PREVIEW: Wentz’s Bison Visit Delaware in an FCS Top-25 Matchup
The school that delivered Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz is visiting Delaware on Saturday. North Dakota State, No. 1 in the nation and 7-time National Champion including the last two will take on No. 18 Delaware.
A season ago, the Blue Hens made the trip to Fargo only to come back with their tails between their legs after getting dominated 38-10.
Lincoln Financial Field will host football this weekend despite the Eagles playing in Atlanta. Newly ranked Maryland will take on the Temple Owls in a revenge match after the Owls handed the Terps a nasty loss in 2018.
Villanova looks to stay hot as they take on in-state foe Bucknell. The Wildcats will attempt to stay undefeated as they enter CAA play against a tough Towson team on the 21st.
No. 1 North Dakota State at No. 18 Delaware
Despite a new coaching staff, and graduating 24 seniors, the North Dakota State Bison continue to blow out their competition. The Bison have won 23 straight games which is the longest streak in Division 1. The Blue Hens escaped a gritty Rhode Island team a week ago, but will have to play their best football to have a chance Saturday. Delaware’s defense will need to make stops, specifically against Bison quarterback Trey Lance who is mobile. If they can find a way to contain him, and keep the scoring low they may be able to pull off their 6th win against a No. 1 team. That task might be too tough this early in the season.
Prediction: North Dakota State 36, Delaware 23
No. 21 Maryland at Temple
The Owls have had an extra week to prepare for the Terrapins. Transfer quarterback Josh Jackson has the Terps offense at No. 1 in the nation right now. This game is particularly hard to predict, because of the small sample size from Temple, and the quality of opponents that Maryland has faced. Syracuse may have been ranked, but they’ve failed to beat a quality opponent in 2018 and 2019 which leads me to believe they were overrated… If anything just to give the ACC a second-ranked team. This game will come down to whether Temple can make the same stops against Jackson, as they did last year to quarterback Kasim Hill.
Prediction: Maryland 42, Temple 33
No. 22 Villanova at Bucknell
Bucknell is not off to a good start in 2019. They are 0-2 and have given up 86 points in two games. Villanova, on the other hand, has blown the doors off the 2019 season. They dominated 2018 Patriot League Champion Colgate and followed that victory up with a 38-10 win over Lehigh. Bucknell doesn’t stand a chance.
Prediction: Villanova 39, Bucknell 12
Featured Image: Harris Highlights
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