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The newest MVFC member is North Dakota had a very successful first season in the MVFC this past spring in being a tri-champion. The Fighting Hawks won their first ever DI playoff game over MVFC mate Missouri State before falling to FCS power James Madison in the quarterfinals.
Northern Iowa was just not on its game this past spring in finishing with a losing record for the first time since the 2016 season. That next season of 2017, the Panthers bounced back to make the playoffs. UNI hopes to duplicate that in the 2021 season.
Southern Illinois got over the hump this past spring with its first playoff bid since 2009. SIU used the most of their appearance in getting an upset win at Weber State in the first round and the Salukis advanced to the quarterfinals but lost at 31-26 heartbreaker to MVFC mate South Dakota State.
MSU finished tied for the conference crown and also received the team’s first playoff bid since 1990. While the Bears would fall in the first round to MVFC foe North Dakota, the team exceeded expectations by a long shot in Perinto’s first campaign in Springfield.
Illinois State lost its first three contests before defeating Western Illinois in what would be their last game of the spring. Illinois State after that win then shut down their season due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
USD started Carson Camp as the first freshman quarterback to start a season opener in recorded history at USD. He was the Valley’s second-leading passer and ranked 16th nationally at 241 yards per game.
Coach Doug Phillips took over the Penguins this past spring season after most recently being on the staff of FBS Cincinnati. He was previously on the YSU staff as a graduate assistant in 1991 and 1992.
Western Illinois had no problems really on offense this past spring with QB Conner Sampson leading the team with two go-to receivers in Dennis Houston and Tony Tate being his prime targets.
Indiana State was the lone MVFC squad to decide to not play any game in the spring 2021 schedule. The Sycamores will be the first MVFC team to play this fall with a game at home in Week 0 versus the Ohio Valley’s Eastern Illinois.
The reimagined Southland’s fall hopes rest mainly on a high-octane Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 4-2) squad that just missed the spring playoffs, and a Nicholls (4-3, 3-3) team that saw its streak of FCS playoff berths end at three but remains talented.
Head coach Frank Scelfo has Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 4-2) poised to make a run at the Southland title and an FCS playoff berth this year.
The preseason favorite to win the Southland in the spring, Nicholls (4-3, 3-3) struggled down the stretch – losing three of its final four games to finish third in the conference.
The UIW offense was spectacular, averaging 42 points per game due to the emergence of Jerry Rice Award winner – given to FCS’s top freshman – Cameron Ward (2,260 yards, 24 TDs).
No team in the country dealt with more hardship last year than McNeese (3-4, 2-4).
With the transfer of Bailey Zappe, Houston Baptist (1-3, 0-0) will have a new starting quarterback for the first time since 2017.
Northwestern State (1-5, 1-5) is poised for a breakout season this year despite a tough spring season.
“What a time this is to be a football fan,” Eastern Illinois coach Adam Cushing said. “We have a second season … two football seasons in one calendar year.”
The Govs look to challenge for the top spot in the league.
Returning all 22 starters from the previous season is something rarely seen in college football. Couple that with the fact a new coach got those 22 players to perform at a high level in their first season together only fuels the excitement in southern Kentucky this season.
In the boot hill of the Show-Me State, Southeast Missouri State has the potential to sweep through the OVC. Just ask SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz.
The Skyhawks find themselves sitting in the middle of the OVC preseason poll. And that’s a pretty good sport since there are some question marks surrounding UT as the start of fall camp looms on the horizon.
Three of Tech’s setbacks were by a combined 16 points. Now the Golden Eagles think they have something to prove to those naysayers.
While one NFL hall of famer continues to cherish the sound of his own voice on a daily basis as he looks to become known as a successful coach, another, even more successful collegiate player, begins his coaching career not far from where he earned his spot in Canton.
Eastern Illinois has every reason to believe things will return to normal in Charleston and that the Panthers will once again become a force in the FCS. But it’s going to take some baby steps and 2021 will likely not be the year it happens.
The College Sports Journal staff has compiled the College Sports Journal’s Preseason Top 25.
At Lehigh there is the hope that less restrictive practices and a return to a normal fall practice will mean a return to more familiar winning ways.
Today we had an emergency convo to figure out what could end up happening with the Big XII, the Group of Five, and the upper echelons of the FCS. The one thing everyone seemed to agree on is that change will be happening, and the Group of 5 and FCS won’t look the same as it does now once it’s done.
Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2021 College Sports Journal G5 All-America Team. As a reminder, the Group of Five FBS conferences include the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference.
Tippett, a former standout at the University of Iowa, will be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame later this year in Atlanta.
USC would learn from those setbacks and rebounded to win nine of the next 10 games to improve to 13-5. It set a tone of resiliency that would come to prove important as the Trojans staved off elimination five times in the postseason in the school’s run to the national championship.
Just over 30 days from getting underway in Tokyo, I have been reminded of an interview I had nearly a decade ago with legendary Olympian Billy Mills when he spoke at a gathering in my home state of North Dakota.
Reading the entire 52 page decision, including the majority opinion written by Judge Neil Gorsuch and concurring opinion by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, one thought repeatedly returns to my mind: What the hell was the NCAA thinking?
Florida A&M punter Greg “Coffin Corner” Coleman did his job with a level of expertise that has landed him a spot in the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
I thought it would be interesting to look back through FCS history to figure out the top teams of the last decade.
For two days in 1921 the University of Chicago campus, considered to be one of the most picturesque in America, was front and center as the nation’s top collegiate track and field athletes gathered to compete in the NCAA national championship meet.
Lemke was pretty darn good at throwing the javelin and parlayed that talent into a long coaching career that will come to an end June 14 at the conclusion of the NCAA national track and field championship meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Thirty years on the job as coach of the Razorback women’s cross country and track programs have produced a bevy of highlights, titles and other accolades, including a Triple Crown as Arkansas swept the national indoor and outdoor championships in 2019 and added the national title in cross country just a few months later.
While Bowerman and Prefontaine’s places are secure for all time, less than an hour up the road from the campus in Eugene, where the Oregon legends left an indelible mark on the sport, the Oregon State women’s track and cross-country teams are making a name for themselves.
In the end, even the wind was no match for Renaldo Nehemiah.
Schmid was 20 for 37 passing with 209 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while adding 54 yards on the ground. Jequez Ezzard hauled in a season-high 10 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bearkats’ aerial attack, with no reception proving more important than his final one.
The Sam Houston defensive line just keeps on coming. The offense came through in the second half, but the defensive front has lived behind the line of scrimmage all season long.
With a matchup between two of the top teams in the FCS over the last decade, College Sports Journal went to its two writers who have covered these two teams closely all season.
This week, the Gang got together and talked about their big takeaways from the FCS quarterfinal games this past weekend.
These two Missouri Valley Football Conference foes have survived a tough conference schedule and the first round of the playoffs. Southern Illinois will be looking for the upset of the playoffs and revenge against the Jackrabbits for their 44-3 loss earlier in the year.
Find everything you need to know about this weekend’s FCS Playoff games and the SWAC Championship, including full previews, and our staff’s predictions on how the games are going to go.
These two teams both play a similar style. Both like to run the ball on offense to set up the pass.
This game may be for the birds, but it will certainly not be for the faint of heart and it certainly has all the earmarks of an instant classic.
North Dakota State is in the postseason for the 11th straight season dating back to 2010 when the Bison advanced to the FCS quarterfinals in their first appearance. Overall, NDSU has a 37-2 record in the FCS playoffs.
We are finally here! This weekend we will see the spring season of SWAC football come to an end as the SWAC East champions Alabama A&M Bulldogs will take on the somewhat surprising SWAC West champion Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions.
The Big Sky crashed out of the spring FCS Playoffs, with Weber State and Eastern Washington losing early leads in two defeats.
