Texas State upset special was a special upset

The late-start upstart got lost in college football’s Saturday night fever and didn’t pack the repercussion wallop of Stanford over USC or Appalachian State over Michigan.

Texas State’s 30-13 win at Houston, however, deserves its place in you-have-got-to-be-kidding-us history.

According to Pregame.com out of Las Vegas, Texas State became the only underdog of 34 points or more to win a game by double digits. Houston, which finished 13-1 last year capped by a bowl victory over Penn State, was favored by 34.5 points in its home opener.

Texas State, led by former Texas Christian, New Mexico, Texas A&M; and Alabama Coach Dennis Franchione, was playing its first official game at the Football Bowl Championship (formerly Division I) level.

“It was a great start tonight but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Franchione said afterward.

Houston led the nation in scoring last year but, granted, has moved on without graduated quarterback Case Keenumand Coach Kevin Sumlin, who left for Texas A&M.;

Sumlin was replaced by assistant coach Tony Levine.

The home crowd of 32,207 at Robertson Stadium could not have been prepared for this kind of opening shocker. Texas State held Houston’s offense to 326 yards. Last year, the Cougars had 600 or more yards in eight of their 14 games.

“I’m disappointed for our fans, our program, our seniors,” Levine said. “Everybody deserved better than what we showed tonight.”

Texas State became only the seventh underdog of 34 points or more to win a college football game since 1980. A $100 bet on Texas State returned $12,000.

According to Pregame.com, Stanford’s win as a 38.5-point underdog at USC in 2007 remains the biggest point-spread upset in college football history.

Texas State is renting space in the Western Athletic Conference this year before moving to the Sun Belt in 2013.

Of course, no upset like this goes unpunished.

Mike Nesbitt, Houston’s offensive coordinator, resigned Monday.

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