FCS Roundtable: Building Rivalries
By Kyle Kensing
The culmination of the Championship Subdivision regular season is typically rivalry week. Programs such as Montana-Montana State, Lafayette-Lehigh, Harvard-Yale, Richmond-William & Mary and Florida A&M – Bethune-Cookman reengage bitter feuds that extend decades. Other rivalries have cropped up over the years though, either the result of geographic convenience or routinely competitive contests. The SaturdayBlitz.com FCS Roundtable breaks down which FCS rivalries are the most heated and from where that fire burns.
Kyle Roth, BisonIllustrated.com and ndsubisonsports.areavoices.com
Right now, I think one of the most bitter matchups in the MVFC has to be between Northern Iowa and North Dakota State. The history between these schools dates back to the 1960’s-70’s when NDSU was atop the North Central Conference in Division-II football along with Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Nebraska-Omaha, and other midwestern schools. Northern Iowa has dominated NDSU in the past four years, sacking quarterback Jose Mohler 11 times to leave the Bison with negative rushing yards on the game last season in Cedar Falls. The year prior, a Panther player prompted NDSU rusher Pat Paschall to throw a punch, leading to his suspension for a big rivalry game the following week at South Dakota State.
NDSU’s rivalry with SDSU is based more on friendly vibes, I believe. SDSU was our partner in transition, moving up to Division-I amid criticism from other area schools and enjoying some modest successes alongside the Bison. Currently the rivalry with the Jackrabbits is number one on Bison fans’ radars, but it pales compared to the white-hot antagonism that currently exists between UNI and NDSU. This makes the matchup on October 29 in Fargo all the more exciting, and not just because it could ultimately decide this year’s MVFC champion.
It doesn’t just extend to the players, either. This past offseason, NDSU hired longtime UNI assistant coach Chris Klieman as a defensive backs coach, prompting a line from UNI Head Coach Mark Farley that ran something like “NDSU is buying a winning team.” As I [wrote] last week, there’s certainly no lost love between these two schools.
Editor’s note: The below is from the 2008 meeting between UNI and NDSU.
Ben Moore, PanterTalk.com and Atlanta SBNation
Georgia State is in our second year so natural rivalries have not formed from a casual fan’s point of view but those of the hard core fans point to our neighbors from South Alabama as our primary rival based on our ties back to the club football days. In 2002, both programs were very much in their infancy and faced each other with the Jaguars of USA coming away with a sloppy 8-6 win. The Panthers took the second matchup later that season by a large margin.
Fast forward to 2010 and South Alabama is in their 2nd season of FCS competition as they are fast tracking to FBS and joining the Sun Belt in 2012. Georgia State began its first season of NCAA sanctioned competition and South Alabama showed what the extra season of competition provided in a 39-34 Jag win. The two will face off again in the Georgia Dome on Saturday, October 22nd in Georgia State’s second ever Homecoming Game. South Alabama will field 85 scholarship players to the Panthers 63 on grant in aid. South Alabama will also be responding to their first loss(es) of the program’s history as they travel to NC State and Kent State. It should be a tough battle and likely the last time the two will meet for several years unless Georgia State ascends to FBS, which many fans expect.
Russell Varner, SouthernPigskin.com
The Southern Conference has a great history in football, one not without its fair share of classic rivalries. From the rivalries between Furman, Wofford and Georgia Southern to the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug between Appalachian State and Western Carolina, it seems that every week in conference play, there is a rivalry game being played.
Recently, the rivalry between Appalachian State and Georgia Southern has risen to another level, highlighted by the Eagles’ overtime upset of the Mountaineers last season, ended App’s 26-game conference winning streak. This season will mark the 27th meeting between the two FCS powers, with the Mountaineers holding a very slight 13-12-1 edge in the series. But, as the cliché goes, you can throw away the records when these two teams play. Hark back to 2007, if you will, when Jayson Foster led the Eagles to a 38-35 upset over App, with Georgia Southern having to withstand a furious comeback from Armanti Edwards. Look back at 2009, the last time Georgia Southern visit the Rock. Appalachian decimated an Eagles squad that is a shadow of what it is today, 52-16, something Eagles’ Head Coach Jeff Monken will not let his players forget. Now, this year, many predict this year’s edition of the rivalry will decide the Southern Conference title. All eyes will be on Boone come October 29.
As for a less-known, up-and-coming rivalry, watch just about any game and you will find a rivalry, like I said before. Elon and Furman have produced some classics lately, with three of the last four meetings decided by a touchdown or less. The Terriers and Phoenix have also exchanged blows, with the latest being Wofford’s Hail Mary victory over Elon last season. The Citadel has been able to put up fights against their South Carolina conference mates as well, and it’s hard to look past the up-and-coming Chattanooga Mocs.
If you don’t know much about the SoCon, just now that if you tune into pretty much any conference game, chances are you will catch a great one.
Editor’s Note: Below are highlights from the Ga. Southern – Appalachian State game last season. GSU won in overtime.
In the OVC, football rivalries between Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State are big every year. Even if one of these teams is having a down year, it seems that the rivalry games are always close. Eastern Kentucky has a great history in the OVC. Eastern Illinois has had some great athletes, like Tony Romo, play for them. Jacksonville State has the best conference winning percentage since joining the OVC.
In recent years, the Eastern Kentucky – Jacksonville State series has been unpredictable. Jacksonville State has been favored, but Eastern Kentucky has played them tough. EKU had five interceptions against Ryan Perrilloux three years ago to pull off the upset. Last year, it was more of the same as JSU’s offense had a hard time getting on track. Watch out for this game this year. Both teams have this game circled on their calendar. Can JSU’s high potent offense control this game?
Joe Suhoski, vbr-productions.blogspot.com
There are two rivalries in the CAA worth discussing, neither of which may come to mind of the casual sports fan. The first is The Battle of the Blue between Delaware and Villanova. These two teams first played each other in 1895 and the series has been called “Battle of the Blue” only since 2007. However, there is general disdain between fans of the two programs going back decades. Current Wildcats coach Andy Talley and former Delaware coach Harold “Tubby” Raymond engaged in passive-aggressive verbal sparrings dating back decades ago. Over time it was clear that they respected each other as coaches but had no respect for anything the other said. For more of a complete picture of the rivalry than can be provided in this roundtable, read this story from October 1993.
The other rivalry in the CAA is William and Mary vs. Richmond. Officially dubbed “The Capital Cup” in 2009, the Tribe and Spiders have played 120 times since 1898; W&M leads the series 60-55-5. Depending on traffic, the two schools are separated by a two-hour trip on Interstate 64 in Virginia. (Before its current name, the rivalry had been called “The I-64 Bowl.”) Representatives of the programs don’t seem to have the same open animosity of Villanova/Delaware, but this is the fourth-longest running rivalry in football, and that’s more than most rivalries can claim.