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September 1, 2007 saw the new Big Ten Network air its first ever college football game. Thanks to BTN being new however, it wasn't available for broadcast everywhere including in some parts of Michigan which was discomforting for Wolverines fans. It was the season opener and the theme was unfinished business. 2007 was meant to be the season head coach Lloyd Carr and his returning seniors took care of the things they wanted, including the 1 beside their name at the end of the season.
Speaking of teams with a 1 beside their name at the end of the season, that's essentially what Appalachian State was heading into Ann Arbor. The Mountaineers were the defending NCAA National Champions of FCS and their head coach, Jerry Moore was aiming for a repeat. Meanwhile, there was a big game in a much bigger stadium than they were used to being in to prepare for. Michigan was going to be their annual I-A/FBS test before playing their home opener the following week against Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.
UM didn't care about any of that. ASU was being brought in to be the JOB Squad. Get beat, get paid, get outta there. Over 100k were in attendance for this one and App State looked like a good tuneup for the rest of their schedule which included Oregon and Notre Dame the following weeks.
Michigan wanted the Big Ten Championship. They wanted to beat Ohio State. They wanted to win the Rose Bowl. They wanted the Best Win-Loss Record in FBS. They wanted the 1 beside their name at the end of the season. They wanted to get this App State thing over with.
Appalachian State wanted the Southern Conference Championship and a shot at repeating as National Champions in FCS. They also wanted to beat Michigan.
From a broadcasting perspective, Thom Brennaman was the play-by-play commentator for this one. He had started the calendar year 2007 by calling the Fiesta Bowl where Boise State had beaten Oklahoma. While Thom may have felt the Broncos had a shot at making some history at the Sooners' expense, it's uncertain if he felt that way about today's game.
As the 1st Quarter developed, something of note began to unfold and that was App State's speed on offense. Armanti Edwards was quarterback and he had Dexter Jackson as a prime wide receiver target and Kevin Richardson as halfback. Not only did it look like the Mountaineers could hang with the Wolverines, by halftime it looked like they might have a shot at beating them.
Then came the 2nd Half and UM settled down and started to take over the narrative. ASU wasn't playing as free as they had been and Michigan took advantage. Late in the 4th Quarter, UM had taken a 32-31 lead. It could have been a 34-31 lead instead, but they had tried some PAT2's and those didn't work out. There was also a blocked field goal that along with the PAT1's could've made the score 37-31. Instead, it was just a 1 point lead and ASU had the ball in clutch time.
Once again playing fast and loose, App State gets to field goal position and Julian Rauch kicks the Mountaineers back out front with 26 seconds left. The Wolverines get the ball and with time running low, they send in their kicker.
At this point, Corey Lynch becomes part of College Football Lore, blocking the kick and running what few seconds remained off the clock to seal the 34-32 win for the Mountaineers.
Going in, Michigan had a 5 beside their name. After this loss they had no number at all listed by either the Associated Press or Coaches. The following week, the Wolverines suffered a big loss to Oregon and it looked like the wheels were coming off. At least there was Notre Dame who was a dumpster fire, so UM could take their frustrations out on them. Despite turning things around, Michigan would still stumble into their bowl finale with losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State. That bowl wasn't the Rose, but instead they went to the Citrus Bowl to play Florida.
For Michigan, their loss to Appalachian State would be what many remembered them for, but the Wolverines made sure to at least end things on a positive note, beating the Florida Gators and sending Lloyd Carr out a winner and finishing with an 18 and a 19 beside their name.
For Appalachian State it was just the beginning of another championship campaign. After returning home and quickly getting some new goal posts up for their home stadium, they dusted Lenoir-Rhyne and Northern Arizona before settling in on SoCon play. They would share the conference title with Wofford, one of only 2 teams to beat the Mountaineers that season, the other being Georgia Southern before heading into the NCAA Tournament. Once there, they beat JMU and Eastern Washington in a pair of close calls, then Richmond all at home. After that, they went over to Chattanooga and won the National Championship, beating Delaware and their starting quarterback, Joe Flacco.
After September 1, 2007 the rumblings over whether Appalachian State should make the jump to FBS started up. After years of mulling it over, App State finally decided to make that jump, accepting an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference beginning with the 2014 season.
About that 2014 season. App State's first game as an FBS team? At Michigan. 7 years after suffering the loss that put the Mountaineers on the map, Michigan finally got to beat ASU, 52-14. It was a win that came 7 years too late.
Harris Highlights has the highlights.
SB Nation has the Rewinder for this game.
As a bonus, here's ESPN's College GameDay Final fallout coverage from later that night.
Speaking of teams with a 1 beside their name at the end of the season, that's essentially what Appalachian State was heading into Ann Arbor. The Mountaineers were the defending NCAA National Champions of FCS and their head coach, Jerry Moore was aiming for a repeat. Meanwhile, there was a big game in a much bigger stadium than they were used to being in to prepare for. Michigan was going to be their annual I-A/FBS test before playing their home opener the following week against Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.
UM didn't care about any of that. ASU was being brought in to be the JOB Squad. Get beat, get paid, get outta there. Over 100k were in attendance for this one and App State looked like a good tuneup for the rest of their schedule which included Oregon and Notre Dame the following weeks.
Michigan wanted the Big Ten Championship. They wanted to beat Ohio State. They wanted to win the Rose Bowl. They wanted the Best Win-Loss Record in FBS. They wanted the 1 beside their name at the end of the season. They wanted to get this App State thing over with.
Appalachian State wanted the Southern Conference Championship and a shot at repeating as National Champions in FCS. They also wanted to beat Michigan.
From a broadcasting perspective, Thom Brennaman was the play-by-play commentator for this one. He had started the calendar year 2007 by calling the Fiesta Bowl where Boise State had beaten Oklahoma. While Thom may have felt the Broncos had a shot at making some history at the Sooners' expense, it's uncertain if he felt that way about today's game.
As the 1st Quarter developed, something of note began to unfold and that was App State's speed on offense. Armanti Edwards was quarterback and he had Dexter Jackson as a prime wide receiver target and Kevin Richardson as halfback. Not only did it look like the Mountaineers could hang with the Wolverines, by halftime it looked like they might have a shot at beating them.
Then came the 2nd Half and UM settled down and started to take over the narrative. ASU wasn't playing as free as they had been and Michigan took advantage. Late in the 4th Quarter, UM had taken a 32-31 lead. It could have been a 34-31 lead instead, but they had tried some PAT2's and those didn't work out. There was also a blocked field goal that along with the PAT1's could've made the score 37-31. Instead, it was just a 1 point lead and ASU had the ball in clutch time.
Once again playing fast and loose, App State gets to field goal position and Julian Rauch kicks the Mountaineers back out front with 26 seconds left. The Wolverines get the ball and with time running low, they send in their kicker.
At this point, Corey Lynch becomes part of College Football Lore, blocking the kick and running what few seconds remained off the clock to seal the 34-32 win for the Mountaineers.
Going in, Michigan had a 5 beside their name. After this loss they had no number at all listed by either the Associated Press or Coaches. The following week, the Wolverines suffered a big loss to Oregon and it looked like the wheels were coming off. At least there was Notre Dame who was a dumpster fire, so UM could take their frustrations out on them. Despite turning things around, Michigan would still stumble into their bowl finale with losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State. That bowl wasn't the Rose, but instead they went to the Citrus Bowl to play Florida.
For Michigan, their loss to Appalachian State would be what many remembered them for, but the Wolverines made sure to at least end things on a positive note, beating the Florida Gators and sending Lloyd Carr out a winner and finishing with an 18 and a 19 beside their name.
For Appalachian State it was just the beginning of another championship campaign. After returning home and quickly getting some new goal posts up for their home stadium, they dusted Lenoir-Rhyne and Northern Arizona before settling in on SoCon play. They would share the conference title with Wofford, one of only 2 teams to beat the Mountaineers that season, the other being Georgia Southern before heading into the NCAA Tournament. Once there, they beat JMU and Eastern Washington in a pair of close calls, then Richmond all at home. After that, they went over to Chattanooga and won the National Championship, beating Delaware and their starting quarterback, Joe Flacco.
After September 1, 2007 the rumblings over whether Appalachian State should make the jump to FBS started up. After years of mulling it over, App State finally decided to make that jump, accepting an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference beginning with the 2014 season.
About that 2014 season. App State's first game as an FBS team? At Michigan. 7 years after suffering the loss that put the Mountaineers on the map, Michigan finally got to beat ASU, 52-14. It was a win that came 7 years too late.
Harris Highlights has the highlights.
SB Nation has the Rewinder for this game.
As a bonus, here's ESPN's College GameDay Final fallout coverage from later that night.
