MTST 29-54 EWU
SAC 7-42 CP PORTST 38-31 IDST SUU 27-21 WEB UMT 31-27 SDK
NOCO 21-24 UND
NConf Record: 1-0 Overall: 19-22
vs. FCS: 1-0 Overall: 6-7
Best Performance: (#3) Eastern Washington 54, (#4) Montana St. 29 - The Eagles allow DeNarius McGhee to complete 84% of his passes, yet still demolish a fellow top-5 team thanks to a Big-Sky-record 12.3 yards-per-play.
Worst Performance: Northern Colorado 21, North Dakota 24 - The Bears again find a way to lose despite building a 21-6 lead & holding NoDak to 4 yards rushing.
Most Surprising Result: Sacramento St. 7, Cal Poly 42 - Most teams end up with a hangover after they play the Griz. The Hornets apparently prefer to drown in a pool of their own vomit.
Southland
MCNSE 69-38 SFA
NICH 24-49 SHSU SELU 58-31 UCA
LAM 28-37 NWST
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 25-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 14-5
Best Performance: (#16) Southeastern Louisiana 58, Central Arkansas 31 - Bryan Bennett throws for 202, runs for 142, and accounts for 4 total touchdowns in another Lion romp.
Worst Performance: Lamar 28, Northwestern St. 37 - The Cardinals are held to 5 yards rushing thanks to consistent defensive harassment of QB Caleb Berry.
Most Surprising Result: (#11) McNeese St. 69, Stephen F. Austin 38 - Dionte Spencer gets a Cowboy-record 365 all-purpose yards and 5 total touchdowns in a game that had 4 total return TDs for both teams combined.
Best Performance: Northern Iowa 22, (#9) Youngstown St. 20 - Nebraska transfer Brion Carnes steps in at QB and accounts for 284 yards of total offense and 2 TDs in a desperately needed Panther win.
Worst Performance: Indiana St. 0, (#19) South Dakota St. 29 - Everything continues to fall apart for the Sycamores, as they are now 1-9 and have been outscored 127-17 the last three games.
Most Surprising Result: Northern Iowa 22, (#9) Youngstown St. 20 - UNI ends their 5-game losing streak by doing something they've done now 12 times in the last 13 years: beating Youngstown State.
OVC
TTU 41-16 SEMO
EKU 10-68 JAXST EIU 37-17 MUR
AP 6-31 TSU
UTM 6-21 MEM
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 20-16
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 13-5
Best Performance: Jacksonville St. 68, Eastern Kentucky 10 - The Gamecocks continue their late surge for the playoffs as they've outscored their last three opponents 144-34.
Worst Performance: Southeast Missouri St. 16, Tennessee Tech 41 - This is the 15th. time SEMO has lost 8 or more games in a season since 1991.
Most Surprising Result: Eastern Kentucky 10, Jacksonville St. 68 - EKU looks like a mini-McNeese: they're 6-4 with one very good win, but have been hammered in each of their losses.
Pioneer League
DAY 10-36 DRAKE
VALPO 12-72 BUT MARIST 55-28 CAMP
JU 42-45 MER
DVDSN 13-26 STET USD 56-3 MHEAD
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 14-24
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-16
Best Performance: Drake 36, Dayton 10 - Bulldog quarterbacks shred the reeling Flyers, throwing for 378 yards and 2 TDs on just 30 attempts.
Worst Performance: Davidson 13, Stetson 26 - The Wildcats lose yardage 520-286 to the weak Pioneer "expansion team." The only reason it wasn't worse is that the Hatters only scored 1 TD in 6 redzone trips.
Most Surprising Result: Drake 36, Dayton 10 - Drake beats Dayton by a bigger margin than they did Valpo & Davidson.
Best Performance: (#7) Fordham 23, Bucknell 21 - Peter Maetzold relieves an injured Michael Nebrich and throws for 318 yards as the Rams beat a surging Bucknell squad.
Worst Performance: Lafayette 24, Colgate 28 - The Leopards can't quiet overcome an 18-point deficit as they fall to Colgate for the 41st. time in 57 meetings.
Most Surprising Result: (#7) Fordham 23, Bucknell 21 - Not only did Fordham overcome losing their starting quarterback, they won despite doing the unthinkable & fumbling on a kneeldown after the game was seemingly over.
Best Performance: Sacred Heart 10, Duquesne 0 - The Pioneers hold Duquesne to a 52.2 passing efficiency rating on 46 attempts and score twice in the final 7:00 to break a scoreless tie.
Worst Performance: Central Connecticut St. 21, Robert Morris 54 - No NEC team should be losing to another NEC team this bad.
Most Surprising Result: Robert Morris 54, Central Connecticut St. 21 - Colonials take sole possession of first place by forcing 5 turnovers & returning 2 of them for scores.
CAA
MAINE 33-27 ALB RICH 39-31 SBU
JMU 17-33 UNH NOVA 45-0 URI W&M 24-10 UD
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 24-17
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 22-7
Best Performance: (#23) William & Mary 24, (#15) Delaware 10 - The Tribe D lives up to their billing by holding the potent Hen offense to 3 points (they had KR TD) and negative rushing yards.
Worst Performance: Rhode Island 0, Villanova 45 - Following some signs of improvement earlier in the season, the Rams now look like their old selves. They lost yardage 517-88 in this game and have been outscored 146-27 the past three weeks.
Most Surprising Result: (#10) Maine 33, Albany 27 - Maine's iffy run defense almost costs them against the surprisingly competitive Danes.
Big South
GWEBB 9-27 VMI
PRESBY 14-35 LIB
CCU 26-31 CHSO
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 24-14
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 15-7
Best Performance: (#18) Charleston Southern 31, (#5) Coastal Carolina 26 - The Buccaneers finally have a chance to show their stuff against a good team and take advantage, rushing for 323 yards & building a just-barely insurmountable 31-6 lead.
Worst Performance: Gardner-Webb 9, VMI 27 - Thanks to 5 turnovers: the Bulldogs' wheels have not only fallen off, they've rolled all the way down the mountain & killed several innocent townspeople.
Most Surprising Result: (#18) Charleston Southern 31, (#5) Coastal Carolina 26 - Nothing is ever as it seems in the Big South. Can CSU avoid the fate of so many Big South front-runners (okay, mainly Liberty) of the past?
MEAC
NCAT 23-24 MORG
SAV 14-42 HOW
NCCEN 21-29 HAMP
FAMU 21-25 SCSU NFOLK 27-24 BCU
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 13-28
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 5-15
Best Performance: Norfolk St. 27, (#12) Bethune-Cookman 24 - The Spartans stun everyone by forcing 5 turnovers & ending BCU's 18-game MEAC winning streak.
Worst Performance: Savannah St. 14, Howard 42 - The Tigers give up 559 yards and appear destined for yet another winless-versus-DI season.
Most Surprising Result: Norfolk St. 27, (#12) Bethune-Cookman 24 - NSU nearly upset Old Dominion & did upset Bethune-Cookman, yet sandwiched in-between is a loss to Florida A&M.
SoCon
WCU 19-35 GASO CIT 35-10 ELON
SAM 17-35 FUR
WOFF 10-20 UTC
NConf Record*: 0-1 Overall: 15-20
vs. FCS*: 0-0 Overall: 4-8
Best Performance: (#24) Tennessee-Chattanooga 20, (#17) Wofford 10 - With yet another strong defensive performance, the Mocs secure 8 wins for the first time since 1980.
Worst Performance: Elon 10, The Citadel 35 - Prior to this, The Citadel's biggest win on the season was 7 points.
Most Surprising Result: Samford 17, Furman 35 - The ultimate tale of blown opportunities: the Bulldogs choke away their SoCon advantage by scoring a pitiful 9 points in 7 redzone trips.
* - I know App State & Georgia Southern are still technically in the SoCon this year, but I'm counting them as FBS and as a non-conference opponent for SoCon teams (same idea as Georgia State last season & UMass the year before).
MTST 29-54 EWU
SAC 7-42 CP PORTST 38-31 IDST SUU 27-21 WEB UMT 31-27 SDK
NOCO 21-24 UND
NConf Record: 1-0 Overall: 19-22
vs. FCS: 1-0 Overall: 6-7
Best Performance: (#3) Eastern Washington 54, (#4) Montana St. 29 - The Eagles allow DeNarius McGhee to complete 84% of his passes, yet still demolish a fellow top-5 team thanks to a Big-Sky-record 12.3 yards-per-play.
Worst Performance: Northern Colorado 21, North Dakota 24 - The Bears again find a way to lose despite building a 21-6 lead & holding NoDak to 4 yards rushing.
Most Surprising Result: Sacramento St. 7, Cal Poly 42 - Most teams end up with a hangover after they play the Griz. The Hornets apparently prefer to drown in a pool of their own vomit.
Southland
MCNSE 69-38 SFA
NICH 24-49 SHSU SELU 58-31 UCA
LAM 28-37 NWST
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 25-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 14-5
Best Performance: (#16) Southeastern Louisiana 58, Central Arkansas 31 - Bryan Bennett throws for 202, runs for 142, and accounts for 4 total touchdowns in another Lion romp.
Worst Performance: Lamar 28, Northwestern St. 37 - The Cardinals are held to 5 yards rushing thanks to consistent defensive harassment of QB Caleb Berry.
Most Surprising Result: (#11) McNeese St. 69, Stephen F. Austin 38 - Dionte Spencer gets a Cowboy-record 365 all-purpose yards and 5 total touchdowns in a game that had 4 total return TDs for both teams combined.
Best Performance: Northern Iowa 22, (#9) Youngstown St. 20 - Nebraska transfer Brion Carnes steps in at QB and accounts for 284 yards of total offense and 2 TDs in a desperately needed Panther win.
Worst Performance: Indiana St. 0, (#19) South Dakota St. 29 - Everything continues to fall apart for the Sycamores, as they are now 1-9 and have been outscored 127-17 the last three games.
Most Surprising Result: Northern Iowa 22, (#9) Youngstown St. 20 - UNI ends their 5-game losing streak by doing something they've done now 12 times in the last 13 years: beating Youngstown State.
OVC
TTU 41-16 SEMO
EKU 10-68 JAXST EIU 37-17 MUR
AP 6-31 TSU
UTM 6-21 MEM
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 20-16
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 13-5
Best Performance: Jacksonville St. 68, Eastern Kentucky 10 - The Gamecocks continue their late surge for the playoffs as they've outscored their last three opponents 144-34.
Worst Performance: Southeast Missouri St. 16, Tennessee Tech 41 - This is the 15th. time SEMO has lost 8 or more games in a season since 1991.
Most Surprising Result: Eastern Kentucky 10, Jacksonville St. 68 - EKU looks like a mini-McNeese: they're 6-4 with one very good win, but have been hammered in each of their losses.
Pioneer League
DAY 10-36 DRAKE
VALPO 12-72 BUT MARIST 55-28 CAMP
JU 42-45 MER
DVDSN 13-26 STET USD 56-3 MHEAD
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 14-24
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-16
Best Performance: Drake 36, Dayton 10 - Bulldog quarterbacks shred the reeling Flyers, throwing for 378 yards and 2 TDs on just 30 attempts.
Worst Performance: Davidson 13, Stetson 26 - The Wildcats lose yardage 520-286 to the weak Pioneer "expansion team." The only reason it wasn't worse is that the Hatters only scored 1 TD in 6 redzone trips.
Most Surprising Result: Drake 36, Dayton 10 - Drake beats Dayton by a bigger margin than they did Valpo & Davidson.
Tomorrow: the rest of the playoff conferences.
Bryan Bennent was recently voted as national co-offensive player of the week.
Our biggest loss was 11 points. All the rest are 7 or less. Elon didn't perform poorly as much as they just got stomped.
Eh… it was still the worst loss by a SoCon team. Maybe not be a lot, but it was.
My point was Elon didn't play all that poorly. If we had played like that all season we wouldn't be talking about how the UTC-Sammy game has SoCon championship implications.
Furman also played very well, but I'd say given their total season performance up until last week, Samford gets the origami award in my book.
"You however, are an insufferable ankle biting mental chihuahua..." - Clizzoris
PRINCE 38-26 PENN HARV 34-0 COLUM
COR 6-34 DART
BROWN 17-24 YALE
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 13-11
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 13-11
Best Performance: Princeton 38, Penn 26 - Tigers gain effectively a two-game lead in the Ivy by forcing Billy Ragone to complete just 32% of his passes & throw 3 picks.
Worst Performance: Cornell 6, Dartmouth 34 - The Big Red lose rushing 291-46 in losing their 8th. straight conference game.
Most Surprising Result: Princeton 38, Penn 26 - Princeton ends a 6-game losing streak to the Quakers & beats them for just the 3rd. time in the last 16 meetings.
Best Performance: Southern 31, Alabama St. 28 - Dray Joseph throws for 427 yards an 4 TDs, with about half the yards and most of the touchdowns going to Mike Jones.
Worst Performance: Texas Southern 17, Mississippi Valley St. 20 - The Tiger special teams really get outplayed as they miss a field goal, allow 15 yards-per-punt-return, and give up a 97 yard kick return touchdown to open the game.
Most Surprising Result: Alabama St. 28, Southern 31 - The Hornets lose to Southern for the 5th. consecutive time within the state of Alabama.
Independents
ACU 31-34 UIW MONM 23-6 WAG wes 35-28 CHAR
Non-Ind. Record*: 1-1 Overall: 18-18
vs. FCS*: 1-0 Overall: 8-13
Best Performance: Incarnate Word 34, Abiliene Christian 31 - In a rare second meeting within the same season, the Cardinals edge out a team that pounded them 3 weeks earlier.
Worst Performance: Charlotte 28, (DIII) Wesley 35 - The 49ers, who you'll remember are transitioning to FBS next year, are outgained noticeably & nearly double in time of possession by a DIII team.
Most Surprising Result: Charlotte 28, (DIII) Wesley 35 - Charlotte has now lost 4 straight, 2 of those coming to non-DIs.
* - Old Dominion is a first-year transitional, so I'm counting them as FBS and not counting them as an FCS Independent.
