Squealofthepig
August 29th, 2010, 12:21 PM
1. Villanova - Friday Sep 3rd at Temple
Temple started last year with two tough losses - at home to Villanova, then on the road at Penn State. Temple then won 9 straight games, claiming the MAC but losing to Ohio to end the regular season, then losing to UCLA in the postseason. Villanova, as the defending FCS champion, could score a win over the Owls and not have it be considered an upset.
2. Montana - Saturday Sep 4th vs. Western State
While many of the top FCS programs and conferences open against FBS teams, Montana drops down to host Western State. The Griz should handle Western State easily, but the next two weeks see the Griz traveling to two places it could lose - at Cal Poly, then debuting on the red terf at Eastern Washington.
3. ASU - Saturday Sep 4th at Chattanooga
Opening their season, and conference play, ASU travels to the former home of the NCAA championships. FCS fans will watch this one with interest, as ASU post-AE is a bit of a question mark. Mountaineer fans think this may be a very early test, and the Mocs haven't beaten ASU since a thrilling 59-56 home win in '04.
4. William & Mary - at UMass - Saturday, Sep 4th
Like ASU, the Tribe go on the road for a conference game to open the season, and the Minutemen posted a good win over W&M in 07 at home. Kevin Morris' second year at Massachusetts has Minutemen fans hopes of returning to CAA dominance way up, and UMass received a fair number of votes in preseason polls.
5. SIU - vs. Quincy, Thursday, Sep 2nd
Like Montana, the Salukis are hosting a lower division school in Quincy. The Salukis went undefeated in Valley play last year but were stopped by W&M's defense in the playoffs. Quincy went 4-7 last year in the MSFA, so probably safe to bet on the home team in Carbondale.
6. New Hampshire - vs. Central Connecticut State, Saturday, Sep 4th
Ranked #6, New Hampshire is only the third-highest ranked CAA team, displaying the amount of respect FCS voters have for the CAA. The Wildcats open at home vs. Central Connecticut State from the Northeast conference. Central Connecticut had a solid year last year, including a home win vs Albany and a respectable 33-14 loss at William & Mary early. Both teams will be moving out of FCS the following weekend, though UNH's trip to Pittsburgh will probably be a tougher go than the Blue Devils hosting Bentley College.
7. Elon - at Duke, Saturday, Sep 4th
Elon is playing the other Blue Devils team. The Phoenix had an outstanding season last year, with their two FCS losses both on the road to the two previous FCS champions (at ASU and at Richmond), and a third loss to FBS Wake Forest. FCS voters are warming to the team, with some arguably overdue respect given to the program. Although Duke's football team is improving, they opened their year last year with a loss to Richmond. Like Nova above, this could be a great opportunity for a good win over an FBS school.
8. Richmond - at Virginia, Saturday, Sep 4th
Richmond opened up last year's season with a win at Duke, and this year they travel to another ACC bottom-dweller of late, Virginia, which went 3-9 last year including a season opening loss at home to William & Mary. Would be interesting to see what would happen if the upper echelon of the ACC started playing the upper echelon of the CAA more often. Still, CAA over ACC is a recurrent theme over the years specifically because of games like this.
9. SDSU - idle.
Opening game for SDSU is an interesting matchup at #15 Delaware on Sep 11th.
10. South Carolina State - at #16 FBS Georgia Tech, Saturday, Sep 4th
As a quick aside: Wofford and SC State really should begin a rivalry - Bulldogs vs. Terriers. C'mon! SCSU opening at a Georgia Tech team that went 11-3 last year, including a win at Florida State and an upset of then #4 Virginia Tech, may be a tall order. But the Bulldogs are one of those teams that no one in FCS really wants to see in the playoffs - see last year's 20-13 squeaker at ASU for why.
11. SFA - At Texas A&M, Saturday, Sep 4th
The Lumberjacks start their season at Big 12 middleweight Texas A&M. The Aggies had a bit of a disappointing season in 09, including a home loss to OSU and a 55 point loss on the road at Oklahoma, finishing 6-7 with a bowl loss to Georgia. SFA won ten games last year, though, with three losses on the road (@SMU, @Texas State, and @Montana in the second round of the playoffs). Their 44-33 win over Eastern Washington was very impressive, and if there is any such thing as karma, SFA is owed at least ten turnovers this season in their favor.
12. Northern Iowa - idle
The Panthers open their season (and MVC play) on Sep 11th, hosting the NDSU Bison.
13. McNeese State - hosting Lamar, Saturday, Sep 4th
The Cowboys are in the midst of one of the most interesting string of non-conference games to open the season in recent memory. This year, they open their season by hosting Lamar's return to football (Lamar had dropped football in 1989) before traveling to Missouri (and will also play at LSU later this year). Last year, McNeese played at The Rock, and next year, they'll play Montana. Kudos to the folks in Lake Charles for playing interesting schedules! Not much is known about Lamar as they restart football - but welcome back!
14. Eastern Washington - at Nevada, Thursday, Sep 2nd
The boys from Cheney will debut their red terf later this year, but first they must go on the road to play a Nevada team that went 7-1 in WAC play last year and were ranked first in rushing yards per game (a whopping 344.9 ypg). Still, Nevada had a surprising loss at MWC's Colorado State early last year, and the Eagles return a large number of players from a playoff-caliber squad that came close to winning in Missoula - and they get the Griz on their home (and red-terfed) field this year.
15. Delaware - Thursday, Sep 2nd, vs. West Chester
Newark is excited about this year's team, and with good cause. The Blue Hens are familiarly ranked once again, and will host SDSU and Villanova this year - but they'll have to play Richmond, the Dukes, the Tribe and the Minutemen on the road. The Blue Hens finished 4-4 in the hyper-competitive CAA, and FCS fans all over the country are eager to see a resurgence from Delaware (and Maine, too).
16. JMU - Saturday, Sep 4th vs. Morehead State
The Eagles had a weird year last year - two away wins, one home win (to lower division Southern Virginia), and a lot of carnage in the Pioneer League. The Dukes, meanwhile, look to build momentum from a season that saw an opening game, OT loss at Maryland; an 0-4 start to CAA play; and then a four-game winning streak to finish at 4-4 in the CAA. JMU were rarely out of any game they played, though, and look to compete well in the CAA.
17. Jacksonville State - Saturday, Sep 4th at Mississippi
An OVC team playing at an SEC house most might write up as an automatic loss... but Jacksonville State has a tendency to hang around. Last year, they lost 37-17 at #15 Georgia Tech, and lost 19-9 at Florida State. Hrm. But, Ole Miss went 9-4 last year and was 15th overall in scoring defense, allowing under 18 points per game.
18. Weber State - Saturday, Sep 4th, at Boston College
As everyone knows, Ogden Utah and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts are practically neighbors, being only... 2,350 miles apart. Although I'll take Ogden over Beantown any day (compare: Mount Ogden, 9570 feet, 3800 feet of prominence; Heartbreak Hill: Significantly less), I'm not sure if I'd bet on the Wildcats here - an 8-5 ACC team playing a team 2300 miles away from home in front of 36,000 people may be tough for the Wildcats to overcome.
19. Liberty - vs. St. Francis (PA), Saturday, Sep 4th
Last year's Big South conference co-champs host NEC bottom-dweller St. Francis to open their season. The Red Flash went 2-9 last year, with wins over Morehead State and Duquesne. The Flames have a date with Ball State the next weekend before starting conference play (and also have a road game at JMU on September 25th)
20. Furman - idle
The third team in the Southern conference in the poll open their season Sep 11th vs. Colgate.
21. EIU - at #9 FBS Iowa, Saturday, Sep 4th
Last year's second-place OVC team opens their season at Big Ten (give or take four) conference power Iowa. The Hawkeyes won eleven games last year, losing inexplicably at home to Northwestern and equally inexplicably almost beating the Buckeyes on OSU's field, losing 27-24 in OT. EIU made the playoffs last year, losing on the road to SIU. Their program has been rocked recently with the dismissal of three players, apparently for drug violations.
22. Montana State - Saturday, Sep 4th hosting Fort Lewis.
The fourth - fourth! - team from the Big Sky open their season by hosting the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, who went 2-9 in Division II last year. The Cats are probably eager for another shot at a PAC-10 team and will travel to Washington State the second weekend of the season (MSU scored an upset at then-Big XII, now PAC-10 member Colorado in 2006). The Cats have an interesting schedule, hosting both EWU and Weber this year.
23. Cal Poly - vs. Humboldt State, Saturday, Sep 4th
With only five home games all year, the Mustangs open up with their one possible patsy in Humboldt State, which went 5-5 last year. Cal Poly then hosts Montana before a brutal five game road trip: Texas State, McNeese, Fresno State, Old Dominion, Southern Utah.
24. Pennsylvania - idle
The lone Ivy League team, the Quakers are guaranteed of being undefeated going into the third week of football (they open Sep 18 vs. Lafayette). The week after that, though, they travel to 'Nova.
25. Holy Cross - Saturday, Sep 4th vs. Howard
The Crusaders, last years' Patriot League champs, open vs. a MEAC team that went 2-9 (a three point win at Georgetown and a four point win vs. Winston-Salem).
Temple started last year with two tough losses - at home to Villanova, then on the road at Penn State. Temple then won 9 straight games, claiming the MAC but losing to Ohio to end the regular season, then losing to UCLA in the postseason. Villanova, as the defending FCS champion, could score a win over the Owls and not have it be considered an upset.
2. Montana - Saturday Sep 4th vs. Western State
While many of the top FCS programs and conferences open against FBS teams, Montana drops down to host Western State. The Griz should handle Western State easily, but the next two weeks see the Griz traveling to two places it could lose - at Cal Poly, then debuting on the red terf at Eastern Washington.
3. ASU - Saturday Sep 4th at Chattanooga
Opening their season, and conference play, ASU travels to the former home of the NCAA championships. FCS fans will watch this one with interest, as ASU post-AE is a bit of a question mark. Mountaineer fans think this may be a very early test, and the Mocs haven't beaten ASU since a thrilling 59-56 home win in '04.
4. William & Mary - at UMass - Saturday, Sep 4th
Like ASU, the Tribe go on the road for a conference game to open the season, and the Minutemen posted a good win over W&M in 07 at home. Kevin Morris' second year at Massachusetts has Minutemen fans hopes of returning to CAA dominance way up, and UMass received a fair number of votes in preseason polls.
5. SIU - vs. Quincy, Thursday, Sep 2nd
Like Montana, the Salukis are hosting a lower division school in Quincy. The Salukis went undefeated in Valley play last year but were stopped by W&M's defense in the playoffs. Quincy went 4-7 last year in the MSFA, so probably safe to bet on the home team in Carbondale.
6. New Hampshire - vs. Central Connecticut State, Saturday, Sep 4th
Ranked #6, New Hampshire is only the third-highest ranked CAA team, displaying the amount of respect FCS voters have for the CAA. The Wildcats open at home vs. Central Connecticut State from the Northeast conference. Central Connecticut had a solid year last year, including a home win vs Albany and a respectable 33-14 loss at William & Mary early. Both teams will be moving out of FCS the following weekend, though UNH's trip to Pittsburgh will probably be a tougher go than the Blue Devils hosting Bentley College.
7. Elon - at Duke, Saturday, Sep 4th
Elon is playing the other Blue Devils team. The Phoenix had an outstanding season last year, with their two FCS losses both on the road to the two previous FCS champions (at ASU and at Richmond), and a third loss to FBS Wake Forest. FCS voters are warming to the team, with some arguably overdue respect given to the program. Although Duke's football team is improving, they opened their year last year with a loss to Richmond. Like Nova above, this could be a great opportunity for a good win over an FBS school.
8. Richmond - at Virginia, Saturday, Sep 4th
Richmond opened up last year's season with a win at Duke, and this year they travel to another ACC bottom-dweller of late, Virginia, which went 3-9 last year including a season opening loss at home to William & Mary. Would be interesting to see what would happen if the upper echelon of the ACC started playing the upper echelon of the CAA more often. Still, CAA over ACC is a recurrent theme over the years specifically because of games like this.
9. SDSU - idle.
Opening game for SDSU is an interesting matchup at #15 Delaware on Sep 11th.
10. South Carolina State - at #16 FBS Georgia Tech, Saturday, Sep 4th
As a quick aside: Wofford and SC State really should begin a rivalry - Bulldogs vs. Terriers. C'mon! SCSU opening at a Georgia Tech team that went 11-3 last year, including a win at Florida State and an upset of then #4 Virginia Tech, may be a tall order. But the Bulldogs are one of those teams that no one in FCS really wants to see in the playoffs - see last year's 20-13 squeaker at ASU for why.
11. SFA - At Texas A&M, Saturday, Sep 4th
The Lumberjacks start their season at Big 12 middleweight Texas A&M. The Aggies had a bit of a disappointing season in 09, including a home loss to OSU and a 55 point loss on the road at Oklahoma, finishing 6-7 with a bowl loss to Georgia. SFA won ten games last year, though, with three losses on the road (@SMU, @Texas State, and @Montana in the second round of the playoffs). Their 44-33 win over Eastern Washington was very impressive, and if there is any such thing as karma, SFA is owed at least ten turnovers this season in their favor.
12. Northern Iowa - idle
The Panthers open their season (and MVC play) on Sep 11th, hosting the NDSU Bison.
13. McNeese State - hosting Lamar, Saturday, Sep 4th
The Cowboys are in the midst of one of the most interesting string of non-conference games to open the season in recent memory. This year, they open their season by hosting Lamar's return to football (Lamar had dropped football in 1989) before traveling to Missouri (and will also play at LSU later this year). Last year, McNeese played at The Rock, and next year, they'll play Montana. Kudos to the folks in Lake Charles for playing interesting schedules! Not much is known about Lamar as they restart football - but welcome back!
14. Eastern Washington - at Nevada, Thursday, Sep 2nd
The boys from Cheney will debut their red terf later this year, but first they must go on the road to play a Nevada team that went 7-1 in WAC play last year and were ranked first in rushing yards per game (a whopping 344.9 ypg). Still, Nevada had a surprising loss at MWC's Colorado State early last year, and the Eagles return a large number of players from a playoff-caliber squad that came close to winning in Missoula - and they get the Griz on their home (and red-terfed) field this year.
15. Delaware - Thursday, Sep 2nd, vs. West Chester
Newark is excited about this year's team, and with good cause. The Blue Hens are familiarly ranked once again, and will host SDSU and Villanova this year - but they'll have to play Richmond, the Dukes, the Tribe and the Minutemen on the road. The Blue Hens finished 4-4 in the hyper-competitive CAA, and FCS fans all over the country are eager to see a resurgence from Delaware (and Maine, too).
16. JMU - Saturday, Sep 4th vs. Morehead State
The Eagles had a weird year last year - two away wins, one home win (to lower division Southern Virginia), and a lot of carnage in the Pioneer League. The Dukes, meanwhile, look to build momentum from a season that saw an opening game, OT loss at Maryland; an 0-4 start to CAA play; and then a four-game winning streak to finish at 4-4 in the CAA. JMU were rarely out of any game they played, though, and look to compete well in the CAA.
17. Jacksonville State - Saturday, Sep 4th at Mississippi
An OVC team playing at an SEC house most might write up as an automatic loss... but Jacksonville State has a tendency to hang around. Last year, they lost 37-17 at #15 Georgia Tech, and lost 19-9 at Florida State. Hrm. But, Ole Miss went 9-4 last year and was 15th overall in scoring defense, allowing under 18 points per game.
18. Weber State - Saturday, Sep 4th, at Boston College
As everyone knows, Ogden Utah and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts are practically neighbors, being only... 2,350 miles apart. Although I'll take Ogden over Beantown any day (compare: Mount Ogden, 9570 feet, 3800 feet of prominence; Heartbreak Hill: Significantly less), I'm not sure if I'd bet on the Wildcats here - an 8-5 ACC team playing a team 2300 miles away from home in front of 36,000 people may be tough for the Wildcats to overcome.
19. Liberty - vs. St. Francis (PA), Saturday, Sep 4th
Last year's Big South conference co-champs host NEC bottom-dweller St. Francis to open their season. The Red Flash went 2-9 last year, with wins over Morehead State and Duquesne. The Flames have a date with Ball State the next weekend before starting conference play (and also have a road game at JMU on September 25th)
20. Furman - idle
The third team in the Southern conference in the poll open their season Sep 11th vs. Colgate.
21. EIU - at #9 FBS Iowa, Saturday, Sep 4th
Last year's second-place OVC team opens their season at Big Ten (give or take four) conference power Iowa. The Hawkeyes won eleven games last year, losing inexplicably at home to Northwestern and equally inexplicably almost beating the Buckeyes on OSU's field, losing 27-24 in OT. EIU made the playoffs last year, losing on the road to SIU. Their program has been rocked recently with the dismissal of three players, apparently for drug violations.
22. Montana State - Saturday, Sep 4th hosting Fort Lewis.
The fourth - fourth! - team from the Big Sky open their season by hosting the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, who went 2-9 in Division II last year. The Cats are probably eager for another shot at a PAC-10 team and will travel to Washington State the second weekend of the season (MSU scored an upset at then-Big XII, now PAC-10 member Colorado in 2006). The Cats have an interesting schedule, hosting both EWU and Weber this year.
23. Cal Poly - vs. Humboldt State, Saturday, Sep 4th
With only five home games all year, the Mustangs open up with their one possible patsy in Humboldt State, which went 5-5 last year. Cal Poly then hosts Montana before a brutal five game road trip: Texas State, McNeese, Fresno State, Old Dominion, Southern Utah.
24. Pennsylvania - idle
The lone Ivy League team, the Quakers are guaranteed of being undefeated going into the third week of football (they open Sep 18 vs. Lafayette). The week after that, though, they travel to 'Nova.
25. Holy Cross - Saturday, Sep 4th vs. Howard
The Crusaders, last years' Patriot League champs, open vs. a MEAC team that went 2-9 (a three point win at Georgetown and a four point win vs. Winston-Salem).