Just saw some highlights of the Appalachian State upset of Michigan. I was amazed to see that Appalachian State was almost all black. How does this work? Are there that many blacks even willing to play college football, that they can now dominate the rosters of even the lower divisions of the NCAA? Aren't there supposed to be an awful lot of poor whites living in the Appalachian area? If so, apparently few of them can make the local college football team, unlike all the poor blacks around the country who dominate the rosters of their local college teams (as well as the rosters of all the top college powerhouses who are not located within in their part of the country). Just completely ridiculous. Edited by: bigunreal
Appalachian State
- Thread starter bigunreal
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GreatLakeState
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Of course, apparently it's working for Appalachian State ... two straight national championships, and a win at U-M. Completely ridiculous.
Lance Alworth
Mentor
I didn't see the entire roster, but they looked to have a good number of white players, at least from what I saw of the highlights
Gi-15
Mentor
watch the picture on the front page of si.com, they seem well balanced
And last year mostly white Montana State defeated Colorado. The trend of smaller schools defeated bigger schools just shows how artifically contrived the scouting process is in Div. I football. Lots of teams are able to field teams that are at least competetive with Div. I teams and many of those teams are majority white. This despite fewer scholarships and less overall practice time. Applacian may be blacker than most top IAA teams, but their victory over Michigan is still a blow to the system.
whiteafflete15
Guru
Last year, mostly white New Hampshire upset Big Ten Northwestern 34-17. I think their whole O-line was white, both leading receivers were white (David Ball was one), their punt returner was white, their running back was white,QB, and a good part of the defense was white, including a safety.
Realgeorge
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A White defensive player blocked Michigan's final field goal kick. The App State offensive line was all White. They manhandled the all-Black Michigan defensive players. Michigan's defense was in some sort of funk. I think that App State is actually almost as good as Michigan, and so are lots of other smaller college teams.
A dynamic seems to be materializing -- Having the largest quantity of huge Negroes to recruit for a football team doesn't guarantee success. And small colleges are catching up to the big schools just like in basketball.
But I agree with BigUnreal. It was utterly disgusting to see all those Africans filling the roster at a school called "Appalachian State" which should be exclusively American and White
A dynamic seems to be materializing -- Having the largest quantity of huge Negroes to recruit for a football team doesn't guarantee success. And small colleges are catching up to the big schools just like in basketball.
But I agree with BigUnreal. It was utterly disgusting to see all those Africans filling the roster at a school called "Appalachian State" which should be exclusively American and White
mrjohnnynofear
Guru
I thought this was a good read. It also explains how they got some of their players...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/sports/ncaafootball/03appa lachian.html?em&ex=1188964800&en=47e2215eb036a874&ei=5087%0A
BOONE, N.C., Sept. 2  There used to be a running joke in North Carolina that the best college football team in the state could not be found at any of those esteemed campuses with basketball traditions in Chapel Hill, Durham or Raleigh. You had to go to a small resort town in the Blue Ridge Mountains named after Daniel Boone to find North Carolina's top program.
But as Appalachian State proved on Saturday, when it pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history with a 34-32 victory at fifth-ranked Michigan, it is not a joke anymore. The Mountaineers, a mostly unknown collection of players who would probably never show up on Michigan's recruiting radar, showed up at Michigan Stadium, known as the Big House, and proved they belonged.
"Hopefully the whole world knows," quarterback Armanti Edwards said during a news conference on Sunday.
It was a stunning upset by any measure. But oddly it was not as great a shock to those who have followed Appalachian State. The Mountaineers won the last two championships in Division I-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision. They play one level below premier programs like Michigan, which plays in what is now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The Mountaineers were not the cream puff opponent that Michigan fans might have envisioned, even if they do play in the Southern Conference against opponents like Wofford and Elon. In fact, a university official said the team has had difficulty scheduling nonconference teams in its own state, like North Carolina and Wake Forest, which apparently want no part of Appalachian State. They know better.
Appalachian State is 27-4 since the start of the 2005 season and has a 15-game winning streak  the longest among Division I teams.
Coach Jerry Moore, in his 19th season at Appalachian State, was named the American Football Coaches Association National coach of the year for the past two seasons.
"I feel like everybody here who starts or even backs up can play for a Division I school anywhere in the country," receiver Dexter Jackson, who had 3 catches for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns, said during a news conference at Appalachian State on Sunday. "Coach Moore told us to play like we had a chip on our shoulder and show these boys."
Indeed, Moore finds players with that requisite chip and brings them to Appalachian State. Many are players who have the ability to play in Division I-A, but for some reason never quite made it there. They are too short or too thin or, in some cases, too obscure to have been noticed by the major programs. Among the program's alumni is Dexter Coakley, a former Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams linebacker, who is undersized at 5 feet 10 inches.
Moore is like many coaches at smaller programs; he identifies players on the recruiting bubble and then waits to see if they get an offer from a top program. Moore looks for speed in recruiting, crucial at every position but particularly for Moore's wide-open spread offense.
Edwards fit the mold. A 6-foot sophomore from Greenwood, S.C., he had a chance to play for Clemson, a traditional Atlantic Coast Conference power. But Edwards said that Clemson wanted him to switch to cornerback or receiver.
So he committed to Appalachian State, stayed at quarterback, earned a starting position as a freshman last season and became only the fifth quarterback in N.C.A.A. Division I history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in one season. Against Michigan, Edwards was 17 of 23 for 227 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 62 yards and another touchdown.
Jackson, the speedy wide receiver, was another Division I-A hopeful. He grew up in Atlanta wanting to play for the Georgia Bulldogs, only to be told he was not quite tall enough at 5-10. Jackson's 68-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the first quarter answered Michigan's opening scoring drive, tied the score at 7-7 and sent a message to the Wolverines.
"We just wanted to show y'all boys we could play with y'all," Jackson said he told Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent in the end zone after the touchdown. "He started snickering a little bit, knowing like, 'What's going on; we're Michigan and we're letting this school come in here and show they can play with us.' "
Moore called that drive the turning point of the game, even though it came in the opening minutes.
"When they go down and score to make it 7-0, there were 109,000 people and millions of people watching who thought that's what was going to happen," Moore said. "We came right back and countered with that touchdown and it was a 7-7 ballgame, and from that point on, I think people just said we could play with these guys."
But it wasn't until Corey Lynch blocked a field-goal attempt in the final seconds that Appalachian State secured the victory. Lynch, a fifth-year senior who said he was overlooked by major programs because he played for a small evangelical high school in Florida, could become the first three-time all-American at Appalachian State since Coakley.
The final play marked the start of the celebration in Boone. One of the goal posts at Kidd Brewer Stadium was torn down by a crowd estimated at more than 4,000 and carried to the home of the university chancellor, Kenneth E. Peacock. But it was an orderly party; a university police officer said there were no arrests.
That's in keeping with a student body that comes primarily from Greensboro, Charlotte and western North Carolina, drawn to this small mountain town known for sports like skiing and hiking.
But this victory could make it a bit less obscure. At least, that's what some hope.
"For Appalachian to be able to be in the newspapers the next day, showing Appalachian with Michigan, that's got value," said Peacock, who attended Saturday's game. "What the score says after that is a whole 'nother story."
It is likely to add dollars to the university coffers as well. In addition to the $400,000 Appalachian State received from Michigan for playing the game, the athletic director Charlie Cobb said the local Wal-Mart would sell as much as $1 million worth of Appalachian State merchandise this year.
And the college has found some new clients as well. Cobb said Ohio retailers are looking to stock Appalachian State apparel now.
It seems Ohio State fans are suddenly very fond of the Mountaineers.
Edited by: mrjohnnynofear
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/sports/ncaafootball/03appa lachian.html?em&ex=1188964800&en=47e2215eb036a874&ei=5087%0A
BOONE, N.C., Sept. 2  There used to be a running joke in North Carolina that the best college football team in the state could not be found at any of those esteemed campuses with basketball traditions in Chapel Hill, Durham or Raleigh. You had to go to a small resort town in the Blue Ridge Mountains named after Daniel Boone to find North Carolina's top program.
But as Appalachian State proved on Saturday, when it pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history with a 34-32 victory at fifth-ranked Michigan, it is not a joke anymore. The Mountaineers, a mostly unknown collection of players who would probably never show up on Michigan's recruiting radar, showed up at Michigan Stadium, known as the Big House, and proved they belonged.
"Hopefully the whole world knows," quarterback Armanti Edwards said during a news conference on Sunday.
It was a stunning upset by any measure. But oddly it was not as great a shock to those who have followed Appalachian State. The Mountaineers won the last two championships in Division I-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision. They play one level below premier programs like Michigan, which plays in what is now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The Mountaineers were not the cream puff opponent that Michigan fans might have envisioned, even if they do play in the Southern Conference against opponents like Wofford and Elon. In fact, a university official said the team has had difficulty scheduling nonconference teams in its own state, like North Carolina and Wake Forest, which apparently want no part of Appalachian State. They know better.
Appalachian State is 27-4 since the start of the 2005 season and has a 15-game winning streak  the longest among Division I teams.
Coach Jerry Moore, in his 19th season at Appalachian State, was named the American Football Coaches Association National coach of the year for the past two seasons.
"I feel like everybody here who starts or even backs up can play for a Division I school anywhere in the country," receiver Dexter Jackson, who had 3 catches for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns, said during a news conference at Appalachian State on Sunday. "Coach Moore told us to play like we had a chip on our shoulder and show these boys."
Indeed, Moore finds players with that requisite chip and brings them to Appalachian State. Many are players who have the ability to play in Division I-A, but for some reason never quite made it there. They are too short or too thin or, in some cases, too obscure to have been noticed by the major programs. Among the program's alumni is Dexter Coakley, a former Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams linebacker, who is undersized at 5 feet 10 inches.
Moore is like many coaches at smaller programs; he identifies players on the recruiting bubble and then waits to see if they get an offer from a top program. Moore looks for speed in recruiting, crucial at every position but particularly for Moore's wide-open spread offense.
Edwards fit the mold. A 6-foot sophomore from Greenwood, S.C., he had a chance to play for Clemson, a traditional Atlantic Coast Conference power. But Edwards said that Clemson wanted him to switch to cornerback or receiver.
So he committed to Appalachian State, stayed at quarterback, earned a starting position as a freshman last season and became only the fifth quarterback in N.C.A.A. Division I history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in one season. Against Michigan, Edwards was 17 of 23 for 227 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 62 yards and another touchdown.
Jackson, the speedy wide receiver, was another Division I-A hopeful. He grew up in Atlanta wanting to play for the Georgia Bulldogs, only to be told he was not quite tall enough at 5-10. Jackson's 68-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the first quarter answered Michigan's opening scoring drive, tied the score at 7-7 and sent a message to the Wolverines.
"We just wanted to show y'all boys we could play with y'all," Jackson said he told Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent in the end zone after the touchdown. "He started snickering a little bit, knowing like, 'What's going on; we're Michigan and we're letting this school come in here and show they can play with us.' "
Moore called that drive the turning point of the game, even though it came in the opening minutes.
"When they go down and score to make it 7-0, there were 109,000 people and millions of people watching who thought that's what was going to happen," Moore said. "We came right back and countered with that touchdown and it was a 7-7 ballgame, and from that point on, I think people just said we could play with these guys."
But it wasn't until Corey Lynch blocked a field-goal attempt in the final seconds that Appalachian State secured the victory. Lynch, a fifth-year senior who said he was overlooked by major programs because he played for a small evangelical high school in Florida, could become the first three-time all-American at Appalachian State since Coakley.
The final play marked the start of the celebration in Boone. One of the goal posts at Kidd Brewer Stadium was torn down by a crowd estimated at more than 4,000 and carried to the home of the university chancellor, Kenneth E. Peacock. But it was an orderly party; a university police officer said there were no arrests.
That's in keeping with a student body that comes primarily from Greensboro, Charlotte and western North Carolina, drawn to this small mountain town known for sports like skiing and hiking.
But this victory could make it a bit less obscure. At least, that's what some hope.
"For Appalachian to be able to be in the newspapers the next day, showing Appalachian with Michigan, that's got value," said Peacock, who attended Saturday's game. "What the score says after that is a whole 'nother story."
It is likely to add dollars to the university coffers as well. In addition to the $400,000 Appalachian State received from Michigan for playing the game, the athletic director Charlie Cobb said the local Wal-Mart would sell as much as $1 million worth of Appalachian State merchandise this year.
And the college has found some new clients as well. Cobb said Ohio retailers are looking to stock Appalachian State apparel now.
It seems Ohio State fans are suddenly very fond of the Mountaineers.
Edited by: mrjohnnynofear