Five of North Carolina’s seven FCS college football teams earned wins during week eight action. North Carolina Central claimed a MEAC triumph on Thursday night, while Campbell, Davidson, Elon and Gardner-Webb collected victories Saturday.
Western Carolina suffered its first conference loss against top-five Furman, while NC A&T’s offensive struggles continued in a home defeat to Richmond.
Here are final scores and takeaways from each Saturday contest, plus key players and stats:
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Campbell 34, Maine 28
* Lamagea McDowell enjoyed his first 100-yard rushing performance for the Camels, finishing with 114 yards and two first-half touchdowns.
* The Campbell defense limited Maine to minus-seven rushing yards, a school record for fewest allowed. Maine did light up the stat sheet in the passing department, though, with quarterback Derek Robertson piling up 503 yards through the air, with four touchdowns.
* Campbell built a 28-7 lead by halftime. Maine rallied to pull within 34-28 and got the ball back with 2:51 left. But Trevon Booker stepped in front of Robertson’s final pass of the game to seal the CAA victory for the home team.
* The Camels improved to 4-3 overall, 3-2 in conference play. Saturday’s result puts coach Mike Minter’s team sixth in the CAA standings out of 15 squads. Next up: Saturday at Richmond (5-3, 4-1 CAA).
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Elon 28, Monmouth 26
* All four of Elon’s touchdowns came on explosive plays. Matthew Downing threw three long-yardage touchdown passes of 65 yards (to Johncarlos Miller II), 59 yards (to Chandler Brayboy) and 41 yards (to Jordan Bonner). Brayboy also had a 41-yard scamper that turned out to be the game-clinching score in the fourth.
* Downing only completed 14 passes on the day but managed 282 yards, an average of more than 20 yards per completion. He did not throw a pick but was sacked five times.
* The Phoenix (4-4, 4-1 CAA) stay within reach of the top teams in the conference. The next Elon opponent, Delaware (Nov. 4), has a 4-0 league mark. Richmond (4-1), Villanova (3-1, with win over Elon) and UAlbany (3-1) make for a crowded leaderboard. Five other teams have two CAA losses.
Richmond 33, NC A&T 10
* Taymon Cooke returned his third kickoff for a touchdown on the season, taking a ball back 91 yards in the second quarter. Cooke tied the school record for most career kick-return scores (four). That mark also is held by Brian Rodman (1990-93) and Malik Wilson (2015-18).
* The Spiders scored 21 points on defense and special teams in dropping the Aggies to 1-6 overall, 0-4 in the CAA. Richmond had two pick-six plays and returned a punt for a score. A&T held Richmond to just 257 total yards and recovered a fumble.
* BJ Turner had another stellar game from his linebacker post, recording nine solo tackles and four assists. He also had three tackles-for-loss.
* The Aggies’ offensive woes continued. In addition to turning the ball over four times (three interceptions, one fumble), A&T only managed 145 total yards on 46 plays. The team was penalized eight times for 84 yards.
Davidson 42, Valparaiso 21
* Davidson has one of the longest winning streaks in the state, winning its past five games — all in conference — since starting 0-2. The Wildcats sit atop the Pioneer Football League with a 5-0 mark.
* The Wildcats rushed for 265 yards as a team, which actually is below their average for the season but still impressive. Mason Sheron had the best individual outing, grinding out 103 yards on 16 carries (6.4 yards per attempt). He scored three touchdowns. As a team, the ‘Cats scored six rushing TDs.
* Davidson only punted twice but Tristan Allen boomed one 68 yards, the best of the day among the state’s FCS punters. Adam Zouagui made all six of his PAT attempts. Davidson converted on four of five fourth-down attempts — twice during the team’s first series of the game. Coulter Cleland completed a 41-yard pass to Maxwell Weaver on a fourth-and-3 play, putting the ball at the Valpo 2.
Gardner-Webb 35, Eastern Kentucky 32
* The Bulldogs, donning all black uniforms with red trim, rallied from a 21-7 deficit to win their final non-conference game of the season. GWU scored 14 points in both the second and fourth quarters to improve to 3-4 overall.
* Ja’Kai Young and William McRainey led a Gardner-Webb defense that forced four turnovers. Young had a 40-yard pick-six. McRainey also had an interception, forced a fumble and finished with 14 tackles. Raequan Ousley had the other interception of EKU quarterback Parker McKinney. Josiah Wright recovered a fumble.
* Jayden Brown’s 88-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter — the third-longest scoring run in school history — gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 28-24. Brown earned a career-high 142 rushing yards on the night.
Furman 29, Western Carolina 17
* The Catamounts fell behind early and couldn’t catch all the way back up in the first-ever meeting of top-10 teams in Cullowhee. Western dropped to 5-2 overall and suffered its first Southern Conference loss in four games. It was the first loss against an FCS foe in nine contests. Furman has now won seven of the last eight against WCU.
* Western Carolina had managed 500-plus yards of offense in five straight games until Saturday. Coach Kerwin Bell’s team managed only 353 yards against the Paladins and rushed for just 84.
Standout running back Desmond Reid only played a handful of snaps, rushing for 10 yards and catching one pass for 39 yards. He exited after re-aggravating an injury sustained against Chattanooga. Reid had earned touchdowns in seven consecutive games but did not find the end zone Saturday.
* Interestingly, Branson Adams has rushed for 61 yards exactly in three straight games.
* Quarterback Cole Gonzales threw two touchdown passes, giving him 16 for the season. Gonzales is just 199 yards away from the 2,000-yard passing mark for the season.
* The Southern Conference championship isn’t out of reach, but Western Carolina will need help. Furman improved to 4-0 in league play. Chattanooga is 5-1, with its one loss to the Catamounts. WCU’s next opponent, Mercer, has a 3-2 SoCon record. VMI is 2-2.
North Carolina Central 16, Morgan State 10
Read our story HERE on the Eagles’ conference opener, played Thursday night.
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This week’s FCS Power Rankings | Updated Oct. 22
