FCS Week rolls on with Part Two of my series on the potential FCS (Division 1-AA) over FBS (Division 1-A) upsets of 2008. Here are my seventh through fifth most likely upsets.
7. South Dakota State at Iowa State (Aug. 28)
Iowa State struggled tremendously in their first year under former Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, going only 3-9 despite having a veteran quarterback in Brett Meyer back.
Chizik’s team did show improvement down the stretch, as they won two out of their last three games against Big 12 competition, including a stunning 31-28 upset over Colorado.
Nevertheless, they lose a four-year starter at quarterback in Brett Meyer, as well as big play wide receiver Todd Blyth, who moves on after becoming Iowa State’s all-time leading receiver. The Cyclones do 14 fourteen starters for 2008, including their three top rushers from 2007 and four starting offensive lineman.
However, this was an offense that averaged a paltry 18.2 points per game, and was held under 20 points per game on eight separate occasions last season (including games against Kent State and Northern Iowa).
Chizik is a great defensive mind, but he’s never had to gameplan for an FCS team with the kind of talent he had at Auburn and Texas, so it was no surprise that his Cyclones fell to Northern Iowa in week two last season.
While he has seven starters back to work with, he loses his two best assets in linebackers Alvin Bowen and Jon Banks, and with them the heart and soul of his defense. He’ll need more than scheme if he’s going to stop South Dakota State’s offense; he’s going to need to inspire effort and intensity.
South Dakota State won the Gateway Conference in their first year of conference competition last season and finished the year ranked 19th in the country after pulling off an upset of powerhouse North Dakota State in the finale.
South Dakota State loses a number of key players off of the offense and the defense but does return their starting quarterback Ryan Berry, who came on strong after a shaky opening to the 2007 season.
The Jackrabbits have a core group of underrated skill position players, including receiver JaRon Harris, who is widely considered one of the best “small school” draft prospects in the country.
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6 months ago
I'm not sure anybody beating Duke would be an upset! But, with David Cutcliffe as head coach, they're bound to be better than they've been in the past. Good article, you know your stuff.
6 months ago
These aren't upsets. They are terrible FBS teams playing good FCS teams. If they weren't in different subdivisions of college football, then we wouldn't be talking about them as upsets at all.
6 months ago
South Dakota State won the Great West last year not the Gateway.
6 months ago
North Carolina is not a "terrible" FBS team...it's a program that has been down of late, but it's also a program that has produced consensus 4 (four) Top 10 NATIONAL finishes in the past 28 years, and has been in 15 bowl games in that same timeframe. Duke and Iowa St.; yeah, I'll concede the adjective "terrible" as being accurate.
6 months ago
You're right that Carolina is not a terrible program. And perhaps "terrible" is a bit harsh to describe their present team. They did, in fact, win four games in 2007. (Admittedly, one was to a FCS team, another was to Duke. The other two--Miami and Maryland--were nothing to write home about either.)
Most importantly, though, I'd just like to make the point that UNC's past history has absolutely no bearing on how good their present team is, and I stand by the claim that it wouldn't be surprising to see them lose to an FCS team. I'm not trying to bash the 'Heels; in fact, I rather like them. I wouldn't be all that surprised if they were competitive in the weak ACC as soon as 2009.
They're just not very good as of now.
from 4 months ago
Dude you need to shut up because you obviously don't know crap about UNC's season last year
lost to VT by 7
lost to UVA by 2
lost SC by 6
lost to NCSU by 4
lost to GT by 2
All the games were competitive except USF and Wake.
And how in the world will the ACC be weak in 2009? That obviously shows how much you know about the ACC.
Stick to talkin about the SEC and your Florida Gators.
from 4 months ago
For what it's worth, I now disagree with what that comment from a month ago. It was made in defense of my previous comment, which was aimed largely at the Duke and Iowa State games mentioned. And I still stand by the claim that those three games would hardly be surprising if the FCS team won.
But you're right, Carolina is set to be a decent team in '08, and I now like them to be in the top 2 of their division.
As for the relative weakness of the ACC...
I may be extrapolating a bit about 2009, but judging by the conference's present state I don't think you can make much of an argument against the claim that the ACC is "weak," at least compared to other BCS conferences.
4 months ago
I see Eastern Washington winning over Colorado, seriously.
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