College football season has officially begun and the young schedule has already seen plenty of drama. Although week one always has its fair share of “cupcake games” where Power Five teams pad their schedules with unranked opponents, the mid-majors have already provided some early nail biters and near-upsets. In case you missed out on the action this weekend (or only focused on the headliner games), here's my Saturday rundown of the best mid-major matchups.
The ACC Won Early Games… on Paper
Two key games from Saturday came from the Atlantic Coast Conference: NC State vs. East Carolina and Appalachian State vs UNC. And even though the ACC came out on top, I wouldn't consider either win particularly resounding.
Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits
Final: NC State: 21 ECU: 20
Both games came down to the wire and it's safe to say the big guys had at least a little luck on their side. For NC State, luck came in the form of ECU's first team all-conference kicker Owen Daffer missing a game-tying extra point and the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. Even so, ECU gave NC State all they could handle—not only did the Pirates force veteran NC State quarterback, Devin Leary, to throw an interception and an incomplete pass on 3rd and long in the fourth quarter, they also forced costly penalties and completed aggressive drives that could have won them the game—including a run by ECU running back Keaton Mitchell to bring the Pirates into field goal range with the game on the line—had Daffer been on-target.
As a bonus, an upset here would have been a great feel-good story for the Pirates—in 2018, ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers turned down offers to NC State to stay home and build ECU program, so a win would have been extra sweet for him. Either way, this game was a win for anyone watching for a little drama—ECU's run game and solid defense should be on the radar of all mid-major football fans this season.
Final: North Carolina: 63, Appalachian State: 61
I'll be honest—I counted the Mountaineers out early when UNC worked their way up to a 20-point lead late in the third quarter, thanks to key passes from UNC quarterback, Drake Maye and a pair of field goals from kicker Noah Burnette. But Appalachian State clawed their way back and made the fourth quarter worth watching—the Mountaineers scored seven touchdowns in the final quarter, bringing the scoring total a point shy of a record for points scored in an FBS game. Not only that, the Mountaineers attempted a pair of two-point conversions that could up the heart rate of even the most casual sports fan. Even though App State lost, they made the Tar Heels sweat and kicked off the college football season on a high note.
Related: Rate the University of North Carolina
Triple OT Courtesy of Conference USA
The season is fresh, but Houston vs UTSA has my early vote for game of the year. The fact that this game was at the Alamodome is fitting, seeing that it was a classic Texas shootout.
Final: Houston: 37, University of Texas at San Antonio: 35
After a scoreless first quarter, Houston struck first with an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the second. The Roadrunners struck back and were up by two touchdowns in the third quarter. But the game really heated up in the fourth, when Houston fired right back with two scores plus a clutch field goal courtesy of kicker Bubba Baxa to pull ahead 24-21, giving UTSA only 23 seconds (and no time outs) to return fire.
UTSA delivered and used their remaining 23 seconds to complete two pass plays and charge downfield to score a game-tying field goal as time expired. Although Houston started the first overtime of the night with a pair of false starts, it ended in a field goal for the Cougars, and UTSA returned the favor, forcing a second overtime. UTSA's offensive line made enough stops to force Houston quarterback Clayton Tune to run for a touchdown and throw a two-point conversion (which was originally ruled incomplete and out-of-bounds but was reversed and counted). UTSA eventually scored on a 3rd and 8 and quarterback Frank Harris ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game again and force a third overtime. That's where the Roadrunners' steam ran out, as Houston's Tune ran in a two-point conversion and won on an incomplete pass from UTSA.
The Roadrunners might have been the underdogs in this game, but they've been ranked before and in spite of this early loss, they're likely to be knocking on that door again. And anyone who loves a running quarterback should put both Clayton Tune and Frank Harris on their watch list.
4OT in Mississippi
No Power Five presence in this night game, but the slow-starting Liberty vs. Southern Mississippi matchup was still a must-watch nightcap.
Final: Liberty: 29, Southern Mississippi: 27
In spite of a slow start with the fist points for both teams coming in the form of second quarter field goals, Liberty vs. Southern Miss went the distance, stretching into 4 overtimes. The highlight of this game was definitely Southern Missouri's kicker Briggs Bourgeois who legged out a 53-yard career-long field goal in 2 OT to tie the game and force a third overtime. But Liberty got the last word, nailing a two-point conversion in 4 OT, winning the longest game in program history for the Flames with a final score of 29-27.
It's just Week 1 but the mid-majors have given fans of underdogs and upsets a lot to look forward to this college football season. So far, 2022 looks like it'll be a big year for the little guys.
What games are you looking forward to watching this year? Did we miss your favorite moments from Week 1? Let me know! Shoot me an email at [email protected]
Katie (M.K.) Lever is a former Division 1 athlete and current doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin where she studies NCAA discourse and policy. She is also a freelance sportswriter and creative writer on the side. She is the author of a new book Surviving the Second Tier available on AMAZON. Follow Katie on Twitter and Instagram: @leverfever.
* Originally published on September 6, 2022, by Katie Lever, Ph. D
