- Copyright 2024 © CollegeFootballPoll.com
- About CFP / Contact
- Legal Statements
After pocketing a big win at then-No. 9 South Dakota this past Saturday (37-3), South Dakota State faces an even bigger battle this week. when the program welcomes Dakota Marker rival North Dakota State to Brookings.
The Jackrabbits are No. 1 in the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com, and are also the top-ranked team in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. The Bison are ranked 6th by the computer and 10th by the coaches.
South Dakota State is in the driver's seat for another MVFC title, with a 1-game lead on South Dakota and Northern Iowa and decisive victories in-hand over both. North Dakota State limps in with a 6-2 over-all record and a 3-2 conference mark.
The Jackrabbits are 14.65-point favorites to take down the Bison and capture their fourth straight Dakota Marker trophy win. It would actually be their fifth straight over-versus the Bison as the last one wasn't played for the marker, but rather for the national championship. SDSU won that game 45-21 in Frisco, Texas. Over-all, the schools have played 114 times with NDSU owing a 63-46-5 lead.
(SEE: Weekly Picks/Scores)
Both of these teams are coming off unimpressive victories as they get set to do battle for 1st-place in the SoCon. Maybe they were caught looking ahead this past Saturday as Furman scored an ugly 16-8 home win over ETSU, and Chattanooga escaped with a 24-23 over VMI at Lexington.
Granted, the Furman game was 16-0 before giving up the points on an 8-yard blocked punt return early in the 4th quarter, but the Paladin offense was listless. Fortunately for them, the defense was up to the task and intercepted three passes. one of which came in the red zone right before halftime and two that resulted in 10 Furman Points.
The Paladins moved up to 2nd in the Coaches' Poll, but actually slipped to 4th in the computer rankings.
Chattanooga is ranked 14th by the computer and tied for 13th in the Coaches' Poll. The Mocs never trailed at VMI, but needed an endzone interception and a missed extra point - both in the 4th quarter - by the Keydets to secure the victory.
The Hornets (6-2, 3-2) are No. 7 in the Coaches' Poll 11th in the computer rankings. The visiting Griz (7-1, 4-1) are No. 3 in the Coaches' Poll and ranked 5th by the computer. Montana is tied with Idaho and Montana State for the Big Sky lead. Sacramento State is a game behind those leaders, tied with three other teams.
After getting whipped by South Dakota State, the Coyotes (6-2, 4-1) are tied with Northern Iowa for second place in the MVFC, a game behind the Jackrabbits. The Salukis (6-2, 3-2) have slipped into a 4-way tie for third. South Dakota is ranked 12th by the coaches and 18th by the computer. Southern Illinois is No. 11 in the Coaches' Poll and ranked 12th by the computer.
A reminder that Northwestern State has canceled the rest of its season after the shooting death of Ronnie Caldwell earlier in October. The school had previously canceled its game with Nicholls scheduled that same week, then returned too the field to host Southeastern Louisiana. The Demons were set to face McNeese State this past Saturday before the announcement was made.
Northwestern State is 0-6 over-all, and 0-2 in the Southland.
The cancellations not only affect previously-scheduled games, as noted, with Nicholls State and McNeese State, but also this week's home game with Houston Christian, the 11/11 road date at Incarnate Word, and the season final 11/18 game at home against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Apparently, the Southland Conference is going to simply consider these to be forfeit losses for NW State, and forfeit victories for the opponent.
As noted above, two of the teams affected by the cancelation of NW State's final four games are Nicholls and Incarnate Word. They are the only remaining teams in the Southland with perfect conference records, and they meet at 2pm on Saturday in San Antonio. UIW is 7-1 over-all and Nicholls is 3-4. In games played on the field, the Cardinals are 4-0 in conference play and the Colonels are 3-0. UIW is ranked 7th by the computer, and 4th by the coaches.
Last year, UIW was led to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs by one-and-done head coach G.J. Kinne who left for Texas State in the FBS. Clint Killough, Kinne's assistant head coach from last year, has the Cards poised to make another run.
Despite a 24-21 loss at Idaho, Montana State remained the No. 2 team in the computer rankings, but the Bobcats did fall from 2nd to 8th in the coaches' poll This week, they will look to rebound at home against a solid Northern Arizona team. Don't let the 3-5 over-all record fool you because the 3-2 conference mark includes wins over three of the conference's better teams. Last week, the Lumberjacks added a 38-21 win over UC Davis to their previous 27-10 win at Weber State, and 28-14 win over Montana, They also only fell by 1 to Sacramento State.
Montana State had entered its game at Idaho as the only remaining team in the Big Sky with a perfect conference record. Idaho prevailed in that game when the Bobcats missed on a 43-yard field goal with 18 seconds left. Idaho's win, combined with Montana's 40-0 romp at home over Northern Colorado, created a three-way tie of 4-1 teams in conference play with the Vandals, Bobcats and Griz.
This season has 117 of the 133 FBS schools facing one FCS opponent, and Army playing two such games for a total of 118 FBS-FCS matchups.
Of the 16 FBS schools that do NOT play a FCS program, 7 are in the B1G (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin). 6 more are evenly split between the Big 12 (Houston, Oklahoma, Texas) and Pac-12 (Colorado, USC, Washington). The other three are Liberty (CUSA) , UTSA (American), and Virginia Tech (ACC).
There were no such matchups this past weekend, but three are scheduled for this Saturday (November 4) as Campbell visits North Carolina, Kennesaw State goes to Sam Houston and Merrimack visits UMass.
There is 1 slated for November 11, and the remaining 4 are scheduled for November 18.
The FBS programs are 106-4 this year against the FCS schools. Over-all, the FBS is a collective 1,792-152 (.922) since we began tracking this in 2003.
Here are the FCS wins in 2023, so far:
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
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE - Won 22 straight over-all, 15 straight conference games, 7 straight road games.
Last: 37-3 win at South Dakota on Saturday, October 28.
Next: Hosts North Dakota State on Saturday, November 4.
MONTANA STATE - Won 24 straight home games.
Last: Lost 24-21 at Idaho on Saturday, October 28.
Next: Hosts Northern Arizona on Saturday, November 4.
WESTERN ILLINOIS - Lost 21 straight over-all, 15 straight conference games, and 10 straight home games.
Last: 63-0 loss at home to Southern Illinois on Saturday, October 28.
Next: Visits Northern Iowa on Saturday, November 4.
ROBERT MORRIS - Lost 19 straight road games.
Last: 38-13 win at home over Tennessee Tech on Saturday, October 28.
Next: Visits Southeast Missouri on Saturday, November 4.