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As a JMU fan and alum, it was tough to sit inside a cold Toyota Stadium this past Saturday and watch my team lose. What was even tougher was knowing that JMU lost because North Dakota State simply executed better.
The Tigers were dominant all season and got here by winning the SEC Crown by defeating Georgia and by boat racing Oklahoma in the CFP Semifinal. Coach Ed Orgeron has put together a team that has been very good on both sides of the ball.
When looking at James Madison’s road to Frisco and the FCS National Championship game this weekend, you have to look farther back than just the beginning of this season.
The FCS National Championship game will be played this weekend in Frisco, Texas and will be televised nationally on ABC. Prior to the game, the College Sports Journal crew – Chuck Burton, Ray Maloney, Ben Schleiger, Kent Schmidt and Jamie Williams – sat down for a Championship game round table to discuss the game.
We are just over a week out from the FCS National Championship game in Frisco, TX. By all accounts, this should be a tightly contested, close matchup featuring the two best teams in the country. Let’s take a position by position look at the number two team in the country, the James Madison Dukes.
Notre Dame turned two early miscues into 10 points that fueled a 33-9 win over the Cyclones on Dec. 28 in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando.
Aggie quarterback Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw one touchdown pass to help Texas A&M rally to defeat Oklahoma State 24-21.
J’Mar Smith passed for one touchdown and ran for another with just over one minute remaining in the game as Louisiana Tech blanked the Hurricanes 14-0 on Thursday in Shreveport.
The game will mark Virginia’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl. The Cavaliers are 9-4 overall and the ACC Coastal Division champion. The Orange Bowl will mark UVA’s 21st bowl appearance and third consecutive under fourth-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Mississippi State goes for its third straight victory when it meets Louisville of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Monday from Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
Illinois is making its 19th bowl appearance in school history, but the first under Lovie Smith and the Fighting Illini are looking to get back in the win column against the Golden Bears.
A berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game is on the line as Ohio State and Clemson do battle in this year’s PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
In a way it’s very fitting that Michigan State returns to the Bronx to play a football game, as there is an amazing Michigan State and Fordham connection.
Mack Brown took on the challenge of getting North Carolina back into postseason play in November of 2018, and a year later, after some dancing, some oh-so-close monumental upsets and some agonizing losses, Mack has brought North Carolina back. All that’s left for him to so is get a win and head into the offseason with a winning record.
This year’s Camping World Bowl features a pair of teams with bowl resumes on opposite sides of the spectrum with Iowa State appearing in a bowl for just the 15th time in school history.
The Cowboys are appearing in a bowl game for the 14 straight season and the 30th time in school history. OSU owns a 19-10 in its previous bowl appearances dating back to a win in the 1944 Cotton Bowl when the Pokes blanked TCU 34-0 at the historic stadium in Lone Star State.
The first Independence Bowl was played in 1977 and saw Louisiana Tech defeat Louisville 24-14. Louisville returned the following season and dropped a 35-13 decision to East Carolina. Louisiana Tech also appeared in two other Independence Bowls, a 34-34 tie against Maryland in 1990 and a 17-10 win over Northern Illinois in 2008.
The Owls’ perfection in bowl games remained intact as Florida Atlantic cruised past SMU 52-28 to win the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 21 at FAU Stadium.
A history-making season at Liberty was capped in the most perfect of ways as the Flames shut down Georgia Southern’s vaunted rushing attack and defeated the Eagles 23-16 to capture the 2019 FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl on Saturday in front of 18,158 fans at Exploria Stadium.
James Madison powered their way to Frisco and the FCS National Championship Game with a decisive 30-14 win at Bridgeforth Stadium this past Saturday.
Appalachian State vs. UAB (New Orleans Bowl) When: Saturday, December 21st, 9:00 PM EST Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) New Orleans Bowl History (Last 6) Dec. 15th, 2018: Appalachian State 45, Middle Tennessee State 13 Dec. 16th, 2017: Troy 50, North Texas 30 Dec. 17th, 2016: Southern Miss 28, Louisiana-Lafayette.
It’s the next-to-last weekend of FCS football action, and it’s going to be a jam-packed Saturday with three games to showcase the best of FCS football. The unofficial HBCU National Championship is on the line, while the FCS Playoff Final Four see who advances to Frisco.
Clark’s incredible journey came full-circle on Friday afternoon when he was introduced as the 22nd head football coach at Appalachian State.
Central Michigan vs. San Diego State (New Mexico Bowl) When: Saturday, December 21, 2:00 PM EST Where: Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M. TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) New Mexico Bowl Bowl History December 23, 2006 San Jose State 20 New Mexico 12 December 22, 2007 New Mexico 23 Nevada 0 December 20, 2008 Colorado State 40.
Kiffin, a veteran of many coaching jobs in his career, both college and pro, resigned following FAU’s 49-6 win over UAB in the C-USA championship game to become the head coach at Ole Miss. Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer will be the interim coach for the bowl game and recently hired coach Willie Taggart will become the head coach of the Owls following the bowl game.
The College Sports Journal staff thought it would be a good idea to get some perspective on the Weber St/James Madison game from the guys who covered them all year. In this roundtable, CSJ staffers Ben Schleiger and Jamie Williams give you a deeper look at the two teams. Jamie -What is the status of.
FCS Semifinal Round Playoff Matchup: Montana State at North Dakota State Where: Fargodome, Fargo, N.D. When: Saturday, December 21st, 1:00PM CST TV/Streaming: ESPN2/Watch ESPN #5 Montana State Bobcats Coach: Jeff Choate – 4th Year at Montana State – 4 Years Total as a Head Coach Record at Montana State: 28-21 Overall Record: 28-21 Big Sky Championships:.
Georgia Southern, winners of six Football Championship Subdivision national titles before making the transition to the FBS in 2014, is appearing in a bowl game for the third time in school history.
Weber State may have taken down the most dangerous team outside of James Madison and North Dakota State. Montana was a fierce competitor that I thought had all the weapons necessary to move past Weber and make a push to Frisco.
The Dukes were not happy with their offensive production. Between penalties, turnovers and missed field goals, Coach Curt Cignetti felt the team left a lot of points on the board. A normally efficient red zone offense struggle to add to the early lead. It didn’t cost them this week, but the coaches know they need to tighten that up the rest of the way.
Happily for Bulls fans, Buffalo was able to reload, not rebuild, as they competed for the MAC East title all season and easily qualified for bowl eligibility with a 49-30 win over Toledo and, for good measure, pounded Bowling Green 49-7 the following week, leaving zero doubt.
On a wet, snowy evening at Stewart Stadium, Weber State’s defense and special teams were the main reason the Wildcats defeated their bitter rivals Montana 17-10 and advanced to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs for the first time in school history.
James Madison used a suffocating defense and just enough offense to defeat Northern Iowa 17-0 in the Quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
The irresistible force met the immovable object and on this night the force prevailed.
FARGO, N.D.—North Dakota State did not score a touchdown, but three field goals proved to be enough to secure its ninth straight Division I FCS semi-final appearance in a 9-3 victory over fellow Missouri Valley Football Member Illinois State in front o 14,132 in attendance inside the Fargodome. This game was the first time North.
“The only thing that is fun about this game is winning it,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said this week.
We’re down to the final eight teams in the FCS Playoffs, as an unprecedented six of those teams face off on Friday evening in an intriguing tripleheader that includes three Big Sky teams. All three games played after sundown could be deeply affected by the weather.
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A weekend trip out east to face new conference foes was beneficial for coach Tom Borrelli’s Central Michigan squad as the Chippewas downed ranked opponents Rider 28-10 and Lock Haven 24-12 to enter this week’s NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll at No. 24. The Chippewas (2-1) faced off with both schools for.
FCS Second Round Playoff Matchup: Illinois State at North Dakota State Where: Fargodome, Fargo, North Dakota When: Saturday, December 14th, 12:00PM EST TV/Streaming: ESPN/Watch ESPN Illinois State Redbirds (10-4), Head Coach: Brock Spack Missouri Valley Normal, Illinois The Redbirds have won two road games to set up this all MVFC quarterfinal. Illinois State has defeated Southeast.
After winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship for just the second time in school history and the first since 1977, the Governors won their second straight playoff game with a resounding win over Sacramento State last weekend. APSU has a chance to knock off another Big Sky Conference foe when the Govs travel to Bozeman, Montana, to take on Montana State in a Friday night clash.
The Panthers play exceptional defense. They allowed only 220 yards against South Dakota State and 213 against San Diego. They will need a similar performance to stay in the game against James Madison.
With the second round of the FCS Playoffs now complete, we give you links to all our recaps and our writers’ impression of the games.
OGDEN, UT – Kennesaw State jumped to a 17-12 halftime lead over Weber State in their FCS Playoff matchup, but the host Wildcats used a big defensive play to take the lead and rode its momentum to a 26-20 second-round win.
Another chapter was written in Austin Peay’s history-making season as the Governors rolled early and often on their way to a 42-28 win over Sacramento State on Saturday in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs at Hornet Field.
Hosting their first FCS Playoff games since 2015, the Grizzlies put on a show for their home fans, setting program and national records as they defeated Southeastern Louisiana 73-28 in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
Montana State used a balanced offense and solid defense to easily defeat Albany 47-21 in their second round matchup in the FCS playoffs. Even though Albany did get the scoring starting on an excellent 58 yard pitch and catch from Jeff Undercuffler to Juwan Green, From there, it was all Bobcats.
The opening fifteen minutes and five seconds of the second round FCS playoff game between Monmouth and Jamses Madison featured six touchdowns, three by the visiting Hawks and three by the hosting Dukes. After that thrilling start, however, James Madison would score 45 unanswered points on the way to a dominating 66-21 victory.
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Behind a dominating defensive effort, Northern Iowa rallied for a 13-10 victory over #7 seeded South Dakota State in front of 4,102 fans at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Northern Iowa (10-4) kicker Matthew Cook converted the go-ahead 18-yard field goal with 2:10 left and the UNI defense did what it did the.
FARGO, N.D. — Top seeded North Dakota State set a new FCS record with its 34th consecutive victory, pulling away from Nicholls in the second half for a 37-13 win in the second round of the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs in front of 15,690 at the Fargodome. North Dakota State (13-0) broke a tie.
Illinois State RB James Robinson followed up his 297 yard effort last week against Southeast Missouri State with a 210 yard rushing game against Central Arkansas, including two touchdowns as the Redbirds defeated Central Arkansas 24-14 in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
