SF Chron: Gap between top divisions not that big a difference

[ucdtim17]

Portland State, which plays at Cal on Saturday, is one of four Division I-AA teams to have beaten I-A teams this season, and Vikings coach Tim Walsh figures the competition he faces within his own I-AA conference rivals some of the I-A conferences.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/09/15/SPG8EL5V471.DTL

[TexasTerror]

Hey now, forgot this quote! Give some more love to other I-AAers! :)


More opportunities await this week, and one of the following I-AA schools could pull an upset: Furman against North Carolina, Sam Houston State (even though Oklahoma transfer Rhett Bomar is not eligible to play yet) against Southern Methodist, Idaho State against Idaho and Southern Illinois at Indiana. If Youngstown State gets an early lead on Penn State, that could be close.

[GoAgs72]

Wins like the UC Davis win over Stanford last year attract continuing attention for whole division. If Portland State defeats Cal, look for some more big time coverage from the press.

[ucdtim17]

And the Chron actually did a writeup last week previewing the TCU game, pretty much unheard-of for a UCD game, save the Stanford game last year - that paper is so much better than every other paper around.

[elkmcc]

The writer gave the impression that the ability of I-A athletes to transfer to I-AA without waiting a year is something new. That gives me the impression that the guy doesn't know much about I-AA himself.

[Mr. C]

As good as Portland State might be, the Vikings are playing a top-caliber I-A team in Cal. A win over the Golden Bears might rank as the biggest I-AA vs I-A upset of all time.

[Mr. C]

The writer gave the impression that the ability of I-A athletes to transfer to I-AA without waiting a year is something new. That gives me the impression that the guy doesn't know much about I-AA himself.
I don't know about this writer's experience, but the SF Chronicle has a very good sports section. It's cool too, because they have always printed it on green paper. They call it the Sporting Green and it is easy to find each morning.

[Mr. C]

Congrats to writer Jake Curtis. That's one of the better columns on I-AA that I've ever seen written by a I-A football writer. Good work. He was very respectful and showed some good insights.

BTW, I disagree slightly with Tim Walsh's comments. I wouldn't see any Big Sky teams finishing above the middle of the pack in the WAC, which has some strong teams in Fresno State, Boise State etc.

[dungeonjoe]

Congrats to writer Jake Curtis. That's one of the better columns on I-AA that I've ever seen written by a I-A football writer. Good work. He was very respectful and showed some good insights.

BTW, I disagree slightly with Tim Walsh's comments. I wouldn't see any Big Sky teams finishing above the middle of the pack in the WAC, which has some strong teams in Fresno State, Boise State etc.
spoken like a true Fresno State homer!xlolx :thumbsup: j/k Mr. C!

[ucdtim17]

The article last week about TCU: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/06/SPGT2L01MD1.DTL&hw=tcu&sn=008&sc=226

[HensRock]

As good as Portland State might be, the Vikings are playing a top-caliber I-A team in Cal. A win over the Golden Bears might rank as the biggest I-AA vs I-A upset of all time.

Definitely.
No I-AA has ever beaten a ranked I-A team. Cal is ranked #21 currently.