FCS Week 7 Preview: Valpo at Stetson Canceled

October 8, 2024 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

Due to the interruption of travel, and out of concern for the safety of all involved, the Valparaiso at Stetson game scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled. Stetson is located in DeLand (west of Daytona Beach) which is in the path of Hurricane Milton. The potentially catastrophic storm is forecast to cut a wide swath across the peninsula of Florida from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The possibility of rescheduling the game will be dealt with later.

The remaining 55-game schedule should remain intact. It will feature 54 head-to-head FCS contests while 1 team, NC Central, faces D2 member Virginia University-Lynchburg. It all gets underway with a pair of games of Friday with an Ivy League game that sends Harvard to Cornell, and a SWAC battle with APBU hosting Prairie View.

The 53-game Saturday slate features Montana State hosting Idaho in a battle of Top Ten schools from the Big Sky. The Bobcats are favored by all of 2.21 points, according to the Weekly Picks that are based on the FCS Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com. Montana State is ranked 5th by the computer while Idaho ranks 6th. In the Coaches' Poll, it's a 3 vs 12 matchup.

Other notable games have South Dakota hosting Northern Iowa, South Dakota State entertaining Youngstown State, Delaware welcoming Maine, and North Dakota State visiting Southern Illinois.

Stetson and Valparaiso now join 18 other FCS teams with a bye week. Among them are Villanova, Florida A&M and North Dakota.

FBS vs. FCS

No FBS-FCS games are on the docket this week.

FBS schools are 108-6 in such games this season, and a collective 1,908-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.

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)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13

In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
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

Streaks - Current FCS Longest

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - Won 32 straight vs FCS teams, 23 straight at home, 18 straight conference games, and 10 straight FCS road games.
Last: Won 41-3 at Northern Iowa on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Hosts Youngstown State on Saturday, October 12.

DARTMOUTH and MONTANA STATE have won 6 straight over-all.

FLORIDA A&M - 14 straight FCS wins, 21 home wins, 17 conference wins (2nd longest)
Last: Won 45-38 over Alabama State in a neutral site game at Mobile on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Visits Jackson State (after a bye week) on Saturday, October 19.

WESTERN ILLINOIS - Having earlier ended a 27-game over-all losing streak, the Leathernecks on Saturday halted their losing streaks of 27 straight to FCS teams, 18 conference games, and 18 road games. Up next will be a chance to end a streak of 11 straight home losses to FCS schools,
Last: Won 31-20 at Charleston Southern on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Hosts UT-Martin on Saturday, October 12.

NORTHERN COLORADO - Lost 18 straight games overall, and 7 straight at home (tied with Northwestern State, LA).
Last: Lost 55-17 at Montana State on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Visits Weber State on Saturday, October 12.

INDIANA STATE - Lost 15 straight conference games.
Last: 21-14 at Youngstown State on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Hosts Murray State on Saturday, October 12.

MVSU - 15 straight road losses.
Last: Lost 42-21 at Alcorn State on Saturday, September 28.
Next: Visits Alabama State on Saturday, October 12.