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.
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.
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.
Two games with huge possible postseason implications are on tap this weekend.
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?
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.
The college football landscape is a fluid bed of magma that constantly changes. Television contracts of major FBS conferences are up for renewal in the coming years and a potential realignment is on the not-so-distant horizon. Closer to the home of the FCS is a potential revitalization of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) offering football […]
This game between Austin Peay and Central Arkansas was supposed to kick off another exciting season of FCS football. These are two teams who won their conferences in 2019.
How do teams outside the FCS “Big Three” conferences take that final step to become national championship contenders, and how do these conferences gain national respect?
The Patriot League’s dilemmas, whether the rest of FCS admits it or not, is the FCS’ dilemmas. And as we inch closer to an alleged 2020 college football season, the NCAA needs to make some things very clear before a huge mess happens.
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.
Sixty student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Championship Subdivision have been named to the 2020 College Sports Journal Preseason FCS All-America Team.
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.
Northwestern State was a 5-6 team overall but did win three of its last four and was just three points shy of NSU’s first winning season since 2008 in Coach Brad Laird’s first season in Natchitoches. They played in a number of very competitive games, including a double OT win over a ranked McNeese State.
SFA hired 2017 D-II national title winning Coach Colby Carthel away from Texas A&M-Commerce.
Lamar at Northern Iowa When: Saturday, November 24, 4:00 PM CST Where: UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa TV/Streaming: ESPN3 Lamar Cardinals (7-4, 6-3 SLC) Beaumont, Texas Southland Conference Enrollment: 9,234 FCS Sagarin Rating: 186 (56 in FCS) Season Recap: Riding the back of one of the nation’s longest win streaks, Lamar has advanced to the NCAA FCS […]
Incarnate Word at Montana State When: Saturday, November 24, 1:00 PM MST Where: Bobcat Stadium, Bozeman, MT TV/Streaming: ESPN3 Incarnate Word Cardinals (6-4, 6-2 Southland) San Antonio, Tex. Southland Conference Enrollment: 10,389 FCS Sagarin Rating: 173 (47 in FCS) Season Recap:In one season, UIW football Head Coach Eric Morris took the Cardinals from a 1-10 record (2017) to a 6-4 […]
With a week to go, here’s the latest projected bracket from College Sports Journal. This year, we are picking a bracket based on staff picks, Sagarin Ratings, the FCS Coaches’ Poll, and some special sauce to determine who we think will be in the playoff field, who is seeded, who is in, who is out. […]
With two weeks to go, here’s the latest projected bracket from College Sports Journal. This year, we are picking a bracket based on staff picks, Sagarin Ratings, the FCS Coaches’ Poll, and some special sauce to determine who we think will be in the playoff field, who is seeded, who is in, who is out. […]
It’s that time of year again! This year, we are picking a bracket based on staff picks, Sagarin Ratings, the FCS Coaches’ Poll, and some special sauce to determine who we think will be in the playoff field, who is seeded, who is in, who is out. In the FCS playoffs, there are 10 conferences […]
Top 10 Twitter Highlights No. 2-ranked North Dakota State rushed for 375 yards and rolled to a 40-13 victory over No. 6-ranked Eastern Washington in a key non-conference football game Saturday, Sept. 9. Bruce Anderson had 160 yards and one touchdown and Lance Dunn ran for 148 yards and three TDs for the Bison, who […]
CSJ’s Predicted Order of finish: Sam Houston State Central Arkansas McNeese State Nicholls State Southeastern Louisiana Stephen F. Austin Lamar Abilene Christian Northwestern State Incarnate Word Houston Baptist Sam Houston State Fearless Prediction: The Bearkats have dominated the Southland Conference as of late and likely will again this year but have not been able […]
All the Southland Conference teams this year will likely still be chasing FCS power Sam Houston State, but Central Arkansas, Nicholls State, McNeese State and Southeastern Louisiana provide excellent depth in the title race. Last year, Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas were the two particpants from the eleven school league to make the postseason. […]
HARRISONBURG, Va. — For one play, everything seemed to be going Sam Houston State’s way in its quarterfinal-round, Football Championship Subdivision playoff game at James Madison. After tipping a pass and forcing an interception on JMU’s first offensive play, the roof caved in on the previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Bearkats in a shocking 65-7 […]
INDIANAPOLIS—The field of 24 teams competing for the 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee. The top eight national seeds will host winners from the first-round match-ups. Five-time defending national champion North Dakota State (10-1) tops the bracket as the number one seed after tying […]
To close out the FCS Playoff projection brackets, Kent Schmidt and Chuck Burton will post their final sample brackets. Tune in tomorrow to ESPNU at 11:00AM Eastern to see how close they got! NOTE: Home team in CAPS in the brackets. Conference Champions Autobid Winners: Big Sky: North Dakota Big South: Charleston Southern CAA: […]
Everyone knows about Eastern Washington, Northern Iowa and Richmond this past weekend. As so often happens seemingly every year, the best of the best in FCS surprise everyone but themselves in the first week of the college football season, taking down members of the “Power Five” conferences that didn’t see it coming – Washington State, […]
The Big 12 has made some news this college football offseason as they have been publicly mulling expansion. They’ve been thinking about expanding by 2 teams, putting them at 12 overall, or 4 teams, putting them at 14. Reportedly eighteen schools, including some head-scratching candidates such as Air Force and Arkansas State, have pitched the Big […]
Special to College Sports Journal Editor’s note: This story is courtesy of Sam Houston State and Colgate athletics. HUNTSVILLE, TX. — Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe passed for 358 yards and four touchdowns and running back Corey Avery rushed 25 times for 197 yards and a score to lead Sam Houston to a 48-21 victory over Colgate […]
