FCS Weekly Thread

The "experts" pick of BEST OF SEPTEMBER:


5 Best FCS Wins: North Dakota State 40, Eastern Washington 13; South Dakota 45, North Dakota 7; Holy Cross 51, New Hampshire 26; Elon 36, Richmond 33; Samford 35, The Citadel 14.

Best FBS Win: Howard 43, UNLV 40. In coach Mike London's first game with Howard, the MEAC program posts the largest point-spread upset (45.5 points) in college football history.

Best Game: North Carolina Central 33, South Carolina State 28. O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium rocked for an intense game between defending MEAC champ North Carolina Central and longtime conference power South Carolina State. The Eagles scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally for their 16th straight conference win. Freshman quarterback Chauncey Caldwell came off the bench to fuel the win, throwing a game-winning 38-yard touchdown pass to Josh McCoy with 5:34 left.

Most Surprising Teams: OK, a tie. Elon (4-1), under first-year coach Curt Cignetti, has doubled last year's win total by earning a good road win at Furman and beating three straight Top 25 teams (Charleston Southern and fellow CAA Football members Richmond and Albany). And then there's Austin Peay (3-2), which has followed a 29-game losing streak with three straight wins.

Most Disappointing Teams: Let's go with another tie. Lehigh (0-5), the defending Patriot League champ, hung with Villanova in the opener, but has since gone on to lose to Monmouth, Yale, Penn and Wagner - giving up an average 48.4 points per game this season. It's also hard to argue against North Dakota (1-4), the Big Sky preseason favorite which is 0-2 in conference play already.

Best Conference: Missouri Valley Football Conference. Six of the Valley teams were in the top 13 of the STATS FCS Top 25 heading into this past weekend, and a seventh team, Northern Iowa, was previously ranked. South Dakota and Western Illinois posted wins over FBS programs and the Valley went 18-3 out of conference against FCS teams.

Best Player: Chris Streveler, South Dakota. An improved passer, last year's Missouri Valley newcomer of the year has been a true dual-threat quarterback. He's led the Coyotes to a 4-0 start, including wins over Bowling Green and Top 25 teams North Dakota and Western Illinois, with 17 total touchdowns (10 passing, seven rushing).

Best Play: Alize Ward, Stephen F. Austin. Ward scored on a game-ending, 70-yard interception to lift the Lumberjacks to a 37-31 Southland Conference win over Incarnate Word. Following a timeout and on a 3rd-and-6 with 16 seconds remaining, UIW quarterback Sean Brophy threw a desperation pass off a flea-flicker that Ward picked off his team's 30. Ward broke across the field and ran down the right sideline, leaping over an UIW player at the Cardinals' 5 and diving into their end zone for the winning score.

Best Individual Performance: Caylin Newton, Howard. Others had better statistics in games, but as a true freshman starting his first career game, Cam Newton's younger brother led the struggling MEAC program (one winning season in the last 15 years) to the stunning 43-40 win at UNLV. He accounted for 330 total yards (190 rushing) and three total touchdowns.

Individual Leaders:


Rushing Yards Per Game
1 Josh Mack, Maine (Colonial) 167.3
2 Karekin Brooks, Penn (Ivy League) 152.3
3 Malcolm Summers, Elon (Colonial) 134.8
4 Daniel Smith, Campbell (Pioneer) 123.5
5 Lance Dunn, North Dakota St. (MVFC) 123.0

Rushing Yards
1 Malcolm Summers, Elon (Colonial) 674
2 Ladarius Galloway, UT Martin (OVC) 583
3 De'Lance Turner, Alcorn (Southwestern) 559
4 Detrez Newsome, Western Caro. (Southern) 557
5 Marquis Terry, Southeast Mo. St. (OVC) 540

Passing Yards Per Game
1 Kyle Lauletta, Richmond (Colonial) 417.5
2 Brad Mayes, Lehigh (Patriot) 358.8
3 Price Wilson, Bryant (Northeast) 353.4
4 Gage Gubrud, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) 347.2
5 Jake Maier, UC Davis (Big Sky) 337.0


Passing Yards
1 Brad Mayes, Lehigh (Patriot) 1,794
2 Price Wilson, Bryant (Northeast) 1,767
3 Gage Gubrud, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) 1,736
4 Jake Maier, UC Davis (Big Sky) 1,685
5 Kyle Lauletta, Richmond (Colonial) 1,670

Passing Efficiency
1 Lamar Raynard, N.C. A&T (Mid-Eastern) 190.6
2 Easton Stick, North Dakota St. (MVFC) 188.5
3 Kurt Rawlings, Yale (Ivy League) 183.9
4 P.J. Blazejowski, Furman (Southern) 178.4
5 Hayden Hildebrand, Central Ark. (Southland) 176.0

Total Offense
1 Kyle Lauletta, Richmond (Colonial) 422.5
2 Chris Streveler, South Dakota (MVFC) 371.5
3 Gage Gubrud, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) 368.0
4 Brad Mayes, Lehigh (Patriot) 352.0
5 Price Wilson, Bryant (Northeast) 340.4


Receiving Yards Per Game
1 Jaelon Acklin, Western Ill. (MVFC) 146.0
2 Cortrelle Simpson, Richmond (Colonial) 141.3
3 Keelan Doss, UC Davis (Big Sky) 132.4
4 Dejon Brissett, Richmond (Colonial) 128.0
5 Neil O'Connor, New Hampshire (Colonial) 127.6

Receptions Per Game
1 Jesper Horsted, Princeton (Ivy League) 8.7
2 Kelvin McKnight, Samford (Southern) 8.6
3 Jaelon Acklin, Western Ill. (MVFC) 8.3
4 Keelan Doss, UC Davis (Big Sky) 8.2
- Nic Sblendorio, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) 8.2

Receiving Yards
1 Keelan Doss, UC Davis (Big Sky) 662
2 Neil O'Connor, New Hampshire (Colonial) 638
3 Kelvin McKnight, Samford (Southern) 591
4 Jaelon Acklin, Western Ill. (MVFC) 584
5 Cortrelle Simpson, Richmond (Colonial) 565


Scoring
1 Lance Dunn, North Dakota St. (MVFC) 16.5
2 Deshawn Salter, Yale (Ivy League) 14.0
3 Caylin Newton, Howard (Mid-Eastern) 11.0
4 Kelvin McKnight, Samford (Southern) 10.8
5 2 players tied 10.5

Points Responsible For
1 Gage Gubrud, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) 108
- Devlin Hodges, Samford (Southern) 108
3 Chris Streveler, South Dakota (MVFC) 102
4 Brad Mayes, Lehigh (Patriot) 98
5 Kevin Thomson, Sacramento St. (Big Sky) 96

Interceptions Per Game
1 Franklin McCain III, N.C. A&T (Mid-Eastern) 1.0
- Keon Roman, Kennesaw St. (Big South) 1.0
3 5 players tied 0.8


Passes Defended
1 Ryan McKinley, Montana (Big Sky) 2.0
2 Phillip Parham, Lafayette (Patriot) 1.8
- Mike Ford, Southeast Mo. St. (OVC) 1.8
- Dylan Mabin, Fordham (Patriot) 1.8
5 2 players tied 1.8

Sacks
1 DJ Bailey, Harvard (Ivy League) 1.33
- Richard Jarvis, Brown (Ivy League) 1.33
- Mike Wagner, Princeton (Ivy League) 1.33
4 Emmanuel Olenga, Campbell (Pioneer) 1.30
5 Bryson Armstrong, Kennesaw St. (Big South) 1.25

Punting
1 Joe Zema, Incarnate Word (Southland) 47.4
2 Fidel Romo Martinez, Delaware St. (Mid-Eastern) 45.4
3 Lane Reazin, Southern Ill. (MVFC) 45.4
4 Keith Wrzuszczak, Eastern Ky. (OVC) 45.2
5 Alex Pechin, Bucknell (Patriot) 45.2


Kickoff Returns
1 Mekhai Johnson, Marist (Pioneer) 37.2
2 Juwan Petit-Frere, Southeastern La. (Southland) 36.8
3 Elijah Marks, Northern Ariz. (Big Sky) 34.0
4 Cade Johnson, South Dakota St. (MVFC) 32.9
5 Josh McGowen, SFA (Southland) 32.3

Punt Returns
1 Xequille Harry, Weber St. (Big Sky) 21.3
2 Khris Gardin, N.C. A&T (Mid-Eastern) 19.9
3 John Miller, James Madison (Colonial) 17.8
4 Justice Shelton-Mosley, Harvard (Ivy League) 17.6
5 Marquis Warford, Alcorn (Southwestern) 16.8

Field Goals Per Game
1 Trey Tuttle, Weber St. (Big Sky) 2.00
2 Colin Root, Northern Colo. (Big Sky) 1.75
- Sean Slattery, Illinois St. (MVFC) 1.75
4 Matt Cummins, Central Ark. (Southland) 1.67
5 3 players tied 1.60


All Purpose
1 Josh Mack, Maine (Colonial) 187.67
2 Detrez Newsome, Western Caro. (Southern) 173.20
3 Jaelon Acklin, Western Ill. (MVFC) 172.25
4 Karekin Brooks, Penn (Ivy League) 167.00
5 John Santiago, North Dakota (Big Sky) 166.00

Total Tackles
1 Brett Taylor, Western Ill. (MVFC) 14.5
2 T.J. Holl, Colgate (Patriot) 13.0
3 Warren Messer, Elon (Colonial) 12.0
4 Mario Jenkins, Idaho St. (Big Sky) 11.8
5 2 players tied 11.6

Tackles For Loss
1 Kenyatta Dunbar, Gardner-Webb (Big South) 2.5
2 Kurt Frimel, Cornell (Ivy League) 2.3
3 Darin Greenfield, South Dakota (MVFC) 2.1
4 Aaron Tiller, Southern U. (Southwestern) 2.1
5 6 players tied 2.0

Illinois St article
Jax St
The Griz
Eastern Illinois
Convicted Rapist back on the Penquins team, continues tradition of criminals playing in Youngstown

NATIONAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jaelon Acklin, Western Illinois, WR, Sr., 6-2, 190, Mountain View, Missouri


NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Justin Strong, Montana, S, R-Sr., 5-11, 190, Rialto, California

NATIONAL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andrew Zecca, Saint Francis, P, Jr., 6-2, 190, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

NATIONAL FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Montel Goods, Campbell, RB, R-Fr., 5-10, 215, Pittsboro, North Carolina.

Experts picks:


X-No. 2 North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0 Missouri Valley) at Indiana State (0-4, 0-1), 1 p.m.
Delaware State (0-4, 0-2 MEAC) at X-No. 16 North Carolina A&T (5-0, 2-0), 1 p.m.
X-Maine (1-2, 0-2 CAA) at No. 12 Villanova (3-2, 1-1), 1 p.m.
X-No. 20 Samford (3-2, 1-1 Southern) at VMI (0-5, 0-2), 1:30 p.m.
No. 22 Western Carolina (4-1, 2-0 Southern) at X-No. 5 Wofford (4-0, 2-0), 1:30 p.m.
Mercer (2-3, 1-2 Southern) at X-No. 17 The Citadel (3-1, 1-1), 2 p.m.
William & Mary (2-2, 0-1 CAA) at X-No. 18 Elon (4-1, 2-0), 2 p.m.
X-No. 9 Sam Houston State (3-1, 1-1 Southland) vs. Stephen F. Austin (2-3, 2-1) at NRG Stadium in Houston, 2 p.m.--Sam St is going to obliterate the Jacks
No. 24 Albany (3-2, 1-1 CAA) at X-No. 14 Richmond (2-2, 0-1), 3 p.m.
X-No. 3 Youngstown State (3-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley) at No. 7 South Dakota (4-0, 1-0), 3 p.m.--Game of the week I like the Pens just because of the Defense
Murray State (1-4, 0-1 Ohio Valley) at X-No. 25 UT Martin (3-2, 1-1), 3 p.m.
X-No. 4 Jacksonville State (3-1, 1-0 Ohio Valley) at Austin Peay (3-2, 2-0), 5 p.m.
X-No. 21 Grambling State (4-1, 1-0 SWAC) vs. Prairie View A&M (2-2, 2-0) at Cotton Bowl in Dallas, 5 p.m.
X-No. 15 Western Illinois (3-1, 0-1 Missouri Valley) at Northern Iowa (2-2, 1-0), 5 p.m.--I like the Panthers funny things happen in that Dome
Delaware (2-2, 0-1 CAA) at X-No. 23 Stony Brook (4-1, 3-0), 6 p.m.
X-No. 6 Central Arkansas (3-1, 2-0 Southland) at Houston Baptist (1-3, 0-2), 7 p.m.--35 or 42-0 at half?
No. 11 Illinois State (4-0) at X-Northern Arizona (2-2), 7 p.m.--They got this wrong the Redbirds win and win easily
Southern Illinois (2-2, 0-1 Missouri Valley) at X-No. 8 South Dakota State (3-1, 0-1), 7 p.m.--Poor Wardogs they are going to get thumped
X-No. 10 Eastern Washington (3-2, 2-0 Big Sky) at UC Davis (3-2, 1-1), 9 p.m.


SLC Games
Incarnate Word (0-4) @ X-SE Louisiana (2-3)--Well if the Lions don't win just go ahead and be done with them
Northwestern St (1-3) @ X-Nicholls (3-2)--Poor Demons
X-McNeese (4-1) @ Abilene Chrstn (2-3)--Win here puts the Pokes back in playoff contention

Surprised there was no traffic in this thread since the Cowboys have such a big game this weekend. The Colonel fans have disappeared. I get why the Lion fans left.

Also pumped Sam Houston lost last week

Is Nielson going to stay at Dakota or move on? I get why he left Western. I saw the game is a sell out also.

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Surprised there was no traffic in this thread since the Cowboys have such a big game this weekend.

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They're too busy complaining on the Facebook group about people wearing LSU/other school colors to McNeese football games.

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Surprised there was no traffic in this thread since the Cowboys have such a big game this weekend.

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Big implication, but Abilene hasn't traditionally been a threat.