WVU Players Frequently Reminded Of James Madison's Past Success - WVU Football, WVU Basketball, News - Mountaineer Sports

There have been several monumental upsets in college football. Those historic upsets include FCS teams knocking off traditional FBS powers. The two biggest examples include Appalachian State beating Michigan in 2007 and James Madison knocking off Virginia Tech in 2010.

WVU is well aware of James Madison's recent success against Virginia Tech. Head Coach Dana Holgorsen is constantly mentioning it to his players.

"Coach Holgorsen lets you know every day and in every team meeting that we can lose to this team," Defensive Back Pat Miller said. "They did beat Virginia Tech. A lot of teams come in and beat FBS teams and we have to take them just like we take every other team."

"We're actively talking about it because we know that on any given Saturday any college team can fall regardless of what you are ranked or what division you are from," Inside Receiver Jordan Thomspon stated.

WVU shows its players a highlight tape before every game. It features some motivational messages and plays that help to get the players ready to take the field.

"I'm sure we will have something in the highlight tape," Holgorsen said of James Madison's upset over Virginia Tech. "We did last year when we played Norfolk State. You are going to make reference to that, but it is happening more and more. Everyone remembers when Appalachian State beat Michigan. It is happening almost every week now."

More FCS teams are beating FBS teams than they did in the past. However, the sample size is also much larger than it use to be.

There were just 65 games between FCS and FBS teams in 2002. That number has nearly doubled to 106 games between the two divisions in 2012. The best year for FCS upsets was in 2007 when 10 FCS teams knocked off FBS teams. That accounted for 12 percent of the games played that season.

There were 13 FCS wins over FBS schools in the past two seasons. Several FCS teams have already pulled off upsets this season.

James Madison is not your typical FCS team. The Dukes will enter this game ranked No. 4 in the FCS. Their talent has West Virginia's attention just as much as their past victory over Virginia Tech.

"They are a good team," Linebacker Isaiah Bruce said. "They have athletes and playmakers. They are just as capable of winning as any other team. You can't underestimate your opponents, because they can beat anybody."

"James Madison is definitely going to come out with great intensity and they are a great football team," Thompson said. "We still have to play our game and execute. I feel like James Madison is going to come out ready to play, we just have to make sure we are too."

WVU checks into this game as the No. 8 team in the Coaches' Poll. There will be a lot of attention on the Mountaineers as scores scroll across the bottom of every game in the country on Saturday. They want to avoid being one of the biggest stories of the day.

"The biggest emphasis is to not be one of them schools that didn't prepare and didn't take this team seriously," Running Back Andrew Buie said. "We are going out there and working hard just like we would for anyone else. We are not taking them lightly and we are going to go out there and try to play our game."

"We are going to be motivated this weekend," Holgorsen stated. "We don't want them talking about us in that category on Saturday."

No, WVU does not want to become a school that replaces Virginia Tech when the last huge FCS upset occurred. Holgorsen will continue to remind his team of that throughout the week and throughout the game against James Madison Saturday afternoon.