the Bulldogs went into the break with a one score lead.

The game remained mired in a defensive struggle in the third until Furman engineered a 7 play 67 yard drive behind the arm of Blazejowski to go up 14-13. After a missed 42 yard FG by The Citadel early in the fourth, it appeared that the momentum had shifted to Furman. But on the next possession, Furman tossed its second INT and the Dogs were well positioned to score again. But the Furman D held fast on a 4th and 1 at their 24 yard line. Not to be outdone, The Citadel D answered and forced a punt and the Dogs started a drive at their own 22. For the second week in a row, The Citadel O ran off a long 4th quarter drive to earn a winning score. This one was led by the Bulldog QB Dominique Allen who had sporadic playing time throughout the game after being out with an injury for 4 weeks of camp and serving a one game suspension last week. The drive went for 11 plays and 78 yards and was highlighted by a 29 yard pass on a 3rd and 7. Up 19-14 after the TD, the Bulldogs opted to go for 2 only to be stuffed by a still determined Furman D with 2:07 to go. On the next possession, Furman got a quick 1st down, but on a 3rd and 15 The Citadel D recorded its 3rd interception on the day to seal the win. Both defenses played extremely well with Furman holding The Citadel to just 191 yards on the ground while the Bulldogs held Furman to a meager 70 yards on the ground and got 3 interceptions and a fumble from the Paladins.  Pre-Season All American Junior Cornerback Dee Delaney snagged 2 of the INTs. There is no let up for the Paladins as they face UTC at home and CCU on the road to finish their brutal September schedule. The Bulldogs travel to Boiling Springs, N.C. to face Gardner-Webb next week.

VMI 17 – Morehead State 13 (box score)
VMI’s QB Al Cobb came up short in becoming VMI’s all time passing leader but his 148 yards through the air were enough to lead the Keydets to their first victory of 2016. VMI aerial attack has been productive when Cobb keeps his interceptions in check. He didn’t throw any INTs but the Morehead State Eagles defense was effective enough to dampen his productivity. A steady rain most of the game and a lightning delay didn’t help either. The opponents traded punts or gave it up on downs for the first 7 possessions of the game. Then they traded fumbles with VMI capitalizing on their take away with a 94 yard, ten play drive to get on the scoreboard first. Mixing up runs and passes, the VMI score came on a 43 yard strike to start the 2nd quarter. After forcing a 3 and out the VMI offense again drove for TD. The drive consisted of 4 straight runs until Cobb connected again for 12 yards and the score. After trading a few more punts, it was Morehead’s turn to score following a 49 yards drive. The score remained 14-7 at the half.

VMI pieced together a 62 yard drive to start the 3rd which included a 45 yard scamper by running back Daz Palmer. Unfortunately on a 3rd and goal from the one yard line a muffed snap resulted in a loss of 5 yards and the Keydets had to settle for a FG to make it 17-7. Once again the defenses held and the teams traded punts the next 5 possessions until VMI gave it up on downs at the Eagles 38. Morehead then went on a 62 yard, 12 play drive to score with about 9 minutes remaining to make it 17-14. Neither team did much else on offense with VMI missing a 34 yard FG with a bounce off the upright and Morehead fumbling in VMI territory. After a couple more punts, VMI ran out the last 2 and half minutes to gain the victory. On the day, VMI was fairly balanced and gained 186 on the ground including 95 by Daz Palmer. Cobb went a disappointing 17/37 and 148 yards. Morehead actually out gained VMI with 368 total yards but 2 fumbles erased their efforts. VMI takes next week off, but the week after they make make yet another road trip when they travel to Bucknell.

Western Carolina 44 – Gardner-Webb 14 (box score)
Western Carolina hosted the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb for its home opener. WCU hoped to find its defense after it was beat up last week 52-7 by a pretty good ECU team who just handled NC St this Saturday. On the road yet again, Gardner-Webb was hoping to repeat its performance of the previous week when it smashed Elon. Western Carolina went right to work driving 75 yards in 5 plays including 67 yards by running back Detrez Newsmen. His 52 yard TD run exceeded his entire output of the prior week. G-W answered right back with 9 play 83 yards scoring drive of its own to tie it up. The Catamounts answered right back with 83 yard scoring drive to make it 14-7 with 6:17 to go in the 1st. The Runnin’ Bulldogs then drove all the way to the WCU 7 only to suffer a forced fumble and it looked like WCU would take advantage driving all the way to the G-W 5. But the Dogs forced a fumble of their own.  Although the G-W drive stalled and they were forced to punt, WCU QB Tyrie Adams quickly gave it back via an interception deep in his own territory. With the short field, G-W scored quickly to tie it up at 14. Another long drive by WCU of 64 yards featuring a long ball by Adams ended in disappointment on a missed 28 yard FG. After forcing a 3 and out, WCU put together yet another drive with another long ball thrown by Adams for 45 yards. This time it paid off with a 38 yard FG and a halftime lead for WCU of 17-14.

The adjustments made by the Catamount defense paid off as G-W had three punts on their first three possessions following the half. WCU scored on their second possession following a 14 play 95 yard drive where their RSF QB Tyrie Adams went 7/8 and tossed a 17 yard TD. A missed XP made it 23-14. After another G-W punt, Western went on another scoring drive, this time for 65 yards, again behind the arm of Adams who went 4/5 and tossed another TD to make it 30-14. Western would score two more times in the fourth in this convincing OOC win. On the day, WCU chalked up 690 yards of offense including 263 on the ground and 427 passing. WCU running back Deter Newsmen lived up to his preseason billing by gaining 148 yards on 19 rushes. Adams accounted for all of WCU’s passing yards going an impressive 36/43 and tossing 5 TDs. The only blights on the day were his 2 INTs and a fumble. G-W totaled 271 yards on the ground and only 86 through the air but the Runnin’ Bulldogs could find no answer on D to stop the WCU offensive output. Looks like WCU may have a stud QB again.  Western Carolina faces ETSU at Bristol Motor Speedway next week in a SOCON opener for both teams.

#23 Samford 35 – Central Arkansas 29 (box score)
The Samford Bulldogs met the Bears of Central Arkansas in what can only be described as a tale of two games. Samford led 28-10 at the half. Two of their 1st half scoring drives lasted only 1 minute and the other 37 seconds. This somewhat explains their meager 23 minutes of TOP for the game. In addition to Samford being able to score quickly, they benefited from 3 turnovers which included a fumble scoop and score in the second. By the end of the 1st half it appeared as though they would run away with it even if they could not move the ball on the ground. Samford totaled a negative 25 yards on the ground for the day. Samford QB Devlin Hodges went a respectable 23/35 for 282 yards and three TDs for the day.

But the Bears were not going to make it easy. After trading punts to open the second half, and then trading interceptions, Samford again scored defensively when they returned a pick six 57 yards to make it 35-10 near the end of the third. Unfortunately for Central Arkansas, they faltered more than once after long, time consuming drives. But the fourth quarter would be theirs. After a 75 Yard, 17 play drive the Bears made it 35-16 after missing a 2 point conversion. After holding Samford to a 3 and out, they again scored on an 8 play, 85 yard drive that took only 2 minutes. They again failed in scoring a 2 point conversion to make it 35-22. After yet another 3 and out for Samford, the teams traded 4 and outs around the Central Arkansas 30. With 4:10 to play, the Bears would yet again go on a 8 play 73 yard drive to score and make it 35-29 with 2:11 remaining. Forcing yet another Samford 3 and out they had one last chance to accomplish an amazing comeback. But with only 28 seconds remaining, Samford finally held them to stop the rally. Gaining 577 total yards (346 passing and 231 on the ground) Central Arkansas’ loss had to be heartbreaking. Samford took advantage of the their errors and it proved enough even if they appear to have serious issues on defense. Samford gets a bye week to work on their defensive weaknesses and their running game before they meet Chattanooga 24 Sept in what could prove to be a key conference game.

ETSU had a bye week where they have been revving up for their return to the SOCON against WCU in a game to be played at the Bristol Motor Speedway. There were 157K spectators there this week to watch Tennessee beat Va Tech. This game will probably not draw that many, but it will still be a unique venue for ETSU’s return to the SOCON.

Power Ranking

  1. UTC
  2. The Citadel
  3. Samford
  4. Wofford
  5. WCU
  6. Mercer
  7. VMI
  8. Furman
  9. ETSU

Patriot League: Week 2 Review and Power Rankings

On a weekend when the Patriot League had an opportunity to cement itself as a top-tier FCS conference it instead struggled mightily. The league posted a very disappointing 0-3 record against the CAA and suffered a double-digit loss to NEC member Duquesne. The two teams (Fordham and Georgetown) that were able to post wins this weekend did so against Division 2 Elizabeth City State and FCS non-scholarship Marist. Weekends like this don’t help the cause of a league that has to scratch and claw for every ounce of respect it gets.

Fordham 83 Elizabeth City State 21

In the Patriot League’s 30 year history no member had broken the 70 point mark in a game. Fordham (1-1) blew right past that figure en-route to an 83-21 destruction of the Vikings (0-2). The 83 outburst by the Rams easily surpassed the old record of 69 points (Lehigh against Georgetown 2002).

Six different Fordham players found pay dirt on a brutally hot day in Bronx. Kevin Anderson was efficient through the air (18/28 225 yards 4 TD 1 INT) while Chase Edmonds 155 yards on a mere 16 carries (9.7 ypr) paced the ground game. The Viking were down 38-0 before getting on the board in the second quarter. ECSU’s Daquan Neal (11-33 101 yards 3 INTs) struggled all game. The Vikings didn’t mount any semblance of an offensive attack until Fordham had the game well in hand. The Rams finished with a whopping 707 total yards while limiting the D2 Vikings to 220.

Up Next: After opening with FBS Navy and Division 2 Elizabeth City State, Fordham is on a bye this week before FCS Penn on 9/24. Fordham snuck pass the Quakers 48-45 last season.

Duquense 30 Bucknell 19

The Bucknell (1-1) offense struggled (87 total yards) in the first half which greatly contributed to a 13-0 halftime deficit. Losing senior quarterback RJ Nitti only added to Bucknell’s offensive woes the first 30 minutes of the game. The defending NEC Champion Duquesne (1-1) didn’t have nearly the struggles moving the ball.

The Dukes were able to get on the board in the first half thanks to the legs of RB A.J. Hines and kicker Austin Crimmins. A.J. Hines scored on a 16 yard TD scamper while Crimmins added two FG’s including a 22 yarder as the first half expired. Junior QB Matt Muh (14/29 154 yards 2 TD’s) and senior RB Joey DeFloria (24 carries 98 yarrds 1 TD) did an admirable job for the Biso but it wasn’t enough to overcome a lackluster start.

Up Next: Bucknell will look to back on track next week when they welcome Cornell to Lewisburg for the home opener. The Bison defeated the Big Red 19-14 last year in Ithaca.

Delaware 24 Lafayette 6

For the second year in a row the Lafayette Leopards (1-1) failed to score a TD against Delaware (1-1). The Blue Hens used a stifling defense and grinding rushing attack on a muggy night in Easton to notch their 13th straight win over Lafayette in the series. The Delaware RB duo of Thomas Jefferson and Jalen Rudolph each rushed for 100 yards as the Blue Hens were able to wear down the Lafayette defense.

The first half featured plenty of field goals and punts but no touchdowns. Finally, with the Hens trailing 6-3 in the third quarter Jefferson found pay dirt from 16 yards out. After capturing the lead the Blue Hen defense shut down Lafayette the rest of the way. Leopard QB Drew Reed struggled to find his groove all night against the aggressive Delaware D. He managed 111 yards passing and 2 picks on the evening. The Lafayette rushing attack was held under 100 yards for the second straight game.

Up Next: Lafayette will play their third straight game under the lights as they make the short bus ride to Central New Jersey to play Princeton. To say Princeton has been a thorn in the Leopards side would be an understatement. Princeton holds 41-4-3 advantage over Lafayette All-Time.

#20 Villanova 26 Lehigh 21

Lehigh (0-2) had the ball at the Villanova (1-1) 30 yard line with 60 seconds left in regulation hoping to make amends for last week’s disappointment. Instead of capturing a quality road win, the Mountain Hawks night ended on sour note when they were turned over on downs after failing to convert a 4th and 10. Villanova was able to run out the final 54 seconds to preserve the hard fought victory.

Villanova jumped out to 6-0 (missed xtra-point) first quarter lead when Jevon White scored on a 3 yard run with 1:46 left in the first quarter. From there, Lehigh would score 14 straight points. RB Dominic Bragalone (17 attempts 90 yards 1 TD) and senior QB Nick Shafnisky each had rushing touchdowns to give Lehigh the lead after 30 minutes. Villanova quickly captured the momentum in the third quarter by unleashing a dominating rushing attack (396 total rushing yards). The road graders up front paved the way for Forbes 20 yard TD run and DaSilva’s go ahead 1 yard plunge that put the Wildcats ahead 20-14 (xtra point blocked). Lehigh retook the lead by putting together an impressive75 yard TD drive that was capped by an 11 yard Shafnisky (29/41 245 Yards 1 TD) pass to Derek Knott. Villanova would not be denied though. The Wildcats retook the lead on Jevon White’s 2 yard touchdown run with 4:03. The Wildcats 2 point try was denied.

Up Next: Lehigh faces their second Big 5 school in a row as they play Penn under the lights at historic Frankli. Lehigh put a 42-21 thumping on the Quakers last year in Bethlehem. This will be the second straight meeting between the two after a 13 year hiatus in the series.

Georgetown 20 Marist 17

The Hoyas improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2012 behind a balanced offensive attack. QB Tim Barned passed for 208 yards while Alex Valles’ 93 yards on 15 carries led a balanced rushing attack (150 total yards rushing) that helped Georgetown get by scrappy Marist (0-2) in Poughkeepsie, NY. Perhaps no play was bigger than Tim Barnes 3 yard TD pass on 4th down with 12 minutes left that gave Georgetown the lead for good.

Marist jumped out to an early first quarter 7-3 lead via a 50 yard TD pass from Mike White to Juston Christian. Marist extended their lead to 10-3 after Maccarone booted a 37 yard FG. Georgetown was able to get those three points back right before half when Hoya FG kicker Henry Darmstadter knocked through a 25 yarder. The score at intermission was 10-6 Marist. The two teams traded 3rd quarter touchdowns which left the Red Foxes ahead 17-13 going into the final 15 minutes. Following Barnes’ 3 yard touchdown pass early in the final stanza the Hoya’s blocked Maccrone’s 46 yard FG attempt that would have tied game. The Red Foxes final threat ended when Georgetown’s David Akere broke up White’s pass on 4th and 16 with 1:28 left in the game.

Up Next: The Hoyas get a week off to enjoy their solid start to the year. They’ll try to make it 3-0 for the first time in 17 years when the Columbia Lions visits Washinton D.C. on 9/24.

New Hampshire 39 Holy Cross 28

New Hampshire (1-1) christened newly renovated Wildcat Stadium with a thrilling 39-28 win over New England rival Holy Cross (1-1). The Wildcats made several key 4th quarter stops including intercepting Peter Pujals (42-64 427 yards 3 TDs 2 INTs) twice on consecutive drives. The second of which was returned 28 yards by Chris DeAndrade for the game clinching score.

Led by Peter Pujals’s 2 TD passes (32, 23 yards) and one rushing TD (23 yards), Holy Cross jumped out to a 21-6 lead after 20 minutes of play. But, from that point on New Hampshire would methodically take control of the game. Behind a punishing ground attack that racked up 362 yards, New Hampshire would score 33 of the game’s final 40 points to notch a key out of conference victory. Senior running back Dalton Crossan’s career high 199 yards (2 TDs) spear headed the dominant ground game. Wildcat QB Trevor Knight chipped in with 304 total yards (114 rushing/190 passing 2 TDs 2 INTs).

Despite being without First Team All-PL wr Brendan Flaherty the Crusaders were still able to put up nearly 500 yards of total offense.

Up Next: Holy Cross will make the 2 hour trip west on I-90 to take on Albany. The Danes enter the game 2-0. One of those wins came against FBS Buffalo. Holy Cross shut out Albany 38-0 in Worcester last year.

 

Power Rankings

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

 

 

 

OVC: Week 2 Preview

Missouri State at Murray State – 10 Sept, 6PM CST (OVC Digital Network)

One of two OVC vs MVFC match ups this week.  The Missouri State Bears are looking to snap a 15-game Division-1 losing streak and it’s up to KD Humphries to extend it.  After putting up 163 yards on a Big Ten defense last week at Illinois expect Humphries to increase his production.  The key here for Murray State is the run game, which went for -10 yards on 26 carries last week vs. Illinois.  If the Racers can establish the run it will help Humphries in the passing game and the Racers should be able to send the Bears home with their 16th D1 “L” in a row.

Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay – 10 Sept, 6PM CST (OVC Digital Network)

The first OVC match up of the year will be in Clarksville between the Govs and the Golden Eagles.  After seeing APSU at Troy and TTU against Wofford I think this game has potential to be the best match up involving the OVC this week.  New Austin Peay head coach Will Healy has shown in the Troy game that he brings a passing scheme that can effectively move the ball, something APSU hasn’t been able to do in the past.  If APSU can get a run game established they may be able to give the TTU defense fits.  Will Healy isn’t the only new HC in the OVC this year,  TTU’s Marcus Satterfield is also still looking for his first win after a disappointing start against Wofford. Satterfield was the offensive mind behind the offense in Temple that racked up nearly 400 yards a game in 2013 and also led to their 10-4 record and near upset of Notre Dame in 2015.  However his offensive wizardry doesn’t appear to have made the 700 mile trip from Philly.  Satterfield needs to get his offense up to speed if the Golden Eagles want to win.  With the lack of defense on both teams this game has the potential to turn into a pass happy shootout.

SE Missouri State at Southern Illinois – 10 Sept, 6PM CST

One of the more intriguing matchups of the week in my opinion.  Last year we saw SEMO narrowly defeat SIU in a game where the Salukis had seven turnovers.  This year SEMO looks to repeat last year’s triumph and returning pretty much the entire team will help.  The key here for the Redhawks will be to shut down SIU’s high powered offense.  If SEMO can generate turnovers and keep SIU’s defense on the field the Redhawks have a good chance at extending their 38-36 series lead.

UT- Martin at Hawai’i – 10 Sept, 11PM CST

After being plagued by turnovers at Cincinnati the Skyhawks are still looking for their first win of the season. They will likely have to wait as they have to travel over 4,000 miles to meet Hawai’i.  After Hawai’i was stomped by Michigan I’m interested to see this game as UTM might be able to catch them while they’re down.  UTM on paper really stacked up well against Cincinnati, especially in time of possession, leading 37 minutes to 23 minutes. I’m curious to see whether the Skyhawks can continue that type of production going forward and this game will be a good measuring stick for the Skyhawks.

Jackson State vs. Tennessee State – 10 Sept, 6PM CST (Fox Sports South)

After a dominating performance in their season opener over Arkansas- Pine Bluff, the Tigers of TSU are hungry for their next win.  Tennessee State will travel down to Memphis for the Southern Heritage Classic against Jackson State. TSU had lots of success with their gameplan on both sides of the ball last week and will look to continue the trend.  On offense they will need to continue to run the ball well to set up Ackerman-Carter in the passing game.  On defense the TSU defensive line needs to stay hungry.  After a dominating performance last week, led by Ebenezer Ogundeko, keeping pressure on JSU’s offense will be key to shutting them down.

Eastern Illinois at Miami (OH) – 10 Sept, 2:30PM CST (ESPN 3)

After their season opener against Western Illinois the Panthers are still for their first win of the season.  The key for the Panthers will be to generate turnovers and to keep Miami’s offense off the field. The Panthers defense will have their hands full against a Redhawk’s offense that racked up over 400 yards on #17 Iowa last weekend.  On offense the Panthers will rely heavily on their passing game but if they want to have success at Miami the Panthers must kickstart their ground game and be able to lead a more balanced attack.

Pikeville at Eastern Kentucky – 8 Sept, 6PM CST (OVC Digital Network)

Eastern Kentucky is coming off a tough loss at Purdue and will be looking to make a statement in their home opener vs NAIA Pikeville.  Look for the Colonels to be able to impose their will on the Bears of Pikeville on both defense and offense.  EKU’s offense will have to make due without veteran Bennie Coney.  Look for Mizzou transfer Maty Mauk try to redeem himself after a disappointing performance at Purdue.

#5 Jacksonville State at #5 LSU – 10 Sept, 6:30 PM CST (ESPNU)

This game will be the measuring stick to where JSU is this season.  Look for the Gamecocks to come out swinging trying to get the SEC win they should have had last year over Auburn.  The biggest challenge for the Gamecocks will be slowing down Heisman contender Leonard Fournette.  If the Cocks can slow down Fournette and force Brandon Harris to throw it up the Gamecocks defense will have a much better chance to get a stop.  Look for an interesting matchup between Eli Jenkins in Grass’ high powered spread offense and LSU’s lockdown defense.

Week 2: Patriot League Preview

This week is highlighted by three Patriot League – Colonial Athletic Association matchups. These are the first such games against the CAA since Colgate took down New Hampshire and James Madison in last year’s FCS Playoffs. The other game to really keep an eye on is Bucknell – Duquesne. The Bison make the 3 hour bus ride to Pittsburgh for an intriguing matchup against defending NEC Champ Duquesne. #21 Colgate has the week off before venturing to the Yale next week.

Elizabeth City State @ Fordham – 10 Sept, 1 P.M. (Patriot League Network)

After being ambushed by FBS Navy in Annapolis last weekend, Fordham will try to get their season jump started in their home opener against Division 2 Elizabeth City State. One key to the Rams regaining their swagger will be getting Chase Edmonds going. The third year RB was held to 70 yards on 18 carries by the Navy defense. The Vikings don’t figure to present nearly the resistance Navy did. This will be Elizabeth City State’s second straight FCS opponent. They lost a hard fought 20-12 battle to Norfolk State on Sunday. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but Hurricane Hermine caused it to be pushed back a day.

This unusual matchup came about when Columbia decided to discontinue the Liberty Cup because their administration felt it was no longer possible to compete with the now scholarship Rams.

Lehigh @ #20 Villanova – 10 Sept, 6 P.M. (Nova Nation All Access)                                           

The Mountain Hawks and Wildcats will be looking to avoid a 0-2 start on what figures to be a hot day in suburban Philadelphia. Villanova returns home to the Main Line after dropping their opener to Pitt 28-6. One major key for the Mountain Hawks will be getting the offense going early and often. A similar performance against a talented Wildcat defense will almost certainly lead to a long night for Lehigh. Containing ultra-talented Wildcat DE Tonah Kpassagnona (6’7 290 DL) and getting the ball in the hands of Troy Pelletier (2 receptions 21 yards against Monmouth) will key to Lehigh’s success Saturday evening.

Andy Coen is the only active Patriot League coach to notch a win (31-28 ’06) against Andy Talley. The legendary Villanova coach will be retiring at the conclusion of the season.

Georgetown @ Marist 10 Sept, 10 6 P.M. (Red Fox Network)

Georgetown will look to build off their opening season victory over Davidson when they head to the Empire State to face Marist. If the Hoya’s want to start 2-0 for the first time since 2012 senior QB Tim Barnes will need to post another strong game (26-35 215 yards 4 TD 1 INT last week). Marist lost to Patriot League member Bucknell 26-10 to open the 2016 campaign. The Red Foxes will need to limit mistakes (8 penalties, 4 turnovers in opener) if they want to avoid back to back losses.

Georgetown and Marist were once conference mates in the now defunct MAAC. Georgetown left the conference following the 1999 season to join the Patriot League.

Delaware @ Lafayette – 10 Sept, 6 P.M. (Patriot League Network)

Lafayette hosts Delaware for the first time since 1971 in a compelling contest featuring two teams seeking to assert themselves early in the season. The Leopards will need their rushing attack to help our quarterback Drew Reed (31-42 316 yards 3 TD’s last week). The Lafayette ground game managed a meager 22 yards against Central Connecticut State. That type of performance won’t work get it against a Blue Hen team that’s coming off a 56-14 trouncing of instate rival Delaware State. The Blue Hens should enter the game supremely confident.

Delaware began their 2003 national title defense by downing the Lafayette 28-14 on 11/27/04. This would be the first of three straight playoff appearances for the Leopards.

Bucknell @ Duquesne – 10 Sept, 6 P.M. (NEC Front Row)

For the second straight week to begin the 2016 season the Bison hit the road. This time they invade Rooney Field to face the usually dangerous Duquesne Dukes. In order for Bucknell to take down the defending NEC Champs, R.J. Nitti will need to be more efficient passing the ball than he was in the season opener (11/26, 42% againt Marist). Coming off a career 145 yards, Joey DeFloria should be able to find some holes in a Duke defense that surrendered 394 rushing yards to Youngstown State. The Dukes fell 45-10 to the Penguins last Thursday.

Duquesne got their first win in eight visits to Lewisburg last year when they defeated Bucknell 26-7.

Holy Cross @ New Hampshire (UNHWildcats.com)

The University of New Hampshire will showcase their newly renovated Wildcat Stadium under the lights against the Crusaders. Holy Cross has to like their chances to dampen the spirits in the Wildcats new digs if they can pick up where they left off last weekend when they defeated Morgan State 51-24. The 51 point are the most points posted by the Crusader since 10/12/13 when they equaled the total against Bucknell (51-27). Conversely, New Hampshire was blanked by Mountain West Conference favorite San Diego State 31-0. UNH was picked 5th in the preseason CAA Poll. They will be seeking their 13th straight (1-AA/FCS record) playoff this season.

Despite being separated by 100 mile, these two fine New England institutions have “only” met 14 times on the gridiron. New Hampshire is currently riding a three game winning streak in the series that dates back to 1984.

 

 

Week 2 CAA Preview (7/10)

#25 Stony Brook at Temple 1 pm ET, (ESPN 3)

Stony Brook will travel to Financial field in Philadelphia for their first ever meeting between the Stony Brook Seawolves, and Temple Owls. Fresh of their win against North Dakota, the Seawolves will hope to capitalize on their momentum, and earn another FBS scalp in week 2. Last week Temple lost to an Army squad that rushed for 329 yards and four touchdowns in their eventual 28-14 win. Look for Stony Brook RB Stacy Bedell to try and duplicate the success of Armies running game.

#22 Albany at Rhode Island 1 pm ET, (A10 Network)

Both the Albany Great Danes and the Rhode Island Rams began their seasons last week with FBS matchups. Their results were very different. The Great Danes notched their first FBS win in program history beating the Buffalo Bulls 22-16, while the Rams fell to the Kansas Jayhawks 55-6. Albany will be looking to start their season out 0-2, while Rhode Island will be looking to move toward a 1-1 season in week 2.

Central Connecticut state at #10 James Madison 4 pm ET, (MadiZone)

The James Madison Dukes will be entering this game with all of the momentum on their side. After posting a lopsided 80-7 win against Morehead State, the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State will have their hands full containing the High Powered Dukes offense. The Blue Devils will need to figure out how to contain the run, and not allow the Dukes to repeat their 498-yard rushing performance of week 1.

Delaware at Lafayette 6 pm ET, (Patriot League Network)

In week 1 the Delaware Blue Hens put a drubbing on their in-state rivals Delaware State University. They will hope to carry that momentum into week 2 when they take on the Leopards of Lafayette. The Blue Hens will hope to capitalize on RB Wes Hills 212-yard game against Delaware state, carrying the momentum into week 2. Lafayette will have their hands full containing the ground game from Delaware.

St Francis (PA) at #24 Towson 6 pm ET, (TowsonSportsNetwork)

The Towson Tigers will hope to bounce back after a week 1 loss to FBS squad Southern Florida. Standing in their way is the St Francis (PA) Red Flash. The red Flash played out of conference Montana in week one, and gave the Griz all they could handle before eventually losing 31-41. Towson will have their hands full with the Red Flash, but will hope to put that first week loss behind them.

Lehigh at #20 Villanova 6 pm ET, (NovaNation)

Both the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh and the Wildcats of Villanova are coming off of week 1 losses. Lehigh fell to FCS Monmouth, while Villanova fell to FBS Pitt. Villanova will look to make some adjustments to a defense that gave up 175 passing yards against Pitt in order to bring their season to 1-1. Lehigh will be looking to show the FCS world that their season opening loss against Monmouth was a fluke, and that the 215 yards they gave up on the ground won’t be repeated in week 2.

#12 William and Mary at Hampton 6 pm ET, (Piratetv)

After dropping their season opener, coach Jimmye Laycock and his William and Mary squad are hoping to pull out a road win when they travel to Hampton to take on the Pirates. After being held to only 168 total yards of offense against The Wolfpack of NC State, look for The William and Mary Tribe to turn it up against the Pirates with their high powered offense.

#2 Richmond and Norfolk State 6 pm ET, (CSN)

The Spartans of Norfolk State will have arguably one of the toughest games in the FCS when they travel to Richmond to take on the Spiders. The Spiders are coming off of a convincing 37-20 win against FBS Power 5 University of Virginia. If the Spartans are going to have a chance in this, they will need to contain QB Kyle Lauletta who went 24/35 passing, and had a total of 337 yards of offense.

Maine at Toledo 7PM ET, (ESPN 3)

The Maine Back Bears will have a chance at redemption when they travel too Toledo to take on the Rockets in what will be a back to back FBS series. The Black Bears dropped a close one to FBS UConn, losing by just a field goal.


Holy Cross at New Hampshire, (NESN/ ASN)

After Being Shut out by FBS San Diego State, New Hampshire will hope to come back to their brand new Wildcat stadium and erase their 1-0 deficit. UNH will look to Sophomore Trevor Knight to deliver in his second career collegiate start. Standing in their way will be an impressive Holy Cross team who is coming off of an impressive 51-24 win against Morgan State.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big South: Week 2 Preview (9/10)

 

 

(1-1)    Charleston Southern @ #3 Florida State – Saturday, Sept 10th, 12:30pm (Fox Sports South, ESPN3)

CSU is a week away from the bye week that they really need right now but has FSU in the way.  This is as sure an epic loss as they could possibly schedule, right?

Well, actually….there is some precedent here.

On Monday night in Orlando, Florida State pulled together enough energy, emotion and skill to construct a huge come-from-behind opening game victory against Ole Miss.  The game didn’t finish until just after midnight so it’s likely that the FSU players didn’t return to campus until around 5am Tuesday morning.  Head coach Jimbo Fisher probably gave the players Tuesday off and they will likely return to practice on Wednesday with two less days of preparation than normal for an early-in-the-day home kickoff against a highly-ranked, albeit from a lower division, FCS opponent whose team is built around aggressive defense and ball-control offense.

This is pretty much the exact same scenario that played out in 2010 with a highly-ranked Virginia Tech team and James Madison.  VT lost a heartbreaking back-and-forth battle with Boise State to start off the season in a Monday night game that ended just after midnight in Landover, MD.  They returned home around 5am that Tuesday and only went to work that Wednesday preparing for their upcoming game against an FCS opponent.  By their own admission after the fact, the Virginia Tech players were not mentally ready to play when they kicked off against JMU the following Saturday.  As we all remember, they lost the game in one of the biggest upsets ever.  Could Florida State fall into the same pattern?  Will Jameis Winston show up to give another inspirational halftime speech during the Charleston Southern game?  Could CSU pull the biggest upset in college football history?

Oh, who am I kidding?  No.  The answer to all those things is, no.  Flat no.  Unequivocally, no.  No, nay, non, nein, nyet, nee, neniu, nihil.

Well before CSU can figure out how to beat FSU’s players, they have to figure out which of their own players they’ll have on hand to line up against them.  A quick look at the participation charts from the last two weeks shows that nine guys who got on the field against North Dakota State a mere eleven days ago did not play against Kentucky State last weekend.  How many of those absences are injury-related and how many of those are players who were withheld pending their ongoing internal athletics department review is impossible to determine.  What we do know is that starting quarterback Kyle Copeland is done for the 2016 season following a severe knee injury against Kentucky State.  We know that his backup, Shane Bucenell, suffered either a knee or high ankle injury of his own against Kentucky State and did not return to the game.  Star running back Darius Hammond went down with some sort of injury or condition that was indeterminate from the television broadcast but definitely affected his ability to simply keep his balance on the sidelines.  There’s no official word on either Bucenell’s or Hammond’s prognosis but it should be safe to assume that head coach Jamey Chadwell won’t send them in just to get knocked flat by the Florida State defense.  Speaking of coaches, a still-unnamed assistant coach will be serving a one-game suspension this week for recruiting violations and won’t be traveling with the team to Tallahassee.  All of that comes into play before you get to the obvious athletic mismatch of the Seminoles versus the Buccaneers.

What Charleston Southern has to against Florida State:  Protect the quarterback.  This is easier said than done in a CSU offense that requires the quarterback to be a ball carrier and, so, averages three different starting quarterbacks a year.  Counting London Johnson and TE Stephen Cagle (yes, you read that right) who finished out the Kentucky State game at quarterback, they went through four signal-callers in that game alone and, until JuCo transfer QB Robert Mitchell returns from whatever exile or undercover mission he’s been on, Johnson is the last QB listed on the roster.  I imagine that CSU will spend some time this week practicing wildcat formations and, most importantly, teaching Johnson how to slide.  Or, at least, go limp.  On defense…hell, I have no idea.  If I knew how to stop the FSU offense, I’d be a better coach than the entire staff at Ole Miss and, that, I am not.

Best case scenario for Charleston Southern – “We got better; we definitely improved. … we were pretty good as far as our discipline, our game structure and our organization. We were playing better up to the speed of the game – the FBS speed than we had before. Our ball security was very good. I thought our defense definitely did some good things.”

These were the postgame comments from former CSU head coach Jay Mills in 2010 when Charleston Southern last visited Florida State (a 62-10 loss).  If Chadwell can say the same words at the end of this game, it’s as good a day as can be expected.  Also, no more injuries.

Worst case scenario – More injuries.

 

***************************************************************************************

(0-1)  Presbyterian @ (1-0) Chattanooga – Saturday, Sept 10th, 2:00pm (SoCon Digital Network)

The Presbyterian College Blue Hose return to Chattanooga for the first time since 1961 back when the game was played on the old Chamberlain Field.  PC and Chatty have met three times since then, all in Clinton (where the tea is sweet and the “t” is silent) and most recently in 2015 when the Mocs handed Presbyterian a 21-0 home loss.

Chattanooga comes into the game after a dominating win against overmatched and undermanned Division II opponent Shorter College.  Actually, “dominating” isn’t strong enough a word for what Chattanooga did to Shorter.  It was devastation.   It was the football version of the First Gulf War with Chattanooga as a constant wave of A-10 Warthogs screaming overhead and Shorter as a column of fleeing Iraqi Republican Guards just trying to find a CNN crew to surrender to before their broken down tanks exploded.

Here’s some numbers:

  • 1; that’s the number of passes Shorter completed in the game – to their own team anyway
  • 3; the number of Shorter first downs
  • 16; Shorter’s total offensive yardage
  • -39; Shorter’s deepest drive on the night, their own 39-yard line
  • 12; the number of Mocs players who, individually, gained more yardage than Shorter’s entire team
  • 66; points scored by Chattanooga

These numbers bear relevance this week because Presbyterian comes into this game with a solid defense of their own but still a lot to prove on offense.  Last year’s meeting in Clinton between these two came down to crucial turnovers.  Chattanooga racked up 400 yards of offense but only scored on one real offensive drive.  The other two scores came on an extremely short field thanks to a PC fumble and a 4th-quarter pick-six that essentially salted the game away for the visitors.  Meanwhile, PC only managed 117 yards of offense and never threatened.  Based on Presby’s numbers last week against Central Michigan – albeit an FBS opponent –, it’s hard to imagine that they’ll fare any better this time around on the road.

What Presbyterian has to do against Chattanooga:  Move the ball.  CMU held Presby RB Darrell Bridges to under 50 yards rushing on 15 carries and the Blue Hose have no chance to win if they can’t get Bridges going.  A year ago, Chatty held a full seventeen minute time of possession advantage as Presby just could not manage to move the chains.  The PC defense played well enough that night but the offense never got in position to score.

Best case scenario for PC – The offense gets at least a dozen first downs, has zero turnovers and the defense holds serve.  This is Presbyterian’s only realistic path.

Worst case scenario – Same old, same old for the Blue Hose offense and Chattanooga proves that last week’s dominance wasn’t just because they were playing Shorter.

 

*******************************************************************************************************

(1-0)  Monmouth @ (0-1) Delaware State – Saturday, Sept 10th, 5:00pm (no broadcast)

As they will do a lot this year, the Monmouth Hawks take to the road – in this case, the NJ Turnpike – and head down to visit the Hornets of Delaware State University.   This meeting is the back end of a home-and-home agreement with the two teams having previously met on the opening day of the 2014 season.  Despite DSU taking an early lead, Monmouth won that game handily, 52-21.

Delaware State is led by head coach Kenny Carter in his second year at the wheel.  DSU finished 1-10 in his first year after which, his best player, DE Gabe Sherrod, chose to take a graduate transfer and joined the Michigan State program where he got on the field against Furman this past weekend.  DSU comes into this game having just been on the wrong end of a massacre at the hands of in-state rival – in the loosest possible sense of the term – Delaware.   The Hornets turned the ball over 6 times and gave up nearly 400 yards of rushing alone to the Blue Hens, falling 56-14.  On top of that, DSU lost their best offensive weapon on the day, WR Mason Rutherford, when he was injured on a late game punt return.

Monmouth comes into this game in high spirits.  Their road win over Lehigh was the perfect way to start their season and came in the best possible fashion.  They established an early lead, lost it, grabbed the lead back and then slammed the door closed when Lehigh gave them the opportunity.  MU head coach Kevin Callahan probably could not have drawn the plan up any better than that.

What Monmouth has to do against Delaware State – On offense, Monmouth must keep up their forward momentum.  Against Lehigh, MU used the ground game and a short passing attack to control the clock and keep Lehigh defenders on the move.  Presumably, Lehigh is deeper on defense than DSU so the Hawks should have at least the same level of success against the Hornets.  On defense and special teams, don’t give up the big play.  Statistically, DSU has had a hard time mounting sustained drives and their points, when they get them, come from explosive plays in the kick return game or when the defense lets a receiver get behind them.  Additionally, MU needs to get some consistency in their kicking game.  Kicker Matt White succeeded on a 46-yard field goal against Lehigh but was only 2-of-3 on extra points.  It’s great to have a kicker who can drive home kicks from 40+ but it’s absolutely necessary to have one who can hit from the extra point stripe.

Best case scenario for Monmouth against Delaware State – Establish the run game and substitute freely.  There’s no conceivable way that Monmouth loses this game – believe me, I’ve tried to conceive of it – so keeping the victory margin wide while using the largest possible number of players is in MU’s best interest.

Worst case scenario for Monmouth – Lose.  As I said above, I just can’t see a route to victory for DSU but, should they miraculously find one, the loss would be devastating for Monmouth’s morale and credibility.  With their schedule such as it is, this is one of two games on the slate – Howard being the other – which MU simply cannot afford to lose.

 

****************************************************************************************************

(1-0) Gardner-Webb @   (0-1)  Western Carolina – Saturday, Sept 10th, 6:00pm (SoCon Digital Network)

Gardner-Webb hits the road once again this week to take on, also once again, another in-state out-of-conference FCS opponent over at “the ‘Whee” in Western Carolina.  Despite the schools being only two hours apart, this will be the first time that GWU and WCU have met on the football field since the two split a home-and-home series in 2009 and 2010 when Steve Patton and Dennis Wagner were the head coaches, respectively.  Gardner-Webb is 2-2 now against in-state schools under Carroll McCray with wins against Charlotte and Elon (a week ago) and losses to Wake Forest and Elon (a year ago).

This will be Western’s home opener as they come into the game fresh off a 52-7 beatdown at the hands of FBS – and recent Big XII reject – East Carolina.  Under head coach Mark Speir, the Catamounts have been fairly consistent the last few years at maintaining a balanced attack offensively between run and pass.  Defensively, WCU has done much the same thing, giving up roughly the same amount of yards the offense gains and in roughly equal proportions.  The upshot is that WCU has been a bit of a middling team for the last couple seasons.   It remains to be seen if and how Speir and new WCU defensive coordinator Dustin Landry can improve on that.

Gardner-Webb comes into this game with a legitimate chance to start off 2-0 for the first time under McCray.  They completely embarrassed Elon last week – while Elon was embarrassing themselves – and will look to do the same against Western.  However, WCU should present a bigger challenge to the Runnin’ Bulldogs than Elon did.  Presumably, WCU got their early season jitters out of the way against East Carolina and should be a bit more prepared.  I don’t know how the Catamounts conducted themselves on the field against ECU but that stat line, especially on defense, was … unfortunate.

What Gardner-Webb has to do against Western Carolina:  Spread the ball around on offense.  The vast majority of the Bulldog offense last week came through the legs of QB Tyler Maxwell first and RB Khalil Lewis second with everyone else a distant third through last.  That’s fine when it works but Western will likely do a better job of keeping Maxwell confined and forcing him to throw the ball which, history would indicate, is not his strength.  Defensively, GWU has to respect the run. Last Saturday, Gardner-Webb’s pass rush teed off on Elon’s reliance on four-receiver formations, bringing enough pressure that the Phoenix passing game never got on track whereas WCU has shown a tendency to balance the play-calling out while running multiple formations.   Western should be a lot better at running the ball and, by extension, throwing it off of play-action.  If the GWU safeties start getting sucked into the box, they’ll see the ball going over their heads all day.

Best case scenario for Gardner-Webb – Maxwell and Lewis are able to get to the edges and pick up where they left off from a week ago.  The defense makes WCU’s young quarterback uncomfortable and forces him into bad throws.  The special teams does nothing stupid.  A win here would be huge for Gardner-Webb but a loss isn’t devastating.

Worst case scenario for Gardner-Webb – Maxwell and Lewis get bottled up and Maxwell has to make plays with this arm.  That’s a recipe for disaster for the Runnin’ Bulldogs.  Other than TE Mike Estes, there isn’t a consistent receiving threat on the team and a downfield passing attack simply doesn’t exist.

 

****************************************************************************************

(0-2) Point University @ (0-1) Kennesaw State   – Saturday, Sept 10th, 7:00pm (Peachtree TV)

Kennesaw returns to the once-friendly confines of Fifth Third Bank Stadium for a date with the Skyhawks of NAIA Point University.  Point was KSU’s homecoming opponent last October when the Owls came away with a 56-17 win.  Point is already 0-2 on the year having turned the ball over 8 times and been outscored 83-18 in their first two games.  (There’s a bad joke to be made here about “Point” being held nearly “scoreless” but I’ll let it pass.) Point is led by former Presbyterian defensive coordinator Julius Dixon but, a year ago, Dixon was the defensive coordinator at Shorter College.  The Shorter defense, who also played Kennesaw in 2015, gave up 400+ yards to the Owls but kept their offense completely out of the end zone.  Despite being outgained by nearly 300 yards, Shorter had a chance to win at the end but botched the snap on what would have been a game-winning field goal.

It’s probably a different kind of atmosphere around the KSU locker room right now than the Owls are used to.  This is the first time ever that the Kennesaw program has been under .500.  Going back to last year, they’ve now lost four straight and five of their last six.  Head coach Brian Bohannon has been through this before – as an assistant at Navy in 2002, he was part of a team that endured a 9-game losing streak – but these Owls players never have.  This week’s showdown with a non-NCAA program with a demonstrable inability to score or play defense is a prime opportunity to “get right”.  Point may have the same coach that bamboozled KSU a year ago but PU (and that’s the last time I’m using that abbreviation) doesn’t have the same horses.  Despite losing starting quarterback Trey White to a groin injury, Kennesaw should be able to put away the Skyhawks with relative ease.

What Kennesaw has to do against Point – Win and don’t worry about anything else.  Just win.  Stats don’t matter, points don’t matter, substitutions don’t matter.  Just win.  The Owls’ open date is on the back side of this game and will allow them to heal up some injuries before hitting the meat of their schedule.

Best case scenario for Kennesaw – Win convincingly and restore some confidence in the players and in each other.  This is the only good outcome.

Worst case scenario – Anything else.  ETSU may have turned out to be a better team than anyone gave them credit for but the fact remains that the Buccaneers were a team that Kennesaw destroyed a year ago and by a slightly larger margin than their score against this same Point program. For the sake of their collective psyche, the Owls must blow Point out.  Regardless of the final result, if this turns into a close game, either as a shootout or a defensive quagmire, this should be seen – and rightly so – as a sign of the Kennesaw program regressing.

 

*******************************************************************************

(0-0)  Jacksonville @ (0-1) Liberty – Saturday, Sept 10th, 7:00pm (Liberty Flames Sports Network, ESPN3)

Liberty and Jacksonville have never met on the football field.  In fact, the last time that the Flames played any current member of the Pioneer League was a 12-10 loss at the hands of Morehead State in 1991 when MSU was still a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Jacksonville comes into this game as a complete and total unknown.  Despite winning 9 games in each of the last two seasons, JU athletics underwent something of a significant philosophy change in the offseason and parted ways with their highly successful head coach Kerwin Bell.   Evidently, a good many of the players were not on board with the new direction of the program and a good portion of the roster also left en masse.  On top of that, new head coach Ian Shields, formerly of D2 Lenoir-Rhyne and Army before that, brings with him a triple-option offense that is vastly different from the passing attack that had been in place.   The combined effect of all this attrition is that the Dolphins’ program enters the 2016 season with only 29 players on the entire roster who saw game action in 2015 and nearly 50 brand new players, most of them true freshmen.  The personnel losses have been so severe that the same team that  won 13 out of 16 Pioneer League games in the last two years has, this season, been picked to finish 8th in the conference, ahead of only Stetson, Valparaiso and Davidson.

Still, the Dolphins haven’t played a game yet and haven’t garnered much in terms of media attention or exposure.  Liberty, essentially, is playing a guessing-game this week as to what the JU schemes are and will only find out the answers at 7:00pm on Saturday night.

What Liberty has to do against Jacksonville – Liberty must get the offense organized first and foremost.  The Flames were called for eight false starts alone against Virginia Tech and that’s an area that needs to get cleaned up quickly.  Defensively, Liberty’s history against the triple-option has been to attack it early with a size and speed advantage, let their offense jump out to an early lead and then back the defense off into a “containment mode”, letting the opposing team run the option in the second half, gaining yards and stats but eating up too much clock to make any real difference to the final score.  This plan works but only if the Flames’ offense does as well.  Simply based on scholarship numbers, Liberty should have a significant edge in athleticism and experience across the board so there’s good reason to believe that LU fans should see some fireworks on Saturday.

Best case scenario for Liberty  – The LU offense executes.  This objective hasn’t changed from a week ago because, well, they didn’t.

Worst case scenario for Liberty – The offense falters and it turns out that Jacksonville has caught everyone unawares by installing the run-n-shoot as their offensive scheme.

 

 

 

 

 

The FCS Wedge – 2016-0907 – LISTEN UP!

So what is happening on  the show this week?  Well it starts off with Lance getting his nose bloodied a little bit but as the true champion that he is he rallies back from Kris’ grief about the “Homer Pick”.  Both dudes, funny as hell in that one.

We then get into the real meat of the week going over the FCS /FBS upsets.  Move on to discuss how some of these games affected the AGS Top 25 Poll, and then Lance & Kris turn their eyes forward to the bastion of big games featuring several really intriguing Big Sky vs. MVFC matchup this week.

If you don’t listen you won’t be winning any FCS arguments and you’ll have to carry that burden yourself cuz we are giving you what you need.  Just repeat what we say and drop the mic.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download