September 1, 2007 was one of the worst days of my life.
No one died—although by the mood in my house that night, someone very well could have. It wasn’t because I failed the SAT, got dumped by my girlfriend or realized that college was still a full year away.
No, it was because on September 1, 2007, the Michigan Wolverines lost a football game, and I was one of the more than 109,000 in attendance.
Those of you who don’t know your college football history will now accuse me of being an overly obsessive sports fan. Those of you who do, know that on September 1, 2007, the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines lost to the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
Of the FCS.
To date, that game marks the only time an FCS, formerly known as Division I-AA, school defeated a ranked FBS school, let alone one that was expected to compete for a national championship. And while many might say that game marked the beginning of Michigan’s downfall, I say that game marked the beginning of the FCS’s ascension.
And that’s the reason no one should dismiss Duke’s performance—both good and bad—this weekend against Elon.
Since David beat Goliath in Ann Arbor, FCS teams have gradually become more and more competitive against their FBS foes. Last year alone, three FCS teams were victorious against FBS competition in the season’s opening week, and two of those losing teams hailed from the ACC (one of them was Duke). That same week, Northern Iowa very nearly shocked No. 22 Iowa, Appalachian State lost by only five points to East Carolina and Hawaii had to score a touchdown with less than two minutes to go to survive Central Arkansas.
And this weekend, Jacksonville State knocked off Ole Miss, a team that was ranked in the preseason Top 10 just last season, in a thrilling double-overtime matchup.
Take into account that those FBS teams all played at home—FCS teams are normally paid six-digit sums to travel to an FBS stadium and lose—and those results become all the more impressive.
The fact is, they play legitimate football in the FCS, and that’s something which is becoming harder and harder for the elitist FBS to ignore.
Once we realize that FCS schools are no longer all pushovers, we gain the ability to analyze Duke’s victory over Elon Saturday not just as an anticipated win, but also as a legitimate test for the Blue Devils.
What did we learn against the eighth-best FCS team? Well, Duke’s offense will be explosive, but that was expected. Sean Renfree was as good as advertised, but more importantly, he showed poise against an aggressive defense and was able to stand strong in the pocket under legitimate pressure.
What’s more, Duke’s running game against a decent Phoenix front seven was mediocre—which, compared to last season’s nonexistent rushing attack, is a huge step in the right direction. Desmond Scott ripped off a few dazzling runs, Josh Snead showed promise in his limited playing time, and the Blue Devil running backs were finally able to convert in the red zone.
But on the other side of the ball, however, Elon exposed Duke’s secondary all night, a strategy FBS opponents will likely look to emulate. Elon quarterback Scott Riddle accounted for 281 yards, and, at times, Blue Devil cornerbacks seemed so unaware that they didn’t realize Riddle had thrown the ball until their man had caught it.
So view Duke’s victory over Elon as what it truly was—not just a paid victory, but a test against a legitimate football team. The Phoenix showed—just like many other FCS schools—that they now have the talent and coaching to compete with many FBS schools and maybe even beat some mid-major competition.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to stabbing my Appalachian State voodoo doll.
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