Hey, if you’re a diehard football fan … you understand the significance of what you’re about to read here. Only the casual fans won’t get it.
The truth is, nothing happens on offense if your offensive line sucks. And it’s well known among those linemen and their coach that you can’t just have one star and four duds … you have to have five studs. If you don’t? Your quarterback will spend more time on his back than upright, and your running back’s dreams of sprinting down the sidelines will be squashed in a flood of reality.
The o-line is a massive deal.
So, we here at HERO Sports decided to recognize special o-line efforts in big game situations within the FCS.
Here are this past week’s impressive efforts.
Top 5 OL Performances In Week 4
NO. 1 GAME: Monmouth 45, FBS FIU 42
STARTING O-LINE: J.T. Cornelius, Ed Gatling, Shalik Hubbard, David Dutra/Logan Bednar, Chris Moreno
O-LINE COORDINATOR: Brian Gabriel
TIME OF POSSESSION: 34:24
RUSHING YARDS: 179 yards (4 TDs)
RUSHING YPC: 5.1 yards per carry
SACKS GIVEN UP: 1
FINAL WORD: I think to understand how big a win an FCS team like Monmouth got over an FBS team, you have to understand that it’s commonly known that an FCS team’s biggest weakness when it faces an FBS is usually up front, on the line of scrimmage. There’s the depth issue, and there’s the line of scrimmage. There are plenty of talented receivers and DBs out there … but it’s tough to own an FBS team up front, where finding good tackles, guards, and centers isn’t quite as easy. But own the time of possession and the line of scrimmage is what the Hawks did on offense. Did they rush for 900 yards? Of course not. Did they completely own the clock (34+ minutes of 60 mins of possession) and score TDs via the run game? Absolutely. Just look at the stats above. Sure, skill studs like QB Derek Robertson and RB Rodney Nelson did a great job for Monmouth offensively, but both of them would easily give this o-line a ton of credit for the school’s first win over an FBS program.
NO. 2 GAME: Montana 46, Western Carolina 35
STARTING O-LINE: Liam Brown, Brandon Casey, Journey Grimsrud, Case Klimczak, Cannon Panfiloff
O-LINE COORDINATOR: Joe Pawlak
TIME OF POSSESSION: 32:30
RUSHING YARDS: 349 yards (6 TDs)
RUSHING YPC: 7.3 yards per carry
SACKS GIVEN UP: 1
FINAL WORD: Setting the tone up front was incredibly important in Montana’s matchup because Western Carolina came in as a dangerous team this past weekend. The Catamounts weren’t going to lie down, and that was evident in this matchup. Look, WCU’s talented QB Cole Gonzales is going to move his team down the field, but Montana’s o-line helped occupy the clock for five minutes more than the Griz allowed, not allowing Gonzales to do as much of his magic. Montana stud RB Eli Gillman did his part behind a very talented Montana O-line. This was an FCS ranked team win over another ranked team.
NO. 3 GAME: ETSU 34, Elon 14
STARTING O-LINE: JaQuan Adams, Derrell Bailey Jr., Will McCraw, Luke Smith, Gabe Thompson
O-LINE COORDINATOR: Joe Scelfo
TIME OF POSSESSION: 32:29
RUSHING YARDS: 256 yards (4 TDs)
RUSHING YPC: 6.6 yards per carry
SACKS GIVEN UP: 1
FINAL WORD: ETSU proved last week that it could go toe-to-toe with North Dakota State, the FCS program that clearly has had the top offensive line at this level (and truly, better than many FBS teams) for more than a decade. The Bucs didn’t tuck their tails between their legs and walk away, outrushing NDSU 280-260 behind this O-line and Bryson Irby’s stellar efforts (3 rush TDs). The challenge may not have been quite as tough against a very good FCS program, Elon. The Bucs’ O-line helped the offense control the clock for five minutes more than the Phoenix and rushed well.
NO. 4 GAME: William & Mary 34, Furman 24
STARTING O-LINE: Charles Grant, Greg Klingensmith, Kadin Lynch, Ryan McKenna, Hayden Raley
O-LINE COORDINATOR: Mario Acitelli
TIME OF POSSESSION: 34:58
RUSHING YARDS: 384 yards (2 TDs)
RUSHING YPC: 7.1 yards per carry
SACKS GIVEN UP: 3
FINAL WORD: Keep in mind, Furman is no slouch FCS program. The Paladins also like to grind down the clock and win games on the ground. They’re well-coached and have used this method well for several years. That’s what makes what William & Mary did this past week so impressive. The Tribe ended up with an eye-popping 10 more minutes of possession than Furman, rushing for 384 yards and 7.1 yards per carry.
NO. 5 GAME: Stony Brook 24, Campbell 17
STARTING O-LINE: Charles Allen III, Hunter Barlow, Kollin Melendez, Niko Papic, Damion Powell
O-LINE COORDINATOR: Chris Bache
TIME OF POSSESSION: 36:39
RUSHING YARDS: 227 yards (3 TDs)
RUSHING YPC: 4.1 yards per carry
SACKS GIVEN UP: 1
FINAL WORD: Talk about a squeeze job for Stony Brook. I mean, who owns the clock for 36:39 like the Seawolves did? Campbell has a talented program, but the Camels hardly got to touch the ball. The O-line undoubtedly did a large part in helping that effort out.
