(STATS) – The arrival of conference media days this month marks the unofficial start to the college football season, so it’s time to get in the FCS game.
Sure, North Dakota State and James Madison have become the national powers, but how well do you know the national landscape?
Our 10-question quiz about the fast-approaching season will show if you’re in the end zone or punting.
The answers follow, so don’t scroll to them before it’s time.
QUESTIONS
1. North Dakota State has won six of the last seven FCS national titles, tying for the most in history. Which program will the Bison try to break away from to establish a new record?
2. Name the program that has dropped back to the FCS level from the FBS and the program joining the FCS from the Division II ranks? You need both answers right.
3. For the ninth time in 10 seasons, an FCS program is playing the defending FBS champion. This year, the honor falls to which team: Charleston Southern or The Citadel?
4. Jacksonville State has the longest conference winning streak in the FCS. Is it 28, 30 or 32 games long?
5. This player led Division I in receptions per game and finished third in the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award voting last season. Who is this 2019 NFL Draft prospect?
6. From the subdivision, only Montana and former FCS program Appalachian State have had more NFL Draft picks in the 2010s than this surprising program, which produced its sixth selection this year. Is it Maine, South Carolina State or Tennessee State?
7. Let’s see if you remember this question from last year: The FCS is played at 124 schools across 37 states and the District of Columbia. What is the most common nickname: Bears, Bulldogs or Tigers?
8. “The Game” turns 135 in 2018. Where are Ivy League rivals Harvard and Yale playing this year’s matchup?
9. Who has thrown for the most touchdowns among returning FCS quarterbacks – Northern Arizona’s Case Cookus, Samford’s Devlin Hodges, Eastern Washington’s Gage Gubrud or San Diego’s Anthony Lawrence?
10. The last three years, a coach has finished fifth, third and second in voting for the STATS FCS Eddie Robinson Award at two different schools. Who is he?
ANSWERS
1. Like North Dakota State, Georgia Southern won six FCS national titles, winning in back-to-back years three times. The Eagles now play on the FBS level.
2. After 22 seasons on the FBS level, Idaho has returned to the Big Sky Conference. North Alabama is transitioning into the FCS from Division II, playing as an independent this season before joining the Big South Conference in 2019.
3. City rivals Charleston Southern and The Citadel have a showdown in September, but The Citadel is the FCS team holding the date with defending FBS champion Alabama. The Bulldogs had the same opportunity against Clemson last season.
4. Jacksonville State has won 32 straight games in the Ohio Valley Conference, last losing to Eastern Illinois and Jimmy Garoppolo in 2013.
5. UC Davis wide receiver Keelan Doss averaged 10.5 receptions per game as a junior, catching 115 passes for 1,499 yards.
6. With six NFL Draft picks in the 2010s, MEAC member South Carolina State trails only Montana and Appalachian State, which both have seven.
7. Nine FCS schools share the Bulldogs nickname: Alabama A&M, Bryant, Butler, Drake, Gardner-Webb (Runnin’ Bulldogs), Samford, South Carolina State, The Citadel and Yale.
8. Harvard and Yale are meeting for the 135th time at Fenway Park on Nov. 17. It will mark the 50th anniversary of the epic 1968 meeting, which famously ended in a 29-29 tie.
9. That was an impressive list of gunslingers, but, surprise, Anthony Lawrence from Pioneer Football League power San Diego has thrown 81 touchdowns – the most of returning FCS players.
10. Mike Houston has been on the cusp of winning the Eddie Robinson Award, finishing fifth at The Citadel in 2015, then third and second, respectively, the last two years at James Madison. Each team won a conference title and JMU was the 2016 national champ.
STARTER, BACKUP OR KEEP WORKING
So how did you do?
The questions were at a reasonable level. With six or more correct answers, consider yourself a starting player. Five right and you are on the two-deep. Less than half right, well, keep following the FCS.
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