FCS Playoffs 3rd Round

People who want a D-I Tournament / Playoff should know … there already is one. The FCS has a 24 team playoff which began last weekend, 11/30/13. Eight teams received a Bye into the second round while 16 teams squared off in eight games. Here are the results of the first round and what’s up next in the 2nd round!

Lafayette, 5-7 overall / 4-1 in conference play, winner of the Patriot League traveled to New Hampshire, a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) runner-up @ 8-4 / 6-2. The Leopards (Lafayette) basically were handed their lunch by the Wildcats, a 45-7 whipping!. New Hampshire now moves on to Orono, Maine, to take on the CAA Champ, the Maine Bears 10-2 / 7-1, who had a first round bye, ….. on the Bears home field, Alfond Stadium! These teams played the last week of the season and New Hampshire handed Maine their only conference loss, 24-3!

New Hampshire 41 Maine 27: The Wildcats from New Hampshire were out to prove their first win over the Bears from Maine was no fluke and did so in convincing fashion outgaining the Bears 495 to 384, winning the Turnover battle 2 to 1, & outperforming Maine on 3rd down conversions! Up Next: New Hampshire 9-4 is @ SE Louisiana 11-2 

Bethune-Cookman (10-3 / 7-1) a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) located in Daytona Beach, FL traveled to Conway, South Carolina to  challenge, Coastal Carolina, (11-2 & 4-1), the winner of the Big South Conference! B-C was out-scored by CC, 48-24! Coastal Carolina now heads west, to take on Montana, 10-2 / 6-2 from the Big Sky Conference, @ Grizzly Stadium!

Coastal Carolina 42 @ Montana 35: Coastal Carolina jumped all over Montana, building a 35-14 lead at the half and then held of the Grizzles to secure the 7 point win! Montana closed to 42-35 with 5 plus minutes to play, but SE Louisiana was able to hold the ball for the remainder of the game … running out the clock! Up Next: SE Louisiana 11-2 travels to 2 time defending champ, North Dakota State 12-0

Tennessee State 10-3 / 6-2 from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) took on Butler, 9-4 / 7-1, champions of the Pioneer Conference, in Indianapolis @ the Butler Bowl! Tennessee State pounded the Bulldogs, 31-0. Up next for TSU is Eastern Illinois, 11-1 / 8-0, the OVC Champs, the Tigers will travel to Charleston, Il and play the Panthers on their home field, O’Brian Stadium! These teams met earlier in the year at LP Field, a game won by EIU, 34-16!

Tennessee State 10 Eastern Illinois 51: The Tigers were out to prove their 34-16 loss, at home, to EIU was a game that would have a very different ending the 2nd time around … it did. This time Eastern built a 37 -0 lead by half time and extended to 44-0 before State was able to get on the board! Next Up for EIU 12-1 hosts Towson 11-2

Sacred Heart (10-3 & 4-2), Northeast Conference Champion battled Fordham (12-1 / 5-1), from the Patriot League. The Pioneers fell to the Rams, 37-27 and now, Fordham heads to Towson, Maryland to take on the University of Towson (10-2 / 6-2), who tied for 2nd place in the CAA. 

Fordham 28 @ Towson 48: These teams battled to a 21-21 halftime tie … but it was all Towson in the second half! The Tigers outscored the Rams 27 to 7 in the second half of the contest holding Fordham to 32 total yards rushing! Up Next: Towson 11-2 heads for Charleston, Illinois to take on Eastern Illinois 12-1

Furman (8-5 / 6-2) from the Southern Conference, located in Greendale, South Carolina challenged in-state rival, South Carolina State (9-4 / 7-1) A MEAC Team from Orangeburg, South Carolina! The Furman Paladins outscored the SC St. Bulldogs, 14-3 in the 3rd quarter and went on to win by a margin of 10, 30-20! Next up for the Paladins is a cross country trip to two-time defending FCS champ, North Dakota State (11-0 & 8-0) from the Missouri Valley (MVC)!

Furman 7 North Dakota State 38: The Bison were up 10-7 at halftime, but the defending champs lowered the boom in the 2nd half out scoring the Paladins, 28-0! NDSU outgained Furman 516 to 327 in total yards and were an amazing 11-for 13 on 3rd down conversions! Up Next: NDSU 12-0 welcome SE Louisiana 11-2 to frigid Fargo … good thing they play in a dome … or this one would already be over!!!

Southern Utah (8-5 / 5-3) a Big Sky Affiliate headed south and a little East to play Sam Houston State (9-4 / 4-3) a powerhouse from the Southland Conference. Sam Houston had their way with the out-manned Thunderbirds, 51-20!  The Bearkats now head for Louisiana, to take on SE Louisiana (10-2 / 7-0), the champions of the Southland conference! In a game played earlier this year, Sam Houston State lost to the Lions, 34-21, turnovers were the difference in the game, as the Lions forced the Bearkats to give the ball up on 3 occasions while not dropping the rock at all!

Sam Houston State 29  SE Louisiana 30: This was the day’s best game coming down to the last minute of play … SE Louisiana trailing 29 to 24, scored on a 1 yard pass with 36 seconds left to play! Up Next: The Lions 11-2 travel North to the Bad Lands to take on the Bison of NDSU 12-0!

South Dakota State (9-4 / 5-3) from the MVC took on Northern Arizona (9-3 / 7-1) from the Big Sky Conference. The game was tied at half 7 all, but it was all Jackrabbits in the second half, as they scored 19 unanswered point to win pulling away, 26-7! SD State now heads west to take on another Big Sky Team, Eastern Washington, (10-2 / 8-0) the Champions of the Big Sky Conference! Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona did not meet on this year’s conference schedule … so no common opponent to use for comparison!

South Dakota State 17 Eastern Washington 41: This game was tied at half, 14-14, before the Eagles of Eastern Washington outscored the Jackrabits of SDSU 13 to 3 in the 3rd quarter & 14-0 in the final stanza! Up Next: EWU 11-2 hosts Jacksonville State 11-3

Samford (8-5 / 6-2) from the Southern Conference (SOCON) traveled to Jacksonville, Alabama to take on Jacksonville State (10-3 / 5-3) from the OVC! A bad idea, as the J-State Gamecocks hammered the Bulldogs, 55-14! The Gamecocks now head for Lake Charles, LA to take on McNeese State (10-2 / 6-1), the 2nd place Team of the Southland Conference!

Jacksonville State 31 McNeese State 10: J-State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half and never looked back. The teams traded scores in the 2nd stanza … 10 points each in the 3rd & 4th quarters! Up Next: Jacksonville 11-3 heads west to take on Eastern Washington 11-2

This is a great Tournament and to well kept of a secret! Make sure you work some of these games into your TV football schedule … I think you will be surprised by the high quality of play!

Enjoy the Games!