Best Performance: (#14) Montana 30, Portland St. 24 - Griz freshman Jordan Canada runs for 159 yards on just 14 carries while the defense holds PSU to 38 rushing yards in a dominant second half.
Worst Performance: Idaho St. 12, Weber St. 39 - The formerly high-flying Bengals give up 8 sacks & are whipped in the ground game 308 to minus-1.
Most Surprising Result: (#14) Montana 30, Portland St. 24 - The Griz actually won the rushing battle 255-200 over one of the top running teams in the nation.
Southland
NICH 7-47 SHSU
LAM 21-46 TXST
MCNSE 18-21 UCA
SELA 17-51 NWST
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 11-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-1
Best Performance: Central Arkansas 21, (#22) McNeese St. 18 - Bears win turnovers 5-1 and get a 98-yard fumble return touchdown from LB Frank Newsome.
Worst Performance: Southeastern Louisiana 17, Northwestern St. 51 - The Lions outgain the Demons but give away the ball 5 times.
Most Surprising Result: Central Arkansas 21, (#22) McNeese St. 18 - The Bears now have a winning record against the Cowboys since joining the Southland as a transitional in 2007.
Best Performance: Illinois St. 28, (#15) South Dakota 3 - Redbirds hold SoDak to just 108 yards & keep the dangerous Dante Warren to just 62 yards of total offense.
Worst Performance: Southern Illinois 23, Youngstown St. 35 - Salukis suffer consecutive losses to YSU for the first time since the early 2000s.
Most Surprising Result: Illinois St. 28, (#15) South Dakota 3 - The historically defenseless Redbirds are allowing just 19.6 points and 303 yards per game.
OVC
SEMO 17-41 EKU
EIU 27-36 MUR TSU 42-40 TTU
UTM 30-33 USA JAXST 44-14 AP
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 8-13
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 6-4
Best Performance: Tennessee State 42, (#19) Tennessee Tech 40 - Again turnovers are the story as the Tigers force 4 of them en route to a surprising win.
Worst Performance: Southeast Missouri St. 17, Eastern Kentucky 41 - A 6-0 turnover disadvantage gives you no chance to win anything.
Most Surprising Result: (#19) Tennessee Tech 40, Tennessee St. 42 - Again a seemingly good OVC team suffers a puzzling loss.
Patriot League
YALE 19-28 LAF
BUCK 3-42 HARV
COR 28-35 COLG(OT) LEH 34-12 FORD
DART 17-25 HC GTOWN 21-3 HOW
NConf Record: 4-1 Overall: 19-15
vs. FCS: 4-1 Overall: 19-15
Best Performance: (#8) Lehigh 34, Fordham 12 - Mountain Hawks rack up nearly 600 yards of offense in easily winning a sort-of conference game.
Worst Performance: Bucknell 3, Harvard 42 - , It's hard to find positives to build on when your quarterback has 4 interceptions, your leading rusher has 1 yard, & you fail to convert a single third down.
Most Surprising Result: Georgetown 21, Howard 3 - Don't look now, but the Hoyas are one victory away from clinching a winning season. Stand by to be raptured, folks.
Best Performance: Monmouth 40, Bryant 35 - Hawks move to 4-0 in their series with Bryant.
Worst Performance: St. Francis (PA) 45, Sacred Heart 60 - The Red Flash have allowed at least 38 points every week & are giving up 47.1 ppg on the season.
Most Surprising Result: Central Connecticut St. 21, Duquesne 28 - This specific result wasn't surprising, but the preseason favorite Blue Devils are now sitting in 8th. place.
CAA
URI 21-27 MAINE UMASS 21-10 UD
UNH 10-24 W&M
NOVA 10-34 JMU TOW 39-35 ODU
NConf Record*: 0-1 Overall: 21-12
vs. FCS*: 0-0 Overall: 17-2
Best Performance: (#16) William & Mary 24, (#6) New Hampshire 10 - The Tribe forces 4 turnovers in possibly righting their season.
Worst Performance: Villanova 10, (#13) James Madison 34 - At 0-4, the WIldcats have already clinched their worst conference season in 6 years.
Most Surprising Result: (#6) New Hampshire 10, (#16) William & Mary 24 - How do you gain 517 yards and only score 10 points?
Best Performance: Liberty 63, Coastal Carolina 27 - The Flames gain 259 rushing yards and 259 passing yards in a surprisingly easy win.
Worst Performance: Charleston Southern 17, VMI 21 - The Bucs average just 1.8 ypc and complete just 37% of their passes in losing this battle of the winless.
Most Surprising Result: Coastal Carolina 27, Liberty 63 - The Chanticleers are vaporized out of the Big South race by a massive dose of Lynchburg revenge.
Best Performance: Norfolk St. 34, Hampton 24 - Chris Walley throws for 265 yards and 3 TDs in helping the Spartans enter the Top-25.
Worst Performance: NC Central 3, Morgan St. 52 - Since moving up to FCS, the Eagles are 0-2 against the Bears with a combined margin of minus-91.
Most Surprising Result: Howard 3, Georgetown 21 - Apparently the Bison couldn't take their momentum from a thrilling win in Tallahassee into the D.C. Cup.
SoCon
UVAW 14-47 WOFF APP 49-42 CIT
FUR 20-50 GASO
ELON 31-43 SAM
WCU 7-51 UTC
NConf Record: 1-0 Overall: 13-7
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 9-1
Best Performance: (#1) Georgia Southern 50, Furman 20 - Eagles rack up 532 yards as they keep rolling through the opposition.
Worst Performance: Western Carolina 7, Tennessee-Chattanooga 51 - The Catamounts commit 5 turnovers & lose their 10th. straight SoCon game.
Most Surprising Result: (#6) Appalachian St. 49, The Citadel 42 - The Mountaineers nearly pull a Chattanooga as they also give up 4 unanswered touchdowns to close their contest with The Citadel.
* - 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.
Best Performance: Cal Poly 31, Southern Utah 27 - Mustangs win a key game despite the oddity of having more fourth-down conversions than third-down conversions.
Worst Performance: (#14) South Dakota 3, Illinois St. 28 - Coyotes fall to 0-4 against their future conference since moving up.
Most Surprising Result: (#14) South Dakota 3, Illinois St. 28 - I can't think of anything else to say about this game, but the result definitely surprised me.
Ivy League
PENN 27-20 COLUM
COR 28-35 COLG(OT)
DART 17-25 HC
BUCK 3-42 HARV
PRINCE 0-34 BROWN
YALE 19-28 LAF
NConf Record: 1-3 Overall: 10-14
vs. FCS: 1-3 Overall: 10-14
Best Performance: Harvard 42, Bucknell 3 - Colton Chapple makes the most of his opportunities by throwing 5 TD passes on just 23 attempts.
Worst Performance: Yale 19, Lafayette 28 - After beginning the series 7-0 versus the Leopards, the Bulldogs have now lost 2 straight.
Most Surprising Result: Harvard 42, Bucknell 3 - Hard to believe given their consistent success, but this was Harvard's most lopsided win in 11 years.
Best Performance: (#24) Alabama St. 20, Prairie View A&M 7 - In what may have been a preview of the SWAC Championship Game, the Hornets give up 456 yards but just 7 points.
Worst Performance: Southern 21, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 22 - Really, both of these teams should be given a "Worst" for the pepper spray-necessitating brawl that concluded this game.
Most Surprising Result: Mississippi Valley St. 16, (#25) Jackson St. 17 - After starting 0-6 with an average scoring margin of minus-22.5, the Delta Devils nearly upset a Top-25 team.
Pioneer League
DRAKE 24-31 USD
VALPO 14-42 BUT
DVDSN 0-28 DAY CAMP 35-21 MARIST
MHEAD 14-50 JU
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 14-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-14
Best Performance: San Diego 31, Drake 24 - Mason Mills throws for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns to help the Toreros overcome 184 yards in penalties.
Worst Performance: Davidson 0, Dayton 28 - Wildcats give up 9 sacks & lose rushing 219 to minus-17.
Most Surprising Result: (none)
Independents
UTSA 17-38 UCD
GSU 13-23 SCSU
Non-Ind. Record: 0-2 Overall: 3-10
vs. FCS: 0-2 Overall: 0-7
Best Performance: Goergia St. 13, South Carolina St. 23 - The Panthers actually led a good team at the half & ran for 244 yards on a strong defense.
Worst Performance: Texas-San Antonio 17, UC Davis 38 - Roadrunners are shredded by a team that lost to a DII last week.
