Right score, wrong game.

41-21...Glenville State over Fairmont State. After we see what happens when LIU Post faces Clarion this Saturday, we'll find out much better what the heck is happening at Fairmont State. Something tells me it could be a sub-.500 season for the Falcons.

But we'll worry about all of those things later...like Sunday morning, maybe. For now, six games are on tap for this weekend:

West Virginia State Yellow Jackets (1-0) at North Carolina A&T Aggies (0-1)

This is one of two straight FCS opponents for the Yellow Jackets, who will hopefully use these paydays to the betterment of the program. This is also the one that I think will be much closer than everyone would think.

North Carolina A&T once was a very good MEAC program, getting a lot of attention in 1999 when, as the #16 seed, they knocked off #1 Tennessee State in the first round of the I-AA playoffs. They've added another playoff appearance since then, but in recent years, more than three wins has been a huge struggle. They lost to Coastal Carolina last weekend mainly because of three interceptions from QB Kwashaun Quick (a dual-threat quarterback, which is quite dangerous for WVSU) as well as having a defense that allowed 274 yards in the air. On defense for the Aggies, keep an eye on OLB D'Vonte Grant: he had 15 total tackles last week and simply flies to wherever the football is.

Clearly Aubura Taylor's move from Fairmont to Institute was a good one, as he had 99 yards last week in the win over Johnson C. Smith, a team that surprised a lot of people last year and brought a lot of that talent back in 2012. For Ricky Phillips, he had a good day too, though the real story is the protection he got from his offensive line, something that hasn't happened the last two seasons from the Yellow Jackets.

We all know that FCS opponents, having so many more scholarships, are deeper and bigger than the Division II schools we know and love. This week will be no exception, but the Aggies are nowhere near a top-notch FCS program. Don't be surprised when a gutty performance by the Yellow Jackets keeps this one close; West Virginia State may be very much underrated this season.

Prediction: North Carolina A&T 28, West Virginia State 13


Seton Hill Griffins (0-1) at Urbana Blue Knights (1-0)

"Objects in motion" could be the subtitle for this game as Seton Hill is off to the PSAC West next year while we'll be seeing a lot more of Urbana as they join the Mountain East in 2013. I've been to Urbana (it's a little outside of Dayton, Ohio), and there's nothing east or mountainous about that area. Whatever. It's 2012: conference names aren't supposed to make sense (and compared to the Big East, the Big XII, and the Atlantic 10, this one's at least sort of accurate).

Urbana could be a force to be reckoned with right away next year if the Blue Knights keep playing like they did last week. Facing one of Division II's best quarterback in Tusculum's Bo Cordell, Urbana held its own, putting up 618 total yards of offense to outgain the Pioneers and build up a comfortable first half lead that allowed them to cruise. Both David Hill and Jeffvon Gill rushed for over 100 yards, and quarterback DJ Mendenhall had a solid day in the air (over 300 yards) and on the ground.

One of Seton Hill's problems is a common one for WVIAC teams last weekend: turnovers. But the Griffins were lucky: four turnovers only led to 10 points. The real problem was field position: Slippery Rock had it easy most of the night since Seton Hill didn't earn its way across midfield until the third quarter on the one good drive they had all night. The ground game was a disaster, netting fewer yards than you and I did combined sitting on the couch. Ryan Morris can't be expected to do it all for his team under center, and he has fewer weapons at wide receiver than he did last year with Jeorge Valdovinos gone. The chemistry on this team hasn't developed yet.

Urbana simply has way too much offense, and this one could easily get ugly.

Prediction: Urbana 55, Seton Hill 13


West Liberty Hilltoppers (0-1) at Virginia State Trojans (0-1)

It seems like virtually every year, one of the teams I'm covering has a game down in scenic Ettrick, Virginia. No, seriously: it's a pretty nice campus and definitely a good stadium that just needs more fans in it for opponents other than Virginia Union (and the band's pretty good too). That said, I've made the trip enough times that I'm passing on it this year to save up for other travels.

Virginia State is doing itself no favors continuing its tradition of opening at Norfolk State and heading back home beaten soundly. 24-0 was the final this year, the first shutout for Norfolk State since 2001, and they're not as good as they were in making the playoffs last year. The Trojans only managed 117 yards and turned it over four times. Quarterback Jarred Battle didn't play after the first quarter (possibly due to injury, though this is not confirmed), and LaMonta Green wasn't really effective in Battle's stead. The Trojans had only one decent drive all game: 9 plays for 62 yards, though they had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. Historically, Virginia State has been a hard-nosed running team, though after last week, I have no clue what kind of ground attack they may have.

West Liberty has injury problems of their own. Quarterback L.D. Crow left last week's 24-3 loss to Catawba with a head injury, and it looks like Dylan Lagarde or Chris Kiedasich will start this week. Either way, the offensive line is the real problem, as they gave up TEN sacks in last week's loss. The one highlight may have been the running of Kenjay Trueblood, who at least started to get some offense going for a Hilltopper squad that was looking for, well, anything.

Virginia State had one tackle for loss (and no sacks) all game last week. Their offensive line gave up 19 tackles for loss and seven sacks. This game is going to be won by the line that makes fewer mistakes, and I say it like that because neither one of these teams has shown much of anything in that area. I do, however, have more confidence in West Liberty, especially if Trueblood can get things going again this week.

Prediction: West Liberty 17, Virginia State 14


Bentley Falcons (1-0) at West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats (0-1)

Last year, this was a great, close game. This season, well, I don't see the story being the same. One of these teams is probably just as good; the other has taken quite a downturn.

Bentley used three quarterbacks in their 42-0 win over Pace last weekend, combining for 337 yards in the air, though most of that came from Danny Guadagnol. RB Bobby Tarr managed nearly 100 yards on the ground, and on top of dominating a historically weak Pace team on the stat sheet, the Falcons dominated teh field position battle too. There's a reason this team is very much in the hunt to push New Haven for the Northeast-10 conference title.

Meanwhile, against a historically bad Millersville team, the Bobcats blew a 10-7 halftime lead by simply not moving the football in the second half and, as a result, getting killed on field position. Why did this happen? The wide receivers were not very good. Last year's offense featured a lot more motion and many more options for Adam Neugebauer to throw to. This year, Nate Montana doesn't have as many options, and the ones he has don't quite finish routes, don't separate themselves as well from coverage, and drop more balls. Montana is okay: he has a very strong arm and throws a good, tight spiral. It's clear he has the mechanics of a good quarterback. What he lacks is the experience under center, and it shows many times in his decisionmaking. He doesn't opt to run as often as perhaps he should, and even when he does, he's too conservative, looking to slide even when it's fourth down and he hasn't quite gotten to the sticks yet. Can he get to where he needs to be? Maybe, but without more help from Lavaughn Hughes and Donte Boston, it might not matter.

Bentley really is the whole package. West Virginia Wesleyan is the package you might find on clearance because someone bought it and returned it, having opened it and lost a couple of the parts (namely wide receiver and defensive back). Against a good quarterback like Guadagnoli, weakness in the backfield is going to be trouble, and a solid defensive line can't save them.

Prediction: Bentley 35, West Virginia Wesleyan 10


American International Yellowjackets (0-0) at Shepherd Rams (0-1)

A fun "did you know?" for all of you at home: Shepherd has never beaten American International, having gone 0-4 against them in the mid to late 1980s up to 1990. Then again, that was before Monte had really worked his magic in Shepherdstown.

How will the Yellowjackets look? Good question: they had a bye last week, so nobody else really knows. One thing that is likely is that, without one game of experience under their belts, they'll have more miscommunications and sloppy penalties than their opponents. Another thing to be expected is a good offense with a lot of familiar names returning: QB Kevin Arduino (who can run and pass well), RBs Terrell Williams and Bryant Fitzgerald, and WRs Carl Brownridge and Matt Brown. LB Joel Bowen comes highly regarded, and LB Jaquawne Simpkins, the team's leading tackler in 2011, is back to join him, as is DB Markell Rice.

When I watched the Rams blow a 28-17 lead last weekend in Shippensburg, there were a few things I noticed. Most of them were happening on the field: missed plays and soft coverage by the defensive backs, three fumbles that led to Red Raider points and big advantages in field position, and a lack of the solid ground game Shepherd fans know and love. But that wasn't all. Following another failed Ram drive right after Shippenburg had taken its first lead of the game, I looked to the Shepherd sidelines. Instead of seeing players getting the defense pumped up to make a big stop, I saw a lot of heads hung down. Attitude was the biggest problem that I saw on that team last week. The Rams looked like a team with no bounceback in them, and once I saw that, I knew they had no chance to win. Somebody needs to step up and be a leader if this Shepherd team is going to make a playoff run, and in my opinion, that someone needs to be Bobby Cooper. Heck, Cooper had a pretty good game, which ought to make it easier for him to pump up the rest of the team.

All of that said, as long as Shepherd leads pretty much start to finish, there won't be a problem, and I really think that's basically what will happen this week. Making fewer mistakes will be a big advantage for the Rams, even though they're facing a team with a lot of returnees who may not be getting a whole lot of preseason attention. Sound familiar? If American International already had a game under their belt, I might be picking a different outcome.

Prediction: Shepherd 35, American International 21


Game of the Week
#12 Winston-Salem State Rams (1-0) at Concord Mountain Lions (1-0)

If I had a (nearly) unlimited budget, this is where I would be this weekend. In fact, when I put my schedule together about 2-3 months before the season kicked off, this game was on there. Sadly, I won't be making it, but I'll definitely be following it along at home.

The Rams picked up a hard-fought win over UNC Pembroke last week 28-23 in a well-played game for both squads. RB Maurice Lewis led the charge on the ground with 134 yards while QB Kameron Smith was 15-22 for 190 yards, though he can run some too. Clearly, WSSU is a balanced team, though they allowed many more yards in the air than they did on the ground. Whether that's a factor of how good or weak UNCP's offense is in one of those areas remains to be seen.

As I expected, Concord's offense was slow to get started last week against Lenoir-Rhyne. In fact, it took a defensive play, returning a fumble for a touchdown, to get the Mountain Lions on the board. But after that (and surely a firey halftime speech from head coach Garin Justice), Concord took charge in the second half. Ansel Ponder showed that he clearly is a #1 wide receiver, though Randall Hawkins is very close behind. Zach Grossi finally got into a rhythm and got some help on the ground from Chris Rodriguez. The Mountain Lions got stronger as the game went on. Why? It wasn't just team spirit and attitude (though that helps) but also, according to Justice, "We bounced back by being physical." They took advantage of extra conditioning in camp, and it paid off against a ranked team to open the season.

This is a very tough call between two very good teams (yes, I had Concord on my top 25 ballot last week at #24). I wouldn't be surprised if Winston-Salem State expected it to go just a little bit easier last week. Concord, meanwhile, must have thought, "Here we go again" just a little bit when the start of the game was delayed by storms in the area. But getting that kind of comeback win is a momentum builder, not just for one game but potentially for an entire season. In a close one, I like the Mountain Lions to use that home field advantage, that momentum, and a big bounceback performance by DB Davon Marion (after he missed all of 2011) to eke out another close win.

Prediction: Concord 24, Winston-Salem State 21


As always, folks, you can leave your comments here, or you can email me at [email protected] or hit me up on Twitter @Byko.