Unfathomable becomes a reality for Appalachian State
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 1 (AP) — Dexter Jackson sprinted through the secondary early in the first quarter, taunting nearly 110,000 Michigan fans by putting a finger over his lips en route to the end zone. Nearly three hours later, he got the desired result and the Big House was silent: Appalachian State 34, No. 5 Michigan 32.Julian Rauch kicked a 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left to put the Mountaineers ahead of the Wolverines and Corey Lynch blocked a field goal in the final seconds to seal a jaw-dropping upset that may have no equal.
“I told them to be quiet — we’re going to be out here all day,” Jackson said, explaining the gesture he used after scoring a 68-yard touchdown. “We’re playmakers. They were talking trash on us, now we’ve gotten them back. It was David versus Goliath.”
Coach Lloyd Carr looked ashen as the upset unfolded, and did not sound much better when he finally arrived at his postgame news conference. “I’ve never been part of a loss that wasn’t miserable,” he said.
Then Appalachian State drove 69 yards without a timeout in 1:11 to set up the go-ahead field goal. “We’re still sort of shocked,” Coach Jerry Moore said after being carried off the field by his players.
Appalachian State has won 15 consecutive games, the longest streak in the nation. The Mountaineers are favored to win the Football Championship Subdivision, but they were not expected to challenge a team picked to win the Big Ten and contend for the national title. No Division I-AA team had beaten a team ranked in the Associated Press poll from 1989-2006, and it is unlikely that it happened after Division I subdivisions were created in 1978.
“Someone said it might be one of the big victories in college football,” Moore said. “It may be the biggest.”
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