Despite mounting just 144 yards of total offense in its game Saturday night, our beloved Ohio football team did something the likes of Colorado and Duke were unable to do on the first weekend of the season ' defeat a Division 1-AA team.Yes, those same Colorado Buffaloes that played in the Big 12 Championship Game a mere eight months ago lost 19-10 at home to Montana State. Luckily for the Buffaloes, their amazingly bad start to the 2006 season was topped by Duke getting shut out by Richmond, 13-0.Elsewhere, only a failed two-point conversion by Illinois State allowed Kansas State to get by, Arizona State was tied with Northern Arizona after three quarters, and Maryland was lucky to knock off William and Mary. Apparently, the big-time upsets are not just reserved for March anymore. For decades, it was easy to separate the haves from the have-nots in college football, unlike college basketball, which always seemed to provide some kind of Cinderella story year in and year out. Nowadays, because of players seeking better opportunities elsewhere and scholarship restrictions, that line of separation is starting to become blurred.The change is either welcomed or despised. On one hand, there are those who love rooting for the underdogs and would enjoy seeing the impossible happen. Just look at the television ratings from last year's Ohio/Pittsburgh game if you want proof. The fans of the smaller schools have that hope that their teams can hang with the big boys now. After Saturday, the players of those smaller schools have the desire to be the next Montana State.Meanwhile, there are the athletic directors at the big schools. What used to be a $250,000 stomping of a smaller school in front of the home crowd is slowly becoming a $250,000 September funeral for the football season, which has to be making these administrators sweat just a bit. Also, who can forget the losing coaches? Surely Dan Hawkins didn't have this in mind when he left the blue turf of Boise State, where he won 53 games in five seasons, for the supposedly greener pastures of Colorado. As someone who loves a good shocker every now and then ' unless it happens to my team ' I think the unpredictability makes college football better. The idea of your team being able to win on any given Saturday can only bring more fans to the games, hoping to see the unexpected.On a final note, if I was Penn State coach Joe Paterno, I wouldn't be worried about the upcoming match-up with No. 2 Notre Dame or the meeting with No. 1 Ohio State on Sept. 23. Instead, I'd be putting all my resources into the game that takes place between those two when 1-AA Youngstown State travels to Happy Valley on Sept. 16. A loss to the Penguins would probably be enough to put the 79-year-old Paterno into retirement. Then again, JoePa would definitely be able to say he's seen everything. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to let Duke coach Ted Roof know how easy it was to score on Richmond with his team on NCAA Football '07.
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Jason Fazzone
