FCS Week 7 Recap: Unrest Up Top

There has not been a calm and quiet week in the FCS yet but this last weekend may have been the craziest one so far. Several ranked teams suffered losses and, as has been the case for well over a month now, the Top 25 voters are going to have a difficult job in front of them for next week’s polls. Here’s what unfolded in another crazy, whacky and all-around chaotic weekend in the subdivision:

North Dakota Slays #1 SDSU Behind Strong Defensive Showing

For the second time this season the top-ranked team went down. #11 North Dakota handed #1 South Dakota State its first loss to an FCS opponent this year. The Hawks defense, which got star defensive end Lance Rucker back from injury, sacked Jackrabbits quarterback Chase Mason, who was also returning from injury, twice and defended nine passes. Sophomore DB Grant Noland was responsible for nine of those pass breakups. South Dakota State’s usually-effective offense was held to just 169 yards through the air. Star receiver Lofton O’Groske had one catch for 13 yards and running back Josaiah Johnson mustered just 54 yards on 17 carries. UND consistently won the third down battle, stopping SDSU 11 times on the critical down. North Dakota improves to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in Missouri Valley play as they prepare for South Dakota next week. The Jacks, meanwhile, slip to 5-2 overall (2-1 MVFC). They will face Murray State next.

Cornell Hands Lehigh First Regular Season Loss in Nearly Two Years

For the first time since November of 2024 the Mountain Hawks have lost a regular season game. Lehigh fell to Cornell 48-38 on Saturday as Big Red quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio put up 366 passing yards and three total touchdowns. Despite another strong performance from running back Luke Yoder, who ran for 142 yards on 19 carries, Lehigh was not able to get it done. They struggled defensively, allowing Cornell to rack up 600 total yards. Getting off the field was a major problem as the Big Red held the ball for over 36 minutes and converted eight of their 12 third down attempts. The loss will not hurt the Mountain Hawks’ conference standing in the Patriot League but will drop them to 6-1 overall on the season. Cornell improves to 3-2 on the year.

Rhode Island Bounces Back at Yale

For several weeks Rhode Island has been in freefall but they finally stopped the bleeding over the weekend and picked up a big road win at Yale. Still without quarterback Devin Farrell, the Rams got a big day from Alex McClelland under center as he passed for 285 yards and four scores. More impressively, McClelland did that all on just 11 completions, putting up an average of over 17.8 yards per attempt. Star receiver Marquis Buchanan was on the other end of seven of those passes and went off for 193 yards and two scores. The URI defense held Yale signal-caller Dante Reno to just 105 yards but did give up a staggering 243 to Bulldogs running back Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni. Regardless, Rhode Island has its first resounding win in well over a month as they now sit at 4-3. Yale stumbles to 3-2.

Vandals Complete Montana Sweep, Upset Grizzlies for Stein

For the second time in three weeks, Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood willed his team to a win over a Montana team. On Saturday Wood helped orchestrate a 42-35 win over the Grizzles in Missoula and take home the ‘Little Brown Stein’ trophy for the first time since 2022. Wood completed 30 of his 38 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 85 yards and another score. Montana’s defense struggled for the second consecutive week, allowing the Vandals to pick up 32 first downs and convert on third down 11 times. The Griz offense did well on its side of things with Keali’i Ah Yat throwing for 338 yards and five TDs of his own. Eli Gillman ran for 139 yards on 19 carries but it was not enough. The Grizzlies fall to 5-3 on the year and 3-2 in Big Sky play while Idaho improves to 2-5 (2-2 Big Sky). Montana heads into its bye week while the Vandals prepare to host Southern Utah next Saturday.

Tarleton State, SFA Remain Unbeatend

On a Saturday where chaos ran wild across the subdivision yet again, a pair of top teams in Tarleton State and Stephen F. Austin avoided the upset bug and took home comfortable wins to stay undefeated. The Texans found themselves in a dogfight with Central Arkansas but eventually pulled away for the 49-35 victory. Kaden Anderson had another big day, throwing for five touchdowns while Tanner Schmidt hauled in seven receptions for 114 yards and two scores. Chris Robinson led the way on the other side for TSU, logging 13 tackles, two of which came behind the line of scrimmage. Tarleton will take its 7-0 record on the road to West Georgia next week to take on the Wolves.

SFA blanked Nichols over in the Southland to pick up a similar 7-0 mark. The Lumberjacks defense was terrific, authoring three sacks and holding the myriad of Colonels passers to 106 total yards on the night. Their own quarterback, Gavin Rutherford, was excellent as well, passing for 233 yards and four touchdowns along with no interceptions. In the penalty-laden game, Nicholls was not able to muster anything against a stifling SFA team who looks as impressive as any of the top teams in the FCS right now. The Lumberjacks are 4-0 in conference play and will take on Southeastern Louisiana (who just upset Lamar) at home next Saturday.