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FCS HEADLINES SEMIFINAL GAMES (Friday/Saturday, Dec. 15/16) #6 Sam Houston State at #2 North Dakota State | Friday, Dec. 15 -- 8 pm CT (ESPN2) #5 South Dakota State at #1 James Madison | Saturday, Dec. 16 -- 4:30 pm ET (ESPNU) Celebration Bowl: North Carolina A&T vs. Grambling State | Dec. 16 -- 12 noon ET (ABC) u Both playoff games this weekend feature nationally ranked and seeded teams. The Celebration Bowl also features two ranked teams (North Carolina A&T and Grambling State).
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u Will Healy of Austin Peay has earned the STATS Eddie Robinson Award. Healy, who also was named OVC Coach of the Year, is the third OVC coach to win the Eddie Robinson Award, joining Houston Nutt (Murray State) in 1995 and Tony Samuel (Southeast Missouri State) in 2010. u Kennesaw State’ LB Bryson Armstrong became the first defensive player to be named the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award winner on Tuesday, edging Yale running back Zane Dudek by a single point in the voting (347-346) for the nation’s best freshman. u South Dakota State’s Jake Wieneke was announced Monday as the 2017 recipient of the STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. u The Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA), in coordination with the 13 FCS conference offices, announced the 2017 FCS ADA All-America team on Thursday. The fifth annual award recognizes the top student-athletes from FCS institutions at 11 different positions. The 2017 class includes student-athletes from 11 different institutions, representing six different conferences. Nine of the 11 players participated in the playoffs.
Eight current head coaches in the NFL attended college at current FCS institutions. New Orleans Sean Payton (Eastern Illinois), won a Super Bowl (XLIV) and is a three-time NFC Champ (2006-09-11).
The following student-athletes will earn 2017 All-America honors from the FCS ADA, as the top players from each of their positions. QB Jeremiah Briscoe, Sam Houston State (Southland) | RB Dominick Bragalone, Lehigh (Patriot) | WR Keelan Doss, UC Davis (Big Sky) TE Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State (MVFC) | OL Austin Kuhnert, North Dakota State (MVFC) | PK Lorran Fonseca, Nicholls (Southland) DL Andrew Ankrah, James Madison (CAA Football) | LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois (MVFC) | DB Mike Basile, Monmouth (Big South) RS Rashid Shaheed, Weber State (Big Sky) | P Joe Zema, Incarnate Word (Southland)
u Senior quarterbacks Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston State and Chris Streveler of South Dakota, along with junior wide receiver Keelan Doss of UC Davis, have been invited to the announcement of the 2017 STATS FCS Walter Payton Award. u Defensive ends Andrew Ankrah of James Madison and Darius Jackson of Jacksonville State, along with linebacker Brett Taylor of Western Illinois, have been invited to the announcement of the 2017 STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award winner. 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). u The MVFC has two semifinal teams for the fourth time in its history, and third time in the past four seasons. CAA Football, though, leads all leagues with two semifinal teams in the same playoff field, having done it six times in a 10-year span from 2004-2013). The SoCon has done it 5 times. u North Dakota State set a record by making its 7th-straight semifinal appearance (and seventh overall for NDSU). Of current FCS programs, Montana leads the way with 11 all-time semifinal trips. The Big Sky and the SoCon, meanwhile, lead all leagues with 29 semifinal appearances all-time. CAA Football is third-best with 26 all-time semifinal trips, while the MVFC (24) and Southland (18) are next, including this year’s teams. This decade (since 2010), the MVFC has had an FCS-best 10 semifinal trips, while the CAA (8) and Big Sky (5) are next. 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 Longest Consecutive Tournament Appearances in the Championship, including 2017: New Hampshire – 14; North Dakota State – 8; Sam Houston State – 7; South Dakota State -- 6; Jacksonville St. – 5; James Madison – 4
BIG SKY -- The Big Sky’s run in the 2017 FCS Playoffs came to an end last Friday, when Weber State went toe-to-toe against top-seeded James Madison on the road in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats had a seven-game win streak heading into the week, as they led the Dukes heading into the fourth quarter. James Madison came back and connected on a 46-yard field goal with time expiring to advance to the semifinals. The Big Sky had a total of three teams compete in postseason play. Six Big Sky teams finished the season with seven or more wins, while Southern Utah had nine wins and Weber State led the league with a school-record 11 victories. The league will look different in 2018 with the departure of North Dakota and the entrance of Idaho. UC Davis’ Keelan Doss was named one of the three top finalists for the Walter Payton Award. Doss led the FCS and FBS in receiving yards, receiving yards per game and receptions per game. BIG SOUTH -- Kennesaw State R-freshman LB and Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year BRYSON ARMSTRONG is the first player in Big South history to win one of the four major FCS individual awards. He led the Big South with a league single-season record 11.0 quarterback sacks and is currently first in the nation in fumble recoveries with four. The Big South’s previous best finish in the major awards was runner-up for the Walter Payton Award (Stony Brook’s Miguel Maysonet in 2012). The Big South’s postseason has come to an end following Kennesaw State’s 34-27 defeat at Sam Houston State in the FCS quarterfinals -- the Big South’s fourth all-time appearance in the final eight which have all come in four of the last five seasons. The Owls were the third different Big South member to reach the quarters, and was the second Big South member to win two playoff games in a season. Coupled with Monmouth’s playoff entry, the Big South had multiple playoff teams for the fourth time in its eight-year AQ history, and is now 10-13 in the postseason. Big South members have advanced in the postseason in six of the last seven years. The Big South fell to 0-4 in the quarterfinal round, but two of the four losses have been by one possession. The conference finished the year 18-13 against non-conference FCS opponents, including 16-11 ( =59.3 percent) in regular-season contests. Since the start of the 2013 campaign, the Big South is 80-43 ( =65.0 winning percentage) in regular-season competition against non-league FCS foes, and 87-51 ( =63.0) when including postseason games in that span. Kennesaw State’s 12 wins this season tied the Big South single-season victory record, while its 12-game win streak in 2017 was the longest single-season win streak in conference annals. CAA FOOTBALL -- James Madison reached the semifinals of the FCS playoffs for the second year in a row after rallying past Weber State, 31-28, last week. Next up for the Dukes is South Dakota State, which beat CAA member New Hampshire, 56-14. It’s the fifth straight year that at least one CAA team has advanced to the semifinals (2013 - UNH and Towson; 2014 - UNH; 2015 - Richmond; 2016 - JMU; 2017 - JMU). The Dukes are making their fourth semifinal appearance since 2004 and are 2-1 in semifinal contests. CAA Football has had a team reach the FCS national championship game nine times in the last 14 years. Seven CAA players were chosen to the Associated Press All-America team. Maine RB Josh Mack, JMU OL Aaron Stinnie, JMU DL Andrew Ankrah and JMU DB Jordan Brown made the first team, while Stony Brook OL Timon Parris, UNH WR Neil O’Connor and JMU DB Rashad Robinson were on the second team. James Madison extended its overall winning streak to 25 games with its 31-28 victory over Weber State. The Dukes broke Richmond’s conference record of 17 straight wins that was set during the 2008-09 seasons. JMU’s 25-game streak is the longest active streak of any FBS or FCS team and is the second-longest streak in FCS history, trailing only North Dakota State (33). JMU has also won 18 straight CAA Football contests, breaking the record of 15 consecutive wins set by UMass from 1965-67. CAA Football teams are a combined 47-21 at home this season, including 18-1 in non-conference play. CAA Football teams are 25-5 against non-conference FCS opponents this season, which is the best non-conference FCS winning percentage (.833) of any league. Making the numbers even more impressive is the fact that seven of the victories have been on the road. CAA Football teams went 24-7 in non-conference games against FCS opponents last season, which was the best winning percentage by an FCS conference. IVY LEAGUE -- Princeton senior quarterback Chad Kanoff and Yale senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger were announced as the Ivy League’s 2017 Football Players of the Year and Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipients. 2017 #IvyFootball champion Yale led the way with two Associated Press All-Americans, as freshman running back Zane Dudek and senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger were each named to the second team. Penn senior wide receiver Justin Watson was named to the third-team. The 135th Playing of “The Game” between Harvard and Yale will be held at Fenway Park on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, Fenway Sports Management has announced. MEAC -- North Carolina A&T State QB Lamar Raynard and South Carolina State LB Darius Leonard were named the 2017 MEAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. The players were named officially at the 60th annual National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame press conference in New York City on Dec. 5. This marks the fourth consecutive year a player from North Carolina A&T State has been named offensive player of the year as Raynard passed for a MEAC-best 2,707 yards and 26 touchdowns en route to a 11-0 regular season mark and a berth in the Celebration Bowl. The Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) announced its Class of 2018 as Morgan State’s Raymond Chester and former North Carolina A&T State head football coach Bill Hayes will represent the MEAC in this year’s class. Both will be joined by fellow classmates Harold Carmichael (Southern), Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson (Langston University), Leo “Lincoln Locomotive” Lewis (Lincoln), Greg Lloyd (Fort Valley State) and Everson Walls (Grambling State).
MISSOURI VALLEY -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference has recorded a 50-22 record since 2010 in the playoffs -better than any other league. Over the last three-plus years the MVFC has a 31-15 record in the playoffs, which includes seven intraconference games, meaning the league is 24-8 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). The MVFC is 23-7 against FCS schools this year, which includes four road losses to ranked FCS teams, one of which (Liberty) is transitioning to FBS. The MVFC is 6-4 against non-league FCS ranked teams. On Wednesday, South Dakota State University center Jacob Ohnesorge was named the winner of the 2017 Rimington Award for the Football Championship Subdivision. The Jackrabbits are playing in their first-ever semifinal game. North Dakota State leads the series 4-1 over Sam Houston State including wins in the last three straight, all in the FCS playoffs. NDSU won its first two FCS titles against Sam Houston State 17-6 in 2011 and 39-13 in 2012. The teams last met in the 2014 FCS semifinals with NDSU winning 35-3 and advancing to beat Illinois State in the championship. North Dakota State is 11-1 against Southland Conference opponents with its only loss coming in 2009 at Sam Houston State, 48-45. NORTHEAST -- Wagner two-sport athlete Greg Senat, a four-year member of the Seahawk men’s basketball team who started all 22 games that he played in during his two-year football career, has become the first player ever from the NEC to be selected to play in the East-West Shrine All-Star Football Game. The 93rd East-West Shrine Game will be held on January 20, 2018 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL with kickoff set for 3:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the NFL Network. 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 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 -- Austin Peay head coach Will Healy has been named the winner of the 2017 Eddie Robinson Award, presented by STATS to the FCS National Coach of the Year. Healy is the third OVC coach to win the Eddie Robinson Award, joining Murray State’s Houston Nutt (1995) and Southeast Missouri State’s Tony Samuel (2010). For the fourth-straight season, Jacksonville State head coach John Grass has been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Regional Coach of the Year by his peers. The fourth-year head coach of the Jacksonville State football team has earned the honor in each season he has served as a college head coach after the AFCA released its 2017 Regional Coach of the Year winners on Tuesday morning. Grass is the only winner among the 10 Division I (five FBS and five FCS) winners that repeated his 2016 honor. The 2017 award makes him just the ninth coach in the Association’s history to win at least four-straight Regional Coach of the Year honors. Five Ohio Valley Conference football players have been named to the 2017 Associated Press Football Championship Subdivision All-American Team. The selections included two first-team and three second-team picks. The first-team picks were Jacksonville State senior offensive lineman Justin Lea and senior defensive end Darius Jackson while the second-team picks included Austin Peay sophomore defensive end Jaison Williams, JSU senior running back Roc Thomas and sophomore defensive back Marlon Bridges. JSU and defending national champion James Madison were the only two schools to have four selections over the first two teams. PATRIOT -- Five Patriot League football players were selected as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Associated Press (AP) All-Americans, when teams were announced on Tuesday. Lehigh junior running back Dom Bragalone was named to the first-team after leading the nation in rushing yards (1,388), total touchdowns (21), rushing touchdowns (18) and scoring (12.0). The 2017 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year helped lead the Mountain Hawks to a share of the Patriot League Championship and the team’s second-straight trip to the FCS Playoffs. 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 playoffs this season, due to a, 41-38, head-to-head victory over Colgate. Holy Cross senior QB Peter Pujals and Bucknell senior DL Abdullah Anderson have been selected to play in the 2018 National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 20 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, founded in 2012, is a showcase for NFL Draft-eligible players to practice, play and interview with scouts, player personnel staff, general managers and head coaches from all NFL teams.
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PFL -- San Diego defensive end Jonathan Petersen and tight end Ross Dwelley have each been named to the 2017 Associated Press FCS All-America teams. Petersen was a First-Team All-America selection and Dwelley was a third-team honoree.
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. Smith finished fourth in the Jerry Rice Award balloting. Smith finished the 2017 regular season with the fourth-most rushing yards in the country, with his 1,272 yards on the ground leading all FCS freshmen and quarterbacks. 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 marked the second straight season the Toreros won their first round playoff match-up. SOUTHERN -- Six Southern Conference football student-athletes earned All-America honors from the Associated Press, which released its FCS teams Tuesday. Furman offensive lineman Matthew Schmidt, Samford defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden and Western Carolina punter Ian Berryman represented the SoCon on the second team. Western Carolina RB Detrez Newsome, Wofford offensive lineman Ross Demmel and Samford punter Austin Barnard earned third-team recognition. The Wofford College football team’s season ended in the NCAA FCS quarterfinals on Saturday with a 42-10 loss to North Dakota State in the Fargodome last Saturday. The Terriers scored first, but the Bison scored three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 35-10 lead. NDSU added a touchdown in the third quarter and held the Terriers scoreless to advance to the semifinals. Wofford, ranked seventh in the nation at the FCS level, ends the season at 10-3 overall. NDSU, ranked fourth in the nation, is 12-1 on the season. Southern Conference teams are now 0-5 against NDSU in the FCS playoffs all-time. Georgia Southern faced the Bison in the semifinals in 2011 and 2012, while Wofford fell to North Dakota State in the quarterfinals in 2012 and this year. Furman lost to NDSU in the second round in 2013. All five games were in Fargo and the Bison went on to win national championships in each season before this year. SOUTHLAND -- Southland Conference football earned a total of 12 selections to the 2017 Associated Press FCS All-America Teams, the AP announced Tuesday. Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas lead with four spots each while Houston Baptist, UIW, McNeese and Nicholls all garnered individual selections. No. 6 Sam Houston State downed Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals, 34-27. After a dominating first half, the Bearkats ended up needing a fourth down stop on their own 15-yard line with 1:24 remaining to seal the victory. The Bearkats head north to Fargo to face No. 2 North Dakota State in the semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The last time the two teams met was also in a 35-3 FCS Semifinals loss in 2014. The two also met in the championship game in 2012, a 39-13 victory for the Bison. The win was the 20th consecutive victory for Sam Houston at Bowers Stadium, setting a new mark for the second-longest home streak in school history. The victory also extended Sam Houston’s overall record to 13-0 in the FCS Playoffs at Bowers. North Dakota State is the only FCS team with more wins than the Bearkats in the 2010s. The Bison bring the nation’s best total defense (228.3) and passing defense (137.1) to the matchup with the Bearkats’ top total offense (552.4) and passing offense (368.4). SWAC -- The Grambling State University football team will seek its second consecutive HBCU National Championship as the Tigers take on North Carolina A&T State University on Saturday in the 2017 Celebration Bowl. Kickoff from the newly Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for 12:06 p.m. (ET)/11:06 a.m. (CT) on ABC. Grambling State (11-1) enters Saturday’s game on an 11-game winning streak after capturing its second consecutive and 26th SWAC Championship over Alcorn State on Dec. 2. Meanwhile, North Carolina A&T State (11-0) went through Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play unbeaten and last played a game on Nov. 18 as the Aggies defeated rival North Carolina Central, 24-10. The game will feature two of best quarterbacks in the country in Devante Kincade (Grambling State) and Lamar Raynard (North Carolina A&T State). Both were named Offensive Player of the Year by their respective conferences. Kincade boasts a 22-2 record (Arizona and Tulane) in two years, while Raynard has yet to lose a game as a starter, with a 25-0 mark. Guided by head coach Broderick Fobbs, the Grambling State Tigers have now won 10 straight games and last lost to a conference opponent in the 2015 SWAC Championship against Alcorn State. Grambling State University junior defensive back Percy Cargo, Jr. was selected a Finalist for the 2017 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. The Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award is named after the wife of legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson, the third annual award is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels not only in the classroom, but in the community and beyond.
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FCS HEADLINES SEMIFINAL GAMES (Friday/Saturday, Dec. 15/16) #6 Sam Houston State at #2 North Dakota State | Friday, Dec. 15 -- 8 pm CT (ESPN2) #5 South Dakota State at #1 James Madison | Saturday, Dec. 16 -- 4:30 pm ET (ESPNU) Celebration Bowl: North Carolina A&T vs. Grambling State | Dec. 16 -- 12 noon ET (ABC) u Both playoff games this weekend feature nationally ranked and seeded teams. The Celebration Bowl also features two ranked teams (North Carolina A&T and Grambling State).
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u Will Healy of Austin Peay has earned the STATS Eddie Robinson Award. Healy, who also was named OVC Coach of the Year, is the third OVC coach to win the Eddie Robinson Award, joining Houston Nutt (Murray State) in 1995 and Tony Samuel (Southeast Missouri State) in 2010. u Kennesaw State’ LB Bryson Armstrong became the first defensive player to be named the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award winner on Tuesday, edging Yale running back Zane Dudek by a single point in the voting (347-346) for the nation’s best freshman. u South Dakota State’s Jake Wieneke was announced Monday as the 2017 recipient of the STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. u The Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA), in coordination with the 13 FCS conference offices, announced the 2017 FCS ADA All-America team on Thursday. The fifth annual award recognizes the top student-athletes from FCS institutions at 11 different positions. The 2017 class includes student-athletes from 11 different institutions, representing six different conferences. Nine of the 11 players participated in the playoffs.
Eight current head coaches in the NFL attended college at current FCS institutions. New Orleans Sean Payton (Eastern Illinois), won a Super Bowl (XLIV) and is a three-time NFC Champ (2006-09-11).
The following student-athletes will earn 2017 All-America honors from the FCS ADA, as the top players from each of their positions. QB Jeremiah Briscoe, Sam Houston State (Southland) | RB Dominick Bragalone, Lehigh (Patriot) | WR Keelan Doss, UC Davis (Big Sky) TE Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State (MVFC) | OL Austin Kuhnert, North Dakota State (MVFC) | PK Lorran Fonseca, Nicholls (Southland) DL Andrew Ankrah, James Madison (CAA Football) | LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois (MVFC) | DB Mike Basile, Monmouth (Big South) RS Rashid Shaheed, Weber State (Big Sky) | P Joe Zema, Incarnate Word (Southland)
u Senior quarterbacks Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston State and Chris Streveler of South Dakota, along with junior wide receiver Keelan Doss of UC Davis, have been invited to the announcement of the 2017 STATS FCS Walter Payton Award. u Defensive ends Andrew Ankrah of James Madison and Darius Jackson of Jacksonville State, along with linebacker Brett Taylor of Western Illinois, have been invited to the announcement of the 2017 STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award winner. 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). u The MVFC has two semifinal teams for the fourth time in its history, and third time in the past four seasons. CAA Football, though, leads all leagues with two semifinal teams in the same playoff field, having done it six times in a 10-year span from 2004-2013). The SoCon has done it 5 times. u North Dakota State set a record by making its 7th-straight semifinal appearance (and seventh overall for NDSU). Of current FCS programs, Montana leads the way with 11 all-time semifinal trips. The Big Sky and the SoCon, meanwhile, lead all leagues with 29 semifinal appearances all-time. CAA Football is third-best with 26 all-time semifinal trips, while the MVFC (24) and Southland (18) are next, including this year’s teams. This decade (since 2010), the MVFC has had an FCS-best 10 semifinal trips, while the CAA (8) and Big Sky (5) are next. 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 Longest Consecutive Tournament Appearances in the Championship, including 2017: New Hampshire – 14; North Dakota State – 8; Sam Houston State – 7; South Dakota State -- 6; Jacksonville St. – 5; James Madison – 4
BIG SKY -- The Big Sky’s run in the 2017 FCS Playoffs came to an end last Friday, when Weber State went toe-to-toe against top-seeded James Madison on the road in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats had a seven-game win streak heading into the week, as they led the Dukes heading into the fourth quarter. James Madison came back and connected on a 46-yard field goal with time expiring to advance to the semifinals. The Big Sky had a total of three teams compete in postseason play. Six Big Sky teams finished the season with seven or more wins, while Southern Utah had nine wins and Weber State led the league with a school-record 11 victories. The league will look different in 2018 with the departure of North Dakota and the entrance of Idaho. UC Davis’ Keelan Doss was named one of the three top finalists for the Walter Payton Award. Doss led the FCS and FBS in receiving yards, receiving yards per game and receptions per game. BIG SOUTH -- Kennesaw State R-freshman LB and Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year BRYSON ARMSTRONG is the first player in Big South history to win one of the four major FCS individual awards. He led the Big South with a league single-season record 11.0 quarterback sacks and is currently first in the nation in fumble recoveries with four. The Big South’s previous best finish in the major awards was runner-up for the Walter Payton Award (Stony Brook’s Miguel Maysonet in 2012). The Big South’s postseason has come to an end following Kennesaw State’s 34-27 defeat at Sam Houston State in the FCS quarterfinals -- the Big South’s fourth all-time appearance in the final eight which have all come in four of the last five seasons. The Owls were the third different Big South member to reach the quarters, and was the second Big South member to win two playoff games in a season. Coupled with Monmouth’s playoff entry, the Big South had multiple playoff teams for the fourth time in its eight-year AQ history, and is now 10-13 in the postseason. Big South members have advanced in the postseason in six of the last seven years. The Big South fell to 0-4 in the quarterfinal round, but two of the four losses have been by one possession. The conference finished the year 18-13 against non-conference FCS opponents, including 16-11 ( =59.3 percent) in regular-season contests. Since the start of the 2013 campaign, the Big South is 80-43 ( =65.0 winning percentage) in regular-season competition against non-league FCS foes, and 87-51 ( =63.0) when including postseason games in that span. Kennesaw State’s 12 wins this season tied the Big South single-season victory record, while its 12-game win streak in 2017 was the longest single-season win streak in conference annals. CAA FOOTBALL -- James Madison reached the semifinals of the FCS playoffs for the second year in a row after rallying past Weber State, 31-28, last week. Next up for the Dukes is South Dakota State, which beat CAA member New Hampshire, 56-14. It’s the fifth straight year that at least one CAA team has advanced to the semifinals (2013 - UNH and Towson; 2014 - UNH; 2015 - Richmond; 2016 - JMU; 2017 - JMU). The Dukes are making their fourth semifinal appearance since 2004 and are 2-1 in semifinal contests. CAA Football has had a team reach the FCS national championship game nine times in the last 14 years. Seven CAA players were chosen to the Associated Press All-America team. Maine RB Josh Mack, JMU OL Aaron Stinnie, JMU DL Andrew Ankrah and JMU DB Jordan Brown made the first team, while Stony Brook OL Timon Parris, UNH WR Neil O’Connor and JMU DB Rashad Robinson were on the second team. James Madison extended its overall winning streak to 25 games with its 31-28 victory over Weber State. The Dukes broke Richmond’s conference record of 17 straight wins that was set during the 2008-09 seasons. JMU’s 25-game streak is the longest active streak of any FBS or FCS team and is the second-longest streak in FCS history, trailing only North Dakota State (33). JMU has also won 18 straight CAA Football contests, breaking the record of 15 consecutive wins set by UMass from 1965-67. CAA Football teams are a combined 47-21 at home this season, including 18-1 in non-conference play. CAA Football teams are 25-5 against non-conference FCS opponents this season, which is the best non-conference FCS winning percentage (.833) of any league. Making the numbers even more impressive is the fact that seven of the victories have been on the road. CAA Football teams went 24-7 in non-conference games against FCS opponents last season, which was the best winning percentage by an FCS conference. IVY LEAGUE -- Princeton senior quarterback Chad Kanoff and Yale senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger were announced as the Ivy League’s 2017 Football Players of the Year and Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipients. 2017 #IvyFootball champion Yale led the way with two Associated Press All-Americans, as freshman running back Zane Dudek and senior linebacker Matthew Oplinger were each named to the second team. Penn senior wide receiver Justin Watson was named to the third-team. The 135th Playing of “The Game” between Harvard and Yale will be held at Fenway Park on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, Fenway Sports Management has announced. MEAC -- North Carolina A&T State QB Lamar Raynard and South Carolina State LB Darius Leonard were named the 2017 MEAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. The players were named officially at the 60th annual National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame press conference in New York City on Dec. 5. This marks the fourth consecutive year a player from North Carolina A&T State has been named offensive player of the year as Raynard passed for a MEAC-best 2,707 yards and 26 touchdowns en route to a 11-0 regular season mark and a berth in the Celebration Bowl. The Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) announced its Class of 2018 as Morgan State’s Raymond Chester and former North Carolina A&T State head football coach Bill Hayes will represent the MEAC in this year’s class. Both will be joined by fellow classmates Harold Carmichael (Southern), Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson (Langston University), Leo “Lincoln Locomotive” Lewis (Lincoln), Greg Lloyd (Fort Valley State) and Everson Walls (Grambling State).
MISSOURI VALLEY -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference has recorded a 50-22 record since 2010 in the playoffs -better than any other league. Over the last three-plus years the MVFC has a 31-15 record in the playoffs, which includes seven intraconference games, meaning the league is 24-8 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). The MVFC is 23-7 against FCS schools this year, which includes four road losses to ranked FCS teams, one of which (Liberty) is transitioning to FBS. The MVFC is 6-4 against non-league FCS ranked teams. On Wednesday, South Dakota State University center Jacob Ohnesorge was named the winner of the 2017 Rimington Award for the Football Championship Subdivision. The Jackrabbits are playing in their first-ever semifinal game. North Dakota State leads the series 4-1 over Sam Houston State including wins in the last three straight, all in the FCS playoffs. NDSU won its first two FCS titles against Sam Houston State 17-6 in 2011 and 39-13 in 2012. The teams last met in the 2014 FCS semifinals with NDSU winning 35-3 and advancing to beat Illinois State in the championship. North Dakota State is 11-1 against Southland Conference opponents with its only loss coming in 2009 at Sam Houston State, 48-45. NORTHEAST -- Wagner two-sport athlete Greg Senat, a four-year member of the Seahawk men’s basketball team who started all 22 games that he played in during his two-year football career, has become the first player ever from the NEC to be selected to play in the East-West Shrine All-Star Football Game. The 93rd East-West Shrine Game will be held on January 20, 2018 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL with kickoff set for 3:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the NFL Network. 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 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 -- Austin Peay head coach Will Healy has been named the winner of the 2017 Eddie Robinson Award, presented by STATS to the FCS National Coach of the Year. Healy is the third OVC coach to win the Eddie Robinson Award, joining Murray State’s Houston Nutt (1995) and Southeast Missouri State’s Tony Samuel (2010). For the fourth-straight season, Jacksonville State head coach John Grass has been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Regional Coach of the Year by his peers. The fourth-year head coach of the Jacksonville State football team has earned the honor in each season he has served as a college head coach after the AFCA released its 2017 Regional Coach of the Year winners on Tuesday morning. Grass is the only winner among the 10 Division I (five FBS and five FCS) winners that repeated his 2016 honor. The 2017 award makes him just the ninth coach in the Association’s history to win at least four-straight Regional Coach of the Year honors. Five Ohio Valley Conference football players have been named to the 2017 Associated Press Football Championship Subdivision All-American Team. The selections included two first-team and three second-team picks. The first-team picks were Jacksonville State senior offensive lineman Justin Lea and senior defensive end Darius Jackson while the second-team picks included Austin Peay sophomore defensive end Jaison Williams, JSU senior running back Roc Thomas and sophomore defensive back Marlon Bridges. JSU and defending national champion James Madison were the only two schools to have four selections over the first two teams. PATRIOT -- Five Patriot League football players were selected as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Associated Press (AP) All-Americans, when teams were announced on Tuesday. Lehigh junior running back Dom Bragalone was named to the first-team after leading the nation in rushing yards (1,388), total touchdowns (21), rushing touchdowns (18) and scoring (12.0). The 2017 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year helped lead the Mountain Hawks to a share of the Patriot League Championship and the team’s second-straight trip to the FCS Playoffs. 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 playoffs this season, due to a, 41-38, head-to-head victory over Colgate. Holy Cross senior QB Peter Pujals and Bucknell senior DL Abdullah Anderson have been selected to play in the 2018 National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 20 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, founded in 2012, is a showcase for NFL Draft-eligible players to practice, play and interview with scouts, player personnel staff, general managers and head coaches from all NFL teams.
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PFL -- San Diego defensive end Jonathan Petersen and tight end Ross Dwelley have each been named to the 2017 Associated Press FCS All-America teams. Petersen was a First-Team All-America selection and Dwelley was a third-team honoree.
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. Smith finished fourth in the Jerry Rice Award balloting. Smith finished the 2017 regular season with the fourth-most rushing yards in the country, with his 1,272 yards on the ground leading all FCS freshmen and quarterbacks. 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 marked the second straight season the Toreros won their first round playoff match-up. SOUTHERN -- Six Southern Conference football student-athletes earned All-America honors from the Associated Press, which released its FCS teams Tuesday. Furman offensive lineman Matthew Schmidt, Samford defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden and Western Carolina punter Ian Berryman represented the SoCon on the second team. Western Carolina RB Detrez Newsome, Wofford offensive lineman Ross Demmel and Samford punter Austin Barnard earned third-team recognition. The Wofford College football team’s season ended in the NCAA FCS quarterfinals on Saturday with a 42-10 loss to North Dakota State in the Fargodome last Saturday. The Terriers scored first, but the Bison scored three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 35-10 lead. NDSU added a touchdown in the third quarter and held the Terriers scoreless to advance to the semifinals. Wofford, ranked seventh in the nation at the FCS level, ends the season at 10-3 overall. NDSU, ranked fourth in the nation, is 12-1 on the season. Southern Conference teams are now 0-5 against NDSU in the FCS playoffs all-time. Georgia Southern faced the Bison in the semifinals in 2011 and 2012, while Wofford fell to North Dakota State in the quarterfinals in 2012 and this year. Furman lost to NDSU in the second round in 2013. All five games were in Fargo and the Bison went on to win national championships in each season before this year. SOUTHLAND -- Southland Conference football earned a total of 12 selections to the 2017 Associated Press FCS All-America Teams, the AP announced Tuesday. Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas lead with four spots each while Houston Baptist, UIW, McNeese and Nicholls all garnered individual selections. No. 6 Sam Houston State downed Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals, 34-27. After a dominating first half, the Bearkats ended up needing a fourth down stop on their own 15-yard line with 1:24 remaining to seal the victory. The Bearkats head north to Fargo to face No. 2 North Dakota State in the semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The last time the two teams met was also in a 35-3 FCS Semifinals loss in 2014. The two also met in the championship game in 2012, a 39-13 victory for the Bison. The win was the 20th consecutive victory for Sam Houston at Bowers Stadium, setting a new mark for the second-longest home streak in school history. The victory also extended Sam Houston’s overall record to 13-0 in the FCS Playoffs at Bowers. North Dakota State is the only FCS team with more wins than the Bearkats in the 2010s. The Bison bring the nation’s best total defense (228.3) and passing defense (137.1) to the matchup with the Bearkats’ top total offense (552.4) and passing offense (368.4). SWAC -- The Grambling State University football team will seek its second consecutive HBCU National Championship as the Tigers take on North Carolina A&T State University on Saturday in the 2017 Celebration Bowl. Kickoff from the newly Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for 12:06 p.m. (ET)/11:06 a.m. (CT) on ABC. Grambling State (11-1) enters Saturday’s game on an 11-game winning streak after capturing its second consecutive and 26th SWAC Championship over Alcorn State on Dec. 2. Meanwhile, North Carolina A&T State (11-0) went through Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play unbeaten and last played a game on Nov. 18 as the Aggies defeated rival North Carolina Central, 24-10. The game will feature two of best quarterbacks in the country in Devante Kincade (Grambling State) and Lamar Raynard (North Carolina A&T State). Both were named Offensive Player of the Year by their respective conferences. Kincade boasts a 22-2 record (Arizona and Tulane) in two years, while Raynard has yet to lose a game as a starter, with a 25-0 mark. Guided by head coach Broderick Fobbs, the Grambling State Tigers have now won 10 straight games and last lost to a conference opponent in the 2015 SWAC Championship against Alcorn State. Grambling State University junior defensive back Percy Cargo, Jr. was selected a Finalist for the 2017 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. The Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award is named after the wife of legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson, the third annual award is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels not only in the classroom, but in the community and beyond.
