AGS Game Of The Week, 2024 Week 8

[Chalupa Batman]

To borrow a golf term, Saturday looks to be “Moving Day” in the CAA with 3 games on the list this week. Each of the games this week is big for the conference title race. Also for every team besides Delaware a win improves playoff chances and will provide a little more margin for error the rest of the season, with the loser finding themselves on the playoff bubble for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, there are pivotal conference showdowns happening all over the country as well. But can any of these matchups outmuscle the top 3-matchup taking place in Fargo?

What is the AGS game of the week?


#T33 Stony Brook @ #24 Towson Towson weathered a tough early part of their schedule and has gotten themselves back into the playoff picture. The surprising Seawolves took advantage of an easy early part of their schedule, after falling to Villanova last time out they look to get back on track.

#17 Rhode Island @ #23 New Hampshire Neither team plays Richmond or William & Mary this season, Rhode Island doesn’t play Villanova and New Hampshire doesn’t play Delaware. The winner of this game should shoot right to the top of the conference title race and potentially a high seed in the playoffs.

Delaware @ #18 Richmond Can Delaware keep rolling through the CAA on their way out the door? The Spiders look to build their playoff resume against the Blue Hens.

Wofford @ #15 Chattanooga With an FBS game looming in their finale, every game from here on feels like a must win for the Wofford’s playoff hopes. After stumbling through the tough opening slate of their schedule, the Mocs have found their stride and look to keep things rolling against the Terriers.

#T33 Florida A&M @ Jackson State (on ESPNU) 2 teams ranked top 25 in other (less important) polls, the winner gets a huge leg up in the SWAC-East race.

#36 McNeese @ #10 Incarnate Word The Cowboys have a huge opportunity to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Houston Christian, while the Cardinals look to further assert their dominance in the Southland.

#1 South Dakota State @ #3 North Dakota State (on ESPN2) National TV audience. Primetime slot. Huge playoff implications. SDSU looks to continue their dominance and NDSU looks to flip the narrative in this series.

Other (please specify in the comments)

[JALMOND]

Similar to last week, national TV audience, top 5 matchup (in this case, top 3). Gotta go with SDSU and NDSU.

My honorable mention would be Weber State at Sacramento State. After bad losses by both teams last week, the loser could be teetering on having their once promising season be over with.

[FU_Paladin08]

Good try “other games.” It’s an all Dakota affair this week.

[MSUBobcat]

To borrow a golf term, Saturday looks to be “Moving Day” in the CAA with 3 games on the list this week. Each of the games this week is big for the conference title race. Also for every team besides Delaware a win improves playoff chances and will provide a little more margin for error the rest of the season, with the loser finding themselves on the playoff bubble for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, there are pivotal conference showdowns happening all over the country as well. But can any of these matchups outmuscle the top 3-matchup taking place in Fargo?


Not to me, they can't. Massive game between highly ranked rivals. The loser of the game could very likely be out of the running for a top-2 seed and the homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

[JacksFan40]

Besides the obvious one, Rhode Island @ New Hampshire is the next best one IMO. Big implications for the CAA and the playoffs in that one.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Besides the obvious one, Rhode Island @ New Hampshire is the next best one IMO. Big implications for the CAA and the playoffs in that one.

Absolutely! And beyond rearranging the deck furniture at the penthouse, what does SDSU/NDSU really mean on a national level? This isn't to say the Dakota Marker game isn't the best of the week, simply that it doesn't have a backs against the wall component....

[Outsider1]

The Dakotas...

[Milktruck74]

Lots of good games, but it is always hard to pick against a 1v3.

[TribeNomad1]

Lots of good games, but it is always hard to pick against a 1v3.


Yep, sure is.

[Reign of Terrier]

1) the obvious answer is the Dakota market game

2) Wofford/Chatt game isn't must win, but it's the last game that the loser can lose at the FCS level. 8-4 Chatt is probably in with 2 FCS losses. 7-5 Wofford has the best shot of 7-5 teams with the road win against ranked Richmond and maybe a possible 2-4 record against ranked teams (with 2 losses coming down to not scoring on the last possession as time expired). Obviously you want to be 8-4 if you're Wofford (capping off the season hypothetically with 5 straight FCS wins would have them in the playoffs, especially if you have wins against Chatt, ETSU, and Richmond), but 7-5 is a strong bubble.

3) Towson/Stony Brook is easily the most interesting matchup as they have two relatively new coaches building up a couple programs that haven't had lots of success lately.

[Reign of Terrier]

Man, the winner is by margins that would make Saddam Hussein blush.

[MSUBobcat]

Have we ever had a unanimous GOTW?

[RahRahRabbits]

I know the Bison are #3 in the AGS poll, but they are #2 in STATS by a slim margin. The Analyst put out a summary of all #1 vs #2 matchups in FCS history (https://theanalyst.com/na/2024/10/fcs-no-1-vs-no-2-matchups). The list is not long.

This is only the 9th time a STATS poll 1 vs 2 has met up head-to-head, and only 3rd time ever it's been in the regular season -- 1st was #1 UNI and #2 Idaho in 1992, 2nd was the 2022 Marker game. Those other 6 were in the FCS championship game. Another 1 vs 2 did nearly happen last year with SDSU vs Montana State, but the Bobcats were ranked 3 then as well.

Also surprising to me in this article is that the 1 vs 2 playoff seeds have only met up 8 times as well in the 45-year history of the FCS.

[BigBlueMU]

Have we ever had a unanimous GOTW?

I wanted to be "that guy" and vote for one of the other games, but couldn't do it. The Dakotas have it.

[Reign of Terrier]

As a socon hack, I voted Dakota marker

[Catbooster]

All of those games interest me and will likely have some impact on the playoff field/seeding. But if I have to pick just one to watch from the list, give me the Dakota Marker game.

[Reign of Terrier]

Those who ruined the unanimous poll: I judge.

[NY Crusader 2010]

Besides the obvious one, Rhode Island @ New Hampshire is the next best one IMO. Big implications for the CAA and the playoffs in that one.

Winner for sure is a contender, loser may be a pretender.

[RahRahRabbits]

Those who ruined the unanimous poll: I judge.

It's why we can't have nice things. These votes are quite clearly just to take an obstinate stand against two teams that have "ruined" FCS football just by having success. If they had a legitimate reason, they could have easily posted their thoughts. Even if wrong, any attempted defense is better than nothing.

These people probably would trip their grandma in a foot race just so they don't finish last. They're the ones trolling around making rude comments on a 10-year-old aspiring singer's YouTube channel just for fun. They're probably trying to catfish a past ex-girlfriend into a new relationship with a fake profile just to stand them up on a first date from across the country. They probably call the cops on a neighbor kid running an "unlicensed" lemonade stand.

[Outsider1]

I have voted outside the popular vote IF the game I voted for had equal amount of implications, but this week isn't even close.

[ElCid]

I know the Bison are #3 in the AGS poll, but they are #2 in STATS by a slim margin. The Analyst put out a summary of all #1 vs #2 matchups in FCS history (https://theanalyst.com/na/2024/10/fcs-no-1-vs-no-2-matchups). The list is not long.

This is only the 9th time a STATS poll 1 vs 2 has met up head-to-head, and only 3rd time ever it's been in the regular season -- 1st was #1 UNI and #2 Idaho in 1992, 2nd was the 2022 Marker game. Those other 6 were in the FCS championship game. Another 1 vs 2 did nearly happen last year with SDSU vs Montana State, but the Bobcats were ranked 3 then as well.

Also surprising to me in this article is that the 1 vs 2 playoff seeds have only met up 8 times as well in the 45-year history of the FCS.

Interesting. We just missed another one. #3 Marshall at #2 The Citadel in 1992 regular season. Marshall won and went on to win it all that year.

[ElCid]

Fairly easy decision.

However, the battle for the coveted Silver Shako should have been at least a contender. The Citadel at VMI is always a throw away the records and fight it out game. 80th meeting this Saturday in beautiful Lexington. There have been some blowouts, but not normally. It's always a fun day full of pageantry.

[Reign of Terrier]

The battle of the silver shako is a top 5 FCS rivalry simply because no other rivalry at this level that has the same level of pageantry. Lots of teams fight for a trophy, but the kinds of people that go to VMI/the Citadel and the institutions themselves are just different. Sure, historically the programs themselves aren’t great, but IMO that makes the rivalry a little more interesting.