FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION
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Around FCS: Hysteria Builds for App State/JMU
By David Coulson, FCS Executive Director Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - A week ago, FBS had USC-Ohio State. The game was one people couldn't stop talking about in advance of the kickoff at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
In the FCS world, one regular-season game has been on the minds of most fans since the first round of last year's playoffs - No. 1 ranked Appalachian State's trip to No. 5 James Madison.
In most years, a matchup between two of the top programs in FCS draws plenty of attention. After all, we're talking about the two teams that have won the past four national championships - James Madison in 2004 and Appalachian State in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
But one play in the first round of last year's playoffs made sure that this season's meeting at what will be a sold out Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, VA. would top the hype of anything these longtime rivals have ever done in the past.
"There is a buzz in Harrisonburg," JMU quarterback Rodney Landers said on Monday, "because of the way the game ended last year." Landers was speaking of teammate Jamal Sullivan's fumble with 22 seconds left as the Dukes were attempting to set up for a potential Dave Stannard game-winning field goal try from chip-shot range.
Sullivan was hammered by ASU linebacker Jacque Roman on the play, forcing the fumble that linebacker Pierre Banks recovered near the Mountaineer sideline to give Appalachian State a 28-27 victory.
JMU coach Mickey Matthews waited for months to watch the DVD of the game.
"Without a doubt, it's the most painful loss I've ever suffered as a coach," Matthews reiterated on Monday.
Matthews has told all who would listen in the off-season that he thinks the loss cost the Dukes a second national championship.
For ASU, it was the closest call it had experienced in winning an unprecedented three consecutive national titles.
"I just remember how hard of a ball game we thought it would be and it was," said Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore, a longtime friend of Matthews. "It was a ball game that either team could have won and it went right down to the wire." The play at the end overshadowed what was a terrific college football game, with numerous big plays and shifts in emotion. If it had been in Chattanooga, TN, for the FCS championship, people would have hailed it as one of the all- time great contests.
And now we have what everyone hopes will be a worthy sequel.
"It seems like we've always played them in Boone," said Matthews, who has been repeatedly disappointed in his encounters with Moore. "This time we get them in Harrisonburg." Moore was asked if his team would be ready for the hostile environment they will encounter on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium? "You ever been to Baton Rouge?" Moore asked the reporter, making note of the Mountaineers' season-opening game at LSU.
Moore also knows the history between between the two programs and his personal track record against Matthews.
A Matthews-coached team has only beaten a Moore-coached squad once and that was in 1993, when Matthews was the defensive coordinator for a Marshall unit that was coming off a national championship season and would make its third title game appearance in a row later that year. He enjoyed a 35-3 win over an Appalachian State club that would finish 4-7, Moore's only losing season with the Mountaineers.
This is a series that has been fraught with frustration for the Dukes, who are 3-12 lifetime against Appalachian State - just 1-5 at home.
JMU fans remember the last time the Mountaineers came to Harrisonburg, a 1992 contest in which ASU trailed 21-7, but scored 20 points in the final three minutes to win 27-21. Craig Styron pulled down a Hail Mary pass from D.J. Campbell in a crowded end zone on the final play of the game for a game-winning 44-yard touchdown.
There was also the 1995 playoffs in Boone, where ASU won its 12th straight game of the season, 31-24, to knock the Dukes out of the playoffs in the first round.
In addition, the Dukes remember that 2006 game at Kidd Brewer Stadium - a battle of the previous two national champions - when the Mountaineers dominated them for a 21-10 victory.
JMU has to go back to 1991 for a 34-0 shellacking of Moore's Mountaineers in Boone to find a pleasant memory in this series. The only other Duke wins against ASU came in back-to-back years, 1982-83, the latter one over a coach named Mack Brown.
Some observers feel like Matthews almost tries too hard to beat Appalachian State, and that it leads to critical mistakes, like going for a first down on 4th-and-2 from its own 32 with 2:35 remaining instead of punting in last year's game.
That set up Edwards' go-ahead five-yard touchdown scamper with 1:10 remaining.
But Matthews also knows he showed the almost-perfect game plan for beating the Mountaineers, when his Dukes managed to control the ball for more than 40 minutes to keep the potent Appalachian State spread on the sidelines.
Whatever the case, the excitement preceding this game is pretty much at an unprecedented pitch for an FCS regular-season game.
"We could fill a 50,000-seat stadium," said Matthews. "I've heard from people I haven't talked to in two or three years asking about tickets." Matthews worried that his team would be so revved up for Appalachian State that it wouldn't take care of business last week in a key Colonial Athletic Association game against preseason league favorite Massachusetts.
"It was difficult to keep our players focused on UMass," Matthews said. "All they have wanted to talk about is Appalachian for the past six or seven months." Cheers of "Beat ASU" echoed in Bridgeforth Stadium last Saturday at the end of the Dukes' 52-38 triumph over the Minutemen, and talk of the game with the Mountaineers started as soon as JMU got back to its locker room last Saturday.
Landers sparked some bulletin board fodder when he made some provocative comments on Saturday.
"It's the most anticipated game I guess in JMU history," Landers said to reporters after the UMass game. "We're going to put on a show. I feel that we have the best team in the country. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say I don't feel that way. I think we have the best team in the country." Landers' counterpart, ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards, has taken a less controversial approach, at least publicly.
"We considered our first two games kind of scrimmages," Edwards said in a Tuesday press conference. "This will be our first real test to see what we have. Coach Moore tells us that every day. Most of us were in that game last year, and we know they'll be coming after us from the get-go. We'll be prepared for it." And those of us watching will be prepared for what we hope will be a game that matches the hype.
ALSO WORTH WATCHING While Appalachian State and James Madison have stolen much of the attention, there are a bunch of other potential barn-burners in what should be the best weekend thus far for FCS.
-We should learn if No. 12 South Dakota State is for real when the Jackrabbits venture to No. 8 Northern Iowa in a key Missouri Valley Football Conference showdown.
SDSU was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in its first MVFC season, but the Jackrabbits have shocked Youngstown State (40-7) and Western Illinois (24-22) at home in their first two league games.
Now South Dakota State takes its production on the road against defending league champion Northern Iowa at the formidable UNI-Dome.
Some of the keys could be what kind of start SDSU gets off to, who plays better between Jackrabbit quarterback Ryan Berry and Panther QB Pat Grace and if the SDSU defense can lock down UNI running back Corey Lewis the same way it contained Herb Donaldson of Western Illinois last week.
-No. 17 Elon rolls into Statesboro, GA. to meet No. 16 Georgia Southern in a game that could be an early separation between contenders and pretenders in the Southern Conference.
The Phoenix scorched Presbyterian for 52 in the first half and 66 in the game last week as quarterback Scott Riddle and receivers Terrell Hudgins and Maurice Williamson came up big.
Georgia Southern survived an overtime encounter from a Northeastern team expected to finish near the bottom of the CAA, and the Eagles must answer some questions about their secondary against one of the top passing attacks in FCS.
On the positive side for Georgia Southern, Ohio State transfer quarterback Antonio Henton showed his promise with 298 yards passing, 341 yards of total offense and all five touchdowns (three rushing and two passing) in the 34-27 victory.
-We will probably know if No. 6 Delaware or No. 24 Furman are serious playoff contenders when they face off Saturday in Greenville, S.C.
Delaware lost a close game to Maryland, 14-7, and hammered West Chester 48-20, but now embarks on the meat of its top-heavy FCS schedule.
Coach K.C. Keeler has stressed the importance of winning a key game on the road, knowing that the Blue Hens must endure tough trips to UMass, JMU and Richmond later in the season.
Delaware has played as well as expected defensively, but is still looking for improvement from its Ohio State transfer quarterback, Rob Schoenhoft.
Furman also needs to protect its record by earning a win, with a tough SoCon slate of games on the horizon.
The Paladins opened eyes last week by traveling to Colgate and grinding out a 42-21 win after leading just 28-21 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Furman did the job offensively with Jordan Sorrells passing for more than 200 yards for the third straight week and Mike Bell picking up 130 yards on the ground.
The Paladins' oft-maligned defense limited Payton Award candidate Jordan Scott to 113 yards rushing, but they will likely face a more balanced and potent attack from Delaware.
This is the time of year where questions begin to be answered, and all of these games should help sort things out as we move closer to the heart of the FCS season.
09/17 16:00:10 ET