The New Kids Aren’t Wasting Any Time

There might be something special cooking in Pensacola, Florida. 🌴

The Argonauts of West Florida made the jump to the FCS ranks just two weeks ago, but in that time they have announced to the rest of the subdivision that not only have they arrived, but they’re here to play. Coming off an impressive 34-31 Week 0 win over Southern Illinois, the Argonauts moved to 2-0 last Saturday behind a 42-14 thumping of Central Arkansas on the road.

Quarterback Ty’Ray Davis has been electric for West Florida, accounting for seven total touchdowns through two games. He was named UAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after completing 14 of 17 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns while adding 75 rushing yards and another score against Central Arkansas.

Meanwhile, the Argonauts’ defense has already forced seven takeaways, continually putting the ball back into Davis’ hands.

What lies ahead, though, is another tough test for UWF. The No. 21 Argonauts will host No. 14 Austin Peay on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The Governors are 1-1 after a respectable showing against FBS Vanderbilt in a 28-9 loss and will look to get back on track in a pivotal early UAC matchup.

FCS Makes Noise With Three Wins Over FBS Foes

It was a no-brainer that The Citadel was going to take down FBS Charlotte this weekend in a triple-overtime stunner, right?

The Bulldogs were coming off a tough 42-14 road loss at Wofford to open the season just one week earlier, but that meant nothing for running back Gavin Garcia or The Citadel defense.

Garcia carried the ball 21 times for 137 yards and three touchdowns, while the Bulldogs forced a pair of Charlotte turnovers. The Citadel finished with six rushing touchdowns in the 43-41 triple-overtime victory.

But that was not the only FBS upset for the subdivision this past weekend.

The game most FCS fans had circled as having the biggest upset potential was No. 4 Tarleton State at Bowling Green.

And the Texans delivered.

Kaden Anderson threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns, while standout running back Tylan Hines carried the ball 26 times for a staggering 250 yards to help Tarleton State improve to 2-0 with a 20-13 win over the Falcons.

The Texans will finish their nonconference slate with three games in which they will likely be sizeable favorites against McNeese, Merrimack and Chicago State before getting into the heart of UAC play in mid-October against Austin Peay.

Finally, No. 13 Idaho State marched into Logan, Utah, and handled new Pac-12 member Utah State, 29-17.

Kicker Mason Lindberg connected on all five of his field-goal attempts, while quarterback Jordan Cooke added both a rushing and passing touchdown. Idaho State’s defense was the real difference-maker, intercepting Utah State four times in the victory.

The win moved the Bengals to 2-0 and gave the program its first victory over an FBS opponent since beating Nevada in 2017.

Idaho State now welcomes San Diego before beginning Big Sky play.

Little Movement in the Top 25

It can be difficult to judge the opening weeks of the FCS season, as many teams are either taking on top-tier FBS programs or working through nonconference schedules filled with mismatches.

For that reason, this week’s FCS Nation Top 25 remained unchanged through the first 12 spots.

Idaho State was the poll’s biggest riser, moving from No. 16 to No. 13 following its win at Utah State. West Florida also made its first appearance in the FCS Nation Top 25, debuting all the way at No. 21 after opening its first Division I season with back-to-back victories over ranked opponents.

Campbell was the other newcomer, entering at No. 25 after beginning the season 2-0 with wins over East Tennessee State and Western Carolina.

Gillman Sets Montana Record

Eli Gillman’s already impressive career at Montana is now being etched into the record books.

The Grizzlies running back scored four touchdowns in No. 3 Montana’s 45-10 rout of Drake last Saturday, including three on the ground.

Gillman’s second rushing touchdown of the afternoon broke Chase Reynolds’ school record for career rushing touchdowns. Gillman finished the day with three rushing scores to push his career total to 53.

The fifth-year senior rushed for 105 yards in the victory and also caught a touchdown pass. His four-score performance moved him to 59 career total touchdowns, tying Reynolds for the most in Montana history.

Gillman now has 3,858 career rushing yards and sits just 212 yards away from becoming Montana’s all-time leading rusher.

Looking Ahead

As rare as FCS-over-FBS upsets are in college football, something even more unusual will happen this weekend.

Not one, but two FCS teams are favored against FBS opponents.

Top-ranked Montana State travels to Reno on Saturday to take on former Bobcats head coach Jeff Choate and Nevada, with Montana State opening as a 4.5-point favorite.

The Bobcats will likely be without defensive standout Caden Dowler, who suffered a leg injury in last week’s victory over Butler. Head coach Brent Vigen indicated the injury does not appear to be season-ending.

Montana State enters the matchup ranked No. 1 in the FCS Nation Top 25 with an opportunity to add another major FBS scalp to an already impressive opening stretch for the subdivision.

Eighth-ranked Illinois State is also favored ahead of Saturday’s road matchup against Northern Illinois.

The Redbirds opened as 3.5-point favorites, according to Action Network, after beginning the season 2-0 with convincing victories over St. Francis (Illinois) and Western Illinois.

Northern Illinois, meanwhile, is coming off a 40-0 loss to Iowa in its season opener.

Finally, the lone matchup between ranked FCS teams this week takes place at the top of the Patriot League standings when No. 20 William & Mary travels to No. 9 Lehigh on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Both teams have opened the season 2-0. William & Mary’s signature victory came against Villanova in its opener, while Lehigh has handled Holy Cross and Georgetown with relative ease.

The player to watch will be Lehigh standout running back Luke Yoder, who has already carried the ball 38 times for 250 yards and six touchdowns through two games.

The pick: Lehigh.