FCS Week 7 Takeaways

FCS action was aplenty in Week 7.

Here are some scattered thoughts and takeaways from the weekend.

Numbers next to teams are their rankings in Week 7.

-FCS career record watch: Fordham LB James Conway had 436 career tackles entering this season, 114 away from the FCS record set by Illinois State’s Boomer Grigsby (550). Conway already has 86 tackles in six games this fall, putting his career total at 522.

–Penn’s Jared Richardson was one of the top returning FCS wide receivers this year, and he’s off to a fantastic start. On Friday, he had 15 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns. In four games, Richardson already has 35 receptions for 471 yards and five TDs.

-No. 25 Mercer is hot, winning 38-14 at Princeton. The Bears have won five straight since switching to freshman quarterback Braden Atkinson. He has thrown for 1,515 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Defensively, Andrew Zock has totaled 11.5 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, and 14 QB hurries.

-Another hot team in the SoCon is Western Carolina, winning four straight after handling Furman 52-7. Furman was 4-1 entering Saturday. WCU is 0-3 without QB Taron Dickens, and 4-0 with him. He’s thrown for 1,607 yards, 17 touchdowns, and no interceptions in four starts after missing the first three games.

-No. 18 Villanova has won three straight since its loss to Monmouth, including beating two quality CAA teams on the road, New Hampshire and Elon, to improve to 4-2 overall and 4-1 vs. the FCS.

-No. 19 Abilene Christian got its third ranked win of the season, beating No. 21 West Georgia 30-13. Stone Earle threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns while ACU’s defense held UWG to 35 rushing yards on 16 carries. UWG starting QB Davin Wydner did not play despite head coach Joel Taylor saying early last week that he should be fine.

RELATED: Week 7 Top 25 FCS Scoreboard

-No. 5 Montana State is putting it all together after some growing pains in its new offensive scheme, where the Bobcats are throwing it more. In MSU’s 48-14 win over Idaho State, the Cats rushed for 384 yards while Justin Lamson went 17/21 for 184 yards and four touchdowns. Coupled with an elite defense that looks better than last year’s unit, and MSU is firmly in the national title conversation.

-No. 2 South Dakota State has looked choppy in its last two games, yet it still has a ranked win on the road at Youngstown State and a 31-3 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday. Growing pains are expected with many new faces on the roster and coaching staff. At 6-0 with three then-ranked wins, the Jackrabbits are in a great spot overall. But offensive consistency and the kicking game need to improve. If SDSU puts it all together, it has as high a ceiling as anyone in the FCS. Its defense is a top-tier unit in the FCS, led by the linebacker trio of Joe Ollman, Chase Van Tol, and Cullen McShane, something I was confident in during the summer despite the number of new starters. The question is, will the Jacks put it all together within two weeks when NDSU comes to town?

-Speaking of No. 1 North Dakota State … Is this the best Bison squad since 2019? After its 45-17 win over No. 8 Southern Illinois and another dazzling performance from first-year starting QB Cole Payton, NDSU looks loaded at 6-0 with three ranked wins. Road games at SDSU and UND are still to come, so maybe we should hold our horses a bit longer. But the Bison look as well-rounded as they’ve been in the 2020s.

-NDSU is the No. 38 team in all of college football, according to Sagarin, ahead of teams like Arkansas, Cincinnati, USF, Iowa State, TCU, and Kansas State. South Dakota State is No. 53, ahead of teams like Colorado, Maryland, Syracuse, and Minnesota. Montana State is No. 60.

-No. 15 Jackson State took control of the SWAC East, beating Alabama State 38-34. JaCobian Morgan hit Nate Rembert on a beautiful 18-yard touchdown strike with 50 seconds remaining for the go-ahead score. ASU had a shot at the end near the goal line, but JSU’s defense snuffed out an option look and sealed the win.

-The Grizzlies have played with their food in recent weeks, but when they awaken, they can avalanche a team in a hurry. I think a big part of that is being settled at quarterback, allowing him to stage a comeback. And Keali’i Ah Yat has been cool, calm, and clutch in delivering a few comebacks already this season. Down 9-0 at halftime, No. 4 Montana roared back to beat Cal Poly 28-9. This is a Cal Poly team that defeated Sac State and nearly beat Top 10 UC Davis. It’ll be hard for a non-quarterback to win the Walter Payton Award, but Eli Gillman continues to put himself in that conversation with another 123 rushing yards and two TDs on Saturday.

No. 13 North Dakota continues to look the part, beating Youngstown State 35-17 after holding a commanding 28-7 lead at halftime. YSU was ranked No. 20 in the coaches poll. Jerry Kaminski has been awesome this season, throwing for 1,217 yards, 17 touchdowns, and one interception while rushing for 241 yards and three TDs. For what it’s worth, UND has beaten UNI and YSU in an easier fashion than SDSU.

-No. 11 Idaho suffered an embarrassing loss on its Homecoming, losing 49-33 to Northern Colorado. Even with starting QB Joshua Wood sitting out due to a knee injury, it’s a bad loss. Shoutout to Northern Colorado, though, now 3-3. The Bears should have beaten FBS Colorado State earlier this year if not for a controversial ref decision, and nearly beat ranked South Dakota. Standout UNC safety Cam Chapa had 10 tackles and an interception in the win.

-Idaho staying in the media poll at 2-4 (2-2 vs. the FCS) after losing at home to Northern Colorado, while West Georgia gets bumped out at 5-2 vs. the FCS with 2 losses to ranked teams is questionable.

-No. 7 Lehigh‘s defense continues to flex its muscle, beating Columbia 31-7 to improve to 7-0. The Mountain Hawks are allowing 17.0 points per game and just 70.1 rushing yards per game on 2.5 yards per attempt. Brycen Edwards leads the unit with 52 tackles, while Matt Spatny has 8.5 TFLs and five sacks.

–Eastern Kentucky knocked off No. 16 Austin Peay, winning 34-20. EKU always seems to fall off the radar early because it plays two FBS opponents, and then emerges as a rankable squad. The Colonels are 3-3 overall but 3-1 vs. the FCS (loss to West Georgia).

-No. 6 UC Davis defeated No. 14 Northern Arizona 45-24, pulling away in the fourth to remain undefeated vs. the FCS. Davis’ offense is a blast to watch, and Caden Pinnick is a young star. The redshirt freshman went 25/29 for 348 yards and five touchdowns, with Samuel Gbatu Jr. hauling in seven catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. The Aggies have been disruptive on the d-line this year, totaling 15 sacks and 32 TFLs. Harvard transfer Jacob Psyk has 10 TFLs and six sacks, along with three forced fumbles.

-No. 3 Tarleton State improved to 7-0, beating Utah Tech 41-23 on the road. This is a Utah Tech team that lost to ranked UC Davis and ranked Northern Arizona by one score. The depth of talent on Tarleton’s roster is impressive, as it is down several players from its two-deep, notably the starting quarterback and top three running backs. It does seem like standout QB Victor Gabalis is nearing a return, though, which is big as the Texans enter a crucial stretch of UAC games that features three currently-ranked opponents.

RELATED: FCS Football Rankings

-FCS teams undefeated vs. FCS opponents after Week 7:
vs. FCS records
Lehigh (7-0)
Tarleton State (6-0, 7-0 w/ FBS win)
NDSU (6-0)
SDSU (6-0)
Montana (5-0)
UC Davis (5-0)
Monmouth (5-0)
TN Tech (5-0)
Lamar (5-0)
Southeastern (4-0)
Harvard (4-0)
Gardner-Webb (4-0)
Presbyterian (4-0)
Jackson State (4-0)
Dropped after this weekend’s results: SIU, Alabama State

-FCS passing yards leaders in Week 7 games:
1. AJ Duffy, New Haven – 354
2. Eric Gibson Jr., Northern Colorado – 350
3. Andrew Body, Alabama State – 349
4. Caden Pinnick, UC Davis – 348
5. Braden Atkinson, Mercer – 347
6. Tommy Rittenhouse, Illinois State – 338
7. James Murphy, Brown – 336
8. Liam O’Brien, Penn – 335
9. Cason Carswell, Western Illinois – 327
10. Jake Stearney, Colgate – 322

-FCS rushing yards leaders in Week 7 games:
1. Mitchell Summers, Sacred Heart – 243
2. Xai’Shaun Edwards, Houston Christian – 214
3. L.J. Phillips Jr., South Dakota – 187
4. Landen Chambers, Central Arkansas – 184
5. Jacorian Sewell, Alcorn State – 177
6. Jalen Smith, New Haven – 175
7. Adam Jones, Montana State – 173
8. James Jones, Delaware State – 158
9. Rodney Nelson, Monmouth – 152
9. Athean Renfro, Texas Southern – 152

-FCS receiving yards leaders in Week 7 games:
1. Jared Richardson, Penn – 190
2. Chaz Middleton, Robert Morris – 186
3. Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh – 182
4. Tsion Nunnally, Idaho State – 169
5. Daniel Sobkowicz, Illinois State – 162
6. Brayden Munroe, Northern Colorado – 151
7. Jaden Robinson, Austin Peay – 145
8. Jaceon Doss, Towson – 139
9. Quentin Cobb-Butler, St. Thomas – 137
9. DeAndre Buchannon, West Georgia – 137