Around the FCS - Amazing App Win Highlights Week 1

By It's been less than 48 hours since I witnessed this remarkable moment Sep 3, 2007, 18:09 GMT

Philadelphia, PA - It finally happened. It was only a matter of time before an FCS team beat a ranked FBS opponent. But almost no one outside of the Appalachian State football program expected it to happen Saturday at Michigan Stadium, the Mecca of college football.

It's been less than 48 hours since I witnessed this remarkable moment, and I am no closer to figuring out the significance of the event than I was when I saw Corey Lynch block Jason Gingell's 37-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game, sealing the Mountaineers' 34-32 victory over No. 5 ranked Michigan in the Big House.

There were 109,218 fans screaming when Gingell lined up for his potential game-winning kick with six seconds left. But when Lynch flew through a gap in the Wolverine line, leaped in the air and blocked Gingell's kick with his chest, all but about 5,000 of those on-lookers became stone silent.

As Lynch scooped up the ball and raced for the Appalachian end zone, finally being stopped after a 62-yard return by Gingell at the Mountaineer six, it was amazing to see such a small group of fans make so much noise. And it was just as amazing to see how quickly the air could be sucked out of the rest of this historic stadium.

Thom Brennaman, broadcasting the first game in the history of the Big Ten Network, immediately called it one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

'Appalachian State has stunned the college football world,' Brennaman thundered at the game's end.

The media fallout from Appalachian State's win has been equally incredible.

The Ann Arbor News on Sunday morning asked its readers the question 'What Just Happened?' in a banner headline on page one.

The Detroit Free Press called Michigan's loss 'Appalling!' in a huge headline across its football section. Newspapers from California to Maine highlighted Appalachian State's victory as one of the greatest upsets in college football history in teasers on the front of their Sunday publications.

One internet site came up with the humorous headline 'House Broken' to describe the upset.

The streets of Ann Arbor were extremely quiet on Saturday night, as were most of the restaurants. The enthusiasm of opening the season had been replaced by the unthinkable for Michigan's hearty fans.

When Wolverine players arrived at their practice facilities on Sunday, none of them wanted to talk about what had happened on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan fans called for Wolverine coach Lloyd Carr to be fired, or resign, bringing back memories of the previous biggest upset in FCS/FBS history, the 10-3 victory by The Citadel over Arkansas on Sept. 5, 1992. On Sept. 6, furious Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles fired coach Jack Crowe.

In Boone, N.C., a sleepy little resort town in the Appalachian Mountains, the atmosphere was 180 degrees different. On learning of the victory, students from ASU quickly gathered at Kidd Brewer Stadium and tore down the goalposts, while their beloved Mountaineers celebrated 10 hours away.

The students paraded the goal posts around downtown Boone - growing in numbers from an original 100 to a throng of 1,000 - before finally returning to campus and depositing their momentos on the front lawn of Chancellor Kenneth Peacock.

ASU's supporters have torn down goal posts for several important wins over the years, but never had the Mountaineers done it at home for a ROAD game.

When the Mountaineer team finally arrived home late Saturday night, an estimated 10,000 fans were there to greet their conquering heroes.

You could hardly turn on a TV channel on Saturday night without seeing game highlights replayed again and again. Was that Armanti Edwards dashing around that green Big House grass on the Home and Garden channel?

While some commentators tried to make excuses for the Wolverines and call the result a fluke, Lou Holtz took them to task.

'The better team won,' Holtz said during ESPN's college football coverage.

Carr had seemed stunned on Saturday, but he was gracious during his Sunday television show.

'Appalachian State deserved to win,' said Carr.

On ESPN's Sports Reporters program on Sunday morning, the panel compared the Mountaineers' victory to a March Madness moment and discussed whether ASU deserved to be ranked in the Associated Press Top-25.

Stewart Mandel, a football columnist for Sports Illustrated, wrote on the SI.com website that he had asked whether he could vote for the Mountaineers on his Top-25 ballot.

'I was disappointed to learn ... that they are not eligible to receive a vote in my top 25 ballot this week,' Mandel explained.

The two-time national champs will have to settle for their No. 1 ranking in The Sports Network's FCS poll.

In Boone, one preacher - at the church where the devout Lynch regularly attends - used the Mountaineers as a sermon illustration on Sunday morning. It truly was a David vs Goliath moment.

Jerry Moore, who has coached for nearly 50 years and has been at ASU for 19 years, knows what it is like to coach at the top tier of college football, having been Tom Osborne's offensive coordinator at Nebraska for several seasons.

At a hastily-arranged press conference that was televised live by ESPN on Sunday afternoon, Moore put the win over Michigan into his own sense of perspective.

'They've got a great football program and we beat them,' said Moore, who is probably one of the only non-Wolverine coaches ever to be carried out of Michigan Stadium on the shoulders of his players.

Another nice perspective belonged to Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan.

'I don't know if any of the 109,000 fans realized they watched a great game.'

WAVING THE FCS FLAG

When it comes to FCS vs FBS matchups, nearly every FCS fans becomes a fan of the underdog team, taking on the big boys.

Montana fans celebrated when Montana State knocked off Colorado 19-10 last season. Massachusetts supporters were on the New Hampshire bandwagon when the Wildcats shocked Northwestern 34-17. And many became Appalachian State fans on Saturday.

As the defending two-time national champs and the top-ranked team in FCS, the Mountaineers knew they carried the whole subdivision's banner on Saturday.

'By coming here and beating Michigan, it's like making a statement for all of the other teams (in FCS),' said ASU receiver Dexter Jackson, one of the game's biggest stars, with two TDs and 129 yards on just five plays.

Moore gave respect to FCS by noting that as big as Saturday's win was, it didn't compare with winning back-to-back national championships.

'This isn't as big as the national championships,' Moore explained. 'But we'll never forget this.'

NICHOLLS PULLS OFF ANOTHER UPSET

On almost any other Saturday, Nicholls State would have been one of the biggest stories in FCS, after completing a 16-14 victory over FBS Rice.

'This is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest win in Nicholls State's history,' said Colonel coach Jay Thomas. 'We played smart, agressive football and I am just so proud of all our guys.'

It was a wild night in Houston, with lightning strikes forcing two delays, lasting more than two hours, and heavy rain steadily falling throughout the game.

Running the triple option, Nicholls State might have considered the weather to be a hugh obstacle to success, But instead, the Colonels outplayed the Owls.

Junior safety Ladarius Webb played a huge role in the win with three interceptions, one which he returned 32 yards for a touchdown late in the first half to give the Colonels a 14-7 lead. Webb also returned four kicks for 124 yards.

After Rice had taken a 7-0 advantage, Webb set up Nicholls State with good field possession with a 61-yard kickoff return to give the Colonels the ball at the Owl 31. Following an exchange of turnovers, junior quarterback Vincent Montgomery hit senior halfback Grant Thorne with a pass for a 30-yard touchdown to tie the score.

Rice rallied to tie it in the third quarter on quarterback Chase Clement's 10- yard scoring scamper.But the Webb-led defense kept the Owls at bay the rest of the night and Garrick Spain blocked a punt out of the end zone to give Nicholls State a 16-14 lead with 8:04 remaining.

Nicholls State limited Rice to 218 yards of total offense, while the Colonels piled up 281 yards.

It was a difficult opening game for Rice's new coach David Bailiff, who left Texas State for Rice last winter. It was the third win for Thomas in four games as a head coach against Bailiff.

CAJUN COOKING

Many people were looking forward to another game a couple of hours away from Nicholls State and Rice. In Lake Charles, La., Portland State came to take on McNeese State in the lone game between top-25 teams.

It was also the FCS debut of Jerry Glanville as Portland State's coach. But the game turned out to be anti-climatic, as the Cowboys dominated for a 35-12 victory.

Bryan Smith showed why he is a Buchanan Award candidate with two-and-a-half sacks for 17 yards in losses, one other tackle for a loss of five more yards, two forced fumbles, three quarterback hurries and five tackles altogether.

Smith, the senior defensive end, wasn't alone. The Cowboy defense held PSU's Run-and-Shoot offense to minus-10 yards in 24 rushing attempts, and 266 yards total.

Quarterback Derrick Fourroux was sharp at the controls of the McNeese State attack, accounting for 255 yards of the Cowboys' 395 yards of total offense. Fourroux rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries and completed 11-of-23 passes for 191 yards and two TDs.

Tygue Howland and Brian White split quarterback duties for the Vikings and both had their share of ups and downs against the speedy McNeese State defense. Howland started and was 12-of-24 for 126 yards, while White went 11- of-18 for 150 yards.

WELCOME BACK, OMAR CUFF

Delaware knew it missed running back Omar Cuff last season, when the Blue Hens labored to a 5-6 record with their offensive catalyst sidelined by ankle injuries for several games.

But they saw on Thursday night just how much they missed him. Cuff tied an FCS record with seven touchdowns as Delaware won the first game in Colonial Athletic Association history, 49-31, at William & Mary.

'Omar is a special, special player,' said Delaware coach K.C. Keeler, who showed his affection for the senior by planting a kiss on Cuff's cheek in front of reporters after the game. 'You don't realize how special he is until you lose him for awhile.'

Cuff was a one-man wrecking crew with 30 carries for 244 yards and six touchdowns, and caught four passes for 52 yards and a 19-yard score.

He broke his own school record for TDs and points (42), bettering his 2005 six-TD, 30-point performance against Lehigh. With the CAA recognizing records from the old Yankee Conference and the Atlantic 10, Cuff also broke league marks for touchdowns and scoring.

Cuff's performance overshadowed terrific outings by both quarterbacks.

Delaware's Joe Flacco was an efficient 19-of-23 for 202 yards and a touchdown, while Jake Phillips of William & Mary had a school-record-breaking 433 yards on 26-of-41 passes and two TDs. Phillips broke David Corley's mark of 426 yards against Northeastern in 2000.

MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

If you were looking for value for your ticket purchase, No. 20 South Dakota State was the place to be on Thursday night. The Jackrabbits and Western Illinois played an incredible game that needed four overtimes to decide.

With South Dakota State going into the Gateway Conference next year, the game gave the Jackrabbits a taste of what to expect in the rough-and-tumble league. Western Illinois managed to grind out a 13-6 advantage, but Ryan Berry's one- yard TD pass to Colin Cochart with 38 seconds remaining tied the score for the Jackrabbits.

After trading field goals in the first overtime, WIU went ahead on quarterback Matt Barr's 17-yard run in the second overtime. But Berry tied the game again on a 19-yard scoring strike to Chris Dobler.

SDSU's Parker Douglass (4-of-4 on field goals, 2-of-2 on PATs) and WIU's Taylor Rowan (5-of-7 on field goals, 2-of-2 PATs) matched kicks again in the third extra session. The Leathernecks took the lead, 29-26, on Rowan's 27-yard field goal in overtime No. 4 and Patrick Stoudamire's interception of a Berry pass finally ended the game.

Berry struggled with 16-of-39 passing for 139 yards, with two TDs and three interceptions in his first career start. His counterpart, Barr, was a consistent 18-of-24 for 124 yards, with one TD and one interception, but Barr also led the Leathernecks with 114 yards rushing on 15 carries.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Cal Poly remembers well a 14-7 playoff loss at Texas State during the 2005 quarterfinals, and the No. 15 Mustangs earned more frustration in San Marcos, Tx. on Saturday with a 38-35 loss to the Bobcats.

Stan Zwinggi got TSU off to a great start with a 92-yard TD jaunt in the first quarter, and added two more rushing scores on runs of four yards in the first stanza and seven and 10 yards in the third period. Zwinngi finished with 16 carries for 159 yards.

Karrington Bush added 136 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries as the Bobcats ran for 351 yards and piled up 510 yards against a Mustang team that is usually known for its defense.

Cal Poly had some big plays of its own with Tredale Tolver's 89-yard punt return touchdown, Matt Brennan's 68-yard TD pass to Ramses Barden and Jonathan Dally's 25-yard scoring strike to Barden with 8:04 remaining in the fourth period.

But with Zwiggi and Bush taking charge, the Bobcats were able to hold their three-point lead the rest of the way.

UPSET SPECIAL

Drake has won respect via its hard-nosed play in previous excursions against FCS scholarship opponents, but the Bulldogs finally broke through for a victory on Thursday night at No. 7 Illinois State.

Trailing 10-0 well into the third quarter, the Bulldogs changed the momentum with 10 points in eight seconds. After Logan Rees kicked a 36-yard field gool of the game at the 8:51 mark, Cale Hunt intercepted a Luke Drone pass and dashed 24 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10.

Drone struck back with an eight-yard scoring pass to Kelvin Chandler to give the Redbirds a 17-10 lead, but Drake answered with Rees hitting a 35-yard field goal with 1:15 left in the third quarter.

Daniel Marz hauled in a 28-yard pass from Cole Ingle to finally put Drake in front with less than five minutes to play after a 10-play, 83-yard drive, but ISU went 69 yards in 10 plays of its own to make it 24-20 with 1:28 remaining on Rafael Rice's 11 yard scoring run. Rice ended his night with 27 carries for 218 yards and two scores.

But Ingle was cool and collected as he engineered a 90-yard drive to give the Bulldogs the win. With 23 seconds to play, Ingle (10-of-18 for 197 yards and two TDs) found Augustine Agyei open for a 56-yard TD pass.

Scott Phaydavong rushed 30 times for 111 yards to keep Drake within striking distance. Drone was 20-of-35 passing for 235 yards and a touchdown, but he continued his late-season trend from 2006 by tossing three interceptions.

UPSET SPECIAL NO. 2

Delaware State nearly snuck into the playoffs in 2006, losing its final game of the regular season to fall out of contention. So playing a team that made the playoffs last year, No.23-ranked Coastal Carolina, was a motivating factor for the Hornets Saturday at home.

DSU broke open a tight 7-6 game in the third period when Vashon Winton threw TD passes of 53 and 10 yards to Shaheer McBride to make it 20-6.

Coastal Carolina closed to within one score when new starting quarterback William Richardson found Jerome Simpson for a 33-yard TD aerial with 11 minutes left, but the Hornets closed out the win with Peter Gaertner's 30-yard field goal off-setting Tommy Fraser's five-yard scoring run for CCU.

Kareem Jones rushed 24 times for 171 yards behind DSU's big offensive line and a 63-yard first-quarter TD to lead the Hornets.

THE FIRST WIN

After a misstep last week to Division II Albany State in its first Division I game, North Carolina Central finally got to celebrate on Sunday night when it beat Fayetteville State 17-0 in front of its home crowd in Durham, N.C. at the Labor Day Classic.

Coming off a rough opener, sophomore quarterback Stadford Brown connected on 14-of-22 passes for 142 yards and two TD passes of six and 11 yards to Will Scott.

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