2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game
Encyclopedia
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game held on September 1 at Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 at a cost of $950,000 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Before playing football at the stadium, the Wolverines played on Ferry Field...
on the campus of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. It pitted the #5 ranked Michigan Wolverines
2007 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2007 college football season. This was Lloyd Carr's final season as Michigan head coach. The 2007 season began with a stunning loss to Appalachian State, but the Wolverines won eight straight games after...
against the two-time defending champions of the Division I FCS, the Appalachian State Mountaineers
2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team
The 2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the college football season of 2007–2008. The team was coached by Jerry Moore and the Mountaineers played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina.The football team competes in...
. In what was hailed as one of the biggest upset
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
s in the history of American sports, the Mountaineers shocked the fifth-ranked
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more...
Wolverines 34–32. It was the first win ever by a team in Division I FCS (I-AA) over a "ranked" team in Division I FBS (I-A) since the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
split its Division I into two football subdivisions in 1978. The game has been referred to by one sports writer as the Miracle in Michigan. This was also one of the very first football games broadcast by the Big Ten Network, two days after its launch, but most of the country could not see it because most major providers did not yet carry the channel.
Before the game
After offensive tackle Jake LongJake Long
Jake Edward Long is an American football offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Dolphins first overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan...
, quarterback Chad Henne
Chad Henne
Chad Steven Henne is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.He graduated from Wilson Senior High School and attended the University of Michigan...
, and running back Mike Hart
Mike Hart (football player)
Leon Michael "Mike" Hart is a former American football running back and current offensive quality control coach for Eastern Michigan University. Hart played college football as a running back at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2007 and holds the Michigan Wolverines career rushing record...
decided to return for their senior season, and coach Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Carr
Lloyd H. Carr is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Wolverines compiled a record of 122–40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles...
chose not to retire, the Wolverines were tapped as favorites to win the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
title. Although the Mountaineers were favorites for a third straight FCS title and entered the game with a 14-game winning streak—the longest in either the FCS or FBS—the game was expected to be such a mismatch that some Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
sportsbook
Sportsbook
In the United States a sportsbook or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of...
s refused to offer a betting line
Spread betting
Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event, where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds betting or parimutuel betting. A spread is a range of outcomes and the bet is whether the outcome...
. Michigan was a 27-point favorite in the contest.
First quarter
Armanti Edwards
Armanti Fredrico Edwards is an American football player for the Carolina Panthers. He was the starting quarterback for the Appalachian State Mountaineers football team from 2006–09. He was drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...
hitting Dexter Jackson
Dexter Jackson (wide receiver)
Dexter Myles Jackson is an American football wide receiver who is currently a practice squad member of the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
for a 68-yard touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
pass on their third play from scrimmage. Michigan returned the ensuing kickoff to their 43 but were unable to move the ball, going three-and-out. Their punt left the Mountaineers on their own 16, and the Wolverines defense forced a three-and-out. The ensuing punt
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
left the Wolverines in good field position on their own 48, and they took advantage, with Henne capping off a 10-play drive with a touchdown pass to Greg Mathews. The quarter ended 14–7 in favor of the Wolverines, but the Mountaineers were driving with the ball on the Michigan 32.
Second quarter
Michigan took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Appalachian State 35, but the drive stalled there. Carr gambled on fourth-and-5, choosing not to attempt a long field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
or punt. A Henne incompletion gave the Mountaineers the ball again. Nine plays and 65 yards later, the Mountaineers were ahead 28-14, with Edwards finishing the drive on a 6-yard run. The Wolverines got the ball back with less than 2 minutes left and drove the ball to the Appalachian State 5; when the drive stalled there, the Wolverines cut the lead to 28–17 on a 22-yard field goal by Jason Gingell with 16 seconds left.
Third quarter
The Wolverines then went three-and-out. Appalachian State's next possession ended in a lost fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
on their own 31. Michigan was able to take full advantage, as six plays later Hart scored his second touchdown of the day on a 4-yard run. Carr chose to attempt a two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
, but the Wolverines were unsuccessful. The quarter ended with the Mountaineers up 31–26 and with the ball.
Fourth quarter
Mountaineers' next possession was unsuccessful, ending in a three-and-out. A 15-yard face mask penalty against the Mountaineers on the ensuing punt return gave Michigan the ball on the Mountaineers 34. Two plays later, the Wolverines were in the "red zone" on the Appalachian State 20-yard line. However, Michigan's next play was a false start penalty, followed by a Henne interception.Michigan's defense forced another three-and-out, and they got the ball back on their own 24 after the ensuing punt. Five plays later, they were on the Appalachian State 44. False start and illegal motion penalties stalled the drive. Then, on fourth-and-five on the Mountaineers 33, Carr again chose to go for the first down, and for the second time a Henne incompletion caused a turnover on downs.
The Wolverines forced another three-and-out. They fumbled the ensuing punt but recovered on their own 46. On the next play, Hart scored his third touchdown of the afternoon on a 54-yard run, giving the Wolverines back the lead at 32–31. However, for the second time, a two-point conversion attempt failed, this time when Brandon Minor fell down.
On the Mountaineers' next play, Edwards threw an interception in their own territory. The Wolverines failed to take advantage, as Appalachian State blocked a Gingell field goal attempt.
The finish
The Mountaineers offense, which had not been able to move the ball for most of the second half, got the ball back with 1:37 left. Edwards led them on a 69-yard drive, without a timeout, that ended in a 24-yard Rauch field goal that gave the Mountaineers a 34–32 lead with 27 seconds left.In the next drive for Michigan, Henne passed to Mario Manningham
Mario Manningham
Mario Cashmere Manningham is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
for 46 yards, giving the Wolverines the ball on the Appalachian State 20 with 6 seconds left. They put their field goal unit on the field for the potential game-winner. However, Gingell's attempt was blocked by Corey Lynch
Corey Lynch
Corey Lynch is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Appalachian State.-High school:Corey graduated from Evangelical Christian School...
, who ran the kick back to the Michigan 5 as time ran out. Moore was carried off the field on the shoulders of several triumphant Mountaineer players.
Reaction and analysis
A subdued Michigan team praised the Mountaineers' effort. Long said, "They played better than us today," while Carr told the Michigan radio network, "I think it begins with being a prepared team. And that's my responsibility. I did not have the team prepared." The victorious Moore said about his players, "Just God bless them. It's a crowning achievement. They're a great bunch of kids and they have worked so hard." He refused to rank this win above the Mountaineers' successive FCS titles but did say, "It will rank in there."After the game, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
columnist Dan Wetzel
Dan Wetzel
Dan Wetzel is an author, screenwriter, and national sports columnist for Yahoo.com.He is a New York Times best-selling author. He's written sports-related books "Resilience", Sole Influence, Glory Road, and Runnin' Rebel. As a sports journalist, he has covered NASCAR, college football, the NFL,...
called the game "a stunner for the ages," adding:
Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
added,
ESPN's Pat Forde
Pat Forde
Pat Forde is a sports journalist who currently serves as a national columnist for Yahoo Sports.- Work :Forde is currently a writer for Yahoo Sports. Forde left ESPN on November 1, 2011 to pursue a career with more journalistic freedom. Prior to leaving ESPN, Forde was a staple on radio and...
put it into context:
The game made the front page of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, which called the game "one of the biggest upsets in college football history" and drew a comparison to David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
and Goliath.
The loss ended Michigan's hopes of winning the national championship for the season. In addition, Michigan dropped out of the Top 25, the first time in the history of the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
that a team ranked in the Top 5 had fallen out of the poll as a result of a single game.
The upset was the cover story for the September 10 issue of Sports Illustrated, which hit retail outlets on September 5. The cover features a shot of Jackson's first touchdown catch.
On the Thursday after the game (September 6), the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, which had previously restricted eligibility for AP Poll ranking to Division I FBS schools, announced that lower-division schools would be eligible to receive votes, and possibly be ranked, in the main AP Poll. At least two voters in the AP Poll had expressed a desire to place the Mountaineers on their Top 25 ballot. Division I FCS has its own poll, in which the Mountaineers were the unanimous choice for Number 1 after defeating Michigan.
However, soon afterwards, many were beginning to believe that the upset was not just a fluke and would set the tone for the whole season after Michigan's stunning 39-7 loss to Oregon the following week. But Michigan managed to rebound to finish 9-4 and upset the heavily favored Florida Gators
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in the Capital One Bowl
2008 Capital One Bowl
The 2008 Capital One Bowl was held on January 1, 2008 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The game featured the University of Michigan Wolverines—who finished the 2007 season tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with an overall record of 8–4 —and the #12 University of...
.
The win over Michigan gave Appalachian State a leg up on the RPI index at the end of the FCS season; and the Mountaineers, who tied with Wofford
Wofford College
Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
for the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
crown, earned a home first round playoff game, while Wofford had a road game. Both teams earned a quarterfinal home playoff game, but Wofford lost to Richmond
2007 Richmond Spiders football team
The 2007 Richmond Spiders football team represented the University of Richmond in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football during the 2007 season...
, ending hopes of a rematch with the Mountaineers. Appalachian State defeated Richmond in the NCAA Semifinals to set up a shot at a third consecutive NCAA Championship against Delaware
2007 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team
The 2007 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football in its seventh season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association , and the football program's...
, which it won, 49-21.
In a season that featured numerous upsets in the FBS, the Appalachian State upset of Michigan was chosen as college football's "Biggest Upset of 2007" by Sports Illustrated at the end of the regular season.
Reaction in Boone
Minutes after the end of the game and nearly 600 miles (1,000 km) away on the Appalachian State campus in Boone, North CarolinaBoone, North Carolina
Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
, a large group of students climbed a fence at the Mountaineers' home field, Kidd Brewer Stadium
Kidd Brewer Stadium
Kidd Brewer Stadium is located in Boone, North Carolina and is Appalachian State University's 21,650 seat multi-purpose stadium. Nicknamed "The Rock", the stadium is home to the Mountaineers, the NCAA 2005, 2006, and 2007 Division I FCS national champions. It is also the home of the school's field...
, and tore down and carried away one of the goalposts. When Appalachian State chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock, who was in Ann Arbor for the game, returned to his home that night, he found the goalpost had been deposited in his front yard, which is about half a mile (800 m) from the stadium.
Peacock took the vandalism in stride, saying that night during a celebration outside Kidd Brewer Stadium, "It's all right. As good as today was for Appalachian State, they can take it up there and put it down. I can't wait to get there and see it." Another tradition at Appalachian State is for students to jump into a duck pond behind Trivette dining hall after big football wins. Many students did just that, with more than a few jumping in naked. The Mountaineers players received unusual amounts of attention; many found their cell phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
voice mail boxes full; one player received over 100 text messages shortly after the game, and Rauch found more than 20 friend requests from fans of Michigan's archrival
Michigan-Ohio State rivalry
The Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, also known as The Game, is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Wolverines of the University of Michigan and the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University...
Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
on his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
The team came home immediately after the game, arriving at Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Tri-Cities Regional Airport , also known as Tri-Cities Regional Airport, TN/VA, is a public airport located adjacent to Blountville, Tennessee...
in the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee and boarding four buses for the 55 mile (90 km) trip back to Boone. About 10 miles (16 km) out of Boone, they were met by a caravan of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances leading them back to campus. Moore later said that when he met the emergency vehicles, "I thought there was a bad wreck." At 11 pm, they returned to their stadium and were met by hundreds of ecstatic fans; it took more than 20 minutes for the team to make it through the mass of fans to their locker room. Many of the fans were wearing quickly printed T-shirts reading "Michigan who? 34-32."
The celebrations in Boone were not limited to campus. The parking lot of the city's main shopping center, Boone Mall, was packed with cars, and many of the drivers and passengers were in long lines in front of Sports Fanatic, a sporting goods store in the mall. Store owner Jody Preuss reported that his store, which had T-shirts celebrating the win on sale two hours after the end of the game, saw seven times its normal business that day. Also, the web site of ASU's student newspaper, The Appalachian, doubled its usual number of hits on Saturday after the game and received emails from throughout the country asking for information on purchasing "Michigan who?" T-shirts.
Junior linebacker Pierre Banks put the game in perspective during the NCAA Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, in a press interview when he said, "The Michigan game doesn't mean anything to us. We play every year to win the Southern Conference championship, then the national championship." The Mountaineers tied for the Southern Conference championship at the end of the 2007 season with the Wofford Terriers
Wofford Terriers
Wofford College sponsors 18 sports for men's and women's programs. The Terriers also compete in the Southern Conference, and have been a part of the league since the 1997–98 academic year. Wofford and the other SoCon members play football in the Football Championship Subdivision...
. Both teams advanced to the NCAA tournament, and the Mountaineers won their third consecutive title.
Listed in Sports Illustrated's "Greatest Of 2007" issue as one of the greatest quotes, App. St. Coach Jerry Moore stated that they could not celebrate too long because "We've got Lenoir-Rhyne coming to our place."
Scoring summary
| Quarter | |Time | |Drive | |Team | |Scoring Information | |Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Time | Appalachian State | Michigan |
| 12:31 | 6 plays, 66 yards | 2:29 | > align=left|Mike Hart 4–yard rush, Jason Gingell kick good |
| 3 plays, 74 yards | 1:30 | > align=left|Dexter Jackson | |
| 10 plays, 52 yards | 3:38 | > align=left|Greg Mathews 10–yard reception from Chad Henne | |
| 13:35 | 11 plays, 65 yards | 4:34 | > align=left|Hans Batichon 9–yard reception from Armanti Edwards, Julian Rauch kick good |
| 5 plays, 37 yards | 2:15 | > align=left|Dexter Jackson 20–yard reception from Armanti Edwards, Julian Rauch kick good | |
| 9 plays, 65 yards | 4:38 | > align=left|Armanti Edwards 6–yard rush, Julian Rauch kick good | |
| 10 plays, 63 yards | 1:52 | > align=left|Jason Gingell 22–yard field goal | |
| 12:57 | 5 plays, 14 yards | 1:07 | > align=left|Jason Gingell 42–yard field goal |
| 11 plays, 64 yards | 4:35 | > align=left|Julian Rauch 31–yard field goal | |
| 6 plays, 31 yards | 2:04 | > align=left|Mike Hart 4–yard rush, two-point conversion failed | |
| 4:36 | 1 play, 54 yards | 0:15 | > align=left|Mike Hart 54–yard rush, two-point conversion failed |
| 7 plays, 69 yards | 1:11 | > align=left|Julian Rauch 24–yard field goal | |
See also
- 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football gameThe 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game was a college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23. Southern California was favored by 41 points over Stanford,...
- List of historically significant college football games