FSU Drops 80 on Idaho; Takes Fun Out of It

This game should never have been played. And it certainly shouldn't have a "Laugher" headline attached to it, because if you are a fan of competitive college football, it really wasn't very funny. Your final score: Florida State 80, Idaho 14.

The Seminoles ignored the hoopla surrounding star QB Jameis Winston and returned 2 interceptions for TD's, and nearly returned a 3rd.

Winston threw for 4 TD's, Devonta Freeman ran for 129 yards and a touchdown in a game that was more like a scout team matchup than a Division 1 (FCS) level football game.

While we understand there's a certain pecking order in College Football, some teams exist solely to be practice fodder for the bigger schools, it doesn't make this any more galling. No, we aren't claiming FSU ran up the score or was trying to pile it on, rather it just isn't fun to watch.

And it's not fair to the Idaho kids who showed up to get embarrassed.

If there was ever a call for a separate division for the "High Budget" FCS schools, this would be it. And as excited as we are that FBS Georgia Southern beat Florida, the fact remains, things like that almost never happen.

Anyway, enough soapbox, this isn't anything I haven't rambled about before.

Here are your highlights from ESPN:

Ga Southern and App State Taking The Plunge To Sun Belt...??? (UPDATED)

Looks that way...

Sources close to one end of the situation in Statesboro tell OSG Sports and social media from the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper have both schools, rivals in the Southern Conference, pursuing the same in the Sun Belt Conference.

Tommy Bowman, sports beat writer for the Journal sent out the following from his Twitter: @AppTrailWSJ

Appalachian State will accept an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference this week, probably on Wednesday, according to a source at ASU

Georgia Southern, while currently not addressing anything resembling gossip, rumor, or innuendo, is moving on up- "sources" tell SB Nation's Steven Godfrey. Godfrey reports GSU will make the full move in 2015, with a transitional season in 2014 and no change to its 2013 schedule.

With FAU, FIU, Middle Tennessee, and North Texas moving to Conference USA, the new dynamic of the 10-team conference would be: App State, Arkansas State, Ga Southern, Ga State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, and Western Kentucky.

This would also fall in line with the announcement being made introducing Brian Bohannon as Kennesaw State's new football coach for their fledgling program tomorrow morning on campus north of Atlanta. The SoCon is looking for members if the move of two of their heavy hitters is to happen and Kennesaw keeps their Atlanta footprint.

Here's how Southern ended their season...
((HT: EaglesGATA))


Southern voted for a fee increase to fund any kind of upgrade, so it was a matter of time...

1600 UPDATE: Matt Yogus at the Statesboro Herald is confirming from sources on his end as well...

2100 UPDATE: Dennis Dodd over at CBS Sports adds that former WAC members Idaho and New Mexico State will be added in 2014 as well. This will give the new Sun Belt 12 teams and will allow for a two-division, playoff structure.

With the new playoff set-up, if the Sun Belt champ finishes as the highest rated team among the Group of Five conferences (the Sun Belt, Conference USA, the new Big East, Mountain West and MAC) it will get a berth in one of the new playoff bowls when the new post-season look starts.

Who Is Kenneth Dixon And Why Does He Keep Scoring...???

((HT: KSLA-TV Shreveport))

The short answer is: Because Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes tells QB Colby Cameron to hand the ball off to the talented freshman...

Dixon scored six TD's in last night's 70-28 win over Idaho.

"It was good to see the way the team came out and played after a tough loss last week," Dykes said post-game. "We wanted to come out and get off to a good start after not doing that last week against Texas A&M."

Safe to say, they did...

Louisiana Tech picked up 839 total yards of offense, a single game record and the most by a Division I team this season. The Bulldogs rushed for 408 yards and passed for another 431 yards in the win.

The 70 points were the most by Tech since they scored 77 in a win over UL-Lafayette in 1998. Tech entered the game the top-ranked team in the country in scoring offense and, also tied a WAC single game record with 56 first half points.

Here's the wrap from Joe Aillet...
KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather

Fantasy players take note... the next opponent for the Bulldogs is New Mexico State in Las Cruces next Saturday...

Idaho, NMSU Screwed In New Mountain West Idea, Heading To Big Sky Country...?

((HT: CFT/Kercheval))

Ben Kercheval over at CFT has word from Mountain West Conference commish Craig Thompson that Idaho and New Mexico State can find another home when the football-playing members of their old conference, the WAC, except for them move over to the MWC.

The Mountain West is getting Boise State (except for football), Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada from the WAC. San Jose State and Utah State will join the MWC in 2013.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman was at Thompson's state of the state where the Commish said: "We've informed them that they will not be members of the Mountain West. Go onto Plan B whatever Plan B may be..."

Conference USA...? Division I-AA...?

Interesting...

Thompson also said that he'd be interested in having an audience with Texas schools for their futures like UTSA, Texas State, and UTEP...

But he's also happy right now with ten schools...

Idaho has talked to the Big Sky Conference about every sport other than football and the Big Sky is interested in that notion. There's another thought that the Vandals could go independent as well...
((HT: KBOI-TV Boise))

OSG Buzzer Beater: Two In The Same Game

A wild game Tuesday night at Wright State University as the Raiders were hosting the Idaho Vandals.

Idaho's Landon Tatum took the inbounds pass and banked home a half court prayer to send the game into overtime.

In the O.T. Wright State's Julius Mays nailed a three pointer at the buzzer to win it for the Raiders.

Here's the highlights, Thanks WSURaiders.com



“Actually, I’ve been hitting game-winners my whole career,” Mays said after the game. “All through high school I hit ’em. I hit one my freshman year at N.C. State in a conference game, and this adds on right here.”

Guess we know who will have the ball for Wright State when the game is on the line.