Hail To The Victors
Posted September 2, 2007, 2:13 PM ET

When I saw the score of the Appalachian State - Michigan game scroll on the Lane Stadium scoreboard in Blacksburg on Saturday, I started to laugh. Either the scoreboard operator at Virginia Tech was having opening game jitters, or we were in the process of witnessing the biggest upset in college football history.

Raise your hand if you truly believed App State was going to win in Ann Arbor...sorry, Jerry Moore, I wasn't talking to you and your players....now raise 'em real high.....that's what I thought.

I've never been happier to be wrong about a game in my life....especially if it comes at the expense of the Big Ten. I figured the "Boys from Boone" would show up, play hard, run out of gas, and then collect a nice payday from Ohio State's beyotch.

It must suck to be Michigan.....I take that back, it could be worse...you could be that offensive genius, Charlie Weis at Notre Dame (more about that performance later in the blog).

What else can you say about the Mountaineers' win against Michigan? The incredible victory gives App State 15 straight wins, and the loss by Michigan gives them three-in-a-row. If this keeps up, the Wolverines will either have to schedule Duke, or perhaps Notre Dame....Oh, that's right, the Wolverines will kill the Irish in a few weeks.

I was asked by some Hokie fans after the emotional scene in Blacksburg about where the Mountaineers will be ranked in this week's poll....my answer was simple,.... "#1". You see, the two-time 1-AA champs (I'm sorry, I can't buy into the official term, "Football Championship Subdivision" crap) aren't eligible for the "AP or Coaches Poll", so they will have to take solace in being the biggest, baddest team in all of 1-AA...and in the Big Ten.

But a serious question to all college football fans: if the Mountaineers were eligible, wouldn't they be considered a Top 25 team this week? I'm talking about everybody that plays college football...it's based on what you do on the field, isn't it? Forget about reputation, just ask Notre Dame.....hell, ask Michigan. How many teams in college football have a win on the road against a legitimate Top 5 team? In fact, raise your hand if your school has beaten a Top 5 college football team this year...sorry, Coach Moore, I was talking to everybody but you.

The Mountaineers have had a string of near-misses in the past against the "big boys", and there are 6 wins against rival Wake Forest....but that's nothing compared to putting a notch in your belt with a win in the Big House against the Wolverines. The college football season is less than a few days old, and there's no way there can be a bigger shock in college football.

Thanks to their improbable upset, Appalachian State became the first 1-AA team in history to defeat a 1-A ranked team. Now for an encore, all Coach Moore and his team need to do is become the first 1-AA team to win three consecutive titles. I don't care if you call it 1-AA or the Football Championship Subdivision...what it is is really good football. For years, I have stated that the Southern Conference is the "SEC" of Division 1-AA. If this keeps up, there might be some SEC teams that would like to be as good as the Mountaineers.

Michigan's game with App State was their first ever against a Football Championship Subdivision team....after the ballgame in Ann Arbor, I wonder if the Wolverines have any interest in scheduling a rematch? I think they should get rid of that suggestion immediately, and perhaps play Notre Dame twice a season instead.

---

Other games and items of note:

I mentioned Notre Dame and the over-hyped and under-achieving Charlie Weis earlier in the blog...Last week, I mentioned on my radio show that the Irish have become irrelevant among college football's elite programs. Of course, I was flooded with emails and a few calls from Golden Domers who kept emphasizing recruiting rankings, SAT scores, the NBC TV contract, Knute Rockne and Ara Parseghian. I'll give Notre Dame fans credit, the Irish could really play in the 1930's....but it's 2007.

It has been so long since Notre Dame truly mattered in college football, that we've stopped concerning ourselves with them. Notre Dame can't even win a bowl game...it has been since the 1993 season since the Irish won a post-season game. Even Duke football fans snicker at that stat. It's a good thing the Irish managed to find a way to include Duke on their '07 schedule.

Rumor has it, that after their worst season-opening loss in school history this past Saturday, the school would announce this week it has reached a deal with the BCS to accept a bid to play in the Fiesta Bowl against a future opponent that will beat them by 5 touchdowns in January.

Face it, Notre Dame is your great, great grandfather's team.

As the Irish head coach, Charlie Weis loses everything he touches...lawsuits, season openers, bowl games....the only thing he doesn't lose is weight. This week, the offensive genius will try to get the Irish to Happy Valley to play Penn State. Hopefully Charlie hasn't lost a way to get his team into the end zone.

---

North Carolina and N.C. State started on different ends of the spectrum....and the Heels looked pretty good in Butch Davis' opener, beating up on James Madison (don't laugh...they play a decent brand of 1-AA football, right Michigan?), and the Wolfpack fell short in the debut of Tom O'Brien.

The State loss was a bit of a surprise....the Pack made some dumb penalties down the stretch and lost to a Central Florida team that picked up their first win over a BCS school since 2000. I still think O'Brien will be a good fit in Raleigh, but State fans should be disappointed in watching their losing streak reach 8-straight games.

North Carolina fans are having a good time watching their guys win and State lose. This week will be a fun matchup between UNC and East Carolina. We'll be there on the Sun Drop Southern Fried Football™ Tour, and both programs should be feeling good about themselves heading into the ballgame. The tailgating, BBQ, babes and football should be entertaining this weekend.

After watching ECU give Virginia Tech all kinds of problems at emotional Blacksburg, there is no question in my mind that Skip Holtz has his Pirates on the verge of making some noise in-state and in CUSA. The ECU defense is legit and will cause problems for everybody...the team that gets the best QB play should win in Greenville.

Duke lost for the 21st straight time....somebody give Ted Roof a cocktail and a lifetime contract.

The defending ACC champs got a taste of what it's like to have a target on your chest. In an important ACC Atlantic showdown, Boston College posted 38 points on Jim Grobe's guys and came away with a very important conference win. To make matters worse, quarterback Riley Skinner suffered a shoulder injury and this week Nebraska visits Switzerland.

South Carolina didn't show much against Louisiana-Lafayette and Steve Spurrier wasn't happy with the
defensive effort. The Gamecocks will have to play better this week as they travel to play "Between the Hedges" in Athens. I'm guessing the Gamecocks will be working on their tackling drills this week. They will be playing a Georgia team that looked good in their opener against a decent foe in Oklahoma State.

The fans that love and follow Tennessee and Auburn are probably a little nervous. Both teams have a ton of work to do....Auburn's usually potent offensive line looks to be average at best and the Tigers were very fortunate to survive K-State at home on the Plains.

The Vols were simply beat by what looked to be a better team in Cal. The "revenge" term was bantered all week, and it looks like Cal wasn't giving lip service. For good measure, they punched Rocky Top in the mouth and then ran by them. Tennessee fans are growing impatient with Phil Fulmer's ability to only win around 8 games a year. The showdown game with the Gators in two weeks will be huge.....it could be a season-defining moment for Tennessee.

Finally, the emotional setting in Blacksburg was surreal. I'm glad we made the trip and the Hokie fans always make you feel right at home. But now that the "Gathering of the Hokies" is completed, I would suggest that Frank Beamer and his crew get a good week of practice...what awaits them in Baton Rouge on Saturday night will be unlike anything they've seen, or heard.

I've got to go...I'm off to Tigertown for Bowden Bowl....whatever number it is. Florida State and Clemson is a fitting end to what has already been one of the most memorable Labor Day college football weekends ever.