THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, September 4, 2007 michigandaily.com APPALACHIAN STATE 34, MICHIGAN 32 BY THE NUMBERS Top 25 teams defeated by opponents from the former Division I-AA in the history of the AP poll. 28 Points allowed by Michigan's defense in the first half. 0 Wins Michigan has this season. 51 Chad Henne's completion percentage '2 Michigan field goals blocked in the last two minutes 69 Yards Appalachian State gained in 71 seconds in its final drive 26 Seconds on the clock when Michigan got the ball for its final possession Length in yards of Michigan's game-winning field goal attempt APPALACHIAN FATE Senior quarterback Chad Henne and the Wolverines couldn't elude losing 34-32 to Appalachian State, a Football Championship Subdivision team. Blue suffers historic upset By KEVIN WRIGHT Daily Sports Editor Put aside the different subdivisions and throw out preseason rankings. It came down to execution. Plain and simple, Appalachian State's 34-32 upset win over No. 5 Michigan in Saturday's home opener, a feat labeled as the greatest upset in college football his- tory, was decided on the field. "They just outplayed us," Michigan tight end Mike Massey said. "They exe- cuted better than we did, and we had a lot of penalties that hurt us too." Appalachian State wide receiver Dex- ter Jackson brought reality home for the Michigan faithful with his post-game comments. "By coming in here and beating Michi- gan, it's a big statement to represent every team that's in our division," Jackson said. "This opened a lot of doors for a lot of teams." Saturday's loss to Appalachian State more than likely locked the door to a national championship bid and opened floodgates that could drown what's left of the Wolverines' 2007 campaign. Michigan's home opener was supposed to be their first step to a National Champi- onship run, but all it took was a two-time national champion from a lower subdi- vision of college football - the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), former- ly Division I-AA - to dash those hopes. "When you lose to a team like that - they're a I-AA team - how can you go for a National Championship?" said Mike Hart, who rushed for 188 yards and three scores despite a bruised thigh sidelining him for roughly two quarters. "I believe, personally, it's out of the picture. I'm not going to give up on it. It's in everybody else's hands now." The loss marked the first time a team ranked in the Associated Press poll, which started in 1936, fell to a FCS squad. What started out as just a scare turned into the statement of the season, but not for the team that had questions to answer. Appalachian State entered the Big House more hopeful than expectant. The Mountaineer sideline began to believe when Jackson broke free on a 68- yard touchdown catch on a simple slant pattern to knot the score at seven with 10:55 left in the first quarter. "That was real big," Jackson said. "That was big motivation for me that we could hang with these boys. So basically before that, I knew if I made a play, it would be a long day for them." Numerous Michigan miscues followed to give the Mountaineers the edge. Protection broke down when Appala- chian State (1-0) blocked two Jason Gin- gell field goals, one a 44-yard attempt with 1:47 left and a potential game winning 37- yard try with six seconds remaining. The Wolverines (0-1) committed seven penalties to the tune of56 yards, including an illegal procedure and a delay of game that stymied two drives in Mountaineer territory. And Chad Henne, the four-year start- ing quarterback, threw an ill-advised toss across his body that Appalachian State's Leonard Love intercepted. The natural order of college football hierarchy appeared to return in the sec- ond half. Michigan stormed back to a 32- 31 lead with 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter after an inspired 54-yard touch- down scamper by Hart. But Mountaineer coach Jerry Moore wouldn't let his team quit. See UPSET, Page 5B What's next? M' looks ahead By SCOTT BELL Daily Sports Editor As Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore celebrated near midfield Saturday, one of his media relations staffers had a message for him: "We've got a lot to do." But for as many interviews as Moore and his Mpuntaineers will be doing in the next week, the call to action might nake more sense to the Michigan coaches: They've got a lot to do. And not the fun kind of stuff Appala- chian State will be doing. Whether it's changing personnel to make the team more competitive or rethinking its schemes, the Michigan coaching staff has a lot to work on to right the team's ship before it's too late. "Now we have to fight back and we have to deal with some adversity to find out what we are made of," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said Saturday. At the team's press conference leading into last week's game, senior defensive end Tim Jamison said the team's goals were "real high. Huge." The team's three senior offensive lead- ers - Mike Hart, Chad Henne and Jake Long - all shunned the NFL and returned for a shot at the program's first National Championship in a decade. But as quickly as Corey Lynch broke through Michigan's field goal protec- tion and blocked Jason Gingell's attempt at a game-winning kick, the Wolverines' National Championship hopes vanished. While some players tried to remain optimistic following Saturday's loss, one of the seniors who stayed at Michigan for the chance to be a champion all but con- ceded his team's fate. "If everybody goes out and loses two games each, we'll be back in the picture," 'Hart said. "But what are the chances of that happening? So the focus is on the Big Ten Championship now." At yesterday's press conference, Carr and a handful of seniors faced questions regarding the team's changing goals. Long still spoke about the team striv- ing for a championship, but referred to the Big Ten title as the team's new goal. "That was only one of our goals," he said when asked about the National Championship. "We have a lot more goals that we can accomplish." But the newly shifted focus toward a Big Ten Title may even be too ambitious if Michigan's defense continues getting off to sluggish starts. The coaching staff has already made changes to help make sure what happened The Michigan football team must now reevaluate its goals and strategies for the rest of the season. Saturday doesn't become habit. tojust six in the second. But 28 first-half Fifth-year senior Brandent Englemon points puts any team - even a purported and true freshman Donovan Warren Big Ten power - in a deep hole. replaced struggling secondary members Defensive tackle Will Johnson said sophomore Stevie Brown and junior yesterday that adjustments weren't made Johnny Sears at halftime. Both were until halftime. Like substitutions, fixing effective, but Carr said yesterday that mistakes becomes less effective if it takes starters for the Oregon game will largely too longto do it. depend on who performs best in practice And with three traditionally strong this week. teams entering the Big House before Sep- Tactical adjustments were made at tember is over, changes need to be made, halftime, too. Appalachian State went and quickly. from putting up 28 points in the first half They've got a lot to do. Michigan stands tall on the road against nation's No. 2 team Bell: Time to play the blame game WPORTS TUESDAY COLUMN 2B WOMEN'S SOCCER 6B