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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.
Welcome, America, to the FCSP’TID Cover Photo Curse.
Eastern Washington, UC Davis, Jacksonville State, and, last week, Montana State graced this space as rising teams that were all but guaranteed spots in the FCS playoffs after a particularly impressive win, or a gut-check performance.
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.
Don’t bother looking at my previous editions of “Playoffs ‘Til I Die” to get a solid playoff bracket. Like the rest of America, I had Eastern Washington and UC Davis in my brackets and now, let’s just say, they are not. As the Big Sky autobid turns, however, we inch ever closer to a better.
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.
It would be nice if Eastern Washington would stop making my sample FCS Playoff brackets look so foolish. The first playoff bracket of the season, I had the Eagles in the field as a seed, mostly on the backs of their potential to win the Big Sky. Two losses and a 1-3 record later, I’m.
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.
Last week, we shook the dust off our first laughable attempt at picking an FCS Playoff field, and this week, we make another laughable attempt at picking an FCS Playoff field, but with a few more data points so that it’s, well, a tiny bit less hilarious. This week, we saw North Dakota State extend.
It was a week of high-profile Top 25 clashes in FCS this week, as the marquee games of the week pitted Delaware vs. North Dakota State and Eastern Washington vs. Jacksonville State. One was a Bison display of dominance, the other a thriller that could be the game of the year. Adding to the fun of this week’s games was a shootout in Vermillion, South Dakota and another big FBS upset in Georgia.
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.
There truly is a never-ending search for content, a fact I was reminded of when I was politely and earnestly asked this week about coming up with an FCS playoff projection for the 2019 season.
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.
Week One saw quite a few Power 5 FBS teams celebrate wins against powerful FCS teams as if they had won a bowl game. Only one FCS program, Central Arkansas, managed to knock off an FBS opponent: for the second straight year, Western Kentucky was defeated by an FCS program
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?
Nicholls started the 2018 season off strong with an upset win over FBS Kansas in overtime. The Colonels would go on to have an excellent season, finishing 9-4 and winning the Southland Conference outright. The Colonels won their opening round playoff game before falling in the second round to eventual national runner up, Eastern Washington.
After many years of success for the Bearkats, 2018 brought a down year. Two time defending Walter Payton Award winner Jeremiah Briscoe graduated after the 2017 season and the Bearkats had to find a way to fill his big shoes.
Central Arkansas started the 2018 campaign 5-2 and looked to be on their way to defending their Southland title. Then the wheels fell off, and the Bears lost three straight games to seal their fate as a team that would miss the playoffs.
If you are an FCS fan and you long to see excellent quarterback play, then have we got a deal for you! The Southland conference is full of excellent returning quarterbacks that should keep the scoreboard operators busy all season long.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Cardinals finished with its first ever FCS playoff appearance (first round loss to Northern Iowa) with a 7-5 overall (6-2 SLC) record–this after finishing just 2-9 in 2017.
It’s May. Spring football is over, and the preseason camps don’t start for a couple months. We are in the doldrums of the FCS offseason. But at this point, everyone is 0-0 and hope springs eternal. 127 schools think they have a shot to make the playoffs and compete for an FCS Championship in Frisco..
CHENEY, Wash. – At the close of the first half, Nicholls, up 14-3, had just advanced the ball 68 yards on 11 plays behind the offensive direction of QB Chase Fourcade, and PK Lorran Fonseca was lining up for a field gol try to put the Colonels up two scores. But Eastern Washington rover Kedrick.
Nicholls at (3) Eastern Washington When: Saturday, December 1, 5:00 PM Where: Roos Field, Cheney, WA TV/Streaming: ESPN College Extra, ESPN3 Nicholls Colonels Thibodaux, Louisiana Southland Conference Enrollment: 5,717 FCS Sagarin Rating: 18 How They Got Here: Nicholls State scored over 40 points for the fifth straight week – all wins – in a first round playoff.
UNI 16, Lamar 13 Video Highlights Courtesy NCAA.com CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – K Austin Errthum booted three field goals, including a 35-yard field goal with 13:09 left in the game that lifted Northern Iowa to a 16-13 Division I FCS first-round playoff win over Lamar. “Everybody’s got the same shot going down the stretch right.
Nicholls 49, San Diego 30 Video Highlights Courtesy NCAA.com THIBODAUX, La. – Nicholls State raced out to a 32-point lead over San Diego early in the third quarter and held off a late rally to win its first playoff game in 32 years, defeating the Toreros, 49-30, Saturday evening at Manning Field in John L..
Montana State 35, Incarnate Word 14 Video Highlights Courtesy NCAA.com BOZEMAN, Mont.—QB Troy Andersen ran for a touchdown and threw for another to lead Montana State to a 35-14 win over Incarnate Word in the first round of the Division I FCS playoffs. MSU (8-4) got the key touchdown early in the fourth quarter when.
San Diego at Nicholls When: Saturday, November 24, 3:00 PM Where: John L Guidry Stadium, Thoibodaux, LA TV/Streaming: ESPN3 San Diego Toreros San Diego, California Pioneer Football League Enrollment: 5,774 FCS Sagarin Rating: 72 Season Recap: The Toreros, who are playing in their third consecutive FCS Playoffs, won the Pioneer Football League with a perfect 8-0 league.
The 2018 FCS Playoff Bracket was announced on ESPNU on November 18th at 12:30 EST, and the NCAA issued their release about the 2018 FCS Playoff Bracket here. There were some interesting matchups, some shocking omissions, and a lot of interesting twists and turns. CSJ’s Jamie Williams, Kent Schmidt and Chuck Burton followed the picks.
All the regular season games have been played, and let’s get right to it. Once again, a quick recap of the rules for the ability to qualify for the FCS Playoffs: The field for the FCS Playoffs is determined at the conclusion of the FCS regular season, which is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. There are.
Though the field for the 2018 FCS Playoffs was clarified a little bit a week before the selection of the field, a chaotic upset-filled week not only thrust an unlikely team to a conference championship at autobid, it sets up a final weekend of the FCS regular season filled with meaningful games. About the only.
What a weekend! Whatever you thought was true in regards to the qualified teams in the FCS Playoff field last week was almost certainly changed after an epic weekend of upsets. About the only outcomes that came out as expected were that the three remaining undefeated teams, 10-0 North Dakota State, 9-0 Colgate, and 9-0.
New Hampshire Can’t Go To The FCS Playoffs, But Can They Prevent JMU From Going, Too? It was supposed to be a coronation, an easy glide for James Madison through the rest of the CAA towards another conference title and possibly the No. 1 overall seed, if everything fell exactly right. But after New Hampshire’s.
Only an Act of God Stands In The the Way of Colgate’s Patriot League Title With Colgate’s 38-0 smothering of Georgetown, the undefeated Raiders have not only gone 4-0 in Patriot League play – they’ve gone five straight games without giving up a touchdown, and have only allowed 3 points during that time frame. The.
Central Arkansas at McNeese State When: Saturday, October 27, 7:00 PM Where: Cowboy Stadium, Lake Charles, LA TV/Streaming: ESPN3 Central Arkansas Bears Central Arkansas won the Southland last year, but appears to get lost in the discussion this year when talking about top conference teams. However, the Bears are 4-1 and tied for the top.
Can Anybody Stand in the way of North Dakota State? What was billed as the Clash of the Titans in the Missouri Valley ended up a laugher, as the Bison dialed up three touchdowns by RB Lance Dunn and were never seriously challenged by the Redbirds in a 28-14 romp. Paired with UNI’s 24-9 upset.
Sam Houston State at Nicholls State When: Saturday, September 22, 4:00 PM Where: John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, LA TV/Streaming: ESPN+ (subscription required) Sam Houston State Bearkats Last week, Sam Houston had its 21 game home winning streak snapped by North Dakota. The Bearkats will need to put that loss behind them as they start.
Here is my upset-laden take on the top 5 FCS football games of the week with video highlights from Week 3. Towson upended one of the early powers in the CAA, Villanova, by scoring 35 straight points against a team that only yielded 26 points in their first two games combined; Western Illinois knocked off.
North Dakota at Sam Houston State When: Saturday, September 15, 7:00 PM Where: Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, TX TV/Streaming: ESPN3 North Dakota TV markets: Bismarck – KXMB CBS 12 Minot – KXMC CBS 13 Dickinson – KXMA CBS 2.2 Williston – KXMD CBS 11 Fargo/Moorhead – WDAY Xtra 6.3 Grand Forks/Devils Lake — WDAZ Xtra 8.3.
Nicholls State at McNeese State When: Saturday, September 15, 7:00 PM Where: Cowboy Stadium, Lake Charles, LA TV/Streaming: CST/ESPN3 Nicholls State Colonels Nicholls State failed I their bid to win back to back games against FBS competition, falling to Tulane 42-17. The Colonels will look to get back on track in a tough Southland Conference.
After two weeks, many teams are starting to show the FCS nation who they are. Some teams are racing up the ranking, while some are plummeting down after starting 0-2. There was only one FCS over FBS win this weekend. Maine went down the Western Kentucky and defeated the Hilltoppers despite falling behind 21-0 early.
Early in the season, teams move up and down in the polls as teams show that they are what we thought they would be; better than anticipated; or way over ranked versus their actual performance. We had a lot of movement from the preseason in the FCS after week one. There were 5 FCS teams that upset.
Sam Houston State Bearkats Location: Huntsville, TX Coach: K.C. Keeler (220-85-1, 46-12 at SHSU) 5th Year at Sam Houston State Stadium: Bowers Stadium (Capacity: 12,593) CSJ Projections: 1st: Southland 7th: Texas 6th: FCS 91st: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: It was another very good season for K.C. Keeler and the Bearkats if you look.
Central Arkansas Bears Location: Conway, AR Coach: Nathan Brown (0-0) 1st Year at Central Arkansas Stadium: Estes Stadium (Capacity: 10,000) CSJ Projections: 2nd: Southland 3rd: Arkansas 16th: FCS 124th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: For the second straight season, Central Arkansas made the FCS playoffs under head coach Steve Campbell, but after the season.
McNeese State Cowboys Location: Lake Charles, LA Coach: Lance Guidry (15-7) 3rd Year at McNeese State Stadium: Cowboy Stadium (Capacity: 17,410) CSJ Projections: 3rd: Southland 5th: Louisiana 23rd: FCS 135th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: A highly-successful 9-2 season ended in disappointment when the Cowboys weren’t invited to the FCS playoffs, doomed by a.
Nicholls State Colonels Location: Thibodeaux, LA Coach: Tim Rebowe (16-18) 4th Year at Nicholls State Stadium: Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium (Capacity: 10,500) CSJ Projections: 4th: Southland 6th: Louisiana 29nd: FCS 143rd: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: After shocking McNeese State in the first week of the season thanks to a late.
Southeastern Louisiana Lions Location: Hammond, LA Coach: Frank Scelfo (0-0) 1st Year at Southeastern Louisiana Stadium: Strawberry Stadium (Capacity: 7,408) CSJ Projections: 5th: Southland 8th: Louisiana 42nd: FCS 162nd: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: After guiding the Lions to a 6-5 mark in his 6th season as head coach, Ron Roberts was hired away.
Abilene Christian Wildcats Location: Abilene, TX Coach: Adam Dorrel (2-9) 2nd Year at Abilene Christian Stadium: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium (Capacity: 12,000) CSJ Projections: 6th: Southland 11th: Texas 48th: FCS 169th: Division I 2017 In A Sentence: In the final game of the season, the injury-plagued Wildcats had to resort to a 3rd string.
