FCS Week 6 Takeaways

FCS action was aplenty in Week 6.

Here are some scattered thoughts and takeaways from the weekend.

Numbers next to teams are their rankings in Week 6.

-Every season, it seems the FCS has that one chaotic season. We almost had it in Week 6. But as my former basketball coach once told us, “Don’t be an almost player.” And there were a lot of almost players (teams) in Week 6.

-Every Top 8 team was in danger at one point, whether it be after one quarter, two quarters, or into the fourth quarter.

-No. 1 NDSU trailed 9-7 at No. 6 Illinois State in the second quarter before regaining the lead shortly after and eventually holding an 18-16 advantage entering the fourth. The Bison then pulled away to win 33-16. No. 2 SDSU trailed 17-7 after two quarters at No. 24 Youngstown State before storming back to take a 28-17 lead. The Jackrabbits later held a 35-24 advantage before YSU scored with 38 seconds left to make it a 35-30 final. No. 3 Tarleton State got into a shootout vs. Southern Utah in a battle of backup quarterbacks, trailing 35-28 at halftime before winning 52-42. No. 4 Montana trailed 38-28 entering the fourth at Idaho State, but then took a 42-38 lead with 3:06 remaining and held on from there. No. 5 Montana State trailed 7-0 after one quarter at No. 13 Northern Arizona in an ugly start, but the Bobcats then settled in and dominated for a 34-10 win. No. 7 UC Davis beat Cal Poly 34-27 on the road in a game that was tied or a one-score contest most of the way. It wasn’t until No. 8 when the FCS got an upset. Rhode Island lost 28-21 to Brown on a neutral field.

-Is Harvard that good? Or was Rhody just overrated?

–Harvard is 3-0 with three dominating wins, beating Stetson 59-7, Brown 41-7, and Holy Cross 59-24. Rhody beat Holy Cross 9-7 and lost to Brown.

-Rhody was picked to finish first in the preseason CAA poll. Brown was picked to finish last in the Ivy League preseason poll. This result may loom large for both conferences when it comes to playoff seeds and at-large bids.

-After losing a historic group of senior quarterbacks and there being a lot of unknowns entering this season, the FCS is getting tremendous QB play. I could name 15 players that I think are playing at a really high level and would still probably miss another few guys who are standouts.

RELATED: Week 6 Top 25 FCS Scoreboard

-We mentioned last week that UC Davis All-American safety Rex Connors suffered a knee injury while being used as a goal-line rusher. That knee injury, unfortunately, will end his season. Connors is Davis’ all-time tackles leader.

-No. 18 Villanova earned an impressive road victory at New Hampshire, winning 37-7. The Wildcats have won two straight after losing 51-33 at ranked Monmouth. David Avit is one of the top FCS running backs, rushing 14 times for 102 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, while Pat McQuaide threw for 219 yards.

–Georgetown beat Morgan State 27-24 in Hail Mary fashion. Jimmy Kibble caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Dez Thomas II as time expired:

–Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens continues to light it up after sitting out the first few games. In a 23-21 win over Wofford, Dickens finished a ridiculous 53/56 for 378 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He shattered the NCAA record by completing his first 46 passes.

–Furman earned a 31-22 win over ETSU in a key SoCon game. The Paladins are now 4-1 overall. Defensive end Joshua Stoneking, just a redshirt sophomore, has emerged as a dominant force for Furman. He already has 32 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, and 9.5 sacks. You have no choice but to be an elite defender with the last name Stoneking.

-No. 22 Austin Peay picked up a big ranked win, beating No. 16 West Georgia 44-30, handing UWG its first loss of the season. Austin Peay QB Chris Parson, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Mississippi State, has been awesome this year. On Saturday, he threw for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. UWG QB Davin Wydner left the game with an injury in the third quarter.

–Mercer continues to get great QB play after making a switch at starter. Freshman Braden Atkinson threw for another 365 yards and five touchdowns (no interceptions) in a 45-21 win over Samford. The Bears are now 4-1.

-No. 15 North Dakota has a different edge and energy to it this season under first-year head coach Eric Schmidt. And it appears the road woes are no more. UND went to Northern Iowa and won 35-7. B.J. Fleming, a transfer from Northern Arizona, continues to shine, hauling in five catches for 134 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Jerry Kaminski continues to play like a program quarterback, going 20/23 for 246 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.

–Stephen F. Austin, a team I’ve had ranked, got a big win over UIW, a team that moved out of my Top 25 for a bit and then into my ballot last week. The Lumberjacks won 31-17, but led 31-6 at one point in the third quarter. SFA improves to 4-2 overall and 4-1 vs. the FCS (loss to Abilene Christian). UIW, after Top 5 preseason rankings, falls to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in Southland play. It looked like the Cardinals were turning around their season last week after dominating ranked ACU, but Saturday’s loss was a bad one. With SFA, Lamar, and Southeastern all looking strong in the conference, UIW’s playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread, if that thread has snapped yet.

RELATED: FCS Football Rankings

-FCS teams undefeated vs. FCS opponents after Week 6:
vs. FCS records
Lehigh (6-0)
NDSU (5-0)
SDSU (5-0)
Tarleton State (5-0)
Montana (4-0)
UC Davis (4-0)
Monmouth (4-0)
TN Tech (4-0)
Southeastern (4-0)
Lamar (4-0)
Harvard (3-0)
SIU (3-0)
Gardner-Webb (3-0)
Presbyterian (3-0)
Alabama State (3-0)
Jackson State (3-0)

-FCS passing yards leaders in Week 6 games:
1. Jordan Cooke, Idaho State – 421
2. Taron Dickens, Western Carolina – 378
3. Braden Atkinson, Mercer – 365
4. Kekoa Visperas, Tennessee Tech – 358
4. Trey Hedden, Furman – 358
6. Gunnar Smith, Fordham – 354
7. Devin Farrell, Rhode Island – 353
8. Derek Robertson, Monmouth – 351
9. Keali’i Ah Yat, Montana – 350
10. Chris Parson, Austin Peay – 346

-FCS rushing yards leaders in Week 6 games:
1. L.J. Phillips Jr., South Dakota – 244
2. Nick Osho, Indiana State – 211
3. Rodney Nelson, Monmouth – 203
4. Tre Page III, Tarleton State – 198
5. Joshua Dye, Southern Utah – 189
6. Julius Loughridge, SDSU – 176
7. Nate Bell, EWU – 175
7. Ke’Marion Baldwin, Charleston Southern – 175
9. Devontae Houston, ETSU – 150
10. Justus Durant, Chattanooga – 144

-FCS receiving yards leaders in Week 6 games:
1. Alex Bullock, SDSU – 162
2. Ivan Hoyt, Davidson – 155
3. Jalen Smith, Lindenwood – 146
4. TJ Speight, Monmouth – 145
5. Isaiah Dawson, Richmond – 144
6. Ja’Keith Hamilton, Furman – 141
7. Vinson Davis III, Southern Illinois – 140
8. Luke Colella, Villanova – 139
9. Javon Ross, Bethune-Cookman – 137
10. B.J. Fleming, UND – 134