Welcome to the FCS Football Talk podcast.
On this episode, Sam Herder and Zach McKinnell discuss:
-Week 6 Three Game Balls and A Flag
-What are the biggest midseason questions?
1. How good is Montana State?
2. Who has the best odds to win the FCS title?
3. What do we make of the CAA race?
4. Can a RB win the Walter Payton Award?
-Week 7 previews
No. 7 Idaho at No. 3 Montana State
No. 24 North Arizona at No. 14 Montana
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3 Game Balls and a Flag
Each week of the 2024 FCS football season, the FCS Football Talk podcast will award three game balls and a flag from the previous weekend’s action.
The game balls are awarded to three standout teams or individual players, while the flag is thrown after a disappointing performance or questionable coaching decision.
Below are the three game balls and a flag from Week 6.
Zach’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: Towson
- Towson pulled off a huge Top 15 upset over No. 12 William & Mary
- It was the third upset over a Top 15 opponent in the past two seasons, including back-to-back wins over the Tribe
- The Tigers established their dominance on the ground, rushing for over 200 yards and one touchdown
- Tyrell Greene Jr.: 133 rushing yards & 1 TD (8.9 YPC)
- John Dunmore had an outstanding performance with 3 receptions for 52 receiving yards and two touchdowns
- The defense forced two key turnovers in the second half, including a 78-yard defensive touchdown from Branson Peters
- Will Middleton: 9 total tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and 1 sack
- Game Ball: Houston Christian
- Houston Christian stunned No. 22 McNeese in a 43-22 upset loss, the first ranked victory of the season for the Huskies
- The Huskies are 3-3 (1-0 Southland) in their first season under head coach Jason Bachtel
- The Huskies exploded for over 620 total yards, averaging over 7.5 yards per play
- QB Eli Brickhandler: 159 passing yards, 138 rushing yards, and one touchdown
- Houston Christian’s rushing attack finished the game with over 414 rushing yards and two touchdowns (7.1 YPC)
- Defensively, Houston Christian held McNeese to 105 rushing yards and only 3.2 yards per carry
- Braden Hay led the Huskies with 10 total tackles and two tackles for loss
- Game Ball: Villanova
- No. 6 Villanova defeated Stony Brook 42-24 in a key CAA matchup in Week 6
- The Wildcats move to 5-1 (2-0 CAA) with a ranked victory over Youngstown State earlier this season
- Running back David Avit led the Wildcats with 183 rushing yards and four touchdowns (14.1 YPC)
- The Wildcats finished the game with over 280 rushing yards and five touchdowns
- Villanova limited Stony Brook’s passing attack to 147 yards while holding the rushing attack to less than 4.0 yards per carry
- Linebacker Brendan Bell: 15 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack
- Flag: Montana’s Defense
- No. 8 Montana suffered an upset loss to Weber State, falling 55-48 to the Wildcats in overtime
- It was the first time since 1968 that the Grizzlies allowed over 100-plus points in back-to-back games
- The Grizzlies allowed over 540 yards of total offense and 8.2 yards per game
- Weber State QB Richie Munoz led the Wildcats with 364 passing yards and six passing touchdowns
- Montana’s defense over the first six games:
- 32 PPG allowed
- 145.2 rushing YPG allowed
- 239.8 passing YPG allowed
- 385.0 YPG allowed (5.6 YPP allowed)
Sam’s 3 Game Balls And A Flag
- Game Ball: Chattanooga
- Chattanooga beats No. 23 ETSU 17-10
- Chase Artopoeus throws for 281 yards, 110 to Sam Phillips and 95 to Javin Whatley
- Reggie Davis rushes for 103 yards
- Chattanooga improves to 2-3 overall, but two losses are vs. FBS opponents (including a one-score game at Georgia State) and the third loss was a one-score game vs. Top 10 Mercer
- Game Ball: Weber State
- Weber State beats No. 8 Montana 55-48 in overtime
- Weber is now 3-3 overall and 3-2 vs. the FCS (losses to Lamar and McNeese)
- Richie Munoz goes 19/28 for 364 yards and 6 touchdowns
- Jacob Sharp had 5 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Jayleen Record had 3 catches for 105 yards and 2 TDs
- Game Ball: Abilene Christian
- No. 16 Abilene Christian beats No. 5 Central Arkansas 41-34
- ACU controlled most of the game, holding leads of 31-17 at halftime, 34-24 heading into the 4th, and 41-24 early in the 4th
- Maverick McIvor threw for 350 yards and five touchdowns
- This season, he has 1,956 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 2 INT
- Nehemiah Martinez I caught 7 passes for 202 yards
- ACU is now 4-2 overall and 4-1 vs. the FCS with the two losses one-score games to Texas Tech and Top 10 Idaho
- Flag: McNeese
- Was 4-1 vs. the FCS entering last week, including a ranked win over Weber State. But the No. 22 Cowboys lost 43-22 at Houston Christian
- HCU was 2-3 overall entering this game
- McNeese QB Clifton McDowell suffered a finger injury on his throwing hand in the first quarter, he sat the second quarter but returned at less than 100% in the second half
- McNeese allowed 622 yards of total offense, including 414 yards on the ground
