Best Performance: (#3) Montana St. 38, Portland St. 36 - Bobcat QB DeNarius McGhee takes advantage of a run-focused PSU defense & throws for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 22 attempts.
Worst Performance: Idaho St. 0, (#16) Montana 33 - This wasn't as close as the final score indicates, given that the Bengals gained just 121 yards, picked up just 5 first downs, and committed 7 turnovers.
Most Surprising Result: Sacramento St. 14, Northern Colorado 0 - Thanks to a cold monsoon, the Hornets hold NoCo to just 72 yards and become the first team in I-AA/FCS history to never attempt a single pass in a game.
Southland
SHSU 45-10 SFA (in Houston, TX) NWST 37-17 LAM TXST 21-14 MCNSE UCA 37-31 NICH
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 11-14
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-1
Best Performance: (#11) Sam Houston St. 45, Stephen F. Austin 10 - The Bearkat defense forces Lumberjack QB Brady Attaway into a dismal 83.1 efficiency rating on 63 attempts.
Worst Performance: Lamar 17, Northwestern St. 37 - J.J. Hayes caught 10 balls for 212 yards, but that wasn't nearly enough to overcome 4 Cardinal turnovers.
Most Surprising Result: (#15) McNeese St. 14, (FBS) Texas St. 21 - The Cowboys force 5 fumbles, but can't collect any of them as they become the third-straight Southland team to fall to Texas State.
Best Performance: (#2) Northern Iowa 23, (#17) Indiana St. 9 - Panthers take advantage of a Shakir Bell injury & shut out Indiana State in the second half.
Worst Performance: Missouri St. 13, Illinois St. 38 - Bears give up 5 unanswered touchdowns in the second half and lose rushing 316-37.
Most Surprising Result: South Dakota St. 35, Youngstown St. 28 - The Jackrabbits may have finally found a quarterback as Austin Sumner throws for 345 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Best Performance: Tennessee-Martin 61, Austin Peay 23 - Skyhawk QB Derek Carr rebounds with 387 passing yards, 6 TDs, and 0 picks.
Worst Performance: Southeast Missouri St. 3, Tennessee St. 55 - Less than one year removed from a playoff appearance, the Red Hawks suffer their worst I-AA/FCS loss since 1991.
Most Surprising Result: Eastern Illinois 16, Eastern Kentucky 48 - This definitely hasn't been a glorious final season for Bob Spoo.
Patriot League
LEH 30-6 BUCK COLG 26-14 MONM
FORD 20-35 PENN
HC 13-20 BROWN GTOWN 24-10 WAG
NConf Record: 2-2 Overall: 15-14
vs. FCS: 2-2 Overall: 15-12
Best Performance: (#10) Lehigh 30, Bucknell 6 - The Mountain Hawk defense gets 10 sacks & Chris Lum throws for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns, about half of that to Ryan Spadola.
Worst Performance: Fordham 20, Penn 35 - Rams fall to 0-5 all-time versus Penn.
Most Surprising Result: Holy Cross 13, Brown 20 - The Crusaders beat Harvard & Harvard beat the Bears, but Holy Cross just couldn't shut down the Brown passing attack the same way the Crimson did.
Best Performance: Albany 38, Duquesne 10 - The Great Danes unexpectedly dominate in getting long-time coach Bob Ford his 250th. win.
Worst Performance: St. Francis (PA) 14, Robert Morris 45 - The Red Flash, who are just 2-15-1 against RMU all-time, suffer their worst loss to the Colonials in 10 years.
Most Surprising Result: Albany 38, Duquesne 10 - Another week, another NEC favorite…
CAA
NOVA 17-47 UNH ODU 31-23 URI
W&M 0-21 UD
RICH 28-31 TOW MAINE 25-24 JMU (OT)
NConf Record*: 0-0 Overall: 21-11
vs. FCS*: 0-0 Overall: 17-2
Best Performance: (#19) Maine 25, (#7) James Madison 24 (OT) - The Black Bears couldn't stop the run, but went turnover free & got 295 yards and 2 TDs passing from QB Warren Smith.
Worst Performance: Villanova 17, (#6) New Hampshire 47 - Villanova gives up 395 yards, 3 TDs, and a 206.5 passing efficiency rating to New Hampshire QB Kevin Decker.
Most Surprising Result: (#19) Maine 25, (#7) James Madison 24 (OT) - A two-point gamble pays off as the Black Bears help move the CAA power center north.
Big South
PRESBY 24-42 SBU LIB 35-3 GWEBB
VMI 10-34 CCU
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 8-22
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 4-11
Best Performance: Stony Brook 42, Presbyterian 24 - New Seawolf QB Kyle Essington throws for 292 yards and 4 TDs on just 27 attempts.
Worst Performance: Gardner-Webb 3, Liberty 35 - Since beating FBS Akron last year, the Bulldogs are just 3-11.
Most Surprising Result: (none)
MEAC
NFOLK 38-21 DSU
SAV 17-44 MORG
PRINCE 23-28 HAMP
BCOOK 3-22 NCAT
NCCEN 38-49 SCSU
HOW 29-28 FAMU
NConf Record: 1-0 Overall: 13-17
vs. FCS: 1-0 Overall: 7-8
Best Performance: North Carolina A&T 22, Bethune-Cookman 3 - The Aggies hold the once-mighty Bethune-Cookman offense to a putrid 108 yards.
Worst Performance: Savannah St. 17, Morgan St. 44 - In a pathetic defensive display, the Tigers give up 44 points to a team that was averaging 9.2 and 430 yards to a team that was averaging 190.
Most Surprising Result: Florida A&M 28, Howard 29 - The Rattlers pull a Chattanooga & allow 17 points in the final minute-&-a-half. On the other hand, it's surprising FAMU was even in position to blow a lead with just 185 yards of offense and 5 turnovers.
SoCon
ELON 38-31 WCU SAM 26-21 FUR WOFF 43-14 CIT
UTC 27-28 GSU
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 12-7
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 9-1
Best Performance: Samford 26, Furman 21 - The Bulldogs force 3 picks off Chris Forcier in replacing Furman as the SoCon dark horse.
Worst Performance: Western Carolina 31, Elon 38 - Catamounts lose their 6th. straight versus the Phoenix.
Most Surprising Result: Furman 21, Samford 26 - The Paladins lose to Samford for the first time since 1969.
* - I know UMass is still technically in the CAA this year, but I'm counting them as FBS and as a non-conference opponent for CAA teams.
HUM 23-17 UCD
UCO 25-44 CP
MTWEST 9-42 UND
SUU 19-24 SDK
NConf Record: 2-1 Overall: 12-12
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 6-3
Best Performance: (#18) South Dakota 24, (#22) Southern Utah 19 - The Coyotes win the ground battle 247-11 in a key Great West win.
Worst Performance: UC Davis 17, (DII) Humboldt St. 23 - The Aggies won their last four DII meetings with the Lumberjacks in blowout fashion, but suffer an embarrassing loss in their first contest as inter-division opponents.
Most Surprising Result: Cal Poly 44, (DII) Central Oklahoma 25 - The Mustangs finished with a fairly easy win, but they actually trailed a 1-4 DII team by 9 at the half.
Ivy League
FORD 20-35 PENN SACHRT 34-25 COLUM HARV 41-31 COR
HC 13-20 BROWN
DART 0-30 YALE
PRINCE 23-28 HAMP
NConf Record: 2-2 Overall: 9-11
vs. FCS: 2-2 Overall: 9-11
Best Performance: Brown 20, Holy Cross 13 - The Bears have now won 4 of the last 7 over the Crusaders after winning none of the previous 11.
Worst Performance: Dartmouth 0, Yale 30 - This time, the Big Green couldn't even get anything out of Nick Schwieger as he was held to 39 yards on 16 carries.
Most Surprising Result: Dartmouth 0, Yale 30 - Dartmouth was supposed to make a big jump this year, but they're now 1-3 and 0-2 in the Ivy.
Best Performance: Jackson St. 48, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10 - Tigers average 8.5 yards-per-play, convert 70% of their third downs, and take advantage of lousy punting by Pine Bluff en route to a rout.
Worst Performance: Mississippi Valley St. 14, Alabama A&M 37 - Delta Devils lose to AAMU for the 15th. time in the last 16 meetings.
Most Surprising Result: (none)
Pioneer League
USD 55-14 VALPO MARIST 13-9 DVDSN
BUT 23-38 CAMP
DAY 26-34 JU DRAKE 41-26 MHEAD
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 14-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-14
Best Performance: Campbell 38, Butler 23 - The Camels give up a lot of passing yards, but outrush the Bulldogs 247-79.
Worst Performance: Valparaiso 14, San Diego 55 - Crusaders give up 603 yards as they lose to San Diego for the 8th. consecutive time.
Most Surprising Result: Campbell 38, Butler 23 - The Fighting Camels win their second in a row over Butler.
Independents
USA 30-27 UTSA (2OT) MUR 48-24 GSU
Non-Ind. Record: 0-2 Overall: 3-8
vs. FCS: 0-1 Overall: 0-5
Best Performance: Texas-San Antonio 27, (FBS) South Alabama 30 (2OT) - The Roadrunners outgained the "FBS" Jaguars, but had to settle for a field goal at an inopportune time.
Worst Performance: Georgia St. 24, Murray St. 48 - The Panthers went 5-2 against FCS last year, but have yet to win a DI game in 2011.
