Throwback Thursday: The Upset at The Big House – Appalachian State stuns Michigan

We introduce our weekly Throwback Thursday column by looking back at one of the most historical upsets on opening weekend.

One of the biggest attractions of college football is upsets. Commentators, analysts and fans say on any given Saturday, anything is possible. Upsets are especially significant if the team is ranked in the Top 25. However, most huge upsets occur from the middle to the later part of the season. Rarely does a ranked team lose to an unranked team on opening weekend, much less against a team no one in the country knows a lot about.

On Sept. 1, 2007, that is exactly what the Michigan Wolverines felt. Entering the season Michigan was ranked fifth in the AP and coaches’ polls and were favorites to compete for the BCS National Championship. This team was loaded with talent including quarterback Chad Henne, running back Mike Hart, and defensive end Morgan Trent. Their opponent, the Appalachian State Mountaineers, were a mere afterthought going into this game.

While the Wolverines opened the scoring with a Mike Hart touchdown run, Mountaineer quarterback Armanti Edwards answered right back with a touchdown pass to Dexter Jackson, setting the tone for the rest of the game. By halftime, Appalachian State had Michigan’s and the entire country’s full attention, leading 28-17.

Michigan did not back down, eventually taking a 32-31 lead with just over four minutes to play. Everyone figured the Wolverines would survive but fall drastically in the polls. The Mountaineers erased those thoughts. Edwards drove his team into field goal range, setting up a 24-yard field goal by Julian Rauch. The kick sailed through with seconds left, but the Wolverines had one final chance to salvage a win.

Henne completed a 46-yard pass to Mario Manningham on the ensuing possession, setting up a 37-yard field goal attempt for kicker Jason Gingell. However, safety Corey Lynch came off the edge and blocked the kick, securing the upset for his team. It marked only the second time and FCS school had upset a Top 25 opponent.

As a result, Michigan was dropped out of the rankings completely. They would rebound to finish 8-4, win the Capital One Bowl and finish ranked No. 18 in the final AP poll. Most, however, think “what could have been” had the Wolverines not lost that opening day game.

With this being one of college football’s greatest upsets and occurring in Week 1, now all ranked teams have the thought of “let’s not be the next 2007 Michigan.”