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FCS Roundup, Week Five

Each week we take a look at some of the most interesting storylines from the FCS level. Here's what you need to know about week five.

By ADevine11
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Another week, another good FCS team beating a bad FBS team.

  • #15 Liberty pulled away from Georgia State in the fourth quarter to beat the Panthers 41-33. Liberty RB Desmond Rice was workmanlike, running for 87 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Flames to victory. QB Nick Arbuckle did all he could for the Panthers, throwing for 394 yards and three touchdowns. His TD run with 2:51 left in the game brought Georgia State within five points, but Liberty got the ball back and iced the game with a field goal for the final score of the game. This is the second year in a row that Liberty beat an FBS team after upsetting Appalachian State last year in a 55-48 OT thriller.
  • #2 North Dakota State dominated #9 South Dakota State 28-7, and it wasn't even that close. The Jackrabbits scored their only points of the game with a minute left. NDSU QB Carson Wentz passed for 183 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 54 yards and a score.
  • In the other matchup of top-10 teams this week, #4 Illinois State cruised past #10 Northern Iowa, 21-13. Marshaun Coprich carried the Redbirds, running 33 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns -- Illinois State threw just 16 passes. UNI outgained Illinois State, but three interceptions doomed the Panthers.
Not much else too exciting happened this week. Most of the top teams handled lesser opponents - #1 Coastal Carolina beat Alabama A&M 55-0, #3 Jacksonville State beat Mississippi Valley State 49-7, and #5 James Madison beat Stony Brook 38-20 (behind Vad Lee's 316 total yards and two total touchdowns).

The top game of week six is clearly #2 North Dakota State taking on #10 Northern Iowa in the Fargodome, and Sportscenter is going to be there for the festivities. Other games of note include #13 McNeese State against #17 Southeastern Louisiana and Yale vs. Dartmouth in a battle of undefeated Ivy League squads.

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