After a weekend of playoff fireworks, these are the four teams still standing in the FCS.
- Cameron Contreras
- 1 hour ago
- 8 min read
“This is a Stephen F. Austin team who is going to come into Bozeman and score a heck ton of points,” Stone said on the show, “They’ll do that and still get blown out.” Stone was right; despite scoring 4 touchdowns, the Lumberjacks trailed the entire game and were no match for Justin Lamson and the Bobcats, who capitalized off three key turnovers.
Kenny Eiden IV got it started, forcing Sam Vidlak to fumble on the Lumberjacks first drive, recovered by Zac Crews. Montana State drove down the field, with Adam Jones punching it to put the Cats up 7-0 late in the first. On SFA’s next drive, Caden Dowler struck next, picking off Vidlak’s pass after it tipped off the hands of Derrick Bohler – his fifth game in a row with an interception. Dowler ran it back 37 yards, setting up another drive for the Cats, capped off by a second touchdown for Jones, this time a 21-yard catch and run, putting MSU up 14-0 in the second.
Lamson would then get intercepted by Kameron Reddic in the endzone, who ran it back six yards. The Lumberjacks weren’t able to capitalize, punting it away, leading to a 12-yard field goal from Myles Sansted, extending the Cats’ lead to 17. On the next play, Eiden IV got his second strip sack, this time recovered by Carson Williams, who ran it back to the three-yard line. Montana State scored again, this time on a play action
to Luvens Valcin. At the end of the half, the Lumberjacks started to show signs of life, with Vidlak driving 75-yards down the field in 1:22 to hit Clayton Wayland for an 11-yard touchdown, finding him again on the two-point conversion, putting the score at 24-8 going into halftime. SFA kept the momentum going on the opening drive of the second half, with Jaylen Jenkins running for a five-yard touchdown at the end of a 14-play, 75-yard drive. Montana State quickly answered back, with Sansted sinking a 36-yard field goal followed by Lamson scrambling in for a five-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 34-14. Jenkins would score again for SFA at the end of the third quarter, but any hope of a Lumberjack comeback was squashed with a third Adam Jones touchdown, this one a 16-yard rush to open the fourth quarter. Gavin Rutherford found his way to the endzone on a two-yard run to bring the Lumberjacks to 28, but the Cats put the final nail on the coffin with a 23-yard field goal from Stansted, bringing the final score to 44-28. Montana State moves on to the semifinals, where they will face Montana for a Brawl of the Wild rematch in Bozeman.
Like Kevin said on the show, “Montana Ain’t Mercer, y’all.” Brent Pease and the Griz offense put on a clinic in Montana’s 10 th home game this season. The Grizzlies took control right out of the gate, scoring on their opening 12-play, 75-yard drive off a 1-yard connection from Keali’i Ah Yat to Brooks Davis. On the Yotes’ opening drive, Jareb Ramos forced a fumble from L.J. Phillips Jr., leading to a 24-yard Jo Silver field goal. After forcing a three-and-out, Eli Gillman opened the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown, putting Montana up 17-0. After exchanging punts, Ah Yat found a wide- open Michael Wortham on the slant for a 53-yard touchdown. South Dakota would get on the board before halftime, with Phillips Jr. darting past the Griz secondary for a 21-yard touchdown, putting the score at 24-7 at the end of the first half.
The Yotes punted on their opening drive of the third quarter, and Drew Deck ran it back 93-yards to the house for the longest punt return touchdown in FCS playoff history. On their next drive, USD would turn it over on downs after 17 plays and 61 yards, eating 9:31 off the clock. The Griz quickly scored again, this time from a 51-yard Ah-Yat moon shot to Wortham. The Yotes answered back with a strange touchdown. Aidan Bouman hit a short pass to Jack Martens and the Griz defense believed the play was over, but Martens never touched the ground, and no whistle was blown, allowing him to walk untouched 69 yards to the endzone. South Dakota kept that momentum going, forcing a three-and-out then driving 91 yards down the field, finalized by a perfect 20-yard pass from Bouman to Tysen Boze.
Bouman found Boze again for two points, bringing the score to 22-38. Montana thwarted any comeback chances with an 11-play, 82-yard drive, highlighted by a lateral across the field from Wortham to Gillman to convert on third and 20. The Griz capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run from Wortham out of wildcat. Payton Wing would pick off Bouman late in the fourth quarter, leading to a 20-yard Hashim Jones touchdown run, securing the victory for Montana 52-22. Wortham’s 244 all-purpose-yards helped him break the school record for most APY in a single season. Next week, the Griz travel to Bozeman and look to punch their ticket to Nashville with a rematch against Montana State.
Stone likened this matchup to David and Goliath, and true to the story, David came out on top in Stephenville. The Wildcats extended their streak to 11 with a comeback upset over the Texans. Villanova drove down to the seven on their opening drive, but Pat McQuaide was picked off by Blake Smith in the endzone off a wonky pitch. The Texans scored on the very next play, with Victor Gabalis airing it out to Peyton Kramer over the heads of two defenders for an 80-yard touchdown. On Villanova’s next drive, Omar Emmons blocked a punt, setting up Tarleton State on the Wildcat 12, ending with a one-yard touchdown from Daniel Greek. Villanova got the ball rolling early in the second quarter with a 31-yard field goal from Jack Barnum, then Anthony Hawkins picking off Gabalis on the next play. That set up a trick play with McQuaide handing it off to Braden Reed, who found Lucas Kopecky in the endzone for a 27-yard touchdown. Robert Rios raised his hand and blocked the extra point, bringing the score to 14-9. After exchanging punts, Barnum hit a 42-yarder, shrinking Tarleton State’s lead to two at halftime. The Texans came out hot in the third quarter, quickly scoring on their opening possession with Gabalis hitting Trevon West for a 15-yard touchdown. Ja’briel Mace answered back for the Wildcats, breaking free for a 21-yard run then again for 47 yards to the house. Both teams punted, then the Wildcats led a 12-play, 78-yard drive to put them on top early in the fourth quarter, with McQuade hitting Reed for an 11-yard touchdown to silence the crowd. Both teams punted again, and the Texans drove 76 yards downfield in 14 plays. On fourth down at the 11-yard-line, Gabalis found West in the endzone again, but his foot landed out of bounds, securing the win for Villanova. The Wildcats move on to host Illinois State, where one underdog will advance to the national championship.
Illinois State beats #8 UC Davis 42-31
“On paper, Illinois State wins this football game, I don’t want to say in dominant fashion, but I will say in comfortable fashion,” Stone said. The Redbirds got revenge for the second round of last year’s playoffs, beating the Aggies in Davis.
The first quarter was an absolute shootout, with Hunter Ridley kicking a 35-yard field goal to put the
Aggies up first. Chris Taylor answered on the ensuing kickoff for the Redbirds, returning it 91 yards to the house. UC Davis shot back with Jordan Fisher breaking loose for a 23- yard touchdown to take back the lead. Tommy Rittenhouse put the Redbirds back on top, dropping a 37-yard pass right into the breadbasket for Dylan Lord for six. The Aggies would fail to convert on fourth down, giving Illinois State the ball on their own seven. Rittenhouse launched a deep ball to Daniel Sobkowicz who took it 93 yards for a touchdown. The Aggies scored once again late in the first quarter, with Caden Pinnick finding Stacy Dobbins in the corner of the endzone from 12 yards out.
Rittenhouse opened the second quarter by throwing an interception to Ty Richardson, who ran it back 54 yards. The Aggies were unable to capitalize however, turning over on downs. The Redbirds drove 80 yards downfield in 16 plays, but Matt Maldonado’s field goal attempt was tipped, swinging it wide left. With three seconds left, Ridley shanked a 51-yard field goal attempt wide right, keeping the score at 21-17 going into halftime.
The Redbirds opened up the second half with a 14-yard touchdown run up the middle from Seth Glatz. On the next drive, Pinnick threw a 65-yard dot to Zach Jones, but it was punched out by Shadwel Nkuba II, giving Illinois State the ball to set up an 11- play, 80-yard drive finished off with Rittenhouse connecting with Sobkowicz again for 17-yards and six points.
In the fourth quarter, Pinnick was intercepted in the endzone by CJ Richard Jr. A fake punt from Hayden Futch allowed for Glatz to break free for a 58-yard touchdown run, bringing the Redbirds to 42.
Jones returned the ensuing kickoff to the Redbird 25, setting up an Aggie touchdown from Pinnick to Fisher from one yard out, but failed the two-point conversion, setting the score to 42-23. With 2:11 remaining, the Aggies secured an onside kick, leading to Pinnick finding Dobbins again from 24-yards out, then Fisher for two. With 0:46 left, Mancera tried another onside kick but failed, letting the Redbirds kneel their way to victory. Illinois State advances to play Villanova in the semifinals.
The Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State beats Prairie View A&M 40-38 in 4OT
The Bulldogs pulled off the comeback against the Panthers, bringing victory for the MEAC. Both teams traded punts to start the game, followed by a missed 19-yard field goal from Prairie View kicker Diego Alfaro. The Panthers would force a three and out, setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Peters to Ethan John. Peters then ran it in himself from 27-yards out to put the Panthers up 14-0. Late in the second quarter, Bulldog QB William Atkins IV suffered a shoulder injury, bringing in Ryan Stubblefield.
The Bulldogs were forced to punt again, setting up an 11-play, 95-yard drive that saw Peters hitting Jyzaiah Rockwell on a fade for a 14-yard touchdown, putting Prairie view up 21-0 at halftime. Early in the third quarter, South Carolina State gained some momentum when Ka’Von Chisolm disrupted a handoff to Chase Bingmon in the backfield, recovered by Jordan Dollard who ran it back to the Panthers’ five-yard-line. This led to a Tyler Smith 5-yard jet sweep touchdown, putting the Bulldogs on the board for the first time.
The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out, then Stubblefield threw one deep down the sideline to Nigel Johnson for 42 yards, paving the way for Jordan Smith to run it in 10 yards for a touchdown, making it a one score game. Another Panther three-and-out led to Stubblefield finding Jordan Smith wide open for a 19-yard touchdown, tie game. Prairie View answered back quickly, with Peters hitting Andre Dennis down the middle from 13 yards for six late in the third quarter. SC State shot back, driving 75 yards downfield in 12 plays, with Stubblefield punching it in from a yard out, tying the game back up. Cameron Bonner answered back for the Panthers, racing into the endzone for a 78-yard touchdown reception. Both teams went three-and-out, then
Stubblefield found Jordan Smith from ten yards out to tie it up once again, setting the stage for overtime.
Both teams kicked a field goal in the first overtime, tying the game 38-38. In 2OT, Stubblefield was picked off by Cornelius Davis, but Prairie View missed a field goal, setting up a third OT, meaning both teams would attempt a two-point conversion, but neither converted. In 4OT, Stubblefield hit Tyler Smith in the backfield, and he reached in to convert. Peters was pressured and forced to throw the ball away during Prairie View’s two-point attempt, securing the win for South Carolina State.