It’s Friday, so that means FCS games are right around the corner.
As they’ll do every week, Brian McLaughlin and Sam Herder predict some scores. The two are turning this into a competition with the winner earning a to-be-determined prize in Frisco.
[divider]MORE FCS FOOTBALL:
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Overall W/L Records:
Brian: 45-19
Sam: 50-14
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Duquesne @ Sacred Heart
Brian: Duquesne 21-14
This is an interesting matchup. Don’t be fooled by SHU’s 3-3 record. It lost at a full-strength Maine team in August, beat two Patriot League teams, then fell to what seems to be a playoff-bound CCSU team and also to a strong Ivy League team (Penn). On the flip side is a tough Duq team that has a ton of talent back from a team that didn’t just beat Towson in the playoffs, it annihilated the Tigers. This should be a good one.
Sam: Duquesne 24-17
While I have CCSU as my NEC favorite right now, this game is still a big one in the standings. The race was a tight one last year between CCSU, Duquesne and Sacred Heart and I think it will be again. CCSU already owns a 28-3 win on Sacred Heart this season. Duquesne hasn’t performed well on the road in 2019, but I think the Dukes get it done Saturday. I like Duquesne’s balance on offense, and I believe it can have a big day through the air with the Pioneers allowing 287.5 passing yards per game.
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The Citadel @ No. 8 Furman
Brian: Furman 28-10
The Citadel is a dangerous team, but Furman is the best team in the FCS that doesn’t reside in the “Power 3” conferences. The Paladins are legit, just ask Virginia Tech and a Tennessee Vol winnin’ Georgia State team. Both games easily could have gone the other way and Furman would be 6-0 and ranked even higher than they are (which is still too low … voters, holding on line three).
Sam: Furman 41-28
The Citadel is still a dangerous team despite cooling off from some early-season momentum. On the other side, we’ll see if Furman can keep its red-hot play against Samford (a 58-24 win) rolling after a bye week. The Paladins are below-average stopping the run, ranking No. 71 with 174.3 rushing yards allowed per game. The Citadel’s option attack can take advantage of that with some ball control. But I like Furman’s ability to hit big plays and try to get the Bulldogs into a shootout style of game, which favors the Paladins. Furman improves to 4-0 at home.
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No. 22 New Hampshire @ No. 24 Delaware
Brian: UNH 28-27
Do we really have to pick this CAA battle? If the past few weeks have been any kind of indication, we should all avoid picking this CAA game. UNH is 3-0 in the league but opened the year with a loss to Holy Cross. Delaware looked like it was in complete rebuilding mode if you watch the Blue Hens’ pro day in the spring and realized what this talented program was losing, yet UD has been a factor so far. I’ll go with the 3-0 CAA team so far, but honestly? I don’t know what the hell is going to happen here.
Sam: UNH 21-10
The quarterback situation is dicey as Nolan Henderson left last week’s game with concussion symptoms after taking a big hit. He’s questionable for Saturday. Pat Kehoe, who started last year and was the starter at the beginning of this season, entered and his struggles continued as the Blue Hens suffered an ugly 42-7 loss to Elon just as they were getting more love in the Top 25 polls. UNH is coming in with opposite momentum. The Wildcats have won four straight, beating No. 22 Stony Brook last week, and have had solid play from true freshman QB Max Brosmer. I like the Wildcats here as I just don’t see Delaware being able to put up enough points on a New Hampshire defense allowing 16.2 points per game.
RELATED: New Hampshire, Delaware Collide In Top 25 Battle
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No. 9 Nicholls @ Sam Houston State
Brian: Nicholls 35-30
Why do I get the feeling this is a ‘gotcha’ game for Nicholls? Two years ago, the Colonels were an eventual playoff team and were demolished at Sam Houston State. Nicholls, the preseason favorite when the Southland Conference met in Houston in July, needs to be definitive again here like it was when it hosted another potential playoff team — Central Arkansas. This one is a signature-win type of game, and if this senior-leader laden Nicholls team wants to push back the first or second-round kind of showing, this group has to prove it can go on the road in a game like this and get a result against a proven program. This one is big for both programs.
Sam: Nicholls 28-24
This is a tricky game for Nicholls. In fact, 5Dimes has SHSU as a 3-point favorite. It’s hard to figure out the Bearkats and what kind of performance you’ll see from them. And Nicholls 4-0 against FCS opponents, but some of the wins were a bit underwhelming. Here’s why I like the Colonels to win on the road: They played their best football against then-No. 11 Central Arkansas. I think this is the type of team that raises its level of play in big games, and Nicholls knows this is a biggie.
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SEMO @ No. 16 Jacksonville State
Brian: JSU 37-30
To me, home-field advantage is the tiebreaker in this one. The Gamecocks are 4-0 at home. The loss to SEMO last year nearly cost JSU its five-year run of winning the Ohio Valley Conference. If either of these two teams want to keep playoff hopes alive, especially with Austin Peay having already beaten both and UT Martin sitting at 3-0? Really, both these teams need to get with it starting this weekend.
Sam: SEMO 31-27
The Gamecocks need a win here to keep their playoff hopes alive. The same can be said for SEMO as Austin Peay handed them both losses. It’s safe to say JSU has disappointed this season, not only in the losses but also in narrow wins against inferior teams talent-wise. But hey, the Gamecocks are still 5-2 and if this team can hit 9-10 wins, it wouldn’t surprise me if they get into the playoffs even as an at-large team. I don’t know if the issues with this team can be solved in one week, though. SEMO is a quality team that I believe will come in with a good game plan.
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South Dakota @ N. 14 Northern Iowa
Brian: UNI 28-14
South Dakota has turned out to be one of those interesting programs to talk about. Throw out the Oklahoma loss because it won’t count, and its loss to Montana doesn’t look as bad now and the head-scratcher to Houston Baptist? Well, the Huskies have the best team in school history … and the Coyotes have now won three in a row. Could this team rebound massively behind QB Austin Simmons and nab one of those last playoff berths as an 8-4 or 7-5 type MVFC team? Maybe. The opportunity is ahead of the ‘Yotes, but it looks daunting, starting with this trip to Cedar Falls.
Sam: UNI 34-20
We’ll see if UNI is fired up after a tough 46-14 loss at NDSU, or if the Panthers went through the motions this week in practice with team morale down. USD is no team to take lightly. The Coyotes are on a three-game winning streak and have outscored those opponents 97-22. None of those teams will be nearly as strong as UNI, though. The Panthers are used to being in this position, which is having a must-win game in October. UNI can improve to 4-3, or drop to 3-4 and feel the pressure to win out the rest of the season for a playoff bid. I like UNI’s matchup on the defensive line vs. USD’s o-line, which should be enough to slow down QB Austin Simmons.
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No. 10 North Carolina A&T @ Florida A&M
*Game has been pushed to Sunday
Brian: FAMU 28-24
Even with Tropical Storm Nestor lurking out in the Gulf of Mexico, the buzz about this game is noticeable. Last year? The Rattlers from Tallahassee went up to Greensboro and won by one point. Now the game is at Bragg Stadium unless of course, Mother Nature disagrees (which it might). If this game follows through? I have this feeling that the recent MEAC juggernaut that has existed for several years is going to go down. This is Florida A&M’s “bowl game” since the Rattlers have self-imposed postseason sanctions this year.
Sam: NC A&T 35-28
The Aggies have once again reloaded after key departures from last year’s Celebration Bowl championship team. FAMU is hot, though, winners of five straight games. I think the Rattlers can take advantage of NC A&T’s secondary with Ryan Stanley and Co. averaging 317.8 yards passing per game. But FAMU has narrowly edged some teams during this winning streak. The Aggies, meanwhile, have been steamrolling opponents lately.
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No. 5 Montana @ No. 15 Sacramento State
Brian: Montana 45-42
Ahhhhhh yes, the FCS game of the week. Neither of these teams has lost to an FCS team. Sac State gave Arizona State and Fresno State absolute fits into the fourth quarter. Montana was shut down by Oregon, but hey, NIKE and the national FBS rankings are on the side of the Ducks. This should be a classic matchup on Saturday night, the latest game of the weekend with a 9 p.m. ET kickoff, 6 p.m. local. Both teams have their sights on Top 8 seeds. Both of these teams look playoff-bound, but there’s something about Dalton Sneed and the Griz that I think gets the edge here, but man oh man … what Sac State is doing is incredible.
Sam: Montana 42-35
This should be highly-entertaining between two high-powered offenses and two much-improved defenses. Sac State is coming off of an emotional win at Montana State while Montana had a bye week. It’ll be interesting to see if the Griz come out sluggish, or well-rested and prepared in their execution. I give the edge to Montana here. The passing attack is just so lethal and while the Hornets have made huge improvements on defense, their pass defense isn’t great and allows 277.2 yards through the air a game. The Grizzlies keep it rolling.
RELATED: Sac State’s Defensive Improvement Is Key In Team’s Turnaround
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NEXT: Top 15 Favorites To Win The National Title After Week 7
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