Welcome to the FCS Football Talk podcast.
On this episode, Sam Herder and Zach McKinnell discuss:
-Big-picture outlook of NDSU beating SDSU and how it shapes the national title picture
-Week 8 Three Game Balls and A Flag
-How far should voters have dropped Villanova and Mercer after upset losses in Week 8?
-Is Tommy Mellott a dark horse pick for the Walter Payton Award?
-Week 9 previews: No. 24 WCU at No. 14 Mercer and No. 4 USD at No. 3 SDSU
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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 8.
Zach’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: Jackson State
- Jackson State defeated No. 25 Florida A&M in the biggest SWAC matchup of the season
- The Tigers take control of the SWAC East, moving to 3-0 in conference play
- The Tigers leaned on the rushing attack, posting 245 rushing yards and three touchdowns
- RB Irv Mulligan: 18 carries for 139 rushing yards and one touchdown
- Jackson State turned the football over four times, but Florida A&M failed to capitalize with only seven points off those mistakes
- Jacobian Morgan: 15-of-25 for 155 passing yards, 56 rushing yards, and one interception
- After allowing 21 points in the first half, the Tigers suffocated the Rattlers and held the offense scoreless in the second half
- The Tigers held the Rattlers to 63 rushing yards on 26 carries
- Florida A&M only averaged 2.4 yards per carry
- Jeremiah Williams led the Tigers with nine total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss
- Phillip Webb scored a 32-yard defensive touchdown with 3:32 remaining to give the Tigers their first lead in the second half
- Game Ball: Southeastern Louisiana
- Southeastern Louisiana extends their winning streak to three games with a victory over Stephen F. Austin
- The Lions entered conference play 1-4 overall but have won their first three Southland games
- Red zone efficiency was the key for the Lions, scoring touchdowns on 3-of-4 red zone attempts
- Eli Sawyer: 24-of-35 attempts for 234 passing yards & 2 total TDs
- Sawyer connected with wide receiver Darius Lewis for the game-winning touchdown with two seconds remaining
- Lewis led the Lions with 11 receptions for 96 receiving yards and one touchdown
- Defensively, the Lions held Stephen F. Austin to three field goals inside the red zone
- Warren Peeples: 2 TFLs, 2 sacks
- KK Reno led the Lions with 14 total tackles and one pass breakup
- Game Ball: Rhode Island
- No. 16 Rhode Island defeated No. 24 New Hampshire in a ranked CAA matchup
- It is their first win over a ranked opponent this season as the Rams remain undefeated against FCS competition
- Rhode Island’s defense held the Wildcats to only 235 total yards and 3.5 yards per play
- The Rams recorded 12 tackles for loss and four sacks
- New Hampshire finished the game with 20 rushing yards and averaged less than 1.0 yards per carry
- Devin Hightower: 8 total tackles, 3 TFLs
- Running back Malik Grant led the Rams with 127 rushing yards on 25 carries
- Wide receiver Marquis Buchanan: 4 receptions for 62 receiving yards and one touchdown
- Flag: Mercer
- No. 7 Mercer collapsed against Samford in a shocking upset loss
- The Bears allowed 28 points in the first seven minutes of the game after only allowing 46 points in their first six games
- Mercer’s offense struggled early, only posting 83 total yards in the first half
- The rushing attack was limited to 39 yards and 1.1 yards per carry
- Five turnovers, which led to 28 points for the Bulldogs
- Two defensive touchdowns in the 4th quarter helped Samford seal the game
- The Bears allowed 42 points in the first half but held Samford’s offense scoreless in the second half
- Safety Myles Redding: 8 total tackles, 2 INTs
- Mercer’s front seven held the Bulldogs to only 68 rushing yards and 2.1 yards per carry
Sam’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: NDSU’s defense
- NDSU beats SDSU 13-9 in a Top 2 matchup
- SDSU was averaging 39 points per game and 245.2 rushing yards per game
- NDSU held the Jacks out of the red zone all game
- SDSU outgained NDSU 333-275 in total yards and 215-112 in rushing, but most of that was from Chase Mason’s 66-yard touchdown run while the Jacks had just 118 passing yards on 30 attempts
- NDSU was already without All-American safety Cole Wisniewski, All-American defensive end Dylan Hendricks, and starting middle linebacker Nick Kubitz entering this game
- The Bison also lost starting safety Sam Jung and starting outside linebacker Oscar Benson during Saturday’s game
- Game Ball: Western Carolina QB Cole Gonzales
- In a 52-20 win over Furman, Gonzales went 35/55 for 620 yards and 5 TDs
- He broke the SoCon single-game record for passing yards
- Samford’s Liam Welch passed for 582 yards against ETSU in 2021
- In the last 5 games, Gonzales has thrown for 254 yards, 340, 257, 294, and 620 yards
- Game Ball: Richmond
- No. 18 Richmond beats Delaware 28-9
- It was Delaware’s first loss of the season
- Delaware would have been ranked, but it is not eligible to be voted on in the polls as it transitions to the FBS
- Delaware totaled just 36 rushing yards on 22 attempts as Richmond racked up 4 sacks.
- Richmond QB Camden Coleman threw for 194 yards and 2 TDs
- Richmond is now 5-2 overall and 5-1 vs. the FCS, riding a 5-game winning streak after starting 0-2 with losses to Wofford and FBS Virginia
- Flag: Villanova
- No. 5 Villanova loses 35-7 to Maine
- It was Nova’s first loss to an FCS team, now 5-2 overall
- Maine is now 4-3 vs. the FCS
- Maine held a 28-0 lead on Nova early in the second quarter
- Nova rushed for just 35 yards on 28 attempts while Connor Watkins went 14/31 for 117 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INT
