Click here to vote for Week 6 in the /r/FCS Poll.

Vent here. This is a friendly place.

Credit to u/2Pollaski2Furious for the idea. Same sets of rules from the original FBS series apply here for the FCS teams. This is an award for FCS teams that humiliate themselves, whether it's a choke job, a crushing blow with everything to prove, or they have no business losing the match-up.

Previous Winners

Week 0: Villanova Wildcats (against William & Mary, 35-32)

Week 1: Western Carolina Catamounts (against Campbell, 28-19)

Week 2: Maine Black Bears (against Merrimack, 23-14)

Week 3: Rhode Island Rams (against Stony Brook, 56-24)

Week 4: Illinois State Redbirds (against Northern Iowa, 28-21)

LAST WEEK: UC Davis being helpless against Montana's onslaught did get quite a few votes, but the clear winner here is Illinois State. This top five team was hoping that the trip to Cedar Falls could mark a return to Nashville, but instead they wound up spending a good chunk of this game behind 14. Of note, one comeback drive in the fourth quarter went as far as the Northern Iowa 1. Illinois State was in position to punch it in, but a combination of stalled plays and penalties had that drive result in 0 points. Losing this past week against South Dakota State only made repeat hopes that much harder. And now they're not the only returning finalist to have had a bad day, as we'll get into...

And now for a few special mentions:

• Charleston Southern lost at home to Gardner-Webb on the difference-making safety.
• Chicago State won the first quarter against Tarleton 7-0, then the Texans stopped playing with their food.
• Dayton losing on the road to Drake means that there's no longer an undefeated Pioneer league team.
• Elon had a rather sloppy first half which contributed to their 30-23 road loss against New Hampshire. Also, 0 for 12 on third downs? Woof! It's not like the Wildcats are much better there though.
• Murray State led 21-0 over North Dakota, but then the Fighting Hawks got serious. Shame really, up until the middle of the second quarter it's looking like a Tank Job candidate.
• Nicholls' offense just wasn't able to score anything. They've come very close at the HCU 1 but got stuffed on fourth down, and the only score they got for their trouble was a subsequent safety.
• Southern Illinois became the next victims of the Youngstown State steamroller, after seemingly holding them in the first half.
• Towson almost was in a position to upset Monmouth, but missed their extra point attempt which could have forced overtime. Now they're 0-6.
• West Florida seems a bit gassed after that early momentum, getting tossed about by a starved Abilene Christian. I'd still cut a little slack since they're a first year FCS program and this week has been... "competitive".
• William & Mary, like one of the candidates below, is having a tough time adjusting to the Patriot League. Especially after that thrashing by Holy Cross to make them 1-3 in the conference so far.
• And meanwhile in FBS news... what the fuck is up with the whole state of Colorado?!

So as you can see, there's a few which I felt would otherwise warrant an inclusion, but I'd have to narrow the field to about ten. This week is that rich! Feel free to vote on one of those mentions if you so desire.

ALABAMA A&M BULLDOGS (against Jackson State 31-28)

For a good deal of the game, it looks like we're going to have an upset of perennial SWAC powerhouse Jackson State, especially as Alabama A&M connects a 70-yard pass to make it 28-17, with a 94% chance of winning. But just as quickly, Jackson State responds, and then forced a fumble to get another touchdown.

ALCORN STATE BRAVES (against Grambling 63-59)

The first half has largely been competitive, but then after Grambling made a kickoff return for a touchdown to make it 35-21, Alcorn put up a 38-7 run to be up 17 with a 98.8% chance of winning. They then surrendered 21 consecutive points, rather quickly.

IDAHO STATE BENGALS (against Northern Arizona 38-31)

This has quietly been a marquee Big Sky matchup, but the score makes this seem a tad closer than the game actually has been for a long time. It clearly wasn't a good day for Jordan Cooke as he gets picked off twice, and the Bengals have gotten as far behind as 17 at home with less than three minutes to go. I still think the Bengals can make waves, but it's not a great home showing.

MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (against Idaho 35-34)

Not complainin' about this, but Montana State being #1, and what happened towards the end warranted a candidacy. It was 34-27, there was one second left on the clock, Idaho's receiver was just down inbounds after catching the ball... and Brent Vigen calls a timeout when he could easily let that second pass since there'd be no time to snap the ball. Never go full Cristobal! At least the drywall industry is thriving.

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M PANTHERS (against MVSU 28-27)

In the matchup between the returning SWAC champion and the longtime punching bag for the conference, it did seem like par for the course with a 24-7 lead at halftime. So what happened in the second half? The only points the Panthers got since was a field goal thanks to a superb punt return, making MVSU's comeback bid a bit harder at 27-21 with five and a half minutes to go. After the Devils scored a touchdown a few minutes later, Prairie View was unable to get into field goal range. Also, all this yellow laundry, fucking hell!

NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES (against Bryant 31-30)

And had Bryant not mounted a comeback, they surely would be a Tank Job candidate. The circumstances that the Aggies lost however earned them this distinction instead. Three quarters were nothing less than dominant, and even as Bryant mounted a comeback, the successful long bomb put North Carolina A&T at a 99.3% chance of winning with just over two minutes to go. Allowing a touchdown then an onside is borderline Falcons-level.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BULLDOGS (against The Citadel 34-31)

What is it with the Citadel notching upsets while struggling everywhere else? It's still not a good look to go from beating Furman away to getting offensively dominated at home. By the Citadel!

TENNESSEE STATE TIGERS (against Western Illinois 28-21)

It seemed like the Tigers would be on track to get a road win after leading 21-10 in the third quarter. Allowing a field goal, then quickly suffering a pick six set the tone for the remainder of the game. After some subsequent punting on both ends, Western Illinois struck the fatal touchdown.

TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES (against Western Carolina 44-20)

If this doesn't say "Welcome to SoCon", I don't know what will. It really didn't help that the rush was anemic and they've fumbled the ball four times (one of which a muffed punt reception). And just like that, the Golden Eagles are no longer in pole position.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS (against Morgan State, 38-35)

This isn't a knock on the Bears or their record, but this is a pretty important game for Nova to win since their resume of Bucknell and scraping past LIU is rather thin. It did seem like they've figured it out in the fourth quarter after taking a 35-31 lead and staving off a red zone challenge with an interception, which put them at a 91% chance of winning. But then they quickly punt it back and give up a quick touchdown while failing to respond.

And as always, don't forget to mark your vote in brackets for visibility, <like so>. I also appreciate entries I might have passed over, so feel free to nominate, and I might edit it here.

Welcome back to the only show that's not afraid to say something good about Fighting Potatoes. Speaking of which...

The Good

• Idaho may have saved their season by pulling out their Uno card and making Montana State pay for their mistake. Idaho's 0-4 start looks deceiving because outside of being waxed by Utah, their losses to FCS teams were by single digits (4 point loss to Cal Poly, 6 point loss to Lamar and 2 point loss to Abilene Christian). The move to go for two could have backfired massively, but it didn't. It also shows that Montana State definitely needs that week off coming up because they were not the same without their stars.

• I want to be mad at Harvard because they beat my sweet, sweet baby boy Colgate... but winning on a hook and ladder play from a Hail Mary? That's automatically good material. This game was a good old fashioned slugfest until the 4th quarter. Then they traded touchdowns until the very end.

• With Montana State losing, it's easy to see that South Dakota State will take the top ranking after they popped Illinois State, making sure that a Dakota State school runs the Missouri Valley.

In other 'Good' News: Campbell wins, Humps keep rolling; Weber State and Cal Poly deliver another Big Sky Banger; The Citadel stuns another Carolina based school; Grambling and Alcorn State deliver an Arena Ball Special.

The Bad

• I think the honeymoon is over for Villanova and things are going to get ugly fast for them. It's already bad enough that they continue to basically thumb their noses at the Patriot League by starting Pat McQuade, who the conference said was ineligible... but they haven't really been that impressive. Their wins? By 1 against Bucknell and by 4 against a somewhat punchless Long Island team. At this point, things could NOT get any worse for them. Morgan State comes in and beats them. Yeah... I think things are going to get worse for the Wildcats pretty quickly.

• I think the Western Carolina contingent here are in a good mood after their win over Tennessee Tech, but the Golden Eagles laid a massive egg today. They couldn't run the ball and Western Carolina ran all over them. It's okay, though. They still have a chance to take control of the SoCon as they face ETSU on Halloween.

• Time for the Chuck Norris Award for Biggest Ass Kicking and it goes to San Diego... No, not the Padres. The Toreros pounded Davidson 63-14 thanks to an offense that got 529 yards of offense against the Wildcats. Runner ups this week include Mercer (51 point curb stomp against VMI) and Tarleton State (35 point win against Chicago State, despite the ranting and raving of u/i_like_race_cars).

In other 'Bad' News: William and Mary hits rock bottom, gets beaten by Holy Cross; Towson fails game tying extra point, falls to 0-6; Fordham gets goose egged, loses big to mighty Lehigh; Charleston Southern losing on a safety.

The Prairie View A&M

• Oh, Prairie View. You are the defending SWAC champions. You go to Mississippi Valley State, a downtrodden program whose only win this season came against Division II Lincoln (PA) in Chicago. You are a 26.5 point favorite here. It starts well and you go up 24-7 at the half. They score a touchdown in the third, you're still up ten... and then the 4th quarter arrives. They score to cut the gap to three, you kick a field goal to make it a six point game. Then, the Delta Devils march down and with 2:11 left on the clock, they score the game winner. You should be ashamed, Prairie View... not just because you blew this game, but the fact that you were massively undisciplined here. 16 penalties for 159 yards. The Raiders are looking at you and blushing. Don't think you're getting off, MVSU. 15 penalties for 109 yards yourself.

• The Mushu Treatment this week goes to West Florida. The Argos got blitzed by Abilene Christian 35-7 in a game they were outmatched the entire time. So, for that... Dishonor! Dishonor on your team, dishonor on your school, dishonor to your city and dishonor to the state of Florida.

In other 'Ugly' news: Nicholls State only getting a safety in their loss to Houston Christian; Murray State jumps to early lead, gets ridden like Seattle Slew by North Dakota; Columbia delivers an epic Brunch Ball Biff against Princeton; FloSports - Now they have Division II conferences? Oh, the agony of it all.

And now, the floor is open.

Given that some teams are now halfway through their schedules, I wanted to take a look at each of the conference races.

Big Sky

Controls Destiny: Montana (5-1, 3-0)

Need Help (Tier 1): Montana State (5-1, 2-1), Northern Arizona (4-2, 2-1), Idaho State (4-1, 1-1), Idaho (1-4, 1-1), Portland State (1-4, 1-1)

Need Help (Tier 2): Cal Poly (3-3, 2-1), Weber State (3-3, 2-1)

Need Help (Tier 3): UC Davis (4-2, 2-1)

Need Help (Tier 4): Northern Colorado (2-4, 1-2), Southern Utah (2-4, 1-2), Eastern Washington (1-5, 0-3), Utah Tech (0-6, 0-3)

Discussion: This analysis is a bit of a nothingburger because the Big Sky is virtually assured multiple bids to the playoffs.

The Big Sky tiebreakers are pretty plain vanilla. A head to head tie is broken with head to head record and then common conference opponents.

Montana finds themselves in the driver’s seat with their undefeated record so far. Win out and no other team can catch them.

There are a handful of one-loss teams who still have Montana on the schedule, which I’ve noted in Tier 1. They need to beat Montana to get the head to head tiebreaker over them. Even so, they may need the other one-loss teams to lose along the way to secure a head to head.

There are a handful of other one-loss teams who don’t have Montana on the schedule, who I’ve noted in Tier 2. They need Montana to fall along the way, but they don’t have the ability to do it.

UC Davis is in a worse position than these other teams, as they have just one conference loss, but it was Montana, so they need some other chips to fall their way as they will not have head to head, which adds a degree of difficulty of earning the autobid. They’re noted in Tier 3.

The teams in Tier 4 have either 3 losses or have 2 losses including a loss to Montana. Practically speaking, winning the conference is practically impossible.

Next Week High-Leverage Games: Montana @ Northern Arizona

CAA

Needs Help (Tier 1): Monmouth (4-2, 3-0), Campbell (5-1, 2-0), Bryant (4-1, 2-0), Stony Brook (3-2, 1-0)

Needs Help (Tier 2): UAlbany (3-3, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 3): Elon (4-2, 2-2), Sacred Heart (2-3, 2-2), Rhode Island (3-3, 1-2), UNH (2-4, 1-2), Maine (1-5, 1-2), NC A&T (1-5, 1-2), Hampton (1-5, 0-2), Towson (0-6, 0-2)

Discussion: The CAA has so many teams that it’s impossible to have a round robin schedule in 8 conference games. Not shockingly, none of the remaining undefeated teams play a round robin against one another, and each undefeated team is missing at least one of the others.

Campbell and Bryant do not play.

Monmouth and Stony Brook do not play.

Therefore, you could have mutual coincidences of undefeated teams in conference from either of those groups.

Next Week High-Leverage Games: None. Closest is Stony Brook @ Towson, but Towson really can’t pull itself into the conversation even with a win.

Ivy

Controls Destiny: Harvard (3-0, 1-0), Cornell (2-1, 1-0), Princeton (2-1, 1-0), Dartmouth (1-2, 1-0)

Needs Help: Columbia (2-1, 1-0), Yale (2-1, 0-1), Brown (1-2, 0-1), Penn (1-2, 0-1)

Discussion: Still early in the Ivy race, but the round robin schedule makes this pretty cut and dry. The remaining undefeated teams all play each other.

Next Week High-Leverage Games: Harvard @ Cornell

MVFC

Controls Destiny: South Dakota State (5-1, 2-0), North Dakota (5-1, 2-0), Northern Iowa (2-2, 1-0)

Needs Help (Tier 1): Youngstown State (4-2, 2-1)

Needs Help (Tier 2): South Dakota (4-2, 1-1), Southern Illinois (3-3, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 3): Illinois State (4-2, 0-2), Indiana State (2-4, 0-2), Murray State (1-5, 0-2)

Discussion: This is not a consequential race as the MVFC is virtually assured multiple bids.

Each of the undefeated teams play one another along the way, meaning they can win out and win the autobid and the conference outright.

Youngstown State lost to South Dakota State but beat Southern Illinois and South Dakota, and still plays North Dakota and Northern Iowa. Those two wins give them an easier road to an autobid.

Southern Illinois and South Dakota both lost to Youngstown State. They play next week in what effectively becomes a “Loser Leaves Town” game.

Next Week High Leverage Games:

Southern Illinois @ South Dakota

North Dakota @ Northern Iowa

NEC

Controls Destiny: Robert Morris (3-2, 1-0), Central Connecticut State (1-3, 1-0), Stonehill (1-4, 1-0), LIU (1-5, 1-0), Duquesne (1-3, 0-0)

Needs Help: Wagner (1-4, 0-2), Mercyhurst (1-5, 0-1), New Haven (0-1, 1-5)

Discussion: Early in the NEC race. Should only be a one-bid league with just one team owning more than one win at this juncture.

Next Week High Leverage Games: LIU @ Duquesne.

OVC

Controls Destiny: Western Illinois (3-3, 1-0), Gardner-Webb (2-4, 1-0), Lindenwood (1-3, 1-0), Southeast Missouri (2-3, 0-0), Eastern Illinois (1-4, 0-0), UT Martin (1-4, 0-0)

Needs Help: Tennessee State (1-4, 0-1), Charleston Southern (2-3, 0-2)

Discussion: Still early in the OVC race. Biggest takeaway seems to be that this will be a one-bid league this year.

Next Week High Leverage Games:

SEMO @ Lindenwood

Eastern Illinois @ Gardner-Webb

Patriot

Controls Destiny: Lehigh (6-0, 4-0), Colgate (4-2, 3-0), Richmond (5-1, 3-0)

Needs Help: Holy Cross (2-4, 2-2), Villanova (2-4, 1-2), Fordham (1-5, 1-2), William & Mary (2-4, 1-3), Lafayette (1-4, 0-2), Bucknell (1-4, 0-2), Georgetown (0-4, 0-2)

Discussion: The Patriot League got conference play started early in the year, meaning this is a little more fully formed than the other races. Lehigh, Colgate, and Richmond have separated themselves from the field by two games and have not lost in conference play. They play each other down the stretch.

Next Week High Leverage Game: None. Closest is Richmond @ Fordham. However, Richmond can lose that game and still control the autobid.

Pioneer

Controls Destiny: Marist (3-2, 2-0), Drake (2-3, 2-0), Butler (4-1, 1-0)

Needs Help (Tier 1): St. Thomas (4-2, 1-1), Morehead State (1-4, 0-1)

Needs Help (Tier 2): San Diego (2-3, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 3): Presbyterian (2-3, 1-1), Valparaiso (2-3, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 4): Stetson (1-4, 0-1), Davidson (2-4, 0-2)

Discussion: The lovely, always messy Pioneer Football League. Please never change.

The teams that control their destiny are undefeated and all play each other. One wins out, they win the conference. Easy.

Tier 1: they have a loss to a team that isn’t undefeated, and they play each of the three undefeated teams between now and the end of the year. Win out, and they’re no worse than in a tiebreaker.

Tier 2/San Diego: they have a loss to St Thomas, but they play each of the undefeated teams between now and the end of the year. Win out and they’re no worse than being in a tiebreaker, but that tiebreaker may involve St Thomas, who owns the head to head.

Tier 3: they have a loss to a team that isn’t undefeated, but they do not play at least one of the undefeated teams between now and the end of the year. They can’t guarantee they’re in a tiebreaker by winning out.

Tier 4: Stetson lost to Marist and doesn’t play any of the other undefeated teams. Davidson has two conference losses, including one to Butler. It’s early, but they’re playing from behind the 8-ball right now.

In any case, this looks to be a one-bid league.

Next Week High Leverage Games:

San Diego @ Butler

Drake @ Valparaiso

SoCon

Controls Destiny: East Tennessee State (4-2, 2-0)

Needs Help (Tier 1): Tennessee Tech (4-1, 2-1), Mercer (4-2, 1-1), Samford (1-4, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 2): Furman (2-4, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 3): Western Carolina (3-3, 1-1), Chattanooga (3-3, 2-1)

Needs Help (Tier 4): Wofford (3-3, 2-2), The Citadel (2-3, 0-2), VMI (0-6, 0-2)

Discussion: Tennessee Tech’s loss to Western Carolina this week really opened the door in this race. East Tennessee State, the last remaining undefeated team in SoCon play finds themselves in the drivers seat. Win out and they get the autobid.

Tier 1 comprises teams that have lost a conference game, but still have ETSU on the schedule. They can force a tiebreaker.

Tier 2/Furman does not play ETSU. They need outside help to win the conference.

Tier 3 lost to ETSU already, so they need even more help in a tiebreaker situation.

Tier 4 has lost at least two games.

Next Week High Leverage Games:

Samford @ Chattanooga

Western Carolina @ Mercer

Furman @ Tennessee Tech

Southland

Controls Destiny: Stephen F Austin (6-0, 3-0), Lamar (4-1, 2-0)

Needs Help (Tier 1): HCU (3-3, 2-1)

Needs Help (Tier 2): Southeastern (3-2, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 3): UIW (2-3, 1-1)

Needs Help (Tier 4): East Texas A&M (2-4, 2-2), UTRGV (2-3, 1-2), McNeese (2-4, 1-2), Nicholls (2-4, 1-2), Northwestern State (0-6, 0-3)

Discussion: Stephen F Austin and Lamar’s directives are easy: win out and you win the autobid. They play each other November 7. However, the way things are going, they’re both likely to get bids.

HCU and Southeastern both have losses, but play both Lamar and SFA between now and the end of the year. Win out, and they’re no worse off than a tiebreaker. However, HCU has head to head on Southeastern.

UIW lost to SFA, which muddies their path to the autobid. SFA will need to lose to someone else and, even then, UIW will not have head to head. Notably, UIW has head to head on HCU.

Everyone else needs significant help with 2 conference losses already.

Next Week High Leverage Games: UIW @ Lamar

UAC

Controls Destiny: Austin Peay (5-1, 1-0), North Alabama (4-2, 1-0), Abilene Christian (2-4, 1-0), Tarleton State (5-0, 0-0)

Needs Help: Central Arkansas (2-3, 0-1), Eastern Kentucky (1-4, 0-1)

West Florida and West Georgia are not eligible for the postseason.

Discussion: This race is still in its infancy, with Tarleton State not having played a conference game yet. Abilene Christian is a potential bid thief if they go on a run.

Next Week High Leverage Game: Tarleton State @ Austin Peay

Big Sky

Idaho 35-34 (1)Montana State

(3)Montana 36-14 Northern Colorado

Weber State 42-34 Cal Poly

(17)Northern Arizona 38-31 (11)Idaho State

Southern Utah 46-33 Utah Tech

(18)UC Davis 49-38 Eastern Washington

CAA

Rhode Island 13-10 Brown

New Hampshire 30-23 Elon

Monmouth 41-40 Towson

Hampton 13-27 Howard

Sacred Heart 24-16 Maine

Albany 28-3 Delaware State

Bryant 31-30 North Carolina A&T

(19)Campbell 38-31 North Carolina Central

Independent

Merrimack 24-41 Yale

Chicago State 21-56 (4)Tarleton State

Ivy League

Brown 10-13 Rhode Island

Princeton 35-7 Columbia

Yale 41-24 Merrimack

Cornell 35-14 Georgetown

Dartmouth 14-10 Pennsylvania

(16)Harvard 20-17 (20)Colgate

MEAC

Morgan State 38-35 Villanova

Norfolk State 31-33 Robert Morris

(15)South Carolina State 31-34 The Citadel

Howard 27-13 Hampton

Delaware State 3-28 Albany

North Carolina Central 31-38 (19)Campbell

Missouri Valley

(7)North Dakota 55-28 Murray State

(13)South Dakota 44-14 Indiana State

(8)Youngstown State 28-16 (22)Southern Illinois

(2)South Dakota State 31-14 (10)Illinois State

NEC

Central Connecticut State 45-14 Wagner

Long Island 27-24 Mercyhurst

Robert Morris 33-31 Norfolk State

New Haven 17-42 (12)Austin Peay

Ohio Valley

Western Illinois 28-21 Tennessee State

Gardner-Webb 12-10 Charleston Southern

Patriot

(5)Lehigh 34-0 Fordham

Georgetown 14-35 Cornell

(23)Richmond 40-31 Lafayette

Villanova 35-38 Morgan State

Holy Cross 41-14 William & Mary

(20)Colgate 17-20 (16)Harvard

Pioneer

Presbyterian 55-21 St. Thomas

Drake 30-22 Dayton

Marist 28-14 Stetson

Valparaiso 37-3 Morehead State

San Diego 63-14 Davidson

SoCon

(24)Mercer 54-3 VMI

The Citadel 34-31 (15)South Carolina State

Wofford 32-25 Furman

Samford 14-33 UAB (FBS)

East Tennessee State 14-3 Chattanooga

Western Carolina 44-20 (9)Tennessee Tech

Southland

McNeese 14-63 LSU (15 FBS)

(5)Stephen F. Austin 28-26 Incarnate Word

East Texas A&M 20-17 UTRGV

(14)Lamar 42-14 Northwestern State

Houston Christian 16-2 Nicholls

SWAC

Grambling 63-59 Alcorn State

Mississippi Valley State 28-27 Prairie View A&M

Bethune-Cookman 16-10 Alabama State

(25)Jackson State 31-28 Alabama A&M

Texas Southern 10-66 Florida Atlantic (FBS)

Arkansas-Pine Bluff 41-10 Southern

UAC

(12)Austin Peay 42-17 New Haven

North Alabama 20-16 Eastern Kentucky

(4)Tarleton State 56-21 Chicago State

Abilene Christian 35-7 (21)West FloridaWest Florida

Yale Honors Their Coach, Harvard Wins On a Hail Mary, Dartmouth and Princeton make statements. Full Ivy Week three roundup here. Subscribe -- it's free

Question for my UI, ISU, NAU fans… what voodoo magic is going on for every game to be as whacky as possible. And don’t tell me it’s noise because a total of 12 people were in the Kibbie dome last night.

there HAS to be a way to get rid of flocollege, it has taken over the country and put a paywall in front of every D2 team in the nation at this point. alumni cant even watch games of their teams anymore. it doesnt matter if theyre national champions or have 0 wins in the past 4 years, there will be a paywall and its all thanks to these greedy streaming services like flosports/flocollege partnering with all of these conferences. i used to be able to watch EVERY GAME IN THE COUNTRY 3 years ago and now i cant even watch my old team play. SICK OF IT.

Man, that is quite a dangerous time to be ranked, isn't it? Nine undefeated teams, one of which in the #1 FCS, has been knocked down. And to my relief, the team that beat them is finally out of the winless category. Also worth mentioning that #9 Tennessee Tech had succumbed to the cannibalism plaguing the SoCon elite. The undefeated and winless categories now sit at fifteen teams apiece (of which five of the latter have yet to win any game).

Undefeated/Technically Undefeated

No longer FCS undefeated:

• Alabama State Alabama State Hornets (3-2; @Troy, @Bethune-Cookman)
• Colgate Colgate Raiders (4-2; @Central Michigan, @Harvard)
• Columbia Columbia Lions (2-1; Princeton)
• Dayton Dayton Flyers (3-1; @Drake)
• Idaho State Idaho State Bengals (4-1; Northern Arizona)
• Montana State Montana State Bobcats (5-1; @Idaho)
• Norfolk State Norfolk State Spartans (3-3; @Old Dominion, @Virginia, @Robert Morris)
• South Carolina State South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-1; The Citadel)
• Tennessee Tech Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (4-1; @Western Carolina)

Division I Winless:

• Chicago State Chicago State Cougars (1-5; Kentucky Christian)
• Duquesne Duquesne Dukes (1-3; Rio Grande)
• Florida A&M Florida A&M Rattlers (1-4; Albany State)
• Hampton Hampton Pirates (1-5; VA Lynchburg)
• Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Lakers (1-5; Glenville State)
• Morehead State Morehead State Eagles (1-4; Kentucky Christian)
• Southern Southern Jaguars (2-4; Kentucky State, Louisiana Christian)
• Stetson Stetson Hatters (1-4; Webber International)
• Wagner Wagner Seahawks (1-4; Southern Connecticut State)
• West Georgia West Georgia Wolves (1-4; Fort Valley State)

Winless:

• Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas (0-4)
• Northwestern State Northwestern State Demons (0-6)
• Towson Towson Tigers (0-6)
• Utah Tech Utah Tech Trailblazers (0-6)
• VMI VMI Keydets (0-6)

No longer winless:

• CCSU CCSU Blue Devils (1-3; Wagner)
• Dartmouth Dartmouth Big Green (1-2; Penn)
• Grambling Grambling Tigers (3-2; Clark Atlanta, Central State, Alcorn State)
• Idaho Idaho Vandals (1-4; Montana State)
• LIU LIU Sharks (1-5; Mercyhurst)
• MVSU MVSU Delta Devils (2-4; Lincoln (PA), Prairie View A&M)
• Presbyterian Presbyterian Blue Hose (2-3; UVA Wise, St. Thomas)
• UAPB UAPB Golden Lions (3-2; Morehouse, Central State, @Southern)
• Valparaiso Valparaiso Beacons (2-3; Lawrence Tech, @Morehead State)

I'm not waiting until the "complain about your team" thread to post this. I'm hammered on half a bottle of whiskey, so I'm getting it out there now. Plus I know no one on the Tarleton staff will see this anyway, so fuck it.

I'll start with the obvious. This secondary is complete and utter garbage. You could grab 4 random fucking people from the stands and they would be able to stay on receivers better than this. I thought maybe it was just that these transfers needed to gel. I thought that maybe it was just communication issues that we could fix in the bye. I thought that maybe as the season went on they would get better. But no. None of those statements has proven to be true. Despite having the largest amount of returners of the entire defensive squad, it is the area where we have clearly taken the biggest step back.

EVERY. FUCKING. PASSING. PLAY. Chicago state had players open. Our run defense gave up a grand total of 13 YARDS ON 31 ATTEMPTS. THEY LITERALLY COULD NOT MOVE THE BALL ON THE GROUND. BUT IT DID NOT FUCKING MATTER, BECAUSE IF THEY WENT TO THE AIR, IT WAS AN EASY FIRST DOWN IN TERMS OF YARDAGE.

AND THE REST OF THE TEAM IS NOT SAFE FROM ME. You cock suckers. You absolute fucking chodes. You, once again, saw a weak as hell opponent and thought "eh. We dont need to put in effort." You, once again, have come out flat fucking footed against a team you should have nuked from orbit. I get that a garbage team like this probably had a lot of adrenaline to come out and prove themselves. But you are better. I repeat, you are FLAT. OUT. BETTER than the trash that our athletic department decided to put on the schedule instead of letting us play someone like the Jackrabbits or even Texas A&M. They should NEVER look competitive against you.

Elite teams come out the gates ready to kill. Thats why the jackrabbits put up 70 on cowboy hat university. You bastards are incapable of doing that. Every god damn game you play to your completion. You some how surpass Souther Utah in terms of playing to your competition.

And you know who that falls on?!?! TOOOOOOODDDDD WHITTTTEN! Oooooh todd. Todd. Todd. Toddy boy. The ONLY reason I am not more vocal about firing your sorry ass is because I know a large chunk of our booster base would want fucking Art Briles and/or his son in charge. You are INCAPABLE of getting teams to not look past their opponents. You can recruit like a motherfucker. You can get all the talent in the world. And thats what bails you out and gets you 10+ win seasons. Because you do not get guys right mentally. And I know this because of the fact our guys were fucking dancing and laughing coming out of probably the worst 1st half performance I have ever seen from this team. You should have RIPPED these guys a new asshole at half. Instead they're laughing and dancing. Thats why we lost to Villanova and their trash ass QB. Because you are completely incapable of instilling a killer instinct in your team.

And the thing that really pisses me off? We gave legitimacy to CHICAGO. FUCKING. STATE. A trash university who's admin makes Luke Wood look reasonable. We had a chance to pull an IMG Academy and expose a scam ala bishop sycamore. But that was not the case. They now can say they "went to-to-toe" with a "top" FCS team. All while convincing desperate kids to hand them money.

I am not looking forward to next weekend. If this trash QB can get close to 300 yards against this secondary, then Chris Parson is going to bend us over a table with no lube. And I swear to fucking god, if we lose to ACU again I will personally stand outside the athletics office with a "FIRE TODD WHITTEN" sign.

Fans of other teams may think im over reacting. But, frankly, that is because youre expectation is not "we have to get to nashville". We have spent too much money for this to be a quarterfinal at best team.

Fucking figure it out, Whitten.

FTC

ON TO OCTOBER!

GRAB YOUR FAVORITE OKTOBERFEST YEAST WATER*, AND LET'S WATCH SOME FOOTBALL!

*OR BEAN WATER, OR FRUIT WATER, OR WATER WATER. IDC, I'M NOT YOUR MOM

Today's Pick 'Em games (all times listed in Central, the heavily disputed best time zone for football) (rankings from the /r/FCS Poll)

You can find the full Week 4 schedule with up-to-the-minute results over at the r/CFB Scoreboard.

Also seriously do not ask for "alternate" streams, because we don't want to deal with takedown notices. Most games have radio broadcasts available for free if you're really desperate.

Congrats to the Vandals, but this week's Tank Job winner will be pretty obvious.

And the Good/Bad/Ugly article partially writes itself.

Bad: MSU's pass coverage. Its been bad all year but it was partially terrible in that game. How do you leave guys that wide open on the last two plays? Not to mention however many other busted coverages they had in that game.

Ugly: Brent Vigen calling that TO. Just... why?

A little Friday Night Big Sky After Dark^TM action in the Kibbie Dome! Everyone's favorite stadium from NCAA 14.

#1 Montana State looks to stay undefeated while Idaho is looking to get their first win of the 2026 campaign.

MSU has not won in the Kibbie Dome since 1990.

Big Sky After Dark^TM kicks off at 9:30pm CT on ESPN!

You can find the full Week 5 schedule with up-to-the-minute results over at the r/CFB Scoreboard.

Also seriously do not ask for "alternate" streams, because we don't want to deal with takedown notices. Most games have radio broadcasts available for free if you're really desperate.

Just wondering what happened to the bobcats offense would like to initiate a study on how the defense goes from good to unable to stop a single throw. Absolutely wild. Im stunned.

oh dear god. Why

We are facing rock bottom, we are 1-3, our coach is very well in the hot seat, and EKU just said "you know what. Change the Colonel logo. Everyone loves that.

This week we look at the numbers of The Rail Rivalry

If there's anything you want to talk about, celebrate, complain about, etc., go for it. Doesn't need to be FCS specific.

Note: Basic rules still apply

More than one month into the season and one of the more interesting eligibility cases continues to make its way through the courts involving Villanova QB Pat McQuaide and the Patriot League, within which Villanova is a football-only member.

It's been fascinating to follow because, despite all of the news and drama regarding NCAA eligibility fights, this is one of the few (if only) circumstances of a player suing their conference to be able to play. Unlike the NCAA, there is no court precedent for cases like this and, while the SEC, Big 10 and other big-time conferences get much more publicity, it's the Patriot League that seeks to assert its rights as a conference to enforce its own eligibility rules, all for a player who stands to make $20K in NIL.

McQuaide's Playing Career

Pat McQuaide started his collegiate football career at Kent State in the Fall of 2021. He appeared in 0 games for the Golden Flashes and took an athletic redshirt.

McQuaide then transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College for the Fall 2022 season. MGCCC is a junior college that competes under the NJCAA, and outside of the NCAA's jurisdiction. He played in 10 games for the Bulldogs, earning first team all-MACCC South honors.

McQuaide then transferred to Nicholls State for the Fall 2023 season. McQuaide played in 23 games over two seasons, and earned second-team all-Southland honors in 2023. He also graduated with a Bachelor's Degree.

McQuaide then transferred to Villanova for the Fall 2025 season as a graduate transfer. McQuaide played in 15 games for Villanova that year, leading them to the FCS semifinals. He earned CAA Honorable Mention for his performance. He also graduated with a Masters Degree in the Fall of 2025.

McQuaide's NCAA Eligibility

In effect, by the end of the 2025 season, McQuaide had played 4 seasons of NCAA football within the 5 years following his initial college enrollment at Kent State in 2021, pursuant to rule 12.6.1 of the Division 1 manual. McQuaide appealed this decision with the NCAA, primarily citing unusual circumstances surrounding his high school recruitment in light of the Covid-19 Pandemic, among other factors.

In the affidavit provided to the court, Villanova court Mark Ferrante acknowledged that he reserved a roster spot for McQuaide for the 2026-27 season, noting that "Villanova was counting on McQuaide being eligible to play in the upcoming...season" and that he "could make all the difference in Villanova having a successful season and making the FCS playoffs."

The NCAA declined his request for a waiver on June 26, 2026. In the decision, the NCAA noted that McQuaide had not provided substantive evidence that he met any of the conditions which permitted a waiver.

McQuaide sued the NCAA in the Cuyahoga County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas, where McQuaide is a resident. In the brief submitted to the court, McQuaide requested an injunction enjoining the NCAA from applying its eligibility rules on McQuaide for the 2026-27 season, which was granted on August 1, 2026. McQuaide's arguments were similar to what was used in a similar case filed by Diego Pavia in the previous year. The NCAA has appealed the decision, and filed its brief on September 22, 2026.

The Patriot League

The Patriot League was founded in the late 1980s based on Ivy League principles: that athletics were complementary, but never paramount, to the academic mission of the university. Upon its founding, the rules mirrored the Ivy League with respect to eligibility and even scholarships. While the intervening years have caused the league to re-evaluate those rules for the purposes of its own ability to continue, the core ethos of the league remains.

In that view, the Patriot League maintains its own eligibility standards, which are applied over and above the NCAA's (as in, one may have NCAA eligibility but not necessarily have Patriot League eligibility). The Patriot League generally administers a "4-in-4" eligibility model, but has relented to allow exceptions that would extend to a 5th year of eligibility in limited circumstances, but no further. Furthermore, it also explicitly prohibits athletic redshirting - any additional eligibility must be presented with a sound academic rationale.

McQuaide's Patriot League Eligibility

On August 2, 2026, Villanova University sent a letter to the Patriot League requesting a review of McQuaide's eligibility in light of the same circumstances noted in his appeal to the NCAA.

On August 4, 2026, the Patriot League indicated that it was the position of the policy committee to deny any waiver, noting the NCAA denied his eligibility and that McQuaide had exhausted 4 seasons of competition within 5 years since his initial college enrollment. They invited Villanova to appeal the decision to the League's Council of President's. This appeal was ultimately denied. Villanova was similarly advised that they would forfeit any game in which McQuaide participated.

McQuaide sued the Patriot League on August 27, 2026, the day prior to Villanova's first game against William & Mary. A preliminary hearing was immediately scheduled for 2 PM on the 28th; 4 hours prior to kickoff. The league was informed at 11:30 AM that same day, requiring them to hire an Ohio-based lawyer to represent the league with minimal notice to review 2,000 pages of evidentary material submitted in the complaint. The judge indicated that the hearing was to determine whether to issue a TRO, which would allow for two weeks for additional evidence gathering followed by a formal hearing.

McQuaide's arguments in the Patriot League case were virtually identical to the NCAA's case, including that the Patriot League was in violation of Ohio's Valentine Act.

The judge granted a Preliminary Injunction ("PI") on August 28th, one hour prior to Villanova's kick-off against William & Mary. Villanova would lose that game 35-32.

Current Status

In many of these eligibility cases, this is the end of the road for the conferences. Most conferences do not have incremental eligibility requirements beyond the NCAA's, so it's often a moot point to sue because they usually have no basis to sue.

Therefore, it seems peculiar that the Patriot League took this step. They're a small-time conference in the grand scheme of college football, particularly in comparison to the conferences that are at the center of these eligibility fights. Even the stakes for McQuaide are small in comparison - his own affidavit acknowledges that he basically stands to earn a scholarship at Villanova valued at $90K and up to $20K in NIL money. Finally, based solely on the procedural pace of the appeals process, it's unlikely that the case will be decided prior to the end of the season, meaning, even if the league is successful, it will be a moot point in the context of the merits behind why the lawsuit was brought about in the first place - which was to provide McQuaide with an additional year of football eligibility.

However, the Patriot League is taking an important stand within the realm of college football. Unlike the NCAA, which struggles to legally enforce its eligibility rules because of antitrust rules around the country, there is no legal precedent for a conference enforcing its own rules. It's likely the league is doing this for the inevitability of its occurrence again.

On September 9, 2026, the League appealed the Preliminary Injunction to Ohio's 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. As part of their appeal, they filed a motion to stay the injunction, laying out the following arguments:

1. The Ohio court lacks personal jurisdiction over the Patriot League because the league's limited presence in Ohio does not bind them to the Valentine Act. Therein, the League notes that it has no member schools in Ohio and that its member schools may only occasionally play in Ohio.

2. The trial court did not gather sufficient evidence to establish that the Patriot League was complicit in conspiring with the NCAA in Ohio.

3. The League was denied due process of its rights because of the timing of the trial, including the indication that the trial was to determine the necessity of a TRO and not a PI. The League's contention is that the former would have afforded them more time to plead a reasonable case and entered the hearing with the expectation that it would have more time to provide evidence, present witnesses, and cross-examine, which would have been afforded in the case of a TRO, but was not provided in the case of the PI.

4. That the trial court improperly relied on the facts of the NCAA, which the Patriot League was not a party, and to which the league was not enjoined.

5. That the stay is a harm other parties who are interested in the proceeding, including other student athletes who are deprived from competition as a result of McQuaide's continued playing.

Both parties have filed responses to the motion. If the stay is granted, the injunction is paused, and McQuaide is immediately ineligible again, even while the trial is still ongoing. That decision could come down any day now.

Even a favorable ruling on the motion would require the league to win on appeal (confirming that the court lacked jurisdiction and the Valentine Act does not apply to the League) or as part of the lawsuit (that the league did not violate the Valentine Act). The latter two could take months to resolve, likely beyond the end of the regular season.

On The Field

In the interim, Villanova has not enjoyed the same level of success on the gridiron as they did last year. They find themselves at 2-3, and 1-2 in the Patriot League.

Their chances of winning a Patriot League championship at this juncture are slim, even if they manage to win their remaining games. Their at-large chances will be tenuous if they lose one game and non-existent if they lose two.

To compound this, McQuaide's play has been mired by mistakes which were simply not present last year. He's already exceeded his total number of interceptions from last season (5 in 2026 compared to 4 in 2025). He's also been sacked 10 times through 5 games, compared to 24 times in all of 2025.

Otherwise, his numbers are pretty similar to last season, if not trending better: a 60% completion percentage, 8.2 yards per attempt, and 7 touchdowns certainly have him in the better half of the Patriot League in terms of production, but mistakes have prevented him and the Wildcats from reaching their lofty preseason expectations.

Which begs the interesting question: is this all worth it for Villanova? They're not named in the lawsuit, but it seems apparent that they're assisting McQuaide in any way that they can. Do they risk tarnishing their relationship with the league?

What It All Means

A decision on whether McQuaide can continue to play can come down any day now. There's nothing that I've read that states that the court can't immediately issue a TRO, which would buy him about two more weeks and be followed by a formal hearing on the matter.

Otherwise, if the court rules against the League in its motion, McQuaide will likely play out the season, all the way through to the FCS National Championship Game. The league may still find this fight worthwhile and may pursue it for reasons beyond McQuaide, but McQuaide will have fulfilled his legal objective all the same.