SAC 43-42 PORTST EWU 35-22 CP
UND 18-34 UCD
ISU 13-59 BYU
NOCO 7-24 NAU
WEB 6-42 UMT SUU 22-14 MTST
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 19-23
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 6-7
Best Performance: (#3) Eastern Washington 35, Cal Poly 22 - The Eagles handle a surging Mustangs squad in their house by building an insurmountable 35-3 lead, though I do wonder why Cal Poly went back to starting QB Dano Graves after Chris Brown had been so effective in recent weeks.
Worst Performance: North Dakota 18, UC Davis 34 - The No-Nicks finish a disappointing 3-8 despite two 100-yard receivers.
Most Surprising Result: Southern Utah 22, (#8) Montana St. 14 - Some questionable prevent defense decisions made things interesting late, but the Thunderbird D completely smothered the potent Bobcats by holding them to just 38 yards in the first three quarters.
Southland
SFA 45-46 LAM
SHSU 21-34 SELU
NWST 17-43 MCNSE UCA 17-10 NICH
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 25-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 14-5
Best Performance: (#14) Southeastern Louisiana 34, (#4) Sam Houston St. 21 - The Lions wrap up the Southland auto-bid thanks to 6 sacks and a 3-0 turnover advantage.
Worst Performance: Stephen F. Austin 45, Lamar 46 - I don't think I've see anything like a 3-8 team that averages 581 yards of offense.
Most Surprising Result: The No-Defense League - All eight Southland teams average at least 26 ppg and six of them average over 30, but seven of the eight allow over 26 ppg including SFA who gives up more than 50.
Best Performance: (#1) North Dakota St. 35, (#15) Youngstown St. 17 - The Bison make a Missouri Valley statement thanks to 5 total TDs from Brock Jensen and 100-yard days by Ojuri, Crockett, and WR Zach Vraa.
Worst Performance: Indiana St. 14, Western Illinois 21 - This was by far Indiana State's closest game in over a month, but WIU still isn't a very good opponent.
Most Surprising Result: South Dakota 12, (#19) South Dakota St. 27 - Three tragic home losses in a row for the Coyotes as, after recovering a fumble deep in Jackrabbit territory, Kevin Earl throws a game-deciding pick-six to Winston Wright.
Best Performance: (#2) Eastern Illinois 52, (#22) Jacksonville St. 14 - The Panthers completely obliterate a good conference opponent by running (that's right, running) for 413 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns in the first quarter.
Worst Performance: Austin Peay 34, Southeast Missouri St. 36 - This was the highest point total by far for the Governors this season, but they still couldn't cash in on their best opportunity to avoid a winless season.
Most Surprising Result: Tennessee St. 17, Murray St. 10 - The Tigers did what they had to do to position themselves for the playoffs, but it appears they really need QB Michael German to come back to have any hope of making some postseason noise.
Pioneer League
DRAKE 13-23 USD DAY 45-20 VALPO
MER 7-33 MARIST
CAMP 14-42 ODU
STET 24-45 JU BUT 58-27 MHEAD
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 14-25
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-16
Best Performance: Marist 33, Mercer 7 - The Red Foxes easily position themselves for the PFL's first auto bid by winning turnovers 6-0.
Worst Performance: Stetson 24, Jacksonville 45 - The Hatters give up 633 yards to the somewhat disappointing Dolphins.
Most Surprising Result: Campbell 14, (FBS) Old Dominion 42 - I really expected a bigger beatdown here, & the Camels actually gained over 400 yards on the FBS-bound Monarch D.
Best Performance: Lafayette 27, (#5) Fordham 14 - The Leopards take advantage of the Nebrich injury by forcing 4 interceptions off of Peter Maetzold.
Worst Performance: (#5) Fordham 14, Lafayette 27 - You guys are more than just your starting quarterback, aren't you?
Most Surprising Result: (#5) Fordham 14, Lafayette 27 - This won't cost the Rams a playoff spot, obviously, but it likely costs them a seed and it's clear they need Nebrich back to make any noise.
Best Performance: Sacred Heart 42, Robert Morris 25 - The Pioneers clinch their first-ever playoff appearance thanks to 4 total touchdowns from QB RJ Noel.
Worst Performance: St. Francis (PA) 7, Wagner 10 - Red Flash only gain 144 yards against the conference basement in a game where no-one scored in the second half.
Most Surprising Result: Robert Morris 25, Sacred Heart 42 - Playoff hopes dashed for Joe Walton in his final season as the Colonials' head coach.
CAA
UNH 37-20 ALB
URI 0-41 MAINE RICH 46-43 UD TOW 15-9 W&M SBU 41-38 JMU
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 24-17
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 22-7
Best Performance: (#10) Towson 15, (#16) William & Mary 9 - Jordan Love gets a tackle for loss and 5 pass breakups for the Tigers as they shut down the Tribe offense.
Worst Performance: James Madison 38, Stony Brook 41 - A supposedly stout Duke defense gives up 41 points to a Seawolf O that was averaging just 20 ppg coming in.
Most Surprising Result: (#21) Delaware 43, Richmond 46 - The Hens put their playoff chances on life support after surrending 543 passing yards and 680 total yards to the 4-6 Spiders.
Best Performance: Gardner-Webb 27, (#13) Charleston Southern 10 - Shaquille Riddick gets 4 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks, and 5 QB hurries to help the Bulldog defense stymie the high-flying Bucs.
Worst Performance: (#13) Charleston Southern 10, Gardner-Webb 27 - The Buccaneers may now have to beat Liberty on the road just to make the playoffs (an at-large is certainly not a guarantee).
Most Surprising Result: (#13) Charleston Southern 10, Gardner-Webb 27 - This loss could've been a lot worse for CSU, too, seeing as they fumbled 5 times & didn't lose a single one.
MEAC
HOW 40-6 TXSO
SAV 14-41 NCAT
NFOLK 13-24 NCCEN
MORG 3-38 SCSU DSU 29-21 FAMU
HAMP 12-42 BCU
NConf Record: 1-0 Overall: 14-28
vs. FCS: 1-0 Overall: 6-15
Best Performance: South Carolina St. 38, Morgan St. 3 - Bulldogs outgain Morgan 442-134 and hold them to a laughable 30.9 passing efficiency rating as they continue to make a playoff case.
Worst Performance: Savannah St. 14, North Carolina A&T 41 - Tigers allow 5 rushing touchdowns and only force 1 incomplete pass in another ugly performance.
Most Surprising Result: Norfolk St. 13, NC Central 24 - Spartans keep forgetting they need to show up against non-marquee opponents, too.
Best Performance: Samford 17, (#17) Tennessee-Chattanooga 14 (OT) - Tough redzone D and an outstanding punting performance by Greg Peranich keep the Bulldogs in the auto-bid hunt.
Worst Performance: Elon 20, (FBS) Georgia Southern 38 - The Phoenix give up 398 rushing yards as they continue to end their SoCon tenure with a whimper.
Most Surprising Result: Wofford 21, (FBS) Appalachian St. 33 - The Terrier season effectively comes to an end thanks to a defensive shredding by Mountaineer QB Kameron Bryant.
* - 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).
SAC 43-42 PORTST EWU 35-22 CP
UND 18-34 UCD
ISU 13-59 BYU
NOCO 7-24 NAU
WEB 6-42 UMT SUU 22-14 MTST
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 19-23
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 6-7
Best Performance: (#3) Eastern Washington 35, Cal Poly 22 - The Eagles handle a surging Mustangs squad in their house by building an insurmountable 35-3 lead, though I do wonder why Cal Poly went back to starting QB Dano Graves after Chris Brown had been so effective in recent weeks.
Worst Performance: North Dakota 18, UC Davis 34 - The No-Nicks finish a disappointing 3-8 despite two 100-yard receivers.
Most Surprising Result: Southern Utah 22, (#8) Montana St. 14 - Some questionable prevent defense decisions made things interesting late, but the Thunderbird D completely smothered the potent Bobcats by holding them to just 38 yards in the first three quarters.
Southland
SFA 45-46 LAM
SHSU 21-34 SELU
NWST 17-43 MCNSE UCA 17-10 NICH
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 25-15
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 14-5
Best Performance: (#14) Southeastern Louisiana 34, (#4) Sam Houston St. 21 - The Lions wrap up the Southland auto-bid thanks to 6 sacks and a 3-0 turnover advantage.
Worst Performance: Stephen F. Austin 45, Lamar 46 - I don't think I've see anything like a 3-8 team that averages 581 yards of offense.
Most Surprising Result: The No-Defense League - All eight Southland teams average at least 26 ppg and six of them average over 30, but seven of the eight allow over 26 ppg including SFA who gives up more than 50.
Best Performance: (#1) North Dakota St. 35, (#15) Youngstown St. 17 - The Bison make a Missouri Valley statement thanks to 5 total TDs from Brock Jensen and 100-yard days by Ojuri, Crockett, and WR Zach Vraa.
Worst Performance: Indiana St. 14, Western Illinois 21 - This was by far Indiana State's closest game in over a month, but WIU still isn't a very good opponent.
Most Surprising Result: South Dakota 12, (#19) South Dakota St. 27 - Three tragic home losses in a row for the Coyotes as, after recovering a fumble deep in Jackrabbit territory, Kevin Earl throws a game-deciding pick-six to Winston Wright.
Best Performance: (#2) Eastern Illinois 52, (#22) Jacksonville St. 14 - The Panthers completely obliterate a good conference opponent by running (that's right, running) for 413 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns in the first quarter.
Worst Performance: Austin Peay 34, Southeast Missouri St. 36 - This was the highest point total by far for the Governors this season, but they still couldn't cash in on their best opportunity to avoid a winless season.
Most Surprising Result: Tennessee St. 17, Murray St. 10 - The Tigers did what they had to do to position themselves for the playoffs, but it appears they really need QB Michael German to come back to have any hope of making some postseason noise.
Pioneer League
DRAKE 13-23 USD DAY 45-20 VALPO
MER 7-33 MARIST
CAMP 14-42 ODU
STET 24-45 JU BUT 58-27 MHEAD
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 14-25
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 3-16
Best Performance: Marist 33, Mercer 7 - The Red Foxes easily position themselves for the PFL's first auto bid by winning turnovers 6-0.
Worst Performance: Stetson 24, Jacksonville 45 - The Hatters give up 633 yards to the somewhat disappointing Dolphins.
Most Surprising Result: Campbell 14, (FBS) Old Dominion 42 - I really expected a bigger beatdown here, & the Camels actually gained over 400 yards on the FBS-bound Monarch D.
Tomorrow: the rest of the playoff conferences.
I was on twitter a fan of Tenn St told me that German should be back for the playoffs.The defense is playing much better causing turnovers.He told me that the Tiger DBs are young and gambled and got burned by Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky.
COLUM 9-24 COR
PENN 30-38 HARV DART 24-20 BROWN
YALE 23-59 PRINCE
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 13-11
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 13-11
Best Performance: (#25) Princeton 59, Yale 23 - The Tigers score 50+ for the 5th. time this season & currently sit #2 in the national scoring offense rankings.
Worst Performance: Columbia 9, Cornell 24 - The Lions fall to 0-9 for the 2nd. time in 3 seasons.
Most Surprising Result: Dartmouth 24, Brown 20 - The Big Green beat Brown for just the 4th. time in the last 16 meetings.
SWAC
HOW 40-6 TXSO ACU 65-45 PVAMU
cau 0-53 SU
UAPB 42-50 AAMU ALST 19-7 MVSU ALCORN 48-33 JSU
NConf Record: 1-2 Overall: 4-20
vs. FCS: 0-2 Overall: 1-10
Best Performance: Alcorn St. 48, Jackson St. 33 - The Braves take advantage of JSU's lack of urgency (they'd already clinched the SWAC-East) by forcing 4 turnovers.
Worst Performance: Texas Southern 6, Howard 40 - The Tigers commit 6 turnovers as SWAC teams continue to show how much they've fallen compared to other conferences.
Most Surprising Result: Alcorn St. 48, Jackson St. 33 - Alcorn now has a winning record against Jackson State over the last 11 years.
Independents
ACU 65-45 PVAMU angelo 7-0 UIW MONM 21-18 BRY
Non-Ind. Record*: 2-1 Overall: 20-19
vs. FCS*: 2-0 Overall: 10-13
Best Performance: Abilene Christian 65, Prairie View A&M 45 - John David Baker throws for 486 yards and 4 touchdowns while Charcan West runs for 4 touchdowns in yet another Prairie View shootout.
Worst Performance: Incarnate Word 0, (DII) Angelo St. 7 - The Rams actually dominated this game statistically, but their own self-destruction kept the Cardinals in it.
Most Surprising Result: Incarnate Word 0, (DII) Angelo St. 7 - The Cardinals fall to 0-4 against Angelo, though this was easily the closest of the four.
* - Old Dominion is a first-year transitional, so I'm counting them as FBS and not counting them as an FCS Independent.
Congrats to Alcorn St coach Jay Hopson he is among the finalists for the Robinson award for turning around the Braves football program.He along with Buddy Pough( South Carolina St)and Rod Reed(Tenn St) are the lone representatives for the hbcu family.Surprised the Bethune Cookman coach is not mentioned!!!
