There were 16 games that saw a team from the Football Championship Subdivision defeat a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2013. We nearly saw the first one of 2014 Wednesday night, but Georgia State came through with a late field goal to slip past Abilene Christian in the Georgia Dome Wednesday night. Georgia State kicker Wil Lutz snuck a 26-yard kick through the uprights for a 38-37 victory Wednesday night in the first game on the FBS calendar this season.
The game was anything but pretty, but after 683 days since the last win, Georgia State will take it any way it can. Georgia State racked up 566 yards of offense, mostly off the arm of quarterback Nick Arbuckle. Arbuckle threw three touchdowns and led the Panthers on the game-winning drive while passing for 433 yards and four touchdowns. To get the win, Georgia State had to score more points than they did in any game in 2013.
This is Georgia State’s first season eligible for postseason play since moving up from the FCS. With one win now in the books, Georgia State now needs five more wins to become bowl eligible. Next up, New Mexico State next week in the Georgia Dome.
Was this up to par with the BCS Championship Game or last season’s Iron Bowl? Of course not, but the first game of the season gave us a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire and saw a program celebrate a long-awaited victory.
Welcome back college football. We missed you. We can wait for the next FCS upset.@PTNetherton @KevinOnCFB This past season there were 16 #FCS over FBS wins. Here’s the past 5 years. pic.twitter.com/O5i78PFir5
— FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) August 28, 2014Follow @KevinOnCFB