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Stanford or App. State? Which upset is bigger?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by London Calling, Oct 7, 2007.

  1. John

    John Well-Known Member

    I've said since the day Appy beat Michigan that it was a big surprise, but I wasn't stunned. Appy has won back to back I-AA titles, which means its players are pretty damn good and know how to win.

    I recognize the historical significance of it, but I would have been 1,000 times more shocked if Duke beat Michigan in the Big House.
     
  2. jakewriter82

    jakewriter82 Active Member

    Dude, how can someone who went to UMass and is probably an east coast guy know who Montana can and can't beat?
    The only I-A team Montana routinely beats is Idaho. They've played Oregon two seasons ago, and lost pretty bad and they played Iowa last season, and again lost pretty bad. Now no one knows how good they'd do against a I-A team this year because they didn't play any.
    Which is why Appy. State beating Michigan is the bigger upset. Who in their right mind on the national stage had heard of Appy. State before this year? If you've never heard of them you don't know who they've beaten other than they've won the I-AA national championship a few times. Stanford is a big-time Pac-10 school who's beaten USC before.
    No way it's a bigger upset. Sorry, it's just not.
     
  3. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    So basically Appalachian State is a bigger upset because Montana can't beat Oregon and Stanford used to have John Elway. Gotcha.
     
  4. Nicely put, MG. "Period" as opposed to "EVER."

    You, see, one of my co-workers was ranting in the office last night that this was bigger than App. State, because Stanford is garbage. And I'm thinking 'What the hell are you talking about?" And then the ESPN, CBS and VERSUS guys are suggesting the Stanford upset might be bigger than App. State. And, again, I'm thinking "What the hell are you talking about?"

    People are going to be talking about that App. State game... FOREVER. Future underdogs will use it as motivation... FOREVER.

    A I-AA team went into The Big House, in front of more than 100,000 people when they regularly play in front of crowds smaller than some high schools, and took it to the NO. 5 team in the nation, not to mention one of the most storied programs in history.

    That's some magnitude right there.
     
  5. jakewriter82

    jakewriter82 Active Member

    Well, you have to factor in tradition.
    Even if Florida State loses it's first three games and then beats an LSU or a Florida, it's not a "huge" upset because they have that clout, that winning tradition.
    Stanford's upset was big, but it wasn't as monumental because they're in the same conference and they play each other every year.
     
  6. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    And 41-point underdogs will use Stanford as motivation ... FOREVER.
     
  7. I don't think the Stanford win was that big. USC wasn't even ranked No. 1. As Missougrad said, intra-conference upsets happen all the time. The teams are familiar with one another. Cal was going to spank USC anyway.
     
  8. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    You know, if we use this logic that history is relevant to the magnitude of an upset, that means every time South Florida beats someone established like West Virginia, it's monumental because USF has only played football since 1997.
     
  9. Norman Stansfield

    Norman Stansfield Active Member

    The chasm between the caliber of athlete that plays at Appy State vs. Stanford is HUGE. And yes, I saw the Appy State game. They've got some nice players. But from top to bottom a I-AA team beating a top-5 Division I team is the bigger upset, by far.
     
  10. Oz, you know as well as anyone that gamblers' odds aren't an accurate reflection of what the score will be ... it just shows gamblers underestimated Stanford as much as USC did.
     
  11. Joel_Goodsen

    Joel_Goodsen Member

    Amen. I heard some of the nimrods on ESPN -- which covers just about all of their current on-air talent -- trying to make the case that Stanford is a bigger upset.

    That is just silly. It was a CONFERENCE GAME as opposed to a I-AA team -- who by the way has lost to that powerhouse Wofford since beating Michigan -- and every conference game has a chance to be closer than normal games because of the history between the two programs, the rivalry, the pride, the increased level of intensity.

    It is why people who get all worked up every year when Vanderbilt gives Tennessee a tough battle or tries to compare scores between a conference foe (i.e Nebraska killed Northwestern, but Northwestern played Penn State very tough, so Nebraska is a better team...) and a non-conference foe doesn't understand college football and what makes it special.
     
  12. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Just to add to this discussion:

    North Dakota State wouldn't finish last in the Big Ten. They'd certainly beat Iowa and Northwestern, and they'll have their chance to beat Minnesota, which they should have done last year.

    There's a gap between the I-AA schools and the big dogs, but it's smaller than it used to be.

    All that said, App. State winning at Michigan is still the much bigger upset.
     
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