2025 MAC Football Preview: FCS Roundup, Week 5

Welcome to our latest and greatest preview series: the FCS Roundup! Each week, we will look to highlight all of the lower-level programs in action against the Mid-American Conference in one place.

As of publication, the MAC now is 9-2 against FCS opponents. This is the last week where an FCS team appears on the schedule in 2025, as Week 5 will see majority league play for the first time in the campaign.

The last two challengers hail some fairly decent credentials and should prove to be feisty matchups against two MAC programs which have proven to be roller-coasters to this point.

We’ll list them in order of appearance below:

Lindenwood Lions

• Who are they playing? Miami, on Saturday, September 27th at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time
• Location: Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio
• Viewing options: The game will be available only on ESPN+; a valid subscription is required for viewing.
• Radio options: Steve Baker (play-by-play) and Terry Bridge (color) will provide the Miami call for WMOH-AM 1450.
• All-time series: First-ever meeting

Lindenwood is a relative newcomer to the FCS level, moving up to Division I in 2022 upon joining the Ohio Valley Conference. It’s been a quick ascent for the Lions, whose program was first established in 1990 as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), where they stayed until 2011 beofre changing affiliation to the NCAA as a Division II independent.

Since inception, LU has accumulated an overall record of 186-189-2, with six NAIA Playoff appearances— including a national championship game against NAIA power Sioux Falls in 2009— and two NCAA Division II Playoff appearances in 35 seasons of play, making them a fairly respectable program overall.

The Lions walk into Oxford as winners of their last two contests to even their overall record at 2-2. LU defended home ground for the first time in 2025 last weekend, preventing Stony Brook from completing a second-half comeback rally to win 30-27.

Now, they have their eyes set on Miami as a potential FBS upset after failing to do so against Appalachian State two week ago.

Lindenwood runs a ground control offense, predicated on maintaining time of possession, while deploying a traditional 4-3 base defense.

Quarterback Nate Glantz leads the attack as the Lions’ most dynamic player on offense, completing 61 percent of his passes for 1,030 yards (10th in FCS) and 10 total touchdowns (five passing, five rushing), while also second-best on the team with 118 yards on the ground.

At halfback is Jared Rhodes, who leads the team with 52 carries for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Of those 196 yards, 85 came last week and was a career-high for Rhodes in a game where LU eclipsed 100 yards for the first time in several games. Freshman receiver Rico Bonds is the skill position player to keep an eye on after his breakout performance vs. Stony Brook. Bonds had eight catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and sits 26th in the FCS with 301 receiving yards. He has also caught a touchdown in each of the last three games.

The offensive line has not been something to write home about in pass protection, allowing 12 sacks— the most in the OVC— through their first three games. However, they improved to zero sacks vs. Stony Brook, and have allowed the Lions to maintain the time-of-possession advantage in the majority of the team’s games so far. Last week against Stony Brook, LU held the ball for over 37 minutes of game clock— five minutes more than their average in 2025.

Unfortunately, the Lions haven’t played complimentary football on the defensive side, logging in at 102nd in the FCS with 452 total offensive yards per game (102nd overall) and 14 touchdowns through four games, while averaging 27.5 points per game. It’s a bend-don’t-break unit which banks on turnovers and situational play to succeed. They’ve gotten the former right, with seven turnovers caused (including five recovered fumbles!) so far to sit at 17th in FCS, but haven’t figured out the latter, giving up 48.2 percent of third-down attempts.

Lindenwood have been busy on the defensive side, with 11 players hitting double-digits in tackles. Up top the tackle chart is linebacker Jacob Waller, who has 39 tackles with 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Safety Eric Gant stands out amongst the back end players, with 27 tackles (23 solo!) and an interception on the season. Linebacker Sanjay Strickland (29 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, sack) and defensive end Tajay Passmore (15 tackles, three TFLs, two sacks, two forced fumbles) will be players to watch for in the pass rush.

Rhode Island Rams

• Who are they playing? Western Michigan, on Saturday, September 27th at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time
• Location: Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Viewing options: The game will be available only on ESPN+; a valid subscription is required for viewing.
• Radio options: Robin Hook (play-by-play) and John Creek (color) will provide the WMU call for Jack 106.5 FM.
• All-time series: First-ever meeting

Rhode Island has established themselves as a contender in the Coastal Athletic Association in recent years, and now find themselves square in FCS Top 10 contention, ranked #7 by the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and #6 in the Stats Perform FCS Poll.

The Rams sit 4-0 as they look forward to their trip to Kalamazoo, reeling off wins against Campbell, Stony Brook and a ranked Holy Cross squad in their first three weeks before dispatching LIU— who beat EMU on the road earlier this year— 28-7 last weekend.

Considering Western’s 2-7 run over their last nine games, Rhody could have a pretty decent chance. Current sportsbooks have WMU as only a 7.5-point favorite even with the homefield advantage, an indication the market isn’t confident in the Broncos’ ability to deliver.

This Rams team has built their identity in the trenches on both offense and defense, scoring 24.8 points per game while allowing a miserly 12.8 to opponents.

Their offensive line averages .75 sacks allowed and 3.5 tackles-for-loss per game, while also assisting in the offense generating 398.5 total yards per game on average— including 134 yards per game on the ground. Last week, the unit kept LIU to 0-fer on sacks and two TFLs.

Rhody’s quarterback is Devin Farrell, who has 1,055 yards on a 61 percent completion rate for six touchdowns and two interceptions, while also averaging five yards per rush on the season (22 carries, 109 yards, touchdown). Farrell’s main target will be Marquis Buchanan (23 catches, 425 yards, three touchdowns), but look out for Abbora Kwarteng, who burst onto the scene last week with a four-catch, 114 yard performance. Greg Gaines (19 catches, 240 yards) is also a reliable target.

Antwain Littleton Jr. is the team’s primary halfback, and is just as capable of catching the ball as running with it. On the year, Littleton Jr. has 420 yards on 93 carries and 10 receptions for 62 yards, totaling five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving).

Defensively, the Rams rely on generating pressure early and often. They have 13 sacks to this point (fifth in FCS) to go with 26 tackles-for-loss (t-33rd in FCS), and have managed to give up only 301 yards per game on average. They’re particularly excellent in situational play, allowing 10 total second-half points through four games— including zero in the last two games— and are 19th in the FCS in third-down stop, with opposition converting on just 30 percent of attempts.

The pair of Rohan Davey (29 tackles, five TFLs, three sacks) and A.J. Pena (23 tackles, five TFLs, 3.5 sacks) have been major issues for opposing offenses at the linebacker spots. Overall, Rhody loves to deploy the linebacker in a bevy of ways, listing four backers as starters (compared to two defensive linemen.) On the team, five tacklers are at 20+ stops, with three listed as a backer. #5 on that list is defensive back Ayinde Johnson, who has 18 tackles and a team-leading five pass break-ups. Cornerback Justin Carcel leads the way with two interceptions, while Trey Lubin has four pass break-ups.