Two More FCS Victories Over FBS Football Teams in 2017

There were two more FCS victories over FBS football teams in the second full week of the 2017 season.  New Hampshire and South Dakota did the deed.

Georgia Southern and Bowling Green were the victims, respectively.

• New Hampshire 22 versus Georgia Southern 12 – New Hampshire went out to a 22-0 lead at halftime.  The Wildcats, of the Colonial, won the turnover battle 2-0 in a game featuring tough defense on both sides.  This game was to be a home game for the Georgia Southern Eagles, of the Sun Belt, however, it was moved to Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, because of Hurricane Irma.  Taking advantage of free admission, 3,387 (official attendance) curious onlookers wandered into the cavernous confines of the venerable old stadium.  This is the second time this season a team from the Colonial has won against an FBS opponent, the first being James Madison who beat East Carolina.  And, continuing along the same lines, this is the second time a team from the Sun Belt has lost to an FCS opponent, the first being Georgia State who lost to Tennessee State.  Things have not been peachy in the Sun Belt this hurricane/football season and the temptation is there to say that when it rains, it pours.  Tasteless temptation triumphs again.
• South Dakota 35 at Bowling Green 27 – There was plenty of offense in this game for both teams, but South Dakota, of the Missouri Valley, won the turnover battle 3-0.  The Coyotes went out to a 21-3 first quarter lead and never looked back.  The announced attendance for the MAC host Falcons was 17,912 who mainly watched in horror as the disaster unfolded.  South Dakota hosts North Dakota this Saturday, in the friendly confines of the DakotaDome (capacity:  10,000), on the AstroTurf Pure Grass of H. Lauren Lewis Field.