(STATS) - Saturday served as a reminder how it's ultra-important for teams not to get caught looking ahead - that's a prerequisite in the wild, wacky FCS.
Few upsets this season were as big as No. 4 North Carolina A&T surrendering the longest winning streak in the FCS to a winless Morgan State squad.
The FCS playoff talk at No. 22 North Dakota? The Fighting Hawks followed up their big win at Sam Houston State with a dud against Idaho State. No. 24 Austin Peay was pounded at UT Martin just one week before the Governors seek to take down Jacksonville State's 33-game Ohio Valley Conference win streak.
Here are takeaways from Week 4 of the FCS season:
- Suggestions of a second straight 12-0 season were swirling around N.C. A&T (3-1) considering it had opened the season with wins over Jacksonville State and East Carolina. But Morgan State (1-3) used phenomenal defense (led by linebacker Damare' Whitaker) and Alex Raya's game-ending 36-yard field goal to halt the Aggies' 15-game win streak and give interim coach Ernest Jones his first victory. N.C. A&T managed only 208 yards on 24 minutes, 4 seconds of game clock.
- Illinois State's 35-19 win at Colorado State was the seventh this season by an FCS team over an FBS opponent. It was the Missouri Valley Conference squad's second straight, third since 2012 and sixth all-time. Junior James Robinson rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yarder, and transfer Brady Davis threw for two touchdowns. The No. 16 Redbirds' playoff resume won't get much out of a season-opening win over St. Xavier, but the Colorado State victory will go a long way for them.
- Presbyterian earned the 500th win in program history, topping Bluefield, 41-10. John Walker threw three of the Blue Hose's four touchdown passes as they evened their record at 1-1. It's a difficult time with the Big South program as it sheds scholarships to move to the Pioneer Football League, but the Blue Hose tend to play hard for coach Tommy Spangler.
- It looks like everybody got its answer about Idaho, and the Vandals likely aren't going to be very good in their drop-down season from the FBS. After having two weeks to prepare for their first Big Sky game since 1995, the Vandals were manhandled by No. 21 UC Davis' offense while falling 44-21.
- Take your pick on which team has been the most underachieving this season. Preseason No. 4 Sam Houston State is 1-2 with a struggling offense, preseason No. 8 New Hampshire is 0-3 and likely going to miss the playoffs after 14 straight appearances and preseason No. 12 Samford is 1-3 and surely in need of a seven-game, season-ending win streak to make the playoffs.
- In a season of outstanding veteran quarterbacks in the FCS, Princeton senior John Lovett is very much in the conversation of who's best. He played the "slash" role for the Tigers in 2016 when he accounted for 31 touchdowns and was the Ivy League's offensive player of the year. After missing all of last season with a hand injury, he's returned as the full-time quarterback and accounted for 10 touchdowns in the Tigers' first two games (both wins). He totaled 403 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in Saturday's 51-9 rout of Monmouth.
- There are 14 unbeaten teams remaining (five in the late-starting Ivy League), and the surprises include Sacred Heart and Stetson, both 3-0. Sacred Heart was 4-7 last year, yet it's had a fairly potent offense behind quarterback Kevin Duke the last two seasons. Saturday, the Pioneers pounded Wagner 41-14 in their Northeast Conference opener. Stetson has surpassed last year's two wins, and while its first two wins were against sub-FCS opponents, coach Roger Hughes then watched his Hatters overcome a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Marist 19-14. Tight end Donald Parham, who stands 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, is off to a huge start with 21 receptions for 337 yards and four touchdowns.
- Chattanooga became the first 4-0 team with a 27-20 win over Samford, picking off Bulldogs All-American Devlin Hodges three times. The Mocs were six spots outside the STATS FCS Top 25 this past week. It will be interesting to see if they leapfrog some teams that didn't lose to get there on Monday.
*Get out of the way of the quarterbacks in Montana. Well, the opposition basically did while Montana's Dalton Sneed rushed for 234 yards in a 41-34 win over Sacramento State and Montana State's Troy Anderson had 211 in a 43-23 triumph over Portland State. Prairie View A&M signal caller Jalen Morton had them beat, however, with a school-record 255 rushing yards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Add in 256 passing yards and he accounted for 511 yards and six touchdowns in the 62-13 romp.
- Oh, if you've forgotten, No. 1 North Dakota State hosts No. 3 South Dakota State next Saturday. Will ESPN's "College GameDay" be there?
