Friday Night Lights, as Appalachian State's Thursday night bid for an upset falls short in OT

Cedar Rapids, IA -- The 2016 College Football season kicked off with the Sydney Cup in Australia, last Saturday, then a host of games on Thursday night, including a thriller in OT in Knoxville, as Tennessee.

In Australia, the Cal Bears defeated Hawaii' 51-31 in Week 0, played on Saturday. Week 1 officially kicked off on Thursday night and will run through Labor Day, which is the new norm in College Football.

Junior QB #11 Taylor Lamb lead the Mountaineers offense,
who lead for 40 minutes over the #7 rank Volunteers

Appalachian State University football came up one bounce of the football from upsetting 100,000-plus fans again. The game was played nine years to the day, from the win in 2007, in Ann Arbor. This time in Knoxville, against the same offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, who coached at Michigan in 2007.

Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd recovered a Josh Dobbs' fumble in the end zone for the only score in overtime as the Volunteers held off a determined Appalachian State team on Thursday night in Neyland Stadium, 20-13.

Appalachian State (0-1) led for 40 minutes, never trailed in regulation, and held #7 Tennessee to 319 yards of offense, less than 300 in regulation. The Mountaineers outhit and outplayed Tennessee (1-0) for the first three quarters, leading 13-3 at half and holding the Vols out of the end zone until 10:30 left in the game. Tennessee scored 17 unanswered point to pull out the win on Thursday night.

Indiana opens 2016 with a road win, with a 34-13 win over
FIU, out of the Conference USA. IU's home opener is
next Saturday, when Ball State comes to Bloomington.

On Thursday night, the Big Ten Conference opened with 2 victories, as Minnesota defeated Oregon State 30-23 at home, while Indiana won on the road against FIU 34-13 in Miami. The Big Ten plays game three tonight, as defending Big Ten champion Michigan State kicks off the 2016 College Football season.

We fell short in our pick, for an upset in Knoxville on Thursday night. Here is a look at Friday night's action in College Football ...

Michigan State kicks off 2016 season
tonight against Furman.

• 
  
• Army at #46 Temple 6:00 pm on CBSSN - The Owls are looking to build on a six game winning streak, as Army comes to town tonight ...
• Ball State at Georgia State 6:00 pm on (CSNC+ / NESN+) / espn3 / ASN (affiliates) - in the first meeting last year, the Cardinals fell 31-19 at home during the mid-season ...
• Furman at #12 Michigan State 6:00 pm on BTN - the Spartans have won eight straight in the Mark Dantonio era and 17 straight overall in home openers, so very tall order for the underdog Paladins ...
• Colorado vs. Colorado State (Denver) 7:00 pm on ESPN - the Buffaloes took care of business 27-24 over the Rams last year, but in 2014, when it was a season opener, CSU took care of business 31-17 ...
• Northwestern State at #18 Baylor 6:30 pm on FSN Affiliates - a lot has taken place this off season in Waco and prior to the firing of Art Briles ... the Demons are the opening day opponent for the 2016 season under interim coach Jim Grobe at Baylor!
• Kansas State at #10 Stanford 8:00 pm on FS1 - Big 12 vs. Pac 12, as the Wildcats-Cardinal meet for the first time in series history ... the Cardinal are only 2-4 in season openers vs. Power 5 opponents!
• #47 Toledo at Arkansas State 8:00 pm on ESPNU - the Red Wolves are 0-4 vs. the Rockets, including last year's 37-7 game on the road, but Blake Anderson enters 3rd season for A-State, while kicks off Jason Candle era, after Matt Campbell bolted for Iowa State ...
• Albany at Buffalo 6:00 pm on espn3 - the Bulls are 5-7 in the series, but took care of business 51-14 last year, after the series was renewed, after being idle, since 1988 ...
• Cal Poly at Nevada 8:30 pm on Nevada Video / MWC Video - the Wolf Pack have won four straight, including a 63-0 blowout back in 1998 last meeting ...
• Colgate at Syracuse 6:00 pm on WatchESPN - the Orange have won 15 straight against the Raiders, ranked #16 in FCS ...
• MVSU at Eastern Michigan 5:00 pm on espn3 - the Eagles are 6-1 in home openers against FCS programs, like the Delta Devils. MVSU is 0-8 in previous meetings against FBS programs.

Our preseason rankings were compiled from Stassen.com. Yes, it looks like a good night for the home team.

For me tonight, it is time for a little Iowa high school football, as Cedar Rapids Washington hosts Cedar Rapids Kennedy at Kingston Stadium, in Week 2 of Class 4A, in this inter-district contest.