Week 7 Preview

This is a big week for the FCS.  Pretenders will be separated out and the conferences will come into focus.

Let us start with Youngstown St. vs. Illinois St.  Both teams have one loss, and still in the hunt for the Missouri Valley title.  Youngstown is coming off that amazing loss to NDSU.  Both teams are ranked, but a loss here by Youngstown will virtually knock it out of the conference race and make a long string of must win games to stay in the playoff race.

Eastern Washington travels to Montana St. to see who ought to be ranked second nationally.  Montana St holds that honor now.  The winner is in control of the Big Sky, but neither team has played Montana, so it is not a lock.  The winner will have a clear path to homefield in the playoffs, and that is no small thing.

Wofford vs. Georgia Southern is another battle of top 10 ranked schools.  Wofford is 5-0, but really only has one decent win.  Georgia Southern had an early stumble, but has been rolling lately.  The winner is in control of the SoCon, but if Wofford wins, then Georgia Southern is going to have to win several big games (including App St) to ensure playoff appearances.  This is a big test to see if Wofford is for real.

We can't forget NDSU vs. Indiana St.  NDSU should not lose in the Fargo Dome, but Indiana State is having a nice year at 4-2.

Central Arkansas vs. McNeese St. is an important game in the Southland conference.  Both teams have one loss in conference and another would finish their hopes.  Central Arkansas is the team I favor, but they are playing at McNeese, so this will be a game to watch.

And before we give the Big Sky to the Montana St or Eastern Washington winner, we ought to stop and remind ourselves that Cal Poly is undefeated.  That ought to continue as they host Northern Colorado.

The CAA has a trio of games to watch.  William and Mary at James Madison ought to end with Madison winning, but rivalry games cannot be taken for granted.  Villanova rolls into Old Dominion and tries to dethrone the undefeated Monarchs in a battle for the top of the conference.  And New Hampshire hosts Richmond in a game that has playoff implications.

One other game of ranked teams should not be forgotten either is Samford hosting App St.  The Mountaineers have not looked dominate this year and Samford has looked pretty good.  They both have one loss in conference, and the loser could be on the outside looking in come playoff time.  The SoCon usually sends three teams, the loser of this game would be sitting in fourth.

Enjoy the great games.  Things are heating up!