ursus arctos horribilis
March 26th, 2021, 02:33 PM
FCS FOOTBALL – KEY LINKS
NCAA Statistics -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fcs) | NCAA Scoreboard / Schedule -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/scoreboard/football/fcs)
Standings -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/standings/football/fcs) | Rankings / Polls -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll)
FCS Insider -- Click Here (https://fcsinsider.com/) | Stats Perform – Click Here (http://www.fcs.football/fcsfront.asp) | HERO Sports -- Click Here (https://herosports.com/college-football/fcs/)
HEADLINES
Key Matchups – Sixteen of the Stats Perform Top 25 are in action this week. Here are the two games featuring top-25 teams against one another:
Saturday – No. 13 UIW at No. 17 Nicholls (ESPN+), 12 pm ET
Saturday – No. 11 Delaware at No. 18 Rhode Island (FloFootball), 12 pm ET
As of Friday, March 26 – a total of 81 percent of games scheduled for the spring have been played (121 games played, 28 postponements) – see grid at the bottom of this e-mail for additional data, which was supplied by information directors at each conference. A total of 89 FCS teams are playing this spring.
Stats Perform National Players of the Week – Click Here (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20210322132121261270604&ref=hea&tm=&src=FCS)
Craig’s Take (Must See Games This Week) -- Story (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20210325074516457768004)
FCS All-In – The second installment of the FCS special, featuring content from all 13 FCS conferences will air on Saturday, March 27. Pluto TV Channel 752 at 10 a.m. ET, followed with re-airs at 11 a.m. and noon ET.
BIG SKY -- Link to Football Home Page (https://bigskyconf.com/index.aspx?path=football)
Three #BigskyFB teams are ranked in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 and AFCS Coaches’ Top 25: #3/2 Weber State – Top 3 ranking all season long; #12/11 Eastern Washington – Ranked as high as #11 this season; #15/19 UC Davis – Third straight week in the Top 25
Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere was named the Stats Perform National Offensive Player of the Week on March 15. It was the second national weekly honor for a Big Sky player this spring. Idaho punter/kicker Cade Coffey earned the special teams honor on March 1.
BIG SOUTH FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://bigsouthsports.com/index.aspx?path=football&)
Defending Big South champion Monmouth makes its season debut on Saturday hosting Charleston Southern. The Hawks carry an 8-game regular-season win streak into the contest, and have won the last three meetings with the Bucs.
CSU is looking to avoid its second-straight 0-2 start to a Big South season on Saturday.
CAA FOOTBALL -- Link to CAA Football Home Page (https://caasports.com/index.aspx?path=football&)
CAA Football matched its league record with seven teams ranked in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 poll this week, while six teams are ranked in the AFCA Coaches poll.
James Madison remained at No. 1 in both polls despite having its second straight game postponed due to CoVID-related protocols last week. The Dukes (3-0) are slated to return to action at William & Mary on Saturday.
The CAA’s seven ranked teams were the most of any FCS conference. It marks the first time since October 15, 2018 that the conference has had seven teams listed in the Top 25.
IVY LEAGUE -- Link to Football Home Page (https://ivyleague.com/index.aspx?path=football)
MEAC FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://meacsports.com/index.aspx?path=football)
No game this week. The Howard-Delaware State game scheduled for March 27 has been postponed and no make-up date has been announced yet.
Thirteen (13) football players representing Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) member institutions are currently scheduled to take part in the NFL's HBCU Combine.
The combine is set to take place April 9-10 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Last year's HBCU Combine was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year's version is currently slated to feature 42 athletes in total, encompassing both the 2020 and 2021 draft classes.
The Delaware-Delaware State football game scheduled for Saturday, April 10 at the Hornets’ Alumni Stadium, will now be televised live on ESPN2. Kickoff remains scheduled for 6 p.m. The game was originally to be shown live on ESPN3 and via tape delay on ESPNU.
MISSOURI VALLEY – Link to Football Home Page (https://valley-football.org/)
The MVFC rescheduled the North Dakota-Youngstown State game scheduled for March 27 to April 17 due to COVID-19 issues within UND’s Tier-1 personnel.
This past Saturday, Missouri State picked up its first win in Cedar Falls since 1998 (and just its third win ever at UNI-Dome, also winning there in 1983). The win over the 10th-ranked Panthers snapped a 14-game UNI win streak in the series. It was one of three top-25 wins in league play this past weekend - the Conference has combined for 15-such wins this season.
South Dakota State topped the 300-yard mark in team rushing for the second time in three weeks, gaining a season-high 392 yards on the ground in its win at Southern Illinois. The Jackrabbits’ 61 rushing attempts were the most by the program in the Division I era (since 2004), surpassing the 55 rushing attempts against SIU in 2017. SDSU’s 392 rushing yards are tied for the most in a game by an FCS team this season, sharing the mark with UC Davis (March 20 vs. Cal Poly) and Nicholls State (Feb. 27 vs. Lamar).
NEC FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://northeastconference.org/index.aspx?path=fball&)
S Leandro DeBrito was a driving force behind Duquesne’s winning defensive effort against Long Island. The veteran defensive back totaled a team-high 10 tackles to go along with a quarterback hurry and a key interception in a 35-17 victory that lifted the Dukes’ record to 3-0. With LIU looking to cut into Duquesne’s 28-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter, DeBrito intercepted a pass at the Dukes’ 13-yard line to turn the tables.
Cyrus Holder of Duquesne averaged 30.1 yards per catch en-route to posting the first 200-yard receiving performance in a Northeast Conference game since 2017. The 6-foot-4 senior made seven receptions for 211 yards and two long touchdowns during Duquesne’s 35-17 triumph over LIU.
OHIO VALLEY – Click for More Info (http://ovcsports.com/index.aspx?path=football)
Murray State is off to its first 4-0 start since the 1995 season; that year Houston Nutt was the team's coach and led MSU to the OVC Championship and a FCS Playoff berth...Murray State and VMI are the only two teams in the FCS currently sitting at 4-0.
Jacksonville State is ranked No. 7 in the Stats Perform and FCS Coaches Top 25 polls while Murray State is No. 17 in the FCS Coaches and No. 19 in the Stats Perform poll...Every OVC team has been ranked at least one week over the past five years.
PATRIOT LEAGUE -- Link to Football Home Page (https://patriotleague.org/index.aspx?path=football&)
Holy Cross and Fordham meet for the 58th time in series history and for the 35th time since the Ram-Crusader Cup has been awarded to honor Major Frank Cavanaugh, who served as head coach at both programs. The Crusaders lead the all-time series (30-25-2) that began in 1902. Since the beginning of the Ram-Crusader Cup in 1951, Holy Cross is 19-15.
Bucknell and Lafayette meet for the 98th time in series history with the Leopards holding a 54-37-6 advantage. The Bison and Leopards first met in 1883, with Lafayette earning a 59-0 victory. The Bison have won five of the last nine meetings between the two schools, including a 13-7 overtime win at Fisher Stadium in 2017.
PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE -- Link to Football Home Page (http://www.pioneer-football.org/)
The Pioneer Football League has canceled the Drake-Stetson football game scheduled Saturday, March 27 in DeLand, Florida, due to COVID-19 issues within Stetson’s Tier I personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, managers and staff.
Davidson and San Diego remain undefeated in PFL play after Week 2 action in the league. Defending champion San Diego tied the FCS record for consecutive home wins, recording its 39th straight PFL victory against Butler. Davidson scored the final 21 points in its win against Presbyterian, quarterback Tyler Huff passing for 218 yards and three TDs.
SoCON FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=football)
Catamount running back Donnavan Spencer ran for 78 yards in a 45-28 loss at Mercer last weekend, surpassing 2,000 for his career. With 2,039 to his credit, he is just 174 away from entering WCU’s career top 10.
VMI, enjoying its highest-ever FCS national rankings at No. 13 in the AFCA coaches poll and No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, remains atop the league standings after its 38-37 overtime win at Samford last week. The Keydets, who are 4-0 for the first time since 1981, visit Wofford on Saturday seeking their first win over the Terriers since 2002. Wofford has won eight straight in the series since then, including last season’s high-scoring 51-36 affair.
Quarterback Reece Udinski became VMI’s career passing leader in the win over Samford, finishing with 353 passing yards on the day to push his total to 7,861 and pass Al Cobb, who had 7,727 from 2014-16. Udinski also moved into the SoCon’s career top 10, jumping in at No. 6.
SOUTHLAND -- Link to Football Home Page (https://www.southland.org/index.aspx?path=football)
UIW’s Cameron Ward, McNeese’s Isaiah Chambers and Sam Houston’s Jequez Ezzard are the Southland Football Players of the Week, the league announced Monday. Weekly awards are presented by Hercules Tires. Ward garners Offensive Player of the Week recognition after totaling seven touchdowns and topping 400 yards for the first time this season (407) in a 56-45 upset of No. 16 Southeastern Louisiana. The Cardinals (3-0, 3-0 SLC) look to stay undefeated when they visit No. 17 Nicholls at 11 a.m. CT Saturday.
Chambers is honored as the Defensive Player of the Week after registering three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the Cowboys’ 21-7 win at Northwestern State. McNeese (2-3, 1-3 SLC) takes a week off before hosting two-time defending champion Nicholls at 1:30 p.m. on April 3.
The Southland accounts for the top-three scoring offenses in the FCS, led by Sam Houston (57.0) and followed by UIW (48.7) and Nicholls (47.5).
SWAC – Link to Football Home Page (https://swac.org/index.aspx?path=football)
The football games scheduled between Grambling State and Alabama A&M, along with Grambling State and Texas Southern, slated to be played on Saturday, March 27 and Saturday, April 3 respectively have been cancelled due to a COVID-19 related issue and subsequent quarantining of student-athletes among the GSU program.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced updates to its Spring 2021 Football TV schedule of games. Southern at Jackson State scheduled for Saturday, April 3 will be carried live on ESPN with a 4:00 pm CST kickoff. Alabama A&M at Jackson State scheduled for Saturday, April 10 will be carried live on ESPN with a 2:00 pm CST kickoff.
League~
Total Teams
Spring Teams
Conf.Games
Scheduled#
Games Played
Games Postponed
Games Rescheduled
Games Remaining
Games Canceled
Big Sky
13
8
12
10
3
2
14
0
Big South
8
5
10
1
4
2
1
0
CAA
12
11
15
12
3
0
18
0
MEAC
9
3
2
2
1
1
2
0
MVFC^
11
9
24
23
2
2
13
4
NEC#
8
6
9
8
1
1
4
0
OVC
9
8
16
16
0
0
12
0
Patriot#
7
6
12
2
7
2
8
2
PFL%
9
8
24
8
0
0
12
1
SoCon
9
9
20
18
2
0
16
0
Southland*
11
7
21
12
2
2
9
0
SWAC
10
9
27
9
3
3
17
1
TOTALS
116
89
192
121
28
15
126
8
#indicates games scheduled to date, not inclusive of the entire spring season
*two games were rescheduled for weather (not COVID)
^MVFC started with 10 spring teams; Illinois State opted out after its 4th game, resulting in 4 cancelations
~Ivy League not playing a spring schedule and is not listed in the grid
#NEC and Patriot League will also play a championship game (not indicated on 'games remaining')
NCAA Statistics -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fcs) | NCAA Scoreboard / Schedule -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/scoreboard/football/fcs)
Standings -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/standings/football/fcs) | Rankings / Polls -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll)
FCS Insider -- Click Here (https://fcsinsider.com/) | Stats Perform – Click Here (http://www.fcs.football/fcsfront.asp) | HERO Sports -- Click Here (https://herosports.com/college-football/fcs/)
HEADLINES
Key Matchups – Sixteen of the Stats Perform Top 25 are in action this week. Here are the two games featuring top-25 teams against one another:
Saturday – No. 13 UIW at No. 17 Nicholls (ESPN+), 12 pm ET
Saturday – No. 11 Delaware at No. 18 Rhode Island (FloFootball), 12 pm ET
As of Friday, March 26 – a total of 81 percent of games scheduled for the spring have been played (121 games played, 28 postponements) – see grid at the bottom of this e-mail for additional data, which was supplied by information directors at each conference. A total of 89 FCS teams are playing this spring.
Stats Perform National Players of the Week – Click Here (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20210322132121261270604&ref=hea&tm=&src=FCS)
Craig’s Take (Must See Games This Week) -- Story (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20210325074516457768004)
FCS All-In – The second installment of the FCS special, featuring content from all 13 FCS conferences will air on Saturday, March 27. Pluto TV Channel 752 at 10 a.m. ET, followed with re-airs at 11 a.m. and noon ET.
BIG SKY -- Link to Football Home Page (https://bigskyconf.com/index.aspx?path=football)
Three #BigskyFB teams are ranked in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 and AFCS Coaches’ Top 25: #3/2 Weber State – Top 3 ranking all season long; #12/11 Eastern Washington – Ranked as high as #11 this season; #15/19 UC Davis – Third straight week in the Top 25
Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere was named the Stats Perform National Offensive Player of the Week on March 15. It was the second national weekly honor for a Big Sky player this spring. Idaho punter/kicker Cade Coffey earned the special teams honor on March 1.
BIG SOUTH FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://bigsouthsports.com/index.aspx?path=football&)
Defending Big South champion Monmouth makes its season debut on Saturday hosting Charleston Southern. The Hawks carry an 8-game regular-season win streak into the contest, and have won the last three meetings with the Bucs.
CSU is looking to avoid its second-straight 0-2 start to a Big South season on Saturday.
CAA FOOTBALL -- Link to CAA Football Home Page (https://caasports.com/index.aspx?path=football&)
CAA Football matched its league record with seven teams ranked in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 poll this week, while six teams are ranked in the AFCA Coaches poll.
James Madison remained at No. 1 in both polls despite having its second straight game postponed due to CoVID-related protocols last week. The Dukes (3-0) are slated to return to action at William & Mary on Saturday.
The CAA’s seven ranked teams were the most of any FCS conference. It marks the first time since October 15, 2018 that the conference has had seven teams listed in the Top 25.
IVY LEAGUE -- Link to Football Home Page (https://ivyleague.com/index.aspx?path=football)
MEAC FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://meacsports.com/index.aspx?path=football)
No game this week. The Howard-Delaware State game scheduled for March 27 has been postponed and no make-up date has been announced yet.
Thirteen (13) football players representing Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) member institutions are currently scheduled to take part in the NFL's HBCU Combine.
The combine is set to take place April 9-10 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Last year's HBCU Combine was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year's version is currently slated to feature 42 athletes in total, encompassing both the 2020 and 2021 draft classes.
The Delaware-Delaware State football game scheduled for Saturday, April 10 at the Hornets’ Alumni Stadium, will now be televised live on ESPN2. Kickoff remains scheduled for 6 p.m. The game was originally to be shown live on ESPN3 and via tape delay on ESPNU.
MISSOURI VALLEY – Link to Football Home Page (https://valley-football.org/)
The MVFC rescheduled the North Dakota-Youngstown State game scheduled for March 27 to April 17 due to COVID-19 issues within UND’s Tier-1 personnel.
This past Saturday, Missouri State picked up its first win in Cedar Falls since 1998 (and just its third win ever at UNI-Dome, also winning there in 1983). The win over the 10th-ranked Panthers snapped a 14-game UNI win streak in the series. It was one of three top-25 wins in league play this past weekend - the Conference has combined for 15-such wins this season.
South Dakota State topped the 300-yard mark in team rushing for the second time in three weeks, gaining a season-high 392 yards on the ground in its win at Southern Illinois. The Jackrabbits’ 61 rushing attempts were the most by the program in the Division I era (since 2004), surpassing the 55 rushing attempts against SIU in 2017. SDSU’s 392 rushing yards are tied for the most in a game by an FCS team this season, sharing the mark with UC Davis (March 20 vs. Cal Poly) and Nicholls State (Feb. 27 vs. Lamar).
NEC FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://northeastconference.org/index.aspx?path=fball&)
S Leandro DeBrito was a driving force behind Duquesne’s winning defensive effort against Long Island. The veteran defensive back totaled a team-high 10 tackles to go along with a quarterback hurry and a key interception in a 35-17 victory that lifted the Dukes’ record to 3-0. With LIU looking to cut into Duquesne’s 28-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter, DeBrito intercepted a pass at the Dukes’ 13-yard line to turn the tables.
Cyrus Holder of Duquesne averaged 30.1 yards per catch en-route to posting the first 200-yard receiving performance in a Northeast Conference game since 2017. The 6-foot-4 senior made seven receptions for 211 yards and two long touchdowns during Duquesne’s 35-17 triumph over LIU.
OHIO VALLEY – Click for More Info (http://ovcsports.com/index.aspx?path=football)
Murray State is off to its first 4-0 start since the 1995 season; that year Houston Nutt was the team's coach and led MSU to the OVC Championship and a FCS Playoff berth...Murray State and VMI are the only two teams in the FCS currently sitting at 4-0.
Jacksonville State is ranked No. 7 in the Stats Perform and FCS Coaches Top 25 polls while Murray State is No. 17 in the FCS Coaches and No. 19 in the Stats Perform poll...Every OVC team has been ranked at least one week over the past five years.
PATRIOT LEAGUE -- Link to Football Home Page (https://patriotleague.org/index.aspx?path=football&)
Holy Cross and Fordham meet for the 58th time in series history and for the 35th time since the Ram-Crusader Cup has been awarded to honor Major Frank Cavanaugh, who served as head coach at both programs. The Crusaders lead the all-time series (30-25-2) that began in 1902. Since the beginning of the Ram-Crusader Cup in 1951, Holy Cross is 19-15.
Bucknell and Lafayette meet for the 98th time in series history with the Leopards holding a 54-37-6 advantage. The Bison and Leopards first met in 1883, with Lafayette earning a 59-0 victory. The Bison have won five of the last nine meetings between the two schools, including a 13-7 overtime win at Fisher Stadium in 2017.
PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE -- Link to Football Home Page (http://www.pioneer-football.org/)
The Pioneer Football League has canceled the Drake-Stetson football game scheduled Saturday, March 27 in DeLand, Florida, due to COVID-19 issues within Stetson’s Tier I personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, managers and staff.
Davidson and San Diego remain undefeated in PFL play after Week 2 action in the league. Defending champion San Diego tied the FCS record for consecutive home wins, recording its 39th straight PFL victory against Butler. Davidson scored the final 21 points in its win against Presbyterian, quarterback Tyler Huff passing for 218 yards and three TDs.
SoCON FOOTBALL -- Link to Football Home Page (https://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=football)
Catamount running back Donnavan Spencer ran for 78 yards in a 45-28 loss at Mercer last weekend, surpassing 2,000 for his career. With 2,039 to his credit, he is just 174 away from entering WCU’s career top 10.
VMI, enjoying its highest-ever FCS national rankings at No. 13 in the AFCA coaches poll and No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, remains atop the league standings after its 38-37 overtime win at Samford last week. The Keydets, who are 4-0 for the first time since 1981, visit Wofford on Saturday seeking their first win over the Terriers since 2002. Wofford has won eight straight in the series since then, including last season’s high-scoring 51-36 affair.
Quarterback Reece Udinski became VMI’s career passing leader in the win over Samford, finishing with 353 passing yards on the day to push his total to 7,861 and pass Al Cobb, who had 7,727 from 2014-16. Udinski also moved into the SoCon’s career top 10, jumping in at No. 6.
SOUTHLAND -- Link to Football Home Page (https://www.southland.org/index.aspx?path=football)
UIW’s Cameron Ward, McNeese’s Isaiah Chambers and Sam Houston’s Jequez Ezzard are the Southland Football Players of the Week, the league announced Monday. Weekly awards are presented by Hercules Tires. Ward garners Offensive Player of the Week recognition after totaling seven touchdowns and topping 400 yards for the first time this season (407) in a 56-45 upset of No. 16 Southeastern Louisiana. The Cardinals (3-0, 3-0 SLC) look to stay undefeated when they visit No. 17 Nicholls at 11 a.m. CT Saturday.
Chambers is honored as the Defensive Player of the Week after registering three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the Cowboys’ 21-7 win at Northwestern State. McNeese (2-3, 1-3 SLC) takes a week off before hosting two-time defending champion Nicholls at 1:30 p.m. on April 3.
The Southland accounts for the top-three scoring offenses in the FCS, led by Sam Houston (57.0) and followed by UIW (48.7) and Nicholls (47.5).
SWAC – Link to Football Home Page (https://swac.org/index.aspx?path=football)
The football games scheduled between Grambling State and Alabama A&M, along with Grambling State and Texas Southern, slated to be played on Saturday, March 27 and Saturday, April 3 respectively have been cancelled due to a COVID-19 related issue and subsequent quarantining of student-athletes among the GSU program.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced updates to its Spring 2021 Football TV schedule of games. Southern at Jackson State scheduled for Saturday, April 3 will be carried live on ESPN with a 4:00 pm CST kickoff. Alabama A&M at Jackson State scheduled for Saturday, April 10 will be carried live on ESPN with a 2:00 pm CST kickoff.
League~
Total Teams
Spring Teams
Conf.Games
Scheduled#
Games Played
Games Postponed
Games Rescheduled
Games Remaining
Games Canceled
Big Sky
13
8
12
10
3
2
14
0
Big South
8
5
10
1
4
2
1
0
CAA
12
11
15
12
3
0
18
0
MEAC
9
3
2
2
1
1
2
0
MVFC^
11
9
24
23
2
2
13
4
NEC#
8
6
9
8
1
1
4
0
OVC
9
8
16
16
0
0
12
0
Patriot#
7
6
12
2
7
2
8
2
PFL%
9
8
24
8
0
0
12
1
SoCon
9
9
20
18
2
0
16
0
Southland*
11
7
21
12
2
2
9
0
SWAC
10
9
27
9
3
3
17
1
TOTALS
116
89
192
121
28
15
126
8
#indicates games scheduled to date, not inclusive of the entire spring season
*two games were rescheduled for weather (not COVID)
^MVFC started with 10 spring teams; Illinois State opted out after its 4th game, resulting in 4 cancelations
~Ivy League not playing a spring schedule and is not listed in the grid
#NEC and Patriot League will also play a championship game (not indicated on 'games remaining')