Welcome to the FCS Football Talk podcast.
On this episode, Sam Herder and Zach McKinnell discuss:
-Week 11 Three Game Balls and A Flag
-A conference-by-conference look at teams still in contention for a Top 8 FCS playoff seed
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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 Week 11.
Zach’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: Montana State’s Rushing Attack
- No. 2 Montana State defeated Sacramento State 49-7, improving to 10-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big Sky
- The Bobcats finished the game with 511 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, and averaged over 10.0 yards per carry
- Running back Adam Jones led the Bobcats with 159 rushing yards on only five carries (31.8 YPC), including a 57-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter
- Running back Scottre Humphrey contributed 129 rushing yards, while Julius Davis returned from injury with two rushing touchdowns
- Following this weekend’s performance, Montana State leads the nation with 333 rushing yards per game and 7.19 yards per carry
- Game Ball: Eastern Kentucky
- Eastern Kentucky defeated No. 16 Central Arkansas 31-24, earning back-to-back ranked victories after defeating Tarleton State last weekend
- Running back Joshua Carter scored the game-winning touchdown with 2:24 remaining, finishing the game with 61 rushing yards
- Tight end Caleb Schlachter returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the third quarter, while Jalen Montgomery set up an early scoring drive with a 54-yard punt return
- Running back Brayden Latham: 11 carries for 73 rushing yards and one touchdown
- Linebacker Gabe Stephens led the Colonels with two tackles for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble
- Game Ball: Lindenwood
- Lindenwood upset No. 6 SEMO 24-12, pulling off the first win over a Top 10 opponent at the FCS level
- The Lions suffocated the SEMO offense, holding the Redhawks to 234 total yards and eight first downs
- Lindenwood dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for over 40 minutes of the game
- SEMO’s offense did not have a drive that lasted over 3 minutes, including six drives that were less than one minute due to going 2-for-12 on third downs
- Wide receiver Jeff Caldwell led the Lions with six receptions for 99 receiving yards and one touchdown
- The Lions controlled the game with their rushing attack, led by Steve Hall and Cortezz Jones with 133 combined rushing yards
- Flag: Central Arkansas
- No. 16 Central Arkansas suffered an upset loss to Eastern Kentucky
- The Bears fall to 6-4 (3-3 UAC) and will need to win their final two games against Southern Utah and Tarleton State to receive an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs
- Central Arkansas has lost three of their past five games, including back-to-back losses to Utah Tech and Eastern Kentucky
- Quarterback Will McElvain left the game with an injury, creating a massive question mark at the position over the next two games
- Wide receiver Trejan Bridges: 8 receptions for 143 receiving yards and two touchdowns
- Demetrius Charles: 9 total tackles, 2.0 TFLs, one sack
Sam’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: UC Davis
- No. 4 UC Davis goes to No. 7 Montana and gets a 30-14 win
- UC Davis is now 9-1 overall and 9-0 vs. the FCS with two ranked wins
- Montana took a 14-13 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Aggies scored 17 unanswered points
- Miles Hastings went 28/38 for 227 yards and three touchdowns and Lan Larison rushed for nearly 100 yards
- Montana rushed for only 77 yards on 27 attempts while throwing two interceptions
- David Meyer totaled 10 tackles, and Rex Connors had 8 tackles, 1 interception, and 2 pass breakups
- Game Ball: ETSU
- ETSU defeated No. 22 Western Carolina 24-21 to keep its playoff hopes alive. Both teams were 5-4 entering the matchup
- ETSU held a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, and then WCU took a 21-17 lead late in the third. The Bucs punched in the game-winning score with 5:55 left on a Devontae Houston 14-yard touchdown run
- ETSU is now 6-4 with games remaining vs. Furman and at VMI
- Game Ball: South Dakota State
- No. 3 SDSU got its third ranked win of the season by winning at No. 21 North Dakota 38-7
- The Jackrabbits are now 8-2 overall and 7-1 vs. the FCS
- An early 7-0 UND lead was quickly erased as SDSU took a 31-7 lead into halftime
- SDSU’s passing attack continues to gain more traction as Mark Gronowski went 11/19 for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns, all 3 to Griffin Wilde
- The return of All-American safety Tucker Large and his coverage skills have been huge for an already-elite SDSU defense
- Flag: SEMO
- No. 6 SEMO loses to Lindenwood 24-12
- It was SEMO’s first FCS loss of the season
- Lindenwood was 4-6 entering the game
- This season, SEMO QB Paxton DeLaurent has thrown for 2,912 yards, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. But he has thrown five picks in the last four games
