App ST. blocks UM FG Wins 34-32!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Peregrinner]

taking a step back from this game, i don't think it's inconceivable to think that ASU is a top 60 team regardless of division, if not top 50. they are a two-time 1-AA champion and have some good talent on that team.

the 1-AA stigma will kill any michigan title hopes this season and in no way takes away from the upset, but app. state had the perfect mix of players/talent to dethrone the wolverines on that given saturday.

i guess my point is the 1-AA label adds to the lore of the "greatest upset ever in sports," but discounts the players on app. state. that team could have probably played with all but a handful of teams in 1-A (USC, LSU and only a couple others) and ended up on top against a significant number of the other teams in 1-A.

+1. This is what I've been thinking since the day of the game. The 1AA label has a lot more to do with resources than with talent, although the two often are correlated. App. St., playing the game they played last weekend could absolutely have beat many, many 1A teams, and I wouldn't doubt they could have beat at least a few of the other top 25 teams.

They deserve all the credit in the world for their win, and a lot less of this, "Wait, Michigan lost to THAT?!" stuff.

[Bleeding Orange]

No honest person can watch the highlights of that game and tell you with a straight face that App. State's talent was dwarfed by Michigan's. That team has some very, very impressive athletes. And they're fast.

[jpfalcon09]

I haven't commented on this game yet just to see if the stigma would wear off, and it hasn't in the least bit...

I think this game was the icing on the cake in terms of the new scholarship rules implemented by the NCAA to help spread out talent amongst the smaller schools. In my mind, the talent level of football, regardless if it's Big 10, WAC, MAC or the FCS, has greatly leveled out to help provide us fans with more competitive games and give the bigger schools a better test to get ready for the season.

I think the one downfall Michigan had going into this game was their whole attitude about who they were and their expectations. Many in the media felt that they would go 12-0 and likely garner a #1 or #2 ranking, so obviously for collegiate athletes, they can buy their own hype a bit too much.

In the long run, this game will further help to provide better players to mid-majors and FCS teams, because recruits will now be able to see the supposed smaller schools can indeed hang and beat the bigger schools, and that will be why this game was so important.

[hammb]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with the notion that Appalachian State is some world beater.

They are very good for a 1-AA program. Heck, they may even be better than the bottom 1-A programs. And I don't want to take anything away from them, because they were certainly better than Michigan on Saturday, but I don't think it's because App State deserves to be mentioned in the top tier of college football than it is because UM played down to their competition.

Yeah they looked fast against UM, but UM looked SLOW. They looked glacially slow against USC. Their defense looked slow against OSU, and Ball State as well last year.

We shouldn't kid ourselves here. App State doesn't have a single player that was recruited by a BCS school, and I'd doubt if they had any that were even offered scholarships by MAC schools. Those kids have worked to better themselves, and they played one helluva game on Saturday, but don't for a minute think they're more talented than Michigan...or even BG. I would find it astonishing if they had more than 3-4 players that ever even saw time in an NFL camp, let alone get drafted.

For reference here is what App State has done in the past few years against 1A competition:

2006 L 23-10 to NC State
2005 L 36-8 to Kansas
2005 L 24-0 to LSU
2004 L 42-0 to Wyoming
2003 L 40-17 to Hawaii

The only close game in the bunch was NCSU and their coach got fired after a crappy 3-9 year...yet still won by almost 2 full TDs.

I'm sorry, I love to see the little guy win. It was awesome to watch UM fall. Still, let's not make Appalachian State out to be a team that deserves to be near the top 25. That's not the case, they're just not that good of a team. They wouldn't win the MAC, nor would they probably beat Michigan more than once in a 100 tries.. I was thrilled to see that team rise up and knock off a big dog (much like upsets in the big dance), but that doesn't make that team equally as talented. UM dwarfs the talent of App State, and quite frankly BG does as well.

[Peregrinner]

I suppose maybe saying they could beat a number of top 25 teams could be a stretch, but in a lot of ways I relate their situation to our women's basketball team's run last year.

I know it's different sports, different genders and not dealing with a difference of divisions, but where I draw the comparison is where people say "App. St. didn't have any blue chip recruits or guys that were recruited by BCS schools."

If I remember correctly, most of our players weren't recruited heavily (or at all) by major teams, yet they were able to make a deeper run in the tournament than most of those teams because of a system that emphasized their talents.

Top to bottom, of course App. St. wasn't as talented/deep as Michigan, but I think they deserve a lot more credit for doing what they did, rather than Michigan being ridiculed and App. St.'s win being treated as a fluke.

[BGDrew]

Me wonders what kind of embarrassment it would be for App State to beat Michigan one week and get beat by Lenoir-Rhyne the next.

[CapitalFalcon]

Me wonders what kind of embarrassment it would be for App State to beat Michigan one week and get beat by Lenoir-Rhyne the next.

HA! Good call!