Week 1 CAA Review

The 2016 CAA season officially kicked off with an impressive slate of non-conference games Thursday night.

First year head coach Joe Harasymiak, and his Maine Black Bears squad, gave their old Yankee conference rivals, the Huskies of UConn, quite a scare. Quarterback Dan Collins led the team in yards with a 19/33 passing effort that netted the team 269 yards through the air. Freshman running back Josh Mack led the effort on the ground as the top rusher for the night, netting the Black Bears 27 yards on 9 carries. Maine would end up losing off of a Connecticut field goal late in the fourth quarter with a final score of Maine 21, UConn 24.

Also that night, the Seawolves of Stony Brook showed North Dakota of the Big Sky conference a CAA welcome. The Sea Wolves and Fighting Hawks were equally matched on offense, so the special teams and the defense for Stony Brook became the game changer. Defensive back Jaheem Woods led the Seawolves on defense with 5 tackles for loss, and an impressive 3 sacks for a total of -22 yards. The play of the game would go to Kye Morgan defensive back for Stony Brook who would block a North Dakota punt late in the fourth quarter to seal the win at Stony Brook 13, North Dakota 9.

The Delaware Blue Hens easily dismantled their in state Rival Delaware State by a score of 56 to 14. Delaware posted an impress 395 yards rushing which was led by Running back Wes Hills who had 212 of those yards. Quarterback Joe walker went 6/9 on passing for a total of 55 yards. On defense the Blue Hens came away with 4 interceptions, which came up big for their win.

Farther south, the William and Mary Tribe came up short against a tough North Carolina State FBS Squad. Quarterback Steve Cluley led the team in yards with a passing attempt of 9/18, and 99 yards through the air. On the ground running back Albert Funderburke led the team with 9 carries for 31 yards. In the end, their FBS opponent proved to be too much to handle, and lost by a final score of W&M 14, N.C Sate 48.

Arguably one of the most impressive wins for the CAA came Friday night, when the Albany Great Danes notched the first FBS win ever when they defeated the Bulls of Buffalo. Quarterback Neven Sussman looked impressive as he went 14/21 netting a total of 113 yards. On the ground it was running back Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks who would go on to lead the Danes to 104 yards on his 23 carries. On defense, three interceptions would prove crucial in gaining the upper hand on the Bulls, and in the end, the Danes would go on to beat their opponent by a score of Albany 22, Buffalo 16.

The star of the show Saturday would come from an impressive win by the #1 ranked CAA team the Richmond Spiders of their in state opponent the Virginia Cavaliers. Richmond got things going early in the first with their special teams off of a 28 yard, and a 35 yard field goal by kicker Griffin Trau. Quarterback Kyle Lauletta looked impressive as he would open up the field with his 337 yards through the air. Richmond seemed in command throughout the game, and would go on to post a total of 524 yards on offense to Virginias 302 total yards. Virginia would go on to cough up the ball to Richmond, and would be unable to recover, eventually losing the game by a score of Richmond 37, Virginia 20.

The Villanova Wildcats wouldn’t have as much luck as the Spiders when they took on their in state F.B.S team the Pitt Panthers. Zach Bednarcyzk would lead the team in offensive yards off of his 16/31 passing attempts netting 119 yards through the air. Receiver Ryan Bell would pull in six of those passes for a total of 52 yards. In the end, the Panthers proved too much for the Wildcats, and Villanova lost by a score of Villanova 7, and Pitt 28.

Moving south, the Towson Tigers fought hard against the Bulls of Southern Florida, but couldn’t hang on to secure a win. Towson would win the time of possession battle at 37:40, to 22.20; but 4 turnovers by Towson would prove costly. Quarterback Morgan Mahalak led the team in total yards going 16/36 and netting 165 yards through the air, but the depth of FBS Southern Florida would eventually become too much to handle for Towson. Towson 20, USF 56.

Two CAA games would be played farther west with the first one taking place between the Rams of Rhode Island, and the Jayhawks of Kansas. URI would go on to put up 219 total yards of offense, with most of these yards coming on the ground. Sean Andersen, Wesley McKoy, Markey Clarke, and Khayri Denny combined for 170 yards on 40 carries. The win by Kansas was their first win since November 18th, 2014. The final score was URI 6, Kansas 55.

Out on west coast, the UNH Wildcats would have their hands full against the Aztecs of San Diego State. Quarterback Trevor Knight would receive the first start of his collegiate career, but would stall out against the high powered SDSU Defense. Going only 4/16 for 37 yards, Trevor would be unable to find the end zone in the eventual shutout. SDSU would go on to win this 31 to 0.

Getting back to the FCS action, the Bulldogs of Gardner Web would prove too much for the Phoenix of Elon to handle. Elon would keep it close during the first half, and would even enter the locker room tied at 3. But the rushing attack from GWU would go on to overpower the defensive front of Elon. Phoenix Quarterbacks Connor Christiansen and Daniel Thompson would throw for a combined 25/40 and a total of 212 yards. In the end though, it wasn’t enough to make up the deficit. GWU 31, Elon 6.  

Our final game of the day comes with a statement. The Dukes of James Madison didn’t even give Morehead state a moment to breathe in their 80-7 rout. Putting up 607 total yards of offense, and creating 5 turnovers, the Dukes made an impressive statement in their opening game. JMU would rush for a combined 498 yards, and would completely shut down Morehead state on defense for almost the entirety of the game.

MVFC: Week 1 Review and Power Rankings

It’s a new year but the same pattern of the last 5 years is already playing out. This past weekend the MVFC went 6-3, 7-3 if we include the Week 0 NDSU win over Charleston Southern. I know those of you who aren’t MVFC fans reading this are rolling your eyes hard enough for them to fall out of your sockets, Sorry, not sorry. There will come a day when the MVFC is no longer top dog in the FCS. Maybe it still happens this year, I just wouldn’t bet on it.

Here’s what you need to know from this past weekend:

Missouri State 57 Southwestern (KS) 0

There isn’t much to say about this game. Missouri State took on a NAIA team that is to the NAIA world what Missouri State is the to the FCS world. The pregame line was 54.5 and I was convinced there would be no way the Bears would cover, but they did. Preseason All MVFC selection, Deion Holliman, started the game off with a 91 yard touchdown return on the opening kick. That wasn’t really a shock to me. Holliman set all kinds of return records last season and was returning kicks against a roster of players with 1/4 of his ability. He finished with 129 return yards. Beyond that I’m not sure who/what to point out as it was 21-0 just 10 minutes into the game and everyone on the roster that was eligible to play did. Kudos to to MSU for taking care of their lower division team with ease, unlike last season, though I’m not sure we actually learned anything

Western Illinois 38 Eastern Illinois 21

The answer for who replaces Nikko Watson seems to have been answered in emphatic fashion as sophomore Steve McShane ran over, around, and through in-state rival Eastern Illinois to the tune of 207 yards, including 168 in the second half (which is the fourth-highest one half total in program history). EIU jumped out to a 7-0 lead just 2:13 into the game when Mitch Kimble rumbled in from 19 yards out. Coach Fisher’s Leathernecks responded in a big way as they scored 24 points to close the half, including 10 points in the final 14 seconds. WIU’s stud linebacker, Brett Taylor, picked off Mitch Kimble which lead to a touchdown with 14 seconds left. The ensuing kick off landed untouched and the spin allowed WIU to jump on it an hit a 43 yard field goal as time expired. That 14 second span is a microcosm of the entire game. Coach Fisher is off to a good start in Macomb.

Youngstown State 45 Duquesne 10

In potentially the most shocking game of the week, the Penguins recovered from a sluggish start and imposed their will as the game wore on against the preseason favorite of the NEC. The Dukes are a good team, with a roster full of good football players, but they were no match for what Youngstown State kept throwing at them. The Penguins rolled up 610 yards of offense while giving up just 222 yards. The quarterback situation was answered when Ricky Davis took the field for the first series and impressed in his first game as he finished 12-16 for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns. Davis also added 74 yards on the ground, which is something YSU fans wanted to see as the biggest knock against Hunter Wells was his lack of play-making ability with his legs. I don’t want to read too much into the score, as we’ve seen YSU handle NEC teams in the OOC, only to flop in late season situations, for the last 7 years.

South Dakota 21 New Mexico 48

The game started terribly for the Yotes as New Mexico’s Teriyon Gipson took the first play of the season 75 yards for a score (Gipson also added an 84-yard score later in the game). As poorly as the game started we saw USD fight back, and look like they were going fight through the end for the next few series. Chris Strevler, the transfer QB from Minnesota, looked every bit the hype through the first quarter as he had back to back touchdown runs of 55 and 42 yards on USD’s first two possessions. At that point the wheels fell off for USD though. The dearth of top to bottom depth caught up and New Mexico pulled away for the easy win.

Indiana State 45 Butler 21

Prior to kick off there wasn’t anyone outside of the Sycamore locker room that knew who the starting quarterback was, as Matt Adam is sitting this year out to get his academics in order, until the first series. Hell, even within the Sycamore locker room it appears there wasn’t an answer until about mid-week last week. Coach Sanford went with Isaac Harker, and he didn’t disappoint. Harker went 21-35 for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns in his debut. Having said that, there is need for improvement on the defense. Non-scholarship Butler piled up 390 yards of offense, averaging over 5 yards per play. That won’t work next week as ISU travels to Minnesota.

Southern Illinois 30 Florida Atlantic 38

This game went exactly as I think most thought it would, just with fewer points. If you’re a reader of AnyGivenSaturday you are well aware of the confidence SIU fans had in D2 transfer quarterback Josh Staughan. Their statements may be justified as Josh finished 36-51 for 367 yards with 1 touchdown. Daquan Isom added 80 yards on 5 carries on the game, highlighted by a 69 yard touchdown run. That does, however, mean that on his other 4 carries he had 11 yards and back up Aaron Stanton had just 24 yards on 12 carries. I’m not great at math but that’s just 35 yards on 16 carries. We also saw SIU’s defense be, to quote the late Denny Green, exactly who we thought they were as they gave up 457 yards at over 6 yards per play.

Illinois State 50 Valpo 13

This, believe it or not, was a tightly contested game through about a quarter and a half as it was just a 10-3 Redbird lead with 7 minutes left in the first half. It was at that point, much like the YSU/Duquense game, the depth and top to bottom talent of the MVFC team took over. We saw some of Jake Kolbe at quarterback last season and it looked a lot like what we saw this past weekend. Kolbe went 11-19 for 166 yards with 1 touchdown and interception. The big difference in the game was the ground attack as the Redbirds piled up 271 yards on 42 carries compared to just 22 yards for Valpo – though to be fair that includes 33 sack yards, not that it truly makes it that much better.

South Dakota State 41 Texas Christian 59

This may have been the most entertaining game of the weekend. Yes, the game finished as an 18 point loss for the Jacks but that is not, in anyway, indicative of how the game went. After winning the starting job Christion threw for 333 yards and 3 touchdowns and knew where to find his favorite target all night long as Wieneke finished with 196 yards and 2 of those touchdowns. The game was tied at 24 at half, and was just a 7 point game at the end of the third. However, we saw the depth and talent take over in the fourth as SDSU just ran out of answers for repeated jabs TCU’s Kenny Hill kept throwing at them. It’d be easy to be concerned about the defense giving up the yards, and points, it did but I would bet that is an anomaly due to the type of game they got put in.

Northern Iowa 25 Iowa State 20

UNI moved to 3-3 in their last 6 games against in-state “big brother”*. Aaron Bailey did exactly what UNI will want from him all season – completed 56% of his passes, didn’t throw a pick, and ran for 114 yards. It’s easy to look at the fact he threw for 137 yards and dismiss that, but when coupled with the threat of his legs that is a dangerous 137. UNI controlled the line of scrimmage all night long as they ran for 232 yards to just 51 yards (2.0 YPC) for Iowa State. An area of concerns for Panther fans is the secondary, especially with Montana and EWU coming up. Charles Brown moved from WR to CB in the week leading up to the game due to injuries. The made Mark Farley the winningest coach in UNI history. Fittingly the game sealing interception with less than a minute to go was made by his son, Jared.

 

POWER RANKINGS

  1. Northern Iowa
  2. North Dakota State
  3. South Dakota State
  4. Western Illinois
  5. Youngstown State
  6. Illinois State
  7. Southern Illinois
  8. Indiana State
  9. South Dakota
  10. Missouri State

Patriot League Week 1 Power Rankings

power rankingsIt was truly a mixed bag for the league to open the season. Half of the teams emerged victorious (Holy Cross, Georgetown, Lafayette) while the other half (Colgate, Fordham, Lehigh) saw their dream of an undefeated season go out the window.

 

  1. Colgate
    • The defending Patriot League champions took one on the chin against their long time Central New York rival Syracuse to open the season. The offense struggled mightily after a solid first quarter while the defense was carved up by the Orange’s up tempo passing attack. The Raiders have this week off before heading to the Yale Bowl on 9/17
  2. Holy Cross
    • The Crusaders easily posted the most impressive performance of the week. Senior QB Peter Pujals led a balanced offense (258 yards passing/240 yards rushing) that put up 54 points against an overmatched Morgan State squad. The task figures to get quite a bit taller this week as Holy Cross heads north to visit New Hampshire.
  3. Fordham
    • When the opposing team starts pulling people out of the stands to play you know it’s not your day. The Fordham defense was pillaged early and often by Navy’s dynamic option offense in a 52-16 loss. Luckily for the Rams, D2 Elizabeth City State’s trip to the Bronx this week should help repair moral.
  4. Bucknell
    • The Bison nailed down their sixth straight season opening win by taking out Marist 26-10. A strong running game (Joe DeFloria, 145 yards on 27 carries) on offense and stingy rush defense were key in Saturday night’s victory. Bucknell will look to make it 2-0 against fellow Keystone Stater Duquesne Saturday.
  5. Lehigh
    • The much heralded Lehigh offense got off to a terrible start (59 first half yards) in a disappointing 23-21 loss to Monmouth to open the year. Conversely, the notoriously shaky defense was able to keep Lehigh within striking during the offense’s first half struggles. Lehigh will need all aspects to be at their best this week when they visit the Main Line to battle Villanova.
  6. Lafayette
    • The Leopards matched their 2015 win total by taking down Central Connecticut State 24-10. The win was aided by 5 CCSU turnovers and a strong performance by senior QB Drew Reed. Lafayette will likely get a much stiffer test Saturday as the Delaware Blue Hens visit Easton for the Leopards home opener.
  7. Georgetown
    • The Hoyas were able to pile on Davidson’s recent FCS misery by rolling the Wildcats 38-14 in Washington D.C. Tim Barnes two second quarter touchdowns (4 total) helped the Hoyas blow the game open before half. Georgetown will face their second straight Pioneer Football League member this week when they venture to the Hudson Valley to face Marist.

SOCON Review: Week 1

The Citadel 24  Mercer 23
The #13 Bulldogs of The Citadel had great expectations following a successful 2015 campaign. Mercer did as well after coming oh so close to winning many SOCON games last year and actually knocking off SOCON co-champ UTC. Broadcast on Fox Sport SE, the game was the season and SOCON opener for both teams. After the first 2 minutes, the casual viewer might have thought it was over as The Citadel was up 14-0 following a 2 play drive which ended with a 70 yard TD dash by preseason all American candidate Tyler Renew and a sack of the Mercer QB and forced fumble recovered by the Bulldogs sophomore defensive lineman Kevin Graham. This was quickly followed up with an 8 yards TD run by Cam Jackson. But Mercer, led by Senior QB John Russ, fought back with a long drive which resulted in a 26 yard FG. Another TD drive by the Bulldogs for 75 yards made it 21-3 at 5:46 to go in the 1st. Mercer then scored 20 unanswered points to go ahead early in the 3rd, 23-21.

Defense on both sides stiffened in the second half. At 13:30 to go in the game, The Citadel started a 7 minute clock killing drive which resulted in a 35 yard FG which would prove to be the game winning score. Mercer held the Dogs to 262 yards rushing which was well below their 2015 average output of 347. The Bulldogs started redshirt freshman Jordan Black after veteran Jr QB Dominique Allen was injured in camp and suspended for the first game in any event. Whether he returns against Furman next week is still TBD. Black, a lefty, went 6-9 and 79 yards passing which is about normal for the Dogs. Tyler Renew, the Dogs premier FB, finished with 146 yards on 27 runs. Mercer’s John Russ looked poised and went a respectable 15-25-1 for 172 yards. Mercer’s diminutive running back Payton Usher looked very good with 89 yards on 10 attempts. The loss for Mercer was the third in a row at hands of the Bulldogs…losing by a combined total of 5 points for all three games.

Samford 77  Mars Hill 7
The inconsistency which marked Samford’s 2015 season may be gone. Many, including coach Chris Hatcher, had higher expectations last year which saw the Bulldogs go 3-4 in SOCON play. Opening 2016 with a Div II Mars Hill may be just what was needed. The Samford offense racked up 573 yards including 352 yards through the air as QB Devlin Hodges went 39/49 with 5 TDs. The Bulldogs rushers added 221 yards. Their D held the Mars Hill Lions to 136 total yards. Picked to finish 3rd in the SOCON by the coaches and 5th by the media, conventional wisdom says they may be a “semi” dark horse to make a run for the conference title. The talent appears to be there, but whether they can make it work will be quickly evident over the next three weeks as Samford travels to Central Arkansas for a quality OOC game and UTC for a early, critical conference game, with a bye week wedged between.

Chattanooga 66  Shorter 0
The #6 team made short work work of Div II Shorter scoring on 7 of their 8 first half possessions to secure a 45-0 half time score. The Mocs new starting QB, Alejandro Bennifield went 8/11, 135 yards with 4 TDs and 1 int. Although the outclassed Shorter Hawks were devastated with injuries to their starters, the Mocs defense was impressive holding them to just 16 yards of total offense. While getting some good reps in this scrimmage, the Mocs were forced into this game after Austin Peay backed out of the schedule. With an expected loss later on at Alabama, the Mocs need to go 7-2 in their other remaining games or win the SOCON bid to ensure playoff spot. Doesn’t look like that may be a problem, but in the SOCON, anything can happen.

Wofford 21  Tennessee Tech 7
Wofford traveled to Cookeville, Tenn. to meet the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech with Jr. Brad Butler calling the signals. Butler got the starting nod after the Terriers lost Sr QB Evan Jacks to injured earlier in camp. The Terriers have been playing musical QBs for a while now and this may settle things down a bit. Wofford took the game last year 34-14 in Spartanburg with an impressive offensive output of 560 yards. Tenn Tech thought they could take charge early and began the game with a gutsy onside kick, which they recovered, but the drive stalled out. After exchanging possessions, Tenn Tech scored first on a Kip Patton 4 yard run, but that was all the points the Golden Eagles could muster. Butler knotted it at 7 mid way through the 2nd on a 10 yard TD run for Wofford. The rest of the first half was dotted with punts and 2 missed FGs by Wofford including a 41 yard attempt and a 62 yard attempt to end the half. The second half saw Wofford take control with long TD drives in both quarters. TTU had two long drives which totaled about 11 minutes combined, but resulted in 2 missed FGs and their last drive ended in an interception with under 5 minutes to go. The real story of the second half was the scare that everyone had midway through the third when one of Wofford’s players collapsed while on the bench. Initial information had EMS performing CPR and both teams were understandably concerned and prayerful. The outstanding news is that Wofford linebacker Michael Roach is apparently in good condition now. His long term situation will have to be determined, but at least he has a long term situation. Wofford finished with 346 on the ground in line with their option attack. They went 5/8 in the air with 42 yards which is about par for them. Their D held Tenn Tech to 41 yards on the ground and 216 through the air. With Ole Miss, Div II JC Smith, and ETSU up next, we may not get a good feel for how Wofford will compete in the SOCON until they meet Samford the first week of October.

Michigan State 28  Furman 13
Now we can confirm the reason the Big Ten does not want to schedule any more FCS teams. It’s because they almost get beat by them. Well it was close anyway. Too close for the #12 FBS team in the nation, especially against a team picked to finish in the bottom third of the SOCON in both the Coaches and Media polls. But Furman may be the real Dark Horse of the SOCON this year. Furman’s Jr QB P.J. Blazejowski led the Paladin offense and went 15/30, 123 yards passing against a pretty good Spartan D. But his one interception was extremely untimely, thrown one play after the Paladins intercepted the Spartans early in the fourth with Furman only down by 8 at that point. But the real story was the Paladin D which held the Spartans to 361 total yards, under their 2015 per game output of 386. Whether this was case of Michigan State underestimating their opponent or Furman putting it together finally is yet to be determined. That may become clearer next week as Furman travels to Charleston to meet The Citadel Bulldogs.

East Carolina 52  Western Carolina 7
The biggest question facing WCU this season was how they would fare with a new QB to replace the highly successful Troy Mitchell. The opening drive executed by WCU’s RS freshman QB Tyrie Adams was impressive with 67 yards in 11 plays where he went 7 for 7 passing. Problem was that the last pass was completed to an ECU player at the ECU 4. But that isn’t really fair since it was a freak deflection and tip drill. But the damage may have been done. The next three ECU drives resulted in 3 scores. The next three WCU drives ended in punts. Overall, Adams went 12/24 and 167 yards and added 51 on the ground. Not too bad considering it was his first collegiate start, on the road at an FBS opponent. WCU racked up a respectable 320 yards of balanced offense but couldn’t seem to cross the goal line when needed. Unfortunately WCU’s defense gave up 688 yards including 413 and 5 TDs through the air for ECU. WCU’s defense also gave up 11 plays of 20+ yards. While WCU may have found a QB, they seemed to have some issues on defense, FBS opponent or not. This has to improve if they have any hope of making a run at the SOCON title.

Akron 47  VMI 24
It looked as though the VMI Keydets might be in a position to pull off the upset as they trailed 24-26 at the end of the 3rd qtr. But the Akron Zips poured it on in the 4th with three TDs and halted the VMI offense led by Al Cobb. The Sr VMI QB went 25/32 for 258 yards during the game. But more importantly, he threw 0 interceptions. Cobb is by most accounts the best throwing QB in the SOCON but tossing INTs has been his Achilles heal the last couple years. If he has gotten the turnover bug under control, expect VMI to make some noise even if their running game was anemic at just 86 yards for the night. On the debit side, the VMI defense gave up 576 yards and just looked tuckered out by the 4th. For the record books, VMI wide receiver Aaron Sanders set a school record for career receptions at 167.

ETSU 20  Kennesaw St 17
In 2015 ETSU went 2-9 and 0-7 against Div I teams including losing to Kennesaw St 56-16 in the opening game for both teams. ETSU, in a temporary hiatus from 2003-2014, was a 28 point underdog in this game. Up 10-7 after 3 quarters, ETSU gave up a long drive resulting in an early 4th quarter FG by KSU to tie things up. Unable to move it the ball ETSU had to punt it back to KSU only to get a gift fumble late in the 4th which sent the game into OT. Once in OT ETSU wasted no time and scored a TD in three plays. When KSU tied it up again, and then missed a 30 yard FG in the second OT, ETSU sealed the deal with a 24 yard FG to get their first win over a Div I school since their resurrection. So maybe things are not as bad as everyone thought in Johnson City. Well, they did punt 9 times. But their D did hold Kennesaw St to just 166 yards rushing. Doesn’t sound great except when you consider that KSU averaged 293 yds/game last year, good enough for #6 in all of FCS. That may bode well for them in the rush heavy SOCON. ETSU’s RS Sophomore QB Austin Herink went 18/26 for 214 yards through the air. ETSU gets two weeks to relish this win before they make history, of a sort, on 17 Sept when they open SOCON play against Western Carolina at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Week 1 AGS GOTW | The Citadel at Mercer

Marc Goold | SoCon Contributor | September 1, 2016socon1

The AGS Game of the Week for Week 1 certainly met expectations, at least in regard to drama. With The Citadel on the road in Macon, Georgia, pitted against the scrappy Mercer Bears, it was destined for drama for many reasons. First off, it was an uncharacteristic SOCON opener, as well as a season opener for both both teams. Second, the last two years saw victories for The Citadel by only two points both years. But thirdly, the expectations for both teams this year is high. Drama was inevitable.

The Citadel is coming off its best year since its giant slaying days of the early 90s which resulted in a SOCON co-championship and a road playoff victory. Mercer is in its 4th year after resurrecting its football team from hibernation since 1941. To say that Mercer has done better than most FCS startups is an understatement at the very least. They have done very well. And what talent did they get back from last year’s team that beat SOCON co champ Chattanooga? Well, basically everyone. Yes, the game played in Macon, in the shadow of Hurricane Hermine, ready to skirt middle Georgia on Friday morning, could not help be an exciting game.

The Citadel faced many hurdles for this game. The Bulldogs lost the coach that led them to success last year. They also lost their DC and to an extent their OC, Brent Thompson, as well since he was promoted to HC. Needless to say there was a bit of coaching turmoil to deal with. They also lost some key play makers on D. The offensive line took some hits but not catastrophically. But the outlook was bright with most of the offensive juggernaut intact. That is until their starting Jr QB, Dominique Allen was suspended for game one and has been out with an injury to boot. Cue redshirt freshman Jordan Black. A southpaw who was challenged to make his first collegiate start, in a season opener, on the road, in what could prove to be a key SOCON matchup. But I hope, like others, that that is why folks choose to go to The Citadel or any school: to meet challenges.

The Mercer Bears, coached by the successful, former Furman coach, Bobby Lamb has a team loaded with talent. While the SOCON brand may have taken a hit by the departure of a couple teams in recent memory, it is still a tough conference to eke out wins in. And while Mercer has had issues getting wins in their first two years, they must at least get the consolation prize for having the most number of close losses in those two years. In 2014-15 they went 3-11 in SOCON play. They lost those 11 games by a total of 98 points or about 9 points a game…on average. Toss out 3 games where they got soundly handled and they lost the other 8 by just 30 points, combined! Yes they have been close many times loosing 1, 2 and 3 pointers regularly. They are poised for a better things in 2016.

As in any opening game, their are bound to some nerves. The player, the coaches, the fans are all a twitter as to how all the preparation will play out when that whistle blows. The Citadel received the opening kickoff and went to work. Named to multiple all American first and second team watch lists, Tyler Renew took his second run to the house for 70 yards. The Dogs looked good and the confidence must have been high on the Dogs bench–offense: check!

The Bear took to ensuing kickoff and started from their 28. A quick sack of senior Bear QB John Russ and a forced fumble gave the ball back to the Dogs O to give the Bulldogs confidence on the other side of the ball–defense: check!

The Citadel capitalized on the turnover rather quickly to make it 14-0 at the 13:00 mark of the First Qtr. It looked pretty good for the Dogs. The expected drama never appeared.

Mercer, however, would not be daunted. They took the next drive 12 plays and 67 yards for a FG. A drive in which Russ was 7 for 8 throwing. Might there be a crack in the Bulldogs D?

The Dogs answered quickly with a 75 yard drive in 5 plays to go up 21-3 with 29 yard TD run by A back Reggie Williams. The Bulldogs may have been bending on D but they were running on all cylinders on O. The redshirt Freshman QB Jordan Black was leading the O well and it looked like the Bulldogs would have a banner night for the stats and an easy opening win.

But anyone who is familiar with Mercer Football knew this was not the case. They would not go down without a fight. The Bears answered quickly themselves with a 5 plays 62 yards drive capped off by a John Russ 38 TD run up the middle to make it 21-10.

After the Bears held the Dogs to a five play drive and a punt the momentum slowly started to shift. It was a little surprising but on 4th and a short 1 at The Citadel 47, the Dogs punted rather than test their young QB to move the sticks. Had Allen been in, that decision may have been different. The Citadel D had moments of brilliance but they were overly aggressive in their pursuits and the Bear’s nimble running back, Payton Usher, started to put on a show on the enduing drive. The 10 play 62 yard drive featured 48 yards from Usher and resulted in another Bear FG to make it 21-13 early in the Second.
On the next drive the Bears D got their first three and out against the Dogs option attack. The momentum had definitely shifted at this point. The drama had definitely returned. The Bears took the punt and promptly march 59 yards in 4 plays highlighted by a Russ to Avery Wood pass which should have been a TD but was downed at the 1 on a great defensive effort. A quick Russ TD made it 21-20.

The Bulldogs had a great return which was padded by a Mercer personal foul to start their drive from the Mercer 42. But the Bears D had stiffened a great deal since the opening drive and they forced a 4th and 1 again from the Mercer 33. This time the Dogs would go for it, but the Bears held and the game was definitely wide open again.

The Dogs forced a punt on the ensuing drive and ran out the clock at the half with a slim lead of 21-20. It would not be a run away game like the Dogs thought after the first three drives. Mercer, and the leadership of Senior Bear QB John Russ had stopped it cold and fought back.

After the break, Mercer wasted no time in scoring as they marched 11 plays and 46 yards to score 3 to take their first lead of the game 23-21.

Whatever defensive adjustments the coaching staffs made paid off for both teams as they traded a few punts or turned it over on downs. It was now a defensive struggle. But by the fourth qtr the real story of the game was the penalties. Or more specifically, the Mercer penalties. The Bears had at least three drive stymied by penalties.

With 9:25 to go in the 4th the Bulldogs began a 65 yard drive which included 4 third down conversions and one catch and acrobatic run for 15 yards by the Dogs FB Renew on a 2nd-17. A Bulldog FG for 35 yards made it 24-23 with 2:16 to go. It would come down to the experienced senior Bear QB against the Bulldogs D. After a 6 yard run by Russ, the Dogs coverage was good enough for 4 straight incompletions by Russ also hindered by another inopportune penalty by the bears for an ineligible receiver downfield…ouch.

After the Dogs took over at the Mercer 24 it appeared in the bag for the Dogs with Mercer having only 2 TO”s remaining, but they were not done yet, coupled with some extremely conservative play calls by the Dogs O. A missed FG with 23 seconds left on a 4th and 13 for the Dogs gave the ball back to Mercer with at least a chance to pull out a miracle. Cue the Dogs “Department of Defense.” Russ tossed it to one of his wide receivers tiptoeing the sideline only to bobble it and an alert Kailik Williams snatched it for the Dogs for their first interception of 2016.

The drama was over. For the third year in a row The Citadel Bulldogs had walked away with the slimmest of victories over Mercer. But a SOCON win in week one is worth a lot of OOC wins at this point, even a close one. Conventional wisdom has Mercer in the thick of things come November. For the Bulldogs, getting a W in Macon week one is sweet. And while it is not going to make many Mercer fans happy, this may be just what the Bears need to motivate them to win the close ones as the season unfolds.

Yes, I think the AGS GOTW for Week One lived up to its billing.

2016 Preseason OVC Preview: Tennessee State

2015 Record: 4-6 (1-6 OVC)

Key Losses: RB Tom Smith, CB Bernell Brooks

Key Returnees: DE Ebenezer Ogundeko (First Team All-OVC), WR Patrick Smith (Second Team All-OVC), OG Jessamen Dunker (Second Team All-OVC)

The Tigers are only two seasons removed from their 10-4 2013 season and their most recent trip to the playoffs.  They have been on a decline since then, posting records of 6-6 and 4-6 for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Tigers will likely come out swinging in 2016 and look to halt the decline and start the climb back up to the top of the OVC totem pole and they have the team to do it.  The Tigers return an experienced team, they only lost a couple starters this offseason and have potential to build on last year.  Head Coach Rod Reed knows what it takes to make the FCS playoffs as he’s taken the Tigers there before.

On offense the Tigers return the entire offensive line, quarterback O’Shay Ackerman-Carter, and wideouts Isaiah Jefferis-Freeman, Chris Sander-McCollum, and Patrick Smith. The Tigers offense last year lacked some kick, but with the entire offensive line returning, the Tigers have all the tools they need to improve from last year.  If the Tigers want to see more offensive success they have to improve their rushing attack.  Last year the Tigers only had 1234 yards rushing and only averaged 3.5 yards, ranking 98th nationally. The problem with that is that both running backs Tom Smith and Telvin Hooks have graduated. The good news is that junior running back Erick Evans looks very promising.  Evans saw significant time in the last four games of the season last year and racked up 375 yards, 6 touchdowns, and averaged 5.8 yards per carry.  If Evans can find the same sort of success this year it should help open up the offense to make more explosive plays in the passing game.

On defense the Tigers return eight starters.  The Tigers rode their defense a lot of the season last year and ranked in the top 50 nationally, giving up an average of 368 yards a game. They look to build upon last year and with playmakers like pre-season All-American defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko they could prove to be one of the OVC’s top defenses. Linebackers Chris Collins, Antonio Justice, and Justin North look to help anchor the front seven on the Tigers defense. In the secondary the Tigers return cornerback Terrell Bonds and safeties Javon Brandon and Laquarius Cook.  There’s real potential here for the Tigers, they just need to build upon last year.

The Tigers have the capability to shake up the OVC this year.  They just have to go out and execute.

Schedule and Predictions:  6-5 (3-4 OVC)

    W    9/3 vs. Arkansas- Pine Bluff

    W    9/10 vs. Jackson State

    W    9/17 @ Bethune- Cookman

    L    10/1 vs. UT-Martin

    L    10/8 @ Eastern Illinois

    L    10/15 vs. Eastern Kentucky

    L    10/22 @ Vanderbilt

    W    10/29 @ Murray State

    W    11/5    @ Austin Peay

    W    11/12 vs. Tennessee Tech

    L    11/19 @ Southeast Missouri State

 

Tennessee State will likely see a slight improvement over last years record.  I could see the Tigers exceeding this prediction and contending for a spot in the playoffs. However, the level of play in the OVC is likely to take a step up this season and I think it will be harder for TSU contend for a playoff bid but they could be anywhere from a middle of the conference team to competing for a bid depending on how the rest of the conference shakes down.

2016 Big Sky Preview: Weber State

2015 Record: 6-5 (5-3)

Key Returners: Jadrian Clark, Eric Wilkes, Treshawn Garrett, Cameron Livingston, Emmett Tela, Taron Johnson

Key Losses: Josh Kealamakia

The Weber State Wildcats found themselves in the hunt for a playoff spot last season but ultimately fell short of their goal when all was said and done. The Wildcats basically won the games they were supposed to win and lost the games they were supposed to lose. They escaped Montana with an overtime win, probably their biggest upset of the season. Third year coach Jay Hill might have something brewing in Ogden, and the media has them picked to finish about where they ended last season. The Wildcats return many players from last season on the offensive side of the football, and with any luck can keep their defense right about where they were last season.

The Wildcats finished with the 65th best offense it the country last year, coming in with 369 yards per game. Their defense checked in at 32nd last season, pretty respectable for a Big Sky team. In fact, their defense was the top in the Big Sky last season. They gave up 346 yards per game. The Wildcats were the only Big Sky team to finish in the top 50 in total defense last season. The team finished -2 in the touchdown ratio, which might explain some of their problems last season. The Wildcats also finished -5 in turnovers last season. Quarterback Jadrian Clark finished on the wrong side of touchdowns vs interceptions himself. With a defense as good as they were last season the offense seemed to struggle when facing the better teams in the league. In three of their five losses last season they gave up 40+ points in those contests.

As mentioned above the Wildcats will be returning some notable offensive starters, quarterback Jadrian Clark who threw for 1875 yards and ten touchdowns. He also had eleven interceptions on the season. They will also return Eric Wilkes and Treshawn Garrett, their top two rushers from last season. Combined they went over 1000 yards and had ten touchdowns. Their leading receiver, Cameron Livingston will also be back this season, as well as Darryl Denby. They’ll also return junior corner Taron Johnson who led the team in interceptions last season with two. He was third in the Big Sky last season with 12 pass break-ups. Linebacker Emmett Tela will help anchor the defense this season too. Tela earned second team All-Big Sky last season as a sophomore. He led the team in tackles with 72, along with two forced fumbles and two sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.

The Wildcats will kick off their season in Logan, Utah to take on Utah State. Their schedule has them facing Portland State, Southern Utah, North Dakota, and Northern Arizona. Not a fun schedule but they should be much like last season, win the games they’re supposed to win and lose the games they’re supposed to lose. If they can somehow sneak a few wins away from unfavored contests they could make a push for a playoff spot at the end of the season, but they will need to take down some of the league’s best. Two of those contests will be on the road for the Wildcats.

Thu, Sep 01      at Utah State
Sat, Sep 10      at South Dakota
Sat, Sep 17      Sacramento State
Sat, Sep 24      at UC Davis
Sat, Oct 08      Portland State
Sat, Oct 15      Montana State
Sat, Oct 22      at Southern Utah
Sat, Oct 29      at North Dakota
Sat, Nov 05      Northern Arizona
Sat, Nov 12      Cal Poly
Sat, Nov 19      at Idaho State

Patriot League Week 1 Preview

Patriot League Week 1 What to Know

The league kicks off its 31st season of football this weekend as all six members are in action. The top two teams in the preseason poll, Colgate and Fordham, start with daunting road trips against FBS programs while the rest of the league will battle fellow FCS foes.

Friday September 2nd

Lafayette @ Central Connecticut State  6:00 P.M. New Britain, CT

The Leopards will look to make an early statement as they attempt to rebound from a 1-10 season. Senior QB Drew Reed is expected to start for Lafayette. His experience will hopefully jumpstart an offense that averaged 13.6 points in 2015. Central Connecticut State is coming off a 4-7 season. The Blue Devils were picked 5th in the preseason NEC media poll.  This is just the third meeting between the two schools. CCSU won the inaugural game in 1980 and Lafayette exacted revenge in 1981.

Interesting Nugget – Former Lafayette head coach Bill Russo earned his first win on College Hill against Central Connecticut State in the 1981 game.

Colgate @ Syracuse  7:00 P.M. Syracuse, NY

The Raiders open the 2016 season with a short bus ride to face their Central New York rivals. One advantage Colgate should have is experience. The pride of the Chenango Valley return a veteran squad and a head coach entering his third year. Conversely, the Orange will showcase a number of new faces including new head coach Dino Babers. Lately it hasn’t mattered in this series who the Orange trot onto field. Syracuse has outscored Colgate 500-79 in the previous ten meetings.

Interesting Nugget – This will be 67th game between the two schools and the 64th held in Syracuse. The two have not met in Hamilton since 1897.

 Saturday September 3rd

Fordham @ Navy 12:00 P.M. Annapolis, MD

Fordham will look to notch their third consecutive FBS victory as they travel to Maryland to take on a proven Navy team. While Navy has a track record of success at college football’s highest level, the Rams enter this game with an arsenal of dangerous weapons on their side. None is more explosive than all everything RB Chase Edmonds. The junior running back already has 49 career touchdowns. This will be second game between these two. Navy won the first contest in 1914.

Interesting Nugget – Navy posted their highest final AP ranking in 2015, 18th, since the Middies finished #2 in 1963 under the command of Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach.

Monmouth @ Lehigh 12:30 P.M. Bethlehem, PA

The Mountain Hawks begin their 133rd season of football against a familiar face from New Jersey. This will be the sixth meeting between the two since 2010. Lehigh owns a 5-1 all-time record but the Hawks from West Long Branch won the last meeting 28-21 in 2014. Lehigh will start the season without 1st team all-league LB Colton Caslow.  The defensive leader will miss the game as he continues to recover from a broken hand. The much maligned Lehigh defense will look to slow down R-Sophomore QB Cody Williams and a dangerous group of skill players.

Interesting Nugget – Current Monmouth president Dr. Paul Brown served as the Dean of the college of Business and Economics at Lehigh from 2007-2013.

Davidson @ Georgetown 1:00 P.M. Washington, D.C.

The Hoyas and Wildcats both enter the 2016 campaign looking to build momentum after the two went a combined 6-16 last year. Georgetown will look towards talented senior TE Matt Buckman to get the offense moving while the QB position is settled. This will be the 12th meeting between these two academic stalwarts since 1999. The Hoyas currently own an 8-3 advantage.

Interesting Nugget – Former Colonial/Patriot League founding member Davidson has not posted a Division 1 win since 2012 when they took down Valparaiso 28-27.

Holy Cross @ Morgan State 2:00 P.M. Baltimore, MD

After posting their first winning season since 2011, expectations are high on Mount Saint James. A big reason for the optimism revolves around 4 year starting QB Peter Pujals. The 1st team all-league QB can really cement his place in Crusader lore by returning the PL championship to Worcester. He won’t have to do it alone as dangerous WR Brendan Flaherty provides a serious weapon outside. The Bears will look to improve on offense this year after averaging a modest 18.2 ppg in 2015. Holy Cross won the only prior meeting 29-26 in 2014.

Interesting Nugget – Fred T. Ferrier will be making his debut as the Morgan State head coach after Lee Hull joined the Indianapolis Colts in February.

Bucknell @ Marist 6:00 P.M. Poughkeepsie, NY

The Bison head to the Hudson Valley looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2015 season. Defense figures to once again lead the way for Bucknell which is bad news for a Marist team who struggled to score at times last year. That includes a 17-0 loss to the Bison in Lewisburg 12 months ago. This marks the 12th consecutive year the two have met. Bucknell is 10-1 in the previous 11 meetings.

Interesting Nugget  – Bucknell has won five consecutive season openers. Their last loss came against Duquesne in 2010 which was Coach Susan’s debut as the Bison head coach.

Big South: Week 1 Preview (9/1 – 9/3)

With the FCS Kickoff out of the way, everyone else finally gets a turn and, frankly, we’ve waited long enough.  Let’s get right to it:

 

Presbyterian @ Central Michigan – Thursday, Sept 1st, 7:00pm (ESPN3)

The Presbyterian College Blue Hose begin this season, as they do nearly every season, on the road.  On Saturday, PC will make their third visit to a MAC opponent in as many years but their first-ever visit to The Mitten State to take on the Chippewas of Central Michigan.   The Chippewas – or ‘the Chips’, for the more monosyllabically-inclined – hail from the city of Mount Pleasant which, if you imagine the the state of Michigan as a glove, is located right at the base of the middle finger.  Make of that fact what you will.

Last June, first-year CMU head coach John Bonamego was diagnosed with early-stage tonsil cancer and underwent chemotherapy treatment during the 2015 season.  He lost 75 pounds over the next several months but, by Christmas, was pronounced cancer-free.  So a sincere hats off to him, the Bonamego family and to the CMU program who supported him during the ordeal.

As for the football stuff, CMU returns 14 starters, including 4th-year starter at QB, Connor Rush, off a team that were chosen 5th pre-season in the MAC West but went on to win 7 games, tie for the MAC West title and be honored with an invite to the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.  Rush threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 25 TD’s in his junior season and will certainly hope to get a jump start on that against the Blue Hose.

Presbyterian comes into the 2016 season needing to find answers virtually everywhere except the quarterback spot and top running back spots.  QB Ben Cheek is the incumbent starter and, while he wasn’t particularly impressive in 2015, he’s at least a known quantity.  RB Darrell Bridges was a breakout player for PC in 2015 but, by necessity, played hurt the last half of the season and wasn’t at his most effective.  In both cases, the question of who backs these guys up as well as who starts pretty much everywhere else is very much up in the air.

What PC has to do against CMU:  Central Michigan averages around 18,000 in attendance.  While that may seem like a massive audience to Presbyterian’s younger players, the returning players for PC have played in front of bigger crowds and won’t be intimidated or impressed.  Those players have to be able send a message, both to the Chips as well as to their own team.  The older guys have to get their game faces on, bring some energy, be physically aggressive and they absolutely need the younger players to see them do it.  This game is less about scoring a major upset win for PC but, rather, about earning some valuable money for the program and setting a tone for the rest of the season.  On offense, PC will try to control and manage the clock using the running game and short, manageable passes.  The Chips defense, however, should be very alert for the trick play.  Nichols likes to roll out one or two gadgets in these kind of games in order to have a little fun, keep the other team’s defense honest and give defensive coordinators farther down the schedule one more headache to deal with.  Also, getting on SportsCenter every so often doesn’t hurt either.  On defense, PC wants to play a smart but highly-aggressive style and this is where “setting the tone” really matters.  The struggle on that side of the ball will be playing an attacking style while mixing in a fair number of new players.  Mistakes will be made and they will likely cost the Blue Hose points in this game but it’s better to learn from those mistakes now as opposed to when the consequences matter more toward the result of the season.  On special teams, Presbyterian needs to be consistent, particularly in the punting game.  PC must replace an outstanding punter lost to graduation who was as much a part of their effective defense as anyone else.  It’s likely that they will get a lot of punts in on Thursday so this will be a good time to solidify the position.

Best case scenario for PC – Play hard, play aggressive, avoid injury and establish a mindset and a style of play for the rest of the season.  On offense, score a touchdown on some wacky play and maybe get on Top10 Plays again.

Worst case scenario – Cheek and/or Bridges gets hurt, the team lays down in the second half and the team flight out of Michigan gets delayed allowing everyone way too much time to sit around in the airport and stare at each other, wondering what all their non-football-playing friends at SEC schools are doing right now.

 

Kentucky St (0-0) @ Charleston Southern (0-1) – Saturday, Sept 3rd, 11:45am (no TV)

With the FCS Kickoff out of the way, Charleston Southern can now move on to a game on the schedule that’s just slightly less-hyped, their home opener versus the Thorobreds of D2 Kentucky State (no, that’s not a typo; Kentucky State’s nickname is, in fact, misspelled).  Kentucky State finished 4th in the SIAC West in 2015 and, in the offseason, named former Idaho/Utah State/Louisville/Michigan State/Weber State/Arkansas/Fort Lewis College head coach John L. Smith to lead their program.  Unsurprisingly, these two programs have never played each other.  Kentucky State is an HBCU located in Frankfort, KY an eight-hour bus ride from CSU’s campus.  Fortunately, this game will kick off at 11:45am so the visitors should realistically be back on the road by dinner time.

John L Smith was reasonably successful at Fort Lewis, going 7-4 last season which was the first time FLC had won seven games since 2006.  He brings with him to the Misspelled Horses program a run-oriented offense based primarily out of the pistol formation.  Kentucky State only had 50 players on the roster at the end of spring drills but have added 70 new players since then.  To say that they might be a young team is a bit of an understatement.

What Charleston Southern has to do against Kentucky State:  Dominate.  The flag of the Buccaneers’ program has never flown higher than it’s flapping right now and CSU needs to take advantage of that fact.  There should be a sizeable home crowd on hand Saturday – sizeable relative to Charleston Southern anyway – and they will want to see the football equivalent of blood in the water.  CSU needs to give it to them.  On offense, CSU must execute quickly, score early, score often and  get QB Kyle Copeland off the field.  Copeland took quite a physical beating at the hands of North Dakota State and getting him out of the game early as well as getting the other quarterbacks some valuable game experience would benefit everyone involved.  On defense, the Bucs can’t let up.  Their defensive style is aggressive and attacking which only works when it’s run at full speed.  If the players on the field relax and play less than 100% simply because they’re going up against a lower-division opponent, it opens too many holes and a halfway decent offense will make them pay.  Under the circumstances, I doubt that Kentucky State has a halfway decent offense but CSU can’t take that chance.

Best case scenario for Charleston Southern – CSU scores many, gets their starters out of the game and gets in the second team, the third team and whoever has remaining eligibility and happens to be present in the stadium.  Depth is an issue for the Bucs so saving the starters and developing depth are paramount.

Worst case scenario – More player injuries and Kentucky State exploits a post-NDSU hangover for points.  CSU should win this game handily but how they win it is important.

 

Liberty @ Virginia Tech – Saturday, Sept 3rd, 12:30pm (ACC Network, Liberty Flames Sports Network)

Here’s an odd but almost completely meaningless fact:  2016 will mark the second year in row and third time in the last four years that Liberty has gone into their season opener facing off against a brand new head coach on the far sideline.   This situation is slightly different from many others in that Virginia Tech’s defense is a known quantity.  VT defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, has been the mastermind behind the Hokies’ defense for two decades and last winter’s change at the top from retiring head coach Frank Beamer to current head coach Justin Fuente hasn’t changed that.  What will be different will be the up-tempo spread attack that Fuente brings with him from Memphis. Oddly enough, Liberty also went through a similar schematic shift this past offseason.  While DC Robert Wimberly is still calling the defense, quarterback coach Joe Dailey was promoted to being the Flames’ offensive coordinator and installed a – you guessed it – up-tempo spread attack.

At Liberty, questions abound all over the field.  How do you replace the most productive quarterback, wide receiver, kicker and sack artist in school history all at once?  How quickly can the returning players adapt to the new offensive scheme?  Can Liberty re-establish a running game that was so effective in 2014 but was wildly inconsistent in 2015?  How will a relatively young defensive secondary with only one senior in it respond to Virginia Tech’s athleticism?

What Liberty has to do against Virginia Tech – On offense, Liberty must execute execute execute.  Many of the Flames’ struggles on offense a year ago came down to lost opportunities.  A bad pitch, a missed block, a dropped pass, a flubbed snap, they all seemed to come at the worst possible moments.  Newly-anointed starting quarterback Stephone Masha and the rest of the LU offense must take advantage of the new start that their offensive change-up has given them.  On defense, Liberty has to keep everything in front of them.  Virginia Tech’s team speed should be, at least on paper, the year’s biggest test for the Flames defenders and if the Hokies can start completing passes over the top, it’s going to be a very long day for the visitors.  On special teams, keep field goals manageable.  Liberty’s kicker from 2015 is gone to the NFL and his replacement is a true freshman.   There are probably more humane environments to break in a young kicker than Lane Stadium but, hey, if you can split the uprights with 65,000 people screaming and ‘Enter Sandman’ blaring at you, you can probably do it anywhere.

Best case scenario for Liberty against Virginia Tech – The LU offense executes, the LU defense makes the new VT offense work for their yardage and getting a Hokie turnover or two couldn’t hurt.

Worst case scenario for Liberty – Any significant injury to Masha.  The backup QB is a true freshman.  The third QB is a grayshirt freshman.  The fourth guy is a true freshman.  If there’s a fifth QB, he’s TBD but probably also a freshman.  You see where I’m going with this.

 

Monmouth @ Lehigh – Saturday, Sept 3rd, 12:30pm (SE2, PLN)

The Monmouth Hawks – hereafter known as the Jersey Hawks – begin the 2016 season in what has become a somewhat familiar venue to them, Goodman Stadium, to take on the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh University.  (Go some version of Hawks!)  Monmouth is 1-5 all-time against Lehigh but that lone win came in the most recent game in the series in 2014.  Monmouth brings back the bulk of its offensive output for this game so it could be quite a test for Lehigh’s defense.

Generally, the Lehigh-Monmouth game has been, for Lehigh, a tune-up game heading into showdowns with the Ivies and, for Monmouth, a frustrating illustration as to why conference-imposed scholarship limits don’t really work in football.  Now that both schools are on equal footing, at least on principle, in terms of athletic aid it becomes more of a true competition between non-conference opponents.   I expect this to be a tightly-contested football game.

What Monmouth has to do against Lehigh – On offense, get first downs.  A year ago, Lehigh came out hot against NEC also-ran Central Connecticut State but struggled to put them away late, eventually winning 20-14.  What ultimately did CCSU in was the fact that they couldn’t mount a sustained drive until late in the game.  Monmouth is a much better offensive unit than CCSU was and if MU can keep the chains moving, it bodes well for the Jersey Hawks.  The thing that CCSU did do well on defense was force early turnovers that kept Lehigh from jumping out too far in front.  In 2015, Monmouth did a decent job themselves in forcing turnovers, averaging just under two takeaways a game, so if they can keep up that trend in 2016, they’ll be all right.  On special teams, don’t let it come down to field goals.  MU kicker Matt White hit two huge kicks to beat a ranked Liberty team last year but he was inconsistent on FG’s of all ranges last year.

Best case scenario for Monmouth against Lehigh – Win at all costs.  Any kind of win is necessary for Monmouth here.  Thanks to construction on their home stadium, the Jersey Hawks are a bit of a transient team this year so any kind of success against teams in their backyard – for these purposes, the northern mid-Atlantic region – will be invaluable in keeping the MU fan base engaged and their momentum remaining on the positive.

Worst case scenario for Monmouth –Lose big.  MU’s first home game isn’t until 9/24 with trips to Delaware State and Kent State in between.  They should beat able to beat DSU in their sleep but a loss by a wide margin to Lehigh probably also means a loss by an even wider margin to Kent.  With the next two games after that both being 2015 playoff teams (Charleston Southern and Fordham), Monmouth could very quickly find themselves in a deep hole.

 

Gardner-Webb @ Elon – Saturday, Sept 3rd, 3:30pm (American Sports Network)

Gardner-Webb begins 2016 by rolling up I-85 to Elon in the return game from last year’s home opener hosted by the Runnin’ Bulldogs.  GWU is 9-21 all-time against Elon and hasn’t beaten the Phoenix in Burlington since 1992 when the schools were conference rivals in Division II.

The last meeting between the two schools in 2015 was a game best described by neutral observers as “eventually completed”.  In a game completely uninhibited by weather, neither team could get anything going offensively – both teams went 3-and-out on every drive in the 1st quarter – and the score at the halftime break was knotted at zero.  Midway through the 3rd, Elon eventually took advantage of a short field thanks to a G-W turnover and got a touchdown on the board. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, futzed about on offense for 97% of the game before, finally, mounting a furious 4th-quarter comeback.  With just two minutes and change on the clock, QB Tyler Maxwell drove his team the length of the field and, as time expired, tossed a 4th-and-goal pass to TE Mike Estes for the touchdown that tied the game.  And I do mean the touchdown.  It was their only touchdown on the night and the game ended regulation tied 7-7.  In the first two overtimes, the two teams traded field goals before Elon finally found the end zone again in the third OT to go up a score.  Given their chance with the ball, GWU again went nowhere.  Maxwell was knocked out of the game after taking a hard hit on a pass attempt and his replacement promptly threw the game-ending interception.

That’s the kind of hype that this year’s meeting has to live up to.  For the sake of the football-watching world, let us all hope it surpasses its precedent.

But, what’s all that different this time around for the Runnin’ Bulldogs?  Over the course of last season, Maxwell struggled badly in head coach Carroll McCray’s offense but did occasionally show flashes of adequacy.  In the offseason, however, there was a bit of an outcry from the Gardner-Webb faithful for the Bulldogs to find a viable alternative.  The case for someone else may have been answered by the arrival of Ramsey Rigby, a one-semester grayshirted transfer from Troy University.  Based on high school film, Rigby seems to be a dual-threat athlete much in the same vein as Maxwell so it remains to be seen how quickly he can acclimate the offensive scheme and separate himself in the quarterback competition.

What Gardner-Webb has to do against Elon:  Neither team has given any indication that, schematically, they’ll be that much different than they were a year ago.  In order to win this game, Gardner-Webb has to do…anything better.  Or something better.  Literally, any little thing they do better in any phase of the game will be progress.  In 2015, the O did almost nothing and they still nearly came away with the win.  This, of course, assumes that the defense is still on point.  Last year’s defensive coordinator, Randall McCray –the head coach’s brother – got quite a bit of credit for the relative strength of the Bulldog defense.   However, he left for Texas State in the offseason and it will be interesting to see if new DC Travis Cunningham can keep the defense going in a positive direction.   On a completely unrelated note, Cunningham is the nephew of ETSU head coach Carl Torbush and both men have outstanding mustaches.

Best case scenario for Gardner-Webb – The offense scores three touchdowns, the defense holds serve and they win the game.  G-W averaged just over 12 points a game last year so it’s imperative that the offense get going early in the season.  Also, as we look at the rest of their schedule, if the Bulldogs hope to be favored in any of the games they have left, they have to win this one.

Worst case scenario for Gardner-Webb – The offense is, again, stuck in neutral for the entire game while the defense goes in reverse allowing Elon to put the contest away early.  GWU will have to go back to the drawing board while still staring down a September slate of The Citadel, Western Carolina and Ohio U.

 

Kennesaw State vs. East Tennessee State – Saturday, Sept 3rd, 7:00pm (Peachtree TV)

Kennesaw opens their second-ever season of football hosting East Tennessee State, the same opponent that the Owls faced off against in their first-ever game a year ago.  It was a relatively tight game until halftime but, in the second half, KSU opened up and blew ETSU’s doors off for a 56-16 win.  The Owls went on to win 6 games and earned as much respect as a first-year program could expect to gain.  The Buccaneers, on the other hand, went on to lose to every Division 1 and Division 3 team on the schedule.  Neither team really has any history to build on here so let’s move straight to the focus.

At this writing, KSU is a 26-point favorite on 5dimes.  ETSU has had a full year to mature since the last meeting so I think a nearly four-touchdown spread is extreme but I still expect the the Owls to win and win going away.  KSU’s triple-option runs smoothly so long as QB Trey White is at the helm.  If he’s 100% recovered from the injury that ended his part in the 2015 campaign, ETSU’s still-young defense is going to have a hard time containing him.

What Kennesaw has to do against ETSU – On offense, the Owls have to do what they do best which is run the football and eat the clock.  Don’t do anything weird.  KSU may have ETSU out manned but the triple-option is an offense that usually needs all three downs to get firsts and the Buccaneers head coach, Carl Torbush, is an outstanding defensive mind.  If ETSU can catch a break or two and KSU tries to get cute on offense, it could get a little scary for the home team.  Just get to 1-0 and save the experimental stuff for NAIA Point University the following week.  On defense, contain ETSU’s rushing attack.  A year ago, the Buccaneers weren’t particularly good at anything offensively but they did, at least, try to establish a ground game.  If the KSU defense can force ETSU to the air where they are less productive, it plays right into the hands of the KSU offense.

Best case scenario for Kennesaw – Win, get younger players (well, they’re nearly all younger so younger-er players) some reps and move on.

Worst case scenario – Lose the game.  I don’t say that lightly.  KSU can overcome injuries but losing to a team they throttled a year ago could be devastating to a young team.  Yes, KSU only has Point on deck for Week 2 but Duquesne and Furman are lined up right behind them.  At no point in its short history has the KSU program ever had a losing record and going into conference play below .500 is not a position the Owls want to be in.

 

 

The FCS Wedge – 2016-0831 – LISTEN UP!

Lance Berndt & Kris Kallem kick of the 2016 season with a recap of the NDSU-CSU game. They have a great discussion about the pitfalls of scheduling for some FCS teams and go over the preseason AGS Top 25.  Then they hit on the most enticing FCS vs.FCS as well as some possible FCS over FBS upsets.  Plus, there is a great point about Rottweilers at the end.  You should listen.

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