Week 11 in the FCS (second to last week for everyone)

s--k

Goodbye to Romance College Football
Friday, November 10


MatchupTime (ET)TV/Mobile
Grambling State at UAPB9:00pmESPNU

Saturday, November 11


MatchupTime (ET)TV/Mobile
Charleston Sou. at Robert Morris12:00pmESPN+
Holy Cross at Army12:00pmCBSSN
Murray State at Illinois State12:00pmESPN+/Marquee SN
New Hampshire at Monmouth12:00pmFloFootball / SNY /NBCS PHI
South Dakota State at Youngstown State12:00pmESPN+
Yale at Princeton12:00pmESPNU
Morgan State at SC State12:00pmESPN+
Norfolk State at Delaware State12:00pmESPN+
CCSU at Merrimack12:00pmNEC Front Row
Stonehill at Duquesne12:00pmNEC Front Row
Wagner at LIU12:00pmNEC Front Row
Brown at Columbia12:30pmESPN+
Fordham at Lafayette12:30pmESPN+
Delaware at Campbell1:00pmFloFootball
Georgetown at Bucknell1:00pmESPN+
Lehigh at Colgate1:00pmESPN+
North Carolina A&T at Rhode Island1:00pmFloFootball
North Dakota at South Dakota1:00pmMidco Sports
Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois1:00pmESPN+
Towson at Villanova1:00pmFloFootball
UAlbany at Stony Brook1:00pmFloFootball
Western Illinois at Indiana State1:00pmESPN+
William & Mary at Hampton1:00pmFloFootball
ETSU at Western Carolina1:00pmESPN+
VMI at Furman1:00pmESPN+
Alabama A&M at Bethune-Cookman1:00pmHBCU GO
Penn at Harvard1:00pmESPN+
Stetson at Valparaiso1:00pmESPN+
Davidson at Morehead State1:00pmESPN+
Marist at Dayton1:00pmFacebook
Cornell at Dartmouth1:30pmESPN+
Bryant at Lindenwood2:00pmESPN+
Elon at Richmond2:00pmFloFootball
Utah Tech at Austin Peay2:00pmESPN+
Wofford at The Citadel2:00pmESPN+
Presbyterian at Drake2:00pmESPN+
Gardner-Webb at Tennessee Tech2:30pmESPN+
Eastern Washington at Montana State3:00pmESPN+/Scripps/MTN TV
Idaho at Weber State3:00pmESPN+
Northern Colorado at Northern Arizona3:00pmESPN+
Northern Iowa at Missouri State3:00pmESPN+/MC22
UIW 2, Northwestern State 03:00pmESPN+
Southeast Missouri at UT Martin3:00pmESPN+
Tarleton State at Abilene Christian3:00pmESPN+
Virginia-Lynchburg at Kennesaw State3:00pmESPN+
Samford at Mercer3:00pmESPN+
Prairie View A&M at Southern3:00pmESPN+
Alabama State at MVSU3:00pmValley SN
Southern Illinois at North Dakota State3:30pmESPN+/ABC ND
NC Central at Howard3:30pmESPNU
Lamar at Nicholls4:00pmESPN+
St. Thomas at San Diego4:00pmESPN+
Southeastern La. at Texas A&M-Commerce4:30pmESPN+
Cal Poly at Sacramento State5:00pmESPN+/CW31
Eastern Kentucky at Central Arkansas5:00pmESPN+
Southern Utah at Stephen F. Austin5:00pmESPN+
UC Davis at Idaho State6:00pmESPN+
Lincoln (CA) at Florida A&M6:00pmRattlers+
West Georgia at Valdosta State7:00pmFloFootball
HCU at McNeese8:00pmESPN+
Montana at Portland State9:00pmESPN+/Scripps

Sunday, November 12
---- heard there was a conflict with the soccer team or something, so they moved the football game because of soccer ! ---------

MatchupTime (ET)TV/Mobile
Alcorn State at Texas Southern3:00pmESPN+
 
BIG SKY

FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 5, 2023) —
No. 4 Montana took down No. 7 Sacramento State 34-7 at home on Saturday, as the Griz picked up their second Top-10 win of the season and made history in the process. Below is a recap of Week 10 action around Big Sky football.

The Griz victory was Bobby Hauck's 124th while coaching at Montana, moving him past former Northern Arizona head coach Jerome Souers, as Hauck becomes the Big Sky Conference's all-time wins leader for football.

Montana scored 34 unanswered points in its 34-7 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night, with the victory also snapping a three-game losing skid to the Hornets that stretched back to 2019.

The biggest play of the night came in the fourth quarter, with the Griz backed up at their own three-yard line and leading just 21-7. That's when Montana quarterback Clifton McDowell delivered a deep ball from his own endzone to Keelan White, who raced 97 yards down the sideline for the momentum-shifting score.

Montana State and Idaho also picked up wins on Saturday, as the two kept pace with Montana's 5-1 conference record and have a three-way tie for first place in the Big Sky with only two games remaining in the regular season.

Montana State downed Northern Arizona 45-21 at home, while Idaho picked up a 27-13 win at Northern Colorado.

Elsewhere in the Big Sky, UC Davis kept its dream alive for a seven-win season, as the Aggies topped Portland State at home, 37-23.

The Aggies were paced by running back Lan Larison, who rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns in his second game back from injury.

Weber State and Eastern Washington got back into the win column as well on Saturday, as the Wildcats defeated Idaho State 33-21 on the road and the Eagles won 48-13 over Cal Poly at home.

Follow all things #BigSkyFB on Twitter and Instagram at @BigSkyFB. Follow the Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, and TikTok for all the latest news around the league and use the hashtag #ExperienceElevated.

Big Sky Football Week 10 Scores
Saturday, Nov. 4
FCS Rankings: Stats Perform


#6 Montana State 45, Northern Arizona 21
Read Full Montana State Recap

#3 Idaho 27, Northern Colorado 13
Read Full Idaho Recap

Eastern Washington 48, Cal Poly 13
Read Full EWU Recap

Weber State 33, Idaho State 21
Read Full Weber State Recap

#RV UC Davis 37, Portland State 23
Read Full UC Davis Recap

#4 Montana 34, #7 Sacramento State 7
Read Full Montana Recap

BIG SOUTH / OVC

It was the first full day of Conference play this season with all 10 teams in action. Charleston Southern, Eastern Illinois, Gardner-Webb, Robert Morris and UT Martin picked up wins. There are now three teams with just one loss in Conference play with two weeks to play in the regular season.

ROBERT MORRIS 21, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 20 | BOX SCORE
The RMU football team picked up its first conference victory of the season, downing Southeast Missouri State 21-20 on Saturday afternoon. The Colonials improved to 3-6 overall, with a 1-3 mark in Big South-OVC play. In the 3rd quarter, SEMO took a 20-14 lead with just over eight minutes to go. The following RMU drive started at their own 22-yard line as the offense marched 78 yards on 13 plays resulting in a Colonials touchdown that put them ahead for good. RMU quarterback Anthony Chiccitt threw for 65 yards on the game-winning drive, including the scoring play which was a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chaese Jackson.

GARDNER-WEBB 45, BRYANT 44 (OT) | BOX SCORE
Gardner-Webb stormed back in the fourth quarter to knock off Bryant 45-44 in overtime. Bryant took possession first in overtime, and Eckhaus fired an eight-yard pass to Konor Lathrop to give Bryant a 44-38 lead. The Bulldogs elected to go for two, and McRainey knocked down the pass to keep it a six-point game. On the first play of Gardner-Webb's possession, Jayden Brown rushed up the middle 21 yards to get the Runnin' Bulldogs down to the three-yard line. English found AJ Johnson in the endzone to tie the game, and Billingsley's extra point gave Gardner-Webb the 45-44 victory.

#18 UT MARTIN 44, TENNESSEE TECH 41 | BOX SCORE
Trailing by 14 points with under nine minutes to play in regulation, the University of Tennessee at Martin football squad rallied for a 44-41 overtime triumph at Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech today. The UT Martin defense shut down a potential game-winning Golden Eagles drive to send the game into overtime. The Skyhawks won the coin toss and elected to play defense first, only yielding a 47-yard field goal. Roberts, who hung tough for a nine-yard catch up the middle on 3rd-and-6 earlier in overtime, came through with another clutch play. Facing 3rd-and-7 from the Tennessee Tech 9-yard line, the junior from Perry, Fla. made another acrobatic snag – hauling in a tipped pass from a Golden Eagle defender while reaching behind him on his way down to the ground for his second score of the day.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 16, LINDENWOOD 10 | BOX SCORE
Eastern Illinois defense had three interceptions including one by NiJhay Burt with five seconds left in the game as the Panthers locked up their first winning season since the 2017 season with a 16-10 win at Lindenwood. Pierce Holley passed for 245 yards with Thomas, Mirza and DeAirious Smith all catching five passes for EIU as the Panthers are now 6-3 overall, 2-2 in the Big South-OVC.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 35, TENNESSEE STATE 21 | BOX SCORE
Charleston Southern scored the final 14 points to knock off Tennessee State on Saturday. TJ Ruff scored a pair of touchdowns including a 25-yarder with 2:16 to play to ice the game.

CAA

There is a five-team tie atop the CAA Football standings with two weeks remaining after a wild Week 10. Elon knocked off #5 Delaware, while Villanova, Hampton and Towson also got wins on the road. UAlbany defeated William & Mary in a Top 25 battle and Monmouth rolled with a big offensive performance.

Elon 33, Delaware 27
Box Score


Quarterback Matthew Downing passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns as Elon (5-4, 5-1 CAA) knocked off 5th-ranked Delaware (7-2, 5-1 CAA), ending the Blue Hens’ six-game winning streak. Chandler Brayboy made three receptions for 121 yards and a TD and Johncarlos Miller II added five catches for 101 yards and a TD for the Phoenix, while their defense came up with three turnovers. Freshman Jack Berkowitz added four field goals for Elon.

Delaware led 7-3 early on a 39-yard Joshua Youngblood scoring reception, but Downing connected on TD passes of 65 yards to Brayboy, 70 yards to Miller and 29 yards to Jordan Bonner to take a 27-13 advantage early in the third quarter. Field goals of 37 and 44 yards from Berkowitz put Elon ahead by 13 in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Hens pulled within 33-27 on Ryan O’Connor’s 4-yard scoring run with 3:27 left. Delaware forced a 3-and-out and drove to the Elon 16-yard line, but a fumble recovered by Elon’s Marco Patierno sealed the victory. O’Connor passed for 315 yards, with Youngblood making seven catches for 121 yards. Caleb Curtain had nine stops for the Elon defense and Jackson Taylor made 13 tackles and 2.0 TFL’s for the Blue Hens.

Villanova 45, New Hampshire 33
Box Score


Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, including a 69-yard scoring strike to Rayjoun Pringle with 9:53 to play as the Wildcats (7-2, 5-1) battled past New Hampshire (4-5, 2-4 CAA), 45-33. In a back-and-forth contest, VU took a 24-20 lead into halftime after a 6-yard TD run by Jalen Jackson, who finished with a season-high 145 yards and 2 TD’s on 19 carries. UNH went back on top, 27-24, as D.J. Linkins caught a 6-yard TD pass on the opening drive of the second half. However, Villanova responded with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns on an 18-yard catch by TD Ayo-Durojaiye and a 6-yard run by Watkins. Dylan Laube’s 2-yard scoring run pulled UNH within 38-33 with 10:43 remaining before Pringle’s big play.

Villanova’s defense forced four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions. Ty Trinh had a team-best 13 tackles and Brendan Bell added 12 stops, a forced fumble and an interception. Laube had a huge day for UNH offensively, running for 132 yards and 2 TD’s, making 10 catches for 75 yards and returning three kickoffs for 103 yards.

UAlbany 24, William & Mary 8
Box Score


UAlbany (7-3, 5-1 CAA) turned in a dominant defensive performance, recording six sacks, scoring on a pick six and pitching a shutout until the final four minutes as the 23rd-ranked Great Danes defeated 24th-ranked William & Mary (5-4, 3-3 CAA), 24-8. Dylan Kelly tallied 13 tackles, AJ Simon had 2.5 sacks and Aamir Hall returned an interception 45 yards for a score to lead the effort.

UAlbany needed just 48 seconds to jump on top as Brevin Easton caught a 37-yard TD pass from Reese Poffenbarger. Hall’s pick six late in the second quarter made it 17-0 at the half. The Great Danes added a 15-yard scoring run from Griffin Woodell in the fourth quarter before W&M got on the board on a 20-yard Darius Wilson scramble with 3:28 on the clock. Poffenbarger threw for 205 yards and a TD, while Woodell ran for 100 yards on 18 carries. For the Tribe, Wilson passed for 171 yards, with Hollis Mathis making five catches for 78 yards. Kevin Jarrell had a team-high nine tackles.

Towson 42, North Carolina A&T 32
Box Score


Devin Matthews ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns as Towson (4-5, 3-3 CAA) registered its fourth road win of the season, beating North Carolina A&T (1-8, 0-6 CAA), 42-32. Matthews found the end zone on runs of 2 and 1 yard in the first quarter and the Tigers never trailed after that. A&T pulled within 28-23 on a 10-yard scoring pass from Eli Brickhandler to Darren Bennett early in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers got an 18-yard TD catch by Daniel Thompson IV and a 2-yard run from Matthews to go back up 42-26 with four minutes on the clock.

Towson quarterback Nathan Kent threw for 263 yards and 2 TD’s, with Lukkas Londono making six receptions for 126 yards. Brickhandler came off the bench to pass for 181 yards and a TD, while Kenji Christian rushed for 140 yards and 3 TD’s on 22 carries. Dorian Davis made 11 stops for the Tigers’ defense and Ty Williams had nine tackles for the Aggies.

Monmouth 56, Stony Brook 17
Box Score


Monmouth (4-5, 3-3 CAA) scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions to build a 35-3 halftime advantage and posted a 56-17 triumph over Stony Brook (0-9, 0-7 CAA). Hawks’ quarterback Marquez McCray was 22-of-27 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns, with Dymere Miller (11 rec., 150 yds., 1 TD) and Assanti Kearney (5 rec., 124 yds., 1 TD) both going over the century mark. Jaden Shirden added 171 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground as the Hawks piled up 588 yards of offense.

Shirden had scoring runs of 17 and 81 yards to get things started for MU and McCray followed with TD passes of 8 and 14 yards in the final three minutes of the second quarter to go up big at the half. He capped his day with a 46-yard TD pass to Kearney. For Stony Brook, Roland Dempster rushed for a season-high 141 yards on 22 carries, including a 16-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Jake Brown made 10 stops for the Hawks’ defense, while Anthony Williams recorded two sacks for the Seawolves.

Hampton 42, Maine 35
Box Score


Hampton (5-4, 3-3 CAA) scored the final 21 points of the game and rallied past Maine (2-8, 1-6 CAA). Elijah Burris rushed for a career-high 173 yards and four touchdowns for the Pirates, including game-tying and game-winning 7-yard scoring runs in the final nine minutes. He also had an 80-yard TD burst.

Maine got another big game from quarterback Derek Robertson, who passed for 349 yards and five touchdowns. He had scoring passes of 49 yards to Jamie Lamson and 1 yard to Cooper Heisey to put the Black Bears ahead 28-14 and added a 9-yard TD toss to Rohan Jones to make it 35-21 midway through the third quarter. The Pirates started their comeback with a 40-yard TD catch by Romon Copeland before Burris tied it with 8:51 left. HU’s Mason King forced a fumble at the Maine 38 with 5:49 left and the Pirates took the lead on a Burris run with 1:48 to go. Lamson finished with eight catches for 180 yards. DeAndre Faulk recorded 11 tackles for the Hampton defense.

North Carolina 59, Campbell 7
Box Score


Hajj-Malik Williams threw for 185 yards and a touchdown and added another 51 yards on the ground, but Campbell (4-5) was beaten 59-7 at North Carolina. Trailing 7-0, Williams hit Chaney Fitzgerald with a 19-yard TD pass to tie the game late in the first quarter. However, the Tar Heels build a 28-7 advantage at halftime and pulled away in the second half.

Ezeriah Anderson made nine receptions for 102 yards and Fitzgerald had six catches for 43 yards. Linebacker C.J. Tillman had a big day defensively with 14 tackles and a sack.

IVY

PRINCETON, N.J. –
No. 19 Harvard stands alone atop the standings following Week 8 of the Ivy League football season.

The Crimson hold an Ivy record of 4-1 following its win over Columbia. The race for the Ivy title is still very tight with two weeks remaining as Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton and Yale are just one game behind at 3-2.

FRIDAY, NOV. 3
DARTMOUTH 23, PRINCETON 21

7 p.m. // Hanover, N.H. // Memorial Stadium
  • Dartmouth (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) topped Princeton (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) in back-and-forth affair, 23-21. There were four lead changes in the contest.
  • Dartmouth Kicker Owen Zalc was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including the game-winning 47-yarder with 1:28 remaining. Defensive back Sean Williams had a career game on defense and special teams. He opened the scoring with a 26-yard pick six. He later recovered a blocked field goal attempt which set up the game-winning score. Williams averaged 10 yards per punt return and his lone kickoff return went 38 yards.
  • Princeton receiver Luke Colella hauled in five receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Liam Johnson led the team with 11 tackles, including one for a loss.

SATURDAY, NOV. 4
YALE 36, BROWN 17

12 p.m. // Providence, R.I. // Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium
  • Yale (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) defeated Brown (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) by a score of 36-17.
  • Yale receiver Mason Tipton had seven catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns. The Akron, Ohio, native is now up to 10 touchdown receptions this season, which tied for 20th all-time in Ivy League history. Linebacker Joseph Vaughn led the team in tackles with eight
  • Brown quarterback Jake Willcox threw for 245 yards on 20-for-38 passing. Defensive back Isaiah Reed recorded his fourth interception of the season with a 35-yard pick six.

HARVARD 38, COLUMBIA 24
12:30 p.m. // New York, N.Y. // Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium
  • Harvard (7-1, 4-1 Ivy) bested Columbia (2-6, 0-5 Ivy), 38-24, to earn its 900th win in program history. The Crimson is the 10th program in all of college football to reach the 900-win mark.
  • Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 264 yards on just 13 completions. Defensive back Kaleb Moody had a pair of interceptions and blocked punt which he returned 10 yards for a touchdown.
  • Columbia’s Joey Giorgi rushed for 92 yards and touchdown on 19 attempts. Receiver Edan Stagg reeled in eight receptions for 82 yards.

PENN 23, CORNELL 8
1 p.m. // Philadelphia, Pa. // Franklin Field
  • Penn (6-2, 3-2 Ivy) beat Cornell (3-5, 2-3 Ivy) by a score of 23-8.
  • Penn running back Malachi Hosley rushed for 261 yards and a pair of scores on 21 attempts. His 261 yards is tied for the 16th most all-time in a single game by an Ivy. His rushing touchdowns were 68 and 96 yards, respectively. Defensive Back Lawson Nash led the team with 11 tackles.
  • Cornell quarterback Jameson Wang threw for 325 yards and a touchdown on 34-for-52 passing, marking the second time in the last three games he has surpassed the 300-yard passing mark. Linebacker Noah Taylor led the Big Red with 10 tackles.
MEAC

NORFOLK, Va. -
An exciting weekend of MEAC football wrapped up today with the Eagles of No. 9 North Carolina Central emerged as the only undefeated team in the conference standings at 3-0. Three teams, Howard, Morgan State, and South Carolina State are all tied for second at 2-1.

Morgan State 24, Delaware State 17

The Bears picked up their second win in a row after defeating the Hornets 24-17. Morgan State scored the only 10 points in the first half, with all 10 coming in the first quarter. After the teams came out of halftime, MSU scored another touchdown to go up 17-0 before DSU scored back-to-back touchdowns pulling within three points, 17-14. Morgan State added another touchdown and held Delaware State to a field goal to claim the win 24-17.

The Hornets recorded 317 total yards of offense while the Bears put together 274 total yards but scored three touchdowns to outscore the Hornets who scored twice.

BOX SCORE | RECAP

North Carolina Central 38, Norfolk State 24


The No. 9 Eagles managed to remain undefeated in MEAC action after beating the Spartans 38-24. NCCU came out in the first half taking a 28-10 lead, scoring two touchdowns in both the first and second quarters. Norfolk State fought back to pull within four points, 28-24, after scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter. North Carolina Central shut down Norfolk State in the fourth quarter while putting up 10 more points to claim the 38-24 victory.

The Spartans put together more yardage than the Eagles with 372 total yards while NCCU put up 320 total yards. NSU threw for 236 yards and three total touchdowns, while NCCU ran for 169 and five total touchdowns.

BOX SCORE | RECAP

South Carolina State 27, Howard 24


The Bulldogs held the Bison to their lowest total offensive yardage of the season at 245 yards. SCSU freshman Jawarn Howell rushed for 283 yards and three TDs as S.C. State amassed 438 yards on the ground. Saturday’s win was extra special as it was Head Coach Buddy Pough’s last homecoming as the

With the win over the Bison, the Bulldogs now sit in a three-way tie for second in the MEAC football standings.

BOX SCORE | RECAP

MVFC


Saturday, November 4, 2023Football

DateAwayHomeResultLocationLinks
Saturday 11/4/2023
Youngstown State
Youngstown State 19
Indiana State
Indiana State 7


Final
Terre Haute, Ind. (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Western Illinois
Western Illinois 6
Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa 50


Final
Cedar Falls, Iowa (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
South Dakota
South Dakota 14
Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois 7


Final
Carbondale, IL (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
North Dakota
North Dakota 45
Murray State
Murray State 31


Final
Murray, KY (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
North Dakota State
North Dakota State 16
South Dakota State
South Dakota State 33


Final
Brookings, S.D. (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Illinois State
Illinois State 36
Missouri State
Missouri State 35


Final
Springfield, Mo. (Conf.) Box Score
 
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Can't wait for you to start capping DII

Would be glorious!

If they line it I will come!

Actually I have some built-in interest already in the Dll Colorado schools like Mines and Western. I think it would be a fun division to follow. What I have found in FCS, that atleast the way I do it, there is a lot of work to know what you want to know to make informed choices. I assume it would be harder in Dll. I like stuff like that though.
 
If they line it I will come!

Actually I have some built-in interest already in the Dll Colorado schools like Mines and Western. I think it would be a fun division to follow. What I have found in FCS, that atleast the way I do it, there is a lot of work to know what you want to know to make informed choices. I assume it would be harder in Dll. I like stuff like that though.
I went to school at Central Missouri, look at the Mules' results this season. Only loss was by 1 to Pitt State Gorillas, the Mules might be averaging 50 pts/game!

Only way to bet DII is local which I don't have. But we're ranked 8th and have insane offensive talent. Mentioned it plenty but Willie Fritz was our coach for a lot of years.
 
NEC

Week 10 proved to be a wild one for Northeast Conference teams in league play. Duquesne, which squeaked out a win at Wagner to remain undefeated and claim at least a share of its sixth NEC title, put itself in a position to win the conference outright at Stonehill next weekend. LIU completed a late comeback for the second time in as many weeks to spoil Senior Day for defending champ Saint Francis U on Saturday, while Sacred Heart closed out its league slate with a win over in-state foe Central Connecticut. Rounding out the action was Merrimack, which fell at FBS independent UMass.

Click here for Boxscores / Statistics
SACRED HEART 31, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 24
Sacred Heart (2-8, 2-5 NEC) opened the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns to break open a 17-17 tie and hold on for a 31-24 victory over in-state rival Central Connecticut (3-6, 1-4 NEC) in the Pioneers’ final conference game of the 2023 slate. Sparking the rally with an 18-yard run for his second score of the day, graduate student Malik Grant ran for 104 yards in the final home game of his career.

LIU 29, SAINT FRANCIS U 28
Chris Howell completed a 72-yard pass to fellow freshman Aviyon Smith-Mack and redshirt senior Owen Glascoe subsequently punched in a one-yard touchdown run with 93 seconds remaining to give LIU (3-6, 3-2 NEC) a 29-28 win against host Saint Francis U (3-6, 3-3 NEC) on Saturday. The Sharks withstood a final drive from Saint Francis U after the dramatic touchdown, stopping the Red Flash on a 4th-and-7 from the LIU 42 with 49 seconds remaining to come away with their third NEC win in the past four games.

DUQUESNE 34, WAGNER 26
Duquesne (6-3, 5-0 NEC) fended off a Wagner (3-6, 2-2 NEC) comeback bid to improve to 5-0 in NEC play, their best start since joining the conference in 2008, and claim at least a share of its sixth league title with a hard-fought 34-26 win at Hameline Field on Saturday. Denying the Seahawks of a potential two-point conversion with 1:51 remaining, the Dukes, who were led by a two-touchdown effort by Edward Robinson, recovered the on-side kick and rolled to their fourth consecutive victory.

UMASS 31, MERRIMACK 21
Sophomore Donovan Wadley returned a kickoff for 95 yards and a touchdown, while junior LJ Robinson scored on a 33-yard pass inside the final eight minutes, but it was too little, too late for Merrimack (4-4, 3-2 NEC), which dropped a 31-21 decision at UMass on Saturday. It marked the final non-conference matchup of the season for the Warriors.

PATRIOT

NO. 22/rv HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (6-3, 4-1 PL) 28, AT LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (2-7, 1-3 PL) 24

Goodman Stadium/Bethlehem, Pa. Noon (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior running back Jordan Fuller rushed for two touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Jalen Coker caught two touchdown passes to lead No. 22 Holy Cross to a 28-24 victory over Lehigh at Goodman Stadium.
*Fuller rushed for a career-high 228 yards on 30 carries and added two more rushing touchdowns to his FCS leading mark of 19, including his third-quarter touchdown to put the Crusaders in front for good.
*Coker had touchdown receptions of 34 and 49 yards from junior quarterback Joe Pesansky in the second quarter. Coker finished with four passes for 98 yards.
*Pesansky completed 11-of-19 passes for 158 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his second collegiate start.
*Senior cornerback Terrence Spence finished with a team-high seven tackles and one interception, while junior linebacker Frankie Monte added six tackles. Freshman defensive lineman William Robinson finished with three tackles and one sack.
*Lehigh sophomore quarterback Brayten Silbor completed 13-of-28 passes for 117 yards and two first-quarter touchdown passes to senior Eric Johnson.
*Johnson finished with two receptions for 43 yards, catching touchdown passes of 21 and 22 yards less than two minutes apart early in the first quarter.
*First-year running back Luke Yoder rushed for 128 yards on 23 carries. He rushed for a one-yard touchdown with 1:10 remaining in the first half and recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.
*Lehigh sophomore safety Nick Peltekian recorded a game-high 10 tackles, and sophomore linebacker Tyler Ochojski made nine tackles.
*First-year defensive back Davis Rice recorded one sack, one interception and a forced fumble for the Mountain Hawks.
RECAPS: HOLY CROSS | LEHIGH

COLGATE RAIDERS (4-5, 2-2 PL) 37, AT NO. 16/20 LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (7-2, 3-1 PL) 34 (OT)
Fisher Stadium/Easton, Pa. 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
EASTON, Pa. – First-year quarterback Jake Stearney completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Brady Hutchison in overtime to lift Colgate to a 37-34 comeback victory over No. 16/20 Lafayette at Fisher Stadium.
*Stearney completed 13-of-21 passes for 146 yards and three touchdown passes to lead the Raiders’ second-half comeback.
*Sophomore wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders caught nine passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.
*Trailing 17-0 entering the second half, Stearney engineered three straight touchdown drives that ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass to first-year receiver Winston Moore, a one-yard run from junior running back Brendan Cassamajor and a 20-yard touchdown pass to Saunders to take a 21-17 lead.
*Raiders’ first-year running back Chris Gee rushed for 53 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown.
*Fifth-year linebacker Tyler Flick finished with 11 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, one sack and a forced fumble, while senior linebacker Drew Frankel added 10 tackles and one interception.
*Senior linebacker Christian Sweeney made eight tackles, 3.0 TFLs, and two sacks while forcing and recovering a fumble to start the third quarter.
*Lafayette sophomore quarterback Dean DeNobile completed 29-of-44 passes for 237 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
*Freshman running back Troy Bruce rushed for a career-high 138 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
*Senior tight end Mason Gilbert caught five passes for 71 yards, while freshman receiver Carson Persing and sophomore receiver Elijah Steward both finished with 66 receiving yards and one touchdown. Steward’s five-yard touchdown reception with 24 seconds remaining in the game tied the score at 34 to force overtime.
*Freshman placekicker Jack Simonetta was 2-of-2 on field-goal attempts, including a 22-yarder in overtime.
*Senior linebacker Billy Shaeffer finished with seven tackles, 3.0 TFLs and one sack, while junior linebacker Preston Forney added six tackles and one sack.
RECAPS: COLGATE | LAFAYETTE

AT FORDHAM RAMS (6-3, 2-2 PL) 27, BUCKNELL BISON (3-6, 1-4 PL) 21
Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field/Bronx, N.Y. 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
BRONX, N.Y. – Sophomore quarterback C.J. Montes threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns to lead Fordham to a 27-21 victory over Bucknell at Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field.
*Rams’ graduate student wide receiver MJ Wright made seven catches for a game-high 145 yards and a touchdown, graduate student wide receiver Garrett Cody added three catches for 129 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown reception, and senior wide receiver Mekai Felton added six catches for 28 yards and a score.
*Junior running back Julius Loughridge rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries for Fordham.
*Junior linebacker James Conway led the Rams’ defense with 14 tackles and 1.0 TFL, while graduate student Alfonzo Dixon IV added seven tackles, 1.5 TFLs and one sack.
*Fordham junior defensive lineman Matt Jaworski finished with six tackles and 2.0 sacks.
*Senior placekicker Brandon Peskin went 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts, including a 44-yarder in the fourth quarter.
*Bucknell junior quarterback Ralph Rucker completed 32-of-48 passes for 358 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bison offense.
*Sophomore wide receiver Derrick Anderson Jr. caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, while senior wide receiver Damian Harris had seven catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
*Senior running back Coleman Bennett rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while catching four passes for 40 yards.
*Bucknell freshman linebacker Gavin Willis recorded a career-high 15 tackles and a half TFL, while senior defensive lineman Mike Bright Jr. made six tackles and 1.0 TFL.
RECAPS: BUCKNELL | FORDHAM

PIONEER

Drake 10, Marist 3


POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Luke Bailey’s first-quarter touchdown pass to Trey Radocha was the only touchdown in Drake’s 10-3 PFL victory against Marist, Saturday, at Tenney Stadium. Defenses dominated the outing, with Drake edging Marist by a 276-246 margin in total yardage. Bailey found Radocha on a 14-yard touchdown completion just two minutes into the quarter, and neither team found the end zone afterward. Marist got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter thanks to Chase Gardi’s 22-yard field goal. Drake answered that score with Shane Dunning’s 53-yard field goal midway through the fourth to close the scoring. Bailey completed 20-of-34 passes for 205 yards to lead Drake, which remained unbeaten in PFL play. Marist’s Brock Bagozzi completed 18-of-30 passes for 135 yards.

San Diego 23, Presbyterian 13

CLINTON, S.C. – San Diego scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, rallying to down Presbyterian 23-13 in PFL action Saturday at Bailey Memorial Stadium. The Blue Hose used a Jaden Wright touchdown run and two Mack MIkko field goals to build a 13-7 halftime lead. After a scoreless third quarter, San Diego tied the game on a Dom Nankil touchdown pass to Josh Heverly with 13:49 left in the game. Aidan Lehman’s 45-yard field goal gave San Diego its first lead with 2:50 remaining. Zamir Wallace then sealed the victory courtesy of his 21-yard pick-six with 20 seconds left. Nankil completed 17-of-24 passes for 100 yards, while Isaiah Williams added 128 rushing yards on 28 carries. Tyler Wesley finished the day completing 14-of-29 passes for 153 yards

Davidson 61, Stetson 41

DELAND, Fla. – Davidson amassed 458 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns to speed past Stetson 61-41 in PFL action Saturday at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. Mason Sheron’s touchdown run with 5:11 left in the first quarter put Davidson ahead 14-7, and the Wildcats would not relinquish that lead. Sheron ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Mari Adams added 107 yards and two more rushing touchdowns, while Sam Valor added two touchdown runs. Stetson’s quarterback duo of Matt O’Connor and Brady Meitz combined for 406 passing yards on 26-of-44 passing and five touchdowns. Ronnell Johnson caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, one of five Hatters receivers with a touchdown.

Valparaiso 21, Dayton 7

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Rowan Keefe threw two touchdowns to lead Valparaiso past Dayton, 21-7, in PFL action Saturday at Brown Field. Jashon Butler’s seven-yard run in the first quarter opened the day’s scoring. Keefe would extend the Beacons’ lead in the second quarter with his first touchdown throw – a 13-yard completion to Jake Vickers – to provide a 14-0 halftime lead. Dayton got on the board midway through the third quarter with Luke Hansen’s five-yard touchdown run but would not score again. The Beacons capped the day Keefe’s 14-yard pass to Solomon Davis. Keefe completed 15-of-21 passes for 126 yards to lead Valparaiso. Hansen ran for 55 yards on 15 carries to pace Dayton.

Butler 49, Morehead State 7

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Bret Bushka threw three first-quarter touchdowns as part of a five-touchdown first half and Butler raced past Morehead State, 49-7 in PFL action Saturday at Jayne Stadium. Bushka opened the game with touchdown passes of 25, 28, and 61 yards to open up a 21-0 lead with 1:31 left in the first quarter. Carter Cravens would respond before the first quarter ended with a 68-yard pass completion, but that would be Morehead State’s lone score. Bushka hit touchdown passes of 21 and two yards, pushing the Butler lead to 35-7 at halftime. Bushka would add a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and the Butler defense tacked on a B. Patterson pick-six to close the scoring. Bushka completed 16-of-17 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns, adding 15 yards on six carries. Running back Jyran Mitchell ran for 125 yards on 22 carries. Cravens completed 11-of-20 passes for 126 yards.

SOCON

No. 2/2 Furman 17, No. 13/14 Chattanooga 14
VMI 31, ETSU 24
No. 25 Mercer 38, The Citadel 16
No. 20/16 Western Carolina 28, Wofford 25

SWAC


Thursday, November 2, 2023Football

DateAwayHomeResultLocationLinks
Thursday 11/2/2023
Mississippi Valley State
Mississippi Valley State 7
Bethune-Cookman University
Bethune-Cookman 20


Final
Daytona Beach, Fla. (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday, November 4, 2023Football

DateAwayHomeResultLocationLinks
Saturday 11/4/2023
Florida A&M University
Florida A&M 42
Alabama A&M
Alabama A&M 28


Final
Huntsville, AL (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Southern
Southern 21
Alcorn State
Alcorn State 44


Final
Lorman, MS (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Texas Southern
Texas Southern 19
Jackson State
Jackson State 21


Final
Jackson, Miss. (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 14
Prairie View A&M
Prairie View A&M 38


Final
Prairie View, Texas (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Grambling State
Grambling State 6
Alabama State
Alabama State 17


Final
Mobile, AL (Conf.) Box Score
 
I went to school at Central Missouri, look at the Mules' results this season. Only loss was by 1 to Pitt State Gorillas, the Mules might be averaging 50 pts/game!

Only way to bet DII is local which I don't have. But we're ranked 8th and have insane offensive talent. Mentioned it plenty but Willie Fritz was our coach for a lot of years.

You know what I love about that schedule? 9 games home or away are in Missouri and the other two are in either KS or OK. When big time college football lost the rationality of the conferences I think that was the beginning of the end for me. Play everyone in your region, maybe you play one big national out of conference game and then one big bowl game somewhere, that is when it was really special, to me at least.
 
SLC

Saturday, November 4, 2023Football

DateAwayHomeResultLocationLinks
Saturday 11/4/2023
Texas A&M-Commerce
Texas A&M-Commerce 21
Lamar
Lamar 41


Final
Beaumont, TX (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
HCU
HCU 2
Northwestern State
Northwestern State 0


Final Forfeit
Natchitoches, LA (Conf.)
Saturday 11/4/2023
McNeese
McNeese 24
Southeastern
Southeastern 38


Final
Hammond, LA (Conf.) Box Score
Saturday 11/4/2023
Nicholls
Nicholls 45
UIW
UIW 32


Final
San Antonio, TX (Conf.) Box Score


UAC

#UACFOOTBALL
- A battle between the two United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football unbeatens headlined the action for Week 10 as the league standings began to become a little more clearer. Saturday's slate also included three other head-to-head conference clashes.

In the UAC game of the day, No. 17/19 Austin Peay notched the game-tying score with 39 seconds left in regulation and then held EKU to a field goal in the first overtime session before getting a touchdown pass of their own to earn the 33-30 victory and sole possession of the league's top spot with a perfect 4-0 mark. The win also marked the seventh straight for the Govs after opening the season 0-2.

No. 25 Central Arkansas rebounded from their first UAC loss last week with a 27-14 win at North Alabama as the Lions concluded their conference schedule for this season. In a Lone Star State battle, Tarleton State dominated rival Stephen F. Austin 59-17 en route to picking up the Texans' seventh win of the year, a program Division I record tally.

Abilene Christian got back on the winning track with a decisive 24-7 victory over Utah Tech while Southern Utah got things rolling in their final non-conference contest, posting a 35-6 win against Lincoln (CA).

UAC RESULTS | NOV. 4
*Abilene Christian 24
, Utah Tech 7 | Boxscore
*#25 Central Arkansas 27, North Alabama 14 | Boxscore
*#17/19 Austin Peay 33, EKU 30 - OT | Boxscore
*Tarleton State 59, Stephen F. Austin 17 | Boxscore
Southern Utah 35, Lincoln (CA) 6 | Boxscore

* = UAC Game
NOTE: Game stories linked to UAC winners
 
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Crazy to think that NDSU are treading water. They're probably one loss away from not getting into the playoffs.
 
You know what I love about that schedule? 9 games home or away are in Missouri and the other two are in either KS or OK. When big time college football lost the rationality of the conferences I think that was the beginning of the end for me. Play everyone in your region, maybe you play one big national out of conference game and then one big bowl game somewhere, that is when it was really special, to me at least.
Last time I went back was a HC weekend, maybe 2006 or so

Saw Emporia St as the HC game this year, we were both ranked around 20 when I looked and thought it could be a nightmare HC. 77-27 said otherwise lol
 
Weird seeing Northwestern St record. I’m sure @s--k knows the details but it is likely the death of the program. An abandoned season.
Wild story
 
Crazy to think that NDSU are treading water. They're probably one loss away from not getting into the playoffs.

Last time I went back was a HC weekend, maybe 2006 or so

Saw Emporia St as the HC game this year, we were both ranked around 20 when I looked and thought it could be a nightmare HC. 77-27 said otherwise lol

My very casual impression from occasionally seeing some lower division final scores is that there is a larger disparity between the teams, which is going to be the case in all divisions top to bottom, but the scheduling and lack of some parity makes for more blowouts at Dll? Not sure, again, I really have never followed it in any way just occasionally seeing some weekly scores.

People had thought that a 7-4 NDSU team would still be in the playoffs a few weeks ago, speculating. But now that SIU might not be viewed real strong and UNI - I mean if they split those I don't know. I like to let it play out before I spend too much time on things that are going to change week-to-week. NDSU is still a good team, but good isn't what they are used to being. They are no longer a great team.

I'm going to the YSU home game vs South Dakota State this weekend. I have some high expectations for how YSU can play in that one. Will need supreme herculean effort and execution, not sure they have that in them, but seen glimpses of it.
 
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Weird seeing Northwestern St record. I’m sure @s--k knows the details but it is likely the death of the program. An abandoned season.
Wild story

Heard a little, read none, so some could be hearsay. Parents of players blaming head coach for moving him with a different roommate. Now deceased player told coach his roommate was threatening him and had a gun, coach downplayed it. Kid got shot. Coaches quit, some players still wanted to play. Not sure if that is a nutshell or not. Messed up world we live in.
 
Heard a little, read none, so some could be hearsay. Parents of players blaming head coach for moving him with a different roommate. Now deceased player told coach his roommate was threatening him and had a gun, coach downplayed it. Kid got shot. Coaches quit, some players still wanted to play. Not sure if that is a nutshell or not. Messed up world we live in.
Imagine the headlines if this was a D1 school

Oh wait, Baylor just said hold my beer
 
OK I have to leave for life stuff. As much as I want to read and post about FCS football instead.

Was not happy with my prep last week. Plan to go back to game-by-game streaming consciousness style this week.
 
And yes before some literal wanker wants to chime in I know that NW St is technically a D1 school

I still resent them for beating Iowa in the first round of Madness when I needed Iowa ML to close out a big ML parlay
 
Heard a little, read none, so some could be hearsay. Parents of players blaming head coach for moving him with a different roommate. Now deceased player told coach his roommate was threatening him and had a gun, coach downplayed it. Kid got shot. Coaches quit, some players still wanted to play. Not sure if that is a nutshell or not. Messed up world we live in.
Not just a roommate. I don’t think the kid was enrolled in school and it was an off campus apartment.
 
Crazy to think that NDSU are treading water. They're probably one loss away from not getting into the playoffs.

7-4 will put them on the bubble

I believe 7 win Missouri Valley teams usually get in
 
7-4 will put them on the bubble

I believe 7 win Missouri Valley teams usually get in

Maybe, it probably should

Just doubt that's a line they want to tow

I haven't been around this long enough to know what normally happens. I do know that YSU was 7-4 last year in the MVFC and was left out. They are much better this year though, could still be 7-4 if they lose to SDSU Saturday. They would be bubble as well, then - here is to hoping they win Saturday because it would be an awesome upset and I will be there. NDSU has two really good teams to close out on, so they'll either earn it if they beat both or maybe get in on their name. Like I said, they are still good - even with warts would they be one of the best 24 teams in the country? Yes.

I really am not in tune enough to talk about all the playoff spots. 24 teams, that is a lot - as in too many. But this is what they have here and am not interested getting too deep into that while the season is going on. But you all can if you like.
 
11/10
09:00 pm
308901
308902
Grambling
Arkansas Pine Bluff
14
50½
 
I was surprised by the Grambling loss to Alabama State last week. ASU has a respected D, but I didn't think that would be enough vs Grambling. Grambling beat Bethune pretty good 28-14 which is no big deal (Bethune only had 177 ttl y of O - 2.6ypp 14 pts 7 of which was scored on D by them, Grambling +154 yard edge), and then before that Grambling lost to Alabama A&M which I am pretty sure surprised most (21 pt loss as 3.5 pt home fav) - I think Grambling was off the tough loss the week before at Alcorn and had that hangover vs A&M - it was A&M's best offensive Dl game vs teams not named Pine Bluff. A&M might've had some momentum after a strong 2H effort the week prior vs Jackson State. So maybe it was just the Grambling B game and A&M on the upswing in that one. Last week Alabama St took opening drive for TD, then Grambling opened with an INT, Fumble, 3-out-punt, missed FG and it was 14-0 ASU with one short field TD in there. It was a 35-25 TOP game for ASU and Grambling just never got it going, ASU won 17-6 and Grambling only had a 269-261 (5.5-4.5) ttl yard edge. Ark Pine Bluff just lost to PV by 24 as a 11.5 road dog. Lost to Jackson St by 26 as 21.5 home dog (when Jackson St struggles to beat teams by covering margin). Alcorn beat them by 24 as 13.5 pt home dog - hell Mississippi Valley beat them by 25. That is all you need to say really! PV outgained them by 348 last week, Jackson outgained them by 248, Alcorn outgained them by 269, MVSU only outgained them by 5, but then Southern outgained them by 267. Ark Pine Bluff is a very very very weak team, on an 0-5 ATS run. They only avg 209 ttl yards of O while allowing 497 ypg on D the last 3 weeks! I think I can kind of excuse some of the Grambling performances lately, I would like them to be playing better, but because they are not we have a chance on them only laying 14 even though it's on the road. Not too long ago Grambling QB Myles Crawley was talked about as maybe the best QB in the SWAC (10-1 ratio through first 5 games, 3-6 ratio last 4 games). Should be a good spot for Grambling to have a nice game. Grambling won 36-10 last year as 9pt home fav. Lost 2021 at PB 26-33 as 8.5 pt road fav. PB beat them in 2020 in the two games before '19 & '18 were both close Grambling wins. This PB team just seems so bad.
 
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I haven't been around this long enough to know what normally happens. I do know that YSU was 7-4 last year in the MVFC and was left out. They are much better this year though, could still be 7-4 if they lose to SDSU Saturday. They would be bubble as well, then - here is to hoping they win Saturday because it would be an awesome upset and I will be there. NDSU has two really good teams to close out on, so they'll either earn it if they beat both or maybe get in on their name. Like I said, they are still good - even with warts would they be one of the best 24 teams in the country? Yes.

I really am not in tune enough to talk about all the playoff spots. 24 teams, that is a lot - as in too many. But this is what they have here and am not interested getting too deep into that while the season is going on. But you all can if you like.
I will offer very limited analysis, much less than yours, come playoff time but outside of March Madness it's my favorite tournament of the year
 
DateTeamStandingScrPredPwinMarginTotal
Fri 11.10
9:00.PM.ET
Grambling
@ Ark Pine Bluff
# 104 (4-5)
# 125 (1-8)
0
0
31
20
79 %
21 %
-11.553.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Holy Cross
@ Army
# 21 (6-3)
(3-6)
0
0
23
35
22 %
78 %

-12.5
59.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Norfolk St
@ Delaware St
# 107 (2-7)
# 122 (1-8)
0
0
30
23
67 %
33 %
-6.553.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Stonehill
@ Duquesne
# 110 (3-5)
# 63 (6-3)
0
0
21
38
16 %
84 %

-17.5
58.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Wagner
@ LIU Post
# 109 (3-6)
# 96 (3-6)
0
0
17
27
20 %
80 %

-9.5
45.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Central Conn
@ Merrimack
# 116 (3-6)
# 93 (4-5)
0
0
21
30
25 %
75 %

-9.5
53.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
New Hampshire
@ Monmouth NJ
# 45 (4-5)
# 50 (4-5)
0
0
34
37
43 %
57 %

-3.5
70.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Yale
@ Princeton
# 48 (5-3)
# 56 (4-4)
0
0
23
21
54 %
46 %
-2.543.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Charleston So
@ Robert Morris
# 70 (4-5)
# 102 (3-6)
0
0
27
20
70 %
30 %
-6.547.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Morgan St
@ S Carolina St
# 81 (3-5)
# 90 (4-5)
0
0
21
24
41 %
59 %

-3.5
45.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
S Dakota St
@ Youngstown St
# 1 (9-0)
# 13 (6-3)
0
0
38
21
84 %
16 %
-16.558.5
Sat 11.11
12:00.PM.ET
Murray St
@ Illinois St
# 69 (2-7)
# 25 (5-4)
0
0
16
37
9 %
91 %

-20.5
54.5
Sat 11.11
12:30.PM.ET
Brown
@ Columbia
# 61 (4-4)
# 74 (2-6)
0
0
24
27
40 %
60 %

-3.5
50.5
Sat 11.11
12:30.PM.ET
Fordham
@ Lafayette
# 52 (6-3)
# 37 (7-2)
0
0
31
28
54 %
46 %
-2.561.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Alabama A&M
@ Bethune-Cookman
# 101 (4-5)
# 117 (2-7)
0
0
31
28
55 %
45 %
-2.558.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Georgetown
@ Bucknell
# 88 (4-5)
# 82 (3-6)
0
0
27
26
52 %
48 %
-1.553.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Lehigh
@ Colgate
# 87 (2-7)
# 66 (4-5)
0
0
21
27
35 %
65 %

-5.5
50.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
VMI
@ Furman
# 73 (4-5)
# 11 (8-1)
0
0
10
35
2 %
98 %

-24.5
44.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
W Illinois
@ Indiana St
# 115 (0-9)
# 85 (0-9)
0
0
20
34
19 %
81 %

-13.5
52.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Davidson
@ Morehead St
# 98 (7-2)
# 121 (3-6)
0
0
35
24
75 %
25 %
-11.563.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
ETSU
@ W Carolina
# 80 (2-7)
# 33 (6-3)
0
0
24
34
28 %
72 %

-9.5
62.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Delaware
@ Campbell
# 15 (7-2)
# 58 (4-5)
0
0
35
24
76 %
24 %
-11.560.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Marist
@ Dayton
# 119 (4-5)
# 128 (2-7)
0
0
23
27
38 %
62 %

-3.5
50.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Tennessee St
@ E Illinois
# 59 (6-3)
# 51 (6-3)
0
0
20
24
35 %
65 %

-4.5
45.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
William & Mary
@ Hampton
# 29 (5-4)
# 71 (5-4)
0
0
35
17
89 %
11 %
-17.550.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Penn
@ Harvard
# 46 (6-2)
# 16 (7-1)
0
0
21
31
22 %
78 %

-10.5
52.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
NC A&T
@ Rhode Island
# 89 (1-8)
# 32 (5-4)
0
0
17
35
10 %
90 %

-18.5
50.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
North Dakota
@ South Dakota
# 12 (6-3)
# 6 (7-2)
0
0
24
27
46 %
54 %

-2.5
52.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
SUNY Albany
@ Stony Brook
# 17 (7-3)
# 106 (0-9)
0
0
34
13
94 %
6 %
-20.548.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Stetson
@ Valparaiso
# 126 (3-6)
# 124 (2-7)
0
0
24
31
30 %
70 %

-7.5
55.5
Sat 11.11
1:00.PM.ET
Towson
@ Villanova
# 55 (4-5)
# 14 (7-2)
0
0
20
37
15 %
85 %

-16.5
57.5
Sat 11.11
1:30.PM.ET
Cornell
@ Dartmouth
# 72 (3-5)
# 53 (4-4)
0
0
14
28
14 %
86 %

-13.5
44.5
Sat 11.11
2:00.PM.ET
Wofford
@ Citadel
# 111 (0-9)
# 118 (0-9)
0
0
24
20
63 %
37 %
-3.545.5
Sat 11.11
2:00.PM.ET
Utah Tech
@ Austin Peay
# 68 (2-7)
# 10 (7-2)
0
0
20
42
11 %
89 %

-22.5
63.5
Sat 11.11
2:00.PM.ET
Presbyterian
@ Drake
# 127 (3-6)
# 100 (6-3)
0
0
14
34
6 %
94 %

-19.5
45.5
Sat 11.11
2:00.PM.ET
Bryant
@ Lindenwood
# 67 (4-5)
# 92 (3-6)
0
0
31
27
60 %
40 %
-3.562.5
Sat 11.11
2:00.PM.ET
Elon
@ Richmond
# 26 (5-4)
# 34 (6-3)
0
0
20
24
36 %
64 %

-4.5
46.5
Sat 11.11
2:30.PM.ET
Gardner Webb
@ Tennessee Tech
# 49 (5-4)
# 78 (3-6)
0
0
31
26
63 %
37 %
-5.557.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
VA-Lynchburg
@ Kennesaw
(2-8)
# 76 (2-6)
0
0
3
52
0 %
100 %

-48.5
55.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Alabama St
@ MS Valley St
# 79 (5-3)
# 123 (1-8)
0
0
24
10
94 %
6 %
-13.535.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Northwestern LA
@ Incarnate Word
# 113 (0-6)
# 24 (7-2)
0
0
17
42
6 %
94 %

-25.5
56.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
SE Missouri St
@ TN Martin
# 39 (4-5)
# 22 (7-2)
0
0
29
31
47 %
53 %

-2.5
61.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
E Washington
@ Montana St
# 23 (4-5)
# 2 (7-2)
0
0
24
38
21 %
79 %

-14.5
65.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
N Colorado
@ Northern Arizona
# 99 (0-9)
# 31 (3-6)
0
0
17
34
13 %
87 %

-17.5
53.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Idaho
@ Weber St
# 5 (7-2)
# 20 (4-5)
0
0
24
23
52 %
48 %
-1.551.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Tarleton St
@ Abilene Chr
# 27 (7-3)
# 44 (5-4)
0
0
27
28
49 %
51 %

-1.5
53.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Samford
@ Mercer
# 47 (5-4)
# 30 (7-3)
0
0
28
29
49 %
51 %

-1.5
59.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Northern Iowa
@ Missouri St
# 7 (6-3)
# 36 (3-6)
0
0
31
26
63 %
37 %
-5.556.5
Sat 11.11
3:00.PM.ET
Prairie View
@ Southern Univ
# 103 (4-5)
# 86 (5-4)
0
0
21
28
27 %
73 %

-7.5
51.5
Sat 11.11
3:30.PM.ET
NC Central
@ Howard
# 41 (8-1)
# 83 (4-5)
0
0
34
28
63 %
37 %
-5.561.5
Sat 11.11
3:30.PM.ET
S Illinois
@ N Dakota St
# 8 (6-3)
# 4 (6-3)
0
0
17
27
20 %
80 %

-10.5
47.5
Sat 11.11
4:00.PM.ET
Lamar
@ Nicholls St
# 65 (5-4)
# 42 (4-4)
0
0
20
35
14 %
86 %

-15.5
51.5
Sat 11.11
4:00.PM.ET
St Thomas MN
@ San Diego
# 97 (6-3)
# 120 (3-6)
0
0
27
21
66 %
34 %
-5.550.5
Sat 11.11
4:30.PM.ET
SE Louisiana
@ TX A&M Commerce
# 62 (2-7)
# 94 (1-8)
0
0
31
21
77 %
23 %
-10.554.5
Sat 11.11
5:00.PM.ET
Southern Utah
@ SF Austin
# 35 (4-5)
# 57 (3-6)
0
0
31
33
48 %
52 %

-1.5
62.5
Sat 11.11
5:00.PM.ET
Cal Poly
@ CS Sacramento
# 91 (3-6)
# 9 (6-3)
0
0
14
45
3 %
97 %

-31.5
58.5
Sat 11.11
5:00.PM.ET
E Kentucky
@ Cent Arkansas
# 40 (4-5)
# 18 (6-3)
0
0
27
34
35 %
65 %

-6.5
62.5
Sat 11.11
6:00.PM.ET
Lincoln CA
@ Florida A&M
(0-11)
# 38 (8-1)
0
0
3
47
0 %
100 %

-44.5
49.5
Sat 11.11
6:00.PM.ET
UC Davis
@ Idaho St
# 19 (5-4)
# 54 (3-6)
0
0
34
24
76 %
24 %
-10.558.5
Sat 11.11
8:00.PM.ET
Houston Chr
@ McNeese St
# 84 (4-4)
# 108 (0-8)
0
0
24
30
36 %
64 %

-5.5
55.5
Sat 11.11
9:00.PM.ET
Montana
@ Portland St
# 3 (8-1)
# 43 (4-5)
0
0
35
23
77 %
23 %
-12.558.5
Sun 11.12
3:00.PM.ET
Alcorn St
@ TX Southern
# 75 (6-3)
# 114 (2-7)
0
0
28
23
64 %
36 %
-5.552.5


grambling state 12.22 11.78 12.16 13.45 ARK.-PINE BLUFF 371 79% 48.36
ARMY WEST POINT 11.71 9.46 10.66 14.14 holy cross 353 78% 53.71
tarleton state 2.19 2.64 1.94 2.39 ABILENE CHRISTIAN 129 56% 65.56
AUSTIN PEAY 18.68 21.41 18.33 18.50 utah tech 687 87% 72.80
alabama a&m 1.56 -0.28 4.51 1.41 BETHUNE-COOKMAN 120 54% 49.45
BUCKNELL 1.65 0.44 3.11 1.50 georgetown 121 55% 49.45
delaware 10.40 9.25 9.17 12.53 CAMPBELL 310 76% 64.91
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 8.17 8.81 8.33 8.13 eastern kentucky 247 71% 63.37
wofford 5.06 5.38 1.64 6.80 THE CITADEL 177 64% 35.13
COLGATE 5.06 3.49 7.64 4.64 lehigh 177 64% 49.59
COLUMBIA 2.25 2.30 2.91 1.85 brown 129 56% 39.24
DARTMOUTH 11.54 10.48 11.10 12.98 cornell 347 78% 37.03
marist 0.79 -1.97 3.49 1.09 DAYTON 110 52% 38.04
norfolk state 7.58 7.69 8.80 7.61 DELAWARE STATE 232 70% 49.33
DRAKE 16.46 13.73 21.43 15.86 presbyterian college 559 85% 35.59
DUQUESNE 13.34 12.37 13.89 14.29 stonehill college 414 81% 58.22
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3.60 4.69 4.40 2.64 tennessee state 151 60% 40.73
FURMAN 21.37 21.59 24.15 21.19 vmi 875 90% 34.54
william & mary 11.82 12.58 9.58 13.68 HAMPTON 357 78% 49.64
HARVARD 8.70 9.20 7.79 9.38 pennsylvania 261 72% 48.00
nc central 8.83 7.38 10.48 9.44 HOWARD 264 73% 56.46
uc davis 10.81 10.96 10.79 11.61 IDAHO STATE 323 76% 57.53
ILLINOIS STATE 16.88 16.23 15.65 18.81 murray state 581 85% 55.98
INDIANA STATE 16.03 14.34 11.21 20.31 western illinois 537 84% 38.98
LAFAYETTE 2.43 2.68 3.09 1.89 fordham 132 57% 60.08
bryant 9.00 10.58 7.47 9.78 LINDENWOOD 269 73% 57.22
LIU POST 9.33 8.91 7.58 10.92 wagner 278 74% 34.37
MCNEESE STATE 4.18 4.55 -0.23 6.46 houston christian 161 62% 46.79
MERCER 3.31 2.76 6.26 2.12 samford 146 59% 48.39
MERRIMACK 12.33 12.52 11.85 13.12 central connecticut 375 79% 53.50
alabama state 13.50 11.13 14.84 14.99 MISS. VALLEY STATE 421 81% 27.87
northern iowa 6.87 5.19 8.11 7.72 MISSOURI STATE 215 68% 59.90
MONMOUTH-NJ 2.38 2.11 0.22 3.64 new hampshire 131 57% 74.32
MONTANA STATE 18.97 20.92 21.23 17.88 eastern washington 705 88% 79.94
davidson 14.33 12.60 15.66 15.73 MOREHEAD STATE 456 82% 64.77
NICHOLLS STATE 15.09 14.90 13.92 16.63 lamar 491 83% 46.46
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 7.35 7.16 6.01 8.50 southern illinois 226 69% 39.75
NORTHERN ARIZONA 15.23 17.37 17.60 13.83 northern colorado 497 83% 52.99
montana 8.79 6.97 9.72 9.99 PORTLAND STATE 263 72% 59.97
yale 2.98 2.72 0.21 4.93 PRINCETON 141 58% 32.11
RHODE ISLAND 14.80 13.90 15.18 15.94 nc a&t 477 83% 51.60
RICHMOND 2.14 0.06 0.20 4.15 elon 128 56% 45.69
charleston southern 4.79 1.12 5.59 6.79 ROBERT MORRIS 172 63% 45.82
SACRAMENTO STATE 26.50 28.49 27.21 26.70 cal poly-slo 1346 93% 63.74
st. thomas-mn. 5.85 5.57 7.28 5.75 SAN DIEGO 193 66% 40.32
SC STATE 0.32 -1.02 -1.04 1.72 morgan state 104 51% 36.90
SOUTH DAKOTA 1.85 1.74 2.41 1.58 north dakota 124 55% 45.37
SOUTHERN U. 11.04 11.91 9.25 12.21 prairie view a&m 330 77% 42.45
southern utah 2.56 0.24 2.37 4.28 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 134 57% 60.47
albany-ny 21.81 20.33 20.74 24.87 STONY BROOK 910 90% 50.03
gardner-webb 7.02 8.55 8.98 5.82 TENNESSEE TECH 219 69% 49.81
TENNESSEE-MARTIN 0.09 -0.76 2.56 -0.96 se missouri state 101 50% 64.08
alcorn state 6.22 4.90 7.98 6.64 TEXAS SOUTHERN 201 67% 45.34
se louisiana 8.33 7.70 6.40 10.31 TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 251 71% 43.75
VALPARAISO 7.93 7.02 5.98 10.13 stetson 240 71% 48.19
VILLANOVA 15.37 15.62 14.26 16.67 towson 504 83% 56.53
idaho 7.06 8.39 8.19 6.40 WEBER STATE 220 69% 47.78
WESTERN CAROLINA 15.16 18.39 16.87 13.60 east tennessee state 494 83% 54.93
south dakota state 16.65 16.89 16.60 17.81 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 569 85% 55.71

Massey and Sagarin spreads, Sagarin number immediately to the right of the first team name is his 'rating' figure which is a combined number from his 3 different ratings.

Sometimes the 5dimes lines from Maddux are out early and other times it has been not until Thursday. So this will give us something to look at in the meantime.
 
Last edited:
60 games Saturday and 55 of them kickoff 5:00 or earlier eastern. That is one thing, would be nice if the schedule were more balanced into the evening.

So Holy Cross is playing in West Point on Veteran's Day - tough assignment. They only used Sluka once last week, on the final drive for a 3rd-2, he came in and ran for a first down. That makes 3 plays I believe the last two games. Since Lafayette lost, Holy Cross has a chance to share the Patriot Championship, or if Lafayette loses again vs Georgetown or Fordham then Holy Cross would find themselves conference champion assuming they win next week vs Georgetown. A bit of shot in the arm for HC to close their season out I'd think. At one point in time talking about getting a seed in the playoff and being undefeated, beating one or both their FCS opponents was all the talk, but that is out the window, now it is just about getting into the playoff. Beating an FBS certainly helps that scenario but at the same time it doesn't hurt if they lose either. On one hand it maybe makes this game less important and winning or sharing the Patriot all that matters now, or IF they think they have a shot at an atlarge birth if they don't win the Patroit, well then, that makes a game like this more imporant on the resume (FBS wins always help with the committee, FBS losses never hurt). So I don't know how that goes into the Sluka playing time equation. They are pretty happy with Pesansky kid although he didn't put up the numbers vs Lehigh he did vs Fordham. The Crusader D is still an issue, they were better vs Lehigh - Lehigh got about half the yards and points that Fordham did and Lehigh did not score a TD in the 2H. I'm not ready to proclaim any improvement out of the HC D however as I don't have the highest opinion of the Lehigh O to begin with. Would've expected HC O to be better than it was last week, they did have 108 of their yards on two empty drives inside the 20 net zero pts at the end of the game. I wouldn't say they are throwing more with Pesansky, he's attempted 33 and 19 passes the last two games. Sluka attempted 30 vs Yale and was throwing 23 per game on average the big difference obviously is you lose the 100ypg rushing that Sluka brings running. More passing yards with Pesansky, fewer rushing / more rushing yards with Sluka, fewer passing - HC avg about 40 more ypg with Sluka than they are with Pesansky. Sluka has that moxie too, the refuse to lose, team on back type attitude that can make a difference if trying to beat an opponent like Army. Normally I'd assume a let down spot for Army off the Air Force win, but not on veteran's day at home (unless that could end up being a distraction?). I see Army is not so good this year. +6 TOs and two SOD vs AF (one deep in AF territory), ttl yards were the same, as a result Army only had to go a total of 77y for 16 of their 23 points. Army has been favored 4x this year and lost 3 (only win was vs Delaware St). Looks like the Army D is about the same as usual. Passing is way up, almost double the attempts on avg from 8.6 per game to 16.7 per game this year and a huge jump in INTs from 4 to 10 (3 were vs LSU, but also 2 vs UMass and 2 vs ULM). Army seems less scary to me than they used to be. HC D should be plenty prepared to deal with a running Army QB who isn't exclusively triple option now as they have gone against Sluka for years in practice. I would think that Holy Cross can hang in an 11/12 pt type line here with Sluka or without - would rather have Sluka and give them a shot to win if he's the QB.
 
11/11
12:00 pm
308903
308904
Holy Cross
Army
56½
-9½
11/11
12:00 pm
308905
308906
New Hampshire
Monmouth
73½
-2½
11/11
12:00 pm
308907
308908
Charleston Sou
Robert Morris
-1½
46
11/11
12:00 pm
308909
308910
Norfolk St
Delaware St
-7½
51½
11/11
12:00 pm
308911
308912
Yale
Princeton
-2½
37½
11/11
12:00 pm
308913
308914
South Dakota State
Youngstown State
-16½
57½
11/11
12:00 pm
308915
308916
Wagner
Long Island
38½
-8½
11/11
12:00 pm
308917
308918
Central Conn.
Merrimack
53½
12
11/11
12:00 pm
308919
308920
Murray St
Illinois St
55½
-17½
11/11
12:00 pm
308921
308922
Morgan State
So Carolina St
41½
pk
11/11
12:00 pm
308923
308924
Stonehill
Duquesne
58½
14
11/11
12:30 pm
308925
308926
Brown
Columbia
45½
3
11/11
12:30 pm
308927
308928
Fordham
Lafayette
60½
-2½
11/11
01:00 pm
308929
308930
Davidson
Morehead St
-12½
64½
11/11
01:00 pm
308931
308932
VMI
Furman
40½
-21½
11/11
01:00 pm
308933
308934
Lehigh
Colgate
50½
-3½
11/11
01:00 pm
308935
308936
Western Illinois
Indiana State
48½
-14½
11/11
01:00 pm
308937
308938
Alabama A&M
Bethune Cookman
55½
pk
11/11
01:00 pm
308939
308940
Georgetown
Bucknell
51½
1
11/11
01:00 pm
308941
308942
Pennsylvania
Harvard
51½
-9½
11/11
01:00 pm
308943
308944
Delaware
Campbell
10
60½
11/11
01:00 pm
308945
308946
William & Mary
Hampton
-12½
50
11/11
01:00 pm
308947
308948
N. Carolina A & T
Rhode Island
50½
-14½
11/11
01:00 pm
308949
308950
Albany
Stony Brook
-20½
49½
11/11
01:00 pm
308951
308952
Towson
Villanova
57
-15½
11/11
01:00 pm
308953
308954
Tennessee St
Eastern Illinois
43½
-4½
11/11
01:00 pm
308955
308956
Stetson
Valparaiso
52½
7
11/11
01:00 pm
308957
308958
Marist
Dayton
46½
-1½
11/11
01:00 pm
308959
308960
North Dakota
South Dakota
49½
-2½
11/11
01:00 pm
308961
308962
East Tennessee State
Western Carolina
60½
-17½
11/11
01:30 pm
308963
308964
Cornell
Dartmouth
42½
-10½
11/11
02:00 pm
308965
308966
Wofford
The Citadel
5
42½
11/11
02:00 pm
308967
308968
Presbyterian
Drake
42½
-13½
11/11
02:00 pm
308969
308970
Elon
Richmond
46
pk
11/11
02:00 pm
308971
308972
Utah Tech
Austin Peay
66½
-21½
11/11
02:00 pm
308973
308974
Bryant
Lindenwood
-10½
60½
11/11
02:30 pm
308975
308976
Gardner Webb
Tennessee Tech
-8½
54½
11/11
03:00 pm
308977
308978
Alabama St
Miss. Valley St
-11½
34½
11/11
03:00 pm
308979
308980
Tarleton State
Abilene Christian
-2½
54½
11/11
03:00 pm
308981
308982
Idaho
Weber State
-7½
49½
11/11
03:00 pm
308983
308984
Northern Colorado
Northern Arizona
53½
-17½
11/11
03:00 pm
308985
308986
Eastern Washington
Montana State
68½
-20½
11/11
03:00 pm
308987
308988
SE Missouri St
Tennessee Martin
61½
pk
11/11
03:00 pm
308989
308990
Samford
Mercer
56½
-2½
11/11
03:00 pm
308991
308992
Northern Iowa
Missouri St
5
57½
11/11
03:00 pm
308993
308994
Prairie View
Southern
49½
-11½
11/11
03:30 pm
308995
308996
NC Central
Howard
7
60½
11/11
03:30 pm
308997
308998
So Illinois
North Dakota State
45½
-7½
11/11
04:00 pm
308999
309000
Lamar
Nicholls State
49½
15
11/11
04:00 pm
309001
309002
St Thomas
San Diego
-5½
48½
11/11
04:30 pm
309003
309004
SE Louisiana
Texas A&M Commerce
-7½
51½
11/11
05:00 pm
309005
309006
Southern Utah
Stephen F.Austin
1
61½
11/11
05:00 pm
309007
309008
Cal Poly
CS Sacramento
59½
-29½
11/11
05:00 pm
309009
309010
Eastern Kentucky
Central Arkansas
63
9
11/11
06:00 pm
309011
309012
UC Davis
Idaho State
-10½
58½
11/11
08:00 pm
309013
309014
Houston Christian
McNeese St
53½
-4½
11/11
09:00 pm
309015
309016
Montana
Portland State
7
58½

Had today all set aside, looked into one game and then some life stuff happened. Will see what the rest of the day brings now. 5dimes lines are out!
 
I like to group the Ivies together. No Friday Ivy game this week.

Set back last week for Princeton. Dartmouth goes 3-and-out to start then Princeton hands them a TD on a pick-six, then Princeton advances across midfield, but fumbles on a sack and Dartmouth converts that into a FG. So 10 minutes into the game Dartmouth has 34 yards to Princeton's 31 yards, but Big Green led 10-0. Princeton recovers to lead 14-10 HT with a167-68 ttl yard edge in the 1H. Dartmouth found some O in the 2H. Princeton led 21-20 entering the 4Q. Couple Princeton drives stalled when Dartmouth blk'd a FG with 5min left which was returned for TD, but penalty brought the return back. Dartmouth only had to move the ball 19y for a 47y FG to give them the lead with 2min left and Tigers couldn't get past midfield and failed on 4th down with :37 left. Princeton had a 356-197 (5.2-3.3) tll yard edge, but were -3 on the TO margin. That loss brought Princeton back to the pack at 3-2 in league play and kept Dartmouth's title hopes alive, also now at 3-2.

Yale travels to Princeton this week. The Elis are off their own misleading final vs Brown, as in Yale should've won by more, but as it is were fairly dominant in that game. After some uneven play, now Yale has put together back-to-back dominant wins vs Columbia and Brown - who are two of the weaker teams even though Brown is better this year generally being more competitive. Yale O has had both the run and the pass operating well the last two games - it was one or the other before and the O wasn't producing to it's potential. Grooms did have 3 INTs last week, but I recall two of them being tipped. So Yale O is better of late, still not to last year's level, they are better throwing this year and Grooms is running less. The D is playing well and similar to last year. Yale D shutting down Columbia is nothing, vs Brown that is good as Yale held them to 17 pts which was 12 below their avg and 334y which was about 80y below their season long avg (4.7ypp tied-lowest by Brown O this year). Pretty even game with Yale being a little better I'd say on O and Princeton being a little better on D. One consistent theme with Princeton (Harvard being the only exception) is the amount of pressure their OL allows. Dartmouth DL Charles Loos was a wreching ball last week, 4 sacks, 2 FF - watch out for Yale DL Clay Patterson who has 4.5 sacks on the year and 10 TFLs. This is almost always an area of weakness for Prinecton and Stenstrom can be rattled. Another area of weakness for Princeton is FGs, they are only 2-of-5 on the year with a long of 29 and also missed 3 PATs.

Last year nobody ran on Princeton like Yale did, 297y (5.6) with both Groom and Pitsenberger going over 100. Grooms only passed 9-19-65-1-1 in that one. On the other side, Stenstrom had his best game and most passing attempts of the year, 34-52-367-3-2. Yale is not running on that level this year and Princeton lacks the receiving weapons they had last year, so a repeat of that is unlikely. Princeton was a 3 pt road fav and that total was 45, Yale won 24-20 after trailing by 7 at HT. An extra pt was blk'd on Princeton's last TD to keep it Under. Tigers were INT'd at the Y10 with just 3min to go, but they got the ball back and made it all the way back to the Y15 but time expired.

We know how the Princeton totals go. Last Friday went Over, but that was a turnover fueled scoring output by Dartmouth. Still, this total at 37.5 is too low I think for a Princeton - Yale game. 37.5 would be the second lowest total of any Princeton game this year (last week was 34.5 vs offensively challenged Dartmouth). They played two poor weather games in a row vs Bryant, Columbia which averaged 23 pts. In the other games the avg combined scoring total is 34.5, that's awfully close to the possible 37.5 pt game total here. Yale games are totaled higher, 45.87 on avg with 4 Overs and 4 Unders on the year, 7 of their 8 games would go over this total. Not all those teams are Princeton's D though. The total will probably go up, it's 7.5 pts lower than last year's total and even if the Os are not to the same level as last year a similar score of both teams in the 20s is about what I would expect, hell even something like 23-17 would go over and a pretty reasonable score prediction. Last year could've had more scoring anyway as Princeton threw 2 INTs in the RZ and Yale threw an INT just outside the RZ. Think Yale to win and Over would be the logic here. Princeton was a home dog vs Harvard and beat them. Grooms is much more veteran than DePrima and Yale in general is a more trustworthy offensive team than Harvard. Harvard was -8.5 there, which hindsight being what it is, that was crazy. I'd probably lay 3 or less and might just ML Yale depending where the numbers fall.

Dartmouth hosts Cornell. I liked Cornell to hang in the number last week at Penn, but they lost 8-23 despite having a 431-365 (5.2-8.9) yardage edge. I was assuming Cornell could get closer to their ssn avg of 20 ppg. Well, just 8 pts on all those yards because they scored just 1 TD on 4 RZ trips and RZ scoring has been a weakness for them this year (now 41% TDs). Penn came in avg just 94.5 ypg rushing, but they ran for 264y on Cornell with just 27 rush attempts which is exactly their ssn avg for rush attempts. 9.8 ypc! Cornell has been run on by other teams, just that Penn is not a good run team - this would seem to spell trouble vs Dartmouth who has the second most rush attempts in the league (but just a mid-pack 3.75ypc). Dartmouth is a weak offense overall, unlike Penn who is a good pass team at least. Cornell could be better this week vs the run however because there isn't as much of a passing threat from Dartmouth as Penn possesses, so Big Red can committ more to stopping the run. Doesn't mean they will, might mean that Dartmouth has an opportunity for better than usual passing game actually. It is pretty clear now that Cornell O is what it is, take out the exception vs Brown and in their other recent games they have trouble scoring - just a total of 24 pts in three of their last four, not counting the 36 on Brown. For the year Cornell is avg just 19.25 ppg and that is with the Brown game. Dartmouth is right there with them, only avg 20.5 ppg on O this year. Would assume Cornell's scoring troubles continue, especially in the RZ and Dartmouth D is good enough to make it that way. But who wants to lay DD with Dartmouth? Dartmouth is also a poor RZ O (50% TDs). They are 0-1-1 ATS as DD fav this year. They only beat Columbia 20-9 (-6) and lost to Colgate. Dartmouth was rough last year and Cornell beat them 17-13 as a 6pt home dog in Ithica -and- last time at Dartmouth 2019, Cornell won 20-17 as 13.5 pt dog! Dartmouth has a edge defensively, maybe a big edge, but these teams are more similar than it first appears offensively, can't lay those pts with Big Green and Big Red hasn't shown reason to back them. 42.5 actually seems a little high considering. Cornell has gone Under the last 4 (avg total 48.6) and 6 of 8 Big Red games have gone Under (avg total 47.3) and Dartmouth has gone Under 2 of the last 3 (avg total 38), but just 3 Unders to 5 Overs on the year (two OT games)(avg total 40.7).

Harvard hosts Penn and Crimson are looking like -9.5? That seems like a lot on first glace. Harvard has struggled to cover as an Ivy favorite. Last week they did win by 14 as 13.5 pt fav, let Columbia score some garbage TDs to make that one look closer than it was. Last time in Boston, Harvard won 17-9 as 8.5 pt fav vs Dartmouth and Dartmouth actually outgained them 325-264 (4.1-3.9). They did beat Cornell by 18 (closed -13) and beat Brown by 3, could've beat them by 10 if they wanted to but that still wouldn't have covered the spread (-14.5). Harvard is just 2-3 ATS vs Ivy. Penn is one of the better Ivy Os and pretty good D, so this isn't one of those games like vs Columbia or Cornell or something where Harvard can expect to get up and just keep the other O down all game. The last good O Harvard played? Maybe Holy Cross or Brown? Brown is probably the better comparison becasue of how Sayin plays at QB and Brown doesn't run well and Penn usually doesn't either (except for last week). Brown put up 447y and 31 pts on Harvard. It might be too much to expect Penn to do that since that was week 2 and now we're in the second to last week - Harvard D has gelled better. But also a capable Penn O has grown through the season as well. Sayin is the Ivy's #2 pass eff QB (Grooms is 1), #2 pass att and completion QB (Wilcox is 1) and hte #2 yards QB (Wilcox is 1) - also #2 in INTs at 7. It's not much of a downfield passing O, but does lead the league in completion % with 66. Outside of rushing, it is pretty much an upper 1/3 in the league's offensive categories incl 3rd down and sacks allowed. Penn has the league's #2 rush D with the closest comparison being Yale whom the Quakers limited to 4.0ypc with Grooms and Pitsenberger combining for just 100y net on 24 carries. DePrima has been limited the last two weeks after setting the Ivy on fire in his first 5 games. Supposedly injured in some way vs Princeton and didn't make it more than 1Q vs Dartmouth (two bad INTs and a bad looking intentional grounding). They started Jaden Craig last week - when inserted vs Dartmouth he seemed to just run like DePrima, but vs Columbia he passed 13-18-264-1-0. With that kind of game there may not be much of a rush to get DePrima back out there - what he brings with his legs turns into a liability when he throws. So arguably, Harvard could be a better O with a better passing QB and Craig is still an effective runner, just not a breakaway runner like DePrima was. It isn't all that hard of an offense to matchup against if big plays can be limited, as Princeton and Dartmouth did. Penn is just 3-2 ATS vs Ivy, 1-0 as a dog (won 27-17 at Yale +207 ttl yards). I had said that Penn is like Princeton but with a better offense, that was probably being a little generous to the Penn D, but I do think that production wise offensively, Penn is probably going to resemble what Princeton did in their game, ending with 21 pts and 327y. At this point in the season that is probably a better comparison than Brown's O. For Harvard it was all DePrima in the Princeton game and now that Harvard has seen what Craig can do passing, it does open things up for them, so I do not believe that Penn D is going to be able to duplicate what Princeton and Dartmouth did vs the Crimson. Not sure it goes Over though. I had Under last week at Columbia, the 14 1Q pts certainly put that one off to a bad start with the 83y TD and the blk'd punt TD, then the two garbage Columbia TDs. 31-10 isn't all that far off of what that score could've been instead of 38-24. Suppose I'm saying I would bet it Under again. Harvard started the year with 4 straight Overs vs nonconference and weak Ivy Ds. Unders are gone 3-1 of late with last week being the Over. Penn went Over 3-1 to start the year, but of late has gone Under 3-1. Last week's Harvard total got bet up, so I will wait and see if the same happens this week, if so I could take an Under here. I'm thinking like a 27-20 type game for Harvard win, if the Penn D shows up like they did at Yale, then maybe Harvard still wins, just thinking fewer overall pts. Harvard didn't have trouble scoring last year, SOD at the P19 first drive then scored 5 straight possessions in the 37-14 win. Even if it were that lopsided again, stays Under what the current number looks like. Total was just 44.5 last year.

Strange to see Columbia favored. They are bad team, if not for some garbage drives last week they would be avg about 8.5 ppg the last 3 weeks. Brown isn't the kind of team with a D that will keep an offense down, maybe even not one as bad as Columbia's. The best that Brown D has done this year is allow 20 pts and 368y to CCSU. For Columbia, those would almost be season highs! Their real ssn high was 30 on Georgetown with 411y - that was 7 weeks ago now. In their other games, this Columbia O avg just 11.8 ppg and 233 ypg. They are about a mid-pack Ivy D with a pretty good scoring D because the excell in the RZ - they've forced 5 turnovers on 27 opponent RZ trips which is pretty good - and only allowing 48% TDs there. For as good as their D is there, their O is equally bad, 3 turnovers, 4 missed FGs (!) and just 10 TDs on 20 trips. Without spending much more time, my theme with Brown this year is that things are different. I said it a couple weeks ago that Brown is doing things they don't normally do this year in terms of competing in ways they do not normally do. Even vs Yale last week, Yale was in command and actually I think should've won by more, but Brown's D made some plays, they tipped those passes that they picked off - they made plays on D vs Penn and Princeton to contribute to the upset wins in those. I'm not sure Brown will ever have a high ceiling again as they once did, but simply put, these teams are going opposite directions. Sure Columbia has some potential on D here and vs the Brown D Columbia could figure some things out. Instead of acting smart like that, I'm just going to take an improved Brown team that again, is doing things they don't normally do in a good way and that should lead them to a win at Columbia. Brown has also alternated wins-loss every game this year, just says they respond well after disappointment and Columbia should be a good opponent to rebound against.
 
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At times this year YSU has been a frustrating team to back. They are 6-3 SU. The 28 pt loss at Ohio St may not reflect it, but YSU competed pretty well in that game, they were not blown off the field, they were not run over at the LOS. So that was nice to see. The UNI game, man, everyone knows who follows FCS that the UNI-dome is tough place to play and it has been a house of horrors for YSU. But this year they go up 10-0 there!, then fall behind 10-20. They battle back to lead again 27-23 before getting down by 10 again in the 4Q. Still they keep coming back, down by 3, UNI goes back up by 10, YSU scored with :24 left to lose by 3. This was kind of a coming out party of sorts for the 2023 UNI O and Theo Day and raised all kinds of concerns about the Penguin D and how they are playing in their secondary. This game also had some pull your hair out penalties, jumping offside on 4th down to give UNI a FD, twice! A botched YSU 4th down attempt of their own. The USD game, here YSU wasn't in it really from the start. Trailed by 14 at HT and then trailed by 21, but they fought back to tie this game at 31-31. Had the ball in the final minute, but penalties killed their drive, had to punt, then penalty killed the game as it helped set USD up for the game winning FG. A penalty kept a USD drive alive for their first points of the game.

Think about those games, two 3 pt losses to two good teams on the road. It's close.

YSU has handled their business at home. One of the most impressive wins by anyone this year was their utter domination vs SIU. It could've been more, but again a penalty took a YSU TD off the board from like the 5 and next play they throw INT in the EZ. Had a back-and-forth game vs a pretty good Illinois St team when they play with their fast ball. Think there was a roughing the punter penalty on the final ILL St drive that led to them being able to tie it, but YSU went down and nailed a game winning FG as time expired, but still, that was a huge moment in the game. They ran into punter at USD a few weeks prior. So twice. Can't do that!

They are close really. Some of the mental mistakes, some presnap penalties, not always great tackling. I am focusing a little too much on the negative because almost every team will have some of these things - there is way way more good and to like about YSU this year than there is to be critical of.

I am being critical in this manner because the opponent this week is going to require the absolute best YSU has every snap.

Do I think YSU can beat SDSU? I do, I do if they play the way they have 97% of the time and just clean up that other 3%. Do I expect them to beat SDSU? No. It's such a tall ask. First, the reoccurance of some of the penalties and discipline and what have you, it's been all season, I can't expect it to stop now. There will be a couple moments in this game that could make it a YSU win or an SDSU win, or even a cover or a non-cover. How YSU plays in these critical moments is going to determine the outcome and I just don't know if YSU can play 100% clean football start to finish. You don't get down on SDSU like they did at UNI or at USD and comeback. You can't afford to take pts off the board with penalties or keep drives alive with penalties like they did vs SIU and ILL ST.

The YSU O has exceeded I think even the most optimistic expectations anyone could've had. One of the national podcast people I listen to said earlier in the year that 'YSU is committed to running the ball into a brick wall over and over again if they have to' - he said it in a complimentary way, but nothing could be further from the truth. Mitch Davidson is #2 MVFC in pass eff (Gronowski is 1st). Davidson is #2 in yards per game (Day is 1st). Davidson has a 13-3 ratio, only 1 QB has fewer than 3 INTs in the Valley Schuster. Davidson is a 70.5% passer, 3rd in the league. 12.76 ypc isn't exceptional, but he hits downfield throws, has really nice ball location - and YSU has some really good WRs - as a whole unit, it's the best WR unit in the league. Bryce Oliver and CJ Charleston are play makers, Tomczak is a good #3. They have under utilized but capable catching TEs. RBs who aren't Jaleel McLaughlin, but King and Rushton could carry most teams if they had to. YSU doesn't have to run the ball and play to their defense anymore. This team is capable of opening it up better than they have, since I don't know when. They are almost a full TD better scoring O this year than last. They are a little more than 30 ypg down in rushing, but up like 60+y passing per game. Completion %, way up. TD INT ratio, last year it was 15-3 on just 249 attempts in 11 games, it's 15-4 now on a dozen more attempts with 2 games left.

Now the D? I'm a little worried about the D. Everyone was very impressed by the SIU game, the 7 sacks, holding them to 100y of total O, 3 pts allowed. Problem is, there are no other games like that. Sack wise, they did get after both Indiana St and Missouri St pretty good, 9 combined sacks there - but those aren't good OLs. Only sacked ILL St once and they passed 36x. They got Day twice and the USD QB 0. Obviously vs SDSU OL and Gronowski, they are going to have to make plays behind the LOS vs this team. Will they? Both the pass D and the run D have had some red flags this year. ILL St ran for 7.0ypc! USD QB passed for 80% and 369y! By far and away his best passing game this year - likely a career best day when he's done playing. Pass TDs allowed are way up this year over last (21 vs 14) and INTs and PBUs are not. They've allowed 36 ppg on average to UNI, USD, ILL ST and Mizzou St. Sure 3 to SIU and 7 to Ind St is good, but what is typical? That or the other 4 games?

This summer when I identified this game as a potential upset, I would not have thought that I would trust the O so much and be so worried about the D. I wasted too much time trying to find my post because I had SDSU the week after NDSU info in there.

The week after SDSU plays NDSU: In 2022 they beat UND 49-35 as 10 pt road fav. In 2021 they lost to USD 20-23 as 10.5 road fav. Spring, I don't know, they closed regular ssn with NDSU then opened the playoffs with a win vs Holy Cross - not sure this is an applicable comparison. 2019 they beat Missouri State 35-14 as 25pt road fav. 2018 they only beat Indiana St by 3 54-51 as a 34.5 pt home fav. 2017 I don't know the line, but they only beat Illinois State 27-24 at home. Every year but 2019 they were a DD win team. Over that span, not counting the spring 2021 year with the season finale NDSU game, otherwise, SDSU has only covered 1 of the last 4 that Phil Steele shows lines for. I am going to assume they did not cover the 2017 game vs Illinois State, that would make covering 1 of their last 5 regular ssn game after NDSU. Now, one could say that this team most resembles last year's team and last year they beat UND by 14 as 10 pt chalk. That is the only cover. True, this line projects to be higher though and if they win by 14 this week laying 16.5 or so, that is a no cover this Saturday. I just think there is some validity to coming off that Bison game, even for a team as talented and polished as this SDSU team is that it is hard to rise back up to that emotional level the following week. Recent history says it is too.

I will be at this game. Last game I went to was the 2016 Wofford playoff game. Not being a homer, I'm really not a fan other than generally wanted them to do well, I think they can hang here. The numbers say Over. Not surprisingly SDSU doesn't have a lot of Overs because their D is so good opponents don't score much. Unders are 5-2. One of the Overs they got themselves. You may've seen me compare YSU to Illinois State. That comparison has somewhat fallen apart the last two weeks, but I still feel if you take Illinois St at their best, they are pretty similar to YSU. South Dakota State only won that one 40-21, it did go Over. Without looking, it may've been 20-0 or something to start that game. Illinois St muffed a punt or KO or something, but they eventually composed themselves and played decent after falling in a hole. Maybe that is what happens here. Nobody has scored more than 21 on SDSU by the way, only Illinois St and North Dakota and both of those games were blowouts and UND scored a garbage TD to get to 21. YSU is an Over team 6-3.

It's an uphill battle betting against SDSU. I can look at a game like SIU and be like, oh see, they are human, only won 17-10. Think Gronowski threw a bad INT in that one that almost cost them the game. Total yards were even. But just as soon as I do that I look over and see the USD game, 37-3 Jacks. Wow. For what it is worth, SDSU is 1-2 ATS this year in true road games vs MVFC and Unders are 1-2 in those as well. YSU and Overs are 4-2 ATS vs MVFC. They are 1-1 ATS as dogs, 0-2 SU. I don't hold the Indiana State game against them. Flat out, Indiana State should get some kind of award, there is no quit in that team. 0-9 - best 0-9 team ever, they play hard. And Indiana St played UND tough (lost in OT), played USD tough, played UNI tough. YSU has a troubled history vs Indiana State so historically speaking it might be an accomplisment they won the game.

We'll see how it goes. A small case can be made that YSU is in a good spot here with the pts. If they can or will play without the penalties and mental mistakes, that is going to be what matters most. Physically and talent wise and gameplan wise, I think they can hang in the number.
 
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60 games Saturday and 55 of them kickoff 5:00 or earlier eastern. That is one thing, would be nice if the schedule were more balanced into the evening.

Some of those stadiums don't have lights.

I know the VMI one doesn't
 
Some of those stadiums don't have lights.

I know the VMI one doesn't

Good point on some stadiums. Earlier in the year a lot of these teams did play night games. And some of the mountain and pacific time zone teams start pretty early too. Since there is no TV networks wanting inventory for their different time slots then I assume the schools are choosing the kickoff times they want - which I like the schools determining what they want rather than having it dictated to them. Sometimes there can be a benefit though. The conferences could weigh in I would think, if the games are more spread out that is better for exposure than having every single CAA team kicking off between 12 and 3:30. FLO Sports is going to have more people on their app longer if the games are more spread out.

I don't want to be the one that goes to FCS and says they should change this and they need to do that instead and on and on, just the schedule, once you get past 7or 8 o'clock eastern on a Saturday, well it's kind of dead. I assume the conferences could have some influence if they wanted to - it's the arrangement of TV controlling everything and TV controlling nothing that the FBS and FCS finds itself - having it all one way or the other isn't necessarily the best arrangement.
 
UNH - Monmouth is pretty difficult game to pick. All the UNH losses, even last week for 3+Q, are super close games. Monmouth has had some slow starts due to missed scoring opportunities in the 1Hs vs Elon and W&M but they were right there in both those games. NCAA's #1 QB Brosmer vs the #1 RB Sherdin. Top two scoring Os in the CAA, #1 pass O vs #1 rush O. Last week's loss means that UNH will miss the playoffs, both teams 4-5. Ds aren't that good for either. Total super high. Monmouth Overs are 9-0 on the year, but the totals aren’t close to this high. Avg total has been 54.2. UNH Overs are 7-2 with the avg total of 53.2. I'm not jumping on the Over here though.

Last week's Charleston Southern box score is one of the more ridiculous ones you will see. 7 FDs, 192 TY (3.6), 3-of-13 3rd down with 35 pts! They had a 69y fumble return TD, a 27y drive and a 18y drive for TDs after other fumble recoveries and added a 1p 25y TD drive following a late game SOD. This game vs Tennessee State was tied 21-21 4Q when the TSU QB tried to throw the ball away while being sacked, they ruled it a fumble and the flood gates opened on them. 35-21 F. TSU outgained them 269-192 (3.4-3.6) with a 17-7 FD edge. Charleston Southern’s starting QB is out for the year, so they started Soph Isaiah Bess 9-19-84-2-1, 5rush 9 net yards. He was 4-11-68-1-0, 4rush 22 net yards off the bench vs Bryant. He played in 4 games last year with a 4-4 ratio on 24 of 62 passing. Charleston Southern plays some decent D while the last two weeks went over due to some short field scores (two weeks ago, 5 Bryant scoring drives started in CSO territory) - normally they are an Under team, were Under 4-1 vs FCS before the last two Overs. 24 pts vs a weak D is about their max in non-TO aided games. Robert Morris just pulled one of the most surprising upsets of the year, beating SEMO on the road 21-20 and were +78 ttl yards in that one! SEMO scored on D, which makes the RM D performance even better. SEMO is on their backup QB Heitert after they lost DeLaurent for the year 2 games ago and he wasn’t as good as they needed. RM QB Chiccitt had been in and out of the lineup due to turnovers and performance, but he had a great game going 20-33-232-2-1 and had some good runs as well. The Tenn Tech - RM game two weeks ago was weird too. Tenn Tech really didn't have much O, neither team did. But after a fumble recovery, Tenn Tech gets a 7y TD 'drive', then a 20y fumble return TD to lead 21-0 HT. It was 24-13 when Tenn Tech had a 52y fumble ret TD and a 39y pick-six in the 4Q to make it 38-13. TY were just 255-240 for TT in that one. CSO won 34-21 last year, two years ago in Pittsburgh RM won 31-24. Think I look towards RM in this one and maybe Under, although it is a low total for a RM game (avg total 50.8). Don't trust the CSO O with the backup QB as I don't think their O was all that good with the primary QB and I think they are better team at home 4-1 ATS than on the road although it is hard to say becaue their road games have been at UTM (0-17), at WCU (21-77) and at Clemson (17-66). I will go with Robert Morris to use last week's big win as momentum for this home game especially considering they played so poorly last time here vs Tenn Tech.

Long Island is actually not bad. Most of their covers have come as dogs, just 1-3 ATS as favorites. Wagner has been better the last two weeks, the game vs Duquesne was actually really close. In the 4Q it was a 1 pt game before Duq got their first of two D TDs and then it was still just a 2pt game when Duq got their second D TD. Somehow Duq had their worst offensive game vs an NEC opponent this year. Was that Wagner or just an off game from Dukes? Both these teams are better when they are successful running rather than relying on the passing game. I don't have any interest in this one.

Haven't seen this kind of line next to Merrimack since Sept 23rd. After losing two Sept games as DD favs they have been dogged more often than not since, favored just once. Saw they covered at UMass, not sure if they actually played ok or not. 4-1 ATS over the last 5, 1-0 ATS as a fav (won by 11 laying 7.5 were actually up by more than the final margin). Last week is out of character for them, 27 passes and just 33 rush att at UMass. Vs the NEC they are very run heavy, avg 46 rush att per game and just 12 pass att per game - I expect that to be the recipe again and CCSU is pretty easy to run on. Should they be a DD fav here? Duquesne was only -9.5 at home vs CCSU just 4 weeks ago (44-20). Brown was -13 at home vs CCSU a while back (42-20). So it is probably in not far off, maybe a tad high if that is the starting point at open Saturday. Merrimack has yet to actually beat them on the field by this margin. Last year 20-14 (-8.5 on the road), 2021 CCSU beat them 49-21 (+14.5). CCSU hasn’t been awful vs NEC except for the Duq game where they were outgained by -312y. They’ve played pretty even vs the likes of SHU and LIU and beat Wagner pretty good. Merrimack has Duquesne on deck - Merrimack would need Duq to lose to Stonehill this week and then beat them next week to share the league title. Not sure that qualifies as a look-ahead or not. I probably don't lay these points, but I would not take CCSU.

Annexstad was injured last week right before the go-ahead TD and 2pt conversion and I am assuming he is going to be out. Rittenhouse is the backup and also stepped in for Annexstad in the final 4 games last year (final 3 starts). Rittenhouse didn't do well, 50% or under in two games and only topped 100y (barely) in one game. Never threw a TD last year, but did throw the game winning 2pt conversion last week - kind of a controversial catch-no-catch thing there if you saw or heard about it. So he is probably better positioned this year, but still, Annexstad is way better. Not sure if the injury is baked into the line 5dimes shows or not, probably not. Murray was +19.5 at Missouri St and Illinois State was just +1 at Missouri State. If Annexstad was healthy I would consider laying it as I feel that Ill St D should matchup better vs the Murray O than they have vs their recent tougher offenses. Murray has been covering (5-1 or 4-1-1- run) but it hasn’t necessarily been because of their O, held to 7 pts or less on 2 of their 3 covers. Maybe this line drops as confirmation about Annexstad’s availability gets around (assuming out . It’s been a tough stretch of games for Illinois State – so that either means it gets easier vs a weaker team and they win impressively or it means they are running closer to empty and don’t have a lot to overpower even an average type team. The Annexstad injury complicates it for me. I would assume Illinois State runs a lot in this one, and they are good at that. If they want to run for 40-50 carries, when they've ran for 40+ this year they have avg 233 rush ypg (5.73ypc). Everyone but Missouri St has run on Murray with success, 234 ypg (5.64) over the last 6 not counting Missouri St. I'd take Illinois St just not at this line and maybe Under.

Morgan St at South Carolina St is interesting since Morgan is scoring some points now - although it isn't the offense generating the improvmeent. 14 of their 32 vs Norfolk came by the way of the D and ST and last week 7 of their 24 was on a short field after a fumble recovery. So pts are up, but the yards aren’t up all that much, just 302 and 274 the last two weeks for a 288 ypg average. They avg 235 in their other 6. The D is still really good. South Carolina State did find some offense and his name is RB Jawarn Howell – 27att-283-3TD last week, more than the previous 3 games combined. He did have a 90y TD catch and run a few weeks back. Get him the ball as often as possible! So they got retiring head coach Buddy Pough an upset home win over Howard last week, and outside of the clunker vs Tenn Tech, SC State has been good at home – beat Citadel by 21 (+354 ttl yards) and beat Howard by 3 (led by 13 +211 ttl yards). QB play remains poor, good thing Howell had the game he did because Fields passed 3-11-19-0-2, he did rush 7att-96y. SC State QBs have only passed above 50% once over the last 5 games. Morgan St gets equally poor QB play, but don’t have a player like Howell to lean on. Morgan really took it to them last year, 41-14 and SC State was a 11.5 pt road fav. This will be Buddy Pough's last home game, unless they shot their wad last week, this would be a carry off on shoulders type moment - Pough is an HBCU coaching legend.

Duquesne is in firm control of the NEC, win one of the next two to clinch. This is not new territory, Duquesne has won NEC Titles before, last year was just a down year. Last week was an odd one for them as it was their worst NEC game of the year, two non-offensive TDs propelled them to a tighter than expected game at Wagner (Wagner is the only NEC opponent to outgain them this year). Duquesene has won some games big, but last week was the first time they have been lined a heavy favorite. That moves them to 2-1-1 ATS as a fav. Unless last week is an indication of them losing steam as part of the ebbs and flows of a college football season, they should bounce back with a better game this week. Stonehill is off a bye, they are a fairly weak team. Stonehill has been outgained in every game this season except for a couple weeks back hosting SHU (+43 yards) in a 3 pt OT win. They only avg 319 ypg and 23 ppg in NEC play. Their highest point output of the season was vs Merrimack, a game they trailed 6-31 entering the 4Q, they scored 28 4Q points there after Merrimack undoubtedly had began to pack up for the day. They had some impressive games in Sept vs CCSU and Georgetown, recently not so much. That Merrimack game being what it is, their other 3 most recent NEC games they only managed to score 16.3 ppg. And defensively, Stonehill has benefitted from playing some weaker offenses the last couple games, the last time they played a good O in Merrimack, well that didn’t go so well. Duquesne laying 13.5 on the road is one thing – doing it here at home vs an equally weak, or actually a worse opponent, that should work out to the Dukes favor. If they need some focus, the fact that Stonehill beat them last year 24-20 as a 16 pt dog should provide the necessary motivation to take this team seriously.

Lafayette led 17-0 last week, but the O hit a rough patch in the 2H and Colgate managed to comeback on them, game went to OT where Lafayette suffered their first FCS loss of the season. Their record and performance this year has not been a fluke. Sure, they won several close games, they made the plays that counted which is what good teams do. Lafayette is a good team. Solid QB play, strong running game, converts 3rd downs, great run D (Sluka game noted), penetrating D, limit their own turnovers – Lafayette is a model of all the things a team should do well to succeed. And they had until last week. I think that game provides the urgency that they'll respond to – and they need to keep winning to get that league title they so rightfully deserve. Fordham is ok, but their D is not good at all. Bucknell 454 yards (5.3). HC, of course HC does what they do, gained 466 (6.2) on Fordham. Lehigh of all teams, Lehigh put up 390 (7.0) on this Fordham D. So that is where a good Lafayette O will win this game, their O vs the Fordham D. And I know Fordham has a good O but I also remember them struggling with mistakes and sloppy play vs Lehigh, I remember the Georgetown game where they were held to 259y and only 24 pts. Fordham is not a consist team with a troublesome defense. Lafayette is only projected to be -2.5 home fav here. They played without super RB Jamar Curtis last week (#6 ncaa rush yards per game), it mattered (thinking of the fumble to start 2H and the 4th and short stop that contributed to the Colgate comeback). I am unaware of Curtis’ status.

That Davidson line looks low at 12.5. Morehead was a 7.5 home dog to Butler was week and Davidson was a 3.5 pt road fav at Butler … so maybe not I guess? In the way things go in the Pioneer, Davidson is kind of alternating blowouts and covers with noncovers. Beat San Diego by 22, only beat Butler by 2 (Butler ran for 215 on them), beat Valpo by 21, ‘only’ beat Presbyterian by 17 (Presbyterian actually outgained them rushing for 220 on them), then last week beat Stetson by 20 (Stetson passed for 401). So this would be the week for the noncover? Eh, I don’t know. The thing with Davidson is their covers have come when they themselves have had really high scoring outputs because their D gives it up. Morehead has had very little O the last 3 weeks (just a total of 18 pts and avg 199 ypg vs Butler, SD and Tarleton) – before that they were better with 23 ppg and 378.5 yards per game vs their prior 4 Pioneer foes. Maybe the Tarleton game took the spirit out of the team. If they’ve quit I may be a week too late. I still probably play Davidson if it is what the 5dimes line says it is, no significant look-ahead on deck for them. 64.5 seems like a disproportionately high total for just a 12.5 pt favorite who is going to have to do 75% of the scoring to get towards the total with the way Morehead has been scoring (as in they haven’t).

Mathematically Furman has clinched a share of the SoCon title, but realistically the title is theirs (would have to lose next two weeks vs overmatched teams to fall into a tie). Furman wins at least one of the next two and they win the SoCon outright which they have not done since 1990! If you know me I am big on the whole let-down, flat spot, look-ahead, sandwich type thing and if there has ever been a conference that exhibits it with consistency it is the SoCon this year. This would qualify as the let-down game off for all tense and purpose the conference clinching win at UTC last week. They do have a big rival on deck next week vs Wofford – which I’m not sure if that qualifies as a look-ahead given the state of the programs. Wofford is likely thinking about it. At any rate, Super QB Tyler Huff was hurt in the 1H last week and rFr Carson Jones led the road win. He didn’t set the world on fire, but didn’t have to the way the Furman D played – Furman D is an outstanding D (one of UTC’s TDs was kind of a fluke pass that got batted up in the air and went perfectly to a player who ran 70y for a score). If the Furman O doesn’t produce as well as it could or should while Huff is out (I read 2 weeks) then the D alone is good enough to win them the next two weeks. So that will be interesting to see what they look like now with the new QB – Huff was always such a big part of the running game – could their O actually be better in a different way with more down field plays? We’ll have to see as they develop a new gameplan. Things were a little rocky for VMI last week. They pulled it out thanks to a great 4Q. The VMI run D was pretty bad and that was just vs ETSU, Furman’s run game present a much bigger challenge. VMI’s O wasn’t that great either, I guess I expected something better off the UTC performance, however that game may’ve had more to do with UTC looking ahead to Furman rather than VMI really being good. VMI’s O seemed about the same as it was vs Citadel rather than UTC. The spot is definitely tricky for Furman. Perhaps the new QB and how they plan to run the O now keeps them sharp this week moreso than if it were Huff and business as usual. Suppose there is too much unknown for me, I’d rather have Furman because of their D and running game. VMI did cover as big dogs vs UTC and Samford, but also failed miserably vs Mercer and I can kind of see this game going like that one did (VMI lost 3-38 being outgained 214-401).

Indiana State finally gets a team they should beat. Think I remember the last time I said that, oh yeah, lost at Murray State. Ind St did outgain Murray by +136y, in their other 5 MVFC games Ind St has been outgained by 124 ypg and outscored by just 12.5 ppg. Western Illinois is abysmally bad being outgained by nearly 300 (294) yards per game vs MVFC opponents! They scored 18 on Illinois St way bsck in week #2, since then their output vs MVFC teams combines for just 30 points over their last 5 games while allowing 52.4 avg per game! Indiana State wins this game, but laying over 2 TDs with them is not for me. With my ability to play 1H and 2Hs with my local, maybe I feel it out with a 1H play and then reevaluate if need be for a 2H.
 
I'm not sure if Alabama A&M's special teams is jinxed or what. Last week FAMU tackled the punter on the 10 leading to a FG and blk'd a punt which was returned for TD. Two weeks ago, ASU had a punt return TD and also a bld'd FG returned for TD! Offensive yardage was equal in both games, but A&M lost by 14 and 15 in those. In a 2H push vs Jackson St and a big win vs Grambling, A&M looked pretty impressive really 384 and 463 yards respectively and 30 & 45 pts in those. Hasn't been so lately (avg 314.5ypg and 22pts). Their D has played good enough to win, limited ASU and FAMU to just 2.8ypc rushing combined and Moussa was below his avg completion % and FAMU had one of their lowest ypp games of the year. Lankford got hurt on the second series last week, looked like a wrist on throwing hand, they switched to Quincy Casey formerly of Jackson St who has played off an on this year, started a couple. This looked like a pretty good team just 3 weeks ago, now looking fairly average with problems. Bethune? I think Bethune is pretty week, under 300y of O vs Mississippi Valley, under 200y of O the week before at Grambling. Their D let MVSU gain almost 400y, but allowed just 7 pts because Valley was 0-3 FGs and only 1 TD in the RZ – they also lost 5 turnovers – all that considered, wasn’t really a good showing by Bethune vs one of the worst teams, of course Bethune themselves is one of the worst teams. Bethune's O was 0-for-9 on 3rd down vs MVSU last week, at home....vs Valley! Bethune has the SWAC's last ranked offense - they have been outgained in every SWAC game this year by 100 ypg on average. Still think Alabama A&M has more capability if they can shake the special teams issues.

Georgetown at Bucknell is a tough game at this line. GT off the late season bye, QB was out last game, but the backup did really well (60% and 428y 3-2 ratio). Over the last 5 they are averaging 445 ypg and scoring 25 ppg and outgained each of their last 5 opponents as well, which includes games vs Fordham (+178) and Lafayette (+151). This must be the best Georgetown’s O has been in some years (only avg mid 300ypg the last 3 years). Turnovers do hurt them often however and the D is very up and down depending on the week. It’s also an improved season for Bucknell who has averaged under 20 ppg for the last several years and is currently at 22.5 ppg which goes up to 27.4 ppg vs Patriot league teams. They had their worst game when Rucker was out vs Lehigh and Lehigh beat them. In the Patriot league games that Rucker has played their O has put up 351 ypg – the D, it still has a ways to go, they yield 471 ypg on that side of the ball. So both Os are good, neither running game is consistent, but the passing game works for both. And the Ds can give it up. Seems like an Over. GT totals are usually lower and they are 5-4 to the Under on the year (avg total 44.4). Bucknell is also 5-4 to the Under (avg total 49.6). Strange that both teams went Under vs Fordham, GT barely went Under that number. Feels like an Over in this one but the evidence doesn’t necessarily support it. Hard to pick a side before the line moves.

Some of these teams, just feels like they are circling the toilet bowl, like William & Mary. W&M was a #5 seed last year in the playoff and every indication was they would be positioned to do so again. They lost their DC, maybe a drop off there, but no, instead it was the O that has been the reason they sit just 5-4 ovearll. In their 4 losses the O has scored just 6, 13, 24 and 8 pts. They seemed to have some improved offense after the bye week, but Albany put that theory to bed holding them to just 216 ttl yards (4.1) and forced them to throw by limiting the run to just 45y on 32 att. W&M is most certainly a run team. That should be good news vs Hampton’s D. Hampton has done ok on the run D the last couple weeks vs some weak run teams in Maine and NC A&T. But vs Delaware Hampton gave up 227 (5.3), Monmouth 352 (10.7), Campbell 202 (4.6). Those are the best rush Os they have faced and they haven’t done well. Hampton is like W&M in the sense that they are a run first team and they are not good when having to pass. They’ve run for 323 on Maine last week, 267 on A&T – the last two games they’ve won. Only 143 (4.8) on Delaware though and only 151 (3.1) on Monmouth – the last two games they’ve lost (only passed for combined 31% in those two losses). Normally William & Mary would be well suited to stop the run and therefore restrict the Hampton O. In the five FCS games to start the year W&M held teams to just 75 ypg (2.58ypc), but in their last 3 games it’s been 218 (6.0ypc). Is this the sign of a demoralized D who’s been asked to do too much and is now failing on them? This is where I struggle as these teams round out the season in which they are not lived up to their expectations. W&M should matchup very well vs this Hampton team and if it was September I would lay the 12.5 no problem. But now as things have gone, what to do?
 
Not going crazy as we get close to the playoffs but I'm pretty convinced that beating S Dakota St an Montana St will be a massive upset. Looking forward to Montana/Montana St rivalry game next week. The loser of that one will be undervalued in the playoff.
 
Not going crazy as we get close to the playoffs but I'm pretty convinced that beating S Dakota St an Montana St will be a massive upset. Looking forward to Montana/Montana St rivalry game next week. The loser of that one will be undervalued in the playoff.

You mean that if South Dakota State or Montana State losing in the playoffs would be a massive upset? SDSU for sure. Montana St, it depends who they have to go against and depending on the seeding, where. Some people have been complimentary of what they see as an improved MTSU passing O - I'm not sure about that. That will be how it goes for them as the teams they face get better, can they make the necessarily plays through the air? And actually, we'll find that out next week.
 
NC A&T offense has shown quite a bit of improvement. Their last two games they’ve posted 501y and 32 pts and two games ago 318y and 24 pts. That’s good considering their previous four CAA games the O avg just 164 ypg – they failed to top 200 yards ttl O vs any CAA opponent until two weeks ago vs Hampton and now they just hit 500 vs Towson! Way back in week 2, they showed some pop in the run game vs NCCU and again vs Norfolk, but have struggled to do so vs CAA until last week. Maybe that is just how bad the Towson D is, which generally speaking it is usually bad. Still, very encouraging to see this O coming around. Their Tr Fr QB Kevin White who has been starting since week 5 was injured in the 2Q. He was off his best game of the year vs Hampton the week prior. Backup Brickhandler stepped in and did real well, but they are expecting White to be available this week. I’m still surprised that the D isn’t better, they just must not have the pieces here – they are giving up 396 ypg and giving up 30 ppg vs FCS. So oddities in the scoring category, they allowed 33 pts to Richmond, but Richmond actually scored 3 non-offensive TDs! Then vs Delaware they only allowed 21, but Delaware had nearly 400y of O, but only scored twice on six RZ trips. Other than the Towson game, the D is good in the RZ, the best CAA RZ Ds allow TD 40-something % of the time, the worst are in the 70s. A&T allows TDs on 53.6% of the time – pretty good, about the best thing on their D. Actually defensively, Rhode Island is not much better. Over all games, URI allows 392 ypg – A&T allows 404 ypg. Scoring D URI allows 27.9 ppg, A&T allows 30.8. 3rd down conversions are the same. They are similar really. A&T has had some really bad run D, where as URI is just a lower mid pack type run D. Big difference is the O obviously, mostly the passing O, URI is really good there. So it probably helps A&T that they aren’t going against a strong run O this week, still will be hard for them. URI is just 2-2 ATS as a favorite their last 4, 2-3 ATS overall as a fav but the other game was a a 24.5 pt line where they won by 21. URI is off a late season bye and if they can get to 7-4 maybe they think they have a shot at the playoff? But they likely know it won’t be good enough because they were left out the last two years at 7-4. A&T is just 2-3 ATS their last four as a dog, but one was the crazy Richmond game with the 3 non-offensive TDs allowed and last week they were covering in the 4Q but lost by 10 as a 6.5 pt dog. Think I’m inclined to back them at over 2 TDs with the assumption there may be something to them actually playing better and URI who has some shaky run D at times and is not a reliable favorite and kind of an unpredictable team in general.

Stony Brook has been a good team to fade on a weekly basis. Lately it is good offensive teams like Monmouth last week (56-17, outgained them by 255y), Nova (48-13 outgained them by 262y), UNH (45-14 outgained them by 107y), Fordham (26-7 outgained them by 116), Maine (56-28 outgained them by just 33y as SB got like 200 garbage yards). Good running teams run on them, good passing teams pass on them. Albany has a good enough O, but it is really their D that makes that team go. I would assume that the SB O has a lot of trouble this week. Their last 4 games SB O is only avg 315 ypg and only scoring 12.75 ppg in those. SB is on a 0-5 ATS run, their last cover was 9/23 vs Richmond who was kind of lost at sea back then. After only getting 1 sack over a 4 game span, the CAA’s leading sack team got 6 last week. Albany is not a team that scores like some of the other SB opponents do (UNH and Nova were both very aggressive in building their 1H leads on them), so to cover this number it is going to be imperative the Danes D does their part. Albany only had 299 yards of O at Towson and scored just 24 pts vs a normally bad Towson D. If Albany wins out, they may get a playoff seed (especially if Nova were to beat Delaware as Albany has a win over Nova) with the first round bye followed by a home game. That makes for good motivation to keep it up. Still feels like it could be a close one to the line – Albany only averages upper 20s per game, occasionally they get into the mid-30s. Maybe Under? That seems counterintuitive, but SB has gone Over 5 of their last 6 because those good offenses scored so much on them. Albany has gone Under 4 of their last 6 and the two Overs were against some of the better offenses (UNH and Maine). This total looks similar to the normal Albany totals. Albany won 59-14 last year, nah, can’t go Under. Maybe just ride with Albany and hope the D does their part.

Could be a sandwich spot for Villanova – off the UNH game with Delaware on deck. Towson embarrassed Nova last year, held them to a season low 3 pts and QB Watkins had an awful game. That should make them care this week. Towson has been pretty good from the midpoint of the season. Won at UNH, was in position to tie late vs Albany in a really competitive game vs them, won at W&M. The worst game by far obviously was the 38 pt loss to Delaware just really overpowered them from the start and Towson is not that good on D vs high powered offenses, so the same could happen this week. I would think this is an Over game. Because the Towson D is so poor, they allowed 32 vs A&T (who may be improving, but not a good O, avg 15.4 ppg), allowed 51 vs Delaware (which exceeds their 33.8 avg), allowed 24 vs W&M (W&M only avg 20.2 ppg), 24 to Albany (about avg) and 51 to UNH (OT game 2 TDs above their avg). Villanova D has been really good, still I don’t think we get another stinker out of the Towson O like happened vs Delaware. It would probably need Towson to contribute about 20 (they scored 13 on Delaware and 17 on Albany).

Tennessee State really shit the bed last week. Were 6-2, 2-1 in league, who knows where they could’ve finished this year, playoff maybe? Field position for Charleston Southern and turnovers killed TSU last week. TSU O wasn’t very good, but actually, except for the turnovers, it was kind of their average O production. In the 4 FCS games since their bye week their O has avg just 348 and 21 ppg – that includes the 466 yards they had on Lindenwood – they only had 285 on UTM and 301 on Kennesaw, so the 269 they had on CSO was lower, but it’s kind of in the range and the scoring was right on avg. On that Lindenwood game, just 24 pts on 466 yards, not very efficient. It’s not a good O normally that TSU fields. What they are good at is D and it is too bad for them because their effort vs CSO was good enough to win. Held CSO to 7 FDs and 192y (3.6) – but all those turnovers and short fields led to 35 CSO points and to CSO’s credit, their D played a big part in forcing those turnovers as they got a lot of disruption behind the LOS (11 TFLs with 7 sacks with 5 other QBH). What now? I’d expect something similar this week just without the turnovers. TSU hasn’t scored more than 27 pts vs anyone this year and avg just 22.4 ppg vs FCS. Eastern Illinois hasn’t had much O lately either, which is surprising to me as I thought they had a decent ceiling with their O. For the year just 22.4 ppg, same as TSU! 31 was their high water mark for points, they’ve had some good yardage games and avg 372 ypg. The O was pretty weak off the bye at Lindenwood – they scored on 3 of the first 4 possessions, then a whole bunch of nothing (didn’t score at all 2H). I think both teams come out swinging this week off bad games. Like TSU D better, like EIU O better. EIU has performed better vs tougher teams. Bryant isn’t having the season they wanted, but I still respect their team, EIU beat them, were close with SEMO, nearly beat UTM – I actually did not think that EIU would compete as well as they have vs those kinds of teams. So I would back them to win here, hesitation being TSU is really going to come in here sour mood and will make it difficult. Hard to have confidence.

Seeing Valpo as a 7 pt favorite vs anyone – both these teams are bad. Stetson could score 30-40 pts as they have vs Presbyterian and Davidson, or they could score 6-18 as they have vs Butler, ST Thomas and Drake. Once upon a time Stetson was a 3 pt road fav earlier in the season vs Marist (they lost). Valpo just beat Dayton with a whopping 219-175 ttl yard edge (3.7-2.9). Valpo also lost at home vs Morehead and nearly lost at home vs SW Minnesota St earlier. Pioneer teams, point spreads and outcomes can be very unpredictable. I’d lean with taking the TD with Stetson but who knows.

Another Pioneeer game, Marist at Dayton. Dayton might be the worst team in the league, Valpo just beat them by 14, also lost at home to Presbyterian…so…Marist has only topped 20 pts once in their last 5 games and that was because they benefitted from 6 turnovers (a 97y pick-six and a 15y drive after another TO) – they had 182y and 30 pts! Who is actually betting this game?

I’m a little surprised to see South Dakota just -2.5. USD’s O can be limited, I do not believe that UND has the kind of D to limit it though. UND’s D hasn’t been so good lately – allowed Murray 31 pts and 379y (Murray averages 295ypg and 17.7ppg). UND allowed Indiana State 33 pts and 388y in their OT game (Ind St averages 260ypg and 12.4ppg). UNI just shut them out 27-0 3 weeks ago – this is how they have followed up their very impressive win over NDSU. Their O has been good the last two weeks as it should vs Murray and Ind St. Only 187y on UNI, only 234y on SDSU. Good Ds, or occasionally good Ds can limit the UND O. USD has a good enough D to do that, but their O can also be restricted as SIU and SDSU did the last two games (only scored a total of 17 pts and avg just 189y ttl O in those two! Think the matchup favors USD better with the better D and even an avg O going against the UND D should find success. This game should be tight though. Over the last 7 in the series, the home team wins. Not since 2008 has UND won in Vermillion.

Western Carolina is reeling. Lost back-to-back games vs Furman and Mercer where their D couldn’t stop the run and the WCU O also turned it over 8x in those two games. Lost one of the most dynamic RBs in the country when he was injured in the barnburner at UTC. He wasn’t able to contribute much vs Furman and DNP vs Mercer. The result of those games led to a very underwhelming effort at Wofford last week, won just 28-25 and just +55 tll yards. -2 TOs in that one and Wofford ran for nearly 200y on them. It was the worst passing output by the WCU O since week 1. So that is troubling. ETSU has had a lot of injuries to their QBs, essentially on what was once their 5th string QB in William Riddle – he’s started the last 3 and is only 32-79-295-0-5 in those starts. Yes, an 0-5 ratio and 40.5% completions. They are down several receiving targets at WR and TE as well. Have been running the ball pretty well this year, #1 Irby got injured two games ago, but Trey Foster has stepped up with 252y rushing and 47y receiving the last two games. I was actually impressed with how they were running last week – it was just VMI, but run D is a weakness for WCU, as is their mental state. Chattanooga beat ETSU 34-3 a couple weeks back. I do feel that ETSU is in a better position right now than they were 3 weeks ago in that game, they were +18.5 dogs in that one. Played Furman pretty tough (Furman was in sandwich spot) and played pretty well last week vs VMI, but had some issues cashing their 424y fully into pts (1 TD in 4 RZ trips and missed a FG). Last year WCU won on a walk-off FG despite having a 475-319 ttl yard edge, ETSU ran for 203, 4.7 ypc in that one. I assumed that WCU could bounce back vs a weak opponent last week and they could not. Another weak opponent this week and I think I’m just walking away from the big WCU spreads now.

Wofford played a good game vs WCU last week, but was that more about WCU’s mental state? Before their late season bye week, Wofford lost to Mercer by 14, then lost to ETSU by 31 (!), lost to Samford by 21. They had some closer games going back into early September. Maybe last week was an indication they haven’t given up on the year and are looking to finish strong? Maybe. Avg just 259 ypg and 12.85 ppg their previous 7 FCS games before having 345y and 25 pts on WCU last week. The Citadel has shown no such improvement on O. They have gotten better on D, they allowed 544.5 in their first 4 FCS games (overs 4-0), since then they’ve allowed just 366ypg in their last 4 (Unders 3-1). Samford did go for 504 on them 2 weeks ago. I don’t want to play this game.

How about Drake? They had a goal line stand last week to escape unbeaten in the Pioneer at Marist. Failed to cover unless you bought to 7. Not a good offensive game by either team. Previously Drake was a pretty good offensive team. Avg 401.6 ypg their previous 5 Pioneer games with a 556 on St Thomas in there! Their 6 wins have come by an average of 13.6 ppg with a 31 and a 26 pt margin among them. Drake has outgained every Pioneer team they have played and has found success both running and passing, but are not consistent with either. The Drake D has been really good, nobody has scored more than 21 on them and they are holding Pioneer teams to just 259 ypg (4.05). Kind of like the Drake. Presbyterian isn’t as bad as they historically have been, fairly competitive in league play, have been in the lead or tied at HT in 4 of 6 league games, but they have only won 1 of those games. Avg margin of defeat is only 10ppg, although they did lose by 17 to Davidson, think they backdoored that one late. Suppose one would try and grab Drake at the 13.5 and see what happens if so inclined to play this game.
 
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Nobody would’ve thought Elon or Richmond would be a playoff conversation back in September as both were kind of a mess. Wickersham got hurt in game 3 and they didn’t really know who they were playing at QB for a couple weeks. Discovered a Fr JUCO QB Coleman who had a huge game vs Maine. Wickersham was available to return and they started using him 3 games ago as a runner vs URI and then a few passes vs A&T until Coleman went out with injury 1H vs Campbell and Wickersham took over and played well. Wickersham is more of a running threat as well, maybe not quite the passer, but good enough. Outside of the Maine game, the O hasn’t really been all that good, kind of average. The D has surprised me, held Campbell to 13 pts and 206 ttl yards. Held A&T to 10 pts and 145 ttl yards. URI had 429y on them but only scored 17 pts as there were some key turnovers and RZ plays in that one. Now we are towards the middle of the season and I don’t know, back then Richmond wasn’t stopping many teams. Maybe this D has improved, or maybe Campbell is just Campbell and A&T isn’t a good O and the last good O they played was URI who outgained them by 102y yet Richmond beat them 24-17 as 9.5 pt dogs. To think they are in a playoff picture with two weeks to go, I don’t really feel like they have beat any/many good teams, give them credit for beating URI but that is about it. Lost to Hampton pretty bad when they were at their absolute worst mid-year. Elon is a passing team, who knew!? They were averaging 40 rush att per game and 186ypg with Jalen Hampton leading the way, but then things started to change vs William & Mary. It was their passing game that hit a couple key plays and since then the passing game has led the way. They haven’t topped 100y rushing in any of their last 4 games (Avg 72.5), but are now passing for 240.5 (poor game vs Nova in there – avg 305 in the other 3). It’s still not a very imposing or threatening offense and they have been outgained in all but two games this year, were +28 ttl yards last week. Monmouth outgained them by 85y two weeks ago. The D is kind of average too. Benefitted from +3 TOs last week at Delaware. Bottom line, these teams are similar. Neither really appear to be good enough to be a playoff team and the stats are not impressive for either. The CAA has 15 teams and only a 8 game schedule, so both these teams are 5-1, but neither have played Albany and only one has played Nova and Delaware, so it’s a problem really. If Elon and Richmond had played all 3 of the other 5-1 teams I don’t think either one of these teams would be in a the playoff discussion. But here we are. Pk seems about right. I’m not sure either team has an edge, maybe Elon given some better offensive potential? Richmond will have the home environment that will feel like a defacto playoff elimination game. Elon will have confidence after knocking off previously unbeaten Delaware. Not sure if Coleman will be back at QB for Richmond or they just go with Wickersham. I regard both these teams as play against teams, the last few games that hasn’t played out so well.

Utah Tech is not a good team, but they have given plenty of teams trouble until last week…maybe all the close games caught up to them. Before that lost 30-34 vs EKU, lost 30-31 vs UNA, won 37-31 vs SFA as 14.5 pt dog. Over that span the O was avg 455ypg and 32.3ppg – then just 313y and 7 pts last week. After starting the year 0-2, Austin Peay has won 7 straight. Had some close calls, like last week in OT vs EKU, or 3 weeks ago in OT at Southern Utah. Or back in Sept a 2 pt win vs SFA. AP was outgained in each of those 3 close wins. They do blow out bad teams. Is Utah Tech a bad team, kind of, but kind of not. AP's easier games have come at home, I call Gardner Webb easier because at the time that was the Fr King’s first start, GW is playing good right now, but were not when AP played them. At home AP wins by 32.3 ppg. Helps the avg to play ETSU and beat them by 60. Beat GW by 27 and UNA by 10 (AP led 39-18 HT). UNA put up 408y on them (5.4ypp). Southern Utah put up 561y (6.2) on them and EKU hit them for 456y (5.5) I think Utah Tech’s history says they will play better than last week assuming they are just not out of gas at this point. If they do the Over could be in play even though it is high. AP has gone over 3 of the last 4, went Under last week by just 5 pts due to a low scoring 1H (just 16 combined pts). All the Utah Tech totals are high. Went way Under last week. Unders are on a 5-0 run in Utah Tech games, but they have been close in all but last week (missed by an avg of 4.25 ppg from going Over totals that avg 67.5). AP does host Central Arkansas next week for all the marbles and there is talk that if AP wins out they may bet a seed in the playoff which would be a big motivator. Little doubt that they win here, but by more than 21? Utah Tech plays with backdoor potential assuming this line is high enough already.

I feel like late in the year I act more like a psychologist with teams. What is Bryant thinking? Came back from 14 down, to lead by 14, only to see GW tie with :18 left and then lost on a 2pt conv top of OT1 they didn’t need to take and GW scores and wins with an xpt. Lost on a 2pt conversion 3 weeks ago at EIU. They did respond off that tough loss with a solid win and cover at Charleston Southern, this one feels different though as their conference title hopes are now shot with that loss last week. If their heads are right, they should do well here. Avg 387.5 ypg and avg 39.5 ppg in the 4 games since their bye. The D has given it up vs the good teams in EIU and GW, but that D has been good vs the weaker Os in Robert Morris and Charleston Southern. Lindenwood would qualify as a weaker O. Lindenwood has only scored more than 10 pts in 1 of their last 5 games! Was surprised that EIU only beat them 16-10 last week, should’ve been more. Lindenwood is only giving up 16ppg with one shut out over their last 4 games. Played some pretty weak Os in Tenn State, Charleston Southern and Tenn Tech among them – I don’t consider EIU a weak O so not sure if they actually may be decent on D? I’d prefer to lay it with Bryant assuming they play a normal game vs a weak team like they have vs others.

Gardner Webb has it rolling pretty good. Had a QB injury, Fr QB started unannounced at AP and that didn’t go well, it was close for 3Q, but AP gapped them in the 4Q. Since then GW has beat EKU, UTM and Bryant. A 4Q comeback was required in all 3, the last two required game winning or tying drives in the final minute. It became Jaylen King’s team, but he was knocked out with a concussion very late last game. English came in and led the win. Caldwell was the week 1 starter, but he injured his shoulder. He was adequate. King wasn’t good when he first started, but he’s gotten better and his running is impactful. English may have to start this week if King isn’t cleared and Caldwell isn’t ready (he’s getting close). GW can win the league, could be a tie, not sure what the tie breakers are, but they could win a share of the league if they win the next two. Pretty solid team. The D was pretty good to start the year, not as much lately, but those are some good Os they have played the last 4. Tenn Tech isn’t all bad, but usually not good. Somehow they played a tight OT game vs UTM last week (UTM -3 TOs and outgained them by 96y). Tenn Tech scored 3 D TDs at RM (38 pts on just 255y O). Played SEMO tough even though they lost by 25. Most impressive win statistically was 4 weeks ago vs SC State. GW is the better team for sure, question if they might be a little off this week having played so many emotional games in a row.

Don’t think Alabama State has enough O to count on them to cover a DD spread even vs Mississippi Valley. Valley put up a bunch of yards last week at Bethune but couldn’t score. ASU has the D to limit those yards this week. ASU did win their last two games by 11 and 15 pts vs better teams, although both of those results surprised me. I really don’t want to get involved here.

It continues, Abilene Chrisitan has been outgained in every game this year since week 1. Including last week when they won 24-7, but were -11 ttl yards. Abilene is a solid team though, have won 3 of their last 4 including an upset win vs SFA and covered both games they were favored in. Tarleton I think is a good team. I didn’t think that when the year started, but really, they prove it every week now, they are good. Absolutely smashed SFA last week, upset win at UCA, lost in OT to EKU, but missed a would-be game winning FG in regulation (316, 7.7ypc rush in that one). They lost by 1 to Southern Utah who I like, but Tarleton led 20-0 HT. 8-0 ATS vs FCS is what they are and this is their final game of the year, 7-3 SU overall. This is the first road favorite spot for them since week 1 when they were -3.5 vs McNeese. Reluctant to lay a lot with them, but they are good enough to win and close the season out FCS undefeated ATS!

Weber is better team now with the new QB, Fr Richie Monuz who has started the last 3 and gotten better each week. 59-102-573-4-1 with 68y rushing in those games and as he goes so goes the O, from just 16 pts and 275y vs Davis to 23 pts and 369y vs EWU to 33 pts and 406y vs ISU last week. Weber is an 8-0 Under team! They’ve been close though, stayed Under by just 1.5 pts last week and Under by just 2.5 pts the week prior. As the O improves they could be due for an Over. Avg Weber total is 51.4 this year, 5dimes is showing like a 49.5. Totals are kind of mixed bag with Idaho. They had a pretty good run going with scoring 36 on Sac St (6 of which was a scoop-score on time expiring lateral play), scored 44 on EWU, scored 42 on Cal Poly basically in 2+ quarters, but then just 21 on Montana and just 24 last week vs No Colorado. I guess we give Idaho a pass for that UNC game? UNC was going to tie late 4Q in a 20-13 game when Idaho gets a pick-six to win 27-13, wow. Think UNC gives up a lot of pick-sixes. Anyway, that has to just be chalked up to a flat spot game for Idaho, Vandal D did hold UNC to just 186 ttl yards (3.2). Idaho not the best running team the last few, understandable vs Montana and kind of grind it out vs Montana State, but only ran for 133 (3.8) on UNC is a concern. Not really sure what to do in this one. Weber hasn’t won a home game since week 1 and this is the finale. This may set up to be a really good game, after Weber was kind of lost mid season (shut out 40-0 at home vs MTSU and nearly lost at UNC) – they’ve definitely fixed some things. Good enough to challenge Idaho? Not sure. Think it could be a tough game.
 
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Northern Colorado at home? 3-0 ATS vs Big Sky avg score 15.6-25.3. Northern Colorado on the road? 0-3 ATS vs Big Sky avg score 12.6-33. D is allowing 346ypg at home, allowing 464ypg on the road vs Big Sky. The O struggles in both places, but the D likes playing at home. Shea Kuykendall was third string but started last week due to an injured Jacob Sirmon and his backup. No idea how to pronounce that name, they call him Shea Money. In his first start last week he went 14-22-55-1-1. Not like Sermon has been all that good anyway. UNC is an offensively challenged team. Northern Arizona has had some moments this year, but haven’t really played to that same level lately. Montana St was up 38-7 on them and 45-14 before NAU backdoored with under 1min left. Davis outgained NAU 476-289 (5.5-5.8), but NAU won thanks to 90y fumble ret TD and also had a 8y TD drive after an INT. Then three games ago Portland St really dominated them. It’s Angel Flores now for NAU at QB, and Daniel Britt threw 2 TDs last week, so it appears that Damante has fallen out of favor now and Millner hasn’t gotten back. Britt and Flores were the top two rushers last week, Flores was the top rusher the previous two games. I think the UNC D gives them a chance as they usually do for at least a little bit, but they just don’t have any offense to speak of, every UNC game vs FCS has gone Under. NAU is more of an Over team, 6-2 vs FCS as at least one team is usually scoring in their games. If this were in Greeley might think that UNC may actually have a shot at the win. NAU is 0-2 ATS as a favorite and has lost both straight up…so tempting to play this number against them, just don’t like the team I’d have to do it with. UNC probably throws another pick-six or two here. UNC did win 21-20 last year.

Eastern Washington run D is going to be pretty stressed vs Montana State. They’ve had games like allowing Portland State to run for 403 on 52 carries and Idaho run for 363 on 49 carries. Before Larison’s injury he had 255y on 22 carries in basically 3Q of work for Davis. Teams committed and good at running have their way with EWU D. Last year Montana State ran for 355 on 60 attempts. That was just a 3 pt game though. EWU led at times including 35-31 mid-4Q and basically lost the game when they fumbled on their own 20 with 3min left allowing MTSU to get the go ahead TD. That was not a good EWU team. So regardless of how many yards Montana State wants to run for, EWU could hang in the number here one way or another. Montana St D is better than some of the other teams EWU has played, but they have not lost any Big Sky game by more than 12 points. Montana St was a similar sized favorite last week and they allowed NAU to back door push in the final minute. Portland St did the same, back door cover with 2min left. That potential exists with an O like EWU. Not much precedent for MTSU looking ahead to the Griz vs previous opponents here, the 2021 team did only win by 7 vs Idaho as a 20.5 pt fav, but last year they beat Cal Poly very big…before that they were actually dogged and won straight up vs Davis and covered vs UNC as a 12.5 pt fav – so really they would be 3-1 ATS the last 4 before playing the Griz. Still vs EWU, who is better than the teams they have been favored over before the Griz game, MTSU is going to have to get up by a lot and keep the back door closed.

What a year SEMO has had … in a bad way, losing to Robert Morris as a 28.5 pt favorite and being outgained in the process takes the cake. Losing DeLaurent at QB really hurt them last week. They managed to get by Nicholls without him largely because of their D and ST (short field TD and punt ret TD in a 4 pt win, Nicholls outgained them). Instead last week it was SEMO turning it over and struggling to complete drives and generally having bad offense. Hess has had a better second half of the season rushing than first half and they are going to need him in this one. SEMO D with turnovers led the way vs Nicholls, but really their D has been a liability this year for all or parts of games. SIU had their best yardage output on them (543, avg 351 in other games) as did EKU (532, avg 461 in other games), UCA’s second best (497, avg 424 in other games), Robert Morris even, had a great day (372 -avg 280 in their other games) and Nicholls too (406 – avg 369 in other games) – that is a bad sign when so many teams exceed their average yardage vs this D. SEMO is on a 1-3-1 ATS run (outgained in 3 of 5). UT Martin doesn’t have the best momentum right now either. Off a 3 pt OT win vs Tenn Tech as a 16 pt fav. Lost at GW by 4 as 6.5 pt fav. Only breat Charleston Southern at home 17-0 as 21 pt fav, only beat EIU by 1 in OT as 14 pt fav. UTM is on a 0-5 ATS run (did outgain 4 of the 5). UTM had one of their best passing games of the year last week, normally they are fairly run dependent, but are passing more lately, INTs are an issue, usually good for 1 per game. Their D had led the way for most of their games, 5 of their last 6 opponents have been held to 7 or fewer pts in the 2H including 4 opponents over the last 7 games being shut out! Tenn Tech was a big exception to that last week scoring 27 2H pts (UTM had only allowed 44 2H pts all year vs FCS before that). Game is at SEMO and the RM effort may’ve had something to do with them taking RM for granted with this game on deck. SEMO has two strikes against it however, their QB and their D – two areas UTM should have an advantage vs them. And as good as Geno Hess is at RB, Sam Franklin actually is the #1 RB in the league. UTM run D has been really good all year vs lesser RBs and with a less capable QB on SEMO now, their D should be able to focus more on defending the run. Think you have to side with UTM here.

Samford may actually be alive for a playoff birth if they win out. Not sure 7-4 would be good enough, but there is only one way to find out! Mercer is trying to be that third SoCon playoff team, this is their season finale and they’d finish 8-3 with a win. Mercer O has kind of been the same most of the year, heavier on the run and less out of the passing game. That worked beautifully vs Western Carolina as they ran 210y on 48 att controlling that game just as Furman had the week before…it also helps that WCU turned it over to them 6x and still had a shot to tie or win on the last possession. To their credit, Mercer did follow that big win up with another win vs a bad team in The Citadel last week…although they finished with just 302 ttl yards and the O went back to just attempting 17 passes (that was their average per game over the first 4 FCS games of the season). Maybe vs another bad D this week in Samford, the Mercer O can duplicate what they did vs Western Carolina – but what if Mercer didn’t get those 6 turnovers in that one, was a +3 margin, WCU outgained them by 52y and passed for 388 on them. Samford O was a little rough to start the year, but from week 5 on they have avg 31.6 ppg and 457 ypg. That does include just 21 pts and 337y in the home loss to Furman – a ssn low in yards and their second lowest pt total. Earlier they did rack up 473y vs UTC, but just 24 pts (1 TD on 5 RZ trips). SoCon has some bad teams in it and Samford has benefitted from playing those and padding some stats, they are 0-3 SU vs the 3 best teams in the league so far, if they lose to Mercer that will make 0-4 vs the top teams. All things considered, Mercer is the weakest out of the bunch as WCU was at full strength when they beat Samford, UTC is good, Furman is obviously very good – Mercer, is trying to be good…at this line -2.5 at home for Mercer, it’s hard to take Samford not getting more than that. And basically to just win the game, this is the game that Mercer has been waiting for, a game to win to get them into the playoffs – they have failed in doing so the last two years – last year Mercer was 7-2 needing a win to secure a playoff bid, lost to Furman as an 8 pt fav and lost in 2 OT as a pick’em at Samford. Two years ago Mercer was 7-3, also needing a win to position themselves for a playoff pick, they lost to ETSU. Those were better Mercer teams than this one actually, however, ETSU was really good in 2021 and Samford was pretty good last year, so in terms of getting it done this week, they don’t face the same kind of teams, it’s still Michael Heirs though. Samford will usually have a shot with him at QB. Disclaimer, I don’t know if Mercer would get in with 8 wins or not. The committee may select WCU instead, or they may just take 2 teams from the SoCon, but this is what Mercer believes is on the line and they beat WCU head-to-head so they would hope/assume that would be enough to get them in.

Would kind of like Northern Iowa, but Missouri State has been playing pretty well. Tight one lost at the buzz last week on a controversial 2pt conversion catch (or drop). Ill St did outgain them by 117y. YSU outgained them by 85 the week prior, but there too, I thought they competed well. Only beating Murray State by 4 and being outgained is a bad look. Guess what I’m saying is I would take UNI to win and likely cover, but don’t think it will be all that easy. UNI has won 2 of it’s last 3 rather easily, they were in a tough battle vs Illinois State to win by 3. I would not be surprised if this is just a one score game this week too.

Southern is off a big game loss last week vs Alcorn that essentially lost them the West SWAC division. They only put up 263y in that one and offense is not their strong suit. They are 3-2 ATS this year as a fav, 1-1 ATS as a DD fav which the last time they had to comeback rather improbably on Texas Southern to win by 6 in OT (were outgained by 242y!). They are only scoring 20.25 ppg in the SWAC so any time they are lined this high I have to pass on them. Any reason to like Prairie View? Well Southern is more of a defensive team, but they have yielded 443y and 439y the last two weeks so the wheels might be coming off at this point. PV is the team that was shut out by Houston Christian 3 games ago, so that is enough for me to say, no thank you.

Big game here with NC Central at Howard. Howard lost last week and allowed a bunch of yards to a SC State O that normally has little offense. Howard is a hard team to get a handle on, as Carolinablue once said, they do bonehead things. That is true. Like they only beat Norfolk by 4 and only beat Delaware St by 7 and then let SC State run for 438y on them! This was supposed to be a pretty good team, but they certainly have not played like it the last several games and going back a little further, remember Harvard ran for 341y on them. NCCU should win this one pretty big. NCCU wasn’t real sharp last week vs Norfolk in the 14 pt win. They blew the doors off SC State on national TV 2 weeks ago. They did struggle some with Morgan, but Morgan’s D is an elite for an HBCU team. This is the same NCCU team that is 3-0 vs the CAA – hell if NCCU was in the CAA they might be leading it right now (one of their wins is vs Elon who is tied for CAA lead). This game is going to have a lot of passion and want to for both sides. NCCU is MEAC champs, but Howard had some fake co-champ rings made up or something. This line looks low.
 
I have to wonder, where is the offense going to come from out of SIU? I really don’t understand it. Vs the better MVFC teams, their offense flat out sucks. Last week vs USD, 332y and 7 pts. Vs SDSU, 308y and 10 pts. Vs YSU 100 yards (yes One Hundred ttl yards) and 3 pts. What they lack in O they do make up for with some very very good D. USD, held them to just 196y and 14 pts. SDSU, held them to a ssn low 308y and just 17 pts. YSU handled them pretty good with 323y and 31 pts – still that was YSU’s lowest yardage output vs any FCS team this year. So it is a good D with SIU there is no doubt about that. Their D is what won them the NIU game. Their D is what bought them time to allow them to eventually comeback on SEMO. North Dakota State doesn’t like playing teams with good defense. SDSU held them down to just 325y and 16 pts. USD limited them to 348y and 19 pts. UND doesn’t even have a good D and they kept the Bison to 364y and 24 pts. So I must assume the SIU D shows up here and the O is going to struggle as they have vs all the top Ds they’ve played. And NDSU is still a top D. SDSU had to work and grind out their 365y last week, it wasn’t like SDSU just ran threw them and blew them out, turnovers and missed/blk’d kicks played a big role in that final score. This has the makings of an Under, but 45.5 is pretty low to take it. Avg total in NDSU games this year is 54.7, and avg total for SIU games is 52.2. SIU has gone Under 7 of their last 8. NDSU has gone Under 4 of their last 6. I’d pick NDSU to win straight up, but laying a little over 7 with them vs this kind of D isn’t something I want to do. SIU could cover, I do not want to have to count on them to deliver offensively though.

Big line for Nicholls here. Nicholls has only been this big of a favorite once this year, -16 vs HCU. Lamar is better team than that. Nicholls does have some wins by margin this year, just not in this kind of favorite role. Beat McNeese by 21 (bad team), beat HCU by 31 (bad team), beat Tex AM Commerce by 20 (bad team), lost by 4 to SEMO and then beat UIW last week by 13 … and UIW isn’t a bad team, but they are not a team I would call good either. Lamar went to the wire with UIW, it was a one-score game until UIW kicked a late FG to go up by 10. I heard one of the FCS podcast people think Lamar wins this week. I don’t think they are good enough to win vs Nicholls, good enough to cover? Maybe at this line. Lamar did beat Nicholls last year 24-7. I can’t see myself on either team here.

St Thomas and San Diego have played some close games. St Thomas won by 7 at home last year and SD won at home in 2021 by 3. Neither team is as good as they usually are this year though. St Thomas is off two big wins vs two bad teams (they are almost all bad in the Pioneer) beating Stetson and Marist by combined 87-20 score. They are a little iffy on the road this year, won at Stetson but previously got blown out at Drake and also only beat Dayton by 6. I’m just going to stop now because I’m not taking this game.

I'm running out of time. Have to get ready for the YSU game and lines will be out in about an hour. This will just be the second time in the last 10 years I have not been stationary in a quiet and calm place on a Saturday to place my bets. It makes me nervous having to try and get opening numbers on my cell phone in a car or at the stadium, but this is what is happening today. Go Penguins!
 
Here is what I'm going to be trying to get good numbers on from early to late:

Holy Cross, just got that one at +11.5
Robert Morris
YSU
SC State
Duquesne
Brown
Lafayette
Davidson & Und
Alabama A&M
Penn
NC A&T
Albany
GT/Buck Ov
Towson & Ov
Stetson
USD
Drake
UTah Tech
Bryant
Tarleton
Weber
UNC
EWU
UTM
NCCU
SUU
EKU
ISU
Portland St
 
Anyone have a status update on Sluka today? Line movement seems to indicate he is out
 
Have fun at the game.

Was a huge buzz kill really - I'll have some more later, but my wife liked getting out with me on a Saturday - which literally NEVER happens - EVER!

Got home an hour ago and checking bets and watching games now, this is what I like, my comfort zone on a Saturday
 
The YSU game. Several things contributed to that blowout loss.

First, YSU received and had back-to-back three and outs. I thought the play was tight and the calls conservative. They played better at Ohio State, with nothing to lose. Today, it was too much, the moment, the #1 team, whatever. By the end of the 1H the offense was calling plays and seemed comfortable like they've looked. Didn't get points, but they just started so slow, didn't do themselves any favors. For South Dakota State it was just another game. For YSU it was THE game and they failed in that moment.

Second, there are always some key plays and moments especially early on that can set a tone. None of those went towards YSU. There was a 4th-1 at their own 46 at the end of the 1Q as the seconds counted down, they let the quarter expire. Come back out with the O to start the 2Q and all they do is try and draw SDSU offside and take a delay of game. Now, if you want to do that, it's fine, hurry to the line at the end of the 1Q, not after a TV timeout. I felt demoralized watching the team go through that only to take a delay of game so I'm pretty sure the team felt it too. I;m not saying you have to go for it, you can just go punt, I get trying to get a free first down, but it was a chicken shit way to do it, felt weak. Then YSU gets back-to-back false start penalties on the punt anyway, so with the delay and the two false starts they punted from the 31 instead of the 46. That felt like a pivotal point.

The other one was SDSU's second TD, one of the Janke twins very clearly pushed off. It was so blatantly obvious and right in front of the side judge who did not throw a flag. That set the crowd nuts. On YSU's ensuing possession, this is late 2Q now, this is when their O started clicking. So they are moving it with some tempo. After a nice gain, they hurry to the line snap it and hit a deep post for a TD - what, whistles are blown after the QB throws the ball which was caught and would've been a TD. They stopped the play to review targeting. Now we have all seen a lot of targeting plays get reviewed and we've seen some not get reviewed that maybe should've. This one wasn't even bad looking, it was not targeting, so they stopped that play with the ball in mid air to review a phantom targeting call taking a TD off the board. Not only did YSU not score a TD that drive, they had a FG blk'd and with the return SDSU got a FG to end the 1H.

It was rough. YSU wasn't good enough, the coaching wasn't good enough, the game plan wasn't good enough and some of the happenings with the refs on the field certainly hurt as well.

Towards the end, I was glad YSU didn't get their garbage score. That score should look exactly like the game was a 34-0 ass kicking, not a 34-7 ass kicking.

Really, YSU can say goodbye to any playoff birth. Why? They beat one good team all year (kinda, SIU can't score on anyone good) and YSU just got their ass handed to them by the #1 team, who is really really good, but if that is a measuring stick game of what it will be like in the playoffs, there have been other teams that measured up way better than YSU did.

Was a pretty good crowd. YSU struggles to get people to these games. A lot of these schools do. And for them when a game like this comes around and YSU is supposed to be at the point they are with their program and people come out and see that, good luck getting them back any time soon. It was like this was YSU at their rebuilding days.

I would've rather stayed home surrounded by my TVs and comfortably got all my bets in like I like. Sometimes you say you would do something again even if it didn't turn out right for the experience or, like saying you would bet a game the same way again if it lost, no, if I knew that is how that game would've went I would not go again and it might be 7 more years before I go back.
 
Not many big upsets, but the ones that happened are meaningful.

Stonehill beast Duquesne? This means that Duquesne at Merrimack this week will be NEC Title game and auto-bid play-in game.

Morehead beats Davidson? Davidson had been rolling their way to a share of the Pioneer Title and potential auto-bid playoff birth. But Morehead 47-17, shocker!

Weber beating Idaho was a really impressive effort out of the Wildcats and shows how teams can figure things out after a bad start to the year and finish strong.

Missouri State makes the Northern Iowa offense look like complete trash! I thought I was watching early September UNI offense here, Day was 14-of-35 with 2 INTs, at times it was like he purposefully was choosing the most covered receiver to throw to, everyone was blanketed and his receivers had lots of drops when he did get a ball in the area. Again, credit to these teams who are playing in a disappointing season and impacting the post season future of their opponents.

Howard! That game meant a whole bunch to one team a whole bunch more and NCCU thought it would be easy. It was not. Howard goes for 2 at the end to score fitty. One of the more dominating games I have seen by an underachieving team vs a really good one. That was a thumping!

Penn at Harvard was crazy! Harvard wins atleast a share of the Ivy before The Game. Ivy League shares titles rather than breaking ties. If Yale beats Harvard and Dartmouth wins it will be a 3-way tie. If Yale beats Harvard and Brown beats Dartmouth it will be a Yale-Harvard tie. If Harvard wins they get it outright.

6 of 7 Eastern Kentucky FCS games have come down to the final play! Central Arkansas wins on a final play hailmary after EKU had just taken the lead with like :20 left. EKU coach was ready to brawl some refs, literally, like police started coming towards him.

And that improbable finish left EKU coach Walt Wells enraged.

"We got homered tonight," Wells said in a postgame radio interview. "Central Arkansas' clocks didn't work and the clock operator didn't work."

The Bears started the final drive on their own 18-yard line. On the first snap, McElvain completed a 37-yard pass to Trustin Oliver.

The clock, though, hardly moved.

"That play took only two seconds," Wells said.

Video footage from the ESPN+ broadcast confirms the coach's claim.

Oliver went out-of-bounds as he caught the ball and then the Bears next snapped the ball again with 17 seconds left on the clock.

They ran two more plays - both incomplete passes up the field - which took seven seconds each.

That left UCA with just three seconds left.



On the final play, McElvain scrambled to his left and fired a pass as he was falling out of bounds. The 46-yard pass was tipped before Barnes swooped in to catch it.

Wells confronted the game officials and followed them off the field after a video replay confirmed Barnes had crossed the goal line on the catch.

With the win, Central Arkansas will play Austin Peay for the UAC crown next week.

Albany D let me/us down, Stony Brook backdoored with 1:26, the danger in not having a strong offensive team on that kind of spread, and my line was 20 - not the 24 it closed at. Albany also missed a 3Q 26y FG that would've mattered (won by 18).

Montana and Montana State flex muscles ahead of Battle of the Wild!

UT Martin was smoking cigars post game with OVC title plaques...but they lost to Gardner Webb a couple weeks ago. If GW beats Charleston Southern next week, they will earn the merged Big South / OVC auto-bid.

Hot take - the SoCon has more deserving playoff teams than the Missouri Valley Conference. Not more seeds or more high end teams, but more deserving teams. It is Furman, Chattanooga, Mercer and Western Carolina out of the SoCon compared to South Dakota State, South Dakota, North Dakota State and then throw a blanket over Five 6-4 teams none of which are playing or have played consistently good football.

Richmond can earn a playoff spot out of the CAA despite having never having played a ranked team, let alone beat one. Welcome to CAA football in 2023. 15 team league (16 next year) with an unbalanced schedule leaves a lot to be desired. Everyone should play everone in their league! You can't make up for losing one good team in JMU by adding 5 bad ones.
 
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