Preferred Walk-On
September 29th, 2019, 08:40 PM
This week represents the first week of the season where all non-independent teams are now in conference play. The slate of "game of the week" candidates includes a nice mix of Top 25 matchups, as well as some with early implications for conference championship contention.
#1 North Dakota State @ #13 Illinois State - The Bison start their run of games against the top half of the MVFC and four AGS Top 25 opponents in five weeks. The Redbirds look to see where they stand early in the Valley season, as they will not play the meat of their season until the final four weeks (where they play the same list of opponents that NDSU plays in Oct).
#2 James Madison @ #26 Stony Brook - Two 4-1 CAA teams, but with one on the outside of the AGS Top 25 looking in. A win for the Dukes helps solidify their position at the top of the CAA, while a win for the Seawolves would be a statement win early in their conference season.
#19 Youngstown State @ #5 Northern Iowa - After a tough loss to Weber State last week, the Panthers look to rebound at home against the Penguins, which have been a bit of a surprise upstart (and are currently undefeated) this season.
#10 Furman @ Samford - The Paladins survived a game (17-10) against East Tennessee State that many expected them to dominate last week (and even took criticism for as a GOTW candidate). The Bulldogs are coming off a 4 OT win (61-55) against The Citadel last week, and look to show they belong in the SoCon title conversation despite starting 0-2.
#12 Central Arkansas @ #15 Nicholls State - The Bears have an FBS win (and their only loss is to FBS Hawaii); however, it is unclear just how good their one-score wins against FCS competition actually are. Nicholls State stuck with FBS Texas State for a half last week, but like Central Arkansas, the quality of their wins thus far is unclear.
#39 Idaho State @ #16 Montana - The Grizzlies are coming off a big win at UC Davis, and look to avoid a letdown. The Bengals seem to be in a similar predicament to last year - a good, but unremarkable resume resulting in some buzz, but not a lot of national respect. A win (or at least a very good performance) for the Bengals at Washington-Grizzly Stadium would change that.
#25 Eastern Washington @ #33 Sac State - The Hornets have looked pretty impressive against two respectable FBS teams and dominated Northern Colorado the way top team should. How will they look against the enigma that is the Eagles?
Tennessee Tech @ #27 Southeast Missouri State - This is a battle between two of the top teams (currently) in the OVC. Will be curious to see if the 4-1 Golden Eagles get any AGS Top 25 consideration, given that they beat a SoCon team (Samford) currently on an upward trajectory and that just beat The Citadel. The Redhawks look to take advantage of the downward trajectory of Jacksonville State and keep pace with Austin Peay (BYE) and Eastern Kentucky.
Central Connecticut State @ Sacred Heart - This game features the Pioneers, who have looked pretty solid thus far and a Blue Devils team coming off a near upset of FBS Eastern Michigan. It is quite possible that one of these two will be the NEC representative in the FCS playoffs this year.
#1 North Dakota State @ #13 Illinois State - The Bison start their run of games against the top half of the MVFC and four AGS Top 25 opponents in five weeks. The Redbirds look to see where they stand early in the Valley season, as they will not play the meat of their season until the final four weeks (where they play the same list of opponents that NDSU plays in Oct).
#2 James Madison @ #26 Stony Brook - Two 4-1 CAA teams, but with one on the outside of the AGS Top 25 looking in. A win for the Dukes helps solidify their position at the top of the CAA, while a win for the Seawolves would be a statement win early in their conference season.
#19 Youngstown State @ #5 Northern Iowa - After a tough loss to Weber State last week, the Panthers look to rebound at home against the Penguins, which have been a bit of a surprise upstart (and are currently undefeated) this season.
#10 Furman @ Samford - The Paladins survived a game (17-10) against East Tennessee State that many expected them to dominate last week (and even took criticism for as a GOTW candidate). The Bulldogs are coming off a 4 OT win (61-55) against The Citadel last week, and look to show they belong in the SoCon title conversation despite starting 0-2.
#12 Central Arkansas @ #15 Nicholls State - The Bears have an FBS win (and their only loss is to FBS Hawaii); however, it is unclear just how good their one-score wins against FCS competition actually are. Nicholls State stuck with FBS Texas State for a half last week, but like Central Arkansas, the quality of their wins thus far is unclear.
#39 Idaho State @ #16 Montana - The Grizzlies are coming off a big win at UC Davis, and look to avoid a letdown. The Bengals seem to be in a similar predicament to last year - a good, but unremarkable resume resulting in some buzz, but not a lot of national respect. A win (or at least a very good performance) for the Bengals at Washington-Grizzly Stadium would change that.
#25 Eastern Washington @ #33 Sac State - The Hornets have looked pretty impressive against two respectable FBS teams and dominated Northern Colorado the way top team should. How will they look against the enigma that is the Eagles?
Tennessee Tech @ #27 Southeast Missouri State - This is a battle between two of the top teams (currently) in the OVC. Will be curious to see if the 4-1 Golden Eagles get any AGS Top 25 consideration, given that they beat a SoCon team (Samford) currently on an upward trajectory and that just beat The Citadel. The Redhawks look to take advantage of the downward trajectory of Jacksonville State and keep pace with Austin Peay (BYE) and Eastern Kentucky.
Central Connecticut State @ Sacred Heart - This game features the Pioneers, who have looked pretty solid thus far and a Blue Devils team coming off a near upset of FBS Eastern Michigan. It is quite possible that one of these two will be the NEC representative in the FCS playoffs this year.