Spring Week 5 Recap - Villanova, Albany, Northern Iowa Among 11 Saturday Upset Victims

March 14, 2021 by Staff

A 37-game weekend schedule got underway on Saturday with 11 of the 29 games resulting in outright upsets. It has been the theme for the entire spring season. However, Sunday's 8-games were a different story with just 1 upset winner.

Using the Congrove Computer Rankings as the guide, the Nos. 5, 7 and 8 teams were among the victims.

5th-ranked Villanova fell 40-37 in overtime at Rhode Island, No. 7 Albany dropped a 38-34 decision at Maine, and No. 8 Northern Iowa fell 17-16 at Southern Illinois.

In the STATS Media Poll, Villanova was ranked 6th, Albany 13th and UNI 4th.

Here is a list of all 11 upsets, in order by how many points the underdog beat the spread (home team in CAPS):

- WESTERN CAROLINA over The Citadel (-13.5) 21-14 --- flipped the spread by 20.5
- RHODE ISLAND over Villanova (-15.5) 40-37, OT --- flipped the spread by 18.5
- LAFAYETTE over Colgate (-4.5) 24-10 --- flipped the spread by 18.5
- Valparaiso over BUTLER (-5.5) 24-14 --- flipped the spread by 15.5
- Lamar over McNEESE STATE (-13.5) 27-26 --- flipped the spread by 14.5
- Missouri State over SOUTH DAKOTA (-11-5) 27-24 --- flipped the spread by 14.5
- Southern Utah over CAL POLY (-2.5) 34-24 --- flipped the spread by 12.5
- MAINE over Albany (-7.5) 38-34 --- flipped the spread by 11.5
- Prairie View A&M over Grambling State (-2.5) 17-10 at Arlington --- flipped the spread by 9.5
- SAMFORD  over Wofford (-2.5) 37-31 --- flipped the spread by 8.5
- SOUTHERN ILLINOIS over Northern Iowa (-3.5) 17-16 --- flipped the spread by 4.5

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Not an upset, but extremely surprising, was a 71-17 loss by No. 13 Nicholls State at No. 16 Sam Houston State. The STATS Media Poll had the Colonels ranked 7th and the Bearkats 12th. Nicholls turned the ball over 4 times, two of which directly led to Bearkats' touchdowns on a pick-6 and a scoop-and-score. The Colonels had won their first three games by a combined score of 173-27.

Among the highly-ranked teams, No. 1 North Dakota State survived winless, but 24th-ranked, Illinois State 21-13, while James Madison and Monmouth had their respective games postponed by coronavirus concerns. 4th-ranked Kennesaw State squeaked past Charleston Southern 24-19.

Villanova was playing its first home football game in 468 days and led Rhode Island 34-24 in the 4th quarter. But the Rams rallied and tied the game on a 19-yard field goal as time expired in regulation. The Wildcats had to settle for a 45-yard field goal in OT and the Rams needed just 3 plays to take the victory on a 2-yard by QB Kasim Hill. Coupled with its victory in 2017, Rhode Island has won the last two meetings while notching a season-opening win after a 2-10 campaign in 2019. The Wildcats were 9-4 in 2019, losing in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs. Enjoy expert reviews at casino en ligne.

Prairie View's 17-10 win over Grambling was its third straight over the Tigers after dropping 4 in-a-row from 2014-2017. The game was originally scheduled to be played in the Cotton Bowl two weeks ago but the winter storms that paralyzed Texas did significant damage to the stadium so it was moved to Arlington's Globe Life Park, home of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers.

Southern Utah's 34-24 win over Cal Poly comes after two frustrating weeks in which the Thunderbirds lost games in the final seconds to Northern Arizona and Idaho State.

After a season-opening loss at North Dakota, Southern Illinois has won 3 in-a-row while knocking off top-dog North Dakota State two weeks ago and 4th-ranked Northern Iowa on Saturday. The Salukis recovered from a 13-0 halftime deficit to take the lead with 9:43 remaining and secured the victory after the Panthers missed on a 30-yard field goal attempt with 7 seconds left in the game. Northern Iowa is 2-2 with its second narrow loss of the season. The Panthers lost their opener to South Dakota State by surrendering a TD with 19 seconds left in the game.

Missouri State is now 2-1 this spring after the 27-24 upset win at South Dakota on Saturday. The Bears were 0-3 in the fall under first-year head coach Bobby Petrino. Yes, that's the same Bobby Petrino who has been much-maligned for personal issues at Arkansas and a team collapse at Louisville after Heisman-winning Lamar Jackson's departure.

VMI is 3-0 after a 41-14 whipping of Mercer on Saturday, The great start comes on the heels of a 5-7 campaign in 2019 which was the school's best record since 2003.

The 27-26 upset of McNeese State ended a 7-game losing streak for Lamar and handed the Mustangs a 3rd straight loss after a season-opening comeback win over Tarleton State. The Cardinals blocked the Cowboys' PAT in overtime, then won the game on a 5-yard TD run by QB Jalen Dummett. A 5-yard TD pass from Dummett with 4:33 left in regulation ultimately forced OT.

Valparaiso's 24-14 win over Butler snapped a four-game losing streak for the team that was formerly known as the Crusaders. Valpo, which announced on February 11 that it was dropping the nickname, was a combined 3-20 from 2018-2019.

The Citadel's woes continued with a 21-14 loss at Western Carolina. Both schools wee 0-6 heading into the game. For the Catamounts, that record was expected. For the Bulldogs, it definitely was not as they have been the computer favorite in all 3 games and the oddsmakers' choice in two. The Citadel lost all four of the fall games, but three of those came against FBS schools and included a hard-fought 14-9 loss to Army. The 0-3 start to the spring began with upset losses to Mercer and Chattanooga.

The two new kids on the FCS block met for the second time this spring. Game one was taken 26-14 by Dixie State as a 28.5-point underdog on the home field of the Texans in Stephenville. On Saturday, Tarleton State evened the series with a 37-15 victory in St. George, Utah as a mere 3.5-point favorite and a 3.63-point computer underdog.

Delaware is 2-0 after drubbing Stony Brook 31-3 in Newark. The Blue Hens opened at home last week with a 37-0 shellacking of Maine. Delaware entered the week ranked 21st by the computer and 19th in the STATS media poll.

San Diego opened its season with a 13-10 win at Drake in Des Moines. The Toreros have won four straight Pioneer League titles outright after a co-championship with Dayton in 2015 and another solo title in 2014. San Diego is only ranked 32nd by the media, but 15th by the computer.

On Sunday, the only upset saw Austin Peay trip Southeast Missouri State in double-overtime, 49-42. A 4-yard run by Geno Hess for SEMO with 23 seconds left in regulation forced overtime, but the Governors prevailed by matching SEMO's touchdown in the first extra period, and then preventing the Redhawks from scoring in the 2nd OT. Austin Peay was a 5.5-point underdog in the sportsbooks, but just a 1.02-point computer dog.

That was one of 4 Ohio Valley Conference games on Sunday. The others saw Tennessee State edge Illinois State 21-20, Jacksonville State dump Tennessee-Martin 37-20, and Murray State down Tennessee Tech 36-31.

Three Northeast Conference games were played. The winners were Bryant (14-7 at Merrimack), Duquesne (17-0 at Wagner), and Sacred Heart (35-7 at home over Long Island).

Deion Sanders is 3-0 as a head coach after a 43-7 win over Mississippi Valley State in a SWC contest. That game was originally scheduled for February 27, but was postponed for Covid issues within the Delta Devils' program.

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