Appalachian State Upsets Michigan

[Hammer]

Mel, this one's for you, Intercot's own Appalachian State alum

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Dexter Jackson sprinted through the secondary early in the first quarter, taunting nearly 110,000 Michigan fans by putting a finger over his lips en route to the end zone.

Nearly 3 hours later he got the desired result and the Big House was silent: Appalachian State 34, No. 5 Michigan 32.

Worlds Apart ... Until Saturday
They were two programs from different worlds until Saturday, when Appalachian State not only belonged in the Big House but did the unthinkable by upsetting No. 5 Michigan to start the season. A comparison of the programs' histories:
App. State Michigan
First year 1928 1879
Subdivision Champ. Bowl
Total wins 504 860
Bowl appearances 9 38
National titles 2 11
Home stadium opened 1962 1927
Stadium capacity 16,650 107,501
NFL players 29 286
College Football Hall of Famers 0 28
Source: ESPN Research

Julian Rauch kicked a 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left to put the Mountaineers ahead of the Wolverines and Corey Lynch blocked a field goal in the final seconds to seal a jaw-dropping upset that may have no equal.

"I told them to be quiet -- we're going to be out here all day," Jackson said, explaining the gesture he used after scoring 68-yard touchdown. "We're playmakers. They were talking trash on us, now we've gotten them back.

"It was David versus Goliath."

Mike Hart, Chad Henne and Jake Long, Michigan's trio of offensive stars who put off the NFL and returned for their senior season to chase a national championship, never saw this coming.

Coach Lloyd Carr didn't, either, after tweaking his contract to possibly pave the way for this to be his last season on the sideline. Carr looked ashen as the upset unfolded, and didn't sound much better when he finally arrived at his postgame news conference.

"I've never been part of a loss that wasn't miserable," he said.

It didn't take long to notice the second-tier power belonged on the same field because it made up for a slight size disadvantage with superior speed and, perhaps, more passion.

The two-time defending champions from former Division I-AA were ahead of the nation's winningest program 28-14 late in the second quarter, before their storybook afternoon seemed to unravel late in the fourth quarter.

Hart's 54-yard run with 4:36 left put the Wolverines ahead for the first time since early in the second quarter.

One snap after the go-ahead touchdown, Michigan's Brandent Englemon intercepted an errant pass, but the Wolverines couldn't capitalize and had their first of two field goals blocked.

Then Appalachian State drove 69 yards without a timeout in 1:11 to set up the go-ahead field goal.

"I've been dreaming about that kick every day," Rauch said.

Still, it wasn't over.

Henne threw a 46-yard pass to Mario Manningham, giving Michigan the ball at Appalachian State's 20 with 6 seconds left and putting the Wolverines in position to win it with a field goal.

Lynch blocked the kick and almost returned 52 yards to the 18 as the final seconds ticked off. His teammates rushed across the field to pile on as the coaching staff and cheerleaders jumped with joy.

"We're still sort of shocked," coach Jerry Moore said after being carried off the field by his players.

Appalachian State has won 15 straight games, the longest streak in the nation. The Mountaineers are favored to win the Football Championship Subdivision, but they weren't expected to put up much of a fight against a team picked to win the Big Ten and contend for the national title.

That's the beauty of college football.

No Division I-AA team had beaten a team ranked in The Associated Press poll from 1989-2006, and it's unlikely that it happened after Division-I subdivisions were created in 1978.

"It is one of the biggest losses ever, but give all the credit to Appalachian State," Hart said.

The Mountaineers are not eligible to receive votes in the AP Top 25 poll because they're not in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Appalachian State's win does seem to trump the game second-tier programs used to regard as their crowning achievement -- The Citadel's season-opening win in 1992 over Arkansas that led to the firing of Razorbacks coach Jack Crowe following the game.

Carr will not get fired after this upset, but he might be wishing he had retired after last season when the Wolverines won 11 games before closing with losses to Ohio State and USC.

When it was over, he didn't second-guess decisions to go for 2-point conversions twice in the final 15-plus minutes, but did lament many mistakes, penalties and missed opportunities.

"We were not a well-prepared football team," Carr said. "That is my job, and I take full responsibility."

The Mountaineers improved to 7-36-1 against top-tier teams since 1978, the previous six victories all over Wake Forest.

Armanti Edwards threw for 227 yards, three scores and two interceptions, and kept Michigan guessing with his mobility. He also ran for 62 yards. Jackson caught three passes for 92 yards, and scored twice, including his 68-yard reception that tied the game early and provided a glimpse of what was to come.

Hart, who went almost two quarters without a carry because of a thigh injury, ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Henne was 19-of-37 for 233 yards in a lackluster game that included a TD and an interception in Mountaineer territory.

Ordinarily those numbers should've been good enough for a win over a small school. Not on this day and not against Appalachian State.

"Someone said it might be one of the big victories in college football," Moore said. "It may be the biggest."

[Mufasa]

First, all credit to Appalachian State today- they clearly were the better team on the field and that's why I don't want to just say it was an upset. Appalachian State simply outplayed Michigan and I'm actually not surprised at the outcome (painful for me to say as an UM alum but I've come to expect this from the Wolverines).

Athletic Directors for big schools have to be scared about scheduling a I-AA (now FCS) team as an opponent because it's really a lose/lose situation for them. If you win the game, you don't earn any respect because you were expected to win and are criticized for scheduling a "cupcake" opponent but lose the game and that raises serious eyebrows and difficult for a program to recover from.

The problem is in the coaching- Lloyd Carr is the issue for the Wolverines if you look back at the last 6 seasons (only 1 bowl win and 1 win against Ohio State). Michigan hasn't proven they can play with a legitimate BCS ranked team let alone a I-AA opponent.

The greatly hyped Michigan defense has given up an average I think of 36 points per game over the last few games (last year and the game against App State). Michigan has been burned in the past by run-pass QB threats but I was really surprised at the penalties and lack of execution (how do you allow 2 blocked kick attempts?)

No matter what they do over the next few weeks it won't make a difference- a win against Oregon, critics will just say it's a weaker Oregon team this year (the Ducks usually don't get much respect anyway) and win over Notre Dame and that doesn't hold a lot of weight because it's just another year that Notre Dame is simply way too overrated.

[The Flying Dutchman]

Say goodbye to any national title hopes for Michigan...

[CleveSJM]

Second last nail in Carr's coffin. Losing to Ohio State in the last game of the year this year will be the last. Bye bye Lloyd.

[Mandykay]

Way to go Appalachian State They played a GREAT game! Doesn't hurt that I'm a Michigan STATE fan

[Melanie]

Thanks, Christine!

Oh yeah - Go App State!

Unbelievable, but from what I've seen, and just like Mufasa said, App played their hearts out today.

Now if I hear another broadcaster mispronounce 'Appalachian' again, I'm going to scream!

[alphamommy]

It's days like this when I wish I wasn't a life-long Michigan fan!

I hate it when the season is over before it even starts!!!

Oh, well, there's always the Lions. HA! I knew I couldn't say that with a straight face!

[kaerbear178]

I'm crying ....tears of sadness......really....oh, who am I kidding! What a way to start off the Big Ten football season!

[Donald A]

These are all still college football players. College football is now just big $$$$$. I think it is sorta funny you pay $400,000 to bring a team in to essentially play a scrimmage and you lose all hopes of a national title by the time the game is over. My alma mater, The University of Akron, used to and still does get paid to go to all these big schools and get beat bad. For example, Ohio State and Indiana are playing Akron this year. I think it would be awesome to see Akron beat Ohio State, I would love it!

[Melanie]

Woohoo - I'll be buying a copy or two (or three) of this!

[Advnt05]

I've got mixed feelings. Being in the South and having friends that went to App State, it's good to see them get a big win. They played really well and made the big plays when needed. Maybe it was luck some times but that's what it takes to win at times.
I don't know all Michigan fans but the 3 that I do know were rabid fans. When game time rolled around, they screamed, cursed, and went crazy with each Michigan play. If Michigan won, they were nice about it and calm, but boy help you if Michigan lost. For that reason, I am curious as to how they held up to this loss to a Div II opponent.
Michigan is a good program. I understand why they scheduled an easy game first as there is no preseason in college to guage your team by. Maybe they're out of the National Title but they still have time to salvage the year and have a good season.

[brad192]

Kudos to them for the victory. I'm from Ann Arbor & was downtown the night of the loss. The collective mood of everyone walking the streets was:



You would have thought the world was ending. Jeez, it's only a GAME people....

[Stich8818]

The Ohio State Buckeyes winning thier game or "that team from up north" losing like that..I love it...