Our FCS coverage is the home for the Top 25 media poll, FCS National Awards, predictive TRACR model and much more. Here’s a review of Week 8 of the 2024 college football season, featuring South Dakota State at North Dakota State and a number of key conference matchups.
The way No. 2 North Dakota State’s 13-9 win over No. 1 South Dakota State Saturday night lived up to the billing all but demands an encore in the FCS playoffs.
Their next meeting could just downright be a perfect 10. Their matchup inside the Fargodome was just the ninth between the top-two ranked team in the FCS’ 47-season history.
Quarterback Cam Miller and wide receiver RaJa Nelson connecting on a second touchdown pass with 1:49 left proved to be the difference in a well-played, defensive-oriented showdown.
It was the highlight of a big Saturday of action, although there were plenty of other notable performances, as the FCS Week 8 Scoreboard indicated with Top 10 upsets.
FCS Football Week 8 Review
Bison Reclaim the Dakota Marker
No FCS program has come close to SDSU’s success against NDSU since the first of the Bison’s nine FCS national championship seasons in 2011, so first-year coach Tim Polasek and his 7-1 team reveled in ending a five-game losing streak in the series and reclaiming the Dakota Marker rivalry trophy.
SDSU (5-2, 2-1) rotated in No. 2 quarterback Chase Mason a lot with starter Mark Gronowski. Although Mason rushed for a 66-yard touchdown, his interception with one minute remaining – a spectacular pick by Bison linebacker Logan Kopp – was the game’s only turnover.
NDSU, expected to claim No. 1 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll on Monday for the first time in over two years, has four more regular-season games that set up well for the Bison to likely grab a top-two seed in the playoffs, which guarantees home-field advantage through the semifinals. They conclude the regular season at South Dakota, and those No. 4 Coyotes are visiting SDSU next Saturday.
USD (6-1), which won 27-17 at Youngtown State on Saturday, shares first place with NDSU, both at 4-0.
So is Montana State No. 2?
Montana State has been the No. 3-ranked team since Labor Day and it closed the voting total on both South Dakota State and North Dakota State in last Monday’s national media poll. The Bobcats (8-0) then went out and pounded Portland State 44-14 in the Big Sky as Tommy Mellott passed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and Scottre Humphrey rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach Brent Vigen’s squad continues to win with style, following up its season-opening FBS win at New Mexico with seven FCS wins all by at least 17 points and on average by 28.4.
The Top 25 voting will be interesting on Monday. Montana State surely would have surpassed NDSU if the Bison had lost to SDSU, but a move above SDSU – the two-time defending FCS champion – to No. 2 isn’t as certain.
Villanova, Mercer Pummeled in Defeats
They weren’t facing heavyweight opponents, but No. 5 Villanova and No. 7 Mercer were both knocked down early by conference foes and never regained their footing in blowout losses.
Maine (4-3, 2-1) had seven sacks, forced four turnovers and didn’t allow any points until the final two minutes of its 35-7 win over Villanova (5-2, 2-1) in CAA Football. Carter Peevy threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first 4:12 before Devin Vaught scored on a 70-yard return of a blocked field goal late in the first quarter.
Samford (3-3, 2-1 SoCon) handed Mercer (6-0, 3-1) its first loss 55-35, which was hardly in doubt after Quincy Crittendon passed for four touchdowns in the first 6:35. It marked the Bulldogs’ first game with at least 50 points since the last time they hosted the Bears in 2022.
Cole Gonzales: 620 Passing Yards (No, Not a Misprint)
Mercer’s loss led to the Bears falling out of first place in the SoCon, but credit Western Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzales the most for putting the Catamounts atop the standings. He went “Gonzo” with a SoCon record 620 passing yards in their 52-20 win at Furman, completing 35 of 55 passes and five touchdowns.
His show-stopping performance marked the seventh-highest passing yards in FCS history.
Western Carolina’s 801 yards of total offense also set a SoCon record.
After a 1-3 start out of conference, the Catamounts have won their first three SoCon games, but the race is crowded with Mercer and Chattanooga both 3-1, and ETSU and Samford in the mix at 2-1 each.
Jackson State, Southern Lead in SWAC
Much of the crowd of 28,450 watched in delight as Jackson State beat co-No. 25 Florida A&M 35-21 to win a first-place showdown in the SWAC East Division. The Tigers went ahead on Phillip Webb’s 32-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 3:34 left before Emari Matthews later added his second TD run.
In the West Division, Southern (4-3, 3-0) scored a field goal and touchdown in the final 6:50 for a 24-14 win over Alcorn State (4-4, 3-1). Kendric Rhymes’ 51-yard TD run highlighted his 133 rushing yards.
Stock Up, Stock Down
Stock Up: Southeastern Louisiana is usually in Southland title contention, but it dropped off to 3-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference last season. With a 24-23 win over Stephen F. Austin, coach Frank Scelfo’s squad is 3-0 in the Southland and in first place. Eli Sawyer’s 3-yard TD pass to Darius Lewis tied the game with two seconds remaining and Riley Callaghan kicked the extra point.
Stock Down: Bethune-Cookman earned its first win of the season, but it came at winless Mississippi Valley State 20-10. Heading toward the final weekend of October, there are six winless FCS teams: Northwestern State and Utah Tech at 8-0 each, and Fordham, Marist, Mississippi Valley State and VMI at 7-0 each.
Around FCS Nation
Finally, yes, finally: No. 6 UC Davis defeated Eastern Washington 48-38 in the Big Sky, earning its first-ever win in the series after 11 defeats. Lan Larison had 29 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown, and Samuel Gbatu caught 90- and 17-yard scores for the Aggies (7-1, 4-0), who share the conference lead with Montana State. … Drake running back Davion Cherwin scored from 11 yards out in overtime to lift the Bulldogs (5-1, 4-0) past Presbyterian 19-16 and move into a tie for the second-longest winning streak in Pioneer Football League games (15). They have company in the standings as Dayton and St. Thomas both improved to 3-0. … The Citadel (3-5, 1-4 SoCon) edged VMI 13-10 in the “Military Classic of the South.” In a game that had only 415 yards of total offense, Bulldogs quarterback Johnathan Bennett threw a go-ahead, 43-yard TD pass to Tyler Cherry with 9:57 left.
Rhode Island and Richmond nearly won by the same score in moving atop the CAA standings at 3-0 each. Sixteenth-ranked URI (6-1) scored off a safety and a fumble recovery while winning 26-9 at No. 24 New Hampshire. Richmond quarterback Camden Coleman passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another score in the first half as the No. 18 Spiders (5-2) handed Delaware its first loss 28-19. … Elon’s Chandler Brayboy scored touchdowns on 94- and 93-yard kickoff returns as the Phoenix won 30-14 at UAlbany. … Stony Brook blasted Towson 52-24 as Tyler Knoop completed 34 of 40 passes for 387 yards and a program-record six touchdowns. Jasiah Williams caught three of the scores.
A Week 8 sweep by Harvard, Cornell and Yale allowed the Ivy League to finish off a 9-3 head-to-head record against the Patriot League. Harvard edged Holy Cross 35-34, reversing a 28-27 deficit with Jaden Craig’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Barkate and a 2-point conversion with 45 seconds left. They then denied Holy Cross’ 2-point attempt after the Crusaders scored a TD on the final play of regulation. Cornell linebacker Luke Banbury’s highlighted a 34-21 win at Bucknell by forcing and recovering a fumble, then scoring on a pick-six across the Bison’s first two possessions. … Dartmouth also played outside the Ivy League, beating Central Connecticut State 20-16 to improve 5-0 (the last four by a combined 10 points). Quarterback Grayson Saunier scored from a yard out with 5:13 left.
Tennessee State (6-2) put a damper on Howard’s 100th Homecoming with a 27-14 victory. After the Bison pulled within 20-14 with a touchdown at the 1:28 mark, CJ Evans returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to put away the Tigers’ fourth straight win. … Hampton punctuated a 59-17 win at North Carolina A&T with the defense scoring the final two touchdowns. A&T fell to 0-11 in CAA games since joining the conference last year. … Wagner beat Saint Francis 14-0 for its first shutout since 2016. Jake Cady passed foe 290 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense racked up eight sacks. … Robert Morris (4-3, 3-0) moved atop the NEC standings by defeating LIU 45-31. Anthony Chiccitt passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns.
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