FCS Roundup Week 10

While there’s not much shakeup at the top we continue to see upsets create chaos for the lower part of the bracket, this week was loaded with them.

The UAC had a crazy weekend. The most out of nowhere result was Central Arkansas being boatraced by previously winless Utah Tech 34-21. It was a shocking result that came out of nowhere. It was a combination of Utah Tech finding their best game of the season while Central Arkansas QB Will McElvain had his worst, throwing 4 picks in the game.

Tarleton State meanwhile had been rolling undefeated against FCS competition but the Texans offense just couldn’t get going in the 2nd half while Eastern Kentucky found some success running the ball. Even Abilene Christian had to survive a late Southern Utah upset. Both upsets are very costly for the UAC, already neither of these teams showed up in the committee top 10 so we knew they didn’t think as highly of them as the regular polls did. Now with a few games left against each other you get the feeling there’s only room for 2 of the purple 3 UAC teams in the playoffs.

Staying out West, the Big Sky once again delivered some thrilling games. The most interesting was Montana State at Eastern Washington. The Red turf is always a scary place for opponents to play and Montana State found themselves in a battle much of the game. Eastern Washington even tied it up late in the 3rd but once that happened Montana State once again flexed their muscles and pulled away to win by 2 TDs.

There were a few blowouts as well Northern Arizona won the Red rocks trophy over Weber State after they blasted the door open in the first quarter. The Lumberjacks had 21 points by the middle of the first quarter and basically sat on that the remainder of the game to win easily. Meanwhile UC Davis and Montana both took care of business to set up a huge Big Sky After Dark showdown next week on ESPN2.

Portland State opened the season with a brutal schedule and it felt like they were better than their record showed. There’s more evidence of that after they rolled into Sacramento State for this week’s nightcap and swatted the Hornets 58-38. QB Dante Chachere had a ridiculous game with 5 TDs, including 4 of them on the ground. This team looks dangerous down the stretch, while it’s a tough loss for Sacramento State 3-6 is not what they imagined for this season.

While Incarnate Word seems to be safely in the playoffs, likely as the Southland champ there’s a lot of battling elsewhere in Southland to reach the playoffs. Southeastern was so close to beating Incarnate Word last week, but the Lions weren’t about to let another one slip away. This time they took down Lamar in a close back and forth OT battle. The Lions needed a FG at the end of regulation to get the game there and then held Lamar to a FG before punching in a game winning TD. Stephen F Austin made a statement as well with a dominant victory over Nicholls.

One of the other biggest upsets of the weekend occurred in the Missouri Valley where Indiana State took down North Dakota 35-31. This is back to back upset losses for the Fighting Hawks. They are skidding at the absolute wrong time because South Dakota State and South Dakota are next. Winning one of those could get them back in the playoff, but that’s much easier said than done, especially off a 2 game losing streak.

Missouri State meanwhile continues to be th surprise of the Missouri Valley conference. The Bears aren’t eligible for the FCS playoffs with the FBS move but they certainly have their eyes on stealing a conference title on their way out. The Bears face Murray State this weekend before a showdown with North Dakota State.

Mercer continues to get back on track, this time the Bears survived a tough one with ETSU. The Bucs grabbed an early lead before Mercer rallied. This was a huge win for Mercer as they essentially clinch the SOCON baring a complete disaster down the stretch. If they hold on it will be their first ever conference title.

Meanwhile there was no Cole Gonzales for Western Carolina and apparently that wasn’t a problem for the Catamounts as they won a 38-34 shootout over Chattanooga behind 5 TD passes from backup QB Taron Dickens. Chattanooga now finds themselves in a dangerous spot where they could end up missing the playoffs. Western Carolina still lingers just behind Mercer, if disaster strikes the Bears the Catamounts can win the conference. Overall the SOCON has beat each other up a lot so I’m curious to see how many bids the league gets.

By the way, no one is ever going to be able to explain what happened in that first half between Samford and Mercer. Samford lost yet again, this time to Wofford. Also a huge congrats to VMI for pulling off their first win of the season.

UT Martin at Tennessee State was another huge game for playoff positioning and to try to challenge SE Missouri State for the conference crown. UT Martin had an explosion of offense in the first half as the Skyhawks led 28-14 at halftime. Tennessee State tried to rally in the 2nd half, they got inside the RedZone on their last ditch drive to try to tie it but the Skyhawks broke up the pass on 4th down to win it. Baring disaster it feels like UT Martin is in a good position to make the playoffs now, while Tennessee State might just be on the outside.

The theme of the CAA this week was survival. A lot of the top teams received upset threats. Stony Brook had to stop a Bryant 2 point attempt in OT to hold on, Rhode Island rallied from down 28-17 to Monmouth to win. Villanova survived a low scoring battle with Hampton and Richmond had to put away Towson late.

The Pioneer league has some crazy results. Most notably Dayton losing 28-7 to Presbyterian out of nowhere. St. Thomas (MN) had a rough start to the season but was undefeated in conference play until they lost to Morehead State. All of this helps strengthen Drake’s grip on the conference.

The Ivy League race continues to heat up. Columbia remained in contention for at least a share of a title when the Lions scored late to rally past Yale 13-10. Meanwhile, Harvard ended Dartmouth’s undefeated start with a TD with 27 seconds left to help the Crimson rally from down 27-17.

The MEAC race took shape with a Thursday night showdown between South Carolina State and NC Central. Early on it was the Eric Phoenix show for South Carolina State as they rolled to a 24-7 lead. NC Central wouldn’t go away quietly they scored 2 quick TDs to make it a dramatic game at the end but thanks to a long Eric Phoenix run on 3rd and long followed by a 4th down conversion South Carolina State was able to salt the game away. The Bulldogs are now in full control of the MEAC.

That wasn’t the only MEAC thriller. Behind a blocked FG Morgan State was able to rally from down 24-3 at one point to kick a field goal in the final seconds of regulation to get the game to OT against Norfolk State. From there the Bears scored in OT, but Norfolk State answered and went for 2 to win it but the Bears stopped them for the win.

Jackson State and Florida A&M easily blew out their opponents but there was drama elsewhere in the SWAC. Most notable was Grambling getting upset by Bethune-Cookman. The Tigers led 21-7 in the 2nd half even before Bethune-Cookman rallied for the win. This is a huge win for BCU, but for Grambling what is going on? This team was good enough early in the year to beat Jackson State but now is falling apart as the year goes on. Additionally Mississippi Valley State was heartbreakingly close to finally getting a win, the Delta Devils scored late against Prairie View to try to tie the game but they were doomed by a fumbled point after attempt…poor Delta Devils.

Alabama State is getting hot at the right time. The Hornets took down Alcorn State in the Port City Classic to move to 5-3. Alabama State remains in contention for the East but it’s definitely an uphill climb with how Jackson State and Florida A&M are playing.