Week 6 FCS Review

The coaching carousel that hit the FCS ranks at the end of last season ended up throwing Chattanooga into a wall. After Delaware took coach Danny Rocco from Richmond, the Spiders grabbed Russ Huesman and threw Chattanooga’s football program into a lurch.

The school brought in Tom Arth from Division III John Carroll to run the program, but it has not been able to get off the ground. This was supposed to be a high-octane offense under Arth, a former NFL quarterback. Instead, the school is 1-5 with no more than 17 points in any of its five losses.

Chattanooga’s season is pretty much over at this point, but not some of the other teams we saw in action last weekend.

South Dakota 31, Youngstown State 28

Chris Streveler continues to show why he is the favorite for the Walter Payton Award after another scintillating performance. Bo Pelini’s defenses have been stingy while the former Nebraska coach has been at Youngstown State, but the Penguins buckled when pitted against the unstoppable Streveler. He topped 400 total yards of offense and was responsible for three of the four touchdowns.

The unsung heroes in this one were the run defense and wide receiver Shamar Jackson. Jackson ended the day with 229 receiving yards, while the run defense shut down Youngstown State’s run game. The Penguins averaged under four yards per carry, and that wasn’t enough to pull out a win at the end.

Delaware 24, Stony Brook 20

If you just look at the box score, you’re going to wonder how on Earth the Blue Hens pulled out a win here. Delaware had just 288 total yards compared to 407 from Stony Brook and the turnover battle was even.

Defense and special teams were the deciding factors. The Blue Hens turned the Sea Wolves lone turnover into six points on a fumble return for a touchdown, and kicker Frank Raggo nailed a 50-yard field goal. Conversely, Stony Brook had a 36-yard field goal go wide left, and was stopped inside Delaware’s 20 on its final drive of the game.

Eastern Washington 41, UC Davis 38

The Eagles pulled off another fourth-quarter comeback against a Big Sky opponent this week and kept their hopes of a conference title alive. Gage Gubrud rallied after a shaky first half and ended up throwing for 452 yards and six touchdowns against UC Davis. Aggies quarterback Jake Maier came close to matching his numbers, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset in the end.

Eastern Washington continues to have the problems that plagued the school in the past. They can’t run the ball and can’t play defense, and that will catch up to the Eagles.

Wofford 35, Western Carolina 28

Wofford keeps finding ways to win close games. The run game was solid once again in this one, racking up 393 yards on the ground. However, the defense continues to have some trouble stopping opponents and that almost bit the Terriers here.

Western Carolina was able to get this game to overtime despite throwing two interceptions in regulation, but a third in the extra frame sealed the win for Wofford. The Terriers are now 5-0 entering a crucial game against rival The Citadel this week.