We’re previewing the key games and storylines each week throughout the 2024 college football season. Our FCS coverage is the home for the Top 25 media poll, FCS National Awards, predictive TRACR model and much more. Here’s a look inside Week 11.
You might say they saved the best game for last on the Week 11 schedule in FCS college football: UC Davis and Montana meeting in a top-10, nationally televised showdown in the Big Sky Conference Saturday night.
Hopefully, that same description will define the final three weeks of the FCS regular season.
The announcement of the playoff pairings are fast-approaching on Nov. 24 – as selection committee chair Matt Larsen explained on “FCS Delivered” – and the conference title races are crowded at the top.
There are at least three teams within one game of first place in the loss column in 11 of the 13 FCS conference standings. Ten of them will send an automatic qualifier for the playoffs, with 14 at-large bids also at stake.
The MEAC and SWAC champions will meet in the Celebration Bowl, although each conference has had one team earn an at-large playoff bid this decade. The Ivy League is the only FCS conference not to participate in a postseason.
FCS Football Week 11 Preview
FCS Game of the Week
No. 4 UC Davis (8-1, 5-0 Big Sky) at No. 7 Montana (7-2, 4-1)
Kickoff: 10:15 p.m. ET Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana (ESPN2)
Notable: Montana leads the all-time series 9-1, with UC Davis’ win coinciding with its only Big Sky title (2018) since joining the conference in 2012. With eight straight wins since an opening loss at Cal, the visiting Aggies are riding the longest winning streak of their Division I era (since 2003). The host Grizzlies are heating up as well, allowing just two touchdowns to opposing offenses during their three-game winning streak. The stark difference comes on offense with UC Davis gaining 69% of its yards via the pass (quarterback Miles Hastings ranks No. 4 in the FCS with 311.1 passing yards per game) and Montana nearly a split (the Grizzlies with Eli Gillman and Nick Ostmo join Davidson as the only two FCS teams with two rushers of 650+ yards). Still, the visiting Aggies’ most dangerous player is a running back, 2023 Big Sky offensive player of the year Lan Larison (964 rushing yards, 529 receiving yards with 15 touchdowns). The Griz boast WR/returner Junior Bergen, whose sixth career punt return TD last week set the Big Sky high. On defense, UCD linebacker David Meyer and safety Rex Connors seek to cause disruption for UM’s efficient QB Logan Fife. On UM’s balanced defense, defensive end Hayden Harris has 13 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
The Pick: Montana
(This week’s Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll)
Second-and-10
1. Mercer would clinch at least a share of its first-ever Southern Conference title with a victory at VMI. The No. 11 Bears (8-1, 5-1) also would claim the SoCon’s automatic FCS playoff bid with a win coupled by No. 22 Western Carolina falling at ETSU. Coach Mike Jacobs’ Bears have won time of possession in every game, perhaps not surprising considering it’s No. 1 in the FCS in sacks (31) with Brayden Manley (6.0), Arias Nash (5.5) and Andrew Zock (5.5) leading the team from the defensive line and in turnovers gained (26) with TJ Moore (six), Myles Redding (five) and Dainsus Miller (four) leading from the secondary.
2. The “exclamation point” celebration may have made UIW wide receiver Jalen Walthall a social media success and drawn NFL imitation, but the redshirt junior can let the statistics be his calling card. Walthall (54 receptions, 831 yards, 12 touchdowns) combines with Roy Alexander (57, 650, 7) on the eighth-ranked, Southland Conference-leading Cardinals to form the FCS’ top teammate duo in receptions (111), receiving yards (1,511) and TD catches (19).
3. The United Athletic Conference continues to be home to the top three rushers in the FCS, but for the first time, Southern Utah senior Targhee Lambson has the lead. He dented Abilene Christian (now the conference leader) for 198 yards last Saturday to claim No. 1 nationally in rushing yards (1,431) and rushing yards per game (159.0), ahead of Tarleton State’s Kayvon Britten (1,420 and 157.8) and Central Arkansas’ ShunDerrick Powell (1,177 and 147.1). However, TSU and UCA stand a much better chance than SUU of advancing to the FCS playoffs, which could add to their game total.
4. Just when it looked like North Dakota’s playoff bid has unraveled completely with back-to-back losses at two sub-.500 teams, Youngstown State and Indiana State, and two-time defending FCS champion South Dakota State coming to town, note the optimum part of that scenario is the No. 21 Fighting Hawks (5-4) are back inside the Alerus Center. Coach Bubba Schweigert’s team has one of the more lopsided home/road splits since 2018 in the FCS, if not college football, winning 30 of their last 33 home games, including 11 against Top 25 teams – even SDSU when the Jackrabbits were third-ranked in the spring 2021 season, like this week – and with losses in 19 of their last 26 road games.
5. Rhode Island (8-1, 5-0) has a No. 11 ranking and is tied for first place in the CAA Football yet remains relatively anonymous nationally. Perhaps it has to do with the Rams not appearing in the playoffs since 1985, needing to replace a four-year starting quarterback to begin the season, and playing in the largest FCS conference in history (16 teams). A lot will be learned about coach Jim Fleming’s squad when it visits Delaware (7-1, 4-1), which is 5-0 at home. One factor is certain: URI’s resiliency to win an FCS-high five times after trailing in the fourth quarter. Sacred Heart grad transfer running back Malik Grant (789 yards, seven TDs), wide receiver Marquis Buchanan (47 receptions, 680 yards, six TDs) and linebacker A.J. Pena (55 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, eight sacks, two fumble recoveries) are having banner seasons.
6. Two schools separated by 18 miles, Robert Morris was the first team to represent the Northeast Conference in the FCS playoffs in 2010 and Duquesne was the most recent last year. With RMU back in the conference following a four-year departure, they’ll meet for the first time since 2019 and with sole possession of first place at stake (both are 3-0 in the NEC). Duquesne’s big three of quarterback Darius Perrantes, NEC rushing leader JaMario Clements and wide receiver Noah Robinson represent quite the challenge for an RMU defense that has posted three shutouts during a four-game winning streak. The Colonials earned Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week following Week 10.
7. Lehigh is the Patriot League leader in all-time titles (12), and Holy Cross (11) is right behind the Mountain Hawks. Their series is tied 19-19-1 heading into a first-place showdown. Lehigh (5-3, 2-1) already has its highest win total since its 2017 championship squad, incredibly outscoring opponents 131-17 in the first half and 96-0 in the second quarter in the wins. The Mountain Hawks are old-school under coach Kevin Cahill as the PL leader in rushing offense and total offense. Holy Cross (4-5, 3-0) also hosts Bucknell (4-5, 2-1) – the other second-place team – next week as it seeks to extend a record five straight PL titles.
8. Dartmouth (6-1, 3-1) has the most favorable remaining schedule among the three teams atop the Ivy League standings, especially with the other two about to face off – No. 24 Harvard (6-1, 3-1) hosts Columbia (5-2, 3-1). While Dartmouth has an Ivy-record 21 league titles and Harvard is part of a three-time tie for second with 18, Columbia has the eight-team low of one – a shared title in 1961. Defense has been a difference maker for first-year coach Jon Poppe, with the Lions the best in the league with defending the red zone and against the pass, ranking sixth nationally in allowing 16.3 points per game.
9. St. Thomas has not lost a Pioneer Football League game at home since joining in 2021, so it makes for a fascinating showdown when Drake (6-1, 5-0) visits with its 16-game PFL winning streak (the second-longest in league history). A Tommies triumph plus Morehead State (6-3, 4-1) winning at Davidson (which is 22-3 at home in the 2020s) would create a three-way tie for first place.
10. The number of winless FCS teams was cut in half last Saturday – from six to three. Here are the remaining games for the three 0-9 teams: Marist (at Stetson, 2-6; and Presbyterian, 4-6); Mississippi Valley State (at Jackson State, 7-2; at Florida A&M, 5-3; and Alabama A&M, 3-5); and Northwestern State (at Southeastern Louisiana, 5-5; McNeese, 5-5; and at HCU, 3-6)
FCS Football Week 11 Top 25 Schedule
All times ET Saturday except noted game
1. North Dakota State (9-1, 6-0 MVFC): No game
2. Montana State (9-0, 5-0 Big Sky): Sacramento State (3 p.m., Scripps/ESPN+)
3. South Dakota State (7-2, 4-1 MVFC): at No. 21 North Dakota (2 p.m., Midco Sports/ESPN+)
4. UC Davis (8-1, 5-0 Big Sky): at No. 7 Montana (10:15 p.m., ESPN2)
5. South Dakota (6-2, 4-1 MVFC): Indiana State (2 p.m., Midco Sports/ESPN+)
6. Southeast Missouri (8-1, 5-0 Big South-OVC): at Lindenwood (2 p.m., ESPN+)
7. Montana (7-2, 4-1 Big Sky): No. 4 UC Davis (10:15 p.m., ESPN2)
8. UIW (7-2, 4-0 Southland): Lamar (3 p.m., ESPN+)
9. Idaho (6-3, 3-2 Big Sky): at Portland State (4 p.m., ESPN+)
10. Mercer (8-1, 5-1 SoCon): at VMI (1:30 p.m., ESPN+)
11. Rhode Island (8-1, 5-0 CAA): at Delaware (1 p.m., FloFootball)
12. Villanova (7-2, 4-1 CAA): North Carolina A&T (1 p.m., FloFootball)
13. Richmond (7-2, 5-0 CAA): at Campbell (3:30 p.m., FloFootball)
14. Tarleton State (7-2, 4-1 UAC): at West Georgia (2 p.m., ESPN+)
15. Abilene Christian (6-3, 5-1 UAC): at Austin Peay (4 p.m., ESPN+)
16. Central Arkansas (6-3, 3-2 UAC): at Eastern Kentucky (2 p.m., ESPN+)
17. Stony Brook (7-2, 4-1 CAA): UAlbany(1 p.m., FloFootball)
18. Illinois State (6-3, 3-2 MVFC): at Northern Iowa (2 p.m., PSN TV/CFU Channel 15/Marquee/ESPN+)
19. UT Martin (6-3, 4-1 Big South-OVC): at Charleston Southern (2 p.m., ESPN+)
20. William & Mary (6-3, 4-2 CAA): Elon (1 p.m., FloFootball)
21. North Dakota (5-4, 2-3 MVFC): No. 3 South Dakota State (2 p.m., Midco Sports/ESPN+)
22. Western Carolina (5-4, 4-1 SoCon): at ETSU (noon, ESPN+)
23. Chattanooga (5-4, 4-2 SoCon): at The Citadel (2 p.m., ESPN+)
24. Harvard (6-1, 3-1 Ivy): Columbia (noon, ESPN+)
25. Duquesne (6-2, 3-0 NEC): Robert Morris (noon, NEC Front Row)
(A look at Jackson State football, the first team ranked outside the Top 25 rankings)
Top photo: FCS rushing leader Targhee Lambson of Southern Utah. (SUU Athletics)
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