Morgan State's second-year coach, Damon Wilson, was already highly decorated before taking over the program last season. Still, the two-time Black college national champion and three-time CIAA Coach of the Year at Bowie State got his first landmark victory with the Bears in Week 1: A 17-10 upset over Richmond, which ranked No. 16 in our preseason FCS Power Rankings.
The Bears entered the game as heavy underdogs but relied on stellar defensive and special teams efforts to pull off the shocker. Now No. 25 in this week's rankings, Morgan State takes on the Akron Zips from the FBS in Week 2.
Why was this such a significant upset? Well, the FCS as a whole went 0-42 in Week 1 against FBS opponents. Usually, there is at least one upset by an FCS team in Week 1. Sure, a couple of teams came close to knocking off their FBS counterparts, but close only counts for horseshoes and grenades.
Even at the FCS level, no other top-25 team besides Richmond took a loss to another FCS team. Coach Wilson and his Bears program stand alone as the story coming out of Week 1 in the FCS. We will see if this victory will be the catalyst for a Celebration Bowl run for the Bears this season.
FCS Power Rankings
| Team | Rank | Record | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. South Dakota State | 1-0 | The Jackrabbits made quick work of Division II opponent Western Oregon. It was great to see quarterback Mark Gronowski pick up where he left off in last season's national title game -- efficient and effective. |
 | 2. Montana State | 1-0 | Freshman running back Scottre Humphrey made a heck of a debut for the Bobcats, going for 114 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns in their 63-20 beatdown of Utah Tech. |
 | 3. William & Mary | 1-0 | The Tribe settled into their game against Campbell by the second quarter, slowly wearing down the Camels with their run game and excellent situational defense. |
 | 4. North Dakota State | 1-0 | The Bison were in control from start to finish against Eastern Washington. The return of explosive plays to the NDSU offense excites me the most. If those continue, this could be a dangerous team. |
 | 5. Sacramento State | 1-0 | New coach Andy Thompson got his first victory in a hostile environment against Nicholls. Defensively, the Hornets were impressive, holding the Colonels talented back, Collin Guggenheim, to under 100 yards rushing. |
 | 6. Incarnate Word | 0-1 | UIW was tied with UTEP at halftime before letting the game slip away in the end. The biggest takeaway here was the play of Texas A&M quarterback transfer Zach Calzada, who looked solid in his debut. |
 | 7. Holy Cross | 1-0 | It was Jordan Fuller Day last week as the talented back rushed for 120 yards and four touchdowns. He even picked up a receiving touchdown as well. And the Crusaders needed all of that production to outgun a pesky Merrimack squad 42-20. |
 | 8. Weber State | 1-0 | Weber State took care of business vs. Central Washington last Thursday, giving the Wildcats an extended break before heading into a huge road game at Northern Iowa. |
 | 9. Montana | 1-0 | The Grizzlies' 35-20 victory over Butler was a lot tougher than it should've been. The Griz will need to quickly clean things up before facing Utah Tech next weekend. |
 | 10 New Hampshire | 1-0 | Quarterback Max Brosmer tossed five touchdowns in the Wildcats' 51-17 win over Stonehill. They get a chance this week at a potential FBS upset as they travel to take on Central Michigan. |
 | 11. Southeast Missouri State | 0-1 | I didn't expect SEMO to pull off the upset vs. Kansas State, but I was shocked that the great Geno Hess was held to -4 yards on 10 carries. The offensive lline will need to perform much better moving forward. |
 | 12. Samford | 1-0 | This Samford offense will be fun to watch all season long, especially if we get this version of quarterback Michael Hiers. His Payton Award candidacy is off to a great start after tossing five touchdowns vs. Shorter. |
 | 13. Idaho | 1-0 | The Vandals are legit! And after watching them run through Lamar last weekend, you might have to put the Nevada Wolf Pack on upset alert in Reno next week. |
 | 14. Furman | 1-0 | Defense saved the day for the Paladins, whose offense wasn't its best vs. Tennessee Tech in Week 1. Forcing six turnovers helped the offense get multiple chances to put the Golden Eagles away. |
 | 15. UC Davis | 1-0 | Heading into the season, I questioned whether the Aggies could replace talented running back Ulonzo Gilliam. All they did was rush for 279 yards on 42 carries and five touchdowns as a team in a 42-10 win over Texas A&M Commerce. Tailback Lan Larson led the way with 109 yards on 16 totes with three scores. |
 | 16. Southeastern Louisiana | 0-1 | The Lions held their own defensively in the first half vs. Mississippi State, but they were fighting an uphill battle offensively throughout the game. It doesn't get any easier for them as they hit the road again this week vs. South Alabama. |
 | 17. North Carolina Central | 1-0 | From an NFL Draft perspective, keep an eye on running back Latrell Collier, who had a stellar all-purpose day in a dismantling of Winston-Salem State. |
 | 18. Eastern Kentucky | 0-1 | It was a tough day at the office for quarterback Parker McKinney and the Colonels offense. They had no answers against a tough Cincinnati Bearcats defense. |
 | 19. Central Arkansas | 0-1 | For a while, it looked as if the Bears would pull off the upset vs. Oklahoma State. The biggest takeaway from the game is that quarterback Will McElvain is such a fantastic football player. Another takeaway is that UCA will be a problem moving forward. |
 | 20. Florida A&M | 1-0 | The Rattlers got their revenge against Jackson State after consecutive losses in the Orange Blossom Classic. Opening the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown by Marcus Riley set the tone for the rest of the game. |
 | 21. Delaware | 1-0 | The Blue Hens defense was consistent throughout a 37-13 victory over Stony Brook last Thursday. If they continue to play defense like they did last weekend, look for them to quickly rise in these rankings. |
 | 22. Mercer | 1-1 | After their Week 0 win over North Alabama, the Bears took an FBS loss last weekend against Ole Miss. Expect things to get back on the right track this weekend vs. Morehead State. |
 | 23. Youngstown State | 1-0 | Running back Tyshon King did a great job against Valparaiso, eclipsing 100 yards. Replacing the excellent Jaleel McLaughlin was one of the bigger questions coming into the season, but it looks like the Penguins will be just fine in that capacity. |
 | 24. Gardner-Webb | 0-1 | Although there aren't any moral victories in football, you have to come away impressed with how the Runnin' Bulldogs played against Appalachian State. Coach Tre Lamb does a fantastic job of getting his guys ready to play. |
 | 25. Morgan State | 1-0 | The only top-25 upset of the week came from Morgan State. The Bears outclassed Richmond 17-10 with a strong defensive effort that kept the Spiders' offense sputtering throughout the contest. |
