Spooky season nearly started early for several top teams

We’re still a little over a month away from Halloween, but this last weekend was a little spooky for some of the top teams in the FCS.

A little witchcraft in Bozeman had top-ranked Montana State down 21-7 at halftime to winless Central Connecticut State before the Bobcats came back to scratch out a 35-30 win.

Standout running back Adam Jones scored twice in the fourth quarter to keep MSU (4-0) perfect on the season, but credit to CCSU quarterback Brett Griffis, who threw for 228 yards and two scores to give the Blue Devils a shot at the biggest stunner of the season.

Then over on the other coast, No. 9 Lehigh took the best shot Dartmouth had as the ninth-ranked Mountain Hawks and superstar running back Luke Yoder came back to top the Big Green 24-20 in the season-opener for Dartmouth.

Yoder was sensational again, carrying the ball 27 times for 150 yards and two scores to lead Lehigh (4-0).

But it was Stony Brook that delivered the biggest scare to a Top 25 team, as the Seawolves throttled then No. 10-ranked Rhode Island 56-24.

CJ Hester ran for four scores for Stony Brook (2-2, 1-0 CAA) and quarterback Quinn Boyd threw for 198 yards and a score, while adding a team-high 153 yards on the ground.

It was a wake-up call weekend for many of the top teams, especially with conference play either just starting or about to start for most every FCS program. Anything can happen, in any week.

Another win over the ‘big guys':

FCS wins over FBS programs are becoming par for the course each week this season, so might as well add another one to the growing list.

Southeastern Louisiana stayed in state to earn a 38-35 victory over FBS Louisiana Monroe, a game the Lions (2-2) led 38-20 midway through the fourth quarter. SE Louisiana scored in pretty much every possible way, getting touchdowns through the air, on the ground, with a punt return, an interception return and adding a field goal for good measure.

That brings the number of FCS over FBS wins to six this fall, with Tarleton State, The Citadel, Idaho State, Illinois State, Montana State and now Southeastern Louisiana earning victories. The six wins is the same amount as 2024 and the most since 2022 when there were eight.

Good news on a star QB:

After going down late in the first half of a top-10 showdown against Youngstown State, South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason may be closer to returning to the field than expected.

SDSU coach Dan Jackson said Monday morning on the Happy Hour With John Gaskins podcast that Mason was “in good spirits” and that “the feedback we’re getting from him and trainers is optimistic news”.

Jackson said the team was still awaiting an MRI that they hoped to have done at some point Monday to get more clarity on the injury to Mason’s left knee.

“Does that mean he’s going to play Saturday? That I don’t know. But it does mean that I feel confident he will play in some Saturdays this fall,” Jackson said.

Backup Josh Holst played the second half for the Jackrabbits (3-1, 1-0 MVFC) and was just 3 of 8 throwing for 16 yards. No. 2 SDSU was able to hold off Youngstown State (2-2, 0-1 MVFC) and star quarterback Beau Brungard for a 27-20 victory over the 12th-ranked Penguins.

Plenty of Top 25 movement:

With more data, comes movement in our Top 25 poll. And this week had plenty of shifting.

Despite barely holding off a winless Central Connecticut State, Montana State is still in the top spot followed by South Dakota State.

After that though we have our first big movement as Montana drops from No. 3 to No. 5 after losing to Oregon State 52-17 late Saturday and Tarleton State also drops two spots from No. 4 to No. 6. That means Illinois State is up to the third spot followed by our biggest riser of the week South Dakota at No. 4, up from No. 12 last week.

New to the poll this week are No. 21 Stony Brook, No. 23 Harvard and No. 25 Colgate.

Looking ahead:

Three ranked matchups are on tap for this weekend, with a pair happening in Big Sky country.

Top-ranked Montana State will host No. 19 Northern Arizona (Saturday at 8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) and No. 5 Montana travels to No. 8 UC Davis (Saturday at 7 p.m. PDT, ESPN+). This weekend could be big in terms of setting the conference pecking order.

No. 12 Youngstown State gets another tough contest as they host No. 4 South Dakota (Saturday at 1 p.m. CDT, ESPN+), a big test to see if the Coyotes truly are a top-5 team.

Other interesting games around the subdivision on Saturday include No. 25 Colgate at Villanova, No. 15 Lamar at Nicholls and No. 11 Tennessee Tech at Wofford.