The FCS Daily Dose is a blog-style article series featuring an assortment of news, rumblings, quick hitters, and commentary on various topics.
A new Daily Dose will be published multiple times a week.
Week 3 May Tell Us More About UIW Than Week 2
No. 12 UIW impressed last week, going to No. 1 South Dakota State and hanging tough for about three quarters.
The game was tied 10-10 in the second quarter and 17-17 in the third. SDSU took a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter before UIW made it 31-24 early in the fourth on a Zach Calzada 35-yard touchdown pass for Roy Alexander. The Jackrabbits closed the game strong, though, scoring with 10:34 and 7:47 remaining to win 45-24.
For SDSU to beat the No. 12 team by 21 points despite neither team playing a very clean game shows why the Jacks, while not as big of a juggernaut as last year, are still the favorite to win another national championship.
On the other sideline, UIW proved it can be a dangerous team as it looks for a bounce-back season. It missed the playoffs last year after reaching the 2022 semifinals.
But now the Cardinals need to prove that it didn’t empty the tank because it was playing the No. 1 team and that Saturday wasn’t the peak performance for this season.
Because we’ve seen this happen before.
In fact, coincidentally, we’ve seen this before in Week 2 at Brookings.
Last fall, No. 3 Montana State went to No. 1 SDSU in the second game and nearly pulled off a massive upset. The Bobcats lost 20-16, a contest decided by inches when a game-winning catch in the end zone was ruled incomplete. MSU looked like a legitimate national title threat. But the Cats never quite got back to that level, stumbling a couple of times in the regular season and then exiting the playoffs in the second round.
In 2022, UC Davis visited No. 2 SDSU in Week 2. The Aggies gave the Jacks a scare, trailing 17-10 at halftime and losing 24-22 after a late fourth-quarter comeback fell short. UC Davis looked like a team primed for a playoff run, but it fell to 6-5 and didn’t make the bracket.
So, is UIW as good as it looked on Saturday? Or did it empty the clip trying to knock off the two-time defending champs?
We’ll find out this week because another tough road trip looms. UIW goes to No. 9 Southern Illinois in a big non-conference game.
A loss, and maybe the performance at SDSU is overshadowed. Not that a loss at a Top 10 team would be a terrible loss, but UIW’s record dips to 1-2, and some momentum is zapped.
A win, and UIW keeps ascending on Top 25 ballots and continues to show it can be a scary team in December.
6 Preseason-Ranked Teams Are 0-2
Six preseason-ranked FCS teams have gotten out to 0-2 starts.
Three of them are 0-2 against FBS opponents, which gives them a bit more of a pass:
Preseason No. 8 Sacramento State
@ San Jose State
@ Fresno State
Preseason No. 9 Chattanooga
@ Tennessee
@ Georgia State
Preseason No. 23 Nicholls
@ LA Tech
@ LSU
Three more teams are 0-2 with Week 1 FBS losses and then suffering Week 2 home losses to unranked FCS opponents:
Preseason No. 12 Furman
@ Ole Miss
vs. Charleston Southern
Preseason No. 13 Richmond
@ Virginia
vs. Wofford
Preseason No. 20 Western Carolina
@ NC State
vs. Campbell
Past Daily Doses
CAA-SoCon Matchups Providing Good Gauge Of Conferences … READ MORE
Can UND Keep Momentum Going After Its Big Ranked Win? + 4 Ranked Matchups This Week … READ MORE
3 All-American-Level Montana Players Were Sidelined In Week 1, Statuses Unknown This Week … READ MORE
