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The Citadel started 1-4 and finished 4-2 in an up and down season. The biggest highlight came in a loss to Alabama – the Bulldogs went to the half tied 10-10 with the perennial FBS National Title contender. In the FCS, The Citadel performed about to expectations. They will be looking to take a step forward in a crowded Southern Conference this year.
Big Sky Predicted Order of Finish, Big Conference Games To Watch, And Ten Players to watch.
In Coach Turner Gill’s final year before retiring and in its first season as a full, yet transitional FBS squad, Liberty finished with a 6-6 overall record.
The Panthers dipped to just 2-10 overall (1-8 SBC) after going bowling following the 2017 season–and six of those losses were decided by three possessions or more.
The Monarchs started the season at just 1-6 (although the one win was over the ACC’s Virginia Tech) but rallied to a 3-2 end to finish the season at 4-8 overall (2-6 C-USA) and its second straight losing season.
The Quakers remained in the upper echelon of the Ivy League with a 6-4 record and a perfect 3-0 out-of-conference record. They couldn’t get over the hump, however, when it came to challenging the top teams for the title.
Eastern Kentucky had a good season in 2018 going 7-4 overall, but 7-2 versus FCS competition, losing games to two FBS teams. The Colonels probably felt like their resume was good enough for a playoff berth and were disappointed being left out of the bracket.
Coach Everett Withers finished his third and final season in San Marcos having never won more than three games per year–including finishing just 3-9 overall in 2018 and 7-28 in his full tenure.
Few teams have had as eventful twelve months as the hapless Jayhawks. Despite wins over Rutgers, Central Michigan and conference member TCU in 2018, a 3-9 record saw head coach David Beaty fired over the offseason -and Kansas getting served a lawsuit as a result.
Northern Arizona embodies the wildcard mentality of a fringe playoff team or a losing season in recent years.
The old joke “there’s nowhere, but up to go” is painfully true for the Spartans. Coach Brent Brennan is an accomplished coach who has helped produce many NFL names, but simply struggles to produce wins at SJSU.
UTSA finished dead last in the nation in total offense – averaging just 247 yards per game – and scoring a mere 14 points per outing–yet still finished with a 3-9 overall record (2-6 CUSA).
Incarnate Word went from a football program that few knew existed and put themselves on the map in 2018. The Cardinals finished the regular season at 6-4, although two of the losses came against FBS competition. UIW earned their first FCS playoff berth where they fell to Montana State in the first round.
Last season was incredibly disappointing for all associated with CMU as the Chippewas posted just a 1-win season (1-11 overll & 0-8 MAC) that cost Coach John Bonamego his job.
A year after making its first FCS playoff appearance and getting a win in the opening round, South Dakota had a disappointing 2018 campaign that saw a 4-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in MVFC play.
Some folks thought head coach Chris Ash might be let go after a painful 1-11 season, their lone win coming on opening weekend against Texas State. But he survived a scandal-ridden lost season and is back in 2019.
Idaho had high expectations for “dropping down a level” and coming back to the Big Sky Conference. The Vandals and analysts around the FCS quickly found out that the Big Sky is not a joke and can seriously compete at a high level.
After a 4-8 season in 2017, first year head coach Steve Campbell replaced the Jaguar program’s first head coach, Joey Jones and went down to 3-9 (2-6 Sun Belt) in his first season at South Alabama.
Monmouth followed up a 9-3 playoff season in 2017 with an 8-3 record in 2018. Unfortunately for the Hawks and their fans, that record was not enough to garner them a playoff berth.
“Over 40% of our team are first-year players,” Gilmore said. “And we’re excited to see what some of these freshman can do to enhance our roster and push the upperclassmen to be the best version of themselves on the field.”
The College Sports Journal Staff have put their collective heads together to release our 2019 preseason Top 25 for the upcoming FCS season. CSJ’s voter rolls are comprised of our five FCS football writers that have been following and covering FCS football for years. North Dakota State Bison The defending champs were a unanimous selection.
It was an epic battle of unbeatens when Dartmouth headed to play longtime rival Princeton in late October. The Big Green’s 14-9 loss in that game would be Dartmouth’s only blemish on the year – a terrific 9-1 season that unfortunately didn’t result in an Ivy League title.
The Zips were bitten hard by the injury bug in 2018 to finish just 4-8 overall (2-6 MAC) and let long time Coach Terry Bowden go following the season.
Austin Peay had an uneven 2018 after entering the season with high expectations following a 2017 season that saw them go 8-4. The Governors struggled in conference play, where they went 3-5.
Samford came into the 2018 with high expectations, and was the talk of the FCS after nearly beating Florida State. However, the wheels came off and the Bulldogs lost four straight games before finally getting back on track at the end of the season. The losing streak was too much to overcome for Samford to make the FCS Playoff field.
It may be hard to believe, but there are only 32 days left before the Lehigh Mountain Hawks take the field in their home opener versus St. Francis (PA).
UND moved from the Big Sky Conference to the Independent ranks starting last season and while still playing a predominant Big Sky schedule, the Fighting Hawks slipped to 6-5 after making the FCS playoffs in 2017.
Coach Joe Moglia, 69, returned to the team a little over a year ago from a five-month medical sabbatical that was taken to treat a condition that was causing inflammation in and damage to his lungs to led the team to a 5-7 (2-7 Sun Belt) record.
McNeese State came out of the gates fast, starting the season 5-1 before losing 4 of their last 5 games to miss out on the playoffs.
Two years ago, the Penguins made it to the FCS Championship, where they would be runners-up losing to the James Madison Dukes 28-14. Since then, the Penguins have finished 6-5 and 4-7 the last two seasons, including last year just 3-5 in MVFC play.
Rhode Island was one of the early surprises of the FCS season 2018, starting 5-1 and taking FBS UConn to the limit before losing 56-49. The Rams offense fired on all cylinders, and even kept pace when quarterback JaJuan Lawson went down to injury.
Outside of an upset win over a struggling Samford team, Mercer won the games they were favored in and lost the games where they were an underdog. That added up to a 5-6 record with a 4-4 Southern Conference mark.
The Wildcats left a good taste in the mouths of their fan base winning 4 of their last 5 games including victories over top Southland teams Nicholls and Sam Houston State.
After a 2-3 start, the Jaguars would cut like a hot knife through SWAC butter, winning five straight and beating Rivals Grambling 38-28 in the 45th annual Bayou Classic.
After two-and-a-half embattled seasons as the head coach of Bowling Green , Mike Jinks’ tenure was fired following a 3-9 (2-6 MAC) 2018 season.
Stony Brook had a solid season in 2018, although they took a step back from their excellent 2017 season. The Seawolves made the FCS playoff field, losing in the first round to Southeast Missouri State 28-14.
Southeastern Louisiana went 4-7 in 2018 and were competitive in a number of games, but had a hard time getting the defense off the field to hold leads or complete comebacks.
Western Carolina started the 2018 season with three straight wins, but it was all downhill from there as the Catamounts lost their last 8 games of the season.
Alcorn State’s consistency allowed Fred McNair’s squad to capture their third SWAC Championship in the last five years, capping off the SWAC season with a 37-28 win over Southern in the championship game.
After a 1-6 start with an absolutely brutal out-of-conference schedule and an unfortunate loss to Colgate to start the season, Holy Cross under new head coach Bob Chesney ended the season on a 4 game winning streak to close promisingly at 5-6.
2018 brought a 5-6 overall record, but a respectable 3-2 in conference play.
Missouri State started the season by beating Northern Arizona and Illinois State and also defeated Indiana State, but things went downhill fast from there with the season ending on a five-game losing streak to finish 4-7 overall (2-6 MVFC).
The good news was that head coach Al Bagnoli guided the Lions to their second consecutive winning season. The bad news is that they weren’t able to take that next step towards to becoming Ivy League title contenders, going 3-4 in league play and losing to Harvard and Yale by a combined score of 97-28.
The Aggies got off on a poor start in four blowout losses to begin the season but finished 3-5 to finish 3-9 overall–this was after NMSU’s first bowl season in 2017.
ichmond came into the 2018 season hoping to make a run at a playoff spot. But a porous defense caused the Spiders to struggle the entire season allowing 27 or more points 8 times.
The Salukis are a program that hasn’t had a winning record in five years and last year’s 2-9 (1-7 MVFC) mark was the worst since 2001.
The Owls won their first (FCS Prairie View A&M) and last (Old Dominion) games of the season but unfortantely did not win any other games in between to finish 2-10 overall (1-7 CUSA) in Coach Bloomgren’s first season with the team.
Eastern Illinois struggled to a 3-8 season in 2018, but their games were not without excitement. The lowest combined point total in any of the Panthers’ games in 2018 was 45 points, and that game went to overtime.
UMass finished ranked near the bottom of the country in total defense, with the Minutemen allowing more than 485 yards and 43 points per game in 2018 and would be the last season for Coach Mark Whipple, who was let go after a 4-8 finish.
Murray State lost all three of their non-conference games, which sealed their fate in 2018. In the Ohio Valley, the Racers were 5-3 including one of the most improbable comeback victories and crazy plays of the football season.
The Citadel started 1-4 and finished 4-2 in an up and down season. The biggest highlight came in a loss to Alabama – the Bulldogs went to the half tied 10-10 with the perennial FBS National Title contender. In the FCS, The Citadel performed about to expectations. They will be looking to take a step forward in a crowded Southern Conference this year.
Big Sky Predicted Order of Finish, Big Conference Games To Watch, And Ten Players to watch.
In Coach Turner Gill’s final year before retiring and in its first season as a full, yet transitional FBS squad, Liberty finished with a 6-6 overall record.
The Panthers dipped to just 2-10 overall (1-8 SBC) after going bowling following the 2017 season–and six of those losses were decided by three possessions or more.
The Monarchs started the season at just 1-6 (although the one win was over the ACC’s Virginia Tech) but rallied to a 3-2 end to finish the season at 4-8 overall (2-6 C-USA) and its second straight losing season.
The Quakers remained in the upper echelon of the Ivy League with a 6-4 record and a perfect 3-0 out-of-conference record. They couldn’t get over the hump, however, when it came to challenging the top teams for the title.
Eastern Kentucky had a good season in 2018 going 7-4 overall, but 7-2 versus FCS competition, losing games to two FBS teams. The Colonels probably felt like their resume was good enough for a playoff berth and were disappointed being left out of the bracket.
Coach Everett Withers finished his third and final season in San Marcos having never won more than three games per year–including finishing just 3-9 overall in 2018 and 7-28 in his full tenure.
Few teams have had as eventful twelve months as the hapless Jayhawks. Despite wins over Rutgers, Central Michigan and conference member TCU in 2018, a 3-9 record saw head coach David Beaty fired over the offseason -and Kansas getting served a lawsuit as a result.
Northern Arizona embodies the wildcard mentality of a fringe playoff team or a losing season in recent years.
The old joke “there’s nowhere, but up to go” is painfully true for the Spartans. Coach Brent Brennan is an accomplished coach who has helped produce many NFL names, but simply struggles to produce wins at SJSU.
UTSA finished dead last in the nation in total offense – averaging just 247 yards per game – and scoring a mere 14 points per outing–yet still finished with a 3-9 overall record (2-6 CUSA).
Incarnate Word went from a football program that few knew existed and put themselves on the map in 2018. The Cardinals finished the regular season at 6-4, although two of the losses came against FBS competition. UIW earned their first FCS playoff berth where they fell to Montana State in the first round.
Last season was incredibly disappointing for all associated with CMU as the Chippewas posted just a 1-win season (1-11 overll & 0-8 MAC) that cost Coach John Bonamego his job.
A year after making its first FCS playoff appearance and getting a win in the opening round, South Dakota had a disappointing 2018 campaign that saw a 4-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in MVFC play.
Some folks thought head coach Chris Ash might be let go after a painful 1-11 season, their lone win coming on opening weekend against Texas State. But he survived a scandal-ridden lost season and is back in 2019.
Idaho had high expectations for “dropping down a level” and coming back to the Big Sky Conference. The Vandals and analysts around the FCS quickly found out that the Big Sky is not a joke and can seriously compete at a high level.
After a 4-8 season in 2017, first year head coach Steve Campbell replaced the Jaguar program’s first head coach, Joey Jones and went down to 3-9 (2-6 Sun Belt) in his first season at South Alabama.
Monmouth followed up a 9-3 playoff season in 2017 with an 8-3 record in 2018. Unfortunately for the Hawks and their fans, that record was not enough to garner them a playoff berth.
“Over 40% of our team are first-year players,” Gilmore said. “And we’re excited to see what some of these freshman can do to enhance our roster and push the upperclassmen to be the best version of themselves on the field.”
The College Sports Journal Staff have put their collective heads together to release our 2019 preseason Top 25 for the upcoming FCS season. CSJ’s voter rolls are comprised of our five FCS football writers that have been following and covering FCS football for years. North Dakota State Bison The defending champs were a unanimous selection.
It was an epic battle of unbeatens when Dartmouth headed to play longtime rival Princeton in late October. The Big Green’s 14-9 loss in that game would be Dartmouth’s only blemish on the year – a terrific 9-1 season that unfortunately didn’t result in an Ivy League title.
The Zips were bitten hard by the injury bug in 2018 to finish just 4-8 overall (2-6 MAC) and let long time Coach Terry Bowden go following the season.
Austin Peay had an uneven 2018 after entering the season with high expectations following a 2017 season that saw them go 8-4. The Governors struggled in conference play, where they went 3-5.
Samford came into the 2018 with high expectations, and was the talk of the FCS after nearly beating Florida State. However, the wheels came off and the Bulldogs lost four straight games before finally getting back on track at the end of the season. The losing streak was too much to overcome for Samford to make the FCS Playoff field.
It may be hard to believe, but there are only 32 days left before the Lehigh Mountain Hawks take the field in their home opener versus St. Francis (PA).
UND moved from the Big Sky Conference to the Independent ranks starting last season and while still playing a predominant Big Sky schedule, the Fighting Hawks slipped to 6-5 after making the FCS playoffs in 2017.
Coach Joe Moglia, 69, returned to the team a little over a year ago from a five-month medical sabbatical that was taken to treat a condition that was causing inflammation in and damage to his lungs to led the team to a 5-7 (2-7 Sun Belt) record.
McNeese State came out of the gates fast, starting the season 5-1 before losing 4 of their last 5 games to miss out on the playoffs.
Two years ago, the Penguins made it to the FCS Championship, where they would be runners-up losing to the James Madison Dukes 28-14. Since then, the Penguins have finished 6-5 and 4-7 the last two seasons, including last year just 3-5 in MVFC play.
Rhode Island was one of the early surprises of the FCS season 2018, starting 5-1 and taking FBS UConn to the limit before losing 56-49. The Rams offense fired on all cylinders, and even kept pace when quarterback JaJuan Lawson went down to injury.
Outside of an upset win over a struggling Samford team, Mercer won the games they were favored in and lost the games where they were an underdog. That added up to a 5-6 record with a 4-4 Southern Conference mark.
The Wildcats left a good taste in the mouths of their fan base winning 4 of their last 5 games including victories over top Southland teams Nicholls and Sam Houston State.
After a 2-3 start, the Jaguars would cut like a hot knife through SWAC butter, winning five straight and beating Rivals Grambling 38-28 in the 45th annual Bayou Classic.
After two-and-a-half embattled seasons as the head coach of Bowling Green , Mike Jinks’ tenure was fired following a 3-9 (2-6 MAC) 2018 season.
Stony Brook had a solid season in 2018, although they took a step back from their excellent 2017 season. The Seawolves made the FCS playoff field, losing in the first round to Southeast Missouri State 28-14.
Southeastern Louisiana went 4-7 in 2018 and were competitive in a number of games, but had a hard time getting the defense off the field to hold leads or complete comebacks.
Western Carolina started the 2018 season with three straight wins, but it was all downhill from there as the Catamounts lost their last 8 games of the season.
Alcorn State’s consistency allowed Fred McNair’s squad to capture their third SWAC Championship in the last five years, capping off the SWAC season with a 37-28 win over Southern in the championship game.
After a 1-6 start with an absolutely brutal out-of-conference schedule and an unfortunate loss to Colgate to start the season, Holy Cross under new head coach Bob Chesney ended the season on a 4 game winning streak to close promisingly at 5-6.
2018 brought a 5-6 overall record, but a respectable 3-2 in conference play.
Missouri State started the season by beating Northern Arizona and Illinois State and also defeated Indiana State, but things went downhill fast from there with the season ending on a five-game losing streak to finish 4-7 overall (2-6 MVFC).
The good news was that head coach Al Bagnoli guided the Lions to their second consecutive winning season. The bad news is that they weren’t able to take that next step towards to becoming Ivy League title contenders, going 3-4 in league play and losing to Harvard and Yale by a combined score of 97-28.
The Aggies got off on a poor start in four blowout losses to begin the season but finished 3-5 to finish 3-9 overall–this was after NMSU’s first bowl season in 2017.
ichmond came into the 2018 season hoping to make a run at a playoff spot. But a porous defense caused the Spiders to struggle the entire season allowing 27 or more points 8 times.
The Salukis are a program that hasn’t had a winning record in five years and last year’s 2-9 (1-7 MVFC) mark was the worst since 2001.
The Owls won their first (FCS Prairie View A&M) and last (Old Dominion) games of the season but unfortantely did not win any other games in between to finish 2-10 overall (1-7 CUSA) in Coach Bloomgren’s first season with the team.
Eastern Illinois struggled to a 3-8 season in 2018, but their games were not without excitement. The lowest combined point total in any of the Panthers’ games in 2018 was 45 points, and that game went to overtime.
UMass finished ranked near the bottom of the country in total defense, with the Minutemen allowing more than 485 yards and 43 points per game in 2018 and would be the last season for Coach Mark Whipple, who was let go after a 4-8 finish.
Murray State lost all three of their non-conference games, which sealed their fate in 2018. In the Ohio Valley, the Racers were 5-3 including one of the most improbable comeback victories and crazy plays of the football season.
