FCS Football Notes and Thoughts on College Football Every Day

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October 26th:

  • I was shocked at how easily North Dakota State beat South Dakota State - on the road! Not sure anyone will get in the way of the Bisons 11th FCS championship.

  • With Dayton taking care of Presbyterian yesterday, it looks like the Pioneer Football League will come down to the Drake at Dayton game on 11/15.

  • Tennessee Tech beat Southeast Missouri State to extend their winning streak 13 games.

  • Attendance for the Magic City Classic between Alabama State and Alabama A&M in Birmingham: 69,372

  • That number isn’t the most shocking thing that happened in the SWAC yesterday. That belongs to Grambling stunning Jackson State 26-24 in Las Vegas with a 44-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to play.

  • Another big surprise: UIW dropping to 2-6 (0-4 in conference play) after losing to UTRGV 56-28. Vaqueros’ quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger accounted for seven touchdowns - throwing for six and running for another.

October 25th:

  • Montana took care of business in Sacramento, so it’s safe to say that the “Pandas” swatted the Hornets to stay unbeaten.

  • I do like Columbia, but I was smiling when Dartmouth scored just before halftime to take a 35-0 lead as the teams headed to their locker rooms.

  • After Southern fired Terrance Graves, Fred McNair will lead the Jaguars against Florida A&M today. McNair returns to head coaching for the first time after stepping down as Alcorn State’s head coach back in 2023. McNair won 37 SWAC games in eight years as the Braves’ head coach, and had an overall record of 48-33 in eight seasons.

October 24th:

  • Two of the three teams who shared the Ivy League title last season, Columbia and Dartmouth, kick things off tonight at 6:00pm on ESPNU. The Big Green would improve to 5-1 on the season with a win, while Columbia currently stands at 1-4 on the season. The Lions have had three different quarterbacks see significant time due to injuries, which has contributed to their slow start in 2025.

  • Saturday’s game between Furman and The Citadel will mark the 105th meeting between the two long-time Southern Conference rivals in a series that began in 1913 and has been contested every year since 1919, with the exception of a three-year break (1943-45) during World War II. Furman holds a 64-37-3 lead in the series and has won the last four meetings, including a 17-16 verdict in Charleston a year ago.

  • The Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M and Alabama State is played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. (nicknamed the "Old Grey Lady"). The classic has become one of the highest attended FCS games in the nation and the largest event in Birmingham, with attendance averages over 60,000-plus annually. The first game was played in 1924 and it has been an uninterrupted annual tradition since 1945. This classic is the largest HBCU event in the nation

  • The second-longest active winning streak (11 games) in the FCS will be put to the test on Saturday afternoon as #16 Presbyterian College takes on Dayton in a crucial PFL matchup. One win away from becoming the first Blue Hose football team to make it to 8-0, PC is looking for their third consecutive win against Dayton.

  • Tennessee Tech owns the longest active FCS winning streak - as they have won 12 games without a loss. The #8 Golden Eagles look to stay undefeated in OVC-Big South as they host Southeast Missouri State. The Golden Eagles are 16-17 all-time against SEMO, and have dropped the last three matchups. Tech's last victory in the series came on Oct. 2, 2021.

October 23rd:

  • The six-team MEAC finally begins their conference schedule! The best game this week should be Delaware State at North Carolina Central.

  • Howard will play at home for the first time on Saturday, becoming the last FCS team to do so this season. Coach Larry Scott's team, which is 3-0 at neutral sites and 0-4 on the road, will host Beltway Rival Morgan State.

  • FCS teams that were expected to make a run for the playoffs, but instead will be staying home this year: UIW, Idaho, Stony Brook and Richmond.

  • Another disappointing team so far, Sacramento State, has had their school president (Dr. Luke Wood) reference tomorrow’s opponent, the Montana Grizzlies, as the Pandas. Should make for an interesting game…

  • Looks like Monmouth will be without their star quarterback Derek Robertson when they take on Hampton. The FCS passing leader is still in a sling after suffering a shoulder injury against Stony Brook.

October 22nd:

  • The FBS had their No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in week 1, so now we are in Week 8 and we get that matchup in the FCS as North Dakota State takes on rival South Dakota State in Brookings, SD where SDSU carries a 33-game home winning streak. The 10th most-played rivalry in FCS, this is the 118th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State since 1903. NDSU leads the series 65-47-5 and has won the last two meetings including a 13-9 victory in Fargo last October when SDSU was ranked No. 1 and NDSU was No. 2.

  • The two teams will also be playing for the Dakota Marker, something they have done since 2004 - the first season of Division I competition for both programs. With last year’s win, the Bison have a 11-10 edge in taking home the 75-pound trophy.

  • Staying in the MVFC for a moment, Illinois State is coming off a tough loss at home last week to Youngstown State, so they will be looking to get back on track this weekend in Vermillion, South Dakota, when the Redbirds (4-3, 1-2 MVFC) take on the South Dakota Coyotes (5-3, 3-1 MVFC) in a crucial contest for both squads. Playoff hopes might end for the team that loses.

  • Harvard opens the second half of its regular season on Saturday when it faces Ivy League tri-leader Princeton in The Garden State. The Crimson and Tigers, along with Penn, sit atop the conference standings at 2-0. This will be the 117th all-time meeting between Harvard and Princeton, with the first game having been played in 1877 (1-0 Harvard win). The Crimson trails the all-time series, 49-60-7, but the series is all-square since Ivy League play began in 1956 (33-33-2).

  • Harvard has lit up the scoreboard this season (4th nationally in scoring offense - 44.8 ppg), but it has been its defense that has impressed. The Crimson ranks second nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 11.0 points per outing, and second in total defense (238.6). North Dakota State ranks first in both categories at 10.0 and 229.0

  • Penn comes into their matchup with the Bulldogs with a 4-1 overall record and a 2-0 record in the Ivy League with wins over Dartmouth and Columbia. The Quakers finished sixth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, ahead of only Cornell and Brown, but now they are receiving votes in the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. After last year’s win, Yale owns the all-time record (51-37-1) between the pair dating back to 1879. 

October 8th:

  • Bucknell will head back on the road for the first time in a month to take on Patriot League rival Lafayette on Saturday at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa. This will be the 103rd meeting between the two teams, since they first met in the Bison's first program game in 1883. Lafayette holds the overall winning record over Bucknell 57-39-6, but the Bison did win last year’s game 21-14.

  • Patriot League co-leader (with Lafayette) will play their third straight Ivy League opponent this weekend. After beating Penn and Yale, the Mountain Hawks are heading to New York to take on the Columbia Lions. Last week’s win over the Bulldogs gives Lehigh their first 6-0 start since the 2012 team started 9-0.

  • Duquesne will be hosting their most played opponent (Saint Francis) this weekend for their homecoming game, but it will probably be their last meeting since the Red Flash will be reclassifying to Division III next year. The Dukes - Red Flash, playing for the 51st time, began their series in 1913 and the matchup has been played every full season since 2005 and all but 10 seasons since 1969.

September 20th:

  • The Ivy League’s season didn’t get off to a great start as Lafayette handled Columbia easily last night, 38-14. After playing their first three games on the road, the Leopards looked solid against the Lions, which will give them momentum going into next week’s game against Princeton at home.

September 4th:

  • Jumping ahead to 2027 for a moment, the Vegas Kickoff Classic will host a FCS game as well as the scheduled FBS matchup between Miami (FL) and Utah. The two opponents for this game in Allegiant Stadium: North Dakota State and Montana State.

  • This week’s FCS Game of the Week is South Dakota State at Montana State. The Bobcats got trounced by Oregon last week, but they were 9-0 at home last season, and have won 35 of their last 36 games in Bozeman. Nice preview of a potential playoff rematch in December.

  • Sacramento State is playing Nevada this week after getting manhandled (slam?) by South Dakota State. Funny to think that an FBS opponent will be easier for the Hornets than last week’s FCS opponent.

  • SWAC teams haven’t beaten an FBS program since 1985 (Grambling State over Oregon State, 23-6), but they have two decent chances this week with Jackson State taking on Southern Miss and Florida A&M heads down the state to play Florida Atlantic.

September 2nd:

  • Have to start off this new post/blog by congratulating Northwestern State on ending their 20-game losing streak by downing Alcorn State, 20-10 on Thursday night. Before this win, the Demons hadn’t won a game since November 5, 2022.

  • Meanwhile, by losing to the Demons, Alcorn State is now looking up at everyone in the HBCU power ranking that I found on the NCAA website…

  • When Presbyterian upset #11 Mercer, the Blue Hose beat it’s highest ranked opponent in program history. Last year they lost to these same Bears, 63-10 in last year’s opener.