Tarleton State Can Compete for a National Championship
The FCS story of the weekend was Tarleton State’s huge upset over Army on Friday night. Now at 2-0 with their FBS game behind them, the Texans seem to have a clear shot at the UAC crown and probably a whole lot more. Todd Whitten’s bunch has championship DNA; they run the ball extremely well and they’re playing terrific defense at the moment. Throw in the fact that TSU has a veteran under center in Victor Gabalis and that is a tried and true formula
for a deep postseason run. How would this team stack up against the likes of a North Dakota State? Based on what went down in West Point, there’s legitimate reason to believe that this group has what it takes to stay on the same field as a one of the top teams. Before Friday, Tarleton State was ranked #8 in the country but now they might even climb into the Top 5.
Mercer Will Miss the Playoffs
Playing three and a half quarters of a game before having it canceled and losing the chance at a quality win over UC Davis hurt enough but then Mercer followed that up with a truly embarrassing loss at home to a non-scholarship Presbyterian team. That’s the kind of loss that will be a blotch on the Bears’ resume all season long and now they’re behind the eight ball and its not even September. Yes, that loss didn’t really do anything as far as SoCon standings will be concerned but after the abysmal offensive showing against the Blue Hose defense, there really isn’t a whole lot confidence that they can roll with some of what their league mates will be able to throw their way. It also seems like an at-large bid opportunity is already slipping away so Mercer will likely have to win the conference to avoid the dreaded bubble.
The Top of the Big Sky is Wide Open
One of the FCS’s best leagues is just as hard to peg down today as it was before the weekend… if not more so. Can you put a whole lot stake into Montana State’s blowout loss to Oregon? No. The Bobcats, though, are still very much up in the air as a contender in the league with a new quarterback and retooled offense. Then there’s UC Davis that needed everything in its bag of tricks to barely escape St. George with a win over Utah Tech (a Big Sky team next year). Montana didn’t even play and Idaho held strong against Washington State but still lost in the “Battle of the Palouse” up in Pullman. Northern Arizona lost big to Arizona State but they were expected to and Sacramento State looked lost against South Dakota State in a game that was supposed to be a good one. We didn’t really learn anything from the Big Sky after Week 1.
South Dakota State is Still a Title Contender
One of the biggest offseason questions was what sort of regression, if any, South Dakota State would make in 2025 after losing its head coach and a good portion of its roster. Based on their 20-3 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night, however, it seems that Dan Jackson’s edition of SDSU is just as good as Jimmy Rogers’ that made a run to the semis last year. The Jackrabbits defense was lights out against the Hornets and the offense under QB Chase Mason and transfer running back Julius Loughridge was as sharp as fans in Brookings have been accustomed to seeing. A big road test at Montana State this weekend will be just as telling.
The UAC Will Send Three to the Playoffs Again
To say it was a strong week for the UAC is an understatement. For all the aforementioned reasons, Tarleton State is certainly a favorite but right behind them might be Austin Peay. The Govs didn’t just beat FBS Middle Tennessee, they smothered them in a game that the Blue Raiders didn’t control from the offset. Year Two of the Jeff Faris experiment looks as though it’ll be a good one. Southern Utah also looked every bit the part of a postseason contender in their 46-24 beatdown of Idaho State. Bronson Barron practically couldn’t miss passing and the Thunderbirds have some real talent at running back in Joshua Dye and Will Burns. Even Utah Tech gave #8 UC Davis all it could handle. EKU and Abilene Cristian, in spite of lopsided FBS losses, should also be in the running too.
