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Big House upset, Appalachian stuns Michigan |
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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
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 Fans parade a goal post from Kidd Brewer Stadium through campus to Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock’s front lawn. Photos by Ben McKeown
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by RYAN WIXTED
Sports Editor
On
ESPN’s College Gameday show Saturday, analyst Kirk Herbstreit professed
the Appalachian State University vs. University of Michigan a cupcake
game, explaining that Michigan should have no problem beating ASU.
However, the game didn’t turn out to be a cakewalk for the Wolverines.
ASU
became the first division 1-AA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
team to beat an Associate Press Top 25 team in history, after they
defeated nationally-ranked No. 5 Michigan 34-32 Saturday.
“This
afternoon is something [the players will] remember the rest of their
life,” head coach Jerry Moore said in an Appalachian Sports Network
post-game interview Saturday.
With 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, ASU senior kicker Julian
Rauch kicked a 24- yard field goal to put the Mountaineers up 34-32.
Senior safety Corey Lynch, who has been a prominent player on special
teams throughout his college career, blocked Michigan’s field goal
attempt in the final seconds giving ASU its first victory of 2007.
“We have been training hard on blocking kicks,” Lynch said. “Everyday
we’re out there diving on the ground and that’s not a normal thing for
a special teams practice.”
 Players celebrate after the Michigan victory. Photo by Derek DeSha
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The Mountaineers kept the more than 107,000 fans at Michigan Stadium on their feet throughout the whole game.
Sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards led the Mountaineers, connecting
on 17 of 23 passing attempts for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
Edwards added 57 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown on the ground.
“It’s like a dream,” Edwards said of beating Michigan. “We just beat
Michigan….I try to sit here, and think about it and I really can’t.
It’s like a dream.”
Senior wide receiver Dexter Jackson and sophomore CoCo Hillary led the
receiving corps with 92 and 63 receiving yards respectively.
Jackson provided a huge spark for the Mountaineers offensively; besides his 92 receiving yards, Jackson scored two touchdowns.
His first touchdown was a 68-yard score early on in the first quarter to tie the game at a touchdown apiece.
Jackson’s second touchdown was a 20-yard pass late in the second quarter to give the Mountaineers a 21-14 lead.
Defensively for Appalachian, junior linebacker Pierre Banks and Lynch led the attack with 12 and 11 tackles each.
The last time Appalachian defeated a Division I Football Bowl
Subdivision opponent was in 1998, when ASU defeated Wake Forest
University.
It was also the most points scored against an FBS opponent since ASU scored 30 against the Demon Deacons.
After an astounding season opener, the Mountaineers will look to extend
the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 this weekend, as they host to
Lenoir-Rhyne College at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
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You can read more about my take on it at http://www.jeffself.net/blog/2...ot-hardly/