Weekend Preview - Yale Celebrates 150 Years, South Dakota Showdown Stages 117th Edition

October 4, 2022 by Staff

The Friday night Ivy League game of the week once again leads off the FCS weekend slate when Harvard (2-1, 1-0) journeys from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Ithaca in the Finger Lakes region of New York where the Big Red of Cornell (2-1, 0-0) will play its Ivy League opener. The Crimson opened as a 10.5-point favorite while the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com have the margin slightly tighter at 9.07.

There are 54 games slated for Saturday with 52 of those being pure FCS-FCS matchups. Two FCS teams, Bryant and Portland State, play a D2 school. A whopping 24 schools have a bye week, including the computer's top-ranked Montana Griz and five other schools ranked among the computer's top 25 - Jacksonville State (13), Chattanooga (15), Austin Peay (18), Villanova (22), and Richmond (23). 

That leaves Jackson State as the highest-ranked team to take the field this week and the computer likes the No. 2 Tigers by 17.79 at 69th-ranked Alabama State against an 18.5-point spread.

Meanwhile, 3rd-ranked North Dakota State heads to Larry Bird's old storming grounds in Terre Haute to take on the Sycamores of Indiana State with the Bison given a 20.17-point edge by the computer.

No. 4 Weber State (4-0, 1-0)  hosts No. 40 Eastern Washington (1-3, 0-1) in a key Big Sky affair as the Wildcats look to keep pace with the early conference front-runners while the Eagles can't afford to start their conference slate at 0-2. Weber State is a 6.02-point computer pick while the sportsbooks line of 14.5 might be closer to reality given that EWU has allowed at least 29 points in all 5 previous contests. The 'Cats are on a 6-game winning streak.

No. 33 Yale will host No. 41 Dartmouth while wearing throwback uniforms from the Walter Camp era. The sportsbooks have the Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0) favored by 4 while the computer goes opposite and gives the Big Green (1-2, 0-1) a slim 1.03-point margin. Either outcome would be much closer than their first meeting in 1884 when Yale won 113-0.

To commemorate its 150 years of football, @yalefootball will wear throwback uniforms against Dartmouth on Saturday at historic Yale Bowl.

The uniforms are modeled after those worn by Walter Camp, an 1880 Yale graduate who is considered the father of American football. pic.twitter.com/sIBH6qkgzm

— FCS Football (@FCS_STATS) October 3, 2022

The South Dakota Showdown takes place this week and it's finally South Dakota State's turn to play host in Brookings for the first time since 2018. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic interrupting play for the 2020 season, South Dakota hosted the last two meetings and took advantage of the back-to-back opportunity by winning both. This week, the computer has the Jackrabbits (4-1, 2-0) by 14.85 to cover the 12-point opening spread versus the Coyotes. South Dakota State leads the series 55-54-7.

Meanwhile, No. 5 Sacramento State entertains Northern Colorado, 7th-ranked Montana State hosts winless Idaho State, while Bucknell is also still searching for its first victory and isn't likely to find it at 8th-ranked Holy Cross.

In all, 18 FCS teams have yet to win a game while only 9 are undefeated.

A battle between Top 25 teams will take place when 15th-ranked William & Mary hosts 10th-ranked Delaware, while 20th-ranked Davidson (4-1, 2-0) travels to St. Paul to take on No. 47 St. Thomas (3-1, 1-0) in a key Pioneer League contest.

Get the entire FCS Schedule & Picks.

FCS vs. FBS

There will be 118 FBS vs. FCS matchups this season with App State, Army and Marshall each playing two such games, and 115 other FBS schools playing one apiece.

No FCS school faces a FBS team this week and only 8 such matchups remain for the rest of the season.

The FBS is 102-8 this year, and 1,676-148 (.919) since we began tracking this in 2003.

Here are the FCS wins in 2022:
September 2: William & Mary 41, Charlotte 24
September 3: Delaware14, Navy 7
September 10: Weber State 35, Utah State 7
September 10: Incarnate Word 55, Nevada 41
September 10: Holy Cross 37, Buffalo 31
September 10: Eastern Kentucky 59, Bowling Green 57 (7 OT's)
September 17: Southern Illinois 31, Northwestern 24
September 24: Sacramento State 41, Colorado State 10

Streaks

WEBER STATE - Won 6 straight over-all (FCS longest). Won 7 straight road games (FCS longest).
Last: Won 17-12 at UC Davis on Saturday, September 24.
Next: Hosts Eastern Washington on Saturday, October 8.

MONTANA STATE - Won 15 straight home games (FCS longest).
Last: Won 41-24 vs UC Davis on Saturday, October 1.
Next: Hosts Idaho State on Saturday, October 8.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE - Won 12 straight conference games (FCS longest).
Last: Lost 50-10 at FBS member South Carolina on Saturday, October 1.
Next: Florida A&M on Saturday, October 8.

TEXAS SOUTHERN - Lost 21 straight road games (FCS longest).
Last: Lost 16-13 vs. Alabama State on Saturday, October 1.
Next: Visits Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, October 8.

WAGNER -  Lost 24 straight overall, 15 straight conference games, and 12 straight at home (all are FCS longest).
Last: Lost 59-0 at FBS member Syracuse on Saturday, October 1.
Next: Visits Columbia on Saturday, October 8.