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 and much more. Week 13 is the final full week of the regular season.
If you and your fellow FCS football fans are a little moodier this week – OK, downright crankier – it’s all understandable because Rivalry Week is here.
Seeing that certain team across the field doesn’t quite cause a lot of smiling.
So much collides on this final full week of the FCS season – from the rivalries to conference championships and postseason bids at stake to many seniors playing their final game (except for the ones the NCAA will grant a seventh year of eligibility).
The important schedule will lead into Sunday’s announcement of the 24-team FCS playoff pairings (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), then it’s off to the second season.
Lucky? Unlucky? It’s Week 13.
FCS Football Week 13 Preview
FCS Game of the Week
Lafayette (6-5, 2-3 Patriot) at Lehigh (7-3, 4-1)
Kickoff: Noon ET at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (LSN/ESPN+)
Notable: The most-played series in college football turns 160, with Lafayette winning the two most-recent meetings for an 82-72-5 all-time lead. Lehigh is tied with Holy Cross for first place in the Patriot League and would receive an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs by defeating Lafayette (either as an outright PL champion or due to a 10-7 win over Holy Cross on Nov. 9). Lehigh ranks No. 1 in the PL in average scoring offense (30.0) and scoring defense (21.7), and, with larger margins, rushing yards per game (209.8) and yards allowed per game (291.1). The Mountain Hawks are young in the offensive backfield with freshman quarterback Hayen Johnson and sophomore Luke Yoder (821 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns) and freshman Jaden Green (624, 8). The defense, though, is veteran-laden, led by linebacker Mike DeNucci (296 tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks in career), defensive end Matt Spatny (10 sacks) and safety Nick Peltekian (four takeaways). The visiting Leopards figure to pound away with two-time 1,000-yard rusher Jamar Curtis (PL-high 15 TDs). They’re +8 in turnover margin, with defensive backs Saiku White, Gabe DuBois and Xavier Johnson contributing three takeaways each. A sellout crowd will watch for the first time in 19 years when both teams enter the regular-season finale with winning records.
The Pick: Lafayette
Second-and-10
1. The fiercest FCS rivalry series has become a dud. OK, Montana vs. Montana State in the “Brawl of the Wild” won’t remain that way, but the last four meetings have rotated with home wins of 34, 19, 34 and 30 points (UM’s 29-10 win in 2021 was a 29-3 spread until a final-minute touchdown). Second-ranked Montana State is home – where the Bobcats have won 31 of their last 32 games – and seeks to complete a perfect regular season without a tie for the first time.
Yup, it’s Rivalry Week: “This game counts as one (game),” MSU coach Brent Vigen said, “but it does mean more.”
2. Top-ranked North Dakota State (10-1) is seeking a perfect season in the MVFC, and, like Montana State, wants to hold on to one of the top-two playoff seeds that guarantee home-field advantage through the semifinals (the championship game is in neutral Frisco, Texas). The Bison are 7-0 in the MVFC as they travel to No. 4 South Dakota (8-2), needing a win to finish off an outright title and to claim the automatic bid, although the latter also would occur if Missouri State (8-3) knocks off No. 3 South Dakota State (9-2), the two-time defending FCS champion. NDSU and USD split two meetings last season, with the road team winning each time, including the Bison inside the DakotaDome in the playoff quarterfinals. Think ball security: NDSU has the fewest turnovers in the FCS (three) and USD is tied for the second-fewest (six).
3. The pivotal game in the Big South-OVC is No. 12 Southeast Missouri (9-2, 6-1) at Tennessee State (8-3, 5-2), with the visiting Redhawks a win away from an outright title and an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs – easier said than done, of course, especially with the Tigers feeling primed to claim their first bid since 2013. Both teams like to pass the ball and are solid with the defending the pass, so cranking up the ground game is huge. Strangely, the Redhawks don’t have a player with even 275 rushing yards this season yet have had four different players gain 100 yards in a game, including Brandon Epton Jr. in a breakout against Western Illinois last Saturday. TSU may be timing it right as well, with Jaden McGill coming off the team’s first 100-yard performance against Gardner-Webb.
4. There may not be a more anonymous playoff team than Central Connecticut State (6-5) if it steals the Northeast Conference’s bid, and it’s quite possible given a home matchup against No. 19 Duquesne (8-2) to decide it all. The anonymity may stem from going 2-9 (1-6 NEC) last year, starting 3-5 overall this season, and playing in the shadows of the Dukes and Robert Morris for much of the campaign. The Blue Devils are 4-0 at home under coach Adam Lechtenburg and feature safety Kimal Clark, who’s lived up to being named NEC preseason defensive player of the year with a conference-high 108 tackles.
5. FCS rivalries are often lost when a program moves up to the FBS, and it feels inevitable following No. 15 Villanova (8-3) hosting Delaware (10-1) in CAA Football. Delaware, which will move up to Conference on July 1, has at least one game announced in every future season through 2032, and none involve Villanova. The Wildcats hold a 34-22-1 series lead over UD since 1895 and are 15-2 since the “Battle of the Blue” trophy was instituted in 2007. They’ve also won their last 14 home games since 2022 – the second-longest active streak in the FCS.
6. There are never enough at-large bids to spread around nationally, but the CAA is in the mix to match the single-season record of six qualifiers (it was the first conference to do so in 2018). Richmond (9-2) has earned the automatic bid and Rhode Island (9-2) appears to be a lock for its first bid since 1985. Villanova (8-3, home vs. Delaware) and Stony Brook (8-3, home vs. Monmouth) hope for strong finishes, while New Hampshire (7-4, at Maine) and William & Mary (7-4, at Richmond) both need a road rivalry win to strengthen their resume. It’s possible a CAA team will go 8-4 yet have its playoff bubble burst.
7. The statistics don’t necessarily measure clutch, but the record does for Drake (7-2, 6-1), which only needs a win at last-place Stetson (2-8, 0-6) to collect a second consecutive Pioneer Football League title and playoff bid. In the 11-team league, coach Todd Stepsis’ team ranks fifth in scoring offense, fourth in scoring defense, sixth in total offense, third in total defense, 10th in rushing offense, second in rushing defense, second in passing offense and seventh in passing defense – a good combination, but not necessarily great. But they won 11 times by seven or fewer points during a 17-game PFL winning streak that ended against Morehead State last Saturday. The streak began at Stetson in 2022 and included a 33-7 rout of the Hatters last year.
8. Kordell Stewart is probably beaming over Eastern Washington senior Michael Wortham, who may wear the FCS crown for offensive slash versatility as he’s totaled 36 carries (313 yards), seven completions (88 yards), 25 receptions (309 yards), 34 kickoff returns (983 yards) and nine touchdowns responsible for. There’s good company from Harvard’s Charles DePrima with 65 carries (400 yards), 18 completions (205 yards), eight receptions (148 yards) and 10 TDs responsible for, and LIU’s Ethan Greenwood with 144 carries (780 yards), 48 completions (792 yards), seven receptions (80 yards) and 10 TDs responsible for.
9. The United Athletic Conference still boasts the FCS’ top three rushers with Southern Utah’s Targhee Lambson (FCS highs of 288 carries, 1,757 yards and 10 100-yard games, No. 2 with 21 TDs), Tarleton State’s Kayvon Britten (1,596 yards, 15 TDs) and Central Arkansas’ ShunDerrick Powell (1,243 yards, 8.2 yards per carry). Add in Abilene Christian’s Sam Hicks, who caught the game-winning TD against Tarleton to put the Wildcats into the playoffs last Saturday, and the UAC has four of the FCS’ top seven players in all-purpose yards per game. A common denominator besides their dominance: all four running backs are listed as 5-foot-9 or shorter.
10. FCS individual defensive leaders include Northwestern State’s Blake Gotcher with 146 tackles; Central Arkansas’ David Walker with 21.5 TFLs; Richmond’s Jeremiah Grant and New Hampshire’s Josiah Silver with 11.5 sacks each; Mercer’s TJ Moore and Myles Redding with six interceptions each; William & Mary’s Jalen Jones with 21 passes defended; Bucknell’s Gavin Willis with five fumble recoveries; and Alabama State’s Treqwan Thomas and UIW’s Mister Williams with five forced fumbles each.
(FCS playoff bracketology heading into Week 13)
FCS Football Week 13 Top 25 Schedule
All times ET Saturday
1. North Dakota State (10-1, 7-0 MVFC): at No. 4 South Dakota (2 p.m., ABC North Dakota/ESPN+)
2. Montana State (11-0, 7-0 Big Sky): No. 9 Montana (2 p.m., Scripps/MTN/ESPN+)
3. South Dakota State (9-2, 6-1 MVFC): at Missouri State (ESPN+/MC22)
4. South Dakota (8-2, 6-1 MVFC): No. 1 North Dakota State (2 p.m., ABC North Dakota/ESPN+)
5. UC Davis (9-2, 6-1 Big Sky): at Sacramento State (5 p.m., KPAX/ESPN+)
6. UIW (9-2, 6-0 Southland): at East Texas A&M (2 p.m., ESPN+)
7. Idaho (8-3, 5-2 Big Sky): at Idaho State (6 p.m., ESPN+/SWX)
8. Mercer (9-2, 6-1 SoCon): Furman (3 p.m., ESPN+)
9. Montana (8-3, 5-2 Big Sky): at No. 2 Montana State (2 p.m., Scripps/MTN/ESPN+)
10. Richmond (9-2, 7-0 CAA): William & Mary (noon, FloFootball)
11. Abilene Christian (8-3, 7-1 UAC): at Stephen F. Austin (3 p.m., ESPN+)
12. Southeast Missouri (9-2, 6-1 Big South-OVC): at Tennessee State (4:30 p.m., ESPN+)
13. Rhode Island (9-2, 6-1 CAA): at Bryant (1 p.m., FloFootball)
14. Illinois State (8-3, 5-2 MVFC): North Dakota (1 p.m., ESPN+)
15. Villanova (8-3, 5-2 CAA): Delaware (1 p.m., FloFootball)
16. Tarleton State (8-3, 5-2 UAC): Central Arkansas (3 p.m., ESPN+)
17. Harvard (8-1, 5-1 Ivy): Yale (noon, ESPNU)
18. Stony Brook (8-3, 5-2 CAA): Monmouth (1 p.m., FloFootball)
19. Duquesne (8-2, 5-0 NEC): at Central Connecticut State (noon, NEC Front Row)
20. Jackson State (9-2, 7-0 SWAC): at Alcorn State (3 p.m., ESPN+)
21. Northern Arizona (7-4, 5-2 Big Sky): Eastern Washington (3 p.m., ESPN+)
22. UT Martin (7-4, 5-2 Big South-OVC): Lindenwood (3 p.m., ESPN+)
23. South Carolina State (8-2, 4-0 MEAC): Norfolk State (1:30 p.m., ESPN+)
24. New Hampshire (7-4, 5-2 CAA): at Maine (1 p.m., FloFootball)
25. Eastern Kentucky (7-4, 5-2 UAC): North Alabama (2 p.m., ESPN+)
Top photo of Montana State vs. Montana. (Garrett Becker/MSU Athletics)
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