A Fantasy Matchup Comes True

Appalachian State and Delaware face off for the FCS Championship

Dec. 14, 2007

By Charles Burton

Special to CSTV.com from CollegeSportingNews.com

Before this Friday, the only way fans would be able to determine the winner of a fantasy matchup between Delaware and Appalachian State would be to put a copy of EA Sports' NCAA '08 into their Playstation.

But the Playoff Gods have spoken, and this Friday in Chattanooga, the world will be looking there when the two playoff survivors face off for the Division I National Championship.

Two schools with the biggest fan followings in all of FCS will finally get a chance to duke it out on the field.

Delaware, who seems to have a mortal lock on the college football market in the First State as well as the metro Philadelphia region, takes on Appalachian State, which has not only captured the interest of fans in the Blue Ridge Mountains but of the rest of the college football world as well. (You might have heard: Appalachian State upset No. 5 Michigan of the FBS on the first weekend of the year, remember?)

It's not only Delaware, Appalachian State and Ohio State fans that might want to tune in on Friday: Army fans might want to tune in as well. Earlier in the year, the Blue Hens humiliated FBS Navy 59-52 on their homecoming on CSTV. That also makes this game a matchup of FCS teams that have beaten bowl bound FBS teams.

With the fan bases and the intrigue of such a great matchup, it could be the biggest party that Chattanooga has ever seen in the championship. For the first time, the tailgaters on "the Rock" will meet the tailgaters at "the Tub."

It's the South versus the North. It's Moonshine meets "Sweet Caroline." It's Ken Burns (former Newark, Delaware resident) meets Daniel Boone (former Boone, North Carolina resident - and namesake of Appalachian State's hometown).

It's the "Civil War" in Chattanooga, and it should be a great one.

If Appalachian State wins the national championship, it will be their third in three years - which would be a feat no FCS football team has ever accomplished.

Either the CAA or SoCon will have the chance to win their conferences' third title in the past five years. Delaware won the championship in 2003, while the CAA's James Madison won the title in 2004.

If the Mountaineers prevail on Friday, it would mean that they would have beaten three CAA teams in the playoffs to get there: James Madison, Richmond, and Delaware.

This isn't the first time two unseeded teams have made the championship game - the last time was when James Madison beat Montana 31-21 in 2004 - but the way they got here couldn't have been more different.

Appalachian State dodged three bullets against James Madison in a 28-27 victory at home at Kidd Brewer Stadium (called "The Rock" by hardcore Mountaineer fans). The first bullet was seeing James Madison quarterback Rodney Landers slip on a 4th-and-1 conversion try on the Dukes' 30-yard line. The second was seeing a miracle completion from quarterback Armanti Edwards to backup running back Devon Moore on 4th down to set up the game-winning touchdown. The third and final dodged bullet involved defensive lineman Gary Tharrington forcing an improbable fumble at the Mountaineer 5-yard line to preserve the victory.

The 28 points would be lowest point total the Mountaineers would give up all year. The Dukes held onto the ball for more than 40 minutes but were unable to land the knockout blow.

The Mountaineers would also be thanking their lucky stars that both Montana and McNeese State, the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds, got upset in their first round games. That allowed Appalachian State to outbid their future opponents for home games, meaning the Mountaineers would be able to host Rounds Two and Three.

Eastern Washington, however, made sure that home wasn't too comfortable as the Mountaineers survived a late rally and onside kick attempt to manage a 38-35 victory. Edwards would account for 347 yards of offense and three touchdowns, but survived a special-teams onslaught from Eastern Washington as the Eagles rode two long kickoff returns (one for a touchdown) and a successful fake punt attempt. All three plays helped account for three Eagle touchdowns.

Although at first glance Appalachian State's 55-35 win over Richmond may have seemed easy, what Mountaineer fans may forget is that their defense gave up 21 unanswered points in a stretch at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to tie the score at 35. Still, the Spiders couldn't withstand the Mountaineer onslaught as Edwards' 313 rushing yards, 182 yards passing and seven touchdowns will go down as one of the best performances ever in the postseason.

Where Appalachian State has done it with a killer offense, Delaware's success in the postseason required a lot of hard work on the road.

Their first round game was "the game that everybody wanted" as the long-anticipated matchup between Delaware and Delaware State finally happened - thanks to the magic of the FCS playoffs. The outcome wasn't one for the ages, however, as Delaware manhandled their downstate opponents at home at Tubby Raymond Field (or "The Tub", as affectionately referred to by Delaware fans) by a 44-7 score. Running back Omar Cuff was the star, rushing for a school-record 288 yards and four touchdowns in the first-round rout.

The Hens, though, would have to fight on the road for their right to play in the championship game. Their first stop was against the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, the Northern Iowa Panthers.

After falling behind 10-0, quarterback Joe Flacco and a revitalized defense rallied to a 39-27 victory to send the Hens to the semifinals. Although Flacco's numbers were impressive (25-for-45, 312 yards, and three total touchdowns), it's two key defensive plays that stood out: a 55 yard fumble recovery by linebacker Erik Johnson for a touchdown, and a strip by defensive end Matt Marcorelle to stymie a potential game-tying Panther drive in the third quarter.

Delaware would engage in a similarly balanced, defensive-minded game in their semifinal win, a 20-17 victory over Southern Illinois. Down 10-0 early once again, Cuff, Flacco and the defense would claw back to get the victory. Erik Johnson had 9 tackles and an interception to pace the defense, while Flacco (21-for-38, 243 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Cuff (169 all-purpose yards) would push the Hens in range for kicker Jon Striefsky to be the difference with his two field goals of 47 and 24 yards.

Delaware head football coach K.C. Keeler, on the famous upset of Michigan by Appalachian State: "I had a very difficult time watching the Michigan-App State game because I am such a huge Michigan fan. I grew up Michigan. Tubby Raymond was my coach, and he played at Michigan. We have the Michigan helmets."

Appalachian State head football coach Jerry Moore, on preparing his team for the playoffs: "Hey, our kids have been playing for the playoffs since our loss to Georgia Southern! We were fighting to get into the playoffs! We had no idea two other teams would lose twice - Wofford was undefeated [in the SoCon]."

Delaware running back Omar Cuff, on the championship game: "I just can't wait for this game to start. The whole team has done a great job of putting points on the board all season. It's a great credit to everybody."

Appalachian State safety Corey Lynch, on building a legacy in Boone: "Our fan base has been really incredible the last couple of years. When I was a freshman, it wasn't anything like this right now. The last couple of years the fan base has just been outrageous, just awesome. It's great to be part of the creation of it, and hopefully it will continue on for a long time."

Tale Of The Tape

Are you ready for some offense? Nationally, Appalachian State ranks No. 2 overall in total offensive yardage and No. 3 overall in total scoring. Delaware? They're no slouches either: they're No. 5 and No. 8 respectively.

Offense
Quarterback: At quarterback we have two very different types of field generals in Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards and Delaware's Joe Flacco.

Edwards can do it all: run with speed to the outside, run with power between the tackles and also throw the ball on the run. On the year, Edwards has rushed for 1,499 yards and 21 touchdowns while passing for 1,750 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Flacco is more of a prototypical drop-back passer, but the 6-foot-6 senior is not immobile; he can scramble and find his man downfield with the best of them. On the year, Flacco has completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,929 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Advantage: App by a slim margin, since Edwards is more of an all-around threat. Flacco's got the accuracy, but you have to catch Edwards to stop him.

Running Back: Delaware boasts the nation's leading scorer in Omar Cuff, with an eye-popping 38 touchdowns and 2.374 all-purpose yards. The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder can be a bulldozer when asked to be one, but also has the versatility to catch passes extremely well out of the backfield. He's a dynamic, fearsome back.

For the Mountaineers, Kevin Richardson is an equally versatile running back (1.514 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns), but has been suffering through injury the past few weeks.

Advantage: Hens. Richardson is a very solid all-purpose back, but he's no Omar.

Wide Receiver: Appalachian State has speed to burn on the sides when the ball is put in the air with Hans Batichon (789 yards, 7 touchdowns), Dexter Jackson (628 yards, 7 touchdowns) and CoCo Hillary (298 yards). Let any one of these speedsters loose, and you could get burned badly.

Delaware boasts an underrated reception attack with a multitude of weapons - but none with the same speed as the Mountaineers. Tight end Robbie Agnone and wideouts Aaron Love, Mark Duncan and Kervin Michaud can find themselves with their numbers called at any time. Add Cuff to this mix, and you could find them hard to stop.

Advantage: Hens - although they're not as fast, their multitude of options gives them the edge.

Offensive Line: Kerry Brown anchors Appalachian State's line, who allowed his teammates to rush for more than 282 yards per game - good for No. 3 in FCS. Mike Byrne holds the Hen line together, which have done a great job in pass protection and run blocking to allow the Delaware offense to grind out 462 yards per game - good enough for No. 5 in FCS.

Advantage: Appalachian State, by a slight margin. The Hen line has done a great job all year, but that monster line could be the most important, and certainly the most unsung, part of this Mountaineer offense.

Defense

Front Seven: A young Appalachian State line is led by sophomore Tony Robertson, who leads the team in sacks with 5.5.  Another sophomore, linebacker Jacque Roman, anchors the middle with 122 tackles.

Delaware's front seven, however, have really come on as the playoffs have gone along. Matt Marcorelle leads the team with 8.5 sacks, while linebackers Erik Johnson and Melvin Bratton are monster tacklers with 112 and 101 tackles respectively.

Advantage: Hens, slightly. Don't underestimate the ability of the Mountaineer "D" line - which also has gotten better as the playoffs have gone along - but Appalachian State only has one great linebacker in the middle to Delaware's two.

Secondary: Appalachian State's safety Corey Lynch anchors this team in the secondary, and his 106 tackles and 6 interceptions are testimony to that. This secondary has extra speed with defensive back Titus Howard as well, with 61 tackles and 2 interceptions.

For Delaware, freshman Andrew Walter is the lead in interceptions (with three, to go with 62 tackles) - and has nobody else to rival him.

Advantage: App in a big way. This could be Delaware's Achilles' heel with a severe lack of experience, while Lynch is the center of a very solid Mountaineer secondary.

Special Teams: Mountaineer kicker Julian Rauch and Blue Hen kicker Jon Striefsky are both solid, accurate kickers, but Dexter Jackson's and CoCo Hillary's speed on special teams gives Appalachian State a huge edge in the return game.

Advantage: App. Speed burns, and App has more of it here than Delaware.

Key To The Game

Getting out to an early start has to be in the game plan for both teams. If Appalachian State can jump out to a 14-0 lead and force Delaware to play catch-up like Richmond had to do last week, they'll force the Hens into the shootout that Edwards and the offense crave. If Delaware can get an early lead, they will be able to control the tempo of the game and keep that Mountaineer offense on the sidelines. If they do that, they can definitely win this game.

X-Factor

Call it the "loosey-goosey" factor. Delaware, the fourth CAA team to make the field, was not expected to be here, while all the pressure has to be on Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore, who has to have the most-scrutinized FCS team in history. Will Keeler make his team play loose and put a chip on his team's shoulders? And how will that affect the outcome of the game?

The other X-Factor involves attendance. This national championship game has proved to be one of the hottest tickets in America. I'm not kidding - they are going for over $100 apiece on Ebay. And Delaware fans have been the ones out in the cold: since Appalachian State beat Richmond on Friday night, their fans had a nearly 20-hour head start in their quest for tickets as they snapped up more than half the available seats. Could this be a very pro-Appalachian State crowd?

(Of course, with the way Delaware has knocked off Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois on the road in the playoffs, maybe that's not a bad thing for the Hens.)

Fearless Prediction

The season started out with a school from Boone, North Carolina traveling out of state to beat a team with winged helmets. And the FCS season will close with the Mountaineers doing it once again - this time, as favorites.

Edwards won't have 300 yards rushing again. But he will be able to run enough to make another part of the offense work - the passing game - against the soft, white underbelly of the Blue Hens. They'll jump up on the Hens, and although Flacco and Cuff will be able to score enough to make it interesting, they won't be able to prevent the shootout. And that means the Mountaineers will become the first to three-peat.

"3 Rings For Jerry Moore" 63, "No Ring for Omar Cuff" 47