Top 10 of the Last 10:The OTHER Upset

Recap:
10.Rams/Redskins 2006
9.The 2005 Fiesta Bowl
8.Rutgers/Louisville 2006
7.The 2006 Orange Bowl
6.The 2001 Maryland Terrapins
5b.USC/Stanford 2007

Earlier this month I discussed Stanford/USC as Number 5 but I split it with this because really both upsets were significantly great in College Football and in the last 10 years for this story lets tell the tale of tape.

Michigan football began in 1879. In their first 30 years of existence, Michigan established itself as a National Power under Coach Fielding Yost winning 4 consecutive National Championships from 1901-1904 and winning the 1st Ever Bowl game, a 49-0 win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. For the rest of the early part of the 20th century, Michigan ruled the midwest in College Football(along with Notre Dame). However, the 50's and 60's were distraught for Michigan as they struggled. It wouldn't be until 1969 that Michigan was revived from the grave under Bo Schembechler. On November 22, 1969, the turn around was complete as 12 Michigan knocked off 1 and defending National Champion Ohio State 24-12.

Michigan would advance to the Rose Bowl and won their first undisputed Big Ten Title in 20 years. In the 70's, Michigan would post 8+ wins every year for the entire decade. In the 80's, Michigan continued dominance of the Big Ten until the '84 season where they finished a mere 6-6 losing to National Champion BYU in the Holiday Bowl(Yes BYU). The Schembechler era concluded at Michigan on January 1, 1990 with a 17-10 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl. In the 90's Michigan prospered with stars such as Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson, both Heisman trophy winners. In 1997, Michigan finally did it as they went 12-0 en route to a National Championship victory over Ryan Leaf and Washington State in the Rose Bowl.

For the rest of the 90's, Michigan would fail to win the Big Ten and began a slow steady decline in the program. In 1999, despite not winning the Big Ten, Michigan qualified for the Orange Bowl beating Alabama 35-34 in Overtime. In 01, Michigan went 8-4 getting romped by Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. In 02, Michigan bounced back to finish 10-3 beating Florida in the Outback Bowl. In 2003, Michigan finally returned to the Rose Bowl only to be beaten down by USC 28-14.

In 2004, despite criticism for the lousy game vs SC, the Wolverines managed to come back and win the Big Ten only to lose in the Rose Bowl to Texas 38-37. 2005 had high expectations for the Wolverines as they were ranked No.4 in the Preseason Poll. After beating Northern Illinois, Michigan fell to unranked Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Minnesota but managed to win 4 in a row entering their November 19th match-up with Ohio State. However, for the 4th time in 5 years, Michigan fell to Ohio State this time 25-21 at home. The loss bumped Michigan from a potential Rose Bowl bid to the Alamo Bowl where they lost to Nebraska 32-28 after leading 28-17. Michigan had finished 7-5 and the critics were talking.

Going into 2006 some predicted Michigan to flounder again to mediocrity but they Wolverines disagreed. Michigan began 2006 with blow out wins over Vanderbilt and Central Michigan going into a September 16th showdown with Notre Dame at South Bend. In South Bend, Michigan destroyed Notre Dame's high-powered offense and ran all over their defense en route to a 47-21 blow out victory. Through the fall Michigan lost not and entered their November 18th showdown with Ohio State 11-0 and 2 in the country. Against Ohio State, Michigan fought long(even rallying from a 14-point deficit)and hard but fell to the Buckeyes, 42-39. Following the game, some argued that Michigan deserved a rematch. However, the BCS disagreed and Florida earned the bid instead sending Michigan to the Rose Bowl.

In the Rose Bowl, Michigan had an opportunity not only to avenge their 04 loss in the Rose Bowl and get 2007 off to a good start but to also claim a share of the National Championship(as Brent Musberger pointed out in the beginning). Michigan held SC in the first half as it was 3-3 at halftime. However, SC's passing game torched Michigan and at one point SC lead 32-11 en route to a 32-18 victory for the Trojans. The loss was devastating for Michigan but good news came as Chad Henne, Mike Hart, and Jake Long all chose to stay for their Senior year with one thing on their minds...National Championship.

Meanwhile over 400 miles away is a small North Carolina school called Appalachian State. App State began Football 50 years after Michigan had in 1928 going 3-6. In the 30's App State found success in Football having 12 straight winning seasons from 1929-1941. The 1948 squad went 8-1-1 earning a bowl bid(the Burley Bowl) only to lose to West Chester State 7-2. Over the years, App State enjoyed success in Football as they rarely lost more than 3 games a year for over 20 years(1956-1976). In 1987, App State finished 12-1 earning a birth to the Semi-Finals of the I-AA playoffs only to fall short. In 2005, after 10 attempts under Coach Jerry Moore, App State finally won the I-AA National Title 21-16 over Northern Iowa.

In 2006, App State repeated defeating Massachusetts for the Championship 28-17 finishing 14-1 overall. Going into this game, however, App State was a major underdog as no I-AA team had ever beaten a ranked I-A school and Michigan was predicted by many to walk away with the National Championship. The game was kicked off at Noon time, the very first game broadcast on the Big Ten Network. On their opening drive, Michigan jumped out in 4 plays to a 7-0 game. App State would strike back though and by the end of the 1st Quarter it was Michigan 14 Appalachian State 7.

In the 2nd Quarter, Appalachian State's offense exploded outscoring Michigan 21-3 en route to a 28-17 lead at halftime. In the 3rd Quarter, the Mountaineers threatened to make it 35-17 but Michigan prevented the touchdown and settled with a Field Goal to make it 31-17. Michigan managed to get a field goal to make it 31-20 and a touchdown(2-point no good) to make it 31-26 after 3. In the 4th Quarter, Mike Hart drove a 54 yard run to make it 32-31 Michigan(2-point no good) and it seemed like the upset was over. With 2 minutes to go, Michigan hoped to connect on a Field Goal, however the kick was blocked and App State got the ball with time. Quarterback Armanti Edwards drove the Mountaineers down field and with 26 seconds to go App State took a 34-32 lead. Michigan only had seconds to go.

On 1st down, Henne's pass was incomplete. However, 2nd was not as Henne connected with Manningham for 42 yards to make it 1st down at the 20. With 6 seconds to go Michigan went for what seemed to be the game-winning field goal only for it to be blocked and the upset was complete as App State came away victorious, 34-32.

The nation was stunned, Ann Arbor was stunned, the BCS was stunned. Never before had a I-AA school beat a ranked I-A school. Sports Illustrated writer Stewart Mandel noted after the upset, ..>..> ..> ..>..>..>
"

This wasn't a high-level I-AA team knocking off a low-level BCS-conference team (like Montana State over Colorado or New Hampshire over Northwestern). This was a team with at least 22 less scholarships and one-tenth as much funding as its opponent (according to public data, Michigan's football program earned more than $50 million in revenue in 2005-06; Appalachian State earned less than $5 million) walking into a 110,000-seat stadium and knocking off a team chock full of Rivals.com five-star recruits and future NFL draft picks."

After the game, Michigan went unranked after being 5(the first time a Top 5 team fell out of the poll). The next week Michigan was blown out by Oregon 39-7 at home but bounced back and was 8-2 by early November until late season losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State pushed them down to 8-4. Recently Coach Lloyd Carr announced his retirement and Michigan is seeking a bowl bid. Meanwhile, App State beat Lenior-Rhyne but loss to Wofford and Georgia Southern and tomorrow plays Eastern Washington in the I-AA playoffs and look to win their 3rd straight National Championship. Overall, however, this is 5 mainly for the shock factor and significance of the game as it set the standard for the upsets in the 2007 College Football season. As a bonus I present to you the final minutes off App State/Michigan.