FCS Roundup Week 6

The FCS slate in week 6 featured a lot more headliners than the FBS level did, and the slate absolutely delivered with loads of thrilling games.

The wildest game of the day once again featured the Montana Grizzlies. The Griz faithful may not enjoy what’s going on with the defensive side of the ball, but it has produced absolutely wild games. Weber State won 55-48 in overtime. QB Richie Munoz was unstoppable for the Wildcats as he threw for 6 touchdowns. Weber State led a lot of the game but Montana grabbed the lead in the 4th quarter, but each time the Griz led the Wildcats had a counterpunch. It was pretty incredible to watch because it produced 42 combined points in the 4th quarter alone. It’s become obvious that Montana has major issues on defense, it wasn’t extremely apparent on the scoreboard early on due to the methodical nature of the Missouri State and North Dakota games, followed by a game against non-scholarship Morehead State. The faster pace of their recent games had led to a lot of points, they’re going to need to sort it out soon because the schedule only gets tougher. One thing that does appear to be sorted is the QB battle, Logan Fife appears to have made the job his. Ah Yat got one series against Weber State and it let to a turnover on downs, he didn’t play again after that. On the other side, this was a much needed win for Weber State, their season was in a dangerous position after they lost to Lamar and McNeese State. The Wildcats have work to do, but a win at Washington-Grizzly looks great on a resume.

That wasn’t the only upset alert in the Big Sky, UC Davis was coming off a major win against Idaho but stumbled into a trap game against Portland State. They trailed 23-14 entering the 4th quarter and even trailed 26-21 the first time the clock hit zero! However, upon further review 1 second was added back onto the clock (cue the Mack Brown meme) and UC Davis got a dramatically last second TD to come out victorious. It was an absolutely gutting way to lose for a Portland State team that is still searching for their first win. UC Davis avoided a loss during a time when they need to stack wins, the Aggies have a brutal November schedule.

For the 3rd straight week Idaho was in a dramatic game. This time the Vandals hosted Northern Arizona. It seemed like a pretty routine game Idaho took a 23-10 lead into the 4th quarter, but Northern Arizona got a touchdown with 4:11 left and got a stop when they needed it. The Lumberjacks got to midfield with an upset on their mind before the Vandals defense bowed up and got the stop to secure the win.

Idaho State and Cal Poly were involved in a thrilling back and forth battle as well. This was a key game for two teams that are seeking to show improvement this year. If you love offense this was your kind of game. Cal Poly was in position late after recovering an Idaho State fumble, but they failed to convert a 4th and 1. The Bengals then marched down the field to kick a field goal to win it as the final buzzer sounded. QB Kobe Tracy had a really good game with 425 yards passing and 2 receivers with over 100 yards receiving including Jeff Weimer who had a ridiculous 12 catches for 236 yards.

The game of the week was North Dakota at North Dakota State. Last year the Fighting Hawks made a statement they can not only compete with, but crush the Bison in a 49-24 victory and they were looking for 2 in a row. North Dakota State changed that in a hurry, the Bison scored on 6 of their first 7 drives on their way to a 41-17 win. It was very much a statement by the Bison that they are once again a force to be reckoned with, but it wasn’t all great. QB Cam Miller got hurt in the 2nd half and his status will be something to monitor with a showdown with South Dakota State coming in 2 weeks.

Southern Illinois officially has major concerns. Much was expected of the Salukis this offseason, they were expected to be a top 10 team, but they’re now 2-4 coming off 3 straight losses. The bottom truly fell out at home against Illinois State. SIU was blown out 45-10, and now has to deal with North Dakota State next. This season is going downhill in a hurry. On the other hand, this was certainly a feel good victory for Illinois State coming off the loss to NDSU. The Redbirds dominated from the start and are positioning themselves well for playoff contention. They don’t have to play South Dakota or South Dakota State which is very favorable.

In the Rail Rivalry Game Chattanooga beat East Tennessee State in a rock fight. It’s been a rollercoaster of a week for ETSU given everything going on but the Buccaneers battled hard in a tight one. In the end Chattanooga punched in a score with 43 seconds left to win it. It was a much needed win for Chattanooga who entered this season with high expectations but opened 0-3. A road win over a good ETSU team was a good way for the Mocs to show they’re still a SOCON and playoff contender.

The UAC had a couple wild games as well. The headliner of course was Abilene Christian hosting Central Arkansas. UCA was the favorite to win the conference while Abilene Christian is the upstart. The Wildcats sure begged to differ once the game started. They jumped all over Central Arkansas to lead 31-17 at halftime and hold on late for a 41-34 win. Maverick McIvor once again had a ridiculous game throwing for 350 yards and 5 TDs, most of which went to WR Nehemiah Martinez who tallied 202 yards and 3 TDs on 7 catches. Abilene Christian led by this offense is definitely one of the most fun FCS stories, not much was expected but they’re proving to be a wagon and are now the new favorite to win the UAC

The other challenger to ACU in the UAC is another purple team (so much purple!!) Tarleton State. The Texans faced Southern Utah (a team I had considered as a sleeper) and were seemingly on their way to victory after a dominant start. DeLane Fitzgerald’s Thunderbirds don’t give up quickly though. They rallied all the way back to take a late 31-28 lead. Tarleton State answered when they needed to, getting a late FG to bring the game to OT. That’s where heartbreak struck for the Thunderbirds, after Tarleton State scored, Southern Utah answered but a missed XP proved to be the difference. Tarleton State as mentioned above is a contender to win the UAC and reach the playoffs in their first eligible season. It’s been a rough road for Southern Utah, they have played a difficult schedule and lost 3 extremely tight games.

There was a ton of action in the CAA. Delaware and Monmouth have been 2 of the bigger surprises. Delaware hadn’t played a tough schedule yet so it was hard to gauge the Blue Hens undefeated start, but they made a statement in this one, winning 42-35 to show they’re going to be a strong team in their way out.

The wildest game of the day was Rhode Island beating Hampton 46-44, any time you see that score you know it was an instant classic. The Rams came back from down 24-10 to force OT, before emerging victorious in 2nd OT. This was huge for the Rams in the playoff race.

Perhaps the biggest upset of the day was William and Mary getting upset by Towson. The Tribe had the looks of being one of the biggest contenders to Villanova in the conference but they couldn’t overcome the Tigers in a 34-27 loss. Towson was forgotten about in a 1-3 start, but clearly this is a very good team. Their losses are to Cincinnati, North Dakota State and Villanova. The last of those being by 1 point on the road. The Tigers might begin to stack wins because the 4 toughest games on their whole schedule are now out of the way.

Another upset occurred on Friday night when Harvard took down New Hampshire. It was somehow the first meeting between the programs since 1939!!! It was very back and forth in the first half before the Crimson took over the 2nd half, eventually taking a 28-16 lead before New Hampshire attempted a late rally. It was a good recovery effort for Harvard following the Hail Mary loss to Brown last week, it’s a tough loss for New Hampshire, they are very much on the playoff bubble.

Yale was favored by 3 scores over Central Connecticut State but it felt like too many. CCSU is a much improved squad this year but they came up just short of upsetting Yale, losing by 1 23-22. CCSU is going to be a force in the NEC this year.

The last undefeated team in the Ivy League is… Dartmouth! I’m sure we all expected that.

Another upset was McNeese State getting blown out 43-22 to Houston Christian. McNeese looked very much improved, but it went wrong for them immediately. Clifton McDowell struggled from the jump while HCU was absolutely unstoppable on offense, the Huskies racked up 622 yards of offense. It was HCU’s first win over a Top 25 FCS opponent. The Huskies are a team to monitor in the Southland, their only losses are to SMU, Tarleton State and UTSA.

There wasn’t a ton of close SWAC action. Florida A&M got a fight for a half from Alabama State but the Rattlers eventually pulled away in the 2nd half to win 28-13. Jackson State had a 38-10 halftime lead over Alabama A&M but had to hold on for a 45-38 win.

The MEAC saw a couple teams pick up some nice non-conference wins. NC Central boatraced Campbell 45-14, Campbell is sliding a bit but this is still a blowout win over a team that beat Western Carolina earlier this year. South Carolina State took down a solid Tennessee Tech squad on the road 22-20, that was Tennessee Tech’s first FCS loss of the season. Don’t look now but the Bulldogs seem to be the biggest challenger to NC Central for the conference crown. Delaware State broke my heart again. The Hornets are much improved and seem ready to pick up a massive win each week but they just can’t close it. They led St. Francis 17-6 entering the 4th quarter but lost 28-17.