With two weeks of FCS football left in the regular season, we're getting closer to the defining hours of the Walter Payton award.
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COMPARISON TOOL: Compare FCS Players | Compare FCS Teams
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Before we take a look at some of the top candidates, here's a quick word on Walter Payton:
During his prolific career as a professional in the 70s and 80s, Payton earned the nickname “Sweetness” and was named a First-Team All-Pro running back seven different times. He has 16,726 career NFL rushing yards and ran for over 1,200 yards in 10 different seasons. He also won a Super Bowl ring with the ‘85 Bears and was Associated Press NFL MVP for the 1977 season.
Payton was the fourth-overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft after racking up 3,600 rushing yards at Jackson State University. In addition to the eponymous award handed out by STATS FCS, his legacy also includes the NFL Man of the Year award.
Here's a look at the top four players who have stood out as potential Walter Payton Award winners, as well as a spotlight performance on a player who is making some noise:
RELATED: FCS Mailbag: NDSU Still a Top 2 Seed, JMU's Slow Starts, Ivy League's Strength
PLAYOFF BUBBLE: Who's In? | Who's Out?
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4. RB Josh Mack, Maine
Stats: 191 carries for 1,152 yards, 6.0 ypc; 26 catches for 180 yards; 6 rushing TDs
Despite posting 179 rushing yards in a loss to Delaware on Saturday, Mack fell out of the FCS lead for rushing yards after a monstrous day from a Pioneer League freshman. More on that later…
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3. QB Kyle Lauletta, Richmond
Stats: 241-for-370 (65.1%), 3,212 passing yards; 26 TDs/9 INTs
Lauletta's 259 yards in a road win at Villanova pushed him over 3,000 yards on the season, making him the 10th player in the history of FCS football to pass for 3,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.
Lauletta still has work to do if he wants to move up these rankings. A quick way to gain ground it might be this Saturday at No. 1 James Madison, which leads the nation in scoring defense, passing yards allowed and defensive pass efficiency.
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2. WR Keelan Doss, UC-Davis
Stats: 91 catches for 1,233 receiving yards; 7 Receiving TDs
Saturday was another casual day at the office for Doss, who hauled in 11 catches for a game-high 112 receiving yards in the Aggies' 56-17 win at Idaho State. UCD's offense is really humming along, thanks to Doss — 56 points is a program record, at least since the Agg's joined the Big Sky in 2012.
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1. QB Chris Streveler, South Dakota
Stats: 201-for-304 (66.1%), 2,718 passing yards; 112 rushes for 477 yards (4.3 ypc); 21 Passing TDs/8 Rushing TDs/4 INTs
South Dakota's 34-29 loss at Northern Iowa wasn't exactly Streveler's finest hour. The redshirt senior threw a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions — one of which was in the red zone, the other of which was returned for a touchdown — that absolutely did not help South Dakota's bid for a playoff seed.
With that being said, Streveler still passed for 401 yards in a close road loss to a top-25 team. He's got enough breathing room for some mistakes.
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Spotlight Performance of the Week:
QB Daniel Smith, Campbell
Stats: 445 Total Yards (289 Rushing, 156 Passing), 5 Total TDs in 42-29 win at Davison.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Smith posted a crazy stat line for Campbell, setting numerous school records in the process. Some of those records: most rushing yards in a single game, most total touchdowns in a single game and most rushing yards in a season.
Smith also passed Mack on the FCS rushing yards chart and currently leads the nation with 1,188 yards, though Mack is likely to end the season with the rushing title, since Maine has one more game remaining on the schedule than Campbell.
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NEXT: Projecting the FCS Playoff Field After Week 10
