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The top 8 seeds in the FCS Playoffs all saw their first action of the postseason on Saturday and all managed to come out victorious. Meanwhile, undefeated Jackson State (12-0) won the SWAC Championship and, shortly afterward, Deion Sanders was announced as the new head coach at Colorado. Sanders will stay with Jackson State through the Celebration Bowl on December 17 at Noon against North Carolina Central (9-2) in Atlanta.
Also on Saturday, FBS member New Mexico State romped to a 65-3 win over Valparaiso which earned a $425,000 payday.
SEE: Schedule Picks and Scores
As for the FCS Playoff games, a handful of teams turned in dominating performances as all 8 seeds played home games.
No.1 seed South Dakota State crushed Delaware 42-6 in a game that was halted with over a minute to play after Delaware QB Ryan O'Connor was hit late and eventually carted off the field. (Reports later said he was improving at the hospital and had the use of all extremities).
No. 3 North Dakota State took another step toward its 10th national championship since 2012 with a 49-26 win over Montana. The Bison scored 6 touchdowns on the ground, paced by two each from RB Kobe Johnson (12 for 206 yards) and QB Cam Miller (8 for 81 yards).
No. 5 William & Mary limited the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs' rushing attack to 200 yards and 1 TD while The Tribe had 608 yards of total offense in a 54-14 cakewalk.
No. 8 Holy Cross is 12-0 for the first time in history after a 35-19 win over New Hampshire. The Crusaders only led 7-5 at halftime but outscored the Wildcats 28-7 out of the break to increase their lead to 35-11. New Hampshire scored a TD and 2-point conversion with 1:46 left to reduce the margin, but Holy Cross recovered the onside kick attempt and ran out the clock.
No. 2 seed Sacramento State was NOT one of the teams that cruised to victory. In fact, the Hornets had to rally from a 31-24 deficit entering the 4th quarter for the 38-31 win in the rain, and trailed 21-7 in the second. The Hornets cored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown with 6:28 to play on a 51-yard TD pass from Asher O'Hara to Pierre Williams.
No. 6 Samford topped SE Louisiana 48-42 in overtime when Lions' QB Cephus Johnson fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a touchback to open the extra stanza, and Samford backup quarterback Quincy Crittendon followed with the game-winning 10-yard run. Starting QB Micheal Hiers injured his throwing hand in overtime of Samford's regular season finale against Mercer and Crittendon won that game for the Bulldogs with a 25-yard walk-off run. Hiers made the start against SELA, but was pulled after 3 pass attempts and Crittendon wound up with 314 yards passing and 4 TD's while adding 94 yards rushing and another score. The Bulldogs led 42-28 in the 4th quarter, but SELA rallied to tie the game with 37 seconds left. The teams combined for 1,063 yards with Samford outgaining the Lions 542-521.
No. 7 UIW topped Furman 41-38 on Lindsey Scott, Jr.'s 32-yard pass to Kole Wilson with 1:54 to play in the game. It was his fifth touchdown pass of the game. The game had six lead changes and two ties.Scott finished with 518 yards of total offense with 394 passing and 124 rushing, but he also had two INT's that the Paladins converted into scores to help keep the game interesting, including one on the first possession that led to Furman taking the first lead at 7-0.
No. 4 Montana State extended a 16-10 halftime into a 33-10 advantage and held on for the 33-25 win over fellow Big Sky member Weber State. The Bobcats also won the regular season meeting, 43-38, at home on October 22.
Friday, December 9
ESPN2 7:00 p.m. (6) Samford at (3) NDSU
ESPN2 10:15 p.m. (5) William & Mary at (4) Montana State
ESPN+ 10:30 p.m. (7) UIW at (2) Sacramento State
Saturday, December 10
ESPN 12:00 p.m. (8) Holy Cross at (1) South Dakota State
Home team on bottom.
| 1st Round | 2nd Round | Quarters | Semis | C'ship (Frisco, TX) (1/8, 2 PM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis 17 Delaware 56 |
Delaware 6 1SDSU 42 |
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| 8 Holy Cross 1SDSU |
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| Fordham 42 New Hampshire 52 |
New Hampshire 19 8 Holy Cross 35 |
|||
| ? ? |
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| Gardner-Webb 52 E. Kentucky 41 |
Gardner-Webb 14 5 Wm. & Mary 54 |
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| 5 Wm. & Mary 4 Montana St |
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| North Dakota 31 Weber State 38 |
Weber State 25 4 Montana St 33 |
|||
| ? ? |
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| SEMO 24 Montana 34 |
Montana 26 3 NDSU 49 |
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| 6 Samford 3 NDSU |
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| Idaho 42 SE Louisiana 45 |
SE Louisiana 42 6 Samford 48 (OT) |
|||
| ? ? |
||||
| Elon 6 Furman 31 |
Furman 38 7 UIW 41 |
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| 7 UIW 2 Sacramento |
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| Davidson 0 Richmond 41 |
Richmond 31 2 Sacramento 38 |
Another FCS vs. FBS matchup was added when New Mexico State reached a deal with Valparaiso to play this Saturday. The Aggies were in need of make-up game after an earlier contest with San Jose State was canceled. NMSU won 65-3
The FBS was 112-8 (.933) vs. the FCS this year, and is now 1,686-148 (.919) since we began tracking this in 2003.
116 of the 131 FBS schools played at least one such game while Appalachian State, Army, Marshall and New Mexico State each played two.
Here are the FCS wins in 2022:
September 2: William & Mary 41, Charlotte 24
September 3: Delaware14, Navy 7
September 10: Weber State 35, Utah State 7
September 10: Incarnate Word 55, Nevada 41
September 10: Holy Cross 37, Buffalo 31
September 10: Eastern Kentucky 59, Bowling Green 57 (7 OT's)
September 17: Southern Illinois 31, Northwestern 24
September 24: Sacramento State 41, Colorado State 10
HOLY CROSS - Won 12 straight over-all.
Last: Won 35-19 at home over New Hampshire on Saturday, December 3.
Next: FCS Playoff 8-seed visits 1-seed South Dakota State on Saturday, December 10.
JACKSON STATE - Won 12 straight over-all
Last: Won 43-24 at home over Southern in SWAC Championship on Saturday, December 3.
Next: Plays MEAC Champion North Carolina Central in Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday, December 17 at Noon.
SACRAMENTO STATE - Won 12 straight over-all. Won 19 straight conference games. Won 10 straight road games.
Last: Won 38-31 at home over Richmond on Saturday, December 3.
Next: FCS Playoff 2-seed will host 7-seed UIW on Friday, December 9.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - Won 11 straight over-all
Last: Won 42-6 at home over Delaware on Saturday, December 3.
Next: FCS Playoff 1-seed will host 8-seed Holy Cross on Saturday, December 10.
MONTANA STATE - Won 19 straight home games.
Last: Won 33-25 at home over Weber State on Saturday, December 3.
Next: FCS Playoff 4-seed will host 5-seed William & Mary on Friday, December 9.
WESTERN ILLINOIS - Lost 13 straight over-all.
Last: Lost 20-13 in OT at Illinois State on Saturday, November 19.
Next: Season complete
WAGNER - Lost 19 straight road games.
Last: Lost 33-0 at Duquesne on Saturday, November 19.
Next: Season complete
PRESBYTERIAN - Lost 16 straight conference games.
Last: Lost 42-21at Stetson on Saturday, November 19.
Next: Season complete
HOUSTON CHRISTIAN - Lost 11 straight home games.
Last: Lost 49-7 at Tarleton on Saturday, November 19.
Next: Season complete
GEORGETOWN - Lost 11 straight home games.
Last: Lost 47-10 at home to Holy Cross on Saturday, November 19.
Next: Season complete