Greatest Upset In College Football History?
“AND APPALACHIAN STATE HAS JUST KNOCKED OFF THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TO PULL OFF THE GREATEST UPSET IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY! OHH, OHH, OHHHHHHHH!”
Or something like that. The Appalachian State play by play guy got a little excited.
It’s understandable. As records show it’s seldom that a I-AA team (which is now called Division I - Football Championship Subdivision, FCS for short) seldom upsets a reputable Division I team.
But it’s seldom that top 25 rated Division I teams schedule the two time defending FCS national champion. Like Appalachian State! If Michigan, or any other Division I team, thought that game would be a pushover for them they don’t follow the different classifications of college football much at all. Michigan couldn’t have possibly scheduled a more dangerous opponent for their home opener.
You see the bully on the block has nothing to gain by kicking sand in the face of the meek and mild.
Division I teams are supposed to welcome an underfunded and understaffed FCS program with limited facilities and scholarship allotments to town, say some nice things about them, give them a good ass whipping, say some more nice things about them, cut them a big check (which is a bargain for the home team because they pay them peanuts compared to D-I rivals) for taking such a beating, and send them home to compete at their own level.
“At least that’s how it’s suppose to work!” says the bully.
But upsets in college football do occur and they usually occur when the bully arrogantly underestimates the firepower of a formidable opponent. And Appalachian State is every bit a formidable opponent.
The media guru’s would have you believe that Appalachian State is a “relative unknown” in the college football world. How could Michigan or any other big time football juggernaut possibly lose to the likes of them?
Really?
Let’s see now. The Division I Football Championship Subdivision of which Appalachian State is a member has an athletic scholarship limit of 65 full ride equivalents per institution. This scholarship consists of tuition/fees, books, and room and board. It’s officially called a “grant-in-aid” by the NCAA.
Division I teams have a scholarship limit of 85 full ride “grant in aid” athletic scholarships. But 25-30 (or more) of these guys can’t play Division I football anyway and would be doing well to be playing at the Division II or III levels. So the margin in talent between Division I and the upper tier FCS isn’t as great as people might think.
Now most FCS teams are not in the same class with Appalachian State who is way ahead of the curve. Appalachian State could compete just fine, thank you, in most Division I conferences. However, most FCS teams could not and a few are beaten annually by upper level Division II teams with half or less of the FCS scholarship allocations.
Division II football is funded at considerable lower levels. The full ride equivalents for institutions in most conferences is 36. Some Division II conferences limit this total to 28 to give lesser funded schools a better chance to compete. It “levels the playing field” so to speak but many institutions at this level compete on less than 20 scholarships. And many of these scholarships are divided up to give more kids at least some financial aid. Guess which programs win the Division II national championship every year? It’s always an institution with a well established 36 scholarship football program.
But back to the D-I scenario.
Higher level Division I programs do have more talent, bigger stadiums, better facilities, more check writing alumni, and much better overall resources than the lower levels of college football. There’s no avoiding that fact.
They also have an ample supply of smoke and mirrors. And they have much to lose by losing to a “relative unknown.” Should they slip on that arrogant banana peel of hype they just might find themselves taking the walk of shame back to the Taj Mahal, i.e. locker room.
Michigan knows of such a slip and such a walk. It was groundhog day the very next week when Oregon kicked the entire sandlot in their faces. But then that’s how you bully a bully.
Give the Appalachian State players their due. They beat Michigan and won the last two FCS National Championships where it counts the most. And that’s on the football field! No rankings needed for these guys. They make their own.
There’s always a greatest upset in college football every year. But the greatest in history? Nah! Michigan should have known better.
It’s always great to be the underdog with no chance to win and pull it off. Nothing could be ‘fina’ than to be in Boone North Carolina!
Help a kid pull off an upset today! It’s a Win, Win!
Ike
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