I remember back to the 2007 season. I was in my final semester at UM, and was staying in my temporarily vacant apartment on the kindness of my landlord who allowed me to crash on an air mattress until I found somewhere else to live. I had no access to TV or internet, most of my friends had graduated and moved out in the last month, and the only bright spot I had staring down this final semester was one more round of season tickets.Being without internet in my empty apartment, I wandered down to the Michigan Union the Saturday of the first game. I knew of a few iMacs tucked away in an alcove on the 4th floor because I worked in an office around the corner (obligatory SORC shout out). I went up there mostly to pass time, but also to see what nuggets of information ESPN might have for me. I read about the team, and about the game, but I wasn't really interested.
The game was largely an afterthought. "Appalachian who?" I smugly thought. Teams from Div. I-AA are just warm ups. I had seem enough early season cupcake games in my last four years of in the student section to feel I knew the script. UM scores a couple early touchdowns
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Nobody writes off I-AA teams anymore, at least nobody but Houston Nutt. Some of these small programs have built themselves into powerhouses of the FCS division on great coaching, schemes, and players who fall through the cracks at the highest levels but can be very productive in the right system. Then the big dogs from the FBS come calling for an easy win with a big paycheck in hand. Four I-AA teams beat I-A teams last week. The week before Jacksonville St. beat Ole Miss with two of the most exciting final plays I have ever seen, a 4th and 15 pass to the back of the end zone for a touchdown, then a miraculous scramble and shovel pass for the go ahead 2-pt conversion in the second overtime. So much for easy wins.
