EWU 35 UNLV 33 in 2/OT (Barriere was 29-39 for 374 yards and 3 TD's and 2 Int's)
Sam Houston State 42 Northern Arizona 16
Arizona State 42 Southern Utah 14
EWU game was very entertaining. A good win for EWU, but it was UNLV who went winless last year. EWU let UNLV back into the game after leading by 14 at end of third quarter. Also could have iced game with a short field goal at end of regulation but kicker missed it (along with 2 other attempts). Goes to show you how important special teams are vis. Gomez 4 field goals and good punting yesterday.
Northern Arizona couldn’t run the ball at all. First string QB went down early but don’t think it would have made much difference.
The top teams in the FCS seem to be getting better and better. I think some of the best athletes on these top FCS teams like the idea of actually getting to play rather than be a reserve on an FBS team and that they also like having a decent chance to play in the FCS playoffs and possibly play for a national championship. All of that with less pressure than there is in FBS and more time to be a student. Compelling reasons to play on a good FCS team...
I think the additional year of eligibility has increased the experienced depth. That was one of the FBS advantages over FCS teams. The FBS teams are deeper too but there is a limit to how much additional depth helps them, once you have enough more doesn’t help as much. We saw in the Tulsa game that we played almost as many players as a deep FBS team. We had 70 players and only one was a 2021 grad.
Turnover and penalties near our end zone cost them three touchdowns and they set us up for the winning field goal with an interception. Their offense made plays but couldn’t convert third downs. Their defense gave up too many third down plays. We got four first downs on the final possession to end the game, even though starting out first and 15. If you're them it has to be frustrating. So many if only moments.
SDSU clearly the better coached and dominant team against CSU. Controlled line of scrimmage. CSU was not good last year and looked dazed much of the time. I believe SDSU is the odds on favorite for the FCS crown this year. They look to be complete - well coached - dominant LOS, and a good running and passing game. Obviously early and others will have their say.
Weber State completely shut down in running game. Davis a complete non-factor. Shaheed a real weapon. Had a kickoff return for TD - pretty much the only real highlight for Weber. Of course Weber usually comes up with good defense so they probably be a factor again in big sky too. EWU looked good on offense - but as usual their D will need to improve for them to go farther this season.
UNC (or should I say the University of Macaffrey -or maybe U of Nepotism?). Head coach Macaffrey sends play to OC Macaffrey who relays play to QB Macaffrey. UNC has a bunch of transfers and they weren’t embarrassed vs Colorado. I wasn’t very impressed by QB Macaffrey who missed a couple of TD passes and was very inconsistent with his accuracy. He also is not very mobile. I also will say that Ed should lose that awful hair dye job. Overall I suspect UNC will be better than the last couple of years which isn’t a real high bar to clear.
Normally I like to see Big Sky do well OOC but I can’t say that about Montana mostly due to their coach. Kind of hope Washington tap dances on him tonight.
His QB / son is understandable, Michigan backup and 4 star HS recruit. OC / son not so. No resume as a coach, HS coach, or even graduate assistant. Max had 1 NFL reception for 4 yards, and was suspended twice. "While there has been no reporting on the specific cause of the suspension, both suspension lengths are common for positive performance-enhancing drug tests." Nepotism is right.
Huge recruiting class, 36 true freshmen. 6-7 large O linemen, two large RB (215 / 235), 6'5" WR.
Looks like Coach M went the Sac State way, bringing over several HS coaches.
UNI score probably the biggest surprise. Could it be that ND State is only the third best Valley team this year? Watched a bit of the ND State game and they don’t look to be the same team as in their championship years.
Montana State has an NC State transfer QB. He got displaced here as a starter. I had to chuckle when I saw his Twitter post showing him in his new MSU uniform with the word “committed”. Tag line should be “as long as I start”