The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of FBS-FCS week 1 matchups

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For the fourth-straight year, it's the good, the bad and usually ugly of the FBS-FCS matchups to open the college football season.

Every year, most of these FCS schools are at the mercy of Power 5 conference teams that need  a tune-up before they face a school from Conference USA or the Sun Belt the following week. Sometimes, those schools get the great pay day and an upset victory that people will talk about for years (remember Appalachian State's win over Michigan in 2007?).

There were two FCS upsets this weekend, but it did not involve any program that has a legitimate shot at the college football playoff. When you see who they are, you will understand.

THE GOOD- FCS teams that knocked off the FBS that paid them to show up and be beat (but didn't)

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 41, KANSAS 38
-The Jayhawks are a colossal mess. Charlie Weis was the only person to come out a winner at Kansas last season. Even after being fired four games in, he's still making millions from his Notre Dame contract and now the one at Kansas. Weis is a mediocre college coach who still gets big paychecks from one of the most prominent college football programs in the country. Now he's got K.U. paying him seven figures to not work for them.

Estimated $19 million from Notre Dame, $7 million plus more from KU ... for not working. Charlie Weis remains my hero.

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 28, 2014

Worst of all, in-state rival Kansas State mocked them with their marching band's halftime show. That doesn't look like the Starship Enterprise, Mr. Spock.

PORTLAND STATE 24, WASHINGTON STATE 17

The Vikings are from the Big Sky Conference and beat the Cougars, who were 3-9 overall, and dead last in the Pac 12 North division.


THE BAD- Lopsided scores that just missed being "ugly".

RUTGERS 63, NORFOLK STATE 13
-Kicking five players off the team didn't hurt the Scarlett Knights. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Spartans were shut out 42-0 in the second half after going into the locker room only down 21-13 at halftime.

MIAMI (FL) 45, BETHUNE-COOKMAN 0

The Canes scored 31 in the first half and coasted with two more scores. Another yawner. Next up for the U...Florida Atlantic! At least they are FBS. The Wildcats, who hail from Daytona Beach, had to endure a lightning delay on top of being shut out.


THE UGLY- What most of us expect from these games

OLE MISS 76, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 3
-The SEC has bragging rights as the best conference in college football. One criticism would be the scheduling of pushovers at the start and in-between games against conference opponents. The Rebels made easy picking of the Skyhawks. They play New Mexico State at home and Memphis on the road October 10 and 17. Hotty Toddy y'all!

GEORGIA TECH 69, ALCORN STATE 6
-The Yellow Jackets will be force to be reckoned with in the ACC this season. The Braves provided a nice tune up for Georgia Tech's triple option offense.

CALIFORNIA 73, GRAMBLING STATE 14
-It was 52-0 at halftime. Grambling State scored twice in the final quarter against all of Cal's backups.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN (UGLY)

LSU and McNeese State was cancelled due to lightning in Baton Rogue. Mother nature prevented a potential slaughtering by the Tigers. Some places just can't escape late summer weather that puts a damper on the first few weeks of the season.

HONORABLE MENTION "WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN"

CONNECTICUT 20, VILLANOVA 15
-The American Athletic Conference is Conference USA 2, but the Huskies losing to the Wildcats would have killed that buzz for the upcoming rivalry game against Central Florida later this season. You know. The one coach Bob Diaco created? Yeah, it's sad. So is the status of what used to be the Big East football conference.