FCS Roundup, Week Eight

Richmond's upset of JMU in a game featuring 1300+ combined offensive yards was the highlight of the week.

• Spiders RB Jacobi Green ran for 236 and five touchdowns, while QB Kyle Lauletta added 415 yards and two scores. JMU QB Vad Lee had 418 total yards and five touchdowns, but got knocked out of the game in the third quarter. It looks like he'll be out for the rest of the season. The Dukes take on William & Mary next week. The win brought the Spiders up to #8 in the coaches' poll and sixth in the STATS FCS poll, while JMU fell to 9th in both.
• #1 Coastal Carolina had to sweat out a 23-20 win over 3-5 Monmouth on Saturday, but kicked the game-winning FG with no time left on the clock. This is the second close call against a subpar team in a row for the Coastal, after last week's 24-17 win over 1-5 Presbyterian. Are the Chanticleers finally showing some chinks in the armor? This week will bring a true test, when they travel to #19 Charleston Southern.
• Sophomore RB Chase Edmonds led #11 Fordham to a 59-42 victory over Lehigh, running for 347 yards and three scores. He became the national leader in rushing yards with the monster effort. The Rams again looks to be the class of the Patriot League, with their only loss coming back in week 2 to Villanova in a weird game the Wildcats won 14-7.
• #6 North Dakota State got back in the win column by beating #23 Indiana State 28-14, but lost their potential future NFL draft pick QB Carson Wentz to a wrist injury. He'll likely be out for 6-8 weeks. His replacement, redshirt freshman Easton Stick, managed the game well in his stead. He only completed nine of 20 passes for 126 yards with one touchdown and and one pick, but he also picked up 124 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Bison have a couple of tough MVFC matchups ahead, and will need Stick to ball out to avoid a loss and potentially miss out on the playoffs.
• Marshaun Coprich and Tre Roberson combined for 295 yards and four touchdowns on the ground as #3 Illinois State beat up on Western Illinois, 48-28. The Leathernecks went up 28-21 early in the third quarter after a 10-yard Devon Moore touchdown run, but the Redbirds went on to score 27 straight points to put the game away.
• #16 Harvard beat up on Princeton 42-7, while #22 Dartmouth squeaked by Columbia 13-9, setting up a huge matchup in Cambridge this Friday night between the two undefeated teams. The Crimson lead the Ivy League in both scoring offense and scoring defense, while Dartmouth is #2 in both categories.