Thursday Tailgate: Five underdogs catching foes off disappointing losses
You know how these non-conference games are supposed to work. The major college program hosts a team from the FCS or possibly the lower echelons of the FBS for what amounts to a glorified scrimmage. At least that’s the way the script is supposed to play out.
Sometimes the plucky underdog — think Appalachian State in the Big House in 2007 — pulls off the improbable upset. But more often than not, the big school gets to take live reps to prepare for its upcoming conference schedule while the home fans get to enjoy an easy win.
Then there are the occasions when the timing is particularly unfortunate for the underdog visitor, when the big program is coming off a loss and looking to prove a point — while scoring many. We’ll call these unlucky visiting schools Wouldn’t Wannabe U.
Here are this week’s nominees for that title.
Howard
The Bison are being subjected to a second consecutive money game to begin the season. As if enduring last week’s thumping by Maryland weren’t bad enough, they now head up to New Jersey for Rutgers’ home opener. The Scarlet Knights weren’t expected to win at Washington last week, but they were definitely hoping for a better result than 48-13. They won’t be feeling very charitable toward their MEAC visitors.
Stony Brook
The Seawolves did post a nice victory in Week 1 against North Dakota. But they’re likely to have their hands full as they head down to Philadelphia to meet Temple. The Owls were stymied by an improved Army squad and will be doing their best to generate some offense at SBU’s expense.
Nevada
The Wolf Pack needed overtime to survive a spirited rally by Cal Poly, so this week’s trip to Notre Dame is not likely to go well. The Fighting Irish do have a bit shorter week of preparation since they played on Sunday, but they’ll have extra motivation to erase some difficult memories from the hard-fought Texas defeat.
Louisiana-Monroe
Say this much for the Warhawks: They were the only FBS program from Louisiana to earn a victory in Week 1 as they handled Southern 38-21. Oklahoma, however, figures to be a different animal. The Sooners will be mighty salty after coming up short in their high-profile tilt with Houston. They’ll be especially eager to clean some things up with Ohio State coming to Norman next week.
And the winner is ...
Wofford
The Southern Conference is among the best in the FCS, and the Terriers can usually be found in the upper half of the standings. But quite simply, this is not a good time to be playing Ole Miss. Yes, it’s a quick turnaround for the Rebels from Monday night, but they still figure to have plenty of intensity.
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