August 25, 2011 - 3:59pm
Michigan to face Appalachian State in 2014 season opener
BY TIM ROHAN
In 2007, Appalachian State was supposed to be a cupcake opponent. They weren't. So what would a rematch bring? Revenge?
The Michigan football team announced on Thursday that the Wolverines will open the 2014 season with a rematch against the Division 1-AA powerhouse. Yes, against the same school that upset Lloyd Carr's Michigan team, 34-32, and sent shock waves through Ann Arbor and the college football world.
That loss, the first in Carr's final season as coach, ended with Appalachian State blocking a Wolverine field goal attempt. One could argue that it was the first in a long line of embarrassments and disappointment that has hung over the team since Carr's final season and Rich Rodriguez's tumultuous three-year stint as coach.
What could make the matchup even more interesting is Appalachian State's apparent interest in becoming a division-1 football team. In a USA Today report released this week, the school was said to be giving "serious consideration" to the idea.
"We have some aspirations, and we're going to try to identify some opportunities," athletic director Charlie Cobb told the newspaper. "But we wanted people to know we have these aspirations in an official capacity, and we felt it was important to make this known before the season started.
"It is important to understand that this is just a declaration. But it is one — if done correctly and in a fiscally responsible manner — is something Appalachian State should look at. Let's see what happens."
They did win three consecutive FCS titles from 2005 to 2007, and the Mountaineers regularly schedule FBS schools during non-conference play. The plot would only thicken if Appalachian State did become an FBS school by the time it played the Wolverines.
Nevertheless, in 2014 Michigan finally gets a shot at revenge seven years after the two teams first met. And the Wolverines' 2014 non-conference schedule does include a home game in week two against Notre Dame, but there are still two open weeks yet to be filled.
