Big Blue Who?

Ann Arbor Michigan was the sight of one of the most stunning upsets in college sports history. Appalachian State (a former Division I-AA school) beat the Michigan Wolverines 34-32 on the opening Saturday of college football. As I understand it, smaller schools are getting money for playing larger teams. Appalachian State received $400,000 for playing Michigan! They also have received much more than that, not monetary, since Saturday. It wasn't like Appalachian State was some horrible team. They were two-time defending champions in Division I-AA, but we are talking about competing with one of the most prominent college football teams in the history of college football, in the University of Michigan. This is why I watch sports. You never know when something like this is going to happen!

If you didn't know (and I bet you didn't), Appalachian State is located in Boone, NC (population 15,000). Could you imagine playing Michigan and walking into that stadium? There were 110, 000 people in the stadium to watch the game! That is over seven times the population of the town that the college is located in! This proves that the "little guy" always" has a chance.

Two things bothered me about the after-game interviews. First, the talk of Lloyd Carr (Michigan's coach) being fired. Stuff like this happens (even to Michigan!). If the team does not recover from this, and regain it's dominance this season, then yes, maybe a new coach should be looked at, but not after the first game. Give Appalachian State some credit! It wasn't just poor play on Michigan's part. The play of Appalachian State also had much to do with their win. Second, the talk of the Appalachian State players. They talked as if they had won another national championship. Yes, it was great, and yes, it will go down as one of the biggest upsets in college football history, but I did not hear one player mention anything about "we have to focus on next weeks game now" or "it was great, but we still have a lot of games to play this year". I even heard one player say something to the effect "This win makes the season". No it doesn't! You can enjoy the win Appalachian State but you better get focused on next week or you will be the next victim of a big loss.