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.
Sam Houston State defeated South Dakota State 23-21 to complete a perfect season and National Championship win. After a long awaited FCS National Title game we finally have a winner to crown from this crazy season. The teams who made it to the playoffs suffered through opt outs, cancelled games, players going through numerous tests, […]
Below are the final Top 25 rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the Division I FCS Spring 2021 schedule. These rankings are amongst all the FCS teams that participated with at least three games in the spring schedule and includes teams that may have opted out of the season. NOTE: the Ivy League and […]
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.
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.
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.
Find everything you need to know about this weekend’s FCS Playoff games, including full previews, and our staff’s predictions on how the games are going to go.
The game will feature two of most explosive offenses in the FCS with the Hawks averaging 41.7 points per game which is fifth in the FCS and Sam Houston scoring 45.4 per contest just ahead of MU in fourth.
The FCS Playoff bracket was announced this past Sunday at the conclusion of the historic spring football season. After the euphoria of realizing that the FCS actually made it to the finish line, despite lots of uncertainty, CSJ then proceeded to do what they do best – enter a spirited discussion on who really should have been in, out, seeded, or not.
After watching and following all spring, here’s my prediction of who’s in and who’s out of the FCS Playoff bracket this spring. The selection special is at 11:30 AM Sunday and will be unveiled on ESPNU.
Two games with huge possible postseason implications are on tap this weekend.
It was again calm at the top and crazy in the middle of the top 25 from last week. Selection Sunday is this weekend. The playoff field will be set and it will be time for the post season.
Below are the Top 25 rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending April 3rd. These rankings are amongst the now 88 schools participating in the spring schedule. Joining Illinois State, who opted out the prior week, to opt out of the season after starting their season are Albany, Chattanooga, and Cal Poly […]
Lots of playoff implications on the line for the Southland this weekend.
It was pretty calm at the top of the Top 25 last week. Most teams didn’t play. But the middle, throw it in a blender. We have two weeks left before selection Sunday.
Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler feels like this could be his best team yet; Northwestern State head coach Brad Laird is in a rebuilding year and knows his team must start games better.
Another week, another round of upsets in the FCS. Jacksonville State and Chattanooga were both top 10 teams last week. Both lost. We nearly had a second straight week where our number one team lost, but Weber State got a 50 yard hail mary on the last play of the game to preserve the win. VMI has moved within one win of the Southern Conference title. Our eyes will be on them this weekend.
Our number one team from last week went down. North Dakota State dominated both sides of the trenches to beat North Dakota. Sam Houston continue to roll in the Southland. VMI and Chattanooga kept their unbeaten starts going by a combined 3 points. And in the CAA Rhode Island is 2-0 with two ranked wins, as everyone predicted (not exactly).
We’re about at about the midpoint of the spring season, and the writers at CSJ get together to take stock of the season so far.
It was another topsy turvy week in the FCS. 2 of our top five from last week lost. Things have been changing week by week and this week is no different. We have a new #1 team at College Sports Journal this week but only by one single vote..
Below are the Top 25 rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending March 14th. These rankings are amongst the 92 schools participating in the spring schedule. NOTE: the Ivy League and Mid-Eastern (MEAC) conferences are not participating in the 2021 spring schedule. North Dakota State moves back into the top spot […]
Nicholls at Sam Houston is a must-see game – it could decide the Southland. If you like offense, this game is a must-see. The winner has the inside track to the autobid to the FCS Playoffs, and potentially even a seed. The loser isn’t done, but there will be nervous weeks ahead. Is Sam Houston back among the top FCS teams? Is Nicholls ready for that next step?
As chaotic as last week was, this week was as docile. The highest ranked team from last week’s College Sports Journal top 25 that lost was #13. We do have a new #1 team here at College Sports Journal this week.
Compared to the chaos of the final week of February, where we saw half the top 25 lose, the results of the first week in March could instead be called “March Mildness”.
Five players including QB Nic Baker from Southern Illinois, QB Eric Schmid from Sam Houston State, RB Brian Snead from Austin Peay, LB Connor Riddle from VMI, and PK James Baird from Dixie State have been selected as the College Sports Journal FCS All-Stars for the week ending February 21st, 2021.
As expected there was a bunch of movement this week. The biggest shock is the one everyone has been talking about: North Dakota State not only lost, but lost big. It still remains to be seen how the Bison will wind up this Spring, but last week was their worst game in almost a decade.
Like many other football fans across the nation of FCS, we watched North Dakota State’s 39 game winning streak come to an end in Carbondale, Illinois, but it wasn’t the only event this weekend that had us shaking our heads.
This week we welcome the SWAC, Big Sky, and Big South to the wonderful world of spring FCS football, to go with the Missouri Valley, SoCon and OVC, who started their spring conference slates last week, and Tarleton State, who spent their time crushing FBS New Mexico State 43-17.
McNeese State and Nicholls are the only two Southland schools that have already played spring football games, winning both. This weekend the Southland Conference opens with important conference games.
This weekend saw the best-ever spring weekend of FCS football in history, with a near-full slate of thrilling Missouri Valley conference action, a back-and-forth affair in the OVC, the start of SoCon play, and even a good old-fashioned FCS over FBS upset. It’s like a typical FCS football weekend. Except it’s February 22nd.
With three playoff teams in 2019, including 2018 champion and 2019 co-champ Nicholls, the Sam Houston State Bearkats seek a return to form following seven straight NCAA trips from 2011-17 that began with two title game appearances.
Nicholls is the favorite for the Southland Conference spring football season based on a preseason vote, the league announced Wednesday.
Playing a radically shortened season of six “regular-season” games would allow for most teams to only have a season that is marginally longer than what they would do for spring practices. And from those games, it is possible to come up with an FCS Championship.
CSJ’s David Mays caught up with Sam Houston State offensive coordinator Ryan Carty to talk Bearcats football, CAA football, and a journey that took him from the East coast to the epicenter of Texas football.
Of our preseason poll last year, only 6 of the top 10 teams made the playoffs. 13 of the full 25 played past Thanksgiving. Its 2020, the year of complete chaos.
It has taken until the last week of the regular season, but we finally have some clarity in the Southland Conference.
If you know what’s going to happen in the Southland Conference these last two weeks, head out to Vegas and make yourself a lot of money.
While Central Arkansas seems to have control of the Southland at his point, the conference has shown that anything can happen on a weekly basis. There are three teams nipping at the Bears’ heels just one game back in the standings.
If the playoffs started today, the Southland would easily have four teams in the playoffs, and would still have at least one team that would feel snubbed. The Southland has taken a big step forward to become that fourth conference just behind the big three. There is still a lot of football to be played, but this is one of the more intriguing races as we head down the stretch.
After week seven, the Southland has only one team unbeaten in conference play – defending champion Nicholls – after Sam Houston State lost in triple overtime to Lamar. The race is still wide open and the Southland could see anywhere between two and four playoff berths. Southeastern Louisiana lost its second straight contest and will […]
Last week, Nicholls asserted itself as the team to beat by cruising over Central Arkansas. Sam Houston State currently leads the conference at 3-0 and is looking to return to the playoffs after a one year absence. Houston Baptist could not continue its winning ways, falling to Incarnate Word.
The Southland boasts one of the best stories of the early FCS season. Houston Baptist was 2-20 over the last two seasons with just one FCS win. SO far this year, the Huskies have nearly beaten an FBS opponent and rattled off four straight wins. The schedule gets tougher the rest of the way for them, but they seem equipped to get more wins. Bailey Zappe has been phenomenal at quarterback, putting himself on the outskirts of the Walter Payton conversation.
1/3 of the way through the season, there are still a large number of Southland teams in contention for the league title. What was already thought to be a crowded field has only gotten more crowded with the level of play of Southeastern Louisiana.
Week three brought a mixed bag of results in the Southland. Houston Baptist shocked the FCS world with their exciting 53-52 upset of MVFC member South Dakota. Sam Houston State was unable to avenge their 2018 loss to North Dakota, again falling to the Fighting Hawks. In conference, Central Arkansas and Abilene Christian lived up to the pregame hype with the Bears prevailing late 31-30.
The Southland did not have many FCS vs FCS games last week. However, two of its teams – Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin – lost to Division II opponents. The one team we continue to be impressed by is Central Arkansas. The Bears used another comeback to defeat Austin Peay.
The Southland Conference picked up two of the biggest early wins and one of the most talked about close losses to an FBS team in week one. Central Arkansas scored 21 fourth quarter points to upset Western Kentucky. Southeastern Louisiana took Jacksonville behind the woodshed in the biggest upset of the week. Unfortunately the Lions will not get to build on that momentum due to Hurricane Dorian causing the cancellation of their game with Bethune-Cookman. Houston Baptist surprised everyone by taking a fourth quarter lead against UTEP. The bottom rung Southland team came up just short, but Bailey Zappe put himself on the map as a quarterback to watch.
Every Southland team is playing on opening weekend, which means all Southland fans will be in for a treat of quarterback play. Better yet, there are multiple Southland teams that have a chance to pull of upsets of FBS teams this weekend. Who are they?
