Best Performance: Northern Arizona 29, Montana St. 14 - Lumberjack QB Lance Kriesien runs for 3 TD's in the second half as the defense holds the suddenly anemic Bobcats to 186 yards of offense.
Worst Performance: Sacramento St. 26, UC Davis 31 - Despite having a 1-7 record, this looked like a winnable Causeway Classic for the Hornets. Instead, they stay winless against Davis in this decade.
Most Surprising Result: Montana St. 14, Northern Arizona 29 - Despite last week's deflating loss, I figured the Bobcats could salvage something in cold Bozeman against the domed 'Jacks. Now, the Bobcats only have beating the Griz left to hope for.
Southland
SELA 31-45 TXST MCNSE 49-20 SFA
NICH 13-16 SHSU SDKST 38-10 UCA
NWST 31-38 MISS
NConf Record: 0-2 Overall: 13-19
vs. FCS: 0-1 Overall: 4-8
Best Performance: Northwestern St. 31, (FBS) Ole Miss 38 - Ole Miss is the worst team in the SEC, but the underacheiving Demons racked up 499 yards in a near comeback victory.
Worst Performance: Southeastern Louisiana 31, Texas St. 45 - Prior to this game, the Lions could have blamed their poor record on a suicidal, 3-FBS schedule. However, losing to a weak conference opponent like Texas State shows the Lions wouldn't have done much better with a normal schedule.
Most Surprising Result: Central Arkansas 10, South Dakota St. 38 - Given how the Bears have played recently, I'm surprised they were handled like this at home.
Best Performance: (#1) Northern Iowa 38, Missouri St. 17 - The Panther defense continues to roll & the offense comes back after a sub-par effort against Youngstown.
Worst Performance: Indiana St. 7, (#22) Youngstown St. 40 - Sadly, this performance looks better for the Sycamores than most of their games this season.
Most Surprising Result: (#19) Western Illinois 9, (#6) Southern Illinois 10 - The Leathernecks gained 417 yards and gave everything they had against the Salukis, but a missed extra point ultimately eliminated them from the playoff race.
Ohio Valley
AP 34-31 SEMO (2OT) JAXST 24-12 SAM
MUR 28-42 TSU
TTU 3-35 AUB
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 13-18
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 5-5
Best Performance: Jacksonville St. 24, Samford 12 - Gamecocks keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a decent road win.
Worst Performance: Murray St. 28, Tennessee St. 42 - Racers give up two long non-offensive touchdowns in the first quarter & try to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Most Surprising Result: Austin Peay 34, Southeast Missouri St. 31 (OT) - Though this win isn't very impressive, the Governors have performed much better than expected this year as they now have a 7-3 record. This is coming off 4 straight losing seasons as a mid-major.
BUCK 7-34 LAF
LEHIGH 7-21 COLG
HC 21-24 FORD
GTOWN 34-37 MARIST (OT)
NConf Record: 0-1 Overall: 17-17
vs. FCS: 0-1 Overall: 17-17
Best Performance: Fordham 24, Holy Cross 21 - Rams surprisingly clinch the Patriot League behind 289 rushing yards & 3 forced turnovers.
Worst Performance: Georgetown 34, Marist 37 (OT) - A new low for the Hoyas as they lose to a 1-8 mid-major.
Most Surprising Result: Holy Cross 21, Fordham 24 - Coming in, the Crusaders looked to be the strongest force in the Patriot League, but they were forced to play catch-up the whole game against the Rams.
CAA
W&M 14-38 HOF NE 31-13 UNH
TOW 13-16 MAINE
UMASS 6-12 URI (OT)
JMU 34-37 UD
NOVA 27-35 RICH
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 24-12
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 21-4
Best Performance: Northeastern 31, (#8) New Hampshire 13 - The Huskies' inconsistency worked in their favor this time, as Maurice Murray ran for 206 yards on 55(!) carries while the D shut down QB Ricky Santos.
Worst Performance: Towson 13, Maine 16 - A late interception return for a 2-point conversion costs the Tigers the game.
Most Surprising Result: Rhode Island 12, (#3) Massachusetts 6 (OT) - In what might be the most bizarre game of the season, the weather acts as a great equalizer as the Rams' bottom-of-the-barrel defense pitches a shut-out. The Minutemen still couldn't pull out the win despite getting a third safety to tie the game in the 4th.
Best Performance: South Carolina St. 59, Howard 21 - Bulldogs get the first MEAC blowout in 3 weeks.
Worst Performance: Howard 21, South Carolina St. 59 - This was the same Bison team that beat Norfolk State last week?
Most Surprising Result: (#13) Delaware St. 23, Winston-Salem State 20 - The conference-leading Hornets need 11 unanswered points in the 4th. quarter to defeat the transitional Rams.
Best Performance: (#9) Appalachian St. 45, The Citadel 24 - Mountaineer QB Armanti Edwards rushes for an incredible 291 yards as they knock the Bulldogs out of the playoff race.
Worst Performance: The Citadel 24, (#9) Appalachian St. 45 - With Western Carolina not playing, the Bulldogs were the only SoCon team to look weak on Saturday.
Most Surprising Result: Tennessee-Chattanooga 21, (FBS) Western Kentucky 28 - The Mocs actually had a 4th. quarter lead against the now-FBS HIlltoppers.
UCD 31-26 CSUS CPOLY 28-21 SUU
ILST 28-54 NDSU SDKST 38-10 UCA
NConf Record: 3-0 Overall: 17-15
vs. FCS: 3-0 Overall: 14-11
Best Performance: South Dakota St. 38, Central Arkansas 10 - Jackrabbit RB Cory Koenig runs for 204 yards & 2 TD's while the defense forces 4 turnovers.
Worst Performance: Southern Utah 21, Cal Poly 28 - Yet another near-upset for the Thunderbirds.
Most Surprising Result: South Dakota St. 38, Central Arkansas 10 - Jackrabbits dominate what looked like a playoff-caliber transitional team.
Ivy League
PRINCE 0-7 PENN HARV 27-12 COLUM
COR 31-59 DART
BROWN 7-17 YALE
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 11-13
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 11-13
Best Performance: Dartmouth 59, Cornell 31 - 3 60+ yard TD passes & 2 non-offensive TD's as Dartmouth wins the battle of Big Colors.
Worst Performance: Cornell 31, Dartmouth 59 - The Big Red commit 7 turnovers in a strange loss.
Most Surprising Result: Dartmouth 59, Cornell 31 - This marks the first time the Big Green have scored 40+ in 6 years, and the first time they've scored 50+ in 15 years.
Big South
CHSO 37-28 VMI
CCU 24-37 LIB
SAVST 0-66 GWEBB
NConf Record: 1-0 Overall: 14-19
vs. FCS: 1-0 Overall: 8-15
Best Performance: Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 24 - 527 yards of offense for the Flames.
Worst Performance: VMI 28, Charleston Southern 37 - The Keydets blow a 4th. quarter lead as they take over the Big South basement.
Most Surprising Result: Gardner-Webb 66, Savannah St. 0 - Savannah State can make anyone look like a title contender.
Best Performance: Jackson St. 43, (#21) Alabama A&M 40 (OT) - Tiger QB Jimmy Oliver throws for 391 yards & 4 TD's in a thrilling upset.
Worst Performance: Texas Southern 7, Southern 56 - Tigers give up 47 points in the middle-two quarters.
Most Surprising Result: Arkansas Pine-Bluff 21, Prairie View A&M 19 - Though they were outgained 430-190, the Golden Lions salvage something out of this greatly disappointing season.
Coastal has really depressed me this year. We're still young and after having great seasons, a losing season won't be that bad. Our plan has to be to tighten up our offense and get a QB that will make better decisions than our current guy.
Best Performance: Presbyterian 62, (DII) Chowan 10 - Blue Hose lead 48-0 at halftime & cruise despite not having QB Tim Webb.
Worst Performance: Savannah St. 0, Gardner-Webb 66 - Yet another sub-100 yard game for the Tiger offense.
Most Surprising Result: Savannah St. 0, Gardner-Webb 66 - The Tigers are bad, but Gardner-Webb isn't exactly Ohio State, either.
Pioneer League
DVDSN 49-52 USD
BUT 0-61 DAY VALPO 29-27 JVILLE
DRAKE 0-33 MHEAD
NConf Record: 0-0 Overall: 22-6
vs. FCS: 0-0 Overall: 6-4
Best Performance: Morehead St. 33, Drake 0 - The Eagle defense dominates, forcing 6 turnovers & holding the capable Bulldog running game to -5 yards.
Worst Performance: Butler 0, Dayton 61 - Just in case we'd forgotten what the Bulldogs looked like a few years ago.
Most Surprising Result: Davidson 49, San Diego 52 - Wildcat QB Ryan Alexander nearly outduels Torero QB Joshua Johnson. They combined for 820 yards passing & 11 touchdowns (0 interceptions).
