2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan | |||||||||||||||||||
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Date | September 1, 2007[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Michigan Stadium[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Ann Arbor, Michigan[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Michigan (no betting line)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
Referee | John O'Neill[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 109,218[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | Big Ten Network[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Thom Brennaman (play-by-play)[5] Charles Davis (analyst)[5] Charissa Thompson (sideline)[5] |
The 2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game was a regular season college football game between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Michigan Wolverines. It was held at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on September 1, 2007, and was the first game of the season for both teams. The Wolverines entered the game ranked No. 5 in both major Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) polls and media outlets considered them to be preseason favorites to win the Big Ten conference championship as well as possible contenders for the national championship, while the Mountaineers were ranked No. 1 in The Sports Network's Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) poll and were preseason favorites to win their third consecutive FCS national championship.
Games between FBS and FCS teams typically result in lopsided victories for the FBS team, and the Appalachian State–Michigan game was not expected to be an exception. So confident were Las Vegas sportsbooks in Michigan's chances that no betting line was issued for the game. The game was also the first to be broadcast on the then-new Big Ten Network. It began with a strong first half for Appalachian State, who held a 28–17 lead at the end of the half. Michigan regained the lead at 32–31 in the fourth quarter, but Appalachian State took the lead for a second time on a short field goal with 26 seconds left. The Mountaineers blocked a game-winning field goal attempt from Michigan at the end of regulation to secure a 34–32 win.
Immediately hailed as one of the greatest upsets in college football history, the game served as the lead story of SportsCenter and was the cover story for the following week's edition of Sports Illustrated. Appalachian State became the first FCS team to defeat a ranked FBS team, and as a result of the game Michigan dropped out of the top 25 of the AP Poll entirely, marking the first time a team had fallen from the top five to out of the poll entirely as the result of a single game. In the aftermath of the game, the Associated Press amended its polling policy to make FCS teams eligible for the AP Poll, which had previously been limited to FBS teams.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers finished the 2007 season with a 13–2 record and won a third consecutive FCS title. They also became the first FCS team to receive votes in the final AP Poll, tying South Florida for the 34th overall ranking. Michigan finished their season 9–4, winning the Capital One Bowl, and ranked No. 18 in the final AP Poll. A rematch in 2014 at Michigan Stadium was won decisively by the Wolverines, 52–14. The 2014 rematch was the Mountaineers' first game as an FBS school.[6]
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