Weekend Preview - Two Old State Rivaries Renewed in FCS-FBS Matchups

September 19, 2021 by Staff

The FCS football weekend begins on Thursday with a SWAC contest featuring Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1, 0-0) as a 5.30-point favorite in the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com over visiting Alcorn State (1-2, 0-0).

That contest kicks off a 60-game slate that includes 9 FCS teams battling FBS foes, 5 taking on D2 opponents, and the rest facing competition from within the FCS.

A single game on Friday highlights the Ivy League With Harvard hosting Brown as a 14.50-point pick.

Twenty-two teams are idle this week, including No. 1 James Madison, No. 2 North Dakota State No. 13 Northern Iowa, No. 15 Delaware, No. 20 Kennesaw State, No. 21 North Dakota, and No. 23 Rhode Island.

No. 3 Sam Houston State, No. 4 Montana and No. 6 South Dakota State all return to action after a week off.

The defending national champion Bearkats are a 9.18-point computer pick at Central Arkansas in a AQ7 matchup, the Griz host Cal Poly as a 32.02-point computer choice, and the Jackrabbits.are a 14.70-point road pick over Indiana State.

Meanwhile, No. 5 UC Davis is the second top-5 team to visit Weber State in as many weeks. The Wildcats fell 37-24 in their friendly Ogden confines to James Madison on Saturday, but find themselves as a 3.07-point favorite this week over the Aggies. Weber State dropped from 14th to 24th in the computer rankings after the loss to JMU.

No. 7 Montana State hits the road as a 13.56-point computer play at Portland State, while No. 8 Alabama A&M faces D2 Tuskegee in Mobil in what's being billed as the Gulf Coast Challenge.

Two old state rivalries will be renewed this week when Villanova visits Penn State and Richmond treks to Virginia Tech.

Villanova rose from 17th to 9th after Saturday's comeback win vs. Richmond, but will be a 31.54-point underdog at Happy Valley on Saturday. It will be the first meeting between these Pennsylvania institutions since 1951 when the 'Cats won 20-14 at Allentown High Stadium. It was Villanova's third-straight win in the series but the Nittany Lions hold a 5-3-1 series advantage with their last win vs. Villanova occurring in 1935.

Richmond faces Virginia Tech for the first time since 1986 as a 30.25-point underdog. The Hokies lead the series, which began in 1897, by a count of 37-10-4. Richmond slipped from 13th to 25th in the computer rankings after the loss to Villanova. Virginia Tech fell out of the FBS polls after a loss to West Virginia and dropped from 26th to 39th in the computer rankings.

In some other games of interest this week, Southern Illinois hosts Illinois State, Eastern Washington visits Southern Utah, Monmouth hosts Holy Cross, Dartmouth entertains Sacred Heart, No. 17 ETSU visits No. 22 Samford, and VMI hosts Wofford.

SEE: Weekly Picks

FCS vs. FBS

2 teams will play 2 FCS teams this fall (UConn and UMass), and 115 teams will play 1 FCS school for a total of 117 such matchups.

96 of those 117 games have already been played and 9 more are on the agenda this week.

FBS schools are 86-10 in such games this season. Since we began tracking this in 2003, the FBS teams are now 1,555-138 (.918).

Last year, 30 FBS teams played a total of just 34 games against FCS schools and the FCS won just 1 game (1-33). That honor also went to Jacksonville State with its 19-10 victory over FIU.

Here are the FCS wins in 2021:
September 2: UC Davis 19, Tusa 17
September 2: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33 (2 OT)
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, Washington 7
September 4: ETSU 23, Vanderbilt 3
September 11: Duquesne 28, Ohio 26
September 11: Jacksonville State 20, Florida State 17.
September 18: Incarnate Word 42, Texas State 34.
September 18: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19

This was the only FCS win vs. the FBS in 2020:
October 23: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10

In 2019, FBS teams were 111-3 (.974) in such games. These were the only FCS wins that season:
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, Massachusetts 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)

Streaks

SAM HOUSTON STATE - Won 13 straight games overall (FCS longest).
Last: Won 52-14 at home over SEMO on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Next: Visits Central Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 25.

BETHUNE-COOKMAN - Won 16 straight conference games (FCS longest).
Last: Lost 30-27 at home to Alabama A&M on Thursday, Sept. 16.
Next: Visits Alabama State on Saturday, Sept. 25.

JAMES MADISON - Won 19 straight home games for FCS longest. (Eastern Washington has won 18 in-a-row at home).
Last: Won 37-24 at Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Next: Visits New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 2.

PRINCETON - Won 8 straight road games (FCS longest).
Last: Won 32-0 at Lehigh on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Next: Hosts Stetson on Saturday, Sept. 25.

TEXAS SOUTHERN - Lost 18 straight overall (FCS longest), and 13 straight conference games (FCS longest).
Last: Lost 66-7 at Baylor (FBS) on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Next: Visits Rice on Saturday, Sept. 25.

MVSU - Lost 18 straight road games (FCS longest).
Last: Lost 58-13 at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Next: Hosts Southern on Saturday, Sept. 25.