FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION
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Around FCS: The Perils of the CAA
By David Coulson, FCS Executive Director Philadelphia, PA.
(Sports Network) - As a kid, I remember watching a television movie called "The Perils of Pauline." In this show, a young, blonde damsel encountered endless terrifying moments each week. She survived each pratfall before moving to the next cliff-hanging moment.
Sort of sounds like life each week for football teams in the Colonial Athletic Association.
In just its second year of sponsoring football, the CAA has lived through a 2007 season where a record five of its teams made the NCAA playoffs.
In 2008, six of its teams - fully half of the current league membership - has been ranked in the Sports Network Top-25 poll for the whole season.
Then on Monday, two of those teams - Richmond and James Madison - were ranked one-two in the poll. It was a first for a league in any of its various name combinations, be it the Yankee Conference, the Atlantic 10, or the CAA.
"It used to be that you could look on your schedule before the start of the year and say you will win this game and that game," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. "But you can't do that anymore. It is difficult every week." Richmond was anointed the No. 1 team in the country on Monday for the first time since the 1985 campaign, but the Spiders will have to survive a harrowing visit to No. 19 Villanova on Saturday to remain on top. Richmond hasn't won at Villanova since 2000 and are 9-18 lifetime against the Wildcats.
James Madison has survived an early-season gauntlet that has seen the Dukes knock off No.
3 Massachusetts in league play and No. 1 Appalachian State of the Southern Conference in the past two weeks.
Some folks might think a trip to Orono, ME. would be a nice respite for JMU, but the Dukes have split six road meetings with Maine since Mickey Matthews became the James Madison coach.
So before you go anticipating a showdown between No. 1 and 2 ranked teams on Oct.
11 in Richmond, just remember that the Spiders and the Dukes have some work to do before then.
Richmond is on the road for a non-conference game against VMI and JMU is at home for a CAA meeting with Hofstra. Those should be wins for the Spiders and Dukes, but you never know in the world of FCS.
And whoever survives that Oct. 11 encounter still has the rest of the CAA minefield to dodge.
For Richmond, it is games at Massachusetts, Hofstra and William & Mary, with a home contest against Delaware thrown in. For James Madison, it is games at Villanova and Towson, with home encounters against Delaware and William & Mary.
Those are schedules that would even make Pauline nervous.
CONFERENCE SHOWDOWNS One of the things I like best about this time of year is we begin to move more aggressively into conference play and start seeing some classic matchups and great rivalries showing up on schedules.
Two showdowns in particular to try to catch on Saturday night are in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the SoCon, though you might need two television screens to keep up with them.
No.
5 Northern Iowa travels to No. 15 Southern Illinois in a series that has been filled with dramatic, last-second finishes. It has also been a series dominated by home teams in the past 11 years.
The last time the visiting team won in the series was 1996, when Northern Iowa crushedtheSalukis 33-7 behindplayers like receiver Dedric Ward, quarterback Steve Beard and running back Jeff Stovall, while Matt Pederson led the defense.
Last season, UNI held on for a 30-24 victory when the Panthers stopped Southern Illinois six yards short of the end zone on a wild, desperation play.
SIU quarterback Nick Hill passed to running back John Randle, who then pitched the ball back to Hill. Hill eventually sent a lateral to speedy Alan Turner, who weaved down the field until he was stopped by UNI safety Chris Parsons at the six-yard line.
The game ultimately decided the Gateway Conference title and maybe the top seed for the playoffs, as Northern Iowa finished the regular season 11-0, while the Salukis were 10-1.
In 2005, Northern Iowa needed a victory in its final Gateway Conference game to keep its hopes of a playoff berth and a share of the league title alive.
Trailing 24-10 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Eric Sanders led a ferocious Panther comeback. Brian Wingert's 21-yard field goal capped a 12-play, 62-yard drive and Sanders then fired touchdown strikes of 13 yards to Patrick Hunter and 35 yards to Jamie Goodwin to give UNI a one-point lead.
Northern Iowa then held off Southern Illinois on a fourth and four play, with linebacker Darin Heideman stopping tailback Arkie Whitlock one yard short of the first-down marker. After beating Northern Arizona in the regular-season finale, UNI went on to advance all the way to the national championship game before losing to Appalachian State, 21-16.
The games in Carbondale, IL. have been less dramatic in recent years, with the Salukis winning 34-14 in 2000, 42-13 in 2002 and 47-23 in 2006.
But there was that 2004 game, where SIU won 40-36 at McAndrew Stadium when Saluki safety Marlon Heaston picked off an Eric Sanders pass at the two-yard line as time expired. It was the first significant action for Sanders, who replaced injured senior Tom Petrie.
I'd look more for a game like the 2004 contest on Saturday night.
Wofford has been somewhat of a thorn in the flesh for Georgia Southern in recent years, winning four of the past six games in this burgeoning series.
The Terriers stunned the Eagles 14-7 in Statesboro, GA. in 2002 to announce themselves as an up and coming FCS squad. Georgia Southern went on to win the SoCon title.
Wofford fell a game short of a piece of that crown and the playoffs, but the Terriers righted that wrong the next season by beating Georgia Southern 20-14 behind a big performance from fullback Kevious Johnson and the Wofford defense.
That Terrier team went on to win its first SoCon title and advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.
Georgia Southern recovered some of its dignity with a 58-14 victory at Paulson Stadium in 2004, but Wofford bit the Eagles again, 21-17, in 2005 and thumped them 28-10 in 2006.
When Georgia Southern met Wofford last season in Spartanburg, S.C., the teams were fighting for another SoCon championship. Georgia Southern won the battle, 38-35, but Wofford won the war by tying Appalachian State for the conference crown.
It's too early to tell if this year's game will have that kind of significance in the long run, but it is still a contest between the No. 14 Terriers and the No. 24 Eagles.
OTHER GAMES TO WATCH I'll be venturing into an FCS triple header this weekend, catching Hofstra at Stony Brook on Friday night in a game also being televised by the Madison Square Garden network (MSG) before making my way to Villanova for the Wildcats' showdown with No.
1 Richmond on Saturday afternoon (televised on CN-8).
My football weekend will end at Delaware, where I'll get my first in-person look at Albany, the Fresno State of FCS. The Great Danes, led by running back David McCarty, have looked good in tough losses to UMass (28-16) and New Hampshire (32-24) and a 22-16 victory over Hofstra.
A victory against No. 17 Delaware would be Albany's second over a team from an automatic bid conference and could put the Great Danes in position for a playoff berth under the earned-access rule that will be in place this year when the playoff selection committee meets.
If Albany can win the rest of its games to take the Northeast Conference title, finish 9-2 and move into a consensus position of 16th or better in the Sports Network poll, the coaches poll and the Gridiron Power Index, the Great Danes would crack the playoff field.
Liberty is another team looking for a big win over a playoff-conference team. The No. 25-ranked Flames travel to the Ice Castle to take on Youngstown State in probably the biggest game this decade for Liberty.
Like Albany, Liberty seriously upgraded its schedule this season, with games against Western Carolina, YSU, Lafayette and Elon. That gives the Flames four chances to earn two wins from auto-bid conferences.
Payton Award candidate Rashad Jennings is one of several potent weapons in the Liberty attack, along with left-handed quarterback Brook Smith, running back Zach Terrell and receivers Dominic Bolden and Jonathan Crawford.
Left for dead a couple of weeks ago after losses to Ohio State and South Dakota State, a key injury to All-American defensive tackle Mychal Savage and the loss of starting quarterback Todd Rowan, who quit the team, the Penguins rose to life last week by beating No. 3 North Dakota State 32-24.
The Penguins were ranked 12th in the country in the preseason and could climb back into the poll with a win over Liberty.
Like Albany and Liberty, another team to watch closely this weekend is Tennessee State. The Tigers are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since going 6-0 at the beginning of the 2001 campaign.
The Tigers will be on display nationally from the Georgia Dome when they face Florida A&M Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic on Versus.
While Tennessee State had cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie drafted 16th overall by the Arizona Cardinals, there is still plenty of talent left on this suddenly resurgent squad.
Quarterback Antonio Heffner, a great run-pass threat, is healthy again after recovering from a broken ankle last season and Payton Award candidate Javarris Williams is rounding into form at running back.
Receiver Chris Johnson, center Cecil Newton and preseason All-American tackle Cornelius Lewis are other standouts that have caught the eyes of pro scouts.
Senior linebacker Remond Willis has taken the mantle as the Tigers' defensive leader from Rodgers-Cromartie.
Florida A&M, now under the guidance of respected coach Joe Taylor, is making strides after several years of chaos in Tallahassee, FL. and should provide TSU with a good challenge.
Kentucky transfer Curtis Pulley and holdover Eddie Battle have been a two-man crew at quarterback for a Rattler offense averaging over 36 points per game.
09/24 17:38:18 ET