Appalachian State offers hope for college football's 'little guys'
Lloyd Carr showed up for his regularly scheduled news conference Monday, so it's apparent he survived the seismic shift in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"Coach Carr is not going anywhere," said Jake Long, Michigan's All-American tackle. "He is a great coach. It seems like every year the media is saying that. I'm not listening to that. That is just insane."
No, here's what's crazy: How the rest of the college football world continues to quake as the tremors from Appalachian State's upset fan out across the nation.
In Macomb, where Western Illinois gears up to face Illinois on Saturday night for the first time in school history, Appalachian State provides a new rallying cry.
"Oh, definitely," said leading tackler Travis Cherry, a junior linebacker from Glenbard North. "If we get out there and play, anything can happen."
Starting center Dan Zeller, a sophomore from Conant, saw the Appalachian State updates Saturday while he inhaled the Illinois-Missouri game on ESPN2.
"I think our team already had a belief we could beat Illinois," Zeller said. "But it gives us more confidence (to see the Michigan result). Anything can happen when you show up."
And in Carbondale, where Southern Illinois prepares for a visit to Northern Illinois on Saturday night, well, they didn't need any reminders.
They lived a smaller-scale version of the Appalachian State experience just last year. The Salukis went into Indiana on Sept. 16 and came out with a 35-28 victory that served as the first win in 19 tries by a Gateway Conference team over a Big Ten school.
"This was a huge win for our program," SIU coach Jerry Kill said after that game.
Evidence such as Southern Illinois' win at Indiana and Appalachian State's win at Michigan suggests the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) might finally be located on the same side of town.
In actuality, Division I's different levels have been within the same zip code for several years.
Appalachian State, for example, finished No. 53 in last year's Sagarin ratings -- just two spots behind Iowa and ahead of Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern and Illinois.
The gap narrowed when the rules changed in the early 1990s and FBS transfers could play immediately when they moved to an FCS school.
Our state's quartet of FCS schools have benefited measurably from the rule.
Veteran New York Jets defensive end David Bowens lists Western Illinois as his alma mater, but he started his college career at Michigan.
John Randle, Southern Illinois' top running back, rushed for 1,043 yards in two years at Kansas before transferring to Carbondale.
And FCS schools don't just rely on transfers. They have some prep evaluation skills, too.
Illinois State discovered receiver Laurent Robinson, the Atlanta Falcons' third-round pick in April, in Rockledge, Fla., a town half the size of Normal.
Not that any of this serves as consolation for Lloyd Carr. Or those who root or play for Michigan.
"I think our biggest challenge is to make sure we're on the same page with everyone looking forward, not back," said guard Adam Kraus "Making sure they bring their best this week."
You know the FCS schools will.
lwillhite@dailyherald.com
Associated Press
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said the loss to Appalachian State means his team must start over from scratch.
All-time records
Yes, Illinois, Northwestern and Northern Illinois play at a different level than the other Division I schools in the Land of Lincoln. But Western Illinois simply added up every school's lifetime record -- regardless of level or division -- and put this chart into its media guide.
School First Year W-L-T Pct.
Western Illinois 1903 485-392-36 .551
Northern Illinois 1899 479-429-51 .526
Illinois 1890 547-495-51 .524
Eastern Illinois 1913 439-459-43 .489
Illinois State 1887 410-471-64 .468
Southern Illinois 1882 368-457-32 .448
Northwestern 1882 434-592-43 .426