College Football Stories

As we get closer to kickoff of the Week One Zero games, let’s take a look back at some of the best opening weekend games in the modern era. For purposes of this story, the “opening week” could be considered Week One or Week Zero. The Labor Day Weekend window has traditionally been the official start of the college football season, but in recent memory, Week Zero games have been commonplace.

To start off this series, let’s go to 2007. That entire season has been well documented as one of the wildest seasons in college football history, and it started off with a bang on September 1st in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Appalachian State Mountaineers traveled 573 miles from Boone, North Carolina, to take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Network’s first-ever football broadcast.

App State was a Southern Conference powerhouse, having won two consecutive national championships at the Division I-AA/Football Championship Subdivision level. Michigan was ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, coming off an 11-2 season in 2006. The Wolverines started out 2006 with an 11-0 record and were ranked No. 2 in the country headed into their rivalry game against top-ranked Ohio State.

The Buckeyes defeated Michigan 42-39 in a thriller. Ohio State went on to play for the National Championship against the Florida Gators while the Wolverines’ consolation prize was a Rose Bowl appearance against the USC Trojans. Michigan, still reeling from their loss in the “The Game”, laid an egg and fell 32-18 against Pete Carroll’s Trojans.

The expectations in 2007 were high for each of these squads. Michigan’s Lloyd Carr was entering his 13th season as the head coach in Ann Arbor. His offense returned three-year starter Chad Henne at quarterback, senior Mike Hart at running back, junior Mario Manningham at wide receiver, and reigning Big Ten offensive linemen of the year Jake Long at tackle. On the other side of the ball, linebacker Shawn Crable and safety Jamar Adams were expected to be the major contributors on a unit that only returned four starters.

App State returned SoCon Player of the Year Armanti Edwards at quarterback. In 2006, Edwards amassed over 2,200 yards passing and more than 1,100 yards on the ground, along with 30 total touchdowns. The Mountaineers also returned a trio of impactful seniors in wide receiver Dexter Jackson, running back Kevin Richardson, and safety Corey Lynch. Head coach Jerry Moore, entering year 19 in Boone, had aspirations of another FCS national championship. Whatever his expectations were for the season, if given truth serum, I’m not sure that Moore could have envisioned what happened that day in front of 109,000 fans in Michigan Stadium.

First Quarter

As each team’s captains went to midfield for the coin toss, the physical differences in the two rosters was evident. Michigan’s players, specifically Long and Crable, literally towered over the Mountaineers’ captains. After receiving the opening kick, Michigan’s first drive of the game featured a steady diet of Hart. The senior tailback’s 27-yard run got the Wolverines down inside the five-yard line. Hart cashed it in on the next play after taking Henne’s handoff into the end zone for the first Michigan score of the young season. Hart had four carries for 46 yards on the opening possession, and it appeared, early on, as if the Mountaineers had no answer for the run game.

On App State’s first drive, facing a third-down and four from their own 32-yard line, Edwards delivered. The lefty hit Jackson in the chest right at the sticks on a slant route. Jackson, the reigning SoCon champ in 200-meter dash, outraced the Michigan back seven all the way to the end zone. After just four minutes of play, we had a 7-7 game in the Big House.

Hart was stuffed at the line on Michigan’s first snap of their next possession. The three-and-out was punctuated by Henne taking a sack and loss of ten yards off the left side by blitzing Mountaineers’ linebacker Pierre Banks. A good punt backed App State at their own 16-yard line. The drive went nowhere after Edwards suffered a punishing sack on second down from Michigan defensive tackle Will Johnson. Michigan took over at their own 48-yard line after a poor Mountaineers punt.

Running back Brandon Minor got things started after gaining ten yards on a screen pass. Henne tried to find Manningham in a one-on-one situation near the end zone, but App State cornerback Justin Woazeah defended the pass perfectly. After more pressure caused Henne to sail his second-down pass, he found wide receiver Adrian Arrington for a first down pick-up on third-and-long. Later in the drive, on third-and-four, Henne connected with Manningham to move the chains. On second-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Henne hit sophomore receiver Greg Matthews on a shallow cross for the go-ahead score. With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Wolverines led 14-7.

Second Quarter

Early in the second quarter, App State was on the move.Jackson took a well-timed reverse from Edwards 19-yards down inside the five-yard line. A few plays later, Edwards connected with senior WR Hans Batichon for a score. With 13:35 remaining in the second period, the Mountaineers were tied 14-14 with No. 5 Michigan after the 12-play, 65-yard drive. On Michigan’s ensuing possession, App State looked more like aggressors than $400,000 paycheck-collectors. Hart was getting no leverage in the ground game, Henne was harrassed out of the pocket, and Wolverine wide outs could not separate from the Mountaineer defensive backs.

With twelve minutes remaining until halftime, App State had the ball at the Michigan 37-yard line thanks to a good punt return by Jackson and a personal foul late hit call against Michigan. Running back Kevin Richardson was featured heavily on this drive, with several tough runs and a nice pickup on a screen pass. The drive ended with a bang as Jackson scored his second touchdown of the afternoon, taking a slant from Edwards 20-yards on second-down and eight. The ‘Neers went up 21-14 with under ten minutes left in the half as a shocked silence fell over the maize and blue-clad Michigan faithful.

That stunningly loud deafness got even more intense later in the quarter, as Edwards dove over Michigan defenders on a 6-yard scramble for six points on third-and-goal. The Mountaineers went up 28-14 with 2:15 left in the second quarter. Henne connected with Matthews for several big completions to get the Wolverines down inside the ten-yard line. The drive stalled and Michigan was forced to settle for a field goal. The score was 28-17 in favor of App State at halftime.

At the break, Edwards was 7 for 7 passing, with 129 yards and three touchdown passes. He added 41 rushing yards and another score. Henne was 13 of 21 for 159 and one passing touchdown. App was averaging 7.6 yards per play to Michigan’s 5.7. Hart went cold after his 46 yards on the opening drive. For the remainder of the half, he had 11 yards on 6 carries, including zero or negative yards on half of those carries.

Third Quarter

The Mountaineers’ opening drive gifted the Wolverines for an opportunity to re-establish some momentum and take control of this game. Edwards was intercepted on the second play from scrimmage in the second half. Miscommunication between Edwards and his receiver ended with Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent catching the errant pass and giving the Wolverines prime field position. Credit to the ‘Neers defense, however, because Michigan was forced to settle for a 42-yard field goal after their five-play drive only netted 14 yards. The deficit was cut to 28-20 with under 13 minutes to play in the third period.

App State got three quick first downs on their next drive after runs from Richardson and Edwards, and a completion on a swing pass to WR CoCo Hillary. Speaking of Hillary, he came up big several plays later on third-and-ten for a catch of 27-yards down inside the Michigan 15-yard line. On third-and-eight from the 13-yard line, Edwards hit freshman WR Brian Quick with a frozen rope right in his the hands just feet outside of the end zone. Unfortunately, Quick could not hold on to the ball. The Mountaineers settled for a 31-yard field goal to go up 31-20 with 8:20 left in the third quarter.

After bobbling the ensuing kickoff and starting the drive at their own 11-yard line, Michigan burned a timeout before taking a snap. The Wolverines converted a third-and-short with a pass to Matthews. With just under seven minutes left in the quarter, Mountaineers LB Jacque Roman caused a Minor fumble and App State’s major playmaker Pierre Banks recovered the ball at the Wolverines’ 28-yard line.

A much maligned Michigan defense finally stepped up. Richardson and Edwards were held in check with short runs on the first two downs before a sack forced a field goal attempt. Kicker Julian Rauch’s attempt hit off the right upright as Michigan dodged a bullet. With 4:46 to go in the third, App State held a 31-20 lead.

The Wolverines’ next drive saw the return of Mike Hart, who had not taken a snap in the second half to this point after dealing with a leg injury. Hart appeared to be a decoy on this drive, as Henne threw three straight incompletions and Michigan punted the ball away. A booming kick and timely bounce pinned App State back at their own 11-yard line. After a big gain from Richardson to get the ‘Neers to the 31-yard line, Edwards was stripped from behind by Crable. Wolverines’ senior linebacker John Thompson fell on the loose ball and the home team took over with excellent field position.

The fans finally had something to cheer for after several strong runs by Hart, including a diving touchdown run from inside the 5-yard line. Michigan failed to convert the two-point conversion after Henne fumbled the exchange from under center. The App State lead was cut to five; 31-26 with 24 seconds remaining until the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Mountaineers managed one first down on their next drive before being forced to punt the ball back to Michigan. Return man Johnny Sears picked up a bouncing kick at the 38-yard line and took it across midfield. After a face mask penalty added 15-yards on to the end of the run, the Wolverines once again took over with great field position. The drive started with two big runs from Hart. On first-and-fifteen following a false start, Henne rolled right on a play-action fake. He fired a pass right into the waiting arms of Mountaineers defensive back Leonard Love, who retuned the interception to the Michigan 40-yard line. App State took possession with just over 12 minutes left in the game.

The App State offense stalled on this drive; once more, the Wolverines were not forced to pay for their mistake. Henne and company took over at their own 23 with 11:31 remaining. Several big rushes from Hart got Michigan down inside the App State 35-yard line. The Mountaineers’ stiffened and forced a fourth-down attempt. Henne’s pass intended for tight end Mike Massey was broken up, and App State took over with just under seven minutes remaining.

The Mountaineers next drive ended abruptly after back-to-back sacks on Edwards. Sears narrowly avoided disaster after recovering his own fumble on the ensuing ‘Neers punt. Michigan took over at their 46-yard line with 4:51 left in the fourth period. They finally got the Mike Hart that everyone had been waiting for. The senior captain took the handoff to the left side, following his blockers and creating some space of his own. Hart brushed off two would-be tacklers and cut back across the field to the far sideline, outrunning Woazeah to score the 54-yard go-ahead touchdown for the Wolverines. After failing another two-point try, the Wolverines led 32-31 with 4:36 to play in regulation.

Disaster struck for Edwards and the Mountaineers on their first play of the next drive, as Wolverines safety Brandon Englemon intercepted a ball intended for wide receiver T.J. Courman. As Cinderella appeared to be turning back into a pumpkin, Michigan fans breathed a sigh of relief. The Wolverines picked up a first down and began draining the clock, forcing App State to call their second timeout. With 1:47 left to go in the game, Matthews was stopped short of the line to gain on third-and-ten. App State called their final timeout as Michigan lined up to attempt a 43-yard field goal to make it a four-point game. The kick was blocked by Quick and the Mountaineers took over at their own 26-yard line.

With 1:37 to go, Edwards went to work. He got nearly 20 yards on a scramble on first down. Two plays later, he hit Courman for a gain of 20 to the Michigan 40-yard line. After passes to Batichon and Jackson, the ‘Neers converted a first down across the 30-yard line. With under 40 seconds remaining and the clock running, Edwards threw across his body to Hillary at the 22-yard line. Hillary turned it upfield and got down to the 5-yard line. With 30 seconds left, Michigan called a timeout, presumably to give their offense some time should the Mountaineers jump in front with the lead. Because App State was out of timeouts and did not want to risk turning the ball over or running out of time, Jerry Moore decided to send out Rauch to attempt the go-ahead field goal.

Rauch’s 24-yard attempt was true, and the Mountaineers went in front 34-32 with 26 seconds left. App State had just gone 69-yards on 7 plays in just over a minute to take the lead. In the Big House. Against a top-five nationally-ranked team from the Big Ten. There have been major upsets before this game. But this one–should App State hang on–felt much, much bigger.

On Michigan’s final drive, Henne hit Manningham for a huge completion to get the Wolverines down inside the 20-yard line. Kicker Jason Gingell lined up for a 37-yard field goal attempt to win the game. After a clean snap and a good hold, Mountaineers safety Corey Lynch broke through the line and met the ball with his hands up. Lynch blocked the kick, picked it up on the bounce, and raced down the sideline before he was tracked down by Gingell inside the Michigan 10-yard line. Time had expired, there were no flags, and the game was over. The final score was 34-32 in favor of the Appalachian State Mountaineers from the Southern Conference of the FCS. Unbelievable. BTN’s play-by-play man Thom Brennaman said out loud what everyone was thinking: that this was “one of the greatest upsets in sports history”.

Final Thoughts

This game marked the beginning of perhaps the most ridiculous season in college football history. There were plenty of shocking results and upsets. But this one in Ann Arbor takes the cake. Most sports books wouldn’t even provide a point spread to bet on for this game. It wasn’t just that it was an FBS team, or just that it was Michigan. It was that it was the fifth-ranked team in the country that had returned many of the players–at least on offense–that had the Wolverines one win away from playing for a national title in 2006.

It got worse before it got better for the Wolverines in 2007. Likely still reeling from this loss to the Mountaineers, Michigan was thumped at home a week later by Oregon, 39-7. The Wolverines then won eight in a row, climbing back into the rankings at No. 13. The streak included wins over Notre Dame, No. 10 Penn State, and rival Michigan State. The Wolverines dropped their final two regular season games, at Wisconsin and at home against rival Ohio State. Michigan rebounded nicely with a 41-35 victory over Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the Capital One Bowl. The Wolverines finished the year 9-4 as Lloyd Carr decided to retire upon the season’s conclusion.

For Appalachian State, this game was just the beginning of another incredible season. The Mountaineers went 13-2 and won their third consecutive national championship. Although Edwards missed some time early in the year after some injuries, he bounced back and led the Mountaineers to a title game victory against Joe Flacco and the Delaware Blue Hens.

Corey Lynch was named the SoCon defensive player of the year and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Receiver Dexter Jackson was taken in the second round of that same draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jerry Moore stayed at App State until the end of the 2012 season. He never won another national championship, but still managed three double-digit win seasons and four top-ten rankings in his final five years in Boone.