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Jacksonville State on Sunday scored a 28-14 win at Murray State in a de facto conference championship game to claim the OVC title. The Gamecocks are one of five teams that secured an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs that begin April 24. Also on Sunday, Sacred Heart forced a Duquesne fumble through the end zone in overtime to win the NEC Championship game 34-27 in Pittsburgh. On Saturday, Monmouth won the Big South with a crushing 42-17 defeat of Kennesaw State in a de facto conference championship game while Weber State and Sam Houston State also clinched their respective conference title.
Jacksonville State led 21-7 at the half and held on for the victory to finish 9-2 overall, 6-1 in conference play. The Gamecocks are 6-0 this spring. Murray State ends the regular season at 5-2 overall and in the OVC,
Duquesne battled back from a 27-13 deficit to force overtime, including a 98-yard drive in 5 plays that tied the game with 4:18 left in regulation. These two teams opened the regular season on the same field with Duquesne taking a 30-27 victory in that contest. The Dukes finish the season 4-1. Sacred Heart is 3-1.
Murray State and Duquesne could both be in the running for one of six at-large bids to the playoffs.
Entering their contest, Monmouth was 2-0 and ranked 3rd in the Congrove Computer Rankings while Kennesaw State was 4-0 and ranked 4th. But this game was all Monmouth as the Hawks opened a 24-7 halftime lead at home and never looked back. It was the last scheduled game for Kennesaw which is a virtual lock for an at-large bid. Monmouth wraps up the regular season next week at Robert Morris (0-3, 0-2).
Weber State had to rally for a 20-15 home win over Idaho State to keep its perfect record (5-0) and claim the Big Sky's NCAA autobid while capturing its 4th straight conference title. Eastern Washington is 5-1 following a 38-31 home win over Idaho and will almost surely receive an at-large bid.
Southland leader Sam Houston State improved to 5-0 with a 27-13 home win over McNeese State and clinched the Southland's NCAA autobid when Incarnate Word fell 49-47 at home to previously winless Northwestern State. The Cardinals would have hosted a de facto championship game with SHSU next week if they had won, but the Demons took home the victory on a 32-yard walk-off field goal. It was a wild finish as Northwestern took a 40-37 lead with 7:22 to play only to see it get tied-up at 40 on UIW's next possession. The Demons promptly answered with a touchdown and a 46-40 lead (blocked PAT) with 1:28 to play, but the Cardinals responded with quick TD and PAT to go up 47-46 with 55 seconds still to go.
In a game between two Southland teams fighting for a playoff bid, Southeastern Louisiana grabbed a 52-45 upset win at Nicholls State. The Lions improved to 4-2 while the Colonels dropped to 4-3.
As for the two teams at the top of the rankings, No. 1 James Madison was idle while No. 2 North Dakota State squeaked past Northern Iowa 23-20.
What a difference a week makes. Last week, Davidson ended San Diego's 39-game winning streak in Pioneer League games with a 31-25 road upset that landed the Wildcats in sole possession of first place. This week, the Wildcats traveled to a seemingly much less lethal Presbyterian squad, but fell 29-24 in Clinton, South Carolina. The Blue Hose (3-3, 3-2) led 14-10 at the break, trailed 17-14 for a little more than 6 minutes in the 3rd quarter, then outscored the favored visitors 15-7 down the stretch. Davidson falls to 4-1 in the conference, and 4-2 overall.
The Davidson loss left the door open for Valparaiso (3-2, 3-2) to tie for first, but the team formerly known as the Crusaders fell behind 21-0 in the first 17:24 at Morehead State (3-3,3-2) and eventually fell 28-24. Valpo actually tied the game at 21-apiece in the 3rd quarter.
Another Pioneer League game saw Drake punish Butler 33-7.
Fordham went on the road and downed Patriot League south division champ Bucknell, 27-13. While it's certainly not the result the Bison wanted a week before battling Holy Cross for the conference title, Bucknell was still named the host school. The loss on Saturday dropped the Bison to 2-1 while the Holy Cross (2-0) game at Colgate was canceled when the Raiders announced on Wednesday that they were opting out of the remainder of the season. The championship game will be aired on CBSSN at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
In the SoCon, ETSU fell 21-13 at Mercer as the Bears defeated a third straight Top 25 team in the Stats Perform FCS Poll and have won five conference games for the first time since entering the SoCon in 2014. With VMI idle, the SoCon standings now have the Keydets at 5-1, Mercer at 5-2 and ETSU at 4-2. The conference tie-breaker rules say that the champion "shall be determined by total number of Conference wins". ETSU is out because the Bucs have no games left to play and are a win behind VMI and Mercer. VMI controls its own destiny to becoming the recipient of the NCAA automatic bid while Mercer needs VMI to lose at home to The Citadel next week while the Bears win at Samford.
The Citadel began the spring season with 5 straight losses, but has now won 2 in-a-row after the 26-7 upset of Furman in Charleston. Samford (3-3) was idle this week.
Lafayette won the 156th edition of The Rivalry, 20-13 at home over Lehigh. The Leopards now lead the series over the Mountain Hawks 80-71-5. The game has been played every season since 1884 with only one dormant year in 1896. The teams played as many as 3 times in a season in the early years.
After going 0-3 in the fall with losses two Oklahoma and Central Arkansas (twice), Missouri State is now 5-1 this spring and 5-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after a 21-10 win at home versus Youngstown State. Bobby Petrino's Bears are tied atop the MVFC standings with North Dakota State, North Dakota and South Dakota State.
The Bison have rebounded from an early upset loss to Southern Illinois and own the tie-breakers with North Dakota and Missouri State. North Dakota was off this week and visits Youngstown State next week. Missouri State's season is complete.
In the SWAC East, Alabama A&M moved to 2-0 (3-0 including Alcorn State forfeit) with a 52-43 win at Jackson State. It's the third straight loss for the Tigers (3-3) and it knocked Deion Sanders' team out of contention for the conference championship game. Alabama State improved to 2-1 (3-1 with Alcorn forfeit) by cruising to a 42-17 home win over MVSU. That sets up a huge showdown between the Bulldogs and Hornets next week in Birmingham in the Magic City Classic.
In the SWAC West, Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 3-0 and Prairie View A&M is 2-0. Both were idle this week.
Big Sky member Montana played the first of a truncated two-game schedule and blasted D2 school Central Washington 59-3 in Missoula. The Griz host Portland State next week in the only game the Vikings will play.
An all-important Colonial Athletic Association showdown between undefeated Richmond and William & Mary was canceled. The Spiders are 3-0 and James Madison is 4-0 in the South. Delaware is 4-0 in the north after dumping Delaware State 34-14 in a non-conference rivalry game. There isn't a conference championship game as the CAA only split into divisions to make scheduling more regional.
The computer 's upset picks this week are 4-2 SU and 4-2 ATS. Over the past 4 weeks, they are a cumulative 14-10 straight up and 16-8 against the spread.
Here are this week's upset picks:
- Robert Morris by 4.74 over CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (-7) - Charleston Southern won 27-14.
- MONMOUTH by 6.52 over Kennesaw State (-7) - Monmouth won 42-17.
- Youngstown State by 11.19 over MISSOURI STATE (-3) - Missouri State won 21-10.
- Northern Arizona by 0.23 over SOUTHERN UTAH (-3.5) - Northern Arizona won 28-20.
- MOREHEAD STATE by 11.07 over Valparaiso (-2) - Morehead State won 28-24.
- WILLIAM & MARY by 6.40 over Richmond (-7.5) - Canceled.
- Sacred Heart by 0.91 over DUQUESNE (-3) - Scared Heart won 34-27 in OT.
The 16-team field for the NCAA Spring Tournament will be revealed next Sunday, April 18 at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPNU. Only three conference autobids have been decided, leaving 7 to be determined. The are also 6 at-large bids to dole-out. We count 26 teams that are still in the mix to be included, either as conference champion or as an at-large selection.
Here are the teams still alive for the 10 NCAA autobids:
Big Sky: Weber State clinched
Big South: Monmouth clinched
CAA: James Madison, Delaware
MVFC: Missouri State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota State
NEC: Sacred Hart clinched - won conference championship game at Duquesne, 34-27 in OT
OVC: Jacksonville State clinched.
Patriot: Holy Cross vs. Bucknell championship game winner on winner on April 17
Pioneer: Davidson, San Diego, Presbyterian
SoCon: VMI, Mercer
Southland: Sam Houston State clinched
AT-LARGE (6 bids)
The Big Sky has Eastern Washington as a virtual lock.
The Big South has Kennesaw State as a virtual locks.
The CAA could get Delaware, James Madison, Richmond or Villanova.
The MVFC is a lock to get one, perhaps two, and maybe even three at-large bids from a pool of Missouri State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State.
The NEC could get Duquesne (4-1) as an at-large selection after the Dukes lost for the first time this season in the conference title game to Sacred Heart..
The OVC could Murray State and Austin Peay.
The Patriot is not likely to get an at-large bid.
The Pioneer could get San Diego, Davidson or Presbyterian.
The SoCon is not likely to get an at-large bid
The Southland could get Incarnate Word or SE Louisiana.
FCS Championship play will begin April 24. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP (Does not participate in NCAA Playoff): Likely teams are Alabama A&M or Alabama State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Prairie View A&M or Southern