Small Town Team Wins One for the Ages

Small Town Team Wins One for the Ages
By Loren Jones

Before Sept 1, 2007 most people would not have been able to point out Boone, North Carolina on a map. But now, after what is known as “The Upset in the Big House”, college football fans cannot stop talking about the team that beat the number five ranked Michigan Wolverines.

As you may know, the team I am talking about is none other than the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Before beating Michigan 34-32, the Mountaineers were just a little known team from North Carolina competing in Division 1-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision.

The start of the 2007 season marked the Mountaineers 79th year participating in college football, and even though after those 79 years as a program they were a little known team from North Carolina, does not mean that they never made a statement.

The 2005 and 2006 seasons for the Mountaineers were by far the most successful in the programs history, winning back-to-back national championships. Appalachian State currently has a 29 game win streak at home in Kidd Brewer Stadium, and continue to dominate their conference.

Appalachian State is known to produce great football players whom later go on to play in the National Football League (NFL). Players from Appalachian State who pursued careers in the NFL include; Dexter Coakley, Dino Hackett, Larry Hand, Jason Hunter, Mark Royals, John Settle, Matt Stevens, Troy Albea, and Daniel Wilcox. Numerous Mountaineers such as; DaVon Fowlkes, Wayne Smith, and Richie Williams, have also gone on to play in the Canadian Football League.

Going into the 2007 season with a season opener at Michigan in The Big House had to have been intimidating for the Mountaineers, but they showed no fear as they took the field. Led by head coach Jerry Moore, the Mountaineers held their own throughout the whole game against the nationally ranked, number five Wolverines. The Mountaineers sealed the deal as they blocked a last second Michigan field goal attempt to end the game. With the defeat of Michigan, the game quickly went into the record books as one of the greatest upsets of all time, and the 2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers will forever be in the history books as the first ever division 1-AA football team to beat a nationally ranked division 1-A team since the two divisions split in 1978.