Southern Conference Smackdown

Re: #3 Wofford at #2 Appalachian State
I do not recall ever seeing a college football game matching two teams in the top FIVE of the national rankings with an outcome quite like this one. In short, Appy State delivered a beatdown of possibly unprecedented proportions. That is, the Mountaineers from mountainous western North Carolina pulverized the Terriers from hilly northwestern South Carolina by a whopping score of 70-24 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina last night.
ASU opened a can of whoop-ass on Wofford, and in front of a national television audience watching the game as broadcast on ESPN2, no less. And folks, it could've been worse. Appalachian's star quarterback Armanti Edwards sliced up the Terrier defense with 367 yards passing on ONLY 19 attempts (!!!) and tacked on 73 yards rushing as well. But, after Edwards tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brian Quick to stretch the ASU lead to 56-24 with a full FOURTEEN MINUTES left in the fourth quarter, Appalachian pulled the quarterback out of the game. The backup proceeded to lead two more touchdown drives with a strictly all-rush offense. Staggering.

Especially considering that Wofford came into the game ranked THIRD nationally in the Division I College Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA). The Terriers were 6-1 and had averaged 45.0 ppg against their six FCS opponents. Their only loss was by a mere ten points, 23-13, on the road against Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) foe South Carolina! In short, ASU beat Wofford by 36 pts MORE than South Carolina did.

Of course, it should be pointed out that even in this game, Wofford's offense played strong. They rolled up an impressive 497 yards of total offense, including 393 yards on the ground, behind TWO 100-yard-rushers. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold on to the ball, and their four fumbles and three interceptions repeatedly set up Appalachian State with great field position. ASU converted enough of those turnovers into scores to turn this anticipated "showdown" into a laugher.

Launch Time

I first seriously considered launching an all-sports 'blog early last fall when Appalachian State stunned Michigan in the Big House. I wanted to write about how ASU was actually pretty good & therefore Michigan still had hope for a good season. In fact, I thought there was a good chance that UM would win out. Turns out they didn't quite do that, but they did finish 10-3 with a victory over Florida's Mighty Gators in the Citrus Bowl. Of course, I didn't start the 'blog then, and didn't write that story until now, but that's when I first considered it. Still, the roots go back even further.

For the past several years, I've been typing up & disseminating college football weekend preview e-mails for friends, highlighting the important matchups and the most overlooked big games. I've always had the hankering to write about college football, and now I have the tool to inflict my words on a larger audience than my e-mail list. Enjoy!