FCS Soccer Week 1 Preview

We’re previewing the important thing video games and storylines every week all through the 2024 school soccer season. Our FCS protection is the house for the High 25 media ballot, FCS Nationwide Awards, predictive TRACR mannequin and rather more.

You should definitely tighten your seat belt, it’s go time with the 2024 FCS school season.

After a small, but significantly entertaining Week 0 schedule final Saturday, Week 1 has probably the most video games of the season, as 94 contain FCS packages, from Thursday night time by way of Sunday.

In fact, it’s FC-yes towards FBS opponents. Montana State already has the season’s first win over Massive Brother. Total, there are a report 121 FCS-vs.-FBS matchups in 2024, and 59, or practically half, might be performed in Week 1. Included are 17 groups ranked within the Stats Carry out FCS Preseason High 25 Ballot.

Let’s span the nation with the FCS’ forty seventh season underway.

FCS Soccer Week 1 Preview

FCS Sport of the Week

No. 2 North Dakota State (11-4 in 2023) at Colorado (4-8)

Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET Thursday (ESPN)

Notable: That is the primary assembly between the 2 packages, with NDSU 9-4 all-time towards FBS opponents, together with 3-1 versus the Massive 12. Tim Polasek is making his head teaching debut, matched towards Colorado’s Deion Sanders, the 2021 Eddie Robinson Award recipient when he was at Jackson State. The Bison, roughly 9.5-point underdogs, will probably search to regulate recreation clock with their speeding assault, behind beginning quarterback Cam Miller (31-9 report as starter) with Cole Payton off the bench, and their working backs, together with TK Marshall. Final season, Colorado ranked one hundred and first out of 130 FBS groups in permitting 4.7 yards per carry and 107th whereas surrendering 176.4 speeding yards per recreation. If there’s one other issue that might favor NDSU, it’s the go rush up entrance with Dylan Hendricks and Eli Mostaert. The Buffaloes allowed the second-most sacks within the FBS – 56, together with 52 towards Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s son and a number one QB candidate for the 2025 NFL Draft (he acquired the 2021 Jerry Rice Award, profitable FCS freshman participant of the 12 months whereas directing Jackson State’s offense). NDSU is with out two first-team All-People resulting from foot accidents – fullback/lengthy snapper Hunter Brozio (profession dominated over) and robust security Cole Wisniewski.

The Decide: North Dakota State

Second-and-10 

1. South Dakota State, the two-time defending FCS champion, takes a 29-game profitable streak – the third-longest in FCS historical past – into Saturday’s season opener at Oklahoma State (AP No. 17). The situation is much like the most-famous FCS vs. FBS recreation, when Appalachian State entered because the two-time champ earlier than defeating No. 5 Michigan 34-32 to start the Mountaineers’ nationwide title three-peat. Whereas Walter Payton Award-winning quarterback Mark Gronowski is the Jackrabbits’ headliner, coach Jimmy Rogers’ squad is coming off a season through which its 9.3 factors allowed per recreation marked the bottom common in an FCS season since 2003 (Monmouth, 8.5).

2. Two FCS packages are searching for FBS wins for the third consecutive season. Sacramento State visits San Jose State and comes proper again with a matchup at Fresno State subsequent week. Southern Illinois, which visits BYU, extends the FBS success out much more with a win in three of its final 4 fall seasons.

3. Talking of three straight seasons, FBS program Buffalo is attempting to keep away from dropping to a Patriot League member as soon as once more, internet hosting defending co-champ and preseason favourite Lafayette after falling to Holy Cross in 2022 and Fordham final 12 months. Lafayette’s final win towards a present FBS group occurred in 1971, 13-7 over Rutgers.

4. The week’s lone recreation matching ranked FCS groups towards one another can also be a rematch from the 2023 FCS playoffs: No. 6 Villanova hosts No. 25 Youngstown State, simply because the Wildcats did whereas profitable 45-28 in a second-round recreation. Villanova QB Connor Watkins (331 yards of whole offense, three whole touchdowns) and linebacker Shane Hartzell (game-high 14 tackles, sack) hope to choose up the place they left off towards the Penguins.

5. Juicy matchups move throughout CAA Soccer, which for one season will play as the brand new largest convention in FCS historical past (16 groups). Along with Villanova, Monmouth visits Japanese Washington (over 2,600 miles away), Rhode Island hosts five-time defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross and Delaware welcomes in new CAA member Bryant, though it’s thought-about non-conference and doesn’t depend towards the convention standings. Whereas William & Mary figures to increase a 25-game profitable streak towards VMI in that collection’ first assembly since 2011, Danny Rocco is in his second season teaching the visiting Keydets, and he’s 7-3 towards the Tribe, together with 7-1 whereas guiding Delaware and one other FCS program, Richmond.

6. Contemporary off Florida A&M’s 24-23 rally previous Norfolk State within the MEAC-SWAC Problem, the HBCU inter-conference video games proceed in an enormous manner, that includes the defending SWAC champion Rattlers once more of their house opener towards MEAC member South Carolina State, Morgan State (MEAC) touring to Hampton (CAA), and Alabama State (SWAC) internet hosting North Carolina Central (MEAC) in Miami. However shoutout to Texas Southern at Prairie View A&M within the SWAC – the FCS season’s first convention recreation.

7. West Georgia is in a highlight recreation because it breaks into the FCS, internet hosting Samford. The Wolves, now United Athletic Convention members underneath new coach Joel Taylor, have posted a profitable report in each season since 2013. New Northeast Convention member Mercyhurst, the opposite Division II-to-FCS transitioning program, travels to sub-FCS Wheeling, then steps it up at defending MEAC champ Howard subsequent week.

8. New coaches abound within the FCS this season, with 24 making debuts this week. Like FAMU’s James Colzie III final week, defending convention champions with new coaches embrace Austin Peay from the UAC (Jeff Faris, debuting at Louisville), Gardner-Webb from the Massive South-OVC (Cris Reisert, Wofford) and Holy Cross from the Patriot League (Dan Curran, at Rhode Island).

9. Their South Carolina campuses separated by solely 17 miles, The Citadel visits Charleston Southern as that collection resumes after a three-year break. This summer time, the 2 groups had a number of gamers work in conjunction on a Charleston-area service undertaking. The winners of the newly renamed “Lowcountry Boil Bowl” will obtain a trophy crammed to the brim with lowcountry boil, which is a neighborhood meals specialty.

10. Quarterback is named a very powerful place in soccer, and it’s extremely skilled among the many Preseason High 25 groups. Ten of the highest 14 groups and 16 of the 25 ranked groups returns final 12 months’s predominant starter. Among the many 9 exceptions, 4 might open the season with a QB who made at the least one begin final season. Two exceptions are nationwide runner-up Montana (redshirt freshman Keali’i Ah Yat and Fresno State switch Logan Fife could each see enjoying time towards Missouri State) and nationwide semifinalist UAlbany (Wisconsin switch Myles Burkett is about for the LIU opener).

FCS Soccer Week 1 High 25 Schedule

All Occasions ET

1. South Dakota State (0-0, 0–0 MVFC): at Oklahoma State (2 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

2. North Dakota State (0-0, 0-0 MVFC): at Colorado (8 p.m. Thursday, ESPN)

3. Montana (0-0, 0-0 Massive Sky): Missouri State (9 p.m. Saturday, Scripps/ESPN+)

4. Montana State (1-0, 0-0 Massive Sky): at Utah Tech (10 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

5. South Dakota (0-0, 0-0 MVFC): Northern State (8 p.m. Thursday, ESPN+)

6. Villanova (0-0, 0-0 CAA): No. 25 Youngstown State (6 p.m. Thursday, FloFootball)

7. Idaho (0-0, 0-0 Massive Sky): at Oregon (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Massive Ten Community)

8. Sacramento State (0-0, 0-0 Massive Sky): at San Jose State (10 p.m. Thursday, truTV/Max)

9. Chattanooga (0-0, 0-0 SoCon): at Tennessee (12:45 p.m. Saturday, SEC Community)

10. Southern Illinois (0-0, 0-0 MVFC): at BYU (8 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

11. Central Arkansas (0-0, 0-0 UAC): at Arkansas State (7 p.m. Saturday, SEC Community+/ESPN+)

12. Furman (0-0, 0-0 SoCon): at Ole Miss (7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

13. Richmond (0-0, 0-0 CAA): at Virginia (6 p.m. Saturday, ACC Community Additional)

14. UIW (0-0, 0-0 Southland): Northern Colorado (7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

15. William & Mary (0-0, 0-0 CAA): VMI (7 p.m. Thursday, FloFootball)

16. UAlbany (0-0, 0-0 CAA): LIU (7 p.m. Saturday, FloFootball)

17. Lafayette (0-0, 0-0 Patriot): at Buffalo (7 p.m. Thursday, ESPN+)

18. UC Davis (0-0, 0-0 Massive Sky): at California (5 p.m. Saturday, ACC Community Additional)

19. Illinois State (0-0, 0-0 MVFC): at Iowa (midday Saturday, Massive Ten Community)

20. Western Carolina (0-0, 0-0 SoCon): at NC State (7 p.m. Thursday, ACC Community)

21. Tarleton State (1-0, 0-0 UAC): at Baylor (7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

22. Weber State (0-0, 0-0 Massive Sky): at Washington (11 p.m. Saturday, Massive Ten Community)

23. Nicholls (0-0, 0-0 Southland): at Louisiana Tech (8 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+)

24. North Dakota (0-0, 0-0 MVFC): at Iowa State (3:30 p.m. Saturday, FS1)

25. Youngstown State (0-0, 0-0 MVFC): at No. 6 Villanova (6 p.m. Thursday, FloFootball)