FCS Football Week 1 Breakdown
While most of the college football eyes will be focused on the Football Bowl Series teams opening up action this week, many eyes will look at games involving smaller, non-bowl schools.
Between now and January 6, when the FCS Championship game is played in Frisco, Texas, teams will vie for the right to be one of 20 schools selected for the 2011 playoffs, there will be plenty of games featuring top level talent to look at each week.
Because we have not started the season yet, this week's preview spotlights some of the top schools from this year's FCS preseason poll. Here is a look at the big games for Labor Day weekend. All times listed are Eastern, and rankings are from College Sports Madness.
NO. 1 APPALACHIAN STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH
(12:30 p.m. Saturday at Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Va.)
Virginia Tech will be a big test for Appalachian State, as the 17th-ranked Hokies are coming off an 11-3 season and an undefeated 8-0 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Appalachian State is no stranger to knocking off ranked opponents (as Michigan fans can attest a few years ago), but the Mountaineers have lost all three meetings against Virginia Tech. Appalachian State carries a 7-1 Southern Conference and 10-3 overall mark from last year into this game. This could be a high-scoring affair, as both teams run variations on a multiple offense (multiple spread for Appalachian State and a hodgepodge for Virginia Tech). The Mountaineers scored 34.3 points per game last year while Virginia Tech was at 33.9; both were among the top 25 scoring teams in the nation, and both teams have racked up over 400 yards total offense (Appalachian State 430.9, Virginia Tech 402.3) per game. While Virginia Tech is 17th in the preseason Bowl Series poll, this may not be a cakewalk game.
NO. 2 WILLIAM AND MARY AT VIRGINIA
(6 p.m. Saturday at Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.)
While Virginia leads the all-time series, having won 26 of 33 contests and tying another, there is recent precedence for a little surprise to happen. The Tribe topped Virginia 26-14 on September 5, 2009, in a game at Charlottesville, marking just the fourth time in school history that William and Mary scored a victory. The Tribe are the top-ranked team of the Colonial Athletic Association, having tied Delaware for the conference title at 6-2 (8-4 overall for the Tribe). Quarterback Michael Paulus is coming off an 833-yard, four-touchdown effort a year ago on 88-of-142 passing. Cornerback B.W. Webb was the hero of the Virginia game, having picked off three passes in the upset, and he is one of the top players in the defensive secondary. Virginia, coming off a 4-8 mark a year ago, is under second-year coach Mike London, and London has beaten William and Mary twice, both times when he was head coach at Richmond. Virginia returns eight offensive and eight defensive starters, including tailback Perry Jones, who racked up 646 yards in 11 games last year.
NO. 3 EASTERN WASHINGTON AT WASHINGTON
(7 p.m. Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle)
One of three top 25 teams in the Big Sky Conference, Eastern Washington is the defending FCS champion, having knocked off Delaware 20-19 in last year's title tilt. The Eagles open this year's campaign facing a team that hit rock bottom in the newly-renovated Pac 12 Conference a few years back. Washington has won six of its seven openers played at home since 1989 and is coming off a 7-6 season, including a 5-4 mark that tied it with Southern California for third in the old Pac 10. This is only the second Big Sky program Washington has faced (Montana is the other). Eastern Washington faces sophomore quarterback Keith Price, tabbed to start for the Huskies. Eastern Washington hasn't beaten a Bowl Series opponent since winning over Idaho, 8-5, in 2003. Junior wide receiver Brandon Kaufman, center Chris Powers, safety Matt Johnson and defensive lineman Renard Williams are All-America players returning.
NO. 4 GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT SAMFORD
(7 p.m. Saturday at Seibert Stadium, Homewood, Ala.)
Georgia Southern crosses the state line for its first game of the FCS season when it travels to Alabama to face Samford. Georgia Southern hasn't beaten Samford since a 31-24 win on Nov. 17, 1990; in the three victories (1988-90) the Eagles have 483 yards total offense and 44 points averaged per game. The numbers drop to 265 yards and 26 points per game in the three losses, including a 20-13 setback last year. Georgia Southern might have a little history on its side, because it has won the past two season openers (29-26 over Albany in 2009 and 48-3 over Savannah State last year). Unlike other top teams, which play either in-state foes or Football Bowl Series teams, Georgia Southern is going straight into FCS play by taking on a member of the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern was 4-2 in the league and 10-5 overall, while Samford posted 1-4 and 4-7 records. Georgia Southern's top rusher, Robert Brown, ran for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago. Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro passed for more yards (1,427-1,233) than GSU's Jaybo Shaw, but Taliaferro has nine interceptions.
NO. 7 DELAWARE AT NAVY
(3:30 p.m. Saturday at Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.)
The second Colonial Athletic Association school in the top-ten rankings, the Blue Hens were the FCS championship runner-up a year ago. Delaware (13-2) trails the all-time series against Navy, 8-7 including a 35-18 loss in their last meeting in 2009. Blue Hens rusher Andrew Pierce was the top runner a year ago (1,655 yards and 14 touchdowns in 15 games), but quarterback Trevor Sasek is a little green on the field (199 yards and a touchdown in seven games). Paul Worrilow is the team's leading tackler with 113 tackles, including 45 solo stops. Navy comes off a 9-4 mark in 2010 behind running back Alexander Teich's 863 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games. Jabaree Tuani has 72 tackles and 5.5 sacks to his credit, and he is the leading defensive specialist returning in 2011.
