Weekly Recap: James Madison, South Dakota State, UC-Davis All Fall In Upsets

October 10, 2021 by Staff

Three top five teams lost in upsets on Saturday, all at home, as James Madison, South Dakota State, and UC-Davis endured unexpected defeats.

James Madison saw winning streaks of 19 straight home games and 16 straight conference games come to an end with a 28-27 loss in Harrisonburg to No. 14 Villanova. The Dukes had topped topped the Congrove Computer Rankings all season long.

No. 3 South Dakota State was a 42-41 upset victim at home in overtime to No. 11 Southern Illinois.

The upset handed to 5th-ranked UC-Davis was the most stunning of all as the Aggies fell 27-17 at Idaho State. The Bengals entered the game 0-4 and ranked 107th out of 128 FCS squads.

Meanwhile, second-ranked North Dakota State picked up a 34-20 win in the FargoDome over 12th-ranked Northern Iowa, and No. 4 Sam Houston State ran over Lamar 42-7 at home in Huntsville, Texas.

In other games involving top ten teams, No. 6 Montana State laid a 45-7 whipping on visiting Cal Poly, and No. 7 Montana scored a 31-14 home win over Dixie State. Additionally, No. 8 Eastern Washington opened a 63-17 can at Northern Colorado, No. 9 Dartmouth was a 24-17 winner over Yale in Hanover, New Hampshire, and No. 10 Princeton picked up 31-28 win over Monmouth in West Long Branch, New Jersey.

At the other end of the spectrum, Lehigh was a 20-0 loser to Penn. The Mountain Hawks are 0-6 and have yet to score a touchdown. Lehigh has been shutout 3 times and held to 3 points on 3 other occasions.

MVSU ended an 18-game road losing streak with a 20-14 upset of Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach. The Delta Devils improved 2-3 and have back-to-back victories for the first time since the end of the 2012 season when they closed out that campaign with 3 straight victories. The Wildcats fell to 0-6 after finishing the 2019 season at 7-4. Bethune-Cookman opted out of the 2020 fall/spring season.

There were 56 games on the docket and no FCS teams played FBS schools, though Delaware State hosted D2 school Virginia-Lynchburg and won 56-6.

17 FCS teams are idle this week, including Incarnate Word, Weber State, and Prairie View A&M.

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.

105 of those 117 games have already been played and the FBS is 95-10. Since we began tracking this in 2003, the FBS teams are now 1,564-138 (.919).

No FCS vs. FBS games were played last week or this week, but Delaware State hosted D2 member Virginia-Lynchburg and won 56-6.

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, Tulsa 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 15 straight games overall (FCS longest).
Last: Won 41-7 at home vs. Lamar on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Next: Hosts Jacksonville State on Saturday, Oct. 16.

JAMES MADISON - Saw 19-game home winning streak and 16-game conference winning streak come to an end with a 28-27 loss at home to Villanova.
Last: Lost 28-27 at home to Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Next: Visits Richmond on Saturday, Oct. 16.

EASTERN WASHINGTON - Owns 19-game home winning streak (FCS longest).
LAST: Won 63-17 at Northern Colorado.
NEXT: Hosts Idaho on Saturday, Oct. 16.

MONMOUTH - Owns a 12-game conference streak (FCS longest).
LAST: Lost 31-28 at home to Princeton.
NEXT: Visits Campbell on Saturday, Oct. 16

PRINCETON - Won 9 straight road games (FCS longest).
Last: Won 31-28 at Monmouth on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Next: Visits Brown on Saturday, Oct. 16.

TEXAS SOUTHERN - After ending a 19-game overall losing streak a week ago with a 69-0 win over NAIA member North American, the Tigers halted a 13-game conference losing streak with a 35-31 upset of Southern at Arlington. Owns a 15-game road losing streak (tied for FCS longest with Youngstown State).
Last: Won 35-31 vs. Southern at Arlington Saturday, Oct. 9.
Next: Visits Grambling State on Saturday, Oct. 16.

BUTLER - Has 10-game conference losing streak (FCS longest).
LAST: Lost 52-21 t home to San Diego.
NEXT: Visits Morehead State on Saturday, Oct. 16.

MVSU - Ended an 18-game road losing streak with a 20-14 win at Bethune-Cookman.
Last: Won 20-14 at Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Next: Hosts Alcorn State on Saturday, Oct. 16.

WAGNER - Has lost 15 straight overall (FCS longest).
LAST: Lost 56-7 at Fordham on Saturday, Oct. 9.
NEXT: Hosts Bryant on Saturday, Oct. 23.