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In a week of chaos and controversy around the FCS we saw the Big Sky feature one of the top headlines. Undoubtedly, the top headline was the end of the North Dakota State winning streak, but a close second was the “missed” field goal during the Eastern Washington/ Idaho game. For those who missed it,.
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.
The Big Sky Conference starts their six week conference only schedule this weekend. The teams opting not to play include Sacramento State, Montana, Montana State, Portland State, and Northern Colorado. The rest of the conference looks to navigate the six game schedule into an automatic qualifying position or an at-large big for the abbreviated 16.
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.
The CSJ writing staff answer the questions many of us have about the beginning of this unprecedented FCS season.
The top 25 below has been compiled by vote from each member of the College Sports Journal FCS staff. Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, its going to be a weird spring season.
The Big Sky plans for a six-game conference-only schedule with two open weeks (March 20th & April 17th). In the time leading up to that, there has been a lot of changes in staff and players, with plenty of time for more chaos.
New Weber State TE Logan Strom has taken a very interesting route to the Wildcat football program. The former two-sport Norfolk High school (NE) standout has been to several different programs in basketball before deciding recently to head to Ogden, Utah as a prospective TE. Our David Mays caught up with Logan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Montana pulled the upset so things could get messy in the Big Sky as to who is or is not a champion. The rare, but special three way tie is a very realistic possibility for the Big Sky. Montana needs to survive “Brawl of the Wild”, Weber surviving Idaho State, and Sacramento State surviving UC.
The Big Sky has been a game of boggle lately as each time you shake it something big changes. Montana and Sacramento State will duke it out for the drivers seat this weekend. Another notable match will be to see if NAU can play spoiler or Weber State will continue to establish their top ten.
The Big Sky is a pendulum of normal games to chaotic endings many would not have suspected. What will we get Saturday? Despite the Northern Colorado betting line being the highest at 12.5 underdog, I think every team this week has a legitimate shot of winning their perspective game.
This week, most of the Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have a bye week but two teams are still in action. One of the games this week is a match-up of two Top 10 teams in the final Big Sky-MVFC matchup with Northern Iowa visiting Weber State. The MVFC has already won this year’s challenge.
Marquee: Jacksonville State def. Eastern Washington 49-45 A tidal wave of shock was sent across the FCS landscape as Jacksonville State pulled off a momentous upset. After the first quarter it seemed as if the fate of the game was going to be easily determined with a 28-7 EWU lead. Things would even out much.
The non-conference gauntlet continues in Week 3 with PAC 12 and Mountain West FBS matches, long distance FCS games, and one D-II game. Weber State has the best chance to make a “Fear the FCS” moment, but all of the FBS games this week have the potential to be ugly. Looking ahead at the FCS games is a different story, as Big Sky teams have the talent to win big. NAU versus Western New Mexico will be an obvious win barring a strong Lumberjack performance.
Marquee: Montana State def. SEMO 38-17 The Redhawks gave their best effort, but the Bobcats prevailed dominant. A close halftime score did not define the game as Montana State went on a 28-7 run to win. Casey Bauman performed adequately, while the running game established itself as a deciding factor. Bauman passed for 136 yards.
The Big Sky schedule in general switches from an uphill FBS heavy schedule to a now D2 and interesting FCS matches week. With the schedule almost evenly in thirds of D2 (or lower), FCS, and FBS games will show variety of strengths and weaknesses of the Big Sky teams. Considering the hodgepodge of games available the game of the week is centered on SEMO vs. Montana State. Both are last year playoff teams and have a strong depth of players. This could be hard hitting and high-intensity game that gets decided in the fourth quarter.
A Dalton Sneed-led Montana team went on the offensive and never looked back. It took a Coyote field goal in the second quarter for the Grizzlies to jump back from hibernation. That South Dakota field goal would be the only led Austin Simmons and company would enjoy all game long.
The Big Sky Conference is one of the Power 3 conferences in FCS football and will continue that tradition this year too. In our College Sports Journal Top 25 four Big Sky teams placed in the top ten, including Eastern Washington and UC Davis within the top five. A strong year is in store for.
Despite a terrible passing game, the 2018 season went very well for the Wildcats until they lost a close second-round playoff game. The defense carried the team through tough games such as Eastern Washington and Montana State. Without the help of breakout freshman RB Josh Davis, the Wildcats would not have accomplished as much as they did.
Big Sky Predicted Order of Finish, Big Conference Games To Watch, And Ten Players to watch.
Seventh seeded Maine’s national championship run continued with its Division I FCS quarterfinals win over two-seeded Weber State 23-18 in front of 7,726 in attendance at Stewart Stadium.
(7) Maine at (2) Weber State When: Friday, December 7, 8:00 PM Where: Stewart Stadium, Ogden, UT TV/Streaming: ESPN2, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Maine Black Bears Orono, Maine Colonial Athletic Association Enrollment: 8,677 FCS Sagarin Rating: 25 How They Got Here: Maine got 4 first half touchdown passes from Chris Ferguson to lead 42-14 at the.
OGDEN, Utah – Weber State scored its most points of the year and defeated Southeast Missouri State 48-23 Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. “I thought that was an awesome game,” head coach Jay Hill said. “Offense, defense, special teams all had their moments tonight … I thought.
Southeast Missouri State at (2) Weber State When: Saturday, December 1, 4:00 PM Where: Stewart Stadium, Ogden, UT TV/Streaming: ESPN College Extra, ESPN3 Southeast Missouri State Cape Girardeau, Missouri Ohio Valley Conference Enrollment: 10,041 FCS Sagarin Rating: 36 How They Got Here: FCS Playoffs: SEMO Turns Stony Brook Turnovers Into 28 Point Turnaround, Defeat Seawolves 28-14 CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo..
Weber State at Idaho State When: Saturday, November 17, 2:35 PM MST Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho TV/Streaming: Watch Big Sky / Pluto TV Weber State Wildcats (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky) The Wildcats have won five games in a row and come into this game hoping to win at least a share of the Big Sky Conference title. The.
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.
Weber State at North Dakota When: Saturday, October 27, 2:00 PM CDT Where: Alerus Center, Grand Forks, N.D. TV/Streaming: Pluto TV channel 241/ WatchBigSky Weber State Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Big Sky) This will be just the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools, with Weber State holding a 2-1 series lead. Grand Forks was the site of Jay Hill’s.
When: Saturday, October 6, 3:00 PM PDT Where: Stewart Stadium, Ogden, Utah TV/Streaming: Eleven Sports (DirecTV Ch. 623) / Pluto / WatchBigSky Eastern Washington Eagles (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky) The Eagles are undefeated in FCS play with its lone lose to FBS Washington State. Eastern ranks third in FCS in total offense at 570.2 yards per game. The Eagles.
Rhode Island QB JaJuan Lawson, Southeast Missouri State RB Justin Terry, Mercer QB Robert Riddle, Weber State LB Landon Stice, and Holy Cross kicker Derek Ng have been selected as the College Sports Journal FCS Football Players of the week ending Sept. 17, 2018. The honorees are listed here with their achievements and their school,.
