TSOTN Week 4

National Notes Week 4

Kevin Marshall, National Contributor | September 24, 2015

The Review

 Last week in the FCS had it all! We saw a great rivalry renewed, a good win over an FBS, and a top 5 team upset by the Lamar Cardinals. North Dakota State dominated North Dakota from the first whistle and won the game that some said would never take place. The Furman Paladins defense and special teams led them to an impressive win over FBS Central Florida. Much to the surprise of the blog writers in the Orlando newspaper. The Lamar team jumped all over the Sam Houston State Bearkats and held on for a three point victory. Record crowds at Jacksonville State, Liberty, and Coastal Carolina helped the home teams win against tough competition. Northern Iowa really helped themselves with a dominant performance on defense to throttle Cal Poly. Villanova won perhaps the most Pyrrhic  victory in recent memory over Delaware. 2014

Walter Payton Award winner John Robertson was injured and has perhaps played his last down in a Wildcat uniform. Eastern Washington rolled up 667 yards of total offense in their win while Stony Brook and Chattanooga used defense to win Conference games. Game balls to all of those victorious squads.

The Interviews

We are stoked to be joined by Gary Rima, Voice of the Northern Iowa Panthers, in the Voices of the FCS Segment. Bruce Barnum, Head Coach of the undefeated Portland State Vikings, is our Coach interview this week. Many thanks to both of those gentlemen for giving of their time.

The Preview

Liberty @ Southern Illinois
The Flames raised their standing nationally last week with their win against Montana. The question is can they stand prosperity or will there be a letdown on the road against the Salukis? Liberty 27-21.

Stony Brook @ William and Mary
Stony Brook used its fine defense to hold New Hampshire to six points last week. That defense will have to play just as well this week to beat the Tribe in Williamsburg. Tribe 20-17.

Cal Poly @ Montana State
Both of these squads are coming off disappointing performances last week. The Bobcat offense scored 50 points and they LOST. The Mustangs were never really in the game against UNI. Bobcats 35-31.

Charleston Southern @ The Citadel
The Battle of Charleston will be tough and a hard hitting affair. These two teams have developed a real dislike of one another. Both want to run the ball and impose their will on their opponents. I think The Citadel has a few more athletes this year. Bulldogs 31-24.

Lehigh @ Princeton
The Tiger secondary should be the difference in this matchup. Lehigh needs to be a little more imaginative when they have the ball and use some misdirection to get the Princeton defense out of position. The Mountain Hawks will confuse them some but not nearly enough. Princeton 34-17.

Robert Morris @ South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits keep rolling and Robert Morris has no answer. SDSU 38-10.

Presbyterian @ Chattanooga
The Blue Hose are rebuilding and should not prove too tough for the Mocs. Chatty 38-17.

Northern Arizona @ Montana
Montana will be without its starting quarterback for quite some time. The Lumberjack defense will be sharpening their  blades and are going to come after Chad Chalich and attempt to make him beat them. I think he can. Griz 28-17.

The FCSTV Guide For Week 4

Once again our friends  FargoBison & RootinFerDukes at AnyGivenSaturday.com bring us a list of televised FCS games.

AGS Top 25 Match-ups – Week 4

Thursday, September 24th:

Pennsylvania at (7) Villanova 7pm (CS Live $)
Villanova loses Robertson last week but Penn is just the opponent they need right now.

Saturday, September 26th:

(1) Jacksonville State at Tennessee-Martin 3pm ESPN3
The surprise #1 team looks to keep rolling as they dive into OVC play.

Bryant at (3) Coastal Carolina 6pm
This should be a routine, early season tune-up for Coastal.

Robert Morris at (4) South Dakota State 6pm ESPN3
While most MVFC teams take this week off, SDSU plays what would normally be an easy opponent.  This walkover did take YSU to overtime a couple weeks ago but SDSU should handle RMU.

(8) James Madison at Southern Methodist 7pm ESPN3
The Dukes could beat SMU, but they hung tight with Baylor and TCU. However, they barely beat a bad North Texas team. The Dukes could win, but likely won’t without forcing some turnovers.

(9) Liberty at Southern Illinois 7pm ESPN3/LFSN
Liberty with the likely biggest win last week. They face a stiff test on the road against SIU.  This was runner up game of the week on AGS this week.

(10) Eastern Washington at Sacramento State 9pm
Eastern Washington visits Sacramento to get what should be an easy Big Sky win.

(11) Chattanooga at Presbyterian 7pm
Chattanooga has an easy road trip this week and PC shouldn’t pose much challenge…or so it usually seems and then they do pose a challenge.  Should be a good road test and a win for the Mocs but might not be a blowout.

(D2) Western Oregon at (12) Portland State 5pm
Portland State has a D2 opponent prior to starting Big Sky play.  Western Oregon has proved challenging in the past but don’t see it being that way this time around.

Northern Arizona at (13) Montana 4pm RootSN/DTV: 101
Montana needs to prove they’re a top 10 FCS team and ORV NAU wants an upset. The Griz should win.

Monmouth at (14) Fordham 1pm
Fordham with an easy early season match-up.

(15) Cal Poly at (18) Montana State 3:30pm Cowles Media/KSBY/(ABC/FOX) MT
The Mustangs travel to Montana State for a battle of two very good rushing QB’s. The Big Sky has some strong teams this season and the winner of this one is in a good position early in the BSC.

Houston Baptist at (17) Sam Houston State 7pm FCSC
Sam Houston State has an easier task this week after the devastating upset to Lamar.  Look for them to get it right and stack up some points and yards this week.

(22) Stony Brook at (19) William & Mary 7:30pm Comcast Sportsnet
Is SBU for real, or is UNH going to have an off-year? This game will help to show if SBU or WM will start to fade in the rankings.  This is your AGS game of the week and it’s gonna be a good one!

Austin Peay at (23) Eastern Kentucky 6pm OVC Video
Eastern Kentucky should win convincingly against bottom dweller Austin Peay.

Brown at (25) Harvard 7pm FCSA
Eastern Kentucky should win convincingly against bottom dweller Austin Peay.

(D2) Mississippi College at (24) McNeese State 7pm
McNeese with a D2 opponent before diving into the Southland.

Brown at (25) Harvard 7pm FCSA
Ivy League play is here and Harvard wants to prove they belong in the Top 25.

Bye Week:
(2) North Dakota State
(5) Northern Iowa
(6) Illinois State
(16) Youngstown State
(20) Southeastern Louisiana
(21) Indiana State

Others Receiving Votes (26-30):
(26) Samford at Louisville 6pm ESPN3
Central Connecticut State at (27) New Hampshire 6pm
Virginia Military at (30) Furman 3pm ESPN3

Games above the line are included with ET designations, Below this line all times are in Central time and be sure to check back for updates…

TV Guide
9/26 Southern at Georgia 11:00 a.m. SEC Nework
Colgate at Holy Cross 11:00 a.m. Comcast Sports NE/Comcast Sports CA
Delaware at North Carolina 11:30 a.m. Fox Sports Affiliates/NESN/Comcast Sports MA/STO/Root Pittsburgh
Nicholls St at Colorado 12:30 p.m. Pac 12 Network
UC Davis at North Dakota 1:00 p.m. Midco
SFA at Abilene Christian 2:30 p.m. Altitude/ASN
URI at Maine 2:30 p.m. Altitude
Northern Arizona at Montana 3:00 p.m. Root Sports NW/Direct TV 101
Houston Baptist at Sam Houston State 6:00 p.m. Fox College Sports Central
Stony Brook at William and Mary 6:30 p.m. Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic/SNY
Tenn Tech at Murray State 6:30 p.m. MASN

FCS on ESPN3
Delaware at North Carolina 11:30 a.m.
San Diego at Valpo 12:30 p.m.
Jax State at UT Martin 2:00 p.m.
VMI at Furman 2:00 p.m.
Morgan State at Howard 3:30 p.m.
Samford at Louisville 5:00 p.m.
Charleston Southern at The Citadel 5:00 p.m.
Lafayette at Wagner 5:00 p.m.
RMU at SDSU 5:00 p.m.
UCA at Northwestern St 6:00 p.m.
Liberty at SIU 6:00 p.m.
JMU at SMU 6:00 p.m.

FCS on ESPN College Extra
9/26 Delaware vs. North Carolina 11:30 p.m.
San Diego vs. Valparaiso 12:30 p.m.
Robert Morris vs. South Dakota State 5:00 p.m.
Liberty vs. Southern Illinois 6 p.m.
James Madison vs. SMU 6 p.m.

Where to find other FCS games(FREE) online….
http://lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm (Guide to all games on TV or online webcasts)
OVC Conference…http://www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com/watch/
Big Sky Conference…http://eversport.tv/big-sky
Big South Conference…http://www.bigsouthsports.com/live/8589
Northeast Conference…http://www.necfrontrow.com/
Patriot League…http://www.campusinsiders.com/networ…ot_league/live
SoCon Digital Network…http://www.socondigitalnetwork.com

 

$ – Means it is not a free cast but prices vary so check it out for yourself.

SWAC Review 2015.3

SWAC Week 3 Review:

Charles Wells, SWAC Contributor | September 22, 2015

Southern 50, Jackson State 31
Southern defeated Jackson State at A.W. Mumford Stadium Saturday night for the first time since 2005 with a 50-31 victory over its arch rival in front of a sellout crowd. The Jaguars tallied 675 yards of total offense (272 rushing and 395 passing) handing the Tigers its third loss in a row.  JSU is now 0-3 for the first time since 2009.

Austin Howard scored on a four yard run for Southern within the first two minutes of action and connected on a 43 yard touchdown pass to Willie Quinn establishing an early 15-0 lead. La Montiez Ivy found Dan Williams on a 24 yard touchdown toss to get JSU on the board bringing the score to 15-7. A pair of Jaguars’ scores by Malcolm Crockett and Howard made the score 50-24 in the fourth quarter, Ivy connected once more with Dan Williams for its final score with 2:03 remaining in the game. Ivy passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with eight different receivers. Jairus Moll led all receivers with 130 yards and a touchdown. Williams caught a game high seven passes gaining 90 yards for JSU.

Prairie View A&M 53, Alabama A&M 49
Trey Green threw four touchdown passes and Courtney Brown ran for two consecutive fourth-quarter scores to rally Prairie View A&M over Alabama A&M 53-49 on Saturday. Green completed 27 of 40 passes for 345 yards with one interception for the Panthers (2-1, 2-0). Nick Pitre caught eight passes for 196 yards and three TDs, and Brown’s 12-yard scoring run put the Panthers up 26-14 at halftime.

The Bulldogs (0-2, 0-1) rallied to a 43-40 fourth-quarter lead after scoring 15 unanswered points capped by a two yard run by Harvey Harris. Brown put the Panthers back on top 47-43 with a 21-yard run with 3:10 to play, then, after an AAMU fumble, scored on the Panthers’ next possession on a 16-yard run. Brown gained 113 yards on 14 carries. De’Angelo Ballard threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more for the Bulldogs. He completed 14 of 29 passes for 352 yards. Devonte Simon finished with 10 tackles for AAMU with nine solo stops.  Brown Foster led PVAMU with seven tackles.

Grambling State 34, Alabama State 10
Johnathan Williams completed 20 of 37 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns to help lead Grambling State to a 34-10 victory over Alabama State on Saturday. All four of Williams’ scoring throws went to different receivers, including a 36-yard strike to Chad Williams who led the Tigers with six catches for 86 yards. Ka’Jandre Domino, Verlon Hunter, and Martez Carter each added touchdown catches and Carter finished with 71 yards rushing on nine carries for Grambling State (1-2, 1-0).

David Albert connected on a 33-yard field goal that gave Alabama State (0-3, 0-2) its only lead of the game after the first quarter. From there the Tigers scored 34 unanswered points to take a commanding lead late into the fourth. Ellis Richardson scored the Hornets only touchdown on a seven yard  run with 2:42 left in the game. Quinteris Toppings, who made his first appearance of the season at quarterback led ASU with 159 yards passing.  The Hornets 0-3 start is its worst since 2008.

Texas Southern 24, Arkansas Pine Bluff 20
Darrell Robinson scored from two yards in the third quarter and Eric Medina tacked on an insurance field goal with 1:34 left and Texas Southern topped Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 24-20 Saturday night. UAPB (1-2, 0-1) took a 10-0 lead and held a 13-7 advantage at intermission, but Robinson scored his first touchdown early in the second half to give TSU a 14-13 lead. Nicholas Woodfork scored less than a minute later to put the Golden Lions back on top, 20-14, but the Tigers (2-1, 1-1) scored the final 10 points to secure the win. Jamal Lucas was by far the star defensively for TSU finishing with 14 tackles and an interception.  Kyle Walker led UAPB with eight tackles and a sack.

Robinson finished with 16 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers while Johnathan Bowen was 12 of 24 for 178 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Terrell was 18 of 32 for 189 yards to lead UAPB, but was picked off twice.

Alcorn State 55, Mississippi Valley State 14
John Gibbs, Jr. rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 118 yards and a score as Alcorn State topped Mississippi Valley State 55-14 Saturday night. Gibbs accomplished the feat despite handling just seven carries for the Braves (2-1, 2-0). His 72-yard scoring run early in the second quarter put his team up 28-0. They totaled 304 yards rushing, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. Arron Baker rushed for 53 yards adding two touchdowns to the tally in the third quarter.

Thomas Stokes, Jr. finished with 37 yards rushing, Edwin Faison Jr. had 32 and Ruban Thurston passed for 110 yards and a touchdown for Mississippi Valley State (0-3, 0-2), which managed just 191 total yards. Each team struggled with penalties and finished with double-digit disciplines.

Football Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week
Austin Howard, Southern
Quarterback
Southern’s signal-caller shined during Southern’s 50-31 victory over Jackson State, as he threw for a career-high 395 yards and a score on 21-of-32 passing while running for 29 yards and two more scores. It was the second-straight week that the Jaguars put 50 points on the board.

Defensive Player of the Week
Kourtney Berry, Alabama State
Berry was a bright spot for the Hornets in their 34-10 loss to Grambling State, as the senior linebacker racked up 19 stops (0.5 TFL) during the contest. Berry was the lone player on either side to accumulate double-digit tackles in the contest, and he is averaging 16 tackles per game thus far this year.

Special Teams Player of the Week
Marc Orozco, Grambling State
Grambling State kicker Marc Orozco was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts for the Tigers in their 34-10 win over Alabama State, and also averaged 46.2 yards per punt during the game, twice pinning Alabama State inside its own 20-yard line.

Newcomer of the Week
De’Angelo Ballard, Alabama A&M
Alabama A&M’s junior quarterback tossed for 352 yards and three scores – on 14-of-29 passing – and also added in 96 yards on the ground and two more scores during the Bulldogs’ 53-49 shootout loss to Prairie View A&M.

Big Sky Review 2015.3

BSC  Week 3 Review

Lance Berndt & Kris Kallem, BSC  Contributors | September 22, 2015

Lance says-

North Dakota State 34 North Dakota 9
I noticed this game as the first quarter ended seeing it was 3-3 and I thought, ‘Wow, this could actually be close.” Boy, was I wrong. The Bison shut down the UND offense all game and ran away with a 34-9 win that probably felt more like a 40 point blowout. The atmosphere was electric here in Fargo with all sorts of shades of green roaming around town. It’s a good thing that they finally renewed this rivalry after over a 10 year hiatus.

Liberty 31 Montana 21
The Griz had a chance to pick up a rare big non-conference road win, but they let this one slip away because of terrible execution. Montana reached Liberty’s red zone six different times making it past the 10 yard line five of those trips but only came out with 12 points. Give credit to Liberty’s defense for holding Montana’s offense to just 19 points while recording 7 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 11 total tackles for loss. Jamaal Jones had a good day for Montana racking up 7 receptions for 168 yards and a touchdown, while Tyrone Holmes had another impressive game with 2 sacks and 9 total tackles.

Weber State 32 Sacramento State 14
The Wildcats were able to end a 3 year losing streak to the Hornets with an impressive performance on both sides of the ball. Weber held Sac State to just 246 yards of offense, forcing 3 interceptions, while also gaining 448 yards and winning the time of possession battle by over 11 minutes. Freshman RB Treshawn Garrett led the offensive attack for the Wildcats with 101 rushing yards.

FBS Arizona 77 Northern Arizona 13
This one was close for about 20 minutes, especially after a 62 yard touchdown pass from Case Cookus to Emmanuel Butler brought the Lumberjacks within one. Then Arizona’s offense ignited like a fierce wildfire. NAU was helpless against Arizona’s elite combination of a Heisman hopeful QB and a relentless rushing attack. The Wildcats scored on 9 of their next 11 possessions and finished the game with 792 yards of offense with 499 rushing yards on an astonishing 12.2 yards per carry.

Kris Says-

Eastern Washington 55 Montana State 50
Eastern running back Jabari Wilson runs for 188 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries, the Bobcat’s Dakota Prukop passes and runs for 549 yards and 5 touchdowns, and they’re both outshined by the Eagle’s Jordan West. The junior quarterback goes 21-24 for a near perfect 410 yards passing and 6 touchdowns as the Eastern Washington turns back a late rally by Montana State. Neither team has shown signs of improvement on defense yet.

Southern Utah 30 Northern Colorado 3
Bear quarterbacks combine for 5 interceptions and make life easy for the Tbirds.

Northern Iowa 34 Cal Poly 20
The Mustangs spotted Northern Iowa a 21-0 lead while turning the ball over 3 times in a game that was pretty much over by the early 4th quarter. Cal Poly quarterback Chris Brown ended up with 184 yards on 26 carries but also threw a pair of picks. Very impressive road win for the Panthers.

Hawaii 47 UC Davis 27
Davis put up a great fight for awhile, leading 10-6 late in the 2nd quarter. Quarterback Ben Scott was an efficient 18-25 for 233 yards and two touchdowns and Davis wide receiver Chris Martin caught 4 balls for 123 yards and a score.

TIME (ET) MATCHUP TV LINKS
3:30 PM North Dakota 9, North Dakota State 34 Lance Recap » Box Score »
4:05 PM Montana State 50, Eastern Washington 55 Kris Recap » Box Score »
7:00 PM Montana 21, Liberty 31 Lance Box Score »
8:00 PM Northern Colorado 3, Southern Utah 30 Kris Recap » Box Score »
8:00 PM Sacramento State 14, Weber State 32 Lance Recap » Box Score »
10:30 PM Northern Iowa 34, Cal Poly 20 Kris Recap » Box Score »
11:00 PM Northern Arizona 13, #20 Arizona 77 Lance Pac-12 Network Recap » Box Score »
11:59 PM UC Davis 27, Hawaii 47 Kris Recap » Box Score »

 

SLC Review 2015.3

SLC Week 3 Review:

UCABEAR (AnyGivenSaturday.com), SLC Contributor | September 22, 2015

Lamar 49 Sam Houston 46
Lamar traveled to Sam Houston to take on the 3/5 ranked Bearkats. But to the surprise of everyone in Huntsville it was the Cardinals, more specifically Kade Harrington, who ran away with the game. Harrington ran all over the Bearkat defense toting the ball 24 times and amassing 230 yards on the ground. He also caught two passes for 83 yards which all added up to 3 TD for Harrington. By halftime the Cardinals had pulled away by 3 TDs and only made it interesting as defensive mistakes allowed the Bearkats back into the game late. The Cardinals have next week off but travel to Southeast Louisiana the following week.

McNeese State 28 Stephen F. Austin 14
Propelled by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 76 yard run by Cowboy QB Daniel Sams, the 21st ranked McNeese State Cowboys improved to 2-0 on the year while the SFA Lumberjacks dropped to 0-3. Both teams were able to put up over 400 yards of offense but SFA was without its starting QB Zach Conque to start the game. The Cowboys also replaced their starting QB Sams with backup QB Ashcraft as they did the previous game. McNeese plays Mississippi College next week. SFA hosts ACU next week.

Abilene Christian 49 Houston Baptist 21
A powerful third quarter propelled ACU to a win over HBU in Abilene Texas on Saturday. The halftime score was 21-14 when the Wildcats woke up and scored 21 unanswered points to lead 42-14. The Wildcats host SFA this Saturday and HBU travels to Sam Houston State.

University of Incarnate Word 20 Nicholls State 10
The Cardinals of UIW start the season 1-0 in conference play as they struggled to defeat the Colonels of Nicholls State in San Antonio. Both teams totaled nearly 300 yards of offense and the difference in this game was the big plays by the UIW offense as running back Reeves sparked the Cardinals to late game touchdowns on several long carries. UIW travels to FBS opponent UTEP while Nicholls State travels to FBS Colorado.

Ohio  (FBS) 35 Southeastern Louisiana 14
As expected against an FBS team that has been bowl eligible for the last 6 years the Lions of SLU went down in defeat in Athens, Ohio. The Lions were without starting QB D’Shaie Landors and two starting running backs also. The game was essentially over when Ohio took a 21-0 lead in the half and held the Lions to only 4 first downs in that half. A lightning delay in the fourth quarter with 8 minutes left only delayed the scoring for the Bobcats of Ohio as just three plays after returning they scored on a 67 yard catch and run by Cope. SLU has next week off.

Mississippi State 62 Northwestern State 13
In Starkville Mississippi the SEC Mississippi Bulldogs ran away from the Demons of Northwestern State. The Bulldogs scored at least 14 in every quarter and earned 647 yards of offense. The Demons earned 257 yards of offense. The demons were unable to stop 5 scoring drives by the Bulldogs that averaged just over one minute. Northwestern State hosts Central Arkansas next Saturday.

MVFC Review 2015.3

MVFC Week 3 Review

Chad Lenz & JT Nutt, MVFC  Contributors | September 22, 2015

Chad says-

Indiana State – 29
Southeast Missouri State – 28

Coming into this game I thought the Sycamores would need to weather an early storm to walk off the field with a win. Instead SEMO decided to save almost all of it’s scoring for the 4th quarter. The Redhawks scored 21 of their 28 points in the final 9:29 of the game, and 14 in the 2:24. Indiana State gave up the lead with 2:24 left in the game after a 1 yard Redhawk touchdown run and two point conversion. Matt Adam and Gary Owens connected for a 33 yard score, and two point conversion, with just 41 seconds left in the game. The Redhawks weren’t done as Dante Vandeven led the Redhawks right down the field and scored a touchdown as time expired. Rather than kicking the PAT and going to OT the Redhawks pulled out the “when to go for 2” card and saw “Down by 1 with no time on the clock and on the road” and went for the win. Ultimately his 2 point conversion fade route sailed high and Indiana State pulled the victory out of the jaws of defeat. The Sycamore defense, which I thought would be a strength of the team this year, has struggled to keep teams from putting up large chunks of yards. The Redhawks managed over 460 yards of offense on the day. That’s a trend that ISU will need to break.

North Dakota State – 34
North Dakota – 9

This game went almost as I predicted last week. North Dakota came out of the gates strong, forcing a NDSU punt, which resulted in a 52 yard return, giving UND the ball on the 22 yard line. Their next three plays resulted in just three yards and were forced to kick a field goal. That’s about as good as it got for UND for the next 40 minutes. This game went almost as I predicted last week. North Dakota came out of the gates strong, forcing a NDSU punt, which resulted in a 52 yard return, giving UND the ball on the 22 yard line. Their next three plays resulted in just three yards and were forced to kick a field goal. That’s about as good as it got for UND for the next 40 minutes. Then the Bison turned on the jets and scored 34 straight, including 24 to end the first half in which NDSU out-gained UND 241 yards to 5 (377 to 61 for the game).

UND’s defense looked okay, but their offense was non-existent. Carson Wentz threw for 262 yards and four scores. UND sold out on the run and did hold a potent Bison ground game to just 2.5 yards per carry. That may be something for UND to build on, and something for NDSU to address. UND’s defense looked okay, but their offense was non-existent. Carson Wentz threw for 262 yards and four scores. UND sold out on the run and did hold a potent Bison ground game to just 2.5 yards per carry. That may be something for UND to build on, and something for NDSU to address.

Western Illinois – 27
Coastal Carolina – 34

The Leathernecks continue to be the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team. One week they look like they can’t do anything right, the next they are pushing a top 5 team to the brink on the road. Looking at the stats Western should have won going away. They had over 200 more yards of offense, 27 more plays and 17 more minutes of possession. As good as the offense looked the first 3.5 quarters they couldn’t muster a score in the final 10 minutes of the game to tie, and/or take the lead. Trenton Norvell played to his potential as he went 31-48 for 370 yards and 2 touchdowns. His favorite target, Lance Lenoir Jr, grabbed 10 passes for 116 yards. The Leathernecks also found a run game last week in Nikko Watson as he ran for 156 yards, and 2 scores, on 29 carries. If WIU could manage to put together any kind of consistency they could be a dangerous team. Unfortunately for the Leathernecks, the only consistent thing for them the last three of four years is the extreme inconsistency.

Illinois State – 34    OT
Eastern Illinois – 31

As bad as EIU looked this first 2 games they looked that good pushing the Redbirds to the brink. I don’t know if I’m impressed with the Panthers performance or starting to get concerned with Redbirds. They haven’t been overly impressive on defense, especially with the loss of Teddy Corwin to injury, and last weekend is a perfect example of that as they gave up just under 400 yards to EIU, including over 200 on the ground. Jalen Whitlow tied the game with a 5 yard touchdown run for the Panthers with just 1:48 left in the game. Eastern Illinois got the ball to start overtime, and the Redbird defense did come up with a big play and force a fumble. Illinois State did just enough to get into position to set up the game winning 32 yard field goal by Sean Slattery.

JT Says-

Northern Iowa -34
Cal Poly – 20

Cal Poly got a few touchdowns late in the game against Northern Iowa to get it closer than it really was. UNI started the game off with a well orchestrated drive down the field for a touchdown. They ran away with the game in the first quarter and never looked back. Aaron Baily had his best game as a Panther scoring 3 TD’s one by air, 2 by land with 15-25 passing. Brett McMakin is the MVFC player of the week with 15 tackles. The defense stayed disciplined minus Makinton Dorleant getting tossed from the game in the middle of a fight. They will miss him, and big, for the first half of the Illinois State game in 2 weeks. UNI wins 34-20

South Dakota – 52
Drake – 0

South Dakota shuts out Drake 52-0 at home. Trevor Bouma is becoming a household name in the Valley, 16 rushes 117 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Drake was 6 of 19 on third downs, missed 2 field goals, lost a fumble, and threw 2 interceptions. The South Dakota defense kept Drake to 116 rushing yards and 166 yards passing. Total domination in Vermilion.

Youngstown State – 48
St. Francis – 3

Youngstown State rolls St Francis 48-3. They scored 48 unanswered points before St. Francis finally connected on a 42 yard field goal to avoid the shutout with 7:40 left in the game. Youngstown got 28 first downs including 9 of 14 on 3rd. St Francis had 7 first downs in the entire game, 2 of them were penalties by Youngstown. 1 for 12 on third down played a large part. They were also 1 of 12 in passing. St. Francis managed 87 yards…for the whole game. Youngstown runs away with it on 302 yards rushing.

Missouri State – 7
Arkansas State – 70

Arkansas State pounds Missouri State 70-7. Arkansas State scored 9 touchdowns before Ryan Heaston got a 35 yard TD run for Missouri State to avoid the shutout. Arkansas State running back Johnston White had 3 touchdowns on 11 carries and 87 yards Ark State nearly doubled Missouri State with 624 yards of offense to the Bears 341. In fact Arkansas State had more rushing yards at 344 than the bears had total yards. Hard to win when you give up 7.5 yards per rush.

AGS Poll Results – WEEK 3 – 2015

#1 remains the same for the third week in a row.  NDSU is moving up a spot and eyeing getting back into their #1 position ASAP.  UNI makes a pretty big jump of 5 spots when talking about top 10 movement and wind up at #5 this week after an impressive performance at Cal Poly Saturday night.  Liberty also makes a substantial move up the ranks gaining 8 spots and moving into the top 10 at #9 after a good win over the Montana Grizzlies which fell out of the top ten dropping to #13

After a loss to Lamar, which pulls in the poll at #29, the Bearkats claim the 2nd largest drop this week going from #4 to #17 which could be an over reaction by voters but SHSU can quickly climb the charts by reaching their potential on the field in short order.   UNH drops out of the Top 25 this week for the first time in a long time.  They drop from #13 to #27 after their loss to SBU which cracks the AGS Poll with a #22 ranking.  Teams that fell out of the poll this week are listed at the very bottom.

Previous Wk. Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes
1 1 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1912 59
3 2 North Dakota State Bison 1774 5
2 3 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 1772 10
6 4 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 1687 2
10 5 Northern Iowa Panthers 1526
5 6 Illinois State Redbirds 1501 1
7 7 Villanova Wildcats 1497
11 8 James Madison Dukes 1344
17 9 Liberty Flames 1231
14 10 Eastern Washington Eagles 1188
16 11 Chattanooga Mocs 1171
15 12 Portland State Vikings 1038 1
8 13 Montana Grizzlies 758
19 14 Fordham Rams 756
9 15 Cal Poly Mustangs 745
20 16 Youngstown State Penguins 672
4 17 Sam Houston State Bearkats 654
12 18 Montana State Bobcats 624
22 19 William & Mary Tribe 496
18 20 Southeastern Louisiana Lions 388
24 21 Indiana State Sycamores 357
40 22 Stony Brook Seawolves 319
23 23 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 294
28 24 McNeese State Cowboys 270
27 25 Harvard Crimson 211
Most Significant Win:
Liberty Flames
Most Significant Loss:
Sam Houston State Bearkats
ORV:
21 26 Samford Bulldogs 197
13 27 New Hampshire Wildcats 172
30 28 Richmond Spiders 152
NR 29 Lamar Cardinals 137
NR 30 Furman Paladins 100
29 31 Western Illinois Leathernecks 77
25 32 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 68
32 33 Towson Tigers 61
NR 34 Bryant Bulldogs 36
NR 35T Dartmouth Big Green 29
26 35T North Dakota 29
35 37 Jacksonville Dolphins 28
34 38 Wofford Terriers 19
NR 39 South Dakota Coyotes 10
NR 40 Southern Jaguars 8

 

Falling out this week:

39        Duquesne Dukes
36        Holy Cross Crusaders
33        Idaho State Bengals
37        Sacred Heart Pioneers
38        Tennessee State Tigers
31        The Citadel Bulldogs

ICYMI: Week 3

In Case You Missed It – Week 3

Don’t you just love when a game lives up to its hype?

The hype, in this case, was concentrated on Eastern Washington and Montana State – the two Big Sky Conference teams that were interchangeable atop the league’s preseason polls prior to the start of the season – and the potential fireworks their Week 3 matchup in Cheney would provide.

Eastern Washington raced out to a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, then took a 34-17 advantage as the teams headed for the locker rooms at the end of the first half. But the Eagles, who were 0-2 entering the weekend, took their foot off the gas pedal in the latter portion of the contest, allowing the visitors to creep back into contention with minutes to play.

The end result: a 55-50 victory for Eastern Washington at The Inferno, highlighted by tremendous offensive efforts.

The game plan, it seemed, went a little something like this:

Defense? Why play defense? Just score a boatload of points and make sure it’s more than the other team.

Three Montana State fourth-quarter touchdowns helped pull the Bobcats back into striking distance, the last of which came with 4:13 to play – plenty of time for a defensive stop and another possession. But the scoring had come to an end, and the visitors suffered their first loss of the season.

There’s plenty from this game on which to remark. In case you missed the action this weekend, here are some highlights from this contest and many more across the FCS from Week 3:

Let’s just go ahead and get this out of the way – your Cooper Kupp update. The EWU receiver is REALLY stating his case early for the STATS FCS’ Offensive Player of the Year award, and he’s pulling away from the competition. The junior pass catcher hauled in 12 receptions in his team’s win for 201 yards and three touchdowns, including a 34-yard score in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference maker for the Eagles.

This season, Kupp has brought down eight touchdown grabs to lead the nation (three more than the next-closest receiver) and has racked up 626 receiving yards (the next closest has 393). Kupp is averaging a whopping 208.7 receiving yards per outing through three games.

But he couldn’t have done it Saturday without the help of his quarterback. Jordan West (who now has likely earned himself a nickname as catchy as “Big Play VA”) threw for 410 yards – the fourth-highest single-game total for a passer this season – and added six touchdowns.

West’s counterpart, Dakota Prukop, accounted for 549 yards in the contest, which is the highest single-game total for an offensive player so far this year in the FCS. Prukop threw for 353 yards and rushed for 196, and added five touchdowns to his resume.

The two teams combined for a staggering 1,385 yards of offense and 58 first downs. Here’s the kicker: Montana State was responsible for 40 of the 58 first downs in the game, yet still lost.

OK, we got that out of the way. Let’s head elsewhere.

Ivy League action kicked off this weekend, with defending champion Harvard cruising to a 41-10 victory over Rhode Island. The Crimson have won 15 consecutive contests dating back to 2013, which included a perfect 10-0 campaign in 2014 as the only unbeaten FCS program.

Conversely, Columbia was dropped by cross-town rival Fordham, 44-24. The Lions continue to bring up the rear in the Ivy League, having now lost 22 consecutive games. Florida transfer quarterback Syler Mornhinweg did show glimpses of promise for Columbia, however, completing 21 of 25 pass attempts (with an interception) and rushing for two touchdowns.

It took three weeks, but Dayton running back Connor Kacsor finally broke loose. The senior back galloped for a 2015 FCS single-game high 244 yards on 40 (yes, 40) carries, adding three touchdowns. He also caught one pass for 28 yards in his Flyers’ 24-13 win over Duquesne.

Kacsor’s 41 touches accounted for nearly half of his team’s 84 total offensive plays.

James Madison’s wildly successful offense was at it again under the direction of quarterback Vad lee. The Dukes took down Albany, 42-28, thanks to 40 first downs and 625 yards of offense. But the Great Danes were able to stay relatively involved because Lee threw five interceptions. The Dukes turned the ball over six times and still managed to pull out a two-score victory.

The long-awaited intrastate rivalry contest between North Dakota and North Dakota State wasn’t as close as many fans had hoped (a 34-9 win for the Bison). In the first meeting between the programs in 12 years, North Dakota State held UND without a first down for more than 40 minutes into the game. North Dakota finished the contest with three total first downs and a mere 61 offensive yards, while Carson Wentz unleashed four scoring passes for the Bison. It was the first meeting between the sides since both programs were part of Division II in 2003.

Props to the Furman Paladins, who upset FBS opponent Central Florida on Saturday thanks to a monster 55-yard field goal boot by sophomore kicker John Croft Hollingsworth. The kicker split the uprights with 12:10 to play in the game, ending the scoring in the 16-15 win for Furman. It was the fifth time this season an FCS team has beaten an FBS opponent.

Finally, some of the top rushing performances of the young season occurred over the weekend. We already know about Kacsor’s breakout performance, but note Lamar running back Kade Harrington’s 230-yard, two-touchdown performance that helped his Cardinals stun Sam Houston State, 49-46. Also, Towson running back Darius Victor was let loose for 202 yards and three scores on 22 carries in his Tigers’ 29-26 win over Holy Cross. Those are the top three rushing performances in terms of single-game yardage so far this year in the FCS.

SLC Preview 2015.3

SLC Week 3 Preview

UCABEAR (AnyGivenSaturday.com), SLC Contributor | September 17, 2015

Southland Conference Preview: Games for September 19, 2015

Nicholls State at UIW- 2 p.m.
The Colonels (0-1) travel to San Antonio to take on the Cardinals (1-1) of Incarnate Word.
The Colonels fell last week to the University of Louisiana- Monroe 47-0. Nicholls relies on a run heavy game where last week they attempted 44 runs for 159 yards and only 19 passes for 101 yards. Their leading rusher was Michael Henry who rushed 15 times for 78 yards. Leading passer was Tuskani Figero who went 10 for 17 for 101 yards.

Colonel weaknesses: Passing game: 101 yards total (but it is one game)

Colonel strengths: Focus on rushing game may keep the ball out of the opponents hands which may pay off in the conference race.

The Cardinals defeated Texas A&M- Kingsville in week one by 2 points using a pass heavy game. UIW’s loss to McNeese last week by the score of 43-6 reflected the opposite game plan that the Colonels implemented in week one. UIW passed for 215 yards while only rushing for 12 yards. The Cardinals were led in receiving by Cole Wick for 92 yards.

UIW Weakness: 3rd down conversions: 12 of 32 on the year.

UIW Strengths: Tend to score more in the fourth quarter
Predicted outcome: Nicholls should win this game by controlling the clock.

Colonels 35 Cardinals 7

Houston Baptist at Abilene Christian- 6 p.m.
The Wildcats (0-1) will host the Huskies (1-1) this Saturday in Abilene.
The Wildcats rely on a pass heavy offense that has accrued 213 yards thus far this season in their one loss against Fresno State. The rushing game has been unsuccessful only gaining 34 yards on 29 attempts. However the defense had 2 picks for 46 yards that game.

ACU strengths- Good coaching and no fear of going for it on fourth down.

ACU weakness- So far no run game but they did play an FBS team.

The Huskies have played two games this year and have averaged over 30 points a game. The present a well balanced offense with over 400 yards rushing and 400 yards passing on the season. They also aren’t afraid to go for it on fourth down either hitting a 50% in that statistic.

Huskies strength: Balanced offense with strong punt return team. Scores 100% of the time in the red zone.

Huskies weakness: Eats up the clock between the 20s which may lead to disaster if they can’t get into the red zone.

Prediction: The Wildcats take this one fairly easy 42-14

Southeastern La. At Ohio- 1 p.m. Athens, Ohio
The Lions (2-0) travel to Athens to take on FBS Ohio University Bobcats (2-0).
The lions are showing their defense wins games by holding opponents to just 18 points per game. Their offense however is crippled by injury to starting QB D’Shaie Landor. It took a comeback to Florida Tech to keep the undefeated season alive. But impressive was the defense as they took 9 turnovers to defeat the Panthers.

Lion’s strength: Defense. 9 turnovers in one game. Look for more.

Lion’s weakness: No QB to replace the starter. It will be a struggle for their offense and defense can’t keep scoring like they did last game all season.

Ohio- FBS team that has been bowl eligible for the past 6 years. Averages 400 yards rushing and 400 yards passing a game. Only allows 19 points per game by the opposition.

Ohio strengths: More scholarships. Balanced offense. Home game.

Ohio Weaknesses: Poor field goal kicking.
Prediction: With little offense the lions will have their hands full with the bobcats.

Score: Ohio 52 SLU 14

Northwestern State at Mississippi State – 3 p.m. Starkville, Miss.
The Demons (0-2) travel to SEC Mississippi State (1-1) to take on the Bulldogs.
The Demons of Northwestern State are averaging 18 points per game and get 170 yards rushing and 140 yards passing per game. However teams are passing at a clip of over 10 yards per pass against the Demons. Games against SLU and UL-Lafayette are the easiest they’ve seen thus far this year.

Demons strength: Field goals. They are 3/3.

Demons weakness: Passing and rushing defense. Demons offense.

Mississippi State- SEC team that ran with LSU (loss by 2 points) and let the foot off the gas against Southern Mississippi in a HARD hitting game nationally televised last week. The Bulldogs are averaging 124 yards rushing and 286 yards passing per game against their two recent competitors.

Bulldogs strengths: Passing game. Nearly 300 yards per game.

Bulldogs weakness: Low clock time of possession. 24 minutes compared to opponents 36.
Prediction: Mississippi State runs away with this one early.

Score Mississippi State 56 NWST- 7

McNeese State at Stephen F. Austin-Nacogdoches, Texas- 6 p.m.
The Cowboys (1-0) travel to take on the Lumberjacks (0-2) this Saturday for a mark in the conference record.  The Cowboys were spared a game against LSU in week one but conference play begins in Nacogdoches against a very hungry Lumberjack team. After defeating the UIW Cardinals 43-6 last week the cowboys offense now presents it’s balanced offense (220 yards rushing, 186 passing) and it’s defense (6 sacks and 200 yards allowed) to a team that struggled last week to get any offense against a top 5 FBS team.

Cowboy Strengths: Defense. Smart reads and quick hits.

Cowboy weakness: After one game the cowboys offense has started slow.

The lumberjacks have struggled so far this year allowing 52 points per game average. The team has averaged about 150 yards rushing and passing per game also. Will starting QB and SLC favorite Zach Conque be able to handle the Cowboy defense? Is he inured and out for the game?

Lumberjack Strength: Over 4 yards per rush. Home game.

Lumberjack Weakness : Defense. Allowing too many points and too many yards so far.

Prediction: McNeese should win this by a few touchdowns. Score Cowboys 42 SFA 28

Lamar at Sam Houston State -Huntsville, Texas- 6 p.m.
The Cardinals (1-1) will travel to take on the Bearkats (0-1) this Saturday.
The Bearkats came off a good game with Texas Tech and amassed over 600 yards of offense. However their defense gave up 28 points in the second quarter which allowed the Red Raiders to pull away enough to let up on the gas. How well the Bearkats play on defense against FCS competition is yet to be seen.

Bearkat strengths: Offense. 600 yards against and FBS team is very noteworthy.

Bearkat weakness: Defense. Gotta say this because TT scored quickly against them.

The Cardinals destroyed Bacone College (as expected) and hung with FBS Baylor through halftime. Cards are hard to read this year. Averaging 48 points per game and allowing 34. They are heavily penalized at nearly 100 per game though. Averaging 200 yards passing and 200 yards rushing per game.

Cardinal Strengths: Defense. The cards looked good the other day for a good part of the game against their FBS opponent.

Cardinal Weakness: Not getting a good read on this team because of the extreme opponents they have played. I’d have to say penalties per game.

Prediction. If the Bearkats move up the field like that again the Cardinals will have no chance to stay in this game AT Huntsville.

Score: Bearkats 38 Cardinals 28. (Although I do think it will be greater). This will be a good game for both teams to get a measure of where they are.

Overview: It’s paycheck for some SLC teams and gut check for others. Weather doesn’t appear to be a factor in any of these games and home crowds better show up early in the season because if the slide continues for some of these teams, the crowd sure won’t be there come hunting season.

Big Sky Preview 2015.3

BSC  Week 3 Preview

Kris Kallem & Lance Berndt, BSC  Contributors | September 17, 2015

Kris Says-

Idaho State @ Boise State
Both teams are coming off of disappointing losses. The Bengals have a ton of Idaho kids on their roster. Kids that grew up Bronco fans and might have thought they were good enough to play at Boise State. I would expect Idaho State to come out chippy and swinging. I’d also look for Coach Kramer to have a couple of tricks up his sleeve. With a brutal remaining schedule, ISU really needs to pick off one of its FBS opponents to have a shot at the playoffs.

Montana State @ Eastern Washington
Question marks surround both teams. Bobcat quarterback Dakota Prukop was rusty in his first game of the season against Fort Lewis. Has Montana State’s defense improved under new defensive coordinator Kane Ioane? Eastern Washington is already riddled with key injuries. Do they have the leadership to pull things together and minimize the mistakes from a week ago. Expect a shootout with a battle over stops and turnover margin determining the outcome.

Northern Colorado @ Southern Utah
It’s early and the wins have come against a Division II team and an FCS startup, but the Bears have a chance to come out of Cedar City 3-0 on the season and with some confidence. The Tbirds on the other hand are reeling after a poor performance against South Dakota State and need their senior leaders James Cowser and Ammon Olsen to step up.

Northern Iowa @ Cal Poly
Both teams are in the midst of a brutal early schedule. In fact, Northern Iowa plays 5 of its first 6 games on the road against an FBS and 5 ranked FCS opponents. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers settle on a quarterback and I’d expect the Mustangs to attempt to pop a few passes over the top against a seemingly talented Northern Iowa secondary that was exposed a bit last week.

UC Davis @ Hawaii
The Rainbow Warriors already have a nice win against Pac 12 Colorado and only trailed #1 FBS ranked Ohio State by 17 in the 4th quarter last week, holding the Buckeyes to under 400 yards for the first time in 9 games. Davis will have it’s hands full.

Lance says-

(ORV) North Dakota @ #3 North Dakota State
Sometimes there are games that are much bigger for the fans than for the players, and considering these two haven’t played since 2003, the fans of the two schools have literally been waiting for this for over a decade. On the field, this will be a battle of two very good defenses. With the balance between the two in that category, NDSU easily holds the advantage on the offensive side. There aren’t many defenses that can keep this offense at bay, so UND will need to be efficient on offense to hang with the Bison. That especially means cleaning up the turnover problem they had against Drake. In the end, I think NDSU will win this non-conference rivalry game by at least 3 touchdowns, but it should be fun for these fans to finally have another face-off to talk about.

#8 Montana @ #17 Liberty
Under the lights and over 2,000 miles away, the Griz will have yet another exciting non-conference game. This time they face a Liberty Flames team that has made a lot of noise the past couple seasons. Liberty will be led by a running back duo that combined for over 200 yards in their first win over Delaware State. Hometown boy Desmond Rice is the lead back, but don’t go to sleep on the backup D.J. Abnar who ran for over 1300 yards last season. Veterans Josh Woodrum at QB and Darrin Peterson at WR also can be just as dangerous on offense for this four horseman attack the Flames seem to have. It will be another immense challenge for the Grizzly defense who has had to face arguably the toughest group of offenses of any FCS team in non-conference play. Kendrick Van Ackeren and Tyrone Holmes will once again need to step up to keep the defense off the field as much as possible. Also, quarterback Brady Gustafson and the rest of the Griz offense will need to clean up their play after a sloppy outing against Cal Poly.

Sacramento State @ Weber State (non-conference)
With so many of the top tier Big Sky teams having big games this weekend, these two have a chance to make some noise on their own with this battle. Weber State’s schedule in October is about as tough as anyone’s in the Big Sky, so if they want to get some momentum going, this will be the time to do so. The duo attack of Jadrian Clark and Cam Livingston should find some success against the usually porous Sacramento State pass defense. For the Hornets, Daniel Kniffin will have his first look at an FCS defense. He does have a talented group of receivers led by Nnamdi Agude and Isiah Hennie. I think Weber State will keep the homecoming fans happy with a 10 point win.

#25 Northern Arizona @ FBS #19 Arizona
I was wrong about last weekend’s Cal Poly/Arizona State game being a blowout, so I’m going to guess that this one will be close. Yes Arizona is a ranked FBS team, but their defense hasn’t looked impressive yet and NAU brings a balanced offense in Freshman QB Case Cookus, Sophomore WR Emmanuel Butler, and Senior RB Casey Jahn. The real challenge for the Lumberjacks will be defending one of the best offenses in all of college football. This will be quite the opportunity for potential All-American Marcus Alford to show his capabilities can transfer at any level.