We’re previewing the key games and storylines each week throughout the 2024 college football season. Our FCS coverage is the home for the Top 25 media poll, FCS National Awards, predictive TRACR model and much more. Week 6 has arrivied.
The FCS season is only moving into the first weekend of October, but there’s a case of “it’s getting late early” for some teams that expected to contend for their conference championship.
Beginning conference play with a loss tightens the margin or error and often means a team needs to go on a run. Some 0-1 teams in conference aren’t catching a break with the schedule in Week 6 of the regular season, including Idaho facing Northern Arizona in the Big Sky, Southern Conference favorite Chattanooga playing at ETSU, and Illinois State and Southern Illinois trying to fend off 0-2 against each other.
Then there’s the Big South-OVC, where Eastern Illinois hosts Southeast Missouri, and one of last year’s co-champs, Gardner-Webb or UT Martin, is guaranteed of 0-2 after they face off.
FCS Football Week 6 Preview
FCS Game of the Week
No. 7 North Dakota (4-1, 1-0 MVFC) at No. 2 North Dakota State (4-1, 1-0)
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota (ABC North Dakota/Midco Sports/ESPN+)
Notable: This is the season’s first matchup of two top-10 teams in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. UND, not NDSU, holds a 63-50-3 lead in a series that began in 1894. In last year’s 49-24 win at home, the Fighting Hawks returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and went on to score the most points allowed by NDSU in its Division I era (since 2004). However, despite dominating play at home, UND has lost seven of its last eight road games (against strong competition, it should be added). Offensive efficiency has been key with these rivals, with NDSU (36:29) and UND (34:16) ranking second and third, respectively, in FCS average time of possession behind only Youngstown State (38:00). NDSU quarterback Cam Miller (43 straight starts) leads the FCS with a 78.3 completion%, throwing nine touchdowns without an interception while having a new go-to wide receiver in Bryce Lance (28 receptions, 305 yards, four TDs). UND signal caller Simon Romfo has big-play weapons in WR Bo Belquist (24-478-5) and RB Isaiah Smith (six TDs). UND is coming off its highest point total since 1928 (72 against Murray State), while NDSU allowed only eight net rushing yards with five sacks at Illinois State (Eli Mostaert was MVFC defensive player of the week). NDSU is 33-6 at home against FCS top-10 teams.
The Pick: North Dakota State
Second-and-10
1. The scoreboard operator will be taxed by the pace of No. 5 Central Arkansas (4-1, 1-0) at No. 16 Abilene Christian (3-2, 2-0). They’re the United Athletic Conference’s top-scoring offenses (UCA, 40.0 points per game, and ACU, 38.2) and rank fourth (ACU, 488.2) and fifth (UCA, 485.4) in the FCS in offensive yards per game. No FCS school has ever had Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan Award winners in the same season, but UCA could challenge for that double with running back ShunDerrick Powell (201 scrimmage yards per game, 12 TDs) and defensive end David Walker (10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks).
2. Central Arkansas stands in the way of the four FCS teams that are 4-0 or 5-0 from sweeping the top four spots nationally in point differential. Butler (4-0) has outscored opponents by 151 points, No. 11 Mercer (5-0) is +125, Delaware (4-0) +116 and No. 3 Montana State (5-0) +104, with Central Arkansas fourth at +105.
3. The two quarterbacks who combined for all of the starts for Montana’s 2023 FCS runner-up squad are starring in the Southland Conference after making transfers. Clifton McDowell first went to Temple earlier this year only to wind up at McNeese – his sixth school – where he’s averaging 274 yards of total offense and has led the Cowboys to four wins and a No. 22 ranking (they finished 0-10 a year ago). Sam Vidlak is a junior at Stephen F. Austin who has a Southland-high 12 TD passes (also tied for third nationally). The two signal callers faced off last month, with both playing well in McNeese’s 28-24 win.
4. The Big South-OVC scenario is a bit precarious for a nine-team conference that seeks multiple bids to the FCS playoffs one year after it had two of the first four teams to fall short of an at-large bid (UT Martin and Eastern Illinois). The teams picked first (UTM, which has an FBS win over Kennesaw State), second (EIU), fourth (Tennessee State), fifth (Gardner-Webb) and sixth (Charleston Southern) in the conference’s preseason poll each opened with a loss in its first conference game (TSU has since evened its conference mark). One of the early winners, Lindenwood, picked eighth, but 1-0 after it rallied to beat EIU on Jeff Caldwell’s four TD receptions, is ineligible for the playoffs.
5. Florida A&M returns to action at Alabama State, one week after Hurricane Helene went around Tallahassee, but postponed the defending SWAC champion’s scheduled conference opener against Alabama A&M. The Rattlers (2-2), benefiting from transfer quarterback Daniel Richardson’s strong play, and ASU are tied 19-19-2 heading into their 41st all-time meeting. The Alabama A&M postponement – to be made up on Nov. 29 – causes the Rattlers to have three open weeks in a five-week span, with ASU being their only FCS opponent in a 48-day span.
6. In the SoCon, ETSU (3-2, 1-0) was the inspiring story of FCS Week 5 before it gained a No. 23 national ranking this week, but Chattanooga (1-3, 0-1) heads to Johnson City basically facing a must-win. The Mocs haven’t won the conference title since 2015, even though they were the preseason favorite in 2016, ’21, ’22, and, yes, this year. After a 10-3 loss to Mercer in their SoCon opener, they seemingly figured out a lot during a bye week, as quarterback Chase Artopoeus came out of it with 394 passing yards and four TD passes (three to Javin Whatley) in a 45-30 win against Portland State. In addition, Saturday’s Western Carolina home game against Wofford will be played without spectators to keep area keep roads clear for emergency and disaster relief vehicles during Hurricane Helene cleanup.
7. Eastern Washington’s tradition-rich program is in offensive shootouts so often that it may seem like it frequently loses by scores such as 52-49, as it did to Montana last Saturday. That was actually the first time the Eagles have fallen with that may points since a 59-52 defeat to Washington in 2014. Earlier this season, Abilene Christian fell to Texas Tech 52-51 in overtime. Since 2014, those two teams are joined by Davidson, Fordham, Montana State, Morehead State, Sacramento State and Samford with having two losses despite scoring at least 49 points. Sacramento State has had it happen a whopping five times since 1999.
8. Surprise, No. 12 William & Mary is No. 2 in FCS TRACR, sandwiched between the most-recent FCS champions, North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The CAA squad is averaging 281.6 rushing yards per game (fourth-best in the FCS) behind the trio of RBs Bronson Yoder and Malachi Imoh and QB Darius Wilson, and Jalen Jones leads the FCS with 11 passes defended, but on Saturday, the Tribe are facing one of the nation’s more-tested teams – Towson’s losses are to Cincinnati, Villanova and North Dakota State.
9. The United Athletic Conference boasts the FCS’ top three in rushing yards: Tarleton State’s Kayvon Britten (833), Central Arkansas’ ShunDerrick Powell (810) and Southern Utah’s Targhee Lambson (711). They’re ranked first (166.6), second (162.0) and fourth (142.2), respectively, in rushing yards per game, with Penn’s Malachi Hosley (153.5) third.
10. Punters booming kicks are often judged by punts of 50+ yards. Charleston Southern junior Gilbert Brown is taking it to another level, averaging 50.4 yards on 22 punts to lead the entire NCAA. He’s had at least one punt of 60+ yards in each of the Buccaneers’ four games, including 72- and 68-yard blasts against Tennessee State last Saturday, and 10 of 50+ yards. The FCS seasonal high for 50+ punts: Idaho State’s David Harrington’s 48.7-yard average in 2011.
FCS Football Week 6 Top 25 Schedule
All Times ET Saturday Unless Noted
1. South Dakota State (3-1, 0–0 MVFC): at Northern Iowa (5 p.m., ESPN+)
2. North Dakota State (4-1, 1-0 MVFC): No. 7North Dakota (3:30 p.m., ABC North Dakota/Midco Sports/ESPN+)
3. Montana State (5-0, 1-0 Big Sky): Northern Colorado (4 p.m., Scripps/ESPN+)
4. South Dakota (3-1, 1-0 MVFC): at Murray State (3 p.m., ESPN+)
5. Central Arkansas (4-1, 1-0 UAC): at No. 16 Abilene Christian (4 p.m., ESPN+)
6. Villanova (4-1, 1-0 CAA): at Stony Brook(3:30 p.m., FloFootball)
7. North Dakota (4-1, 1-0 MVFC): atNo. 2 North Dakota State (3:30 p.m., ABC North Dakota/Midco Sports/ESPN+)
8. Montana (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky): Weber State(3 p.m., MTN/ESPN+)
9. UC Davis (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky): at Portland State (4 p.m., ESPN+)
10. Idaho (3-2, 0-1 Big Sky): No. 25 Northern Arizona (5 p.m., ESPN+/SWX)
11. Mercer (5-0, 3-0 SoCon): No game
12. William & Mary (4-1, 1-0 CAA): at Towson (6 p.m., Monumental Sports Network/FloFootball)
13. Southeast Missouri (4-1, 1-0 Big South-OVC): at Eastern Illinois (3 p.m., ESPN+)
14. Tarleton State (4-1, 1-0 UAC):at Southern Utah (8 p.m., ESPN+)
15. UIW (2-2, 0-0 Southland): Prairie View A&M (7 p.m., ESPN+)
16. Abilene Christian (3-2, 2-0 UAC): No. 5 Central Arkansas (4 p.m., ESPN+)
17. Sacramento State (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky): No game
18. Illinois State (3-2, 0-1 MVFC): at No. 19 Southern Illinois (7 p.m., ESPN+)
19. Southern Illinois (2-3, 0-1 MVFC): No. 18 Illinois State (7 p.m., ESPN+)
20. Rhode Island (3-1, 1-0 CAA): at Hampton (2 p.m., FloFootball)
21. New Hampshire (3-1, 1-0 CAA): at Harvard (7 p.m. Friday, NESN/ESPN+)
22. McNeese (4-2, 1-0 Southland): at HCU (7 p.m., ESPN+)
23. ETSU (3-2, 1-0 SoCon): Chattanooga (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
24. Lamar (3-2, 0-0 Southland): No game
25. Northern Arizona (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky): at No. 4 Idaho (5 p.m., ESPN+/SWX)
Main Photo Credit: UT Martin Athletics
Did you like the FCS Football Week 6 Preview? Follow all of our FCS football coverage, including on X, Facebook and Instagram.