2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season
| 2006 NCAA Division I FCS season | |
|---|---|
| Regular season | |
| Duration | August 26 – November 18 |
| Payton Award | Ricky Santos |
| Playoff | |
| Duration | November 25 – December 15 |
| Championship date | December 15, 2008 |
| Championship site | Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN |
| Champion | Appalachian State Mountaineers |
| NCAA Division I FCS football seasons | |
«2005 2007» | |
The 2006 NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) football season, part of the college football season, began on August 26, 2006.
Rules changes for 2006
There are several rules that have changed for the 2006 season.[1] Following are some highlights:
- Players may only wear clear eyeshields. Previously, both tinted and orange were also allowed.
- The kicking tee has been lowered from two inches tall to only one inch.
- Halftime lasts twenty minutes. Previously, it was only fifteen minutes.
- On a kickoff, the game clock starts when the ball is kicked rather than when the receiving team touches it.
- This rule change has resulted in controversy, highlighted by the matchup between Wisconsin and Penn State on November 4, 2006, in which Wisconsin deliberately went off-sides on two consecutive kickoffs to run extra time off the clock at the close of the first half. [2]
- On a change of possession, the clock starts when the referee marks the ball ready for play, instead of on the snap.
- The referee may no longer stop the game due to excessive crowd noise.
- When a live-ball penalty such as an illegal formation occurs on a kick, the receiving team may choose either to add the penalty yardage to the end of the return or require the kick to be attempted again with the spot moved back. Previously, only the latter option was available.
- If a team scores at the end of the game, they will not kick the extra point unless it would affect the outcome of the game.
- Instant replay is now officially sanctioned and standardized. All plays are reviewed by the replay officials as the play occurs. They may call down to the on-field officials to stop play if they need extra time to make a review. Each coach may also make one challenge per game. In the case of a coach's challenge, the coach must have at least one time-out remaining. If the challenge is upheld the coach gets the time-out back but the challenge is spent. If the challenge is rejected, both the challenge and the time-out are spent.
FCS team wins over FBS teams
- September 2 – Montana State 19, Colorado 10
- September 2 – Richmond 13, Colorado 0
- September 9 – New Hampshire 34, Northwestern 17
- September 16 – Southern Illinois 35, Indiana 28
- September 23 – North Dakota State 29, Ball State 24
Conference Champions
Automatic berths
- Atlantic 10 Conference – Massachusetts
- Big Sky Conference – Montana
- Gateway Football Conference – Youngstown State
- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Hampton
- Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin
- Patriot League – Colgate, Lafayette, and Lehigh
- Southern Conference – Appalachian State
- Southland Conference – McNeese State
Invitation
- Big South Conference – Coastal Carolina
- Great West Football Conference – North Dakota State
- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne and Marist
- Northeast Conference – Monmouth
- Pioneer Football League – San Diego
Abstains
- Ivy League – Princeton and Yale
- Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alabama A&M
Postseason
NCAA FCS Playoff bracket
| First Round November 25 | Quarterfinals December 2 | Semifinals December 8 and December 9 | National Championship Game | ||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Appalachian State* | 45 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Appalachian State* | 38 | |||||||||||||||||
| Montana State | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Furman | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Montana State* | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Appalachian State* | 49 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Youngstown State | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Youngstown State* | 35 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Youngstown State* | 28 | |||||||||||||||||
| Illinois State | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois State | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Illinois* | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Appalachian State | 28 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Massachusetts | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
| McNeese State | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Montana* | 31 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Montana* | 20 | |||||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee-Martin | 30 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois* | 36 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Montana* | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Massachusetts | 19 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lafayette | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Massachusetts* | 35 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Massachusetts* | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| New Hampshire | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| New Hampshire | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hampton* | 38 | ||||||||||||||||||
* Host institution
SWAC Championship Game
| Date | Location | Venue | West Div. Champion | East Div. Champion | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham, Alabama | Legion Field | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | Alabama A&M | Alabama A&M, 22–13 |
Gridiron Classic
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 2 | West Long Branch, New Jersey | Kessler Field | Monmouth | San Diego | San Diego, 27–7 |
See also
Historic games
Notes and references
- ^ "2006 Rules Changes" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
- ^ "Wisconsin finds loophole in speed-up rule". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-11-10.