Boone, NC (Sports Network) - There may have been as much answered about the
entire FCS on Saturday as the two perennial national powers playing in the
long-awaited Montana at Appalachian State showdown.
Oh, did they stage another classic game in Appalachian State's thrilling 35-27
win. Quarterback Jamal Jackson (two passing, one rushing) and running back
Steven Miller (two touchdowns) had a hand in all five of the Mountaineers'
touchdowns.
"I think everybody realizes that was a great win for our team, a great win for
our program and our school," ASU coach Jerry Moore said. "We've played some
great ball games with Montana."
"We knew we were going to get their best shot," Jackson said.
In the big picture, the depth of the FCS showed in the fact that, incredibly,
both of these teams sat outside the Top 10 of The Sports Network FCS Top 25
heading into the game.
Repeat, outside the Top 10.
You couldn't convince any of the 30,856 in attendance at Kidd Brewer Stadium
that it was the case. No. 11 Appalachian State and No. 12 Montana, now both
1-1, lived up to the excitement surrounding their first-ever regular-season
meeting - UM had won the two prior meetings in national playoff games.
And the playoffs are where the FCS landscape could come into account with this
matchup.
The national title race is exceptionally strong this year, and perhaps has
been growing with each season since Appalachian State won three straight
championships from 2005-07.
There's no doubt the Mountaineers and Montana (two national championships,
five-time national runner-up finishes) are heavyweights in the picture again,
but they already have enough company in their Southern and Big Sky
conferences, respectively - which has tightened the national picture.
It's easy to think the two teams were underrated in this past week's poll and
maybe it was true. But then you have to answer to last year's national
finalists, champion North Dakota State and runner-up Sam Houston, as well as
Montana State and Eastern Washington in the Big Sky, a Youngstown State off a
win at Pittsburgh in Week 1 and a handful of other elite programs.
That's no easy task.
Come playoff time, the NCAA selection committee best remember this game and
reward both schools for taking on such an imposing opponent.
You might want to see them play a rematch deep in the playoffs.
"This was a perfect atmosphere," ASU All-America cornerback Demetrius McCray
said. "In 2009, we went up there - I was actually a freshman (and) I made the
trip. It's like revenge."
Appalachian State athletic director Charlie Cobb said beforehand that it felt
like "wedding day" had finally arrived for a matchup that was anticipated
since the ink hit the contract in 2009. The two teams will meet again at
Montana next year.
The fast pace to the game (900 yards) matched the lively crowd - could they
hear the noise back in Missoula? - and the incredible atmosphere for the FCS
showcase.
Montana went ahead 28-21 on Jackson's 25-yard sideline touchdown pass to
Andrew Peacock with 13:03 left in the fourth quarter.
Montana almost tied the game when Dan Moore took a Trent McKinney screen pass
and went 87 yards - with the help of a convoy of blockers - to cut the deficit
to 28-27. But kicker Chris Lider came on and drilled a line drive that was as
wide right as a Florida State kick.
Jackson, Miller and ASU weren't done, though, going on a 78-yard touchdown
drive. Miller's 2-yard scoring run at the 5:05 mark made it 35-27.
But the Mountaineers still had to hold on by stopping Montana's final two
drives with interceptions, one by safety Patrick Blalock and then one by
McCray - his second of the game - in his end zone with 18 seconds to play.
And that was the difference: Montana's four turnovers to Appalachian State's
zero.
It seems possible that McKinney, under the tutelage of offensive coordinator
Timm Rosenbach, is more dangerous than last year's starter, the suspended
Jordan Johnson.
But, for one, he's behind Jackson in experience. While McKinney threw for 307
yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 68 yards and one TD, Jackson didn't
turn the ball over with 260 passing yards and 65 rushing yards
McKinney rallied Montana from a 21-7 deficit in the second quarter to tie the
game by halftime, but Montana didn't lead after a three-minute stretch in the
first quarter.
"We didn't come down here to have people tell us we played a great game, we
down came here to win," Montana first-year coach Mick Delaney said. "Now we
got to regroup and get ready to play Liberty, who also is a fine football
team."
Not on Appalachian State's level. Few are, of course, but there's enough in
the FCS these days.
TOP 25 SCOREBOARD
A recap of games in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/97vhfse.
STOCK RISING, STOCK FALLING
Rising: Bethune-Cookman won at South Carolina State for the second straight
time, 27-14, to gain a huge advantage in the MEAC race. The Wildcats scored 27
unanswered points. In their 38-28 win over Alabama State, they scored 38
unanswered points.
Falling: After putting a scare into Maryland one week earlier, William & Mary
opened its home schedule with a thud, falling to Lafayette, 17-14. Up next: a
trip to defending conference champion Towson.
PLAY THE LOTTERY OR RETIRE NOW
This corner of In the FCS Huddle has predicted four FCS upsets of FBS programs
in the first two weeks of the season, and gotten all four correct: McNeese
State over Middle Tennessee, Eastern Washington over Idaho and UT Martin over
Memphis in Week 1 and Illinois State over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Expect an ohfer in the predictions the rest of the season.
CENTURY MARK
Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley earned his 100th win in the Panthers' 59-0
rout of Central State.
Farley is 100-41 in his 12 years at UNI.
AROUND THE NATION
Big Sky: The Pac-12 should lock the doors on Sacramento State. For the second
straight year Saturday, the Hornets beat one of its teams, this time Colorado,
30-28, on Edgar Castaneda's 30-yard field goal as time expired. Much of the
credit goes to quarterback Garrett Safron, who completed 25-of-37 passes for
312 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions ... Northern Arizona then beat
UNLV, 17-14, on Andy Wilder's 33-yard field goal with 12 seconds left. It was
the Lumberjacks' first win over an FBS opponent since 1987 and the Big Sky's
third this season ... Eastern Washington punter Jake Miller showed Washington
State what it's missing as the sophomore bested his school record with a 74-
yard punt in the Eagles' 24-20 loss in Pullman.
Big South: Six overtime possessions and six touchdowns, but Coastal Carolina
stopped Furman's attempt for a two-point conversion in the third overtime to
hold on to a 47-45 victory which was Joe Moglia's first as Chanticleers head
coach ... Liberty is thinking FBS down the road, but the Flames are 0-2 under
new coach Turner Gill.
CAA Football: Richmond's 41-8 rout of Gardner-Webb was the 500th victory in
school history. Senior Kendall Gaskins scored a career-high four touchdowns
... Ricky Tunstall kick-started Delaware's 38-14 win over Delaware State in
the Route 1 Rivalry with a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown to open
the scoring. Speaking off defense, Blue Hens linebacker Paul Worrilow had a
career-high 18 tackles.
Ivy: Princeton's Chuck Dibilio, who captured 2011 Ivy League rookie of the
year honors after rushing for 1,068 yards and scoring eight touchdowns, isn't
in school this semester while he recovers from a stroke in January. The Tigers
will open their season in his hometown, Bethlehem, Pa., when they visit Lehigh
next Saturday. He will spend the day with the team.
MEAC: North Carolina A&T outmatched West Virginia State, 77-0 - a single-game
school record. Dominique Drake scored three touchdowns on only nine carries
... Inclement weather ended Savannah State's 55-0 loss to Florida State in the
third quarter. Savannah State has been outscored by a combined 139-0 in its
first two games.
Missouri Valley: No. 2 North Dakota State's 22-7 win at Colorado State made
the Bison 6-3 against FBS opponents since they joined the FCS in 2006. It
might be hard for voters to deny the defending national champions the No. 1
ranking on Monday ... Former Valley power Southern Illinois is 0-2 for the
first time since 2001 and is now 9-15 since the start of the 2010 season. The
Salukis won at least nine games in each of the seven seasons from 2003-09 ...
Illinois State's 31-14 victory at Eastern Michigan was its first over an FBS
opponents since 2001. Meanwhile, Indiana State's 44-0 blanking of Quincy was
its first shutout since 1996.
Northeast: Monmouth made a statement with its 41-6 drubbing of Rhode Island,
which has decided against joining the NEC to stay in CAA Football. Redshirt
senior Kyle Frazier threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns and sophomore
running back Julian Hayes totaled 121 all-purpose yards and two rushing
touchdowns to fuel the Hawks ... The Dayton-Duquesne series has been terrific
in recent years, but Dayton must be sick of Dukes running back Larry McCoy,
who had his fourth 100-yard game against the Flyers in a 17-7 win. He finished
with 124 yards and a game-clinching touchdown ...Expected to contend in the
Northeast Conference, Bryant is 0-2 after a Week 1 drubbing against non-
scholarship Marist and then a 39-28 conference defeat on Saturday to a Saint
Francis (Pa.) squad that had lost its standout running back, Kyle Harbridge.
Ouch.
Ohio Valley: It was a little too close for comfort, but injury-plagued Eastern
Kentucky beat Morehead State, 24-17. Matt Denham got rolling with 166 yards
and one touchdown on 34 carries ... Southeast Missouri struggled past Mars
Hill, 30-18, in a turnover-fest. Safety Tylor Brock had two interceptions and
forced a fumble.
Patriot: Georgetown, a team with such poor history in football, is now 2-0 for
the third straight season. Coach Kevin Kelly's Hoyas got there this year on
Matt MacZura's 35-yard field goal inside the final two minutes of a 13-10 win
over Wagner.
Pioneer: Want defensive domination? In a 31-10 win at Charleston Southern,
Jacksonville stifled the Buccaneers with four sacks, five quarterback hurries,
12 tackles for loss and an interception, while limiting them to 5-of-17 third-
down conversions.
SoCon: Most people thought The Citadel could be improved, until perhaps they
looked at the Bulldogs' early season schedule. Well, coach Kevin Higgins'
squad was good enough to go to Georgia Southern and stun the No. 3-ranked
team. 23-21. A year ago, the Bulldogs fell by two points in Statesboro, Ga.
... Incredibly, 17 players had carries in Wofford's 82-0 destruction of
Lincoln (Pa.). All-America fullback Eric Breitenstein only had five of the
carries.
Southland: Junior running back Timothy Flanders' 120 rushing yards in No. 1
Sam Houston State's 54-7 victory over Incarnate Word lifted him to a school-
record 2,709 yards in his career ... What a win for Central Arkansas in going
to Murray State and posting a 42-20 win on Wynrick Smothers' five touchdown
passes ... One week after being shut out by Louisiana-Lafayette, 40-0, Lamar
goes and shuts out Prairie View A&M, 31-0.
SWAC: Grambling State needs a lift from quarterback D.J. Williams or Frank
Rivers following its 0-2 start ... SWAC teams are 2-9 in non-conference games.
Extra Point: With four more wins this week, FCS teams have eight over FBS
opponents, surpassing last year's six. The FCS teams have an 8-53 mark.
A LOOK AHEAD
With conference play to kick in more on Sept. 22, next Saturday's schedule
will still feature a lot of non-conference games, led by No. 19 Stephen F.
Austin's visit to No. 4 Montana State.
McNeese State at Weber State is another Southland-Big Sky matchup. Montana
will host Liberty, while San Diego heads across the country to Harvard,
Eastern Illinois visits Illinois State and UC Davis goes to South Dakota
State.
In FCS-vs-FBS games, No. 1 Sam Houston State travels to Baylor, Northern Iowa
visits Iowa, James Madison takes on West Virginia at FedEX Field in Landover,
Md., Cal Poly goes to Wyoming and Stony Brook takes on Syracuse.
The big conference matchups are Alabama State at Grambling State, which is a
meeting of the two divisional favorites in the SWAC; William & Mary at Towson
in CAA Football; and The Citadel at Appalachian State in the SoCon.
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