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All eight Ivy League schools will see action on the gridiron for the first time this weekend, but there aren't any conference games on the agenda.
This is the preseason predicted order of finish and won-loss record for each team, based on the FCS Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com..
| CONF. RANK |
NAT'L RANK |
TEAM | POWER | RANK | W | L | CW | CL | SOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Harvard | 42.94 | 38.65 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | 20 | Yale | 42.7 | 34.16 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 89 |
| 3 | 28 | Princeton | 44 | 30.8 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 108 |
| 3 | 33 | Penn | 41.52 | 29.06 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 74 |
| 5 | 64 | Dartmouth | 39.32 | 19.66 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 83 |
| 6 | 89 | Brown | 37.23 | 11.17 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 85 |
| 7 | 98 | Columbia | 35.86 | 7.17 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 86 |
| 8 | 125 | Cornell | 28.08 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 61 |
This week, Brown goes to Georgetown as a 3.88-point underdog. The Hoyas are off to a 2-1 start.
Columbia hosts a hot Lafayette squad out of the Pioneer League. The Leopards are 2-1 with the only loss against FBS member Buffalo. The computer likes the visitors by 3.33 points.
A Cornell squad that is forecast to be winless in 2024, gets one of its easiest matchups on the year as the Big Red entertains an 0-3 Colgate team, but Cornell is still a 13.15-point underdog.
Dartmouth has a 3.40-point computer advantage at home over a winless Fordham squad.
Harvard, one of the tri-champions last year with Yale and Dartmouth, is the projected outright conference champion this year. The Crimson open in Cambridge against Stetson out of DeLand, Florida. The Hatters are 2-1, but the wins came against NAIA schools. Stetson is coming off a 48-7 loss at Furman (1-2). Harvard gets the computer's nod by 18.42 points this week.
Penn is expected to be team that could challenge for the Ivy League title, but the Quakers have a tough task out of the gate when they visit Delaware, the current No. 1 team in the FCS Congrove Computer Rankings. Penn is a 15.86-point underdog.
Princeton could also post a challenge for the top spot in the conference. However, the Tigers are 1.92-point underdogs at the No. 29 Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
Last but not least, Yale is on the road as a 0.94-point underdog at Holy Cross.
Using the AFCA Coaches' Poll as the guide, there are only two Top 25 matchups this week as No. Southern Illinois hosts No. 21 SEMO, while No. 4 Idaho welcomes No. 23 Abilene Christian.
The Salukis are 7.65-point favorites over the Redhawks, while the Vandals are a 10.31-point pick over the Wildcats.
Two-time national champion South Dakota State heads to Hammond, Louisiana as a 19.23-point computer favorite at Southeastern Louisiana.
The Jackrabbits' main contender in the MVFC, North Dakota State is a 19.45-point home play versus Towson.
South Dakota had its game at Portland canceled last week due to a pertussis (whooping cough) scare within the Vikings' program. This week, the Coyotes return to action by hosting a Drake team that has only played one game and is surprisingly ranked 9th. The Bulldogs won 38-35 at Eastern Washington in an upset that the computer picked. The opener against Quincy was canceled by bad weather, and Drake was on a bye week this past weekend.
Meanwhile, Montana State is a 20.95-point home pick versus Mercyhurst, and Montana is favored by 12.84 at home over Western Carolina.
10 more FBS-FCS games are scheduled for this week including an opportunity for St. Francis (PA) to win its second such game in three weeks after beating Kent State 23-17 two weeks ago. This week, the Red Flash head to Eastern Michigan (-24) where they are 27.53-point computer underdogs.
Meanwhile, doctors for Portland State and Boise State have cleared the game to be played this week after last week's home game for the Vikings against South Dakota was canceled just a few hours before kickoff, due to a feared outbreak of "whooping cough" (pertussis), which can spread easily and affects the lungs. The Broncos are 41.5-point favorites with a 42.90-point computer edge.
Here are all 10 FBS-FCS games this week, in order of lowest-to-highest projected computer margin:
NEVADA (-9.5) by 10.71 over Eastern Washington
UMASS (-21) by 11.84 over Central Connecticut
HAWAII (-8.5) by 16.52 over Northern Iowa
TROY (-23.5) by 19.39 over Florida A&M
PITTSBURGH (-24) by 19.88 over Youngstown State
FIU (-14) by 21.68 over Monmouth
MARYLAND (-19.5) by 25.88 over Villanova
EASTERN MICHIGAN (-24) by 27.53 over St. Francis (PA)
UTSA (-35.50) by 34.70 over Houston Christian
BOISE STATE (-41.5) by 42.90 over Portland State
All 11 games played last week between FBS and FCS schools went to the FBS school to raise their record to 97-4 in such games this season, and a collective 1,897-156 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
These were the FCS wins in 2023:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
In 2024, there are 121 scheduled scheduled matchups between FBS and FCS schools with 119 schools playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
This year, 15 schools do not play a FCS opponent and 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, are repeats from last year's list of schools that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - Won 30 straight vs FCS teams, 23 straight at home, 17 straight conference games, and 8 straight FCS road games.
Last: Won 24-6 at home over D2 Augustana (SD) on Saturday, September 14.
Next: Visits SE Louisiana on Saturday, September 21.
FLORIDA A&M - Had won 13 straight over-all, but lost at Miami, Florida (FBS) in last outing. The defending HBCU National Champs still have streaks of 13 straight FCS wins, 21 home wins, and 16 conference wins (2nd longest)
Last: Lost 56-9 at FBS Miami (FL) on Saturday, September 7. Florida A&M won 16-13 the first time these teams met in a major upset in 1979. The 'Canes have won all eleven meetings since then by at least 32 points and as much as 67. The school made $700,000 for the trip to Miami.
Next: Visit FBS member Troy on Saturday, September 21.
WESTERN ILLINOIS - Lost 27 straight over-all, 18 straight conference games, 11 straight home games, 18 road games.
Last: Lost 51-34 at 13th-ranked Illinois State on Saturday, September 14.
Next: Hosts D2 McKendree (after a bye week) on Saturday, September 28.
CAL POLY - Lost 18 straight true road games.
Last: Won 31-14 at home over D2 Western Oregon on Saturday, September 14.
Next: Visits Northern Colorado (after a bye week) on Saturday, September 28.