EA EA AE
NCAA DIVISION I FCS ®
EVERY DOWN. EVERY DAY.
FCSINSIDER.COM
NCAA INFO: ncaa.com/fcs • STATS: ncaa.com/stats/football/fcs
FCS HEADLINES SECOND-ROUND GAMES (Saturday, Dec. 2) Stony Brook at #1 James Madison at Harrisonburg, Va, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) Weber State at #8 Southern Utah at Cedar City, Utah, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) UNI at #5 South Dakota State at Brookings, SD, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) New Hampshire at #4 Central Arkansas (10-1) at Conway, Ark., 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) Kennesaw State at #3 Jacksonville State (10-1) at Jacksonville, Ala., 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) South Dakota at #6 Sam Houston State (10-1) at Huntsville, Texas, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) Furman at #7 Wofford (9-2) at Spartanburg, South Carolina, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) San Diego at #2 North Dakota State (10-1) at Fargo, ND, 3:30 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
AA E
FACES of the FCS
Grambling vs. Alcorn State - Toyota SWAC Football Championship, 4:30 p.m. (ET) (ESPNU) u Four matchups this weekend will feature intraconference games. Weber State faces Southern Utah (Big Sky). SUU won the regular-season meeting. James Madison hosts Stony Brook (CAA). The two did not face one another in the regular season. Wofford hosts Furman (SoCon) - the first time they’ve faced one another in the post-season. Wofford won the regular-season meeting. And UNI faces South Dakota State (MVFC) -- UNI won the regular-season matchup. u FCS schools have 9 wins this season vs. FBS programs. The FCS had 10 wins against FBS teams last year, one more than 2015, and tied for the fourth-most in a single season in NCAA history. The FCS set a record in 2013 with 16 wins against FBS schools. u More than two full NFL rosters could be filled with current FCS players in the National Football League (130). There are 36 inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who represent current FCS institutions, including recent inductee Kurt Warner (2017, Northern Iowa).
QB Carson Wentz leads the NFL with 28 TD passes (against just 5 picks). At 10-1 the Eagles have the best record in the NFL. Wentz (North Dakota State) was the FCS title game MVP in both 2014 and 2015.
BIG SKY -- This weekend finds Weber State at Southern Utah in a battle of the Big Sky Co-Champions. Weber State defeated Western Illinois, 21-19, last weekend at home to advance to the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Southern Utah had a bye last week, as Saturday will mark its first playoff game appearance in 2017. The two teams played each other earlier in the season, with Southern Utah winning the matchup, 32-16, in Ogden. The Thunderbirds and Wildcats are the only two Big Sky teams left competing in the playoffs. With Weber State and Southern Utah matched up, the Big Sky Conference is guaranteed to have a team in the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals. It will be the first time since 2012 that a Big Sky team other than Eastern Washington will advance to the quarterfinals. The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will face the winner of No. 1 overall seed James Madison versus Stony Brook. The Wildcats had a Big Sky high 16 players named to the All-Conference team, along with the only two unanimous First Team selections and the Defensive Player of the Year. Southern Utah was next with 12 All-Conference selections, while it had the Big Sky Coach of the Year. BIG SOUTH -- Kennesaw State defeated Samford, 28-17, in its FCS Playoff debut last week to become the fourth different Big South member to win its first-ever playoff game. The Owls join Stony Brook (2011), Liberty (2014) and Charleston Southern (2015) in the club, and KSU’s victory pushes the Big South into the second round of the postseason for the eighth time among the league’s 13th alltime playoff appearances. The Big South is now 9-12 in the postseason, and has advanced in six of the last seven years. Kennesaw State QB CHANDLER BURKS needs just 16 rushing yards to become the first player in Big South history with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 passing yards in the same season. He ranks third in the conference with 984 yards rushing -- 78 shy of becoming the second QB to lead the league in rushing. He has passed for 1,061 yards in 2017, and has been responsible for 24 scores this year (16 rush, 8 pass). The Big South is 3-4 all-time in the second round of the FCS Playoffs, and is seeking its fourth all-time berth in the quarterfinals and first since 2015. Of the four second round defeats, three have been by one possession. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State is facing Jacksonville State in the second round this Saturday, the conference’s second-ever postseason match-up against the Gamecocks as well as second against an OVC member at the same time. Kennesaw State has won 11 games in a season for the first time, and marks just the third different 11-win season in Big South history -- and one victory shy of matching the league’s single-season win record of 12 (Coastal Carolina in 2013 and 2014). Kennesaw State has won a program-record 11 consecutive games, which is tied for the longest single-season win streak in Big South history. The record was first set by Coastal Carolina in 2014. KSU’s string is tied for the second-longest overall win streak in league annals. That record is 14 games, established by Charleston Southern from 2005-06.
CAA FOOTBALL -- Three teams from CAA Football are among the final 16 as the second round of the FCS playoffs kicks off on Saturday. Top-seeded and defending national champion James Madison hosts fellow CAA member Stony Brook, while New Hampshire travels to Southland champ and #4 seeded Central Arkansas. The Dukes (8-0) and Seawolves (7-1) finished first and second in the CAA race, but didn’t face each other during the regular season and haven’t met since 2015. UNH will be meeting Central Arkansas for the first time. CAA Football’s three teams in the final 16 is second only to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which has four teams left. CAA Football teams went 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA FCS playoffs last Saturday. Stony Brook, which is making its first playoff appearance since 2012, rolled past Patriot League champ Lehigh, 59-29. The Seawolves piled up a season-high 622 yards of total offense in the win. New Hampshire, which is in the FCS playoffs for the 14th consecutive year, blanked Northeast Conference champ Central Connecticut, 14-0. It was the Wildcats’ first shutout since 2010. Elon, which made its first playoff appearance since 2009, was edged 28-27 by Furman despite 101 yards rushing and 3 TD’s from De’Sean McNair. Three CAA teams are in the midst of landmark seasons. James Madison’s 11-0 start is the best in program history. Stony Brook’s 10 overall victories tied a school record set in 2012 and its seven CAA wins are the most since joining the conference in 2013. Elon’s 8-4 record was its best since 2009 and included an eight-game win streak that was the longest since 1980. The Phoenix’s six CAA wins were more than they achieved in the past three years combined as a league member (4-20). IVY LEAGUE -- Five #IvyFootball standouts will travel to New York City for the Asa S. Bushnell Cup Presentation, where the Ivy League will announce its Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. Brown senior defensive end Richard Jarvis (Watertown, Mass.), Penn junior linebacker Nick Miller (New Market, Md.) and Yale senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger (Summit, N.J.) are the finalists for Defensive Player of the Year, while Quakers senior wide receiver Justin Watson (Bridgeville, Pa.) and Princeton senior quarterback Chad Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) are the Offensive Player of the Year finalists. All five players were named first-team All-Ivy, with unanimous honors for Jarvis, Oplinger, Watson and Kanoff. It marks the first time since the Bushnell Cup expanded to Offensive and Defensive honors that five finalists will attend the presentation. The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) and the Ivy League are partnering for the eighth consecutive year to co-host the press conference and reception, presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses®, to bestow the Asa S. Bushnell Cup to the League’s Football Players of the Year. Part of the festivities surrounding the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City, the event will take place Monday, Dec. 4, at 12:30 p.m. ET in the Mercury Ballroom of the New York Hilton Midtown, the site of the NFF gala on Dec. 5. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses returns for a fourth consecutive year as the presenting sponsor of the event. The presentation will be carried live on The Ivy League Network (ILN) at IvyLeague.tv. MEAC -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference will be well-represented with seven finalists on the various FCS Awards Ballots. North Carolina A&T State University led the way in this year’s All-MEAC voting as the Aggies had 12 student-athletes named to the first team. The team is voted on by the MEAC’s head football coaches and sports information directors. North Carolina A&T State’s Brandon Parker made history as the first player to be named MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year for three consecutive seasons. Howard University freshman Caylin Newton was tabbed as the league’s Freshman of the Year while North Carolina A&T State’s Rod Broadway was selected as Coach of the Year. North Carolina A&T will represent the conference in the 2017 Celebration Bowl to be played noon in Atlanta on Dec. 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In a partnership with the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame, the league’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year will be announced as part of the festivities surrounding the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Hilton Midtown in New York City. The event will be televised live on ESPN3 at 9 a.m. MISSOURI VALLEY -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference has recorded a 46-20 record since 2010 in the playoffs -better than any other league. Over the last three-plus years the MVFC has a 27-13 record in the playoffs, which includes six intraconference games, meaning the league is 21-7 vs. the rest. For the sixth time in league history, two MVFC teams are seeded in the Top 8. North Dakota State (2) and South Dakota State (5) are the league’s seeded teams this year. The last time the league had those two positions (2/5) -- the teams met one another in the title game (2014). With South Dakota’s first-ever trip to the FCS playoffs, every Missouri Valley team (past and current member) has qualified for the FCS playoffs. The MVFC is 20-6 against FCS schools this year, which includes three road losses to ranked FCS teams, one of which (Liberty) is transitioning to FBS. The MVFC is 4-3 against non-league FCS ranked teams. NORTHEAST -- The Central Connecticut football team’s eight-game winning streak came to an end on the road in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday as the Blue Devils fell 14-0 to #21 New Hampshire. The loss gives the Blue Devils a final record of 8-4 on the season, including a perfect 6-0 Northeast Conference record and league championship. The Blue Devils season was highlighted with their first NEC title since 2010 and fifth overall. The Northeast Conference unveiled the names of the five individual awards recipients along with two 27-member All-NEC Teams via Twitter on Wednesday, November 22. All honorees were selected through a vote of the conference’s seven head coaches. Duquesne saw a league-high 12 athletes earn all-NEC status. Eight Dukes earned a spot on the All-NEC First Team, including five on the offensive side of the ball. Central Connecticut was second to Duquesne with 11 all-conference selections while six Blue Devils earned first team status. All seven NEC teams had at least two players receive all-conference recognition.
OHIO VALLEY -- Jacksonville State, who won its fourth-straight OVC Championship, is appearing in its fifth-straight and eighth overall Division I playoff this season. The Gamecocks, who advanced to the 2015 National Championship game, have won 32-straight OVC games and 41-straight regular season contests against non-FBS opponents. The team enters the playoffs ranked No. 2 in total defense (230.5 yards/game). Despite being the first team out of the 24-team FCS Playoff field, Austin Peay, who entered the year having lost 47 of its previous 48 games, finished the season 8-4 overall and 7-1 in the OVC. The eight wins tied the school’s all-time record while the seven Conference wins are the most in program history. The Govs improved from 120th nationally in total defense in 2016 to 16th this season. PATRIOT -- Lehigh junior running back Dom Bragalone – the 2017 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year – rushed for 75 yards on 17 carries in the playoff contest at Stony Brook, and caught two passes for 40 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Bragalone moved to 10th on the Patriot League career rushing list, with 3,567 yards. Lehigh and Colgate each won their final game of the regular-season to capture a share of the 2017 Patriot League Championship, with identical 5-1 League records. This is the fifth-time in League history that co-champions have been crowned, with the last time coming in 2006 when Lafayette and Lehigh split the title. Lehigh earned the Patriot League’s automatic berth in the FCS Playoffs this season, due to a, 41-38, head-to-head victory over Colgate.
®
PFL -- San Diego junior quarterback Anthony Lawrence and senior defensive lineman Jonathan Petersen were named the Pioneer Football League’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, leading the league’s 2017 Major Award recipients, presented Monday. Lawrence, the league’s 2015 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, becomes the second-straight San Diego student-athlete to earn the league’s top offensive honor. Petersen was a unanimous pick as the league’s top defensive standout.
Dayton return specialist Christian Searles was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Year. In addition, Valparaiso head coach Dave Cecchini was selected as the league’s Coach of the Year. The league also presented its top freshman awards, Monday. Campbell quarterback Daniel Smith was tabbed the PFL Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and Stetson defensive back J.J. Henderson nabbed the league’s Freshman Defensive Player of the Year. The USD Toreros knocked off the No. 25 ranked NAU Lumberjacks 41-10 in first round action of the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs. It is USD’s 9th straight win and improves their season record to 10-2. It also marks the second straight season the Toreros won their first round playoff match-up. For the second straight year USD will head to Fargo, North Dakota to take on the No. 2 seed North Dakota State Bison. SOUTHERN -- The Southern Conference earned three bids to the NCAA Division I Football Championship, with league champion and automatic qualifier Wofford claiming the No. 7 national seed and a first-round bye. The SoCon put multiple teams in the field for the third-straight season and the 30th time in the last 36 years. Furman’s Donovan Perryman blocked what would have been the game-tying extra point in the fourth quarter and the Paladins rolled up 408 yards of total offense in their win over Elon. Furman advanced to face Wofford in the second round this Saturday. The SoCon rivals opened the season against one another, with the Terriers escaping with a 24-23 win, intercepting a 2-point conversion attempt in the final minute of play to secure the win. Wofford and Furman have met 91 times, with the first meeting coming in 1889, but the sides have never faced off in the postseason. SoCon teams have met each other in the FCS playoffs on nine occasions, with the winner going on to play in the title game six of those times, including national championship wins by Furman in 1988, Marshall in 1996 and Appalachian State in 2005. SoCon teams are 6-3 in the opening round of the playoffs since the current format was adopted in 2013. SOUTHLAND -- Nicholls dropped a heartbreaker to South Dakota at home in its first-round playoff matchup 38-31, fumbling the ball on the goal line with 27 seconds remaining on a game-tying drive. The Colonels ended the year with eight wins, the most for the program since the 1996 playoff team. They drop to 1-4 in their five playoff appearances and end the year with a 5-1 mark at home. Sam Houston State, New Hampshire, North Dakota State and South Dakota State are the only teams in the field to have made the FCS Playoffs each of the past seven seasons. The Bearkats are taking part in their 11th all-time FCS postseason and look to improve on a 14-6 playoff record. The Bearkats host South Dakota (8-4, 4-4 Missouri Valley) in the second round. Central Arkansas makes its second-straight FCS Playoff appearance against New Hampshire (8-4, 5-3 Colonial), which is making its 14th-straight. The two teams have never met. SWAC -- The 2017 Toyota SWAC Football Championship game, known as “Final Judgement” for being the final edition in the SWAC Football Championship game era, will be played on December 2, 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT and the game can be viewed on ESPNU. Grambling State faces Alcorn State. The Tigers and Braves met earlier this season with Grambling picking up a 41-14 on Oct. 21 in Grambling, La. Grambling State won the SWAC West title for the third consecutive season. The Tigers have won 10 straight after losing to Tulane to begin the season. Alcorn State University football head coach Fred McNair is among 18 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award which honors the FCS Coach of the Year. Under McNair, Alcorn will become the first team to ever play in four consecutive SWAC Championship games. He coached the Braves to a 5-2 league record this year. McNair is the only finalist from the SWAC.
EVERY DOWN. EVERY DAY.
FCSINSIDER.COM
NCAA INFO: ncaa.com/fcs • STATS: ncaa.com/stats/football/fcs
FCS HEADLINES SECOND-ROUND GAMES (Saturday, Dec. 2) Stony Brook at #1 James Madison at Harrisonburg, Va, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) Weber State at #8 Southern Utah at Cedar City, Utah, 8 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) UNI at #5 South Dakota State at Brookings, SD, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) New Hampshire at #4 Central Arkansas (10-1) at Conway, Ark., 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) Kennesaw State at #3 Jacksonville State (10-1) at Jacksonville, Ala., 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) South Dakota at #6 Sam Houston State (10-1) at Huntsville, Texas, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) Furman at #7 Wofford (9-2) at Spartanburg, South Carolina, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3) San Diego at #2 North Dakota State (10-1) at Fargo, ND, 3:30 p.m. (ET) (ESPN3)
AA E
FACES of the FCS
Grambling vs. Alcorn State - Toyota SWAC Football Championship, 4:30 p.m. (ET) (ESPNU) u Four matchups this weekend will feature intraconference games. Weber State faces Southern Utah (Big Sky). SUU won the regular-season meeting. James Madison hosts Stony Brook (CAA). The two did not face one another in the regular season. Wofford hosts Furman (SoCon) - the first time they’ve faced one another in the post-season. Wofford won the regular-season meeting. And UNI faces South Dakota State (MVFC) -- UNI won the regular-season matchup. u FCS schools have 9 wins this season vs. FBS programs. The FCS had 10 wins against FBS teams last year, one more than 2015, and tied for the fourth-most in a single season in NCAA history. The FCS set a record in 2013 with 16 wins against FBS schools. u More than two full NFL rosters could be filled with current FCS players in the National Football League (130). There are 36 inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who represent current FCS institutions, including recent inductee Kurt Warner (2017, Northern Iowa).
QB Carson Wentz leads the NFL with 28 TD passes (against just 5 picks). At 10-1 the Eagles have the best record in the NFL. Wentz (North Dakota State) was the FCS title game MVP in both 2014 and 2015.
BIG SKY -- This weekend finds Weber State at Southern Utah in a battle of the Big Sky Co-Champions. Weber State defeated Western Illinois, 21-19, last weekend at home to advance to the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Southern Utah had a bye last week, as Saturday will mark its first playoff game appearance in 2017. The two teams played each other earlier in the season, with Southern Utah winning the matchup, 32-16, in Ogden. The Thunderbirds and Wildcats are the only two Big Sky teams left competing in the playoffs. With Weber State and Southern Utah matched up, the Big Sky Conference is guaranteed to have a team in the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals. It will be the first time since 2012 that a Big Sky team other than Eastern Washington will advance to the quarterfinals. The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will face the winner of No. 1 overall seed James Madison versus Stony Brook. The Wildcats had a Big Sky high 16 players named to the All-Conference team, along with the only two unanimous First Team selections and the Defensive Player of the Year. Southern Utah was next with 12 All-Conference selections, while it had the Big Sky Coach of the Year. BIG SOUTH -- Kennesaw State defeated Samford, 28-17, in its FCS Playoff debut last week to become the fourth different Big South member to win its first-ever playoff game. The Owls join Stony Brook (2011), Liberty (2014) and Charleston Southern (2015) in the club, and KSU’s victory pushes the Big South into the second round of the postseason for the eighth time among the league’s 13th alltime playoff appearances. The Big South is now 9-12 in the postseason, and has advanced in six of the last seven years. Kennesaw State QB CHANDLER BURKS needs just 16 rushing yards to become the first player in Big South history with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 passing yards in the same season. He ranks third in the conference with 984 yards rushing -- 78 shy of becoming the second QB to lead the league in rushing. He has passed for 1,061 yards in 2017, and has been responsible for 24 scores this year (16 rush, 8 pass). The Big South is 3-4 all-time in the second round of the FCS Playoffs, and is seeking its fourth all-time berth in the quarterfinals and first since 2015. Of the four second round defeats, three have been by one possession. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State is facing Jacksonville State in the second round this Saturday, the conference’s second-ever postseason match-up against the Gamecocks as well as second against an OVC member at the same time. Kennesaw State has won 11 games in a season for the first time, and marks just the third different 11-win season in Big South history -- and one victory shy of matching the league’s single-season win record of 12 (Coastal Carolina in 2013 and 2014). Kennesaw State has won a program-record 11 consecutive games, which is tied for the longest single-season win streak in Big South history. The record was first set by Coastal Carolina in 2014. KSU’s string is tied for the second-longest overall win streak in league annals. That record is 14 games, established by Charleston Southern from 2005-06.
CAA FOOTBALL -- Three teams from CAA Football are among the final 16 as the second round of the FCS playoffs kicks off on Saturday. Top-seeded and defending national champion James Madison hosts fellow CAA member Stony Brook, while New Hampshire travels to Southland champ and #4 seeded Central Arkansas. The Dukes (8-0) and Seawolves (7-1) finished first and second in the CAA race, but didn’t face each other during the regular season and haven’t met since 2015. UNH will be meeting Central Arkansas for the first time. CAA Football’s three teams in the final 16 is second only to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which has four teams left. CAA Football teams went 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA FCS playoffs last Saturday. Stony Brook, which is making its first playoff appearance since 2012, rolled past Patriot League champ Lehigh, 59-29. The Seawolves piled up a season-high 622 yards of total offense in the win. New Hampshire, which is in the FCS playoffs for the 14th consecutive year, blanked Northeast Conference champ Central Connecticut, 14-0. It was the Wildcats’ first shutout since 2010. Elon, which made its first playoff appearance since 2009, was edged 28-27 by Furman despite 101 yards rushing and 3 TD’s from De’Sean McNair. Three CAA teams are in the midst of landmark seasons. James Madison’s 11-0 start is the best in program history. Stony Brook’s 10 overall victories tied a school record set in 2012 and its seven CAA wins are the most since joining the conference in 2013. Elon’s 8-4 record was its best since 2009 and included an eight-game win streak that was the longest since 1980. The Phoenix’s six CAA wins were more than they achieved in the past three years combined as a league member (4-20). IVY LEAGUE -- Five #IvyFootball standouts will travel to New York City for the Asa S. Bushnell Cup Presentation, where the Ivy League will announce its Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. Brown senior defensive end Richard Jarvis (Watertown, Mass.), Penn junior linebacker Nick Miller (New Market, Md.) and Yale senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger (Summit, N.J.) are the finalists for Defensive Player of the Year, while Quakers senior wide receiver Justin Watson (Bridgeville, Pa.) and Princeton senior quarterback Chad Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) are the Offensive Player of the Year finalists. All five players were named first-team All-Ivy, with unanimous honors for Jarvis, Oplinger, Watson and Kanoff. It marks the first time since the Bushnell Cup expanded to Offensive and Defensive honors that five finalists will attend the presentation. The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) and the Ivy League are partnering for the eighth consecutive year to co-host the press conference and reception, presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses®, to bestow the Asa S. Bushnell Cup to the League’s Football Players of the Year. Part of the festivities surrounding the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City, the event will take place Monday, Dec. 4, at 12:30 p.m. ET in the Mercury Ballroom of the New York Hilton Midtown, the site of the NFF gala on Dec. 5. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses returns for a fourth consecutive year as the presenting sponsor of the event. The presentation will be carried live on The Ivy League Network (ILN) at IvyLeague.tv. MEAC -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference will be well-represented with seven finalists on the various FCS Awards Ballots. North Carolina A&T State University led the way in this year’s All-MEAC voting as the Aggies had 12 student-athletes named to the first team. The team is voted on by the MEAC’s head football coaches and sports information directors. North Carolina A&T State’s Brandon Parker made history as the first player to be named MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year for three consecutive seasons. Howard University freshman Caylin Newton was tabbed as the league’s Freshman of the Year while North Carolina A&T State’s Rod Broadway was selected as Coach of the Year. North Carolina A&T will represent the conference in the 2017 Celebration Bowl to be played noon in Atlanta on Dec. 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In a partnership with the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame, the league’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year will be announced as part of the festivities surrounding the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Hilton Midtown in New York City. The event will be televised live on ESPN3 at 9 a.m. MISSOURI VALLEY -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference has recorded a 46-20 record since 2010 in the playoffs -better than any other league. Over the last three-plus years the MVFC has a 27-13 record in the playoffs, which includes six intraconference games, meaning the league is 21-7 vs. the rest. For the sixth time in league history, two MVFC teams are seeded in the Top 8. North Dakota State (2) and South Dakota State (5) are the league’s seeded teams this year. The last time the league had those two positions (2/5) -- the teams met one another in the title game (2014). With South Dakota’s first-ever trip to the FCS playoffs, every Missouri Valley team (past and current member) has qualified for the FCS playoffs. The MVFC is 20-6 against FCS schools this year, which includes three road losses to ranked FCS teams, one of which (Liberty) is transitioning to FBS. The MVFC is 4-3 against non-league FCS ranked teams. NORTHEAST -- The Central Connecticut football team’s eight-game winning streak came to an end on the road in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday as the Blue Devils fell 14-0 to #21 New Hampshire. The loss gives the Blue Devils a final record of 8-4 on the season, including a perfect 6-0 Northeast Conference record and league championship. The Blue Devils season was highlighted with their first NEC title since 2010 and fifth overall. The Northeast Conference unveiled the names of the five individual awards recipients along with two 27-member All-NEC Teams via Twitter on Wednesday, November 22. All honorees were selected through a vote of the conference’s seven head coaches. Duquesne saw a league-high 12 athletes earn all-NEC status. Eight Dukes earned a spot on the All-NEC First Team, including five on the offensive side of the ball. Central Connecticut was second to Duquesne with 11 all-conference selections while six Blue Devils earned first team status. All seven NEC teams had at least two players receive all-conference recognition.
OHIO VALLEY -- Jacksonville State, who won its fourth-straight OVC Championship, is appearing in its fifth-straight and eighth overall Division I playoff this season. The Gamecocks, who advanced to the 2015 National Championship game, have won 32-straight OVC games and 41-straight regular season contests against non-FBS opponents. The team enters the playoffs ranked No. 2 in total defense (230.5 yards/game). Despite being the first team out of the 24-team FCS Playoff field, Austin Peay, who entered the year having lost 47 of its previous 48 games, finished the season 8-4 overall and 7-1 in the OVC. The eight wins tied the school’s all-time record while the seven Conference wins are the most in program history. The Govs improved from 120th nationally in total defense in 2016 to 16th this season. PATRIOT -- Lehigh junior running back Dom Bragalone – the 2017 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year – rushed for 75 yards on 17 carries in the playoff contest at Stony Brook, and caught two passes for 40 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Bragalone moved to 10th on the Patriot League career rushing list, with 3,567 yards. Lehigh and Colgate each won their final game of the regular-season to capture a share of the 2017 Patriot League Championship, with identical 5-1 League records. This is the fifth-time in League history that co-champions have been crowned, with the last time coming in 2006 when Lafayette and Lehigh split the title. Lehigh earned the Patriot League’s automatic berth in the FCS Playoffs this season, due to a, 41-38, head-to-head victory over Colgate.
®
PFL -- San Diego junior quarterback Anthony Lawrence and senior defensive lineman Jonathan Petersen were named the Pioneer Football League’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, leading the league’s 2017 Major Award recipients, presented Monday. Lawrence, the league’s 2015 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, becomes the second-straight San Diego student-athlete to earn the league’s top offensive honor. Petersen was a unanimous pick as the league’s top defensive standout.
Dayton return specialist Christian Searles was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Year. In addition, Valparaiso head coach Dave Cecchini was selected as the league’s Coach of the Year. The league also presented its top freshman awards, Monday. Campbell quarterback Daniel Smith was tabbed the PFL Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and Stetson defensive back J.J. Henderson nabbed the league’s Freshman Defensive Player of the Year. The USD Toreros knocked off the No. 25 ranked NAU Lumberjacks 41-10 in first round action of the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs. It is USD’s 9th straight win and improves their season record to 10-2. It also marks the second straight season the Toreros won their first round playoff match-up. For the second straight year USD will head to Fargo, North Dakota to take on the No. 2 seed North Dakota State Bison. SOUTHERN -- The Southern Conference earned three bids to the NCAA Division I Football Championship, with league champion and automatic qualifier Wofford claiming the No. 7 national seed and a first-round bye. The SoCon put multiple teams in the field for the third-straight season and the 30th time in the last 36 years. Furman’s Donovan Perryman blocked what would have been the game-tying extra point in the fourth quarter and the Paladins rolled up 408 yards of total offense in their win over Elon. Furman advanced to face Wofford in the second round this Saturday. The SoCon rivals opened the season against one another, with the Terriers escaping with a 24-23 win, intercepting a 2-point conversion attempt in the final minute of play to secure the win. Wofford and Furman have met 91 times, with the first meeting coming in 1889, but the sides have never faced off in the postseason. SoCon teams have met each other in the FCS playoffs on nine occasions, with the winner going on to play in the title game six of those times, including national championship wins by Furman in 1988, Marshall in 1996 and Appalachian State in 2005. SoCon teams are 6-3 in the opening round of the playoffs since the current format was adopted in 2013. SOUTHLAND -- Nicholls dropped a heartbreaker to South Dakota at home in its first-round playoff matchup 38-31, fumbling the ball on the goal line with 27 seconds remaining on a game-tying drive. The Colonels ended the year with eight wins, the most for the program since the 1996 playoff team. They drop to 1-4 in their five playoff appearances and end the year with a 5-1 mark at home. Sam Houston State, New Hampshire, North Dakota State and South Dakota State are the only teams in the field to have made the FCS Playoffs each of the past seven seasons. The Bearkats are taking part in their 11th all-time FCS postseason and look to improve on a 14-6 playoff record. The Bearkats host South Dakota (8-4, 4-4 Missouri Valley) in the second round. Central Arkansas makes its second-straight FCS Playoff appearance against New Hampshire (8-4, 5-3 Colonial), which is making its 14th-straight. The two teams have never met. SWAC -- The 2017 Toyota SWAC Football Championship game, known as “Final Judgement” for being the final edition in the SWAC Football Championship game era, will be played on December 2, 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT and the game can be viewed on ESPNU. Grambling State faces Alcorn State. The Tigers and Braves met earlier this season with Grambling picking up a 41-14 on Oct. 21 in Grambling, La. Grambling State won the SWAC West title for the third consecutive season. The Tigers have won 10 straight after losing to Tulane to begin the season. Alcorn State University football head coach Fred McNair is among 18 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award which honors the FCS Coach of the Year. Under McNair, Alcorn will become the first team to ever play in four consecutive SWAC Championship games. He coached the Braves to a 5-2 league record this year. McNair is the only finalist from the SWAC.
