Week 3 FCS Review

Two more FCS teams knocked off FBS opponents, while Richmond, Eastern Washington, and South Dakota won statement games in the final week before most schools start their conference schedules. Once again, there really wasn’t a whole lot of movement in the Top 25 though, outside of that big South Dakota win over North Dakota.

Idaho State 30, Nevada 28

It had been 17 years since the Bengals had last knocked off an FBS opponent prior to their win over the Wolfpack on Saturday. Turnovers played a huge part in the win, with Nevada giving Idaho State the ball three times and turning it over on downs three times. However, that wasn’t the only factor that led to an Idaho State win. The Bengals picked up 383 total yards of offense and limited Nevada’s effectiveness through the air. The win is huge for the Big Sky and continues to show why this conference might be the best in the FCS.

North Carolina A&T 35, Charlotte 31

For the second straight season, North Carolina A&T knocked off an FBS foe. The Aggies showed that Tarik Cohen wasn’t the only good player on their roster last year in a close victory over the 49ers. Charlotte mounted a furious comeback after being down by 18 in the third quarter and had the ball in North Carolina A&T territory down by three in the final minute of the game before throwing a pick-six that effectively sealed the result.

Richmond 68, Howard 21

The Spiders did not have the same problems stopping Caylin Newton that both UNLV and Kent State had. Although Newton was able to hit a few big plays, Richmond’s defense was able to keep him in check on the ground and only allowed him to complete 30 percent of his passes on the afternoon. Conversely, Kyle Lauletta was a sniper through the air, completing almost 90 percent of his passes and throwing for six touchdowns on the day. It was a big win for a Richmond team that needed a dominant performance.

Eastern Washington 56, Fordham 21

Speaking of a team in need of a dominant performance, both Eastern Washington and Fordham limped into yesterday’s affair needing some good vibes but the Eagles left The Bronx in a much better mood. Gage Gubrud and the Eastern Washington offense found its footing by carving up Fordham’s defense for over 600 yards on the afternoon. Perhaps the most impressive part of the performance was that Eastern Washington scored 56 points despite turning the ball over five times. For Fordham, superstar Chase Edmonds sat out the game and the Rams had a real hard time moving the ball without him.

South Dakota 45, North Dakota 7

This might have been the most impressive performance of the weekend. South Dakota completely had its way with a really good North Dakota defense and served notice to the rest of the country that they are a team to watch out for. Chris Streveler might be the best dual-threat quarterback in the FCS through three games and has completely turned this team from an also-ran into a contender. North Dakota was the only team in the FCS Top 10 to fall this week and it will be interesting to see how much they are punished for losing by 38.