Take a bow, Davius Richard and Matthew Downing.
The quarterbacks from North Carolina Central and Elon, respectively, had two of the most outstanding performances of 2023 in leading their teams to lopsided victories on the final day of the FCS regular season.
Richard threw for 386 yards and five touchdowns to pace NCCU past Delaware State 55-14. Downing completed TD throws to four different receivers, helping Elon explode for 44 first-half points in a 51-14 triumph over Hampton.
The Eagles and Phoenix joined Gardner-Webb and Campbell as FCS winners from North Carolina on Saturday. Western Carolina lost a 27-24 heartbreaker at VMI, while Davidson suffered a surprising 45-14 setback against Dayton in the team’s final game ever at Richardson Stadium. NC A&T loss to Campbell on its senior day.
Here are news, notes and takeaways from Saturday’s FCS action:
* Because Howard also won Saturday, NC Central will miss out on defending its Celebration Bowl title — Howard gets the bid based on its head-to-head victory over the Eagles. But Central made its case for being an at-large team in the upcoming FCS playoffs.
NCCU improved to 9-2 overall and should hear its name called during the FCS Selection Show on Sunday afternoon.
* Gardner-Webb knows it will make the FCS field by virtue of its 34-10 win over Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs will collect the automatic bid from the Big South/OVC, an amazing feat considering the team’s 2-4 start (which included a 44-0 shutout loss at one-win East Carolina and a 41-14 defeat at Austin Peay).
Read more about the Bulldogs’ fifth win in a row HERE.
* Richard continues to cement his North Carolina Central legacy. The senior signal caller from Belle Glade, Fla., completed 19-of-21 passes Saturday. He also rushed for 35 yards and another touchdown.
Richard now holds school records in career total yardage (10,704) and completions (695).
* NCCU kicker Adrian Olivo also inked his name in the school record books Saturday. Another Florida product (Plant City), Olivo became the Eagles’ all-time leading scorer by recording 13 points in the rout (two field goals and seven PATs). He now has 281 career points.
Olivo has made 149 extra points. That’s a lot of kicks. But then again, NC Central has been scoring a lot of points the past few years.
* The Eagles amassed 669 total yards against Delaware State (407 passing, 262 rushing). That is the most for an NC Central team since 2016. Joaquin Davis made six catches, three of which went for touchdowns.
* Downing’s four touchdown passes for Elon went to Chandler Brayboy (who turned his reception into a 60-yard play), Jamarien Dalton, Christian Da-Silva and Johncarlos Miller II (53-yard TD).
Elon scored 44 points in the opening half before cooling the jets. Downing finished 10-of-18 passing for 261 yards.
The Phoenix also got two defensive scores. Bo Sanders returned an interception 34 yards to the house, while Marco Patierno recorded a 23-yard scoop-and-score.
* Elon (6-5, 6-2 CAA) finished above .500 but missed out on the conference championship by one game. Villanova, Richmond and Albany each finished 7-1 in the 15-team league standings, with Villanova winning the tiebreaker to earn the automatic FCS playoff berth.
* The Phoenix has been tough at home the past two seasons, posting a 10-1 record (the only loss coming to NC Central).
* Campbell closed out a 5-6 campaign in its first season in the CAA, beating instate rival NC A&T by two touchdowns, 28-14. The Camels went 4-4 against league foes this season. NC A&T, meanwhile, struggled to a 1-10 finish and did not beat a CAA opponent.
All of Campbell’s points Saturday came in the first half. Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams completed his first 15 passes and finished with two touchdowns. He also caught a 24-yard TD throw from teammate Brandon Fitez early in the second quarter.
* CJ Tillman enjoyed his fifth double-digit tackling performance for Campbell. He recorded 10 stops against the Aggies.
* Alston Hooker came on in relief of injured starter Eli Brickhandler and threw a touchdown pass for NC A&T. Joshua Iseah had 13 tackles in the contest, while Malich Jacobs added 12.
* NC A&T played a number of young players this season in Vincent Brown’s first as head coach. The Aggies had a solid defense at times but struggled to settle on a quarterback and get the offense untracked. The final record is certainly not something the school is used to in football. The team won seven games last season and challenged for a Big South title before moving to the CAA over the summer.
“First and foremost, we’re going to evaluate every aspect of our program – from how we do things, to the coaches, how we call plays – and look at what changes need to be made for the betterment of our program,” Brown said in a school release after the game. “Then, our focus is shifting to recruiting. If you look at our team compared to some of the teams we faced this season, we need more size on both sides of the ball, especially defensively. So, our focus is on finding some bigger-body guys up front to help us stop the run defensively.”
* In addition to (most likely) missing out on an at-large FCS playoff berth for the first time in 40 years, Western Carolina also failed to reach multiple program milestones on Saturday. The Catamounts were searching for their first eight-win season since 1984. They were also aiming for a sixth conference win, something the team has not done since joining the Southern Conference 47 years ago.
WCU saw a nine-game road winning streak at VMI snapped. Hunter Rice scored all four of VMI’s touchdowns on rushing plays, including on a 63-yard gallop in the third quarter.
* Western Carolina redshirt senior kicker Richard McCollum booted a field goal and three PATs on Saturday. Those plays put him just two points behind the school’s all-time career leading scorer, three-time All-American kicker Kirk Roach (1984-87). Roach finished his WCU career with 302 points. McCollum has 300.
* Davidson knew going into Saturday’s night game that the Pioneer Football League championship was out of reach. Drake locked up the crown earlier in the day with a 13-9 win over Butler.
Whether that affected Davidson in its night game against Dayton is unclear. Dayton jumped to a 28-0 halftime lead and was never threatened.
Despite the loss, Davidson running back Mari Adams crossed the 1,000-yard rushing plateau during the game. He had 80 yards. Teammate Mason Sheron finished with 105 yards and a touchdown run.
