Best Performance: Sacramento State 3, (FBS) Fresno St. 24 - The Hornet defense lived up to its billing, allowing only 24 to a pretty good WAC team.
Worst Performance: (#13) Portland State 12, (#10) McNeese St. 35 - The Viking offense & defense didn't play well in this one. The Glanville transition should take a little while.
Most Surprising Result: Sacramento State 3, (FBS) Fresno St. 24 - Losing to a decent FBS team by only 21 is pretty good, especially for Sac. St.
Southland
CPOLY 35-38 TXST TARST 27-24 SFA
ANGELO 13-17 SHSU
UCA 7-28 LATECH
SELA 14-35 NMSU
HNDRSN 6-41 NWST
PORTST 12-35 MCNSE NICH 16-14 RICE
Record: 5-3
vs. FCS: 2-0
Best Performance: Nicholls St. 16, (FBS) Rice 14 - The Colonel defense dominated: allowing 218 yards, forcing 5 turnovers, & ending Jarett Dillard's consecutive-games-with-a-TD streak
Worst Performance: Stephen F. Austin 14, (D-II) Tarleton St. 17 - Stephen F. Austin loses to a D-II for the second straight year.
Most Surprising Result: Nicholls St. 16, (FBS) Rice 14 - A 4-7 FCS team from 2006 beats one of last season's bowl teams.
Gateway
MINNST 14-41 UNI
MIZROL 17-62 MIZST DRAKE 27-24 ILST
SDKST 26-29 WIU (4OT)
QUINCY 14-59 SIU
INDST 7-55 IU
YSU 6-38 OSU
Record: 4-3
vs. FCS: 1-1
Best Performance: Western Illinois 29, (#20) South Dakota St. 26 (4OT) - The Leathernecks get 2 100-yard rushers in their semi-upset of the Jackrabbits.
Worst Performance: (#7) Illinois St. 24, Drake 27 - Sure, Drake's a good NS Mid-Major, but UNI beat them 48-7 last year when the Bulldogs ended up 9-2.
Most Surprising Result: (#7) Illinois St. 24, Drake 27 - I'm not sure if a NS Mid-Major has ever beaten a Top-10 team, but I can't remember another instance.
Ohio Valley
TTU 24-45 EIU
SEMO 3-59 CIN
JAXST 19-24 ALST
UWA 21-23 SAM
EKU 10-50 UK
MUR 10-73 LOUIS AAMU 49-23 TSU
UTM 13-35 USM
BETHEL 19-43 AP
NConf Record: 2-6
vs. FCS: 0-2
Best Performance: (#17) Eastern Illinois 45, Tennessee Tech 24 - The Panthers win easily in an important conference opener.
Worst Performance: Jacksonville St. 19, Alabama St. 24 - Gamecocks have to settle for 5 FG attempts against the preseason SWAC basement pick.
Most Surprising Result: Jacksonville St. 19, Alabama St. 24 - A playoff conference team losing to a SWAC team is bad, especially when it's the Hornets, who were picked last in the preseason poll.
MARIST 10-49 LAF BUCK 28-19 DUQ
ALB 11-13 COLG FORD 27-23 URI
HC 30-40 UMASS
GTOWN 28-35 SB
Record: 4-2
vs. FCS: 4-2
Best Performance: Bucknell 28, Duquesne 19 - The Patriot League has struggled against mid-majors, so a road win over a good one is a nice start.
Worst Performance: Georgetown 28, Stony Brook 35 - Seriously, why does Georgetown still have football? They can't even hold a recent mid-major under 500 yards.
Most Surprising Result: Fordham 27, Rhode Island 23 - Not overly surprising, but a bad Patriot team beating a bad CAA team makes the conference look good.
CAA
MONM 14-21 MAINE
HC 30-40 UMASS
NE 0-27 NW FORD 27-23 URI
NOVA 14-31 MD
CCSU 10-20 TOW
RICH 17-41 VANDY UD 49-31 W&M
JMU 14-37 UNC
NConf Record: 3-5
vs. FCS: 3-1
Best Performance: (#19) Delaware 49, William & Mary 31 - Omar Cuff scores 7 TD's in this shootout victory.
Worst Performance: Rhode Island 23, Fordham 27 - The Rhodies look headed for yet another losing season as they fall in this edition of the battle of the rams.
Most Surprising Result: (#8) James Madison 14, (FBS) North Carolina 37 - This was supposed to be the best chance for an FBS upset this week, but the Dukes weren't even in the game.
MEAC
CCU 18-23 DSU
SAVST 7-47 MORG
VSU 7-33 NFOLK
NCAT 7-28 WSSU
SCSU 3-34 AF
FAMU 27-33 SU (@ Birmingham, AL)
JVILLE 17-31 BCOOK
NConf Record: 4-2
vs. FCS: 3-1
Best Performance: Delaware St. 23, (#23) Coastal Carolina 18 - Coastal didn't deserve to be ranked, but it's still a nice non-conference win for the Hornets.
Worst Performance: North Carolina A&T 7, Winston-Salem State 28 - The Aggies have fallen a long way since their 2003 MEAC title.
Most Surprising Result: Florida A&M 27, Southern 33 - Southern lost a lot of players in the offseason while the Rattlers returned the majority of their starters, so this was unexpected.
SoCon
WCU 6-52 BAMA APPST 34-32 UM
ELON 13-28 USF
PRESBY 16-40 FU
GTKY 21-38 WOFF
CHSO 14-35 CIT CARNEW 29-17 UTC
Record: 4-3
vs. FCS: 2-0
Best Performance: (#1) Appalachian St. 34, (FBS) Michigan 32 - What'd you think it was going to be?
Worst Performance: Tennessee-Chattanooga 17, (D-II) Carson-Newman 29 - The Mocs will never play at home in the title game at this rate.
Most Surprising Result: (#1) Appalachian St. 34, (FBS) Michigan 32 - Michigan clearly wasn't a top-5 team, but this was still a historic win by the Mountaineers. The good news for Michigan is that they get to know their defense sucks now, rather than when they give up 50+ to Purdue or somebody else later this season.
Best Performance: Southern Utah 17, (#2) Montana 37 - 3 late turnovers made this look more lopsided than it was.
Worst Performance: UC Davis 21, (D-II) Western Washington 28 - Davis celebrates their first game as a full D-I team by losing to a D-II team.
Most Surprising Result: UC Davis 21, (D-II) Western Washington 28 - I thought the Aggies would challenge for a playoff spot this year (now that they're eligible), but that looks at least a year away.
Best Performance: Gardner-Webb 14, (FBS) Ohio 36 - A decent showing against the defending MAC-East champions.
Worst Performance: Charleston Southern 14, The Citadel 35 - The Buccaneers show how much they lost from last year as they fail to reach 200 yards of offense.
Most Surprising Result: (#23) Coastal Carolina 18, Delaware State 23 - This didn't really surprise me, but it was technically an upset.
Best Performance: Alabama A&M 49, Tennessee State 23 - The Bulldogs get a road blowout over one of last year's OVC contenders.
Worst Performance: Texas Southern 14, Prairie View A&M 34 - Losing to Prairie View at home by 20 is something to omit from the coaching resume.
Most Surprising Result: Alabama State 24, Jacksonville State 19 - The SWAC had the most suprisingly good week among FCS conferences, & this game was the most unexpected. The preseason SWAC basement upends the team picked second in the OVC.
Nice job, but with all due respect, I'd have to disagree with your "best peformance" in the GWFC. I'd give that nod to SDSU. The UM/SUU game really wasn't close, SUU never really threatened, and the Griz cycled in 2nd & 3rd stringers to build depth. Also ended the game on the 6 yard line, about to score again. I think SDSU should get the nod, proving they belong in the Gateway...
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
Best Performance: Stony Brook 35, Georgetown 28 - The Seawolves get a good start in their quest toward full scholarship football, even if it was against lowly Georgetown.
Worst Performance: Savannah St. 7, Morgan St. 47 - Getting blown out by Morgan State means the Tigers should show up in this section often.
Most Surprising Result: NC Central 17, Fayetteville St. 0 - None of the Independent results were surprising, but this game seemed unexpectedly close since the Eagles beat Fayetteville 49-6 last year.
Best Performance: Drake 27, (#7) Illinois St. 24 - The Bulldogs prove there isn't as much difference between full-scholarship & mid-major FCS teams as there used to be.
Worst Performance: Valparaiso 28, (NAIA) St. Francis (IL) 21 - The Crusaders barely beat a bad NAIA team.
Most Surprising Result: Drake 27, (#7) Illinois St. 24 - As I mentioned before, I'm not sure a NS mid-major has ever beaten a top-10 team.
NEC
DAY 23-12 RMU
ALB 11-13 COLG WAG 20-7 WCSU
CCSU 10-20 TOW SACHRT 41-20 ASSUMP
MONM 14-21 MAINE
Record: 2-4
vs. FCS: 0-4
Best Performance: Central Connecticut St. 10, Towson 20 - The Blue Devils ran for about 250 yards & forced 3 turnovers against playoff contender Towson in a game that wasn't decided until the last few minutes.
Worst Performance: Robert Morris 12, Dayton 23 - The Colonials lose at home to another mid-major who was coming off a very down year.
Most Surprising Result: Albany 11, Colgate 13 - Given Colgate's recent struggles against mid-majors & in opening day games, this looked like a game the Great Danes should win.
MAAC
BUCK 28-19 DUQ URSNUS 28-0 LAS
DELVAL 12-14 IONA
MARIST 10-49 LAF
Record: 1-3
vs. FCS: 0-2
Best Performance: Duquesne 19, Bucknell 28 - "Best" is relative this week in the MAAC, but at least the Dukes made a good showing against a solid Patriot League squad.
Worst Performance: La Salle 0, (D-III) Ursinus 28 - Getting blanked by a D-III doesn't help program prestige.
Most Surprising Result: La Salle 0, (D-III) Ursinus 28 - This was the Explorers' third straight loss to Ursinus, but at least the previous two were close.
AZGrizFan wrote:Nice job, but with all due respect, I'd have to disagree with your "best peformance" in the GWFC. I'd give that nod to SDSU. The UM/SUU game really wasn't close, SUU never really threatened, and the Griz cycled in 2nd & 3rd stringers to build depth. Also ended the game on the 6 yard line, about to score again. I think SDSU should get the nod, proving they belong in the Gateway...
I understand what you're saying. Given how bad the Great West did in Week 1, it was tough to pick a "best" performance. I thought it was a toss-up between the games other than UC Davis's.
To argue your point about SDSU "proving they belong in the Gateway", remember that SDSU was ranked & Western Illinois wasn't, so the Jackrabbits were expected to win that game. I think they already proved their worth before this year. My "best performances" aren't supposed to be relative, but it's difficult to say SDSU played at all well when they lost to a team that hasn't had a winning season in 4 years.
AZGrizFan wrote:Nice job, but with all due respect, I'd have to disagree with your "best peformance" in the GWFC. I'd give that nod to SDSU. The UM/SUU game really wasn't close, SUU never really threatened, and the Griz cycled in 2nd & 3rd stringers to build depth. Also ended the game on the 6 yard line, about to score again. I think SDSU should get the nod, proving they belong in the Gateway...
I understand what you're saying. Given how bad the Great West did in Week 1, it was tough to pick a "best" performance. I thought it was a toss-up between the games other than UC Davis's.
To argue your point about SDSU "proving they belong in the Gateway", remember that SDSU was ranked & Western Illinois wasn't, so the Jackrabbits were expected to win that game. I think they already proved their worth before this year. My "best performances" aren't supposed to be relative, but it's difficult to say SDSU played at all well when they lost to a team that hasn't had a winning season in 4 years.
was that game in Illinois, or SD?
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
