Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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MGB01
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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FCS dominates a weird Sat night where nothing FBS-wide in CONUS starts after 7:30 (ET), just NMSU/Hawaii on the island: ESPN has boxing; FOX/FS1 are standing by for a potential ALCS Game 7; CBSSN left theirs blank after UNLV moved cause of the Raiders; ESPN2 might have some break-ins for the Kraken home opener--but that kind of tells you the NHL's standing, ESPN cleared a Saturday night for LeBron's Laker debut at Staples three years ago whereas the Kraken get ESPN+

Even then it's just a handful of games, with the Golden Horseshoe up for grabs between Cal Davis and Cal Poly being probably the most notable. Poly canceled their final two games in the spring, one of them being the Horseshoe (UCD won the first game 73-24).

EWU puts their 20-game streak on the red turf up against the last opposing team to win there, Weber State. Eric Barriere will likely go over the 3000-yard mark (and more easily 3000 yards of total offense), and might also eclipse 30 TDs.

Don't look now, but San Diego controls their destiny after an 0-4 start. USD has won five of the eight auto bids since the PFL was awarded one back in 2013.

Interesting game for Sam Houston, hosting Jacksonville State--who opened with two FBS opponents and split with them, the second being the Florida State hail mary. Zerrick Cooper is plenty dangerous despite underwhelming numbers. One of six ranked showdowns this week including an undefeated Ivy tussle between Harvard and Princeton.
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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Eastern with a totally pathetic performance as their 20-gamer gets bookended by Weber State. Forget the final score, this was freshman-Matt Nichols-type stuff. Maybe they won't drop out of the top ten, hate to think what a good team (i.e. NDSU...........again) would have done to them.

Sam Houston rolled over JSU in a total no-contest. Cooper was even worse than Barriere was. Nobody's threatening them.

I could see a scenario where Eastern actually misses the playoffs (they've done so at 7-4 before) while San Diego makes it despite an 0-4 start, they steamrolled Presbyterian today for their fourth straight win. It'll probably come down to their game with first place Morehead State in two weeks.

Harvard/Princeton was good though, and unlike Illinois/Penn State's sad attempts at recreating XFL OT, this was as advertised
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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James Madison gets the approval to jump to FBS, likely headed to Sun Belt to join ODU, Marshall, and Southern Miss

https://news.yahoo.com/jmu-board-visito ... p_catchall

Seeing that C-USA is supposedly in talks with New Mexico State (who has had one winning season since 2002 and is 53-162 in that span), should they just die off? Then again it's kind of fitting they're looking at NMSU, since CUSA in 2023 will look like the football version of the WAC (between 2012 and now) that they won every year cause they were basically the only team
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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Not much on the FCS front other than the JMU news. Possibly Sam Houston would jump to the weakened CUSA, of course I gotta think this wouldn't be the greatest for their rep as this would be the second conference they bail on in two years (and the WAC hasn't even technically played yet)

Weber State cruised in the WTF bowl in Pocatello yesterday over Idaho State, who gave Cal Davis their only loss. Outgoing Southern Utah almost got another one, nearly picking off Montana.

Davidson now has the inside track to the Pioneer League title after beating Morehead State, it was probably the only chance San Diego had at a playoff spot.
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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So the invites have reportedly gone out to Sam Houston and Jacksonville State (as well as Liberty and New Mexico State) from CUSA, they should really just take the hint the Southwest Conference did when the Big 8 came for them and the WAC took most of the rest--with Houston oddly enough jumping on board as one of the CUSA charter members.

I've already gone on about SHSU, but Jacksonville State isn't particularly good this year and hasn't done anything memorable aside from hail mary (more like benefit from piss-poor defense) a bad Florida State team. Liberty's once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons, and New Mexico State is a wrong reason. Add to that UMass and UConn possibly coming in (football-only) to replace Western Kentucky/Middle Tennessee State and this could be the equivalent of a Lions/Jaguars/Dolphins/Giants division
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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So Firecop, you go? If so, too bad. Offense was embarrassing again, defense totally kept them in this one (they gave up some chunk plays, but I love that narrative, it's like the offense is totally justified to have a bunch of three and outs).

I'd totally be down with firing Aaron Best--don't tell me how much you've won tell me who you beat, even with Montana that totally gets canceled out by Weber, who just got rolled at home by Portland State. But two problems, one you gotta replace him with a hardass who won't let these guys go out and clown around on Friday night then get thrown around the field on Saturday (i.e. Varsity Blues) and you also gotta pay him regardless (not if you've seen the shape of EWU's athletic department). If the Eags lose at Davis next week and it comes down to winning at Portland to get in I'm not sure I want to go.

The Dakota Marker will stay in Brookings after SDSU beat NDSU for the second time in seven months. Davidson continues to win as they blew out St Thomas and pretty much has locked the PFL up. JMU and Sam Houston roll a day after the moves are made official--JMU to the Sun Belt, SHSU to CUSA.
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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Nope I didn't attend the game. Given that MSU had two weeks to study what Weber State had done, I was pretty sure of the outcome, and unfortunately, I was correct.
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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Two weeks left in the regular season and games are getting bigger. Eastern is for all intents and purposes in playoff games their final two, starting with Davis, as when they played in April, is also in effect a loser out game. Fact they even tip it off with a basketball matchup today to start the weekend (Eags were much better offensively in their opener than I thought they'd be, that's kind of the only offense in the program right now).

Been a few years since the Brawl of the Wild was a top ten showdown, Montana and Montana State should easily avoid trap games against Idaho and NAU, then again no guarantee, the two teams playing tomorrow night couldn't (vs Weber State and Idaho State).

Real gut punch could be coming if Sac State (Troy Taylor) wins out and ends up either outright champ or shares with MSU while Eastern, who essentially just fired their OC (officially he resigned; otherwise, I'm yeah) stays home after an embarrassing season-ending four-game skid. Of course that's on Beau Baldwin for leaving very late in the game back in 2017 (T2 had already left for Utah).

Anyone see a scenario where the WAC actually bans Sam Houston from playing next year kinda like the JMU/CAA flap? Only the WAC takes it next level and essentially does what the Southland did, which resulted in the hilarity of Sam Houston "repping the SLC" in the playoffs when they'd already been kicked out. Only by banning in this case they would merely discount all conference games, making the WAC a seven-team league with SHS only there for scheduling purposes. No, not a good look for them in that they've bailed on two conferences in less than a year and CUSA will be a glorified FCS conference when they get there. This is one of many reasons why Montana and North Dakota State stay in their lane.
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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The CAA (which actually doesn't apply to football, for the record) had the ban written into their by-laws. I don't know how the WAC is set up, but I'm sure they'll follow whatever rules are in place.

I'm worried about the CAA and specifically William & Mary. I wish they would try to recruit UMass and UConn football down. Or link up with a few of the more heavyweight schools like Villanova, Delaware, and New Hampshire and make the leap up. All pipe dreams, surely. Instead I'm sure they'll just add Campbell or Monmouth or whoever. But if these FBS schools never cycle down to FCS (just Idaho in recent memory, I think), the schools that stand still in FCS are effectively being relegated.
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Re: Spring 2021 FCS: Scouting for the next Donald Parham

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That reminds me that Maine will be going for back to back FCS wins over UMass. Talk about a waste of space. Hell at least UConn went to the Fiesta Bowl, UMass went 7-25 their four years in the MAC and has won even less since.
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