Big 12 coaches not shocked by upset of No. 5 Michigan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Millions of college football fans are shocked at Appalachian State's monumental upset of Michigan, but Mack Brown is not one of them. Neither are Dennis Franchione nor Gene Chizik, nor any other Big 12 head coach.

For years, they have been talking about the parity creeping into their sport. They've sensed the danger in scheduling so-called lower division programs to fatten the won-loss record and give players valuable tuneup experience for what fans consider the real challenges ahead.

"On any given Saturday, if one team plays its best and the other turns it over, anything can happen," said Brown, whose Texas Longhorns barely escaped a huge upset of their own on opening weekend.

"It's probably good for the sport. It just makes coaches a lot older."

Nevertheless, the college football world is still abuzz over what happened Saturday. There was mighty Michigan, ranked No. 5 and playing in front of about 100,000 fans, ready to blow past poor little Appalachian State and make another charge at a national championship.

Only Appalachian State had other ideas. The final score, Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32, marked the first time a top tier team in the Football Championship Subdivision, former called Division I-AA, had beaten a ranked team in what used to be known as Division I-A, now called the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"I think it's an eye-opener for everybody to realize there's a lot of other leagues that have great football out there," said Iowa State's Chizik.

Said Texas A&M's Franchione: "It's hard for people to grasp parity. It's hard for fans to understand that. As coaches, we do. At certain places, all losses are devastating and all wins are reliefs."

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, whose Tigers play host to Illinois State on Sept. 22, agreed.

"If they're playing their game, they can beat anybody," he said.

"That's the choice you make in your scheduling," Pinkel said. "We made that decision. But there's no question we'd better play our 'A' game or we'll get beat."

Iowa State, which lost its opener to Kent State, will face a perennial lower-division power this week in Northern Iowa.

"It's great for us because it's an instate rivalry that will excite people around the state," said Chizik. "But when it comes to what Iowa State gains out of it, it's tough. Northern Iowa is good enough to beat you on any night. If you win, you're supposed to anyway. I'm not sure it's a great situation for anybody in any of the [major] conferences."