2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season

Last updated

2018 NCAA Division I FCS season
NCAA logo.svg
Regular season
Number of teams125
DurationAugust 25 – November 17
Payton Award Devlin Hodges, QB, Samford
Buchanan Award Zach Hall, LB, Southeast Missouri State
Playoff
DurationNovember 24 – December 15
Championship date January 5, 2019
Championship site Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
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2019 »

The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 5, 2019, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State claimed its second consecutive FCS title, and seventh in eight years, defeating Eastern Washington, 38-24.

Contents

Conference changes and new programs

School2017 conference2018 conference
Campbell Pioneer Big South
Hampton MEAC FCS Independent
Idaho Sun Belt (FBS) Big Sky
Liberty Big South FBS Independent
North Alabama Gulf South (D–II) FCS Independent
North Dakota Big Sky

Notable headlines

FCS team wins over FBS teams

(FCS rankings from the STATS poll, FBS rankings from the AP poll.)

August 30: UC Davis 44, San Jose State 38
September 1: No. 18 Nicholls 26, Kansas 23 OT
September 1: Northern Arizona 30, UTEP 10
September 1: No. 19 Villanova 19, Temple 17
September 2: No. 14 North Carolina A&T 28, East Carolina 23
September 8: No. 22 Maine 31, Western Kentucky 28
September 22: No. 16 Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19

Conference changes and new programs

School2017 conference2018 conference
Campbell Pioneer Big South
Hampton MEAC FCS Independent
Idaho Sun Belt (FBS) Big Sky
Liberty Big South FBS Independent
North Alabama Gulf South (D–II) FCS Independent
North Dakota Big Sky

Conference standings

2018 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 6 Weber State +^ 71  103 
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^ 71  123 
No. 7 UC Davis +^ 71  103 
No. 17 Montana State ^ 53  85 
Idaho State  53  65 
Montana  44  65 
Cal Poly  44  56 
Northern Arizona  34  46 
Portland State  35  47 
Idaho  35  47 
Northern Colorado  26  29 
Southern Utah  17  110 
Sacramento State  07  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
  • Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games.
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Big South Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 5 Kennesaw State $^ 50  112 
Monmouth  41  83 
Charleston Southern  32  56 
Gardner–Webb  23  38 
Campbell  14  65 
Presbyterian  05  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Maine $^ 71  104 
No. 9 James Madison ^ 62  94 
No. 16 Stony Brook ^ 53  75 
No. 20 Towson ^ 53  75 
No. 24 Delaware ^ 53  75 
No. 19 Elon ^ 43  65 
Rhode Island  44  65 
William & Mary  34  46 
New Hampshire  35  47 
Villanova  26  56 
Richmond  26  47 
Albany  17  38 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Ivy League football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 11 Princeton $ 70  100 
No. 18 Dartmouth  61  91 
Harvard  43  64 
Yale  34  55 
Penn  34  64 
Columbia  34  64 
Cornell  25  37 
Brown  07  19 
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 12 North Carolina A&T $ 61  92 
Bethune–Cookman  52  75 
Florida A&M  52  65 
South Carolina State  43  56 
Howard  43  46 
North Carolina Central  34  56 
Morgan State  34  47 
Norfolk State  25  47 
Delaware State  25  38 
Savannah State  16  28 
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 North Dakota State $^ 80  150 
No. 3 South Dakota State ^ 62  103 
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^ 53  76 
Indiana State  53  74 
Western Illinois  44  56 
Illinois State  35  65 
Youngstown State  35  47 
South Dakota  35  47 
Missouri State  26  47 
Southern Illinois  17  29 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 21 Duquesne +^ 51  83 
Sacred Heart + 51  74 
Central Connecticut  42  65 
Wagner  33  47 
Saint Francis (PA)  24  47 
Bryant  24  65 
Robert Morris  06  29 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^ 71  83 
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^ 62  83 
Eastern Kentucky  52  74 
Murray State  53  56 
Tennessee State  34  45 
Eastern Illinois  35  38 
Austin Peay  35  56 
UT Martin  26  29 
Tennessee Tech  17  110 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Patriot League football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 8 Colgate $^ 60  102 
Holy Cross  42  56 
Georgetown  42  56 
Lehigh  24  38 
Lafayette  24  38 
Fordham  24  29 
Bucknell  15  110 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 25 San Diego $^ 80  93 
Stetson  62  82 
Drake  62  74 
Marist  53  56 
Dayton  53  65 
Davidson  35  65 
Butler  26  47 
Morehead State  26  38 
Valparaiso  26  29 
Jacksonville  17  28 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Southern Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 13 Wofford +^ 62  94 
No. 22 East Tennessee State +^ 62  84 
Furman + 62  64 
Samford  53  65 
Chattanooga  44  65 
The Citadel  44  56 
Mercer  44  56 
Western Carolina  17  38 
VMI  08  110 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2018 Southland Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 14 Nicholls +^ 72  94 
Incarnate Word +^ 62  65 
Lamar ^ 63  75 
Abilene Christian  54  65 
Central Arkansas  54  65 
McNeese State  54  65 
Sam Houston State  54  65 
Northwestern State  45  56 
Southeastern Louisiana  45  47 
Stephen F. Austin  27  28 
Houston Baptist  09  110 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS poll
2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Alcorn State x$ 61  94 
Alabama A&M  52  65 
Jackson State  43  55 
Alabama State  34  47 
Mississippi Valley State  16  110 
West Division
Southern xy 61  74 
Grambling State  43  65 
Prairie View A&M  43  56 
Texas Southern  16  29 
Arkansas–Pine Bluff  16  29 
Championship: Alcorn State 37, Southern 28
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
2018 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
North Alabama    73 
Hampton    73 
North Dakota    65 

Conference summaries

Championship games

ConferenceChampionRunner-upScoreOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year
SWAC Alcorn State
9–3 (6–1)
Southern
7–4 (6–1)
37–28Noah Johnson
(Alcorn State)
De’Arius Christmas
(Grambling State)
Fred McNair
(Alcorn State)

Other conference winners

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

ConferenceChampionRecordOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year
Big Sky Eastern Washington
UC Davis
Weber State
9–2 (7–1)
9–2 (7–1)
9–2 (7–1)
Jake Maier
(UC Davis)
Jay-Tee Tiuli
(Eastern Washington)
Aaron Best
(Eastern Washington)
Dan Hawkins
(UC Davis)
Big South Kennesaw State 10–1 (5–0) Chandler Burks
(Kennesaw State)
Anthony Gore, Jr.
(Kennesaw State)
Brian Bohanon
(Kennesaw State)
CAA Maine 8–3 (7–1) Tom Flacco
(Towson)
Jimmy Moreland
(James Madison)
Joe Harasymiak
(Maine)
Ivy Princeton 10–0 (7–0)John Lovett
(Princeton)
Isiah Swann
(Dartmouth)
Bob Surace
(Princeton)
MEAC North Carolina A&T 9–2 (6–1)Caylin Newton
(Howard)
Darryl Johnson Jr.
(North Carolina A&T)
Sam Washington
(North Carolina A&T)
MVFC North Dakota State 11–0 (8–0) Easton Stick
(North Dakota State)
Jabril Cox
(North Dakota State)
Curt Mallory
(Indiana State)
NEC Duquesne
Sacred Heart
8–3 (5–1)
7–4 (5–1)
A. J. Hines
(Duquesne)
Cam Gill
(Wagner)
Mark Nofri
(Sacred Heart)
Jerry Schmitt
(Duquesne)
OVC Jacksonville State 8–3 (7–1)Marquis Terry
(Southeast Missouri State)
Zach Hall
(Southeast Missouri State)
Tom Matukewicz
(Southeast Missouri State)
Patriot Colgate 9–1 (6–0)James Holland, Jr.
(Colgate)
T. J. Hill
(Colgate)
Dan Hunt
(Colgate)
Pioneer San Diego 9–2 (8–0)Anthony Lawrence
(San Diego)
Nathan Clayberg
(Drake)
Roger Hughes
(Stetson)
Southern East Tennessee State
Furman
Wofford
8–3 (6–2)
6–4 (6–2)
8–3 (6–2)
Devlin Hodges
(Samford)
Isaiah Mack
(Chattanooga)
Randy Sanders
(East Tennessee State)
Southland Incarnate Word
Nicholls
6–4 (6–2)
8–3 (7–2)
Jazz Ferguson
(Northwestern State)
B. J. Blunt
(McNeese State)
Eric Morris
(Incarnate Word)

    Playoff qualifiers

    Automatic berths for conference champions

    ConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidResult
    Big Sky Conference Weber State 7th 2017 Quarterfinals (L – James Madison)
    Big South Conference Kennesaw State 2nd2017Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State)
    Colonial Athletic Association Maine 8th 2013 Second Round (L – New Hampshire)
    Missouri Valley Football Conference North Dakota State 9th2017National Champions (W – James Madison)
    Northeast Conference Duquesne 2nd 2015 First Round (L – William & Mary)
    Ohio Valley Conference Jacksonville State 9th2017Second Round (L – Kennesaw State)
    Patriot League Colgate 11th2015Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State)
    Pioneer Football League San Diego 4th2017Second Round (L – North Dakota State)
    Southern Conference Wofford 9th2017Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State)
    Southland Conference Nicholls 5th2017First Round (L – South Dakota)

    At large qualifiers

    ConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidResult
    Big Sky Conference Eastern Washington 13th 2016 Semifinals (L – Youngstown State)
    UC Davis 1st
    Montana State 9th 2014 First Round (L – South Dakota State)
    Colonial Athletic Association Delaware 16th 2010 Championship Game (L – Eastern Washington)
    Elon 3rd 2017 First Round (L – Furman)
    James Madison 15th2017Championship Game (L – North Dakota State)
    Stony Brook 4th2017Second Round (L – James Madison)
    Towson 3rd 2013 Championship Game (L – North Dakota State)
    Missouri Valley Football Conference Northern Iowa 20th2017Second Round (L – South Dakota State)
    South Dakota State 8th2017Semifinals (L – James Madison)
    Ohio Valley Conference Southeast Missouri State 2nd2010Second Round (L – Eastern Washington)
    Southern Conference East Tennessee State 2nd 1996 Quarterfinals (L – Montana)
    Southland Conference Incarnate Word 1st
    Lamar 1st

    Abstentions

    Postseason

    Bowl game

    DateGameSiteTelevisionParticipantsAffiliationsResults
    December 15 Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium
    Atlanta, Georgia
    12:00 pm
    ABC North Carolina A&T Aggies (9–2)
    Alcorn State Braves (9–3)
    MEAC
    SWAC
    North Carolina A&T 24
    Alcorn State 22

    NCAA Division I playoff bracket

    First Round
    November 24
    Campus sites
    ESPN3
    Second Round
    December 1
    Campus sites
    ESPN3
    Quarterfinals
    December 7/8
    Campus sites
    ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3
    Semifinals
    December 14/15
    Campus sites
    ESPN2
    National Championship
    1 North Dakota State 52
    Montana State 35 Montana State 10
    1 North Dakota State 35
    Incarnate Word 14
    8 Colgate 0
    8 Colgate 23
    James Madison 20 James Madison 20
    1 North Dakota State 44
    Delaware 6
    5 South Dakota State 21
    4 Kennesaw State 13
    Wofford 19 Wofford 10
    4 Kennesaw State 17
    Elon 7
    5 South Dakota State 27
    5 South Dakota State 51
    January 5 – Toyota Stadium (ESPN2)
    Towson 10 Duquesne 6
    1 North Dakota State 38
    Duquesne 31
    3 Eastern Washington 24
    2 Weber State 48
    SE Missouri State 28 SE Missouri State 23
    2 Weber State 18
    Stony Brook 14
    7 Maine 23
    7 Maine 55
    Jacksonville State 34 Jacksonville State 27
    7 Maine 19
    ETSU 27
    3 Eastern Washington 50
    3 Eastern Washington 42
    Nicholls 49 Nicholls 21
    3 Eastern Washington 34
    San Diego 30
    6 UC Davis 29
    6 UC Davis 23
    Northern Iowa 16 Northern Iowa 16
    Lamar 13

    Pre-season international exhibitions

    DateNameLocationNCAA teamHosting TeamScore
    May 26, 2018Drake-China Ambassadors Bowl UIBE, Beijing, China Drake China All-Stars
    (AFLC, CAFL, & CBL)
    77–0

    Kickoff games

    One kickoff game was played during "Week Zero" on August 25:

    Awards and honors

    Walter Payton Award

    Buck Buchanan Award

    Jerry Rice Award

    Coaches

    Coaching changes

    Preseason and in-season

    This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2018. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2018, see 2017 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

    SchoolOutgoing coachDateReasonReplacement
    Stephen F. Austin Clint Conque August 6Resigned Jeff Byrd (interim)
    Jackson State Tony Hughes October 28Fired John Hendrick [a]
    1. Interim for remainder of season; interim tag removed on November 28, 2018.

    End of season

    SchoolOutgoing coachDateReasonReplacement
    Eastern Illinois Kim Dameron November 18Contract not renewed Adam Cushing
    William & Mary Jimmye Laycock November 18Retired Mike London [7]
    Howard Mike London November 19Hired as head coach by William & Mary Ron Prince
    Northern Arizona Jerome Souers November 19Retired Chris Ball
    Brown Phil Estes November 19Resigned James Perry
    McNeese State Lance Guidry November 20Contract not renewed Sterlin Gilbert
    Sacramento State Jody Sears November 26Fired Troy Taylor
    Texas Southern Michael Haywood November 27Resigned Clarence McKinney
    Stephen F. Austin Jeff Byrd (interim)December 1Permanent replacement Colby Carthel
    James Madison Mike Houston December 3Hired as head coach by East Carolina Curt Cignetti
    Bryant James Perry December 3Hired as head coach by Brown Chris Merritt
    Austin Peay Will Healy December 4Hired as head coach by Charlotte Mark Hudspeth
    Charleston Southern Mark Tucker December 7Resigned Autry Denson
    Savannah State Erik Raeburn December 7Fired Shawn Quinn (interim)
    Lehigh Andy Coen December 7Retired Tom Gilmore
    North Dakota State Chris Klieman December 10Hired as head coach by Kansas State Matt Entz [8]
    Drake Rick Fox December 10Resigned Todd Stepsis
    North Carolina Central Granville Eastman (interim)December 12Permanent replacement Trei Oliver
    Chattanooga Tom Arth December 14Hired as head coach by Akron Rusty Wright
    Elon Curt Cignetti December 14Hired as head coach by James Madison Tony Trisciani
    Maine Joe Harasymiak December 21Hired as defensive assistant by Minnesota Nick Charlton
    Bucknell Joe Susan January 14Resigned Dave Cecchini
    Central Connecticut Peter Rossomando January 23Hired as offensive line coach by Rutgers Ryan McCarthy
    Valparaiso Dave Cecchini February 6Hired as head coach by Bucknell Landon Fox
    Morgan State Ernest T. Jones (interim)February 7Permanent replacement Tyrone Wheatley

    Attendances

    Top 30 teams by average home attendance:

    #TeamHome gamesTotal attendanceAverage attendance
    1 Jackson State Tigers 499,07924,770
    2 Montana Grizzlies 6148,06424,677
    3 James Madison Dukes 6125,46620,911
    4 Southern Jaguars 475,21218,803
    5 North Dakota State Bison 10181,05518,106
    6 Florida A&M Rattlers 6107,23917,873
    7 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 6101,42116,904
    8 Montana State Bobcats 7115,29916,471
    9 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 697,79116,299
    10 Alabama State Hornets 464,29316,073
    11 North Carolina A&T Aggies 577,46815,494
    12 Alcorn State Braves 691,10315,184
    13 Alabama A&M Bulldogs 450,08612,522
    14 Youngstown State Penguins 669,32211,554
    15 Idaho Vandals 556,40011,280
    16 McNeese Cowboys 554,81410,963
    17 Western Carolina Catamounts 552,90010,580
    18 Tennessee State Tigers 441,68810,422
    19 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 771,24310,178
    20 New Hampshire Wildcats 660,92110,154
    21 Harvard Crimson 549,2119,842
    22 Mercer Bears 549,0159,803
    23 South Dakota Coyotes 547,0989,420
    24 The Citadel Bulldogs 546,7159,343
    25 Northern Iowa Panthers 656,0209,337
    26 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 546,6829,336
    27 Illinois State Redbirds 655,5619,260
    28 William & Mary Tribe 436,9229,231
    29 South Carolina State Bulldogs 545,8719,174
    30 Abilene Christian Wildcats 544,9538,991

    Source: [9]

    See also

    References

    1. "DI football to offer more participation opportunities" (Press release). NCAA. June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
    2. Adelson, Andrea. "UNC, NC State, Va. Tech called due to Florence". ESPN. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
    3. "Football Cancels Game against Stetson". GoBlueHose.com. Presbyterian College. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
    4. "NCAAF College Football Scores - FCS Week 3". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
    5. "CCSU's Aaron Dawson sets record with 308 rushing yards in a half". ESPN. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
    6. "Devlin Hodges notches FCS mark with 14,584 career passing yards". ESPN. November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
    7. "London replaces legend as William & Mary coach". STATS FCS Football. November 19, 2018.
    8. Rittenberg, Adam (December 13, 2018). "North Dakota St. promotes defensive coordinator Matt Entz to head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
    9. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2018.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]