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Appalachian State Caps Magical Season With 3rd Straight Title

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A Tribune wire report

Published: December 15, 2007

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Appalachian State kicked off this crazy football season with the stunning upset of Michigan. Now the Mountaineers have the perfect bookend: History as Division I-AA's first three-peat national champions.

Armanti Edwards threw for three touchdowns, and Appalachian State jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never trailed in beating Delaware 49-21 on Friday night for a third consecutive title in the Football Championship Subdivision.

They became the third team to win consecutive titles last year, but the Mountaineers now have done something that neither Georgia Southern nor Youngstown State could. They returned to a third straight championship game - and won by their biggest margin yet.

No. 13 Delaware (11-4) came in looking for its second championship five years. The Fightin' Blue Hens had rallied from 10-0 deficits in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Not this time.

The Mountaineers (13-2) won their record 12th straight playoff game and had the game so in hand that fans spilled onto the sidelines with 3:29 left with only the Delaware bench area kept clear. They rushed the field as the final seconds ticked off.

This game was never as close as Appalachian State's 34-32 victory over the then-No. 5 Wolverines on Sept. 1, and the Mountaineers didn't need late-game heroics like Corey Lynch's blocked field goal that clinched the upset.

Not when the Mountaineers scored more points by halftime than in either of their previous two championship victories, fed by their fans who helped turn Finley Stadium into a black-and-gold version of the Big House.

They set a neutral-site record with 23,010 in attendance and stood throughout. They couldn't wait to celebrate and started chanting, "Three-peat, three-peat" midway through the fourth quarter. They were high-fiving players and getting autographs after they got to the sideline.
Mark Duncan answered with a 75-yard kickoff return for a TD and drew a flag for throwing the ball at an officer at the end line.

Delaware had All-America running back Omar Cuff and senior quarterback Joe Flacco, a likely NFL draft pick in April. But the Blue Hens lost an early touchdown to official review, which turned into a 14-point swing when Appalachian State drove 99 yards for a TD.

Edwards had 495 yards total offense in the Mountaineers' semifinal victory over Richmond. He was 9-of-15 for 198 yards and ran 18 times for 89 more against Delaware.

The Blue Hens couldn't stop Appalachian State even when the Mountaineers tried to give them the ball.

Senior running back Kevin Richardson fumbled heading into the end zone, but freshman tight end Daniel Kilgore pulled the ball away from Delaware end Matt Marcorelle for a TD and a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Blue Hens finally scored on a 39-yard TD pass from Flacco to Mark Duncan late in the half.

Michigan Courting WVU's Rodriguez

Michigan has a new leading candidate to be its next football coach: West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez.

Rodriguez met with Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Athletic Director Bill Martin in Toledo on Friday to discuss the open position, according to a Detroit Free Press report.

A private plane picked up Rodriguez Morgantown, W.Va., early in the morning. He was taken to Toledo and returned late in the afternoon. When he touched down in Morgantown, Rodriguez declined comment to the Associated Press, other than to say he was going to practice.

Rodriguez is 60-26 in seven seasons with the Mountaineers, and his last three teams have won at least 10 games and contended for the national championship.

ARKANSAS: Paul Petrino will be the Razorbacks' offensive coordinator next season under older brother Bobby Petrino, who was hired as Arkansas' coach Tuesday after leaving the Falcons.

Paul Petrino worked with his brother during Bobby Petrino's 13-game stint as Atlanta's coach, serving as receivers coach.

Paul Petrino, 40, is six years younger than his brother. He was offensive coordinator and receivers coach under his brother at Louisville for four years before the two went to the Falcons.

DUKE: David Cutcliffe, the former Mississippi coach who spent the last two seasons as Tennessee's offensive coordinator, was hired by Duke on Friday, The Associated Press has learned.

Cutcliffe will be introduced as Duke's head coach during a news conference today, a person familiar with the decision said on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn't yet been made.

At Duke, he'll have the difficult task of building the Blue Devils into winners after the team won just 22 games during the past 13 seasons.

The Blue Devils have endured three losing streaks of 15 or more games during the last 13 seasons, have lost at least 10 games in three straight seasons and fired Ted Roof last month after a 1-11 finish.

HOUSTON: Kevin Sumlin, an assistant under Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops for the past five seasons, was introduced as the Cougars' new coach after agreeing to a five-year deal. He becomes the first black head coach in the 60-year history of the program.

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