AGS Game Of The Week, 2024 Week 1

[Chalupa Batman]

What is your vote for the game of the week? Not sure if FCS/FBS games were included in the past but I'm throwing them in. Let me know if you don't want those matchups included in the future and I'll exclude them.


#3 North Dakota State @ Colorado NDSU appears to be America’s team this week, hoping the Bison can serve Deion some humble pie

#25 Youngstown State @ #5 Villanova Rematch from last years playoffs, and a big non-conference game the selection committee might be looking at come selection time

#20 Western Carolina @ #24 (FBS) North Carolina State This one has me intrigued, I don’t know a lot about the Wolfpack but I think the Catamounts can score enough points to make this interesting

Wofford @ Gardner-Webb Non-conference matchup that both teams probably feel they need to win if the season is going to go the way they want

#18 Lafayette @ Buffalo Pards try to make it 3 straight years the Patriot League takes down the Bulls

Monmouth @ Eastern Washington CAA/Big Sky matchup is another big non-conference game the selection committee might look at come selection time

#1 South Dakota State @ #17 (FBS) Oklahoma State Can the Jackrabbits take down the Big 12 favorite?

Samford @ West Georgia The Wolves welcome Samford to town for their FCS debut

#34 Holy Cross @ Rhode Island Key game which could bolster at-large resume for the winner

#10 Southern Illinois @ BYU Salukis try and claim an FBS scalp for the 3rd straight season

#32 North Carolina Central vs. #40 Alabama State @ Miami, FL (on ESPN) Orange Blossom Classic is a clash between preseason favorites in the MEAC & SWAC East

[Outsider1]

Actually, UCA vs Arkansas St. will be a game to watch as UCA is nationally ranked and could have the chance to scalp their opponent. This is an early test to see just how good the Bears really are. Why wouldn't they be in the poll above?

[JacksFan40]

Went with SDSU @ Ok State because I’m biased and because I do genuinely think it’s the biggest game. FCS #1 vs FBS #17 is pretty interesting.

If we’re basing this solely off of FCS vs FCS I’d go with Youngstown @ Villanova. Will be interesting to see how both team look in that game.

[Outsider1]

Went with SDSU @ Ok State because I’m biased and because I do genuinely think it’s the biggest game. FCS #1 vs FBS #17 is pretty interesting.

If we’re basing this solely off of FCS vs FCS I’d go with Youngstown @ Villanova. Will be interesting to see how both team look in that game.


SDSU vs OSU will be ok to watch, but honestly the gap is still to big to really look for a scalp or to to do a lot of serious evaluation. SDSU is good and will play decent, but personally, I am looking for games where the FCS team will be able to truly showcase itself better. Both SDSU and OSU playing decent will be ok but not stand out. For what's up top, that NDSU vs Colorado (#3 FCS vs basically #48 FBS). Both teams have questions and a lot on the line, anything goes. That is a recipe for a really good game. Western Carolina vs NC St. and NC Central vs Alabama St. could also offer some good play, but that's the same reason I threw in #11 UCA vs basically #96 Arkansas St. Those are high ranking FCS teams coming into the season playing FBS teams that they have a chance to do something with, and out of the 3 I am bringing up, I think UCA has the best chance.

[wapiti]

I think game of the week should be FCS vs FCS. So I picked Youngstown @ Villanova

Monmouth @ EWU would be 2nd.

[crusader11]

Biased, but going HC at URI.

Two teams vying for what might be a quality win come playoff team.

Also, somehow, Holy Cross and Rhode Island have rarely played, despite the schools being separated by only 60 miles. Really pleased to see this series on the schedule.

[FU_Paladin08]

Agreed, I’m sticking with FCS only. It’s a no brainer when you have two ranked teams, from two “playoff contending” conferences, and a rematch from the prior year playoffs.

Youngstown vs Nova

[Outsider1]

I can see the FCS vs FCS rationale, especially when they're both contenders. I just don't want to exclude other playoff contenders, even if they are playing FBS. It's just that if I add that component, then I need to add the competitiveness of the opponent and therefore the game as a whole.

[Reign of Terrier]

Folks, the correct answer is YSU vs Nova.

That didn’t stop me from the homer pick of Wofford vs GW.:D

My logic is that FCS games of the week should be FCS exclusive and tell us a little something about the teams and conferences

I will say about that Wofford/GW game, it could be a canary in the coal mine for Wofford. If we lose, the probability we see a change in staff is pretty high at end of year. If we win, pending on how it happens, we may want to start looking toward Spartanburg again. I don’t want to overplay it because GW is quite literally a completely new team and Wofford traditionally has their number anyway (socon vs big south/ovc gap has been pretty big outside of a couple coastal and chadwell teams).

But keep in mind this is a Wofford team that had a great defense last year and beat Furman in November, and brings back pretty much all of those major contributors, and the QB that started the furman game is starting in this one, when before then, he hadn’t played football in 2 years. As a Wofford fan, I just want 28 points and a W. Achieving that or overachieving that - no matter the quality of the running bulldogs, bodes well for the terriers.

Now, if you’re a GW fan period, if you win this game, GW is a playoff contender. Not because Wofford is worldbeater, but to pull that off in game one - building from basically 0 and beating a team that has way more chemistry and understanding of who needs to go where - that would say a lot about their coaching staff. They’d have a high ceiling.

[MSUBobcat]

I'm also on Team YSU vs Nova. Not necessarily because it's FCS vs FCS, but because I feel it'll have the most impact on playoffs. A YSU win goes a long way toward a playoff berth, because piling up wins in the MVFC is tough, and it also damages Nova's chance for a top-8. Conversely, a YSU loss probably means needing to go 6-2 in conference play, since the rest of the OOC is FBS Pitt and 2 PFL teams that won't carry much weight for a 7-5 team.

I almost went with NDSU-Colorado and SIU-BYU because I think they have a reasonable chance to earn the scalp (and if they do, I retroactively amend my GOTW to that game), but if they do fall short, it won't have a significant impact on playoff seeding/berths.

[JacksFan40]

SDSU vs OSU will be ok to watch, but honestly the gap is still to big to really look for a scalp or to to do a lot of serious evaluation. SDSU is good and will play decent, but personally, I am looking for games where the FCS team will be able to truly showcase itself better. Both SDSU and OSU playing decent will be ok but not stand out. For what's up top, that NDSU vs Colorado (#3 FCS vs basically #48 FBS). Both teams have questions and a lot on the line, anything goes. That is a recipe for a really good game. Western Carolina vs NC St. and NC Central vs Alabama St. could also offer some good play, but that's the same reason I threw in #11 UCA vs basically #96 Arkansas St. Those are high ranking FCS teams coming into the season playing FBS teams that they have a chance to do something with, and out of the 3 I am bringing up, I think UCA has the best chance.
I think an SDSU team with a bunch of new pieces going up against one of the favorites to win the Big 12 is a pretty interesting game. I know it’s the homer in me saying that, but I do think it’ll be a good game and be very close. I’m very excited to see if the SDSU defense can contain Ollie Gordon or not, will give us a good idea how good the defense will be this year.

NDSU vs Colorado will be very good as well, but I don’t really expect Colorado to be very good this year. I do expect Oklahoma State to be very good.

[Chalupa Batman]

Actually, UCA vs Arkansas St. will be a game to watch as UCA is nationally ranked and could have the chance to scalp their opponent. This is an early test to see just how good the Bears really are. Why wouldn't they be in the poll above?

That's a good call, it probably should've been on the list as well.

[JALMOND]

I went NDSU against Coach Prime. That is slowing becoming the FBS game of the week with the team that makes its living knocking off FBS heavyweights going against the darling of the FBS. Why not make it the FCS game of the week as well.

[POD Knows]

I went NDSU against Coach Prime. That is slowing becoming the FBS game of the week with the team that makes its living knocking off FBS heavyweights going against the darling of the FBS. Why not make it the FCS game of the week as well.
Beem awhile since NDSU has beaten an FBS team and these NDSU teams now are not the NDSU teams of old. It is going to be a big stretch for NDSU to beat Colorado, can it happen, I suppose but it will need to be an almost perfect game by NDSU to make it happen.

[ElCid]

I think game of the week should be FCS vs FCS. So I picked Youngstown @ Villanova

Monmouth @ EWU would be 2nd.

Hear hear. Having FBS games as a choice is not a good idea. Yeah there is an outside chance they might be good games, but these FBS teams will be ready. There are lots of if good OOC FCS games that would have been better being more revealing, impactful. The YSU game is who I might pick. Maybe the HC game. Still thinking.