| 2007 NCAA Division I FCS season | |
|---|---|
2007 FCS National Championship trophy (right).
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| Duration | August 25 – November 17 |
| Playoff | |
| Duration | November 23 – December 14 |
| Championship site | Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN |
| Champion | Appalachian State Mountaineers[1] |
| Payton Award | Jayson Foster[2] |
| Buchanan Award | Kroy Biermann[3] |
| Division I FCS football season | |
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«2006
2008»
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The 2007 NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) football season, part of the college football season, began on August 25, 2007 and concluded on December 14, 2007 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
Contents
Rule changes for 2007[edit]
The clock rules adopted in the 2006 season were reversed, after coaches in all divisions disapproved of them. The attempt to reduce the time of games sought by those rules was successful, reducing the average college football game from 3 hours and 21 minutes in 2005 to 3 hours and 7 seven minutes in 2006. The reduced game time also reduced the average number of plays in a game by 13, fewer offensive yards per game by 66, and average points per game by 5.
Rules changes for the 2007 season include:[4]
- Moving the kick-off yard-line from 35 to 30, which matches the yard-line used in the National Football League, to reduce the number of touchbacks.
- Paring the 25-second play clock to 15 seconds after TV timeouts.
- Shortening teams' three allotted timeouts per half by 30 seconds each, from 1:25 to 55 seconds.
- Allowing penalties against the kicking team on kickoffs to be assessed at the end of the runback, avoiding a re-kick, also matching the NFL rule.
Other notable changes[edit]
- The Atlantic 10 Conference ceased football sponsorship after the 2006 season. The A10's football sponsorship was effectively taken over by the Colonial Athletic Association, with all of the A10 football members (Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Richmond, Towson, William & Mary) moving to the CAA.
Conference changes[edit]
| School | 2006 Conference | 2007 Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay | FCS Independent | Ohio Valley |
| Central Arkansas | D-II Independent | Southland |
| St. Peter's | MAAC | Dropped Program |
| Stony Brook | Northeast | FCS Independent |
| Western Kentucky | Gateway | FCS Independent |
FCS team wins over FBS teams[edit]
- September 1 – #1 Appalachian State 34, #5 Michigan 32 (Game notes)
- September 1 – Nicholls State 16, Rice 14
- September 8 – Northern Iowa 24, Iowa State 13
- September 8 – Southern Illinois 34, Northern Illinois 31
- September 15 – New Hampshire 48, Marshall 35
- September 15 – McNeese State 38, Louisiana-Lafayette 17
- September 22 – North Dakota State 44, Central Michigan 14
- October 20 – North Dakota State 27, Minnesota 21
- October 27 – Delaware 59, Navy 52
Conference standings[edit]
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Conference champions[edit]
Automatic berths[edit]
| Conference | Champion |
|---|---|
| Big Sky Conference | Montana and Eastern Washington |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Massachusetts and Richmond |
| Gateway Football Conference | Northern Iowa |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference | Delaware State |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Eastern Kentucky |
| Patriot League | Fordham |
| Southern Conference | Appalachian State and Wofford |
| Southland Conference | McNeese State |
Invitation[edit]
| Conference | Champion |
|---|---|
| Big South Conference | Liberty |
| Great West Football Conference | South Dakota State |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | Duquesne, Iona, and Marist |
| Northeast Conference | Albany |
| Pioneer Football League | Dayton |
Abstains[edit]
| Conference | Champion |
|---|---|
| Ivy League | Harvard |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | Jackson State |
Postseason[edit]
NCAA FCS Playoff bracket[edit]
| First Round[5] November 23 and 24 |
Quarterfinals December 1 |
Semifinals December 7 and 8 |
National Championship Game December 14 |
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| New Hampshire | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northern Iowa* | 38 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northern Iowa* | 27 | |||||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 39 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware State | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware* | 44 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Southern Illinois* | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Illinois | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Southern Illinois* | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Southern Illinois* | 34 | |||||||||||||||||
| Massachusetts | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fordham | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Massachusetts* | 49 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Appalachian State* | 49 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington | 44 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | McNeese State* | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Appalachian State* | 38 | ||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Appalachian State* | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Appalachian State* | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Richmond | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wofford | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Montana* | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| Wofford* | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Richmond | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Kentucky | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Richmond* | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||
* Host institution
SWAC Championship Game[edit]
| Date | Location | Venue | West Div. Champion | East Div. Champion | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 15 | Birmingham, Alabama | Legion Field | Grambling State | Jackson State | Jackson State, 42–31[6] |
Gridiron Classic[edit]
The Gridiron Classic is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Football League that has been held since December 2006.
| Date | Location | Venue | NEC Champion | PFL Champion | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1 | Dayton, Ohio | Welcome Stadium | Albany | Dayton | Dayton, 42–21[7] |
Final poll standings[edit]
Standings are from The Sports Network final 2007 poll.
| Rank[8] | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Appalachian State Mountaineers | 13–2 |
| 2 | Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens | 11–4 |
| 3 | Southern Illinois Salukis | 13–2 |
| 4 | Northern Iowa Panthers | 12–1 |
| 5 | Richmond Spiders | 11–3 |
| 6 | Wofford Terriers | 9–4 |
| 7 | Massachusetts Minutemen | 8–4 |
| 8 | Eastern Washington Eagles | 9–4 |
| 9 | North Dakota State Bison | 10–1 |
| 10 | Montana Grizzlies | 11–1 |
| 11 | McNeese State Cowboys | 11–1 |
| 12 | James Madison Dukes | 8–4 |
| 13 | Eastern Kentucky Colonels | 9–3 |
| 14 | New Hampshire Wildcats | 7–5 |
| 15 | Delaware State Hornets | 10–2 |
| 16 | Youngstown State Penguins | 7–4 |
| 17 | Georgia Southern Eagles | 7–4 |
| 18 | Eastern Illinois Panthers | 8–4 |
| 19 | South Dakota State Jackrabbits | 7–4 |
| 20 | Fordham Rams | 8–4 |
| 21 | Harvard Crimson | 8–2 |
| 22 | Yale Bulldogs | 9–1 |
| 23 | Elon Phoenix | 7–4 |
| 24 | Cal Poly Mustangs | 7–4 |
| 25 | Grambling State Tigers | 8–4 |
See also[edit]
Historic games[edit]
- 2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game — first win ever by an FCS team over a ranked FBS team
- 2007 Weber State vs. Portland State football game — the two teams combined for 141 points, setting an NCAA all-division record for most points scored in a game
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ Associated Press (2007-12-14). "Months after Michigan upset, Appalachian State completes FCS 3-peat". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ "Jayson Foster wins 2007 Walter Payton Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ "Kroy Biermann captures 2007 Buck Buchanan Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ Steve Wieberg (2007-02-14). "NCAA rules committee proposes reworking football time-saving rules". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
- ^ "2007 Playoff Bracket". NCAA. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ Associated Press (2007-12-15). "Grambling State 31, Jackson State 42". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ Associated Press (2007-12-01). "Dayton 42, Albany, N.Y. 21". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ "Final Sports Network's 2007 FCS College Football Poll". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
External links[edit]
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