This Week in FCS: Sac State Follows Marquee Win with Big Road Trip

Ah, the Letdown Game; college football’s equivalent to procuring the most attractive woman at a bar’s phone number, only for her boyfriend to deliver a punch in the face. Sacramento State certainly earned attention with the biggest FCS win of Week 1, but the Hornets enter Week 2 with viable Letdown Game potential. Sac State’s aerial attack posed problems for Oregon State, and the Beavers countered with a ground-based attack. Saturday in Cedar City, Utah, the Hornets face an offense more akin to their own.

Southern Utah features a Walter Payton Award preseason candidate in quarterback Brad Sorensen, one of the top passers in all of FCS last season with over 3100 yards and a 67 percent completion rating. Sac State ranked No. 80 among FCS defenses against the pass last year, an obvious cause for concern against an offense as predicated on it as SUU’s.

And while Sac State is coming off the high of a 29-28 road victory, the Thunderbirds felt the sting coming up on the opposite end of the exact same score at South Dakota State. Sorensen was stellar, throwing for 348 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough. SUU is going to be hungry to rebound.

Should Jeff Fleming outduel Sorensen, the Hornets are in great shape with a third straight road trip at Weber State and home opener vs. Montana looming.

Wayne’s World

Wayne Lineburg’s first career win as a head coach wasn’t under the easiest of circumstances, having less than two weeks to prepare his Richmond Spiders. UR allowed Duke nearly 380 yards, but got the stops it needed thanks to CAA Defensive Player of the Week Cooper Taylor & Co. Taylor had 14 tackles and a forced fumble, and the Spider defense got the stops it needed to give Aaron Corp (193 yards passing, one touchdown) and Kendall Gaskins (one touchdown, 67 yards rushing) the window to take a third straight from the Blue Devils.

The Spiders’ trying times date back to last season, when Corp went down with a torn ACL. UR’s quarterback situation was murky throughout the campaign, and the result was an offense unable to match-up with the powerful defenses of the CAA. Corp’s return gives UR stability in a spot it is sorely needed.

“He worked as hard as any kid I’ve ever seen to get back to full strength,” Lineburg said in Monday’s press conference.

Corp’s acclimation was aided along by Tre Gray, who hauled in all but 64 of Corp’s passing yards.

Must-Win in Montana, Vol. 1

Montana’s playoff appearance streak ended at 18 last season, thanks in part to its loss at Cal Poly. The Grizzlies finished 7-4, but found themselves in the precarious position of having only six wins over Division I programs — FCS at-large selections must have seven such victories. Montana opened with a season-opening loss at Tennessee as was to be expected, and in its other non-conference game plays Division II Western Oregon. Losing to Cal Poly would render Montana 0-2 for playoff purposes and have the Grizzlies in an 0-for hole with defending national champion Eastern Washington coming to town.

As a member of the Great West Conference for only final season before joining UM in the Big Sky, Cal Poly needs every win it can muster. Eight is a solid benchmark to give the Mustangs a shot at an at-large bid, and knocking off Montana in Missoula would be as marquee as any Poly could get. Last season, Poly used a rushing advantage of nearly 120 yards to dominate time of possession and overcome 400-plus Grizzly passing yards.

Must-Win in Montana Vol. 2

UC Davis is another Great West-soon-to-be-Big Sky program with playoff aspirations riding on an at-large bid. The Aggies are in a 0-1 hole after playing Arizona State in Week 1. UCD travels to Hawaii later this month, and will also play at South Dakota, at Sacramento State and host Cal Poly. The schedule is daunting, so avoiding an early hole buoys the Aggies’ chances immensely.

Reigning Big Sky champion fell at Utah and was unable to get its potent passing game going. Denarius McGhee needs to attack an Aggie defense that allowed a middling 205 yards passing.

Playoff Opponents

New Hampshire and Lehigh each won a game in the 2010 NCAA Playoffs and both are widely regarded as postseason qualifying favorites this year. One will have a marquee non-conference win to its credit after Saturday. The Patriot League does not give football scholarships, putting its members at a decided disadvantage against other FCS opponents — especially against the CAA, considered the subdivision’s best league. Lehigh went 0-3 against CAA foes last year, losing by a combined 76 points including by 21 at UNH.

However, Lehigh knocked off perennial FCS powerhouse Northern Iowa in the opening round of the postseason, and this time around hosts the Wildcats. The Mountain Hawks can also take some inspiration from Patriot League rival Colgate, which knocked off NEC favorite Albany 37-36 to open the campaign.

A Conference Preview

Two of the newest kids on the FCS block are Old Dominion (est. 2009) and Georgia State (est. 2010). The two will share the Colonial Athletic Association in 2012, after GSU has fulfilled its transitional obligations to the NCAA. They square off Saturday in Atlanta, a rematch of a 34-20 Monarch win last year.

ODU rushed for 229 yards and built a cushy, 34-6 lead en route to the victory. GSU cruised Friday in a 41-7 rout of Clark Atlanta, which rushed for 140 yards but only averaged 3.8 yards per carry.

By playing twice before they are conference mates, ODU and GSU just might be planting the seeds for a fun rivalry in the CAA.

Quarterback Showdown

Eastern Washington’s Bo Levi Mitchell is well established as one of the top FCS quarterbacks. He lead the Eagles to January’s national championship, and started strong Saturday with 473 yards and three touchdowns at Washington. South Dakota’s Dante Warren isn’t as well known, but is looking to carve out his name. Warren torched Minnesota last season in the Coyotes’ 41-38 win, but USD’s subsequent slide pushed Warren out of national consciousness.

USD played Air Force tough in Week 1, dominating time of possession (34:32 to 25:28) and nearly matching the Falcons in first downs (21-20). Warren threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for 61 yards. His dual threat abilities make him a tough cover, but he will need to limit turnovers for the Coyotes to have a shot at upset.

FCS vs. FBS Alerts

Stony Brook at Buffalo

The Seawolves used their grinding ground game to nearly knock off UTEP last Saturday. Stony Brook fell 31-24 in overtime playing in vastly different conditions than it is used. Buffalo is a short jaunt from the Stony Brook campus. The Bull defense wasn’t bad against the running game last year, finishing No. 67 in FBS at around 159 yards allowed per contest, but allowed 231 rushing yards to Pitt in Saturday’s loss.

Weber State at Utah State

Both squads are coming off heartbreaking losses. Utah State saw what would have been the biggest win in program history snatched away — literally — on an onside kick that set up Auburn’s game-winning touchdown. Weber State fell at Wyoming, giving up its own touchdown in the waning moments. A counter to the aforementioned Letdown Game is the Demoralizer, a loss so disheartening it can derail a season. Such losses are either blowouts or evaporation of big leads against a favored opponent.

WSU had a chance against UW largely due to its 223 yards on the ground, the majority of which were gained by tailback Josh Booker and dual threat quarterback Mike Hoke. If the Wildcats can find a way to do what Auburn could not and get the ball going on the ground, USU will again end the weekend in heartbreak.

Promise for Presbyterian

Still in its earliest days of Division I membership, Presbyterian has had a difficult transition. The Blue Hose were winless in the 2008 and 2009 campaigns, but ended 2010 on an upswing with victories in two of its final three contests. PC found itself in a familiar losing role last week, but played No. 7 Wofford to a stalemate for 58 of the game’s 60 minutes. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Singer completed nine passes for 121 yards and scored the first of a three-touchdown streak to force a late tie. Singer, Lance Byrd and Seth Moreland were the Blue Hose’s top performers: all three are underclassmen for head coach Harold Singer.

PC faces Division II North Greenville before traveling to Cal for a paycheck game. In Week 4, keep an eye on how the Blue Hose fare against Furman.

San Antonio Loves Football

UT-San Antonio is an FCS program more in name only than anything, just playing a single year of competition in the subdivision before joining the WAC. The Roadrunners certainly appear to have the fan base of an FBS program. UTSA drew an astounding 54,000-plus in the Alamodome, more than were on hand for last night’s Maryland-Miami game. Coker Chronicles has great coverage of the Roadrunners’ inaugural, sorta-FCS season.