This Week in The FCS: SIU-SEMO; Big Sky, CAA Invade Pac-12, ACC Country

The majority of this season’s nearly 100 FBS vs. FCS matchups are played this week. Members of the Pac-12 and ACC are particularly loading up on Week 1 FCS opponents, largely from the Big Sky and CAA respectively. To wit:

Big Sky vs. Pac-12 Games:

Montana State at Utah (Thurs.)

Northern Arizona at Arizona

Eastern Washington at Washington

Idaho State at Washington State

Sacramento State at Oregon State

CAA vs. ACC

James Madison at North Carolina

William & Mary at Virginia

Richmond at Duke

Future Big Sky member also plays Arizona State on Thursday night. Interestingly enough, not a single member of the current Big Sky plays a fellow FCS member in Week 1. Montana travels to Tennessee in one of the more surprising inter-divisional match-ups, Weber State makes the short jaunt up the mountain to play Wyoming, and Northern Colorado and Portland State both open with Division II opponents.

NAU faces either Arizona or Arizona State every season. The Arizona state legislature actually mandates these games, as NAU takes a percentage of the gate and its many Phoenix and Tucson based recruits get to play before friends and family. The Lumberjacks haven’t beaten either in decades, but will typically play either tough for at least the first half.

Montana State may actually have the best chance of securing a victory. The Bobcats were minutes away from a Pac-10 win last year, but couldn’t survive Washington State’s late rally. A year old and a year wiser, MSU plays a much tougher team. But, UU is undergoing enough change that in Week 1, it is prone. Denarius McGhee’s rocket arm could be nationally known by Thursday night’s end if he can exploit a Ute defense that last season allowed its final four opponents four-plus touchdowns an outing.

Potential Big Sky breakout team Sacramento State may have a tougher hill to climb facing Oregon State in Reser Stadium, but the Hornets will at least look good in some brand new threads courtesy of adidas.

Eastern Washington’s matchup with Washington just might pique the interest more than any other. Both teams hit their respective stride to conclude the season. UW’s culminated in an impressive defensive showing against Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl; EWU rallied from a three-score deficit in the NCAA championship game to topple Delaware. The respective peak of each was hit in much different fashion. First round NFL Draft pick Jake Locker seemingly regressed during the Huskies’ last season run, while Bo Levi Mitchell flourished behind center for the Eagles.

UW has actually never played a Division I-AA/FCS opponent. The reigning champion is quite a place to start, and Mitchell-Brandon Kaufman just may be in the upper echelon of quarterback-receiver tandems the Huskies face all season.

Meanwhile runner-up UD faces Navy, one of the most consistent FBS programs of the last decade, but one undergoing plenty of change. If ever the Mids were susceptible to upset, Week 1 would be it. As exhibited in last year’s Labor Day loss to Maryland, the triple option takes time to iron out.

UD last faced an option offense in last December’s national semifinal defeat of Georgia Southern. The FCS No. 12 rush defense allowed 254 yards, but kept the Eagles from the end zone all but one drive.

UD’s CAA mates James Madison, Richmond and William & Mary all boast significant ACC victories in recent years, and all three are en vogue choices to pull off upsets over the conference this year. Would UR’s third straight defeat of Duke be an upset? Given the turmoil Richmond is currently in, the answer is a decided yes. The Spiders must contain talented quarterback Sean Renfree on defense, and on the opposite end hope Aaron Corp fulfills the promise he brought as a top flight recruit to USC.

Wayne Lineburg has been the Spiders’ head coach all of one week, taking over for LaTrell Scott who resigned suddenly following an arrest.

“Our kids have done a good job. We all were [very disappointed in the Scott situation]. At Richmond, we’ve got a lot of great young men. They’ve done a good job hanging together,” Lineburg said. “By and large, we’ll keep [practice] as consistent as usual.”

UR’s offense struggled in starting four quarterbacks last season. A healthy Corp provides some much needed stability, and Duke’s No. 113 ranked rush defense should result in a steady diet of the rush from All-American fullback Kendall Gaskins.

William & Mary was similarly successful against Virginia in their 2009 meeting as Richmond against Duke. This time things are a bit different.

“I haven’t shown [this year’s team] film and I haven’t mentioned [the 2009 win] to them,” W&M head coach Jimmye Laycock said. “That seems like so long ago. Every year is different and every team is different.”

Laycock knows Virginia head coach Mike London well from the two sharing time in the CAA. Expect a defensive battle in Charlottesville. The best offensive player on the field will likely be in William & Mary’s green-and-gold, that being running back Jonathan Grimes. Grimes’ output should decide this one. Both Laycock and London are defensive minded coaches, in their last meeting ending in a 13-10 final. London was the victor.

The Tribe had a wrench thrown into preparation by Hurricane Irene. The W&M campus was shut down since Friday and members of the team were away from Williamsburg as a result of campus evacuations.

“Our building was one of the few on campus that still had power,” Laycock said at Monday’s press conference.

Other ACC pairings against the FCS include NC State vs. Liberty. The Wolf Pack figure to be one of the conference’s strongest teams, so the upset alarm may not wail as loudly as in other affairs. But the Flames do boast one of the most prolific offenses in the nation between multi-talented quarterback Mike Brown, star wideout Chris Summers and solid role playing back SirChauncey Holloway. The Brown-Summers connection will be of particular interest throughout the season: each is a pre-season Walter Payton Award candidate and arguably the top player at his position in all of FCS.

Liberty’s most likely competitor for the Big South title is Stony Brook, and the Seawolves open with a very legitimate shot at an FBS victory. In fact, SB could go 2-0 against the FBS with a Week 2 match-up against a weak Buffalo team looming. First though, the Seawolves make one of the longer treks any program will embark on this season heading to El Paso. UTEP had one of the most porous rush defenses in FBS; No. 90 overall, to be exact. The Miners allowed over 184 yards per game, which bodes well for a Seawolf offense featuring not one, not two, but THREE 1000-yard rushers. The return of Edwin Gowins from injury restocks a backfield that already welcomed back Miguel Maysonet and Brock Jackolski.

The heat and jet lag are sure to factor into Stony Brook’s play, but the table is set for a marquee win.

Though FCS vs. FBS dominates the weekend slate, there are two pairings of likely playoff contenders. Southern Illinois was ranked in the top 5 at this point last year, but the Salukis slid to an eventual sub-.500 finish. Their woes can be traced to a walloping sustained at home vs. Southeast Missouri, which the Redhawks used as a springboard to an Ohio Valley championship and NCAA Playoff berth. SEMO welcomes SIU into Cape Girardeau for the rematch.

Two of the subdivision’s premiere talents line up on opposite ends. Safety Mike McElroy is back in action with a medical redshirt. McElroy was sidelined early last season, breaking up what had been one of the top secondaries in the nation. His return will buoy this less experienced unit, much in the same way the return of offensive lineman Evan Conrad.

FCS pundits like Phil Steele and the folks over at The Sports Network are tabbing SIU for a return to the postseason and possible run at the Missouri Valley championship, while SEMO is expected to take a slide. But SIU head coach Dale Lennon had a logical dismissal for such chatter:

“They are a 9-3 football team coming off of last season and we’re a 5-6 football team coming off of last season so the challenge is there,” he said in Monday’s press conference.

Out east, NEC favorite Albany faces Patriot League contender Colgate in an in-state showdown sure to shape the playoff aspirations of both. Colgate running back Nate Eachus was the nation’s leading rusher in 2010. The yards per game he averaged were roughly equivalent to the total the Great Dane defense allowed.

Colgate’s Patriot League compatriot Holy Cross kicks off Thursday night on national television. CBS Sports Network is broadcasting the Crusaders’ own in-state affair against UMass. The Minutemen begin their final season of FCS membership on what will become familiar territory for them in the MAC: on midweek TV. HC is removed from the 2009 playoff qualifying version Anthony Rudolph captained at quarterback. The Minutemen should have little trouble in this one.