Welcome to the FCS Football Talk podcast.
On this episode, Sam Herder and Zach McKinnell discuss:
-Three Game Balls and A Flag from the first round of the playoffs
-The Top 3 finalists for the Walter Payton Award and Buck Buchanan Award
-Most intriguing second-round matchups
You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Spreaker.
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3 Game Balls and a Flag
Each week of the 2024 FCS football season, the FCS Football Talk podcast will award three game balls and a flag from the previous weekend’s action.
The game balls are awarded to three standout teams or individual players, while the flag is thrown after a disappointing performance or questionable coaching decision.
Below are the three game balls and a flag from the first round of the FCS playoffs.
Zach’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: Lehigh
- Lehigh upset No. 9 Richmond, 20-16, in the first round of the FCS Playoffs
- It was the first postseason win for the program since 2011, and the seventh FCS Playoff win in school history
- Quarterback Hayden Johnson found wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel with 6:21 remaining for the game-winning touchdown
- Jamiel led the Hawks with ten receptions for 137 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown
- Lehigh’s defense held Richmond to one touchdown in four red zone attempts and 1-of-3 on fourth down attempts
- Jackson Dowd: 7 total tackles, 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble, & 2 PBUs
- Game Ball: Illinois State
- No. 12 Illinois State defeated SEMO for the program’s first FCS Playoff win since 2019
- Illinois State’s defense allowed over 600 yards of total offense but forced eight turnovers, which led to 28 points for the Redbirds
- Jake Anderson and Keondre Jackson both recorded defensive touchdowns, while Jackson led the Redbirds with two interceptions
- Jalan Gaines: 4 total tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, & 1 forced fumble
- Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse had an outstanding performance, completing 24-of-36 attempts for 277 passing yards and two passing touchdowns
- Wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz: 7 receptions for 136 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown
- Game Ball: FCS Playoff Committee
- For the first season, the FCS Playoff committee seeded 16 teams instead of the Top 8 seeds
- This change has led to more unique matchups in the first two rounds while creating better, more competitive matchups in the postseason
- All but two first-round games were competitive until the fourth quarter, including multiple games that were not decided until the final possessions
- This has been one of the best changes for the FCS Playoff format, highlighting the efforts of the NCAA and playoff committee to improve the postseason
- Flag: Referees In Villanova-Eastern Kentucky Game
- No. 11 Villanova escaped with the 22-17 win over Eastern Kentucky, scoring 13 unanswered points in the second half
- The officials made one of the biggest mistakes of the season in 3rd quarter, which quickly became one of the worst calls of the season
- Eastern Kentucky led Villanova 17-16 late in the third quarter when quarterback Connor Watkins fumbled the ball, which was returned for a defensive touchdown by the Colonels
- After a lengthy review, the officials overturned the call, taking a touchdown away from Eastern Kentucky despite the ball clearly being fumbled by Watkins
- Instead of a 24-16 EKU lead, Villanova made a field goal to take the 19-16 lead and later sealed the game with another field goal
- Despite the missed call, Eastern Kentucky had plenty of chances to win the game, but the referees missed a massive call that could have shifted the momentum in the game
Sam’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: UT Martin
- UT Martin beat #16 New Hampshire 41-10
- UT Martin outgained UNH 482-124 in total yards (246-71 in passing, 236-53 in rushing)
- Kinkead Dent threw for 246 yards
- Game Ball: Junior Bergen
- #14 Montana beat Tennessee State 41-27
- Junior Bergen had two punt return touchdowns in the second half of 52 yards and 54 yards
- The first one gave Montana a 27-6 lead, and after two Tennessee State touchdowns, his second extended Montana’s lead to 34-20
- Bergen tied the FCS career record for punt return touchdowns with eight. He has five special teams scores in the last three home playoff games
- Game Ball: Abilene Christian
- #15 Abilene Christian beat Northern Arizona 24-0
- Backup QB Carson Haggard threw for 244 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Standout Maverick McIvor is expected to return this week
- Sam Hicks rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown
- ACU’s defense held NAU to 29 rushing yards on 24 attempts
- Flag: CAA
- The CAA got 4 teams into the playoffs, all seeded 9-16. The conference went 2-2 in the first round
- #9 Richmond lost 20-16 to Lehigh, and #16 New Hampshire lost 41-10 to UT Martin
- #10 Rhode Island squeaked by partial-scholarship CCSU, winning 21-17
- #11 Villanova’s 22-17 win over EKU was marred by controversial officiating calls
- The CAA’s size and unbalanced scheduling were called out all year by FCS followers, and the league didn’t do its reputation any favors with first-round performances
