College football is fun. There are hundreds of teams across multiple levels of competition. Most of these teams will never meet on the gridiron, and mostly for good reason - higher levels of football tend to dominate lower ones.
But sometimes, a team from a lower level works its way up, and after sustained success against their peers, move up a tier. Most of the time, this is a rough transition, as the new level of competition has had years of advantages in recruiting, facilities, and coaching.
But sometimes, just sometimes, a team moves up a level and keeps on chugging.