Events Coming Full Circle

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

In life, there are times when you ask where was I when specific events happen?

I've had numerous moments like that through the years.

Especially when I've had medical issues connecting them with events and dates.

On this day in 2007, one of those occurred at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

During the weeks leading up to the Michigan Wolverines hosting Appalachian State at The Big House in Ann Arbor, MI., a friend of mine named Mark Lehrman asked me what I thought of this matchup.

The Mountaineers entered the contest as two-time FCS Champions while the Wolverines came into the game as No.5 in the AP and Coaches Poll.

Michigan had a strong senior class of offensive tackle Jake Long, tailback Mike Hart and QB Chad Henne.

I told Mark this game is going to be tougher than most people think.

Just because you're at a lower level of college football doesn't mean that you're much better than your opponent.

There are a lot of great NFL players that come from these institutions such as the late Walter Payton and Jerry Rice.

The Michigan vs Appalachian State University (ASU) game was the first ever on the New Big 10 Network.

Little did anyone know that this would be the Biggest Upset in College Football History.

There was no betting line on this game. Las Vegas didn't think much of it to give it a line.

Oh, how Vegas missed this one.

ASU was ranked No.1 in the pre-season FCS Poll from The Sports Network, receiving 67 out of 70 first place votes. The team had won the previous two FCS National Championships and were favorites to win a third consecutive title according to media outlets.

More importantly, they had also won their last 14 games, the longest in either Division I Subdivision at that time. They had an overall record of 6-34-1 against major FBS teams. The Mountaineers ran a no-huddle spread option system, which they implemented in 2005, their first championship season.

Michigan paid Appalachian State $400,000 to play the game.

When it was all said and done, Michigan lost 34-32 in front of a stunned crowd of 109,208.

Wolverines Coach Lloyd Carr was stunned while Mountaineers Coach Jerry Moore was on Cloud Nine.

The Wolverines would finish the season 9-4 and ended their season beating the Florida Gators 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

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Where was I when all of this history took place on September 1, 2007?

I was covering My first FAU Football Game for the Deerfield Beach Observer at Lockhart Stadium for a team that was coached by Howard Schnellenberger, who is in the photo at this year's Spring Game.

FAU faced Middle Tennessee State, who was and is currently coached by Rick Stockstill, now in his 14th season.

FAU defeated Middle Tennessee State 27-14 in front of 11,398 fans.

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The aftermath of the Big Upset at The Big House saw ASU win their third consecutive FCS Championship.

The Mountaineers became the first FCS team to receive votes in the Final AP Poll. They received five votes which placed them at a tie for 34th overall with The University of South Florida.

Michigan hosted the Mountaineers again in 2014 and the visitor received $850,000 to get mauled 52-14. The Mountaineers were now members of FBS and played in the Sun Belt Conference.

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Twelve years nearly to the day, Stockstill would face The No.7 Michigan Wolverines on August 31, 2019 on The Big 10 Network.

Middle Tennessee State entered the game as 35.5 point underdogs and they compete in Conference USA.

The Blue Raiders capitalized on two U-M turnovers and scored late in garbage time, but lost 40-21 in front of 110,811. The margin of victory didn't reach the point spread. But there would be no major upsets this time. 

While I have no idea of the amount Middle Tennessee State earned for this game, I assume they earned between $750,000 -- $ 1 Million.

But the prime-time exposure was priceless.

As I look back at the sequence of events, it's surreal to think that Middle Tennessee State, located on the outskirts of Nashville in Murfreesboro, would face the two teams I cover 12 years apart nearly to the day with a historical upset.

Nevertheless, it was a good opportunity to reminisce where I was when a particular game occurred.

We'll see Middle Tennessee State in action as The Blue Raiders face FAU at 4 pm on October 12, 2019 in Boca Raton, FL.

Yet, it's amazing how things indeed come full circle.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is the Founder and CEO of The South Florida Tribune.

A New FAU Era In Conference USA

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The last time the FAU Owls opened the season at home against Middle Tennessee was a day that Michigan Wolverines Football fans certainly would like to forget.

On September 1, 2007, Appalachian State stunned the Wolverines 34-32 in front of 109,208 shocked fans at The Big House.

The rematch will be August 30, 2014.

This same day, I was covering My first FAU contest against Middle Tennessee at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium. The Owls defeated Middle Tennessee 27-14. Since that win, FAU has lost five straight games to Middle Tennessee and trail the series 7-3.

Six years later, the Owls have opened at home again against Middle Tennessee, but two major things have changed.

FAU has moved from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA.

Three years ago, FAU moved into it's beautiful on campus stadium that faces the Atlantic Ocean. You can see the ocean from the Sixth Floor at FAU Stadium in the Press Box.

Four teams made the switch to Conference USA. Florida International University and North Texas were the first to make their announcements. Months later, FAU and Middle Tennessee followed them.

For the last few years we've seen a lot of conference realignment. Schools like Colorado, Utah, Texas A&M, Missouri, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, West Virginia and TCU are acclimating to their new rivals. The Big Ten will add Maryland and Rutgers next season while Louisville is headed to the ACC.

How have the Owls adapted thus far?

After FAU's 42-35 overtime loss to Middle Tennessee, the Owls are 1-3 and 0-2 in the conference. The Owls have now lost six in a row to the Blue Raiders and trail the all-time series 8-3.

FAU's only victory occurred September 14, as the Owls defeated My Alma-Mater the University of South Florida Bulls 28-10 in Tampa.

It's hard to win committing five turnovers as FAU did, in addition to allowing Middle Tennessee to amass 446 yards in total offense.

It's rare to see a team compile 503 yards in total offense and lose. But that's what happened to FAU.

Wide Receiver, Daniel McKinney, a senior from Detroit was FAU's leading receiver. He had nine receptions for 82-yards and a touchdown. This was a career high for McKinney.

Sophomore QB Jaquez Johnson threw for 321 yards, three touchdowns but also had two interceptions.

When the game was over, FAU Coach Carl Pelini said despite the close loss, he's said there is no such thing as a moral victory.

"You're not going to beat a good football team like Middle Tennessee when you constantly shoot yourself in the foot," Pelini said. "I don't think we were very disciplined on the defensive side of the ball, and I think we made a lot of mistakes on the offensive side of the ball. You can't have five turnovers in college football and expect to win games. It shouldn't have come down to overtime."

Pertaining to the turnovers, Pelini added, "they're tearing at the football. You know you saw it, and we just got to be stronger. We practice ball security everyday, so it's unacceptable."

FAU returns to action on Saturday, September 28 at 7 pm as it hits the road to play in the first "Owls Bowl" visiting Rice in Houston, Texas.

There is one thing FAU didn't have to deal with that two other Florida schools had to face Saturday.

The Florida A&M Rattlers were ripped by the Ohio State Buckeyes 76-0 in Columbus.

FAU's rival Florida International University went to Kentucky and was crushed by Louisville 72-0.

After today's offensive display, I'll be curious as to see what's ahead in the coming weeks for FAU. I find it hard to watch a team score 35 points and lose.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

David vs Goliath, Twice

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I'll bet the Michigan Wolverines fans had sympathy for what happened to the Ole Miss Rebels Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Rebels lost to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 49-48 in two overtimes in front of 55,768 stunned fans.

This contest featured the debut of Ole Miss prize transfer quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who came from Oregon. On this day, when it was all said and done, when a school takes an everything to gain and nothing to lose attitude, anything can happen. Ole Miss led 31-13 by the end of the third quarter, but the Gamecocks mounted their comeback to come out on top.

On Sept 12, 2009, Jacksonville State gave Florida State a scare in Tallahassee but the Seminoles prevailed to earn a 19-9 victory.

On Saturday, Kansas Jayhawks Head Coach Turner Gill made his debut against the North Dakota State Bison. The Bison won for the first time ever against a Big 12 opponent earning a 6-3 victory in front of 48,417 stunned fans in at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, KS.

Between the two venues, there were 104,185 stunned fans featuring two David vs Goliath contests.

When an FCS team defeats an FBS squad, especially from a BCS Conference, people take notice.

Even though the Wolverines 34-32 loss to Appalachian State on September 1, 2007 turned out to be the biggest upset in college football history and grabbed the most attention, players from all divisions of college football still go to the NFL Scouting Combines in Indianapolis, participate in the season ending All-Star Games, Skills Competitions as well as other pro related functions.

Former Delaware Fighting Blue Hens QB Joe Flacco was taken in the first round, 18th selection overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. Delaware has always been one of the top schools at the FCS level.

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins selected former Michigan Wolverines starter Chad Henne in the second round of the 2008 draft, 57th overall.

Ironically, both players shared the same color scheme and winged helmets, yet they're on other ends of the spectrum as the Blue Hens are in FCS while the Wolverines are the all-time winningest program in the FBS.

But in the end, both schools and levels develop players.

How many people know that Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State) and the late Walter Payton (Jackson State) came from smaller schools? Yet, the NFL people found them.

So the next time you see a major upset by an FCS institution over a FBS, these players are good.

They can run, catch, punt, kick, and throw. But the only time you ever hear about them is at the end of the season when the NCAA does have a football playoff system to decide their national championship, or when they play these non-conference games against heralded opponents. That's the only time their games are televised or shown on national highlight shows.

What people fail to realize about Appalachian State is the Mountaineers are one of the best teams in FCS. Prior to the game, this contest made me nervous because I knew how good they were because they have a great history of winning national championships at their level.

Before Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel took the Buckeyes job, he built a powerhouse at Youngstown State. Tressel won four Division I-AA Championships for this Ohio based school.

If these FCS schools were to have rematches against their FBS opponents, who would come out on top? I'd say the FBS schools win the second time.

But these David vs Goliath match-ups are what makes the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament a lot of fun to watch so we can predict these upsets.

Yet when they happen in football, they catch us off guard and they're a bigger deal.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Michigan play Appalachian State again down the road. I'm sure the Wolverines would win by a large margin.

The bottom line is there is exciting football on all levels and these FBS schools are learning to not take these smaller universities lightly.

One other thing worth mentioning is college football doesn't have preseason games to work out the kinks, unless you know that you're scheduling as College Basketball Analyst Dick Vitale would say there is a "Cupcake" looking for a huge payday and doesn't mind getting blown out to build their athletic department.

However, that's besides the point.

I won't ever take an FCS team lightly and neither will Michigan, Mississippi and Kansas.

If you listen to those endings of these smaller schools radio broadcasts, you could hear these announcers scream from from Key West, Florida to Iceland. These broadcasts will be archived until the end of time for generations to hear and ESPN Classic won't hesitate to re-air them.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

FAU Football's Business Plan

     By Scott Morganroth

     We all know how much college football is big business because the NCAA doesn't have a playoff system due to the revenues of the bowl season.

     In my two year association with FAU, I've spoken to Owls President Frank T. Brogan and Athletic Director Craig Angelos about the need to schedule guarantee revenue games to build the athletic department.

     Over the past few years, FAU has endured lopsided losses to Texas, Oklahoma State, Florida, South Carolina, Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota and the University of South Florida to gain the extra revenue. This season, Nebraska and South Carolina will be on the schedule.

     Coach Howard Schnellenbger has watched his hair and mustache turn white and silver with these routs but has felt that these "Advance Training" contests have built character in his players to perform against the best competition in order to become better football players.

     That philosophy has worked because now FAU is sending players to NFL and CFL teams.

     Despite being the whipping boys to these national powers, FAU was won back-to-back bowl games.

     The Owls defeated Memphis in the 2007 Now Orleans Bowl 44-27 on Dec 21 and nipped Central Michigan 24-21 on Dec 26 in the 2008 Motor City Bowl. The carry over effect as to what transpired in Detroit occurred on Saturday April 18, as a record crowd of 2,011 fans watched a Spring Practice Game at the Oxley Center to get a glimpse of the 2009 squad.

     Because of FAU's success of building a program, former University of Miami Hurricanes Coach Larry Coker, 60, has contacted Schnellenberger to gain advice for his latest challenge at the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners, who begin play at the Alamo Dome in 2011.

     There is one avenue Schnellenberger didn't use to build a program and that's the one which the Delaware State University Hornets are utilizing. The Hornets, a Football Championship Series (formerly Division I-AA) team out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, has forfeited its Oct 17 contest against North Carolina A & T, to accept a $500,000 payout to face the University of Michigan (U-M) Wolverines at the "Big House" for the opportunity to play in front of 100,000 plus.

     Whether Delaware State can duplicate the success of what transpired on Sept 1, 2007 when Appalachian State University (ASU) pulled off the biggest upset in college football 34-32, remains to be seen. But the Hornets don't mind going into the season 0-1 facing a U-M program coming off it's worst season in it's 100 years plus history with a 3-9 record.

     But if the Hornets do pull off the win, one thing is guaranteed and that Coach Rich Rodriguez job status would place him on the hot seat. You can rest assure that the Wolverines and their fans will not take Delaware State lightly. There will be plenty of cardiologists at Michigan Stadium if the Hornets sting the Maize & Blue due to the rash amount of heart attacks that another monumental upset could create.

     As the NCAA has added that 12th game which leads to another non-conference game, it will be interesting to see if FAU and Michigan do meet. The Wolverines do know about the Owls since FAU lost a 17-0 decision to rival Michigan State in East Lansing on Sept 13, 2008.

     The Owls can thank Michigan's poor season which prevented the Wolverines from reaching their 34th straight bowl game. FAU's spot in the Motor City Bowl would have been taken by Michigan and there is no doubt that 65,000 would have packed Ford Field.

     I do know that the payouts for a guarantee game start at $500,000 and go even higher depending on the opponent. But the price of exposure especially if a team faces let alone wins against the all-time winningest program on college football history is priceless.

     Just ask ASU.

     Nevertheless, FAU's business plan with an old school architect coach is still sound even if some teams still take somewhat different paths where a loss before the season is a financial win at the end of the fiscal year.

     Scott Morganroth can be reached at Scottsports33@aol.com