Good First Week for FCS Football




Youngstown State players greet fans after win at Pittsburgh

The first week of the college football season saw four FCS teams post wins on the road against FBS opponents, which is a great start for FCS nationally. As you may know, FCS teams are limited to 63 scholarships, as opposed to the 85 limit for FBS teams.

The biggest upset was #13 Youngstown State’s 31-17 win over Pittsburgh, taking advantage of the head coach transition for the Panthers. A four-time FCS national champion, YSU took the first step forward in getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. #12 Eastern Washington, the 2010 FCS national champions, knocked off nearby rival, Idaho, 20-3. The squad gets another chance with another short trip this week, to Washington State. McNeese State, has 14 FCS playoff appearances to its credit, but has not been there since 2009, beat Middle Tennessee, 27-21.  Unranked Tennessee-Martin hit a late field goal to beat Memphis, 20-17, spoiling the debut of another first-year head coach.

Youngstown State took advantage of the success and opened the box office on Labor Day, moving more than 1,200 tickets to Saturday’s home opener against Valparaiso. Three other FCS teams came close. Liberty dropped a 20-17 decision to Wake Forest. Maryland rallied for a late touchdown to best William & Mary, 7-6, while Florida Atlantic beat Wagner, 7-3.

Texas State has moved up to the FBS level this season and will play in the WAC. The Bobcats celebrated by scoring 27 points in the first half against Houston and knocking off the Cougars, 30-13. This is Houston’s final season in Conference USA before the program moves to the Big East in 2013.

 

Only four MAC teams were home the opening weekend, with Central Michigan having the best attendance with 15,250, just besting the 15,115 at Kent State. The Flashes were helped with a reunion of the 1972 Tangerine Bowl team. Former coach Don James led the star-studded reunion that included Jack Lambert and Gary Pinkel, among others. Neither Lambert nor Pinkel remained for the game on Thursday night against Towson. The Flashes took advantage of six turnovers in posting the win. Northern Illinois was the home team in a neutral site game at Soldier Field, where more than 52,000 watched the Huskies and Iowa Hawkeyes battle down to the wire. Iowa scored nine fourth-quarter points for an 18-17 win.