I-AA Enjoys That Validated Feeling

Mike Farrell, a recruiting expert for Rivals.com, was taken aback this offseason when several recruits would offer a typical list of schools they were choosing from -- say, Wake Forest, North Carolina and North Carolina State -- and tack on Appalachian State at the end.

Then again, "they always mention those schools last," Farrell said. "It's always a backup in their mind."

Those players uniformly crossed Appalachian State off their list and, if they had the option, chose a I-A team. (It's worth noting Flacco landed at Delaware only after transferring from Pittsburgh.) Farrell said "98 out of 100" kids who receive offers from a division I-A school have historically accepted it over a I-AA offer, and he has observed no shift in the wake of last season.

"I don't see it happening," Farrell said. "If it was ever going to happen, this would be the year. They finished their season the way they were expected to. They did everything correctly. And still, you haven't seen any results. So I don't think it's ever going to happen. As long as there are 30 bowl games, as long as a 6-6 team can get to a bowl, as long as kids think the only way to the NFL is through D-I football, I don't see any of those things changing."

'Step Up and Play People'

What may be changing is how I-A teams approach scheduling I-AA opponents. Teams from division I-A, without question, still want to play I-AA games. They are always at home, always against an opponent with 22 fewer scholarship players and victories still count toward bowl eligibility. But, first-year Richmond coach Mike London said, "I think what happened because of Appalachian State, the I-A schools said, 'Let's decide what I-AA school we want to play.' "

Teams from the Colonial Athletic Association, which boasts four teams in the I-AA preseason top 10, have beaten 10 I-A teams since 2002. New Hampshire has beaten Rutgers, Northwestern and Marshall in the past four years.

"It's getting less selective for us," McDonnell said. "They're going to take a real hard look at it."

Said Keeler: "Just look how Rutgers schedules now. Rutgers isn't playing any CAA games. They want that I-AA game, but they're not going to play anyone in our conference."

Rutgers this year plays Morgan State, a MEAC school that went 5-6 last season.

Moore prefers to play one I-A opponent each season, to give his team a measuring stick and to give his players a chance to prove, on the field, they should have been recruited by a major program. Appalachian State had future games locked in against Virginia Tech, Florida and Georgia before it beat Michigan, but it is still looking for a 2009 opponent.

Athletic Director Charlie Cobb said at least 25 teams have turned him down. Some schools have sent e-mails proclaiming they need a game. Cobb responded immediately, only to receive a reply saying they had found an opponent. Other athletic directors have called Cobb, telling him a division I-A school just called looking for a game. When Cobb calls the I-A athletic director, he's told the schedule is full.

"It's comical, some of the responses I've got," Cobb said. "The thing I've never understood truly, athletics is about competition. It's about who's good and who's not. At some point, step up and play people. Scheduling is not as complicated as people make it out to be."