Spring football has been around college campuses for ages. But while it used to mean intrasquad games and new quarterbacks getting a leg up on the battle for the rights to start in the fall, this spring, because of COVID-19, the entire FCS division is playing real and meaningful football. And the king of the FCS hill just went down to shocking defeat.
North Dakota State’s Winning Streak is Over
If Alabama, LSU, and Clemson were to combine into a single program, you would have the equivalent of North Dakota State. The Bison have won eight of the last nine FCS national championships and went into Saturday’s game at Southern Illinois with a 39-game winning streak.
The Division I record of 47 straight wins, set by Oklahoma in the 1950s, was clearly in their sights.
That is no longer the case.
In a shocking defeat, because North Dakota State doesn’t lose football games, the Bison lost to the unranked Salukis 38-14.
Offense was again the problem for NDSU, as there is simply no one on the team that can step up and fill the void left by star quarterback Trey Lance. Lance has entered the NFL Draft, and online sportsbooks expect him to be fourth quarterback taken in the first round.
As much as it’s great to have college football in the spring, this shift in schedule has handicapped teams like the Bison. Lance would have played in the fall, and No. 1 NDSU would be cruising to another FCS playoff.
Instead, because the NFL Draft is just two months away, he’s out, and the Bison hadn’t planned to need his replacement yet.
Up next for North Dakota State is a trip to Missouri State. Southern Illinois is on the road at Youngstown State. Week 4 FCS odds have the Bison as 19½-point favorites to start a new win streak.
When a Made Field Goal is Ruled No Good
In an event that could only happen in the strange times in which we live, a game-tying field goal by Eastern Washington’s Seth Harrison was ruled no good on the field, even though it was good.
The situation occurred in the fourth quarter of Eastern Washington’s game with Idaho. The score was 21-21, and Harrison was on for a 24-yard field goal to give the Eagles the lead.
The kick was up and good, but the referee standing beneath the right upright missed it because he was adjusting the mask on his face. Replays showed he wasn’t even looking up at the time of the kick.
Idaho’s Kibbie Dome is unique in that there is a catwalk and scoreboard right next to the goalpost. The ball from the kick hit the scoreboard, bounced back onto the field, and that is the only thing the referee saw. Thinking the ball hit the upright, he ruled it no good.
Also, because the kick went higher than the upright, it was not a reviewable play. So even though the replay showed the kick was good, the ruling on the field stood.
Idaho ended up winning the game 28-21. Eastern Washington received an apology from the Big Sky Conference.
