(STATS) – Northern Iowa, Samford, Western Illinois, New Hampshire and The Citadel might be the strongest FCS teams with losing records, and none of them is giving up on the season.
Last weekend, two won games and another led No. 1 North Dakota State after three quarters. All five have been hardened by tough schedules.
There are enough important matchups remaining in the second half of the season to motivate the five, even if the overall picture winds up being disappointing.
Here is how they can realistically salvage their seasons:
Northern Iowa (2-3): The first team outside the STATS FCS Top 25 has played the best (North Dakota State, which it led heading into the fourth quarter last Saturday) and worst (Indiana State) teams in the rugged Missouri Valley Football Conference and now must navigate what’s in between. An FCS playoff bid is likely with a 5-1 mark down the stretch and possible if the Panthers go 4-2.
Samford (2-4) – The Bulldogs went from nearly upsetting Florida State to falling apart as part of a four-game losing streak. They’re coming off a rout of Western Carolina, and with senior quarterback Devlin Hodges leading the way, anything’s possible. But having a winning season and being a Southern Conference spoiler (Wofford at home) are more realistic.
Western Illinois (2-3) – An upset of North Dakota State on Saturday is unlikely, but the rest of the MVFC schedule appears to be manageable enough for the Fighting Leathernecks to move closer to .500 in coach Jared Elliott’s first season.
New Hampshire (1-4) – The highest ranked team in the preseason (No. 7) to be in this predicament has too much ground to make up and tough teams still on the schedule to be thinking about continuing the 14-year streak of playoff appearances. But the return of quarterback Trevor Knight in last week’s shutout of Holy Cross has the ‘Cats primed to pick off CAA opponents.
The Citadel (1-3) – The losing record probably doesn’t have the Bulldogs saying, “We want ‘Bama!” No, wait, Alabama is on the schedule on Nov. 17, so pound those chests. Before then, the Bulldogs can win some games, including over SoCon co-leader ETSU on Saturday. They’ve beaten a good Mercer team and the losses are to a trio of teams (Wofford, Chattanooga and Towson) that are a combined 12-4.
Other Teams Considered: Sacramento State (2-3); Richmond (2-4); Southern Illinois (1-4); Youngstown State (2-3); Murray State (2-3); Furman (1-3)
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