There were nine FCS victories over FBS teams in 2015. Portland State was responsible for two of the wins: at Washington State and at North Texas.
The Portland State Vikings win The Mythical FCS Victories Over FBS 2015 National Championship with their season opening win at Washington State and their utter destruction of North Texas down in the Lone Star State. Washington State is by far the most successful of the FBS victims this season going 8-4 overall and 6-3 in the Pac-12 North for a third place finish in that division. The Cougars face Miami in the Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso. Portland State’s win at Power Five member Washington State is the best FCS win in 2015 against an FBS opponent.
The Big Sky had three FCS victories over FBS teams in 2015. This includes the two above by Portland State and North Dakota’s win at Wyoming. The Southern Conference had two with Furman and The Citadel doing the honors.
Another FCS win over a FBS bowl team was Liberty at Georgia State. Georgia State proved to be much better than the preseason prognostications which had them vying for the worst team in all of the FBS. The Panthers ended up finishing 6-6 overall and fourth in the Sun Belt at 5-3. After a very rough start of the season, Georgia State finished with a four game winning streak including the finale at Georgia Southern. Head Coach, Trent Miles, was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Liberty fans must be very frustrated. The Flames won home games against Montana and Coastal Carolina, both of which made the FCS playoffs. However, they lost all their road games except the Georgia State game. Go figure. This lack of road success sealed Liberty’s fate and they missed the FCS playoffs.
Five FCS teams that recorded FBS wins in 2015 made the FCS national playoffs. That would be Portland State, Fordham, South Dakota State, James Madison, and The Citadel. However, none of those teams remain alive in the playoffs going into the quarter-finals. The FCS teams that recorded a FBS win in 2015 and did not make the playoffs were North Dakota, Liberty and Furman.
The first full weekend of the 2015 college football season saw four FCS victories over FBS teams.
Below is the final FCS Victories Over FBS Wall of Fame for 2015.
September 4: Fordham (Patriot) 37 at Army West Point (Independent) 35
September 5: Portland State (Big Sky) 24 at Washington State (Pac-12) 17
September 5: North Dakota (Big Sky) 24 at Wyoming (Mountain West) 13
September 5: South Dakota State (Missouri Valley) 41 at Kansas (Big 12) 38
Four FCS Victories Over FBS in the First Week of 2015 Season
September 19: Furman (Southern) 16 at Central Florida (AAC) 15
Furman Adds Central Florida to 2015 FCS Victories Over FBS
September 26: James Madison (Colonial) 48 at Southern Methodist (AAC) 45
James Madison Tops SMU to Add to 2015 FCS Victories Over FBS
October 3: Liberty (Big South) 41 at Georgia State (Sun Belt) 33
Liberty Flames Add Notch to 2015 FCS Victories Over FBS
October 10: Portland State (Big Sky) 66 at North Texas (C-USA) 7
FCS Victories Over FBS: Portland State Bombs North Texas
November 21: The Citadel (Southern) 23 at South Carolina (SEC) 22
The Citadel Caps 2015 Season’s FCS Victories over FBS
The nine FCS victories over FBS teams in 2015 tops the 2014 season which saw eight. But who’s counting, anyway?
There were Eight FCS Victories over FBS Teams in 2014
The AAC, which had an outstanding season with Houston, Temple, and Navy all finishing in the Top 25 of the College Football Playoff Rankings, had the most defeats at the hands of the FCS of any FBS conference with two. The victims were SMU and Central Florida.
Two FBS victims were helmed by first year head coaches, Kansas and SMU. Another two FBS victims were led by head coaches in their second year at the school, Wyoming and Army West Point. Three FBS victims will have new head coaches in 2016, Central Florida, North Texas, and South Carolina. In FBS land, losing to an FCS school is a certain sign of sailing stormy seas.
Three Power Five teams had the dubious and ironic distinction of being FBS victims, Washington State, Kansas and South Carolina.
Who’s counting? Well, don’t look now, but there are a few and they are coming perilously close to having to remove their shoes and socks.