Each week we'll preview the most important games and storylines during the 2024 college football season. Our FCS coverage is home to the Top 25 Media Poll, the FCS National Awards, the TRACR predictive model and more. The regular season passes the halfway point in Week 7.

North, South, East, West, major or minor conference, no matter where or when, important games are everywhere on the FCS schedule.

Week 7 of the FCS season features a top-10 matchup with Montana State and Idaho, but there is much, much more in all 13 conferences.

From Nicholls at UIW (Southland) to Chattanooga at Furman (SoCon) to Butler at Drake (Pioneer) to Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri (Big South-OVC) to Dartmouth at Yale (Ivy) to Duquesne at Saint Francis (Northeast) to Alcorn State at Grambling State (SWAC), some of the more impactful conference games of the 2024 season are on the schedule on Saturday.

Let's dive into the fun.

FCS Football Week 7 Preview

FCS Game of the Week

Nicholls (2-3, 0-0 Southland) ranked No. 15 UIW (3-2, 0-0)

Start: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET at Gayle & Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio (ESPN+)

Notable: Veteran players will be represented in both squads again from 2019 Nicholls' 45-32 win at UIW last year – the key game in the Colonels' Southland Conference championship and UIW was the top-ranked team (No. 22) not making the FCS postseason. It is UIW's only loss in 20 home games since 2021. Nicholls rushed for 335 yards in the win, including Collin Guggenheim (2,895 career rushing yards) with 153 yards and four touchdowns. Like last year, Nicholls has bounced back from season-opening losses to Big Sky star Sacramento State and two FBS opponents. Meanwhile, UIW played well against a much tougher non-conference schedule than in 2023. Nicholls left quarterback Pat McQuaide caught four TD passes against Southern (his two-year high with the Colonels). UIW QB Zach Calzada (278.6 passing yards per game, 13 TD passes to two interceptions) distributes the ball to, among others, RB Dekalon Taylor (114 all-purpose yards per game, six TDs) and wide receiver Jalen Walthall (35 receptions, 569 yards, seven touchdowns) and Roy Alexander (35-413-3). Nicholls, behind leading tackler Eli Ennis, was dominant against the run, allowing just 69.2 rushing yards per game and 2.5 yards per carry while 11 different players combined for 12 interceptions. UIW wasn't as stingy, allowing 427.4 yards and 25.8 points per game. This is Nicholls' fifth away game out of six games.

The choice: UIW

Second and tenth

1. They still have to face other MVFC programs that had FCS playoff victories last season, but South Dakota State (4-1) and North Dakota State (5-1) appear destined for the No. 1 showdown against No. 2 in October 19. SDSU, the two-time defending FCS champion, has beaten Youngstown State 47-16 and 34-0 on the road in the last two meetings, and this time the Jackrabbits are at home, where they have won 23 games have won a series. NDSU travels to Southern Illinois, where the Bison's FCS-record 39-game winning streak ended in the 2021 spring season, but that is the only Bison loss in their last 12 meetings. SIU (2-4), facing its fifth straight nationally ranked opponent, will field a true freshman quarterback in Jake Curry for the first time since 1989.

The October 19 showdown between South Dakota State and North Dakota State begins at either 7:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU or ESPN2.

Network and game times will be determined by ESPN after this weekend's games.

SDSU is ranked #1 and NDSU is ranked #2.

— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) October 7, 2024

2. Third-ranked Montana State would love to spoil SDSU at NDSU, setting up a showdown between No. 1 and No. 2 by simply moving up from No. 3 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll (they were the same Top 3). since Labor Day). Despite close votes, the gap between the Bobcats (6-0, 2-0 Big Sky) and No. 2 NDSU has grown over the past two weeks. A win over No. 7 Idaho (4-2, 1-1) would be even more important than the Bobcats' FBS triumph at New Mexico to open the season. Running back Scottre Humphrey (111.3 rushing yards per game) and the second-ranked rushing offense in the FCS face a tough test in the Vandals' rushing defense, which ranks eighth nationally. Since 2016, they have split four meetings, with each game decided by seven points or fewer.

3. One of the reasons Montana State and No. They are the only FCS teams to record three away wins. Your reward this week? A home game on Saturday.

4. Four of the NEC's top five in rushing yards per game last season made offseason transfers, and there were dividends for the new running back teams. Tyvon Edmonds Jr., the 2023 conference rushing leader at Merrimack, transferred to Robert Morris when that program returned to the NEC, and he is second in rushing this season. Jermaine Corbett, who finished second in the NEC at Stonehill, replaced Edmonds at Merrimack, who moved to an independent season. Sacred Heart's Malik Grant, who ranked fourth at Sacred Heart and finished his career ranked 14th on the NEC's all-time rushing list, transferred to Rhode Island and ranks fourth in rushing in CAA football. Zach Palmer-Smith, who was fifth at Wagner, also moved to the CAA in Richmond and took second place there.

5. Rhode Island, in a four-way tie for first place in the CAA, is eliminated from the conference and will seek its sixth straight win over Brown in the Governor's Cup series. The Rams, ranked 19th in the Top 25 (4-1), do it like no other team in the national rankings: They have a turnover margin of -10 and are ranked third-worst in the FCS in post-final negatives against four opponents and tied with the other. Five other top 25 teams have a negative sales margin, but barely as much as -6 combined. The Rams aren't fazed by the mistakes, however, as they've won three times in games where they trailed in the fourth quarter. No other FCS team has achieved this.

6. Like last week, the Big South OVC features another impressive schedule led by No. 11 Southeast Missouri hosting Tennessee Tech in a matchup of 2-0 co-leaders. Conveniently, the all-time series stands at 16:16 before the showdown. Tennessee Tech's secondary features strong safety Tin Coutras and regularly uses a nickelback, and that's key against SEMO quarterback Paxton DeLaurent, who is 34 yards shy of the school's all-time record (Jason Liley, 6,179) and with Daniel Santacaterina is tied for career touchdowns reached the mark (46).

(Big South OVC member Tennessee State in hunt for conference title)

7. The Pioneer Football League has an important schedule: defending champion Drake hosts Butler and Davidson, who travel to Dayton – four teams that are a combined 6-0 in league play and 15-3 overall. Butler (5-0 with three sub-FCS wins) is one of four undefeated FCS teams, while Drake (3-1, 2-0) has a 13-game PFL winning streak – the third-longest active streak in the FCS. Conference play. Davidson (4-1, 2-0), the early co-leader with Drake, leads the FCS in rushing yards per game (368.6) and keeps the ball on the ground on a remarkable 82.4% of its offensive plays. Dayton boasts the league's top-ranked passing attack with redshirt freshman Drew VanVleet at the helm.

FCS Longest Active Winning Streaks
In total
6 – Dartmouth, Montana State
5 – Butler, Delaware, Mercer, North Dakota State, UC Davis
Home
23 – South Dakota State
21 – Florida A&M
12-Villanova
Street
3 – Brown, Butler, Mercer, Montana State, Tarleton State
conference
18 – South…

— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) October 7, 2024

8. Fordham linebacker James Conway returned from injury and made his season debut last Saturday with 13 tackles against Lafayette. Even if he could be limited to four games to keep the redshirt, that won't stop him from becoming the Patriot League's career leader in tackles this year. He ranks ninth with 400 stops, but that's just 32 fewer than Jacob Dobbs' all-time high of 432 at Holy Cross from 2019 to 2023.

9. Because Delaware (5-0, 2-0) is heading toward an FBS move and playing above the FCS scholarship limits, it is not eligible for the CAA title, but its games count in the standings. The Blue Hens join Butler, South Dakota and Stephen F. Austin as FCS teams and rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense. Season-opening quarterback Ryan O'Connor and Zach Marker combine for 14 touchdowns -Passes scored against just one interception, resulting in an offense that averaged 42.7 points and 457.7 yards. The defense has 16 sacks and a plus-8 turnover margin while giving up just 17.4 points and 315.6 yards per game.

10. The most recent NEC champions meet in Saint Francis, where the Red Flash are in need of a win on the back of a conference loss to Central Connecticut State in their 50th all-time meeting against defending champion Duquesne. Allstate may not be wondering whether the Red Flash (2-3) are in good hands, as they have fumbled the ball 18 times and lost 12 of them in just five games. In their only game with fewer than three turnovers (they also have two interceptions this season), the Red Flash defeated an FBS opponent (Kent State).

FCS Football Week 7 Top 25 Schedule

All times ET Saturday

1. South Dakota State (4-1, 1-0 MVFC): Youngstown State (3 p.m., ESPN+)

2. North Dakota State (5-1, 2-0 MVFC): in Southern Illinois (3 p.m., ESPN+)

3. Montana State (6-0, 2-0 Big Sky): No. 7 Idaho (10:15 p.m., ESPN2)

4. South Dakota (4-1, 2-0 MVFC): Northern Iowa (3 p.m., ESPN+)

5. Villanova (5-1, 2-0 CAA): No game

6. UC Davis (5-1, 2-0 Big Sky): Cal Poly (7 p.m., ESPN+/My58)

7. Idaho (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky): at No. 3 Montana State (10:15 p.m., ESPN2)

8. Mercer (5-0, 3-0 SoCon): Princeton (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)

9. North Dakota (4-2, 1-1 MVFC): No game

10. Abilene Christian (4-2, 3-0 UAC): at North Alabama (7 p.m., ESPN+)

11. Southeast Missouri (5-1, 2-0 Big South-OVC): Tennessee Tech (4 p.m., ESPN+)

12. Central Arkansas (4-2, 1-1 UAC): West Georgia (5 p.m., ESPN+)

13. Tarleton State (5-1, 2-0 UAC): Utah Tech (7 p.m., ESPN+)

14. Montana (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky): No. 24 Northern Arizona (4 p.m., ESPN+)

15. UIW (3-2, 0-0 Southland): Nicholls (7 p.m., ESPN+)

16. Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC): Missouri State (1 p.m., ESPN+)

17. William & Mary (4-2, 1-1 CAA): No game

18. Sacramento State (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky): Eastern Washington (9 p.m., KMAX 31/ESPN+)

19. Rhode Island (4-1, 2-0 CAA): Brown (1 p.m., FloFootball)

20. Weber State (3-3, 2-0 Big Sky): Northern Colorado (8 p.m., ESPN+)

21. Richmond (4-2, 2-0 CAA): No game

22. Lamar (3-2, 0-0 Southland): Stephen F. Austin (4 p.m., ESPN+)

23. Chattanooga (2-3, 1-1 SoCon): at Furman (2 p.m., ESPN+)

24. Northern Arizona (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky): at No. 14 Montana (4 p.m., ESPN+)

25. North Carolina Central (4-2, 2-0 MEAC): Virginia-Lynchburg (2 p.m., ESPN+)

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2023 Montana State vs. Idaho top photo (Garrett Becker/Montana State Athletics)

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