FCS Football Week 6 Breakdown
Appalachian State's run at the top of the Football Championship Series rankings is over for now. Its chances to win the 2011 national title are nowhere finished, not with the playoff format the FCS uses. That playoff is several weeks away. For now, the first month and a half of the season will be in the books after Saturday, and there are several top-25 matchups on the agenda to keep things interesting. Spotlighting the matchup list is a strong Missouri Valley Conference showdown involving the nation's new number-one squad.
Here is a look at what's ahead for the sixth week of the season:
NO. 20 INDIANA STATE AT NO. 1 NORTHERN IOWA (5 p.m. Saturday at UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa)
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls area of northeast Iowa is celebrating now that the Panthers have the top spot in the nation. That top ranking will immediately be put to the test thanks to this MVC showdown. Indiana State (4-1 overall, 2-0 MVC) has been on a roll since a week-one thrashing by Penn State, and the Sycamores beat South Dakota State 38-28 a week ago. Northern Iowa (3-1, 2-0) has won 23 of its 27 meetings against Indiana State, including the last eight contests. Shakir Bell accounted for 22 carries, 199 yards and two touchdowns, and Ronnie Fouch was 14-for-21 for 168 yards and a touchdown. However, he was also intercepted once and sacked three times by South Dakota State, leaving an opportunity for Northern Iowa's defense to possibly pounce. Northern Iowa comes off a 42-7 win over Missouri State, highlighted by 114 yards rushing and two touchdowns by David Johnson and 209 yards passing and a touchdown by Tirrell Rennie. Look out for Jordan Smith and L.J. Fort on defense, as the two combined for 30 tackles for Northern Iowa.
NO. 15 CHATTANOOGA AT NO. 2 GEORGIA SOUTHERN (3:05 p.m. Saturday at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia)
The big Southern Conference matchup, not to mention a Tennessee-Georgia border war, takes place Saturday as Georgia Southern welcomes Chattanooga to town. Chattanooga (2-3, 0-2) led Citadel 27-14 going into the fourth quarter last week, but two surprise touchdowns sent the Mocs to a crushing 28-27 defeat that might have killed the team's Southern Conference championship hopes. Quarterback B.J. Coleman ran for one touchdown and passed for another on the way to 253 yards, but he was also intercepted twice. The Chattanooga rushing attack was held to 56 yards rushing on 29 carries and that could pose a big problem if Georgia Southern targets Chattanooga's passing game and the rushing falters. Georgia Southern (4-0, 3-0) had a great day out of quarterback Jaybo Shaw, who threw for three touchdowns in a 41-14 win over Elon. Georgia Southern has a 20-4 lead in the all-time series, but the Eagles lost 35-27 on October 16, 2010 and three of the last five years have been losses for them (the other Chattanooga victory took place in 1996).
NO. 8 WILLIAM AND MARY AT NO. 16 DELAWARE (6 p.m. Saturday at Raymond Field in Newark, Delaware)
The key Colonial Athletic Association showdown this week takes place in Delaware as William and Mary (3-2, 1-1) takes on the Blue Hens (3-2, 1-1) in what should be an evenly-matched contest. Delaware holds a 20-15 edge in the overall series, but William and Mary is on an upswing with wins in the last three contests, including a 17-16 win over Delaware last season. Close contests have been the norm for the Tribe as of late, having come off a 20-16 win at Villanova last week. Two late field goals of 34 and 23 yards by Drake Kuhn enabled William and Mary to win the contest. Jonathan Grimes ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Graham passed for 171 yards but was sacked twice in the contest. Delaware's three-game winning streak came to an end in a 31-17 loss to Maine last week, as the Blue Hens ground out 278 total yards only to have Maine rack up 477 in victory. William and Mary's defense could be in for a good day if Delaware can't protect quarterback Tim Donnelly (three sacks, four interceptions against Maine).
NO. 13 NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT NO. 17 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (3 p.m. Saturday at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois)
Another big Missouri Valley Conference test comes this weekend when North Dakota State has its second straight game against an Illinois-based opponent. NDSU is coming off a 20-10 victory against Illinois State, which improved the Bison to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league play. It was North Dakota State's first conference-opening win in four tries. Illinois State outgained NDSU 397-331 last week, but Bison quarterback Brock Jensen was 15-for-22 for 207 yards and a touchdown despite three Illinois State sacks. The Bison outscore Southern Illinois (2-2, 1-1) by 13 points (38.8 to 25.8) and the Salukis outgain North Dakota State 434-369 (average total yards per team), so this could be a topsy-turvy game. Southern Illinois has a change at quarterback as Kory Faulkner replaces Paul McIntosh behind center. Southern Illinois leads the overall series 3-2 but has won all three games in Carbondale, and all three wins have been by ten points or fewer. Southern Illinois lost 27-21 to Western Illinois last week, as the Leathernecks scored on a 77-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining.
NO. 3 WOFFORD AT THE CITADEL (1 p.m. Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, S.C.)
This is not a top-25 matchup but it is a big Southern Conference matchup for many reasons. Wofford can't have a letdown following last week's 28-14 takedown of Appalachian State, which knocked the Mountaineers from the No. 1 position. Wofford (3-1, 2-0) jumped out to a 14-0 lead and hung on to outgain Appalachian State 407-247 and pick up the victory. Donovan Johnson scored twice on the ground, and Derek Boyce and Mitch Allen each had a touchdown in the win. The Citadel is coming off the huge win against Chattanooga despite only gaining three yards through the air. The Citadel outgained Chattanooga 265-56 in rushing, led by Ben Dupree's 83 yards and two touchdowns. This shouldn't be a big test for Wofford, but remember what The Citadel did last week and you may understand why this game could be an unexpectedly close one.
