FCS Football Week 10 Breakdown
Welcome to the final month of the Football Championship Subdivision’s regular season. The last week of October sure saw plenty of dramatic upheaval, as Northern Iowa and Georgia Southern lost big contests that may cost them conference championships. Are they out of the running for playoff spots? Not just yet, but some schools need wins and a whole lot of help. The top-25 schedule only has three matchups this week as some teams are either idle or playing much weaker competition.
#1 NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT #23 INDIANA STATE (2:05 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Indiana)
The Missouri Valley Conference picture grew a little clearer last week thanks to North Dakota State’s 27-19 win over Northern Iowa, formerly the team atop the league. Northern Iowa (6-2, 5-1) now drops a half-game back in the standings from North Dakota State (8-0, 5-0), which took over the top spot with the win. Northern Iowa quarterback Jared Lanpher threw a 16-yard pass to David Johnson with 6:51 to play that cut Northern Iowa’s deficit to 24-19, but Bison kicker Ryan Jastram tacked on a 41-yard field goal over four minutes later that helped NDSU stay out front. Brock Jensen was nearly perfect for the Bison, going 22-for-25 for 204 yards and a touchdown. NDSU has one tough game remaining (Youngstown State) and one not so tough game (Western Illinois), so this game could cement an unbeaten season. Indiana State’s chance at an MVC title fell apart when it lost 17-14 to Illinois State. Tanner Fritschle’s 41-yard field-goal try fell short, giving Illinois State a narrow win. Quarterback Ronnie Fouch was sacked five times and threw for just 175 yards.
#17 TOWSON AT #9 MAINE (12:30 p.m. Saturday at Alfond Stadium in Orono, Maine)
The Colonial Athletic Association has two big contests this week involving teams battling for the CAA championship. The first contest is a matchup of the two top squads, including Towson (6-2, 4-1), which suffered an ill-timed 35-30 loss to Delaware last week that put a dent in the team’s conference-title hopes. Towson is a game behind Maine (7-1, 5-0) in the CAA, and the Tigers could turn the tables on the conference with a victory over the Black Bears. In the Delaware contest, a 5-yard run by Blue Hens rusher Andrew Pierce with 2:05 remaining put the Blue Hens on top as they erased a 30-29 deficit. The loss spoiled a strong performance by running back Terrance West, who ran 27 times for 155 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Grant Enders completed half his passes and went 15-for-30 for 159 yards, but he committed two interceptions. Maine had a better time with Villanova in a 41-25 victory, highlighted by Warren Smith’s 251 yards and two touchdowns passing and Pushaun Brown’s 75 yards and two rushing scores.
#21 JAMES MADISON AT #11 NEW HAMPSHIRE (Noon Saturday at Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire)
The second CAA contest is a big one for New Hampshire’s title hopes. The Wildcats (6-2, 4-1) are tied with Towson for second place in the conference, so a win here and a loss by Maine will make the CAA race a three-way jumbled scramble. New Hampshire almost missed out on this title hunt thanks to a close call last week against Rhode Island, but the Wildcats survived thanks to Mike MacArthur’s foot and a 28-yard field goal that gave New Hampshire a 31-24 win. New Hampshire quarterback Kevin Decker was 14-for-21 for 257 yards and one interception. The big scoring came from the Wildcats’ running backs; Decker, Dontra Peters, Chris Setian and R.J. Harris all ran for touchdowns. James Madison (5-3, 3-2) held a 20-14 lead going into the third quarter against Old Dominion, but three field goals by Jarod Brown (19, 40 and 25 yards) resulted in ODU’s 23-20 victory that all but knocked the Spiders out of conference contention.
#2 APPALACHIAN STATE AT FURMAN (1:30 p.m. Saturday at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina)
The Southern Conference has a big matchup this week as the Mountaineers (6-2, 4-1) travel to South Carolina to take on Furman. Four teams are a game apart in the Southern race, led by Georgia Southern at 5-1. Wofford and Appalachian State are tied for second at 4-1, and Furman is a game back at 4-2 in fourth place. This conference will still be jumbled following the week’s games, but a Furman win would give the Paladins a big boost heading into the final weeks of the regular season. Appalachian State is coming off a huge 24-17 win over Georgia Southern, off Brian Quick’s 15-yard touchdown catch with 9:24 remaining in the game. Jamal Jackson was 13-for-26 for 222 yards and three touchdowns despite three sacks and an interception. Furman topped Chattanooga 14-7 in last week’ s game, capped by a 10-yard Jerodis Williams touchdown run that sealed Furman’s victory.
EASTERN KENTUCKY AT #13 JACKSONVILLE STATE (4 p.m. Saturday at Burgess-Snow Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama)
Why Eastern Kentucky isn’t noticed by more people is a mystery. After all, the school is involved in one of the biggest Ohio Valley Conference games of the year. Both schools sport identical 5-3 overall records and 4-1 marks in the OVC, putting them in a three-way tie with Tennessee Tech for first place. Assuming Murray State doesn’t trip up Tennessee Tech, the three-way tie figures to be two schools after Saturday, and it could be one if Murray State pulls off the shocker. It was Tennessee Tech’s 21-14 victory over Jacksonville State that dropped the schools into a three-way battle for first place. Dontey Gay’s 1-yard run in the fourth quarter gave Tennessee Tech the victory. Jacksonville State’s Coty Blanchard passed for 175 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 31 yards and another score. Eastern Kentucky can tell people all about what it’s like to nearly lose to Murray State, but EKU survived a furious Murray State comeback in the fourth quarter to win 34-33. Quarterback T.J. Pryor passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked five times, and Matt Denham rushed for 219 yards and a pair of scores.
Week 10 Football Breakdown Page
