Tag: FCS

LeBron James gifts FAMU’s football team custom kicks ahead of its Celebration Bowl title

It’s never a bad day when you get free kicks from LeBron James.

As it turns out, having a partnership with LeBron James has its perks.

All year long, Florida A&M’s football team has been partnering with the NBA superstar through Nike, wearing custom cleats designed by the four-time MVP this season. As the Rattlers looked good, they played well too, as they only lost one game en route to winning the SWAC title.

Ahead of their game against Howard in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta for the HBCU national championship, the Rattlers received a special package from James – new custom kicks.

Here are the players unboxing the shoes before kickoff, unveiling black and white LeBrons.

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It’s unclear if the kicks played a role, but Florida A&M went on to win the Celebration Bowl 30-26 over the Bison.

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Sooners continue to add via the transfer portal with commitment from RB Sam Franklin

Oklahoma continues to add productive pieces via the portal as UT-Martin transfer Sam Franklin commits to the Sooners.

Oklahoma has lost three running backs to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] in the last few weeks. In many ways, it was beneficial, given it is nearly impossible to keep six scholarship running backs happy.

[autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag], [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] entered the transfer portal. Walker is still practicing with the team, so there’s a chance he remains in Norman. [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] and the rest of the offensive staff decided losing three running backs was too much and offered multiple players in the transfer portal. One of those offers went to Sam Franklin, a talented and productive running back from UT-Martin.

After a visit with Oklahoma this week, Franklin cashed in that offer and announced his commitment to the Sooners. Franklin was a Walter Payton award finalist for the Skyhawks. The award is given annually to the national offensive player of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision of Division I.

For the 5-foot-10, 190-pound redshirt sophomore, 2023 was a massive year. With 223 carries, he amassed 1,378 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He caught 14 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown in 11 games. He’s decisive and quick enough to break away at the second level. Adding him to [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] and [autotag]Jovontae Barnes[/autotag] gives Oklahoma three game-ready backs who have produced significantly. It also allows Oklahoma to ease incoming freshmen [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag], [autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Andy Bass[/autotag] into the collegiate football world.

Franklin has two years of eligibility remaining, and his commitment brings Oklahoma’s transfer portal commitment tally to four.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

North Dakota State survives in FCS playoffs with blocked extra point against Montana State

North Dakota State is still kicking after pulling the upset on the road.

It’s been a down year for North Dakota State football by its own dynastic standards, but the Bison are still kicking in the FCS playoffs after pulling a second-round upset on the road over six-seeded Montana State.

The game went to overtime tied at 28, and after North Dakota State scored on its opening drive, the Bobcats answered with a touchdown on their first play.

They were an extra point away from sending the game to a second overtime period, but backup offensive lineman Hunter Poncius took advantage of his 6-foot-8 frame, putting his hand up to block the point-after attempt and keep the Bison’s season alive.

North Dakota State has won nine national titles since 2011, but it came up short last season and suffered three losses during the 2023 regular season. One of those came at home by a 24-19 margin against No. 3 seed South Dakota, which will host the Bison in the quarterfinal next weekend.

A D-II offensive lineman threw a glorious passing touchdown and you absolutely have to see it

Behold this big-boy touchdown from Colorado Mesa’s Cooper Mumford against San Diego.

Less than three weeks into the 2023 college football season, we’ve already seen our fair share of ridiculous highlights. This week we had a Georgia player catching an interception off a Ball State player’s foot, and last week we saw Purdue’s Deion Burks bounce off four defenders on an 84-yard score.

While a lot of folks regularly tune in to watch programs like Purdue and Georgia, there was little reason for the casual college football fan to pay attention to a game between Division II Colorado Mesa and FCS San Diego on Saturday.

But this matchup featured what might be the coolest and weirdest highlight of the 2023 season so far.

Here’s what happened: On a third-and-8 situation inside the red zone, Colorado Mesa tried a trick play that seemed to be going horribly wrong. The Mavericks’ quarterback handed off to the running back, who was then supposed to flip the ball to a wide receiver running a reverse. But a San Diego defender busted into the backfield and hit the running back during the toss, causing the ball to fumble to the turf.

That’s when freshman left tackle Cooper Mumford stepped in to save the day.

Mumford – who is listed at 6’4 and 275 pounds – scooped the ball up behind the line of scrimmage, scrambled a bit to his left and threw a nine-yard strike to Keenan Brown for the first touchdown of the day. It was totally legal and totally awesome.

Behold this big boy touchdown:

This marked the second consecutive week that we had a truly beautiful wacky sequence of events emerge from a college football game in the lower ranks. Last week, we were treated to that incredibly strange finish between Virginia State and Norfolk State.

It’s another reminder that we should enjoy the whole hog of this sport, from the JUCO ranks all the way up to the Power Five.

Dan Lanning, Bo Nix give early thoughts on Portland State matchup

It’s not yet game week, but the Ducks are starting to think about the season opener with Portland State.

The Oregon Ducks football team officially starts to prepare for its season opener after an off-season that has seemed to last longer than usual.

It’s not quite game week yet, but the Ducks are thinking about that season-opening game against Portland State. The Vikings are quite the contrast compared to last season’s opening opponent, the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs. The contest will be in Autzen, not Atlanta, and the Ducks will be overwhelming favorites.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said that Oregon will not overlook its FCS opponent from the northern part of the state.

“One thing, when you play Game 1’s, who are you going to see, who are they going to be? Each team is different, especially in college football now, from the last year to the next year,” he said. “I will say this, I have a lot of respect for their coach and their coaching staff. They’ve been there for a long time. They have some continuity there. There’s been some moving parts, but they do a good job, and they do have some explosive players on their team.”

Quarterback Bo Nix was asked about what success looks like when you play an opponent that you are expected to not only defeat but to defeat by a lot. Nix is already starting to sound like a coach.

“Run the ball to win, have some explosive plays, win situational football, don’t beat ourselves, don’t have any penalties, don’t turn the ball over, just do what we’re supposed to do and it will be a fun day,” Nix said. “We’ll put ourselves in a great position. We’ll be in good shape and go into Week 2 having some confidence and building off Week 1. We’re going to each week as a very important game and we just want to win.”

The Week 2 matchup will be a sneaky tough one as the Ducks will go down to Lubbock, Texas and face the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. The more confidence the Ducks have coming into that road game, the better.
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Tennessee makes top-six for FCS Freshman All-American transfer

Tennessee football makes top-six for a FCS Freshman All-American transfer.

Former Campbell defensive back Myles Rowser announced his top-six teams on Thursday.

Tennessee, Colorado, New Mexico State, Penn State, LSU and Oregon are Rowser’s top-six schools.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive back is from Belleville High School in Detriot, Michigan.

As a true freshman in 2022, Rowser recorded 44 total tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception and three pass breakups. He earned FCS Freshman All-American honors last season.

He signed with Campbell as a consensus four-star prospect in the class of 2022. He ranked as the No. 232 overall prospect and No. 4 player in Michigan, according to 247Sports composite rankings.

Rowser will have three years of eligibility remaining.

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New Bears DT Travis Bell is first player ever drafted from Kennesaw State

The Bears helped make history when they selected DT Travis Bell in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

History was made on Saturday during the seventh and final round of the 2023 NFL Draft and the Chicago Bears played a significant role in making it happen. The team selected defensive tackle Travis Bell with the No. 218 pick of the draft. Bell is the third defensive tackle the Bears have taken, joining Florida’s Gervon Dexter Sr. and South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens. But that’s not what makes this pick significant.

With Bell’s selection, it marks the first NFL draft pick out of Kennesaw State in their school’s history.

Kennesaw State (KSU) is located in Kennesaw, GA, which also happens to be the hometown of Bears quarterback Justin Fields. KSU was technically established in 1963 as Kennesaw Junior College and became a university in 2015, the same year their football program was founded. They originally were part of the Big South Conference but joined the ASUN Conference last season, finishing with 5-6 record. KSU plays in the FCS.

Time will tell how Bell’s career will turn out the next level, but he can always look back and say he was part of history.

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FCS Championship: Bettors are expecting a competitive game between North Dakota State and South Dakota State

Here’s how the public is betting on North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State.

Do you have the itch for football but aren’t interested in many of Week 18’s NFL games? Or are you patiently awaiting Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship between TCU and Georgia, trying to figure out how to get your football fix in the meantime?

Well, Sunday’s FCS Championship Game may be what you’re looking for.

It’ll be a battle of the Dakotas when the 12-2 North Dakota State Bison take on the 13-1 South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The two squads met earlier this season in a game South Dakota State won 23-21. As a result, the Jackrabbits are 5.5-point favorites to win the title.

However, according to John Ewing of BetMGM, only 45 percent of the tickets on the spread at the sportsbook are on the Jackrabbits to cover. Uncoincidentally, 79 percent of moneyline bets are on the Bison to (+170) to pull off the upset.

North Dakota State is the reigning FCS Champion and has won nine FCS titles in total, all of which have come in the last 11 years. South Dakota State finished as the runner-up during the 2020 season and has no other FCS Championship Game experience.

Will the defending champs pull the upset? Or will the FCS crown a new champion?

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College GameDay: Lee Corso returns for Montana vs. Montana State headgear pick

“Gimme the cat head.”

It’s been nearly a month since we’ve seen Lee Corso do the thing on ESPN’s College GameDay.

You know, when he puts on mascot headgear, signaling the team he’s picking in the final matchup that the GameDay crew is discussing on a given college football Saturday?

Corso, 87, missed three straight weeks of GameDay due to undisclosed health-related issues. We last saw him don the Duck head in Eugene, Oregon – correctly predicting the outcome of that top 25 Pac-12 clash.

The elder statesman of the panel returned to the set this week for what has been reported as the coldest GameDay ever in the show’s history. The panel went to Bozeman, Montana for an FCS rivalry – “the Brawl of the Wild” between Montana and Montana State — where it was a frigid 13 degrees during the telecast.

Corso didn’t dress as ridiculously as fellow panelist Kirk Herbstreit, but at the end of the show, he did his thing, picking the home team to win.

“I love Bozeman. I love these people. I love the cats,” Corso said. “I even love this weather… Gimme the cat head.”

First-year GameDay panelist Pat McAfee was the only one who picked the Grizzlies over the Bobcats. Tipico Sportsbook has the Grizzlies favored by 1.5 points, with the over-under set at 59.5 points.

Montana (7-3) won this game last season and leads the all-time series 73-41-5. A win today could go a long way in helping Montana State (9-1) secure a bid in the FCS playoffs.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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Alabama’s last 10 matchups against FCS programs

Alabama has outscored FCS opponents 498-53 in previous 10 match ups

The Alabama Crimson Tide has dominated at the highest level of college football for the past decade and a half under head coach Nick Saban. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that teams from the Football Championship Series (FCS) haven’t put up much of a fight against the Tide.

In the Tide’s previous ten match-ups against FCS opponents, Alabama has outscored them 498-53. Yikes.

So, the Austin Peay Governors certainly have a lot to handle this weekend as they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. The game will kick off at 12:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.

Alabama may be eliminated from playoff contention, but the team still has some anger to let out after the two tough losses. Coach Saban won’t let this team quit either as he still has aspirations of a 10-win season and New Years Six bowl appearance.