FCS playoffs: When will defenses assert themselves?
Gardner-Webb quarterback Glenn Rice is stopped by William & Mary's Caylin Newton during the first half of an FCS playoffs NCAA college football game at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. (Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Daniel Sangjib Min]
Offense has been on display throughout the Championship Subdivision playoffs and may be again this weekend. Three games will be played Friday night and top-seeded South Dakota State takes on Holy Cross on Saturday. Incarnate Word and William & Mary both topped 600 yards of offense in victories last weekend. South Dakota State and the Tribe are the only schools to have had notable defensive performances, and both won lopsided contests. If that pattern holds, expect more shootouts to come.
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FILE - South Dakota State coach John Stiegelmeier watches the team play against Sam Houston State during the first half of the NCAA college football FCS championship game in Frisco, Texas, May 16, 2021. South Dakota State faces Delaware at home in the FCS playoffs. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Michael Ainsworth
FILE - Richmond quarterback Reece Udinski looks for a receiver during the team's NCAA college football game against Stony Brook, Sept. 24, 2022, in Richmond, Va. Richmond plays at Sacramento State this weekend in the FCS playoffs. (Shaban Athuman/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Shaban Athuman