In the FCS Huddle: Where is the 'VA' Heisman hype?

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Roughly 2,300 miles and different lifestyles would seem to bring distance between Alcorn, Mississippi, and Cheney, Washington.

But college football analyst Jay Walker might find it hard not to make a connection Thursday night on ESPNU's broadcast of Alcorn State's important Southwestern Athletic Conference game against visiting Alabama State.

Walker and the Howard University teams that he once quarterbacked had unoffical rivals in Alcorn State and its great signal caller Steve McNair. Howard claimed the black college championship in 1993, but to Walker, McNair was the face of black college football at that time.

For Walker, the individual honor that McNair didn't win in 1994 stands out as much as the one he did capture. The future NFL star won the Walter Payton Award, which The Sports Network bestows on the FCS player of the year. McNair also was third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which honors the most outstanding college football player in the United States.

Thirty years later, no FCS player since McNair has finished in the top 10 of the Heisman voting even though the definition of the Heisman Award hasn't changed.

Walker probably isn't the only one who believes much of college football is missing something in plain sight this season - the potential Heisman candidacy for Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.

"I don't know if there is a better offensive weapon in the country besides maybe (Oregon quarterback) Marcus Mariota," Walker said.

Adams finished second in the Payton Award voting a year ago, which is made even more impressive by the fact he finished in between two impressive 2014 NFL rookies, New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the Payton recipient, and Cleveland Browns running back Terrance West, the third-place finisher.

This season, Adams is likely the front-runner for the 29th annual Payton Award. The 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt junior from Pasadena, California, who is a dual threat in and out of the pocket, leads the FCS in passing yards (1,808), passing yards per game (361.6), total offensive yards per game (385.4), touchdown passes (20) and points responsible for (128). He ranks second in passing efficiency (176).

And yet there's almost no mention of Adams being a Heisman candidate.

What has happened since the days of McNair being a national phenomenon is that voters for the Heisman have drawn more separation between the FCS and FBS.

After Division I football was subdivided into Division I-A and I-AA in 1978, there remained a sense of still recognizing the lower level within the true definition of the Heisman.

Jerry Rice finished ninth in the Heisman voting in 1984 and a small handful of other players below the then-Division I-A level achieved top 10 finishes, including Holy Cross two-way sensation Gordie Lockbaum in both 1986 (fifth) and '87 (third).

But since McNair, who threw for 5,377 yards and 47 touchdowns as a senior in '94, the FCS has been off the Heisman radar.

Adams seemingly faces some stiff competition for the Payton Award let alone the Heisman, including from Villanova quarterback John Robertson and South Dakota State running back Zach Zenner.

But "Big Play VA" - which is the name of the Eastern Washingon University- driven website devoted to Adams - has played some of the best games of his career on nationally televised broadcasts. Those performances and weekly offensive exploits deserve to have Heisman consideration.

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE AND YOU OLD HEAD COACHES CLOSER

An unusually high three head coaches are guiding teams just a year after they were doing that at another school within the same FCS conference. It can make for familiar game plans when they face each other.

The score is 1-0 in favor of the new school after Sacramento State's Jody Sears led the Hornets past Weber State, his old school, last month in a matchup of Big Sky teams that didn't count toward the conference standings. Sears had gone 4-19 over the 2012 and '13 seasons at Weber.

On Saturday, coach Clint Conque will lead Stephen F. Austin into its Southland Conference opener against visiting Central Arkansas. Off to a 3-1 start, SFA has matched its win total from last season already. In 14 seasons at UCA, Conque compiled a 105-59 record and captured a pair of Southland titles.

The last of the three matchups is Oct. 11, and it's the only one in which the head coach will travel back to his old school. New Mississippi Valley State coach Rick Comegy will take his SWAC team to Jackson State. He led JSU to the 2007 SWAC title championship and appearances in the last two championship games while compiling a 55-35 record in eight seasons.

FCS TOP 25 AND AWARDS

The Sports Network FCS Top 25 can be found at http://tinyurl.com/88q2k7t.

The FCS Awards package can be found at http://tinyurl.com/n5ysh8x.

WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS

Last Week's Record: 44-11 (.800)

This Season's Record: 291-59 (.831)

X-Predicted Winner

Top 25

This weekend's best action could come in the best conference as some home teams in the Missouri Valley take shots at higher ranked rivals: No. 25 Indiana State against No. 10 Northern Iowa, No. 22 Illinois State against No. 9 South Dakota State and Missouri State (the first team outside The Sports Network FCS Top 25) against No. 18 Youngstown State. Also, unranked Western Illinois goes for the ultimate upset against No. 1 North Dakota State.

Friday, Oct. 3

Lafayette (2-2, 0-0 Patriot) at X-No. 16 Fordham (4-1, 1-0), 6:30 p.m. The defending Patriot League champion Leopards were the only team to defeat Fordham in the regular season last year, and it's the one game Rams quarterback Michael Nebrich missed with an injury. The Rams rank fifth in the FCS in passing offense and 10th in total offense, while Lafayette is sixth in pass defense and 11th overall. Individually, Fordham freshman Chase Edmonds (207.8) is No. 1 in the FCS in all-purpose yards per game and Lafayette senior Ross Scheuerman (191.5) ranks fifth.

Saturday, Oct. 4

X-No. 6 Villanova (3-1, 1-0 CAA) at Maine (2-2, 1-0), 12:30 p.m. Maine quarterback Dan Collins will be helped if the Black Bears can solve their rushing woes (2.2 yards per carry; 70.8 rushing yards per game). A solid run game is the best way to keep dangerous 'Nova quarterback John Robertson on the sideline. He's helped the Wildcats achieve superior offensive balance - 250 rushing and 258.3 passing yards per game.

X-No. 4 New Hampshire (3-1, 1-0 CAA) at Elon (1-3, 0-0), 1:30 p.m. Elon's first-ever CAA Football game is a tough assignment. With UNH starting quarterback Sean Goldrich (ACL sprain in right knee) out until at least late October, it's pretty nice that Wildcats fifth-year senior Andy Vailas was the CAA's offensive player of the week in his first start this season. Elon is moving the ball behind QB Mike Quinn (1,006 passing yards) but has scored only three touchdowns while settling for nine field goals and a mere 12 points per game.

X-No. 21 Tennessee State (4-1, 1-0 OVC) at Southeast Missouri State (3-2, 1-0), 2 p.m. Upstart SEMO, under first-year coach Tom Matukewicz, has won consecutive games for the first time since its Ohio Valley Conference championship season in 2010. Quarterback Kyle Snyder will be asked to solve a Tennessee State defense that has been ridiculously good, ranking first nationally in total defense (207.4 ypg), pass efficiency defense (67.79), sacks (five per game) and fourth down conversion defense (0 percent), second in passes intercepted (10), turnovers gained (15) and third down conversion defense (22 percent), third in pass defense (129.4 ypg) and fourth in scoring defense (10.8 ppg), rushing defense (78.0 ypg) and tackles for loss (10.0 per game). That's a mouthful.

X-No. 7 Montana (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) at North Dakota (2-3, 0-1), 2:30 p.m. In an odd twist, these teams are playing in Grand Forks for the third straight season. While the Grizzlies are able to stay north of Fargo, Jordan Johnson and Co. will still face a fairly stubborn defense.

No. 18 Youngstown State (3-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) at X-Missouri State (3-1, 0-0), 3 p.m. At halftime, Missouri State will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its 1989 Gateway Conference championship team. After the game, the Bears hope to celebrate a conference-opening win. Quarterbacks Dante Nania of YSU and Kierra Harris of MSU are both in the top 10 in FCS passing efficiency.

FCS Game of the Week: X-No. 9 South Dakota State (3-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) at No. 22 Illinois State (3-0, 0-0), 3 p.m. Behind linebacker Pat Meehan, Illinois State ranks No. 1 in FCS scoring defense (seven ppg) and No. 4 in total defense (246.7 ypg). The Redbirds get the ultimate test in SDSU All- American running back Zach Zenner. SDSU's strength of schedule has been much better to date.

X-No. 10 Northern Iowa (2-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley) at No. 25 Indiana State (3-1, 0-0), 3 p.m. UNI has lost tight games in its last two conference openers and this isn't an assignment to relish, either, although the Panthers have won nine straight games in the series. Indiana State quarterback Mike Perish leads the Missouri Valley in total offense, but he might not know where the pass rush will come from next. UNI has 15 sacks from 11 different players (defensive tackle Xavier Williams leads with three).

Sacred Heart (3-1) at X-No. 24 Delaware (3-1), 3:30 p.m. With a three-game homestand, the Blue Hens have a chance to double their three-game winning streak. Delaware all-purpose threat Michael Johnson is due for a breakout game and the Blue Hens have won 22 straight home games against non-league opponents. But Northeast Conference favorite Sacred Heart, which is playing its first road game, figures to pound at the Blue Hens' rushing defense with powerful running back Keshaudas Spence.

X-No. 1 North Dakota State (4-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley) at Western Illinois (2-3, 0-1), 4 p.m. As if playing the three-time reigning FCS champs wasn't tough enough for Western Illinois, the Leathernecks have to do it after the Bison had a bye last weekend. The Bison have won 10 straight games coming out of a bye. Of course, they've won 28 straight games - an FCS record - so everything's basically a winning streak with their program. Linebacker Travis Beck, free safety Christian Dudzik and defensive end Kyle Emanuel will play in their 50th career games. For Dudzik, it's career start No. 50 as well.

VMI (1-4, 0-2 Southern) at X-No. 14 Chattanooga (2-2, 1-0), 4 p.m. With a visit to Tennessee on Oct. 11, the Mocs don't want to get caught looking ahead. It appears a third straight Southern Conference defensive player of the year award is within defensive end Davis Tull's reach. On Saturday, VMI quarterback Al Cobb could be in Tull's reach, too.

UT Martin (1-4, 0-2 OVC) at X-No. 8 Jacksonville State (3-1, 1-0), 4 p.m. The visiting Skyhawks have been a consistent winner under coach Jason Simpson, but their rough season figures to continue against surging Jacksonville State, whose quarterback play has increased with Eli Jenkins' developing arm strength aiding his running ability. Since the start of the 2010 season, the Gamecocks have trailed in 25 of their 36 wins.

Northwestern State (2-2, 0-0 Southland) at X-No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana (3-2, 1-0), 4 p.m. Southland quarterbacks tend to be overshadowed by Southeastern's Bryan Bennett, but fellow senior Zach Adkins of Northwestern State was 30-for-35 against Southern just two games ago and then beat FBS program Louisiana Tech the last time out. The Lions have a pretty good foil in linebacker Isiah Corbett, who has won conference defensive player of the week honors twice this season.

Delaware State (1-4, 1-0 MEAC) at X-No. 17 Bethune-Cookman (3-1, 0-0), 4 p.m. The top 14 teams in the FCS poll did not move a spot this week, but Bethune dropped two spots from No. 15 after escaping by one point against Division II Florida Tech. No doubt a Williams will stand out in the box score: Wide receiver Milton Williams III and running back Malcolm Williams fuel DSU's offense and quarterback Quentin Williams does the same for Bethune. The host Wildcats are 28-4 in MEAC games under coach Brian Jenkins.

Idaho State (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) at X-No. 2 Eastern Washington (4-1, 1-0), 4:35 p.m. Former EWU coach Mike Kramer (1994-99) visits Cheney off one of his bigger wins at Idaho State (44-24 over Sacramento State). Still, it's a pretty safe guess the Bengals won't end their 47-game road losing streak against EWU's second-ranked, two-time defending Big Sky champions.

X-James Madison (2-3, 0-2 CAA) at No. 23 Albany (4-0, 1-0), 6 p.m. JMU's Vad Lee, who ranks fourth in the FCS in total offense (331.4 ypg) and first in rushing yards among quarterbacks (427), is a leading candidate for transfer of the year. A win here and everybody will take Albany, whose competition level has been low, more seriously. Omar Osbourne leads the CAA in rushing yards per game (135.2) and Rayshan Clark leads the nation in passes defended (11).

X-No. 20 Richmond (2-2) at Liberty (3-2), 7 p.m. Richmond coach Danny Rocco beat his former school, 30-21, in a first-ever meeting between the two programs last season. He's 63-31 in nine college seasons, but a loss here and he may really struggle to get to the FCS playoffs for the first time. Liberty junior Darrin Peterson's 573 receiving yards are the FCS high.

Nicholls (0-5, 0-1 Southland) at X-No. 5 McNeese State (2-1, 0-0), 7 p.m. Go back to 2008 and Nicholls arrived in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with an 0-4 record and McNeese ranked 11th in the nation, and the Colonels pulled an upset. Yeah, but that Nicholls defense didn't have to line up against McNeese 6- foot-3, 325-pound left tackle Antoine Everett. He's a beast.

X-No. 19 Eastern Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 OVC) at Austin Peay (0-4, 0-1), 7 p.m. Unbeaten EKU has already beaten the team with the longest losing streak in the FBS (Miami-Ohio), so it won't have any problem adding to the longest losing streak by an FCS team (Austin Peay, 16). The Colonels start an all-transfer offensive backfield with quarterback Bennie Coney (Cincinnati), running back and OVC rushing leader Dy'Shawn Mobley (Kentucky) and H-back Channing Fugate (Tennessee).

X-No. 3 Coastal Carolina (5-0) at Furman (2-3), 7 p.m. The way Furman's offense has faded, Coastal just might keep a fourth straight opponent out of the end zone. Senior linebacker Quinn Backus has won Big South defensive player of the week honors an incredible 10 times in his career.

South Dakota (2-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley) at X-No. 15 Southern Illinois (4-1, 1-0), 7 p.m. Call this the forgotten game of a strong Missouri Valley Conference weekend, but South Dakota has a chance to make SIU work for a win in this first-ever meeting between the two programs. USD is coming off a nice win over Northern Arizona and then a bye, and is playing a ranked FCS opponent for the seventh straight time. The early season belonged to SIU running back Malcolm Agnew, but lately it's been tight end MyCole Pruitt.

X-No. 13 Montana State (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (3-2, 0-1), 9 p.m. The Bobcats play three of their next four games in California, so they should have time to stop in and visit George Clooney and his bride. You think returner Shawn Johnson when it comes to MSU's special teams, but freshman Luke Daly has a Big Sky-high eight field goals and punter Trevor Bolton is third nationally in punting average (46.6).

Non-Ranked Conference

The driver's seat in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's East Division will go to Thursday night's winner between Alabama State and Alcorn State, who both roughed up top West Division opponents last Saturday. Alabama State has won the last three meetings.

Thursday, Oct. 2

Alabama State (4-1, 3-0 SWAC) at X-Alcorn State (4-1, 2-0), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 4

X-Yale (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) at Cornell (0-2, 0-0), 12:30 p.m.

X-Princeton (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) at Columbia (0-2, 0-0), 12:30 p.m.

X-Marist (0-5, 0-2 Pioneer) at Valparaiso (1-3, 0-1), 1 p.m.

Campbell (1-3, 1-0 Pioneer) at X-Morehead State (2-2, 1-0), 1 p.m.

Howard (1-4, 0-2 MEAC) at X-North Carolina Central (1-3, 0-0), 1 p.m.

Drake (2-2, 1-0 Pioneer) at X-Jacksonville (3-1, 2-0), 1 p.m.

Holy Cross (2-3, 0-1 Patriot) at X-Colgate (2-2, 1-0), 1 p.m.

X-Dayton (2-1, 0-0 Pioneer) at Davidson (1-4, 0-1), 1 p.m.

X-The Citadel (1-3, 0-0 Southern) at Wofford (2-2, 0-0), 1:30 p.m.

Penn (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) at X-Dartmouth (1-1, 0-0), 1:30 p.m.

X-Norfolk State (1-4, 1-0 MEAC) at Savannah State (0-4, 0-1), 2 p.m.

Mercer (4-1, 1-1 Southern) at X-Samford (2-2, 1-1), 3 p.m.

X-Northern Arizona (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) at Northern Colorado (1-3, 0-1), 3:30 p.m.

Stony Brook (1-3, 0-0 CAA) at X-Towson (2-3, 0-1), 3:30 p.m.

South Carolina State (3-2, 1-0 MEAC) vs. X-North Carolina A&T (4-1, 1-0) in Atlanta, 3:30 p.m.

X-Morgan State (2-3, 1-1 MEAC) at Florida A&M (0-4, 0-0), 5 p.m.

X-Butler (2-2, 0-1 Pioneer) at Stetson (2-2, 0-0), 6 p.m.

Houston Baptist (1-3, 0-1 Southland) at X-Incarnate Word (0-5, 0-2), 7 p.m.

X-Grambling State (2-3, 2-0 SWAC) at Alabama A&M (2-3, 1-1), 7 p.m.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3, 0-2 SWAC) at X-Southern (2-3, 1-1), 7 p.m.

Prairie View A&M (0-4, 0-3 SWAC) at X-Jackson State (3-2, 1-1), 7 p.m.

X-Central Arkansas (2-3, 1-0 Southland) at Stephen F. Austin (3-1, 0-0), 7 p.m.

Lamar (3-2, 0-1 Southland) at X-Abilene Christian (3-2, 2-0), 7 p.m.

UC Davis (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky) at X-Portland State (1-3, 0-0), 7:35 p.m.

Murray State (1-3, 0-1 OVC) at X-Tennessee Tech (1-3, 0-1), 8 p.m.

Mississippi Valley State (1-4, 0-3 SWAC) at X-Texas Southern (4-1, 2-1), 8 p.m.

X-Southern Utah (1-4, 1-0 Big Sky) at Cal Poly (1-3, 0-1), 9:05 p.m.

Non-Ranked Non-Conference

Bucknell and Bryant, two of the pleasant surprise teams in the FCS, will face off in their final non-conference game of the season. The visiting Bison are one of nine remaining unbeaten teams in the FCS.

Saturday, Oct. 4

X-Harvard (2-0) at Georgetown (2-3), noon

West Liberty (2-2) at X-Duquesne (2-2), 1 p.m.

X-Bucknell (4-0) at Bryant (3-1), 1 p.m.

X-Monmouth (3-1) at Robert Morris (0-4), 1 p.m.

Brown (0-2) at X-Rhode Island (0-4), 1 p.m.

Charlotte (3-2) at X-Gardner-Webb (2-3), 1:30 p.m.

X-Western Carolina (3-1) at Presbyterian (2-2), 2 p.m.

Alderson-Broaddus (3-1) at X-Wagner (1-3), 6 p.m.