The 2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game was a regular season college football game between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Michigan Wolverines. It was held at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on September 1, 2007, and was the first game of the season for both teams. The Wolverines entered the game ranked No. 5 in both major Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) polls and media outlets considered them to be preseason favorites to win the Big Ten championship as well as possible contenders for the national championship, while the Mountaineers were ranked No. 1 in The Sports Network's Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) poll and were preseason favorites to win their third consecutive FCS national championship.
Games between FBS and FCS teams typically result in lopsided victories for the FBS team, and the Appalachian State–Michigan game was not expected to be an exception. So confident were Las Vegas sportsbooks in Michigan's chances that no betting line was issued for the game. The game was also the first to be broadcast on the then-new Big Ten Network. It began with a strong first half for Appalachian State, who held a 28–17 lead at the end of the half. Michigan regained the lead at 32–31 in the fourth quarter, but Appalachian State took the lead for a second time on a short field goal with 26 seconds left. The Mountaineers blocked a game-winning field goal attempt from Michigan at the end of regulation to secure a 34–32 win.
Immediately hailed as one of the greatest upsets in college football history, the game served as the lead story of SportsCenter and was the cover story for the following week's edition of Sports Illustrated. Appalachian State became the second FCS team to defeat a ranked FBS team, and as a result of the game Michigan dropped out of the top 25 of the AP poll entirely, marking the first time a team had fallen from the top five to out of the poll entirely as the result of a single game. In the aftermath of the game, the Associated Press amended its polling policy to make FCS teams eligible for the AP poll, which had previously been limited to FBS teams.
The Mountaineers finished the 2007 season with a 13–2 record and won a third consecutive FCS title. They also became the first FCS team to receive votes in the final AP poll, tying South Florida for the 34th overall ranking. Michigan finished their season 9–4, winning the Capital One Bowl, and ranked No. 18 in the final AP poll. A rematch in 2014 at Michigan Stadium was won decisively by the Wolverines, 52–14. The 2014 rematch was ASU's first game as an FBS school.
Background
Divisions and subdivisions The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is split into three divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III. According to the NCAA, Division I consists of "the largest programs that provide the most athletically related financial aid for student-athletes". Division I football is split into two subdivisions: the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). USA Today notes that the FBS is considered the tier at which major Division I universities play, while the FCS is a tier in which smaller programs compete. FBS member teams are allowed to have up to 85 scholarship players, while FCS member teams are allowed to award 63 scholarships. However, FCS teams can divide their 63 scholarships by giving some players 'partial scholarships'. FBS teams vie to play in bowl games, while FCS teams aim to qualify for a postseason tournament. The two subdivisions were created in 1978, and no other Division I sports are split in such a manner. The difference between the two subdivisions is great enough that John V. Lombardi, a former chancellor at UMass, which played FCS football before moving to FBS in 2012, and a former president at FBS-level Florida and Louisiana State, said that "even a crummy team in [FBS] football has higher visibility than a great team in [FCS]".
FBS teams are allowed to schedule FCS teams, and one win against an FCS team can be counted towards their bowl-eligible status provided the FCS team meets certain scholarship requirements. FCS teams are often paid upwards of USD $1,500,000 for participating in games against FBS teams. This arrangement generally results in lopsided losses for FCS teams, but the money FCS schools earn from games against FBS teams helps fund their athletic departments, as well as offering broader exposure for their athletic programs.
Scheduling Appalachian State had routinely scheduled FBS teams, playing against schools such as Auburn in 1999, Kansas and LSU in 2005, and NC State in 2006. They also had games against Wake Forest in every season from 1979 to 1996, as well as in 1998, 2000, and 2001, and had won six of them. The Mountaineers had not beaten an FBS team since 2000. Michigan, a historic college football power with a large fan base, had never played an FCS team. According to Appalachian State athletic director Charlie Cobb, both schools had gaps in their schedule as late as February 2007; the friendship between Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore and Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr played a key role in completing the deal. While attempting to determine the amount of money Appalachian State would be paid for playing Michigan, negotiations between the two schools reached a halt. Moore went to school officials and urged them to accept any offer Michigan gave them; he recalled telling them that "it's an opportunity game. It'll be a one-shot, once-in-a-lifetime deal to go up there and play. It's an unbelievable environment". Appalachian State ultimately settled on a $400,000 payment in return for playing against Michigan to open the 2007 season.
Pre-game Michigan was expected to handily defeat Appalachian State, who entered the game as considerable underdogs. Las Vegas sports books did not offer a betting line because they believed that it would be a mismatch. The day before the game, an Associated Press article said that the Mountaineers were "almost certain to lose badly" and "aren't expected to be anything more than sacrificial lambs". Another article predicted that Michigan would easily win, but that Michigan's inexperienced secondary could possibly be tested by quarterback Armanti Edwards. This weakness is what the Mountaineers hoped to capitalize on: they spent most of the week leading up to the game studying game film, and felt that the Michigan defense had a tendency to leave the middle of the field defenseless. On the other hand, the Mountaineers lacked the depth of the Wolverines, having 22 fewer scholarship players.
Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State was ranked as the No. 1 team in the preseason FCS poll from The Sports Network, receiving 67 out of 70 first-place votes. The team had won the previous two FCS national championships and were favorites to win a third consecutive title according to media outlets. They had also won their last 14 games, the longest in either Division I subdivision at the time. They had an overall record of against major FBS teams. The Mountaineers ran a no-huddle, spread option system, which they implemented in 2005, their first championship season. Two of the major offensive weapons for the team were quarterback Armanti Edwards, who had scored 15 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns in 2006, and running back Kevin Richardson, who had scored an FCS-record 30 rushing touchdowns in 2006. The defensive unit for the Mountaineers was helmed by safety Corey Lynch, the Mountaineer defense ranked 11th in rush defense and 35th in pass defense during the 2006 season, but the team lost five of its six best tacklers from that season, as well as defensive end Marques Murrell, who led the FCS in sacks during the 2006 season. Despite losses at the defensive line, the secondary, the team's defensive strong point, remained virtually intact from the previous season. The kicker of the Mountaineers was senior Julian Rauch, who made 10 out of 14 field goal attempts during the 2006 season.
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan entered the game as the No. 5-ranked team in both the AP poll and the Coaches' poll. Media outlets projected the team as favorites to win the Big Ten Conference, and as contenders for a national championship. Michigan featured a strong senior class of offensive tackle Jake Long, running back Mike Hart, and quarterback Chad Henne, each of whom had decided to stay in school rather than declare eligibility for the NFL draft. The players attributed their decision to several factors, such as Michigan having lost their last three games to rival Ohio State and the Wolverines' streak of three consecutive bowl losses. The three also desired to finish their college careers on a high note. Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com stated that "[the trio], along with receivers Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington, gives Michigan what could potentially be one of the most explosive offenses in college football". Prior to the season, the team named Hart and Long as captains, along with linebacker Shawn Crable, a fifth-year senior. Michigan aimed to open the game in a three-receiver formation, which has the potential to spread the opposing defense out; Michigan coach Lloyd Carr noted that "when you have some of the skill that we have at the wide receiver positions and can spread a defense out, that's [a] positive". At the same time, Michigan was anticipated to run only a limited selection of plays from this set, to limit the ability of their upcoming opponents to develop an effective game plan against them. Michigan's defense, which led the FBS in run defense in 2006, lost seven starters from the previous season, including four All-Americans in cornerback Leon Hall and defensive linemen Alan Branch, David Harris, and LaMarr Woodley, each of whom were selected in the first two rounds of the 2007 NFL draft. Wolverines linebacker Chris Graham, a senior, expected the defense to be defined by speed, noting that each position on the defense was "loaded in speed".
Game summary
Broadcast and game notes The game was the first ever to be broadcast on the then-new Big Ten Network. At the time, the network had approximately 17 million subscribers, most of which came from a deal with DirecTV. According to Mark Silverman, the president of the Big Ten Network, only a "small percentage" of Wolverine fans were able to watch it. Silverman attributed this to the fact that Comcast and Charter, two of the major cable television providers in the state of Michigan, did not carry the Big Ten Network. Thom Brennaman provided play-by-play commentary, while Charles Davis performed as the color analyst, and Charissa Thompson reported from the sidelines. The game marked Thompson's debut as a sideline analyst on any network, while Brennaman and Davis were more experienced, having covered high-profile college football games such as the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the 2007 BCS National Championship Game for Fox Sports.
The weather during the game was clear and sunny, with temperatures in the mid-70s °F (low-20s °C) and wind heading north at 10–15 miles (16–24 kilometers) per hour. The referee, the head of the officiating team, was John O'Neill. Overall attendance was recorded as 109,218. The game kicked off at 12:07 p.m. and ended at 3:40 p.m., having lasted a total of three hours and thirty-seven minutes.
First quarter