Sept. 6, 2003 should be officially renamed “Upset Saturday” in 1-AA football because several teams caught the surprise flu. In fact, it proved that unlike past years, 30-35 teams could hold the 1-AA trophy up in Chattanooga this season.

Two Top-10 teams went down last Saturday in their home openers including a game being called the biggest upset in 1-AA history.

After surviving a close win on the road against nationally ranked Maine, the Montana Grizzlies (otherwise known as the New York Yankees of I-AA football) figured they would open the newly renovated Washington-Grizzly Stadium in front of a record 23,109 fans by blowing out Division II North Dakota State. After having a sub-par year in 2002 (in Montana standards) and having head coach Joe Glenn bolt to Wyoming, 2003 was supposed to be the rebirth of Grizzly dominance.

Hey, new coach Bobby Hauck wasn’t going to have the Montana faithful watch him lose in his home debut. Therefore, they found the Bison of North Dakota State, a team that finished last season in Division II with a 2-8 record. This scenario should sound familiar seeing as how Eastern accomplished it two weeks ago. History would tell you it didn’t matter who the then third ranked Grizzlies played because they’d only lost 14 times in 118 contests at home. One problem – North Dakota State didn’t receive the memo.

After going into the locker room down 24-2, the Bison stunned Montana by shutting them out in the second half and scored 23 unanswered points to pull off the upset win 25-24.

Montana kicker missed a field goal wide left with time expiring in attempt to avoid the embarrassment, and at that moment, you could’ve dropped a pin in the entire state of Montana and heard it fall because the face of college football, as we know it, changed. Afterwards, Hauck was physically ill when answering questions. Just seven days before, Montana proved they could beat a 1-AA powerhouse on the road and then they can’t even take care of business with a Div. II school?

“To let that one slip, it just makes you nauseous,” Hauck said.

Hauck ought to feel sick because I hear the people in Missoula, Mont. calling for his job.

The opposite end of the spectrum was in Richmond, Ky., where it only took about 10 seconds for Eastern Kentucky fans to have Roy Kidd Stadium rocking and rolling during the home debut of Colonels head coach Danny Hope.

The underdog and unranked Eastern Kentucky hosted the then eighth-ranked Appalachian State squad to what they like to call down south a woodshed beating. The Mountaineers were the definition of the deer-in-headlights syndrome as they were blown out 35-7.

Danny Hope’s first win couldn’t have been bigger as it was Eastern Kentucky’s 500th school win.

“We wanted to establish ourselves early by winning big football games,” Hope said. “This should help us get some national recognition and back in the playoff picture later on.”

Hope couldn’t be more correct and Appalachian State’s effortless forced a slide from eighth to out of the Top 25 poll. I guess work input does equal work output.

The biggest surprise may the Southeast Missouri State because after being completely dominated by Southern Illinois at home, the Indians are 0-2.

It took SEMO exactly 120 minutes to find the end zone when the Indians got a garbage touchdown with no time on the clock to avoid a shutout at Cape Girardeau.

In the post-game press conference, head coach Tim Billings described his frustration over the shocking start.

“We are just not a good team,” Billings said. “We are struggling with an identity on offense.” Billings pulled preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference quarterback selection Jack Tomco after he failed to move the SEMO offense for a second consecutive week and was booed by his home fans.

I can hear the chants at SEMO’s Hauck Stadium now, “OVER-RATED”.

Ironically, this bye week may be the best thing to happen to Eastern. You can’t lose if you don’t have suit up to play. Unfortunately these last three teams apparently failed to show up as well.