TheSequitur.com Editorial Board
Sept. 11, 2007

The first two weekends of this college football season have provided some of the more memorable upsets in the history of the amateur sport.

It had been that the smaller schools would come in to town, take their hazing and then promptly leave ...It all began with what has been claimed to be one of – if not the – biggest upset in Division I history: University of Michigan’s loss to Appalachian State University in the season's opening game. The defeat at home of one of the most storied collegiate football programs at the hands of a small second-division team from Boone, North Carolina has all of the elements of your ‘David vs. Goliath’ motif.

This theme emerged elsewhere in the season's first two weeks, including the University of Central Florida’s defeat of North Carolina State on the road, the University of South Florida’s exhausting victory at Auburn University and other games where some of the bigger-name schools overcame the odds to upset ranked opponents.

Could it be that college football programs have reached a point of parity?

While the question of parity remains debatable, there are some things that we know for sure. These smaller schools which have been served as sacrificial lambs to the big-name schools receive hefty paychecks – over a half million dollars in many cases – and get media attention that would otherwise be solely focused on the big boys.

It had been that the smaller schools would come in to town, take their hazing and then promptly leave with their suitcase full of cash. The success of teams like Appalachian State just might have turned the tables on what was once a strict patron-client relationship, and this can only be good for collegiate football. It’s good because it spreads the wealth and spotlight among the schools, which makes for healthy sport and competition.

It’s going to be a great season to cheer on your team. Regardless of who you root for, wear your colors proudly because - as we’ve already have seen - anything can happen.
[MSNBC, ESPN, CanadianPress, AOL, FOXSports, NYTimes]