Week 0 Was Must-See TV. Can Week 1 Live Up to the Billing?

And exhale.

With FCS football getting the lion’s share of national exposure during Week 0, the division delivered over and over again. From thrilling finishes to stunning upsets, the season-opening slate delivered over and over again last weekend.

Now the question becomes if some of the best in the FCS can make a statement and pull off FBS upsets with several winnable matchups on the slate this weekend.

But before we look ahead, let’s take a quick glance back and one of the most memorable FCS weekends in a while.

What’s Going on in Big Sky Country?

Ok, Montana State looks about as everyone expected. The defending national champion Bobcats marched into St. Geroge, Utah on Saturday and gave conference newcomer Utah Tech a not-so-warm welcome with a 54-0 beatdown of the Trailblazers.

But outside of that lopsided contest, one of the premier FCS conferences provided must-see TV over the opening weekend. It started Friday with Weber State topping Northern Colorado 30-29 due to a last-second blocked PAT by Weber, then Cal Poly and Idaho traded haymakers in an offensive showdown that amassed nearly 1,000 yards of total offense, ending with Poly and first-year head coach Tim Skipper claiming a 38-34 victory due to a last-minute score in front of a national audience on ESPN.

Saturday, the chaos continued with Portland State, which went 1-11 last season, leading No. 5 UC Davis 21-0 before the Aggies stormed back to claim a 31-24 victory in the final minutes. Newly ranked Northern Arizona also had to come from behind to topple Eastern Washington 34-27 at home, while No. 3 Montana struggled in a back-and-forth contest with new conference member Southern Utah before a last-second interception sealed a 28-21 victory for the Griz in Missoula.

If this trend holds for the rest of the season, the Big Sky will undoubtedly be the deepest conference in the FCS.

Upsets Galore

While the opening week provided some fantastic conference and non-conference showdowns, it also proved some teams are still spinning their wheels.

Five FCS teams were upset by non-Division I teams over the weekend, with the most notable upset being NAIA Louisiana Christian toppling Northwestern State 42-37. There were also a quartet of Division II schools getting victories against FCS foes as South Dakota Mines topped Drake 38-25, Ohio Dominican beat Morehead State 42-40 in 3OT, Concord upset Davidson 41-35 and Roosevelt beat FCS newcomer Chicago State 44-28.

Time to Topple the FBS

Week 1 presents FCS teams their first shots of the season at upsetting FBS foes, and three games are circled on my calendar with big upset potential.

No. 4 Tarleton State knows what it takes to pull an FBS upset, downing Army just one year ago. Now the Texans will take on a Bowling Green team that went just 4-8 last season. Bowling Green is an early 2.5-point favorite at home in the contest scheduled for noon EDT on Saturday.

No. 10 Rhode Island will also face a team coming off a down year, as they take on Temple at 2 p.m. EDT Saturday. Temple is a 10.5-point favorite, but the Rams (1-0) are coming off a strong Week 0 showing against Merrimack.

Lastly is No. 2 South Dakota State, which opened its season with a 70-7 thumping of Stetson, travelling to Big 10 for Northwestern at 7 p.m. CDT on Saturday (B10 Network). Northwestern was 7-6 a year ago, but coach David Braun is just 2-5 all time against SDSU after stops at Northern Iowa and North Dakota State. Northwestern opens as a 12.5-point favorite at home.

Other FCS teams that will get a shot at upsetting Top 25 FBS teams are: Arkansas-Pine Bluff at No. 25 Missouri (Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT, SEC Network), Idaho at No. 21 Utah (Thursday at 7 p.m. MDT, ESPNU), Tennessee State at No. 3 Georgia (Saturday at 3 p.m. EDT), Furman at No. 20 Tennessee (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT), Abilene Christian at No. 12 Texas Tech (Saturday at 6 p.m. CDT, FS1) and Utah Tech at No. 14 BYU (Saturday at 6 p.m. MDT).

Most likely upset: Tarleton over Bowling Green.

Gardner-Webb Suspends Head Coach Kris McCullough

Following its season-opening loss to No. 13 Austin Peay, Gardner-Webb has suspended coach Kris McCullough after off-the-field allegations emerged on Sunday.

Gardner-Webb will host No. 23 Wofford in its home-opener on Saturday, where special teams coach Pete Bennett is expected to be elevated to the head coaching role.