Appalachian State seeks another title

Dec 14, 2007 - 4:06 PM CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Appalachian State set the tone for an upset-filled year in college football with its season-opening shocker over Michigan.

Now, the Mountaineers would like to end their season by making more history.

Appalachian State seeks an unprecedented third straight national championship Friday when it takes on Delaware in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) title game.

The Mountaineers are the fifth team to reach three straight FCS championship games, joining Eastern Kentucky (1979-82), Georgia Southern (1988-90 and 1998-2000), Marshall (1991-93) and Youngstown State (1991-94).

Friday's title game pits two of the Football Championship Subdivision's winningest programs.

Fifth-ranked Appalachian State (12-2) has had just one losing season in the last 23 years, while Delaware has had two since 1988. The Blue Hens also claimed a national championship in 2003.

"They've got a tradition of being in the playoffs, they've got a national championship and they've got a terrific football team," Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore said of the Blue Hens.

After beating Michigan, 34-32, in Ann Arbor, the Mountaineers posted a 9-2 regular season, losing Southern Conference games to Wofford and Georgia Southern.

In the playoffs, they have defeated James Madison, Eastern Washington and Richmond.

Last week, Appalachian State received a record-breaking performance from quarterback Armanti Edwards en route a 55-35 victory over the Spiders.

Edwards rushed for 313 yards, the most ever by a quarterback in a Division I game (FCS and Football Bowl Subdivision). He fell just 20 yards shy of the overall FCS postseason rushing record set by Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson in 1999.

Edwards accounted for seven touchdowns last week, rushing for four scores and passing for three more. He accounted for nearly 500 yards of total offense as he passed for 182 yards.

Delaware (11-3) is back in the championship game for the first time since 2003, when it routed Colgate, 40-0, to win its only title.

Ranked 13th, the Blue Hens have made a surprising run to the final after a two-year absence from the playoffs. One of Delaware's losing seasons in the last two decades came last year, when it finished 5-6.

The Blue Hens didn't even know if they would make the playoffs after losing their last two regular season games to Richmond and Villanova.

But Delaware routed Delaware State, 44-7, in its playoff opener and hasn't looked back. In their last two games, the Blue Hens rallied from 10-point deficits in the first quarter to oust top-10 teams on the road.

In the quarterfinals, Delaware upset top-ranked Northern Iowa, 39-27, then eliminated No. 4 Southern Illinois, 20-17, in the semifinals last week. The combined record of the three playoff teams they have beaten is 34-2.

"It's incredible to think that we have beaten two of the best teams in the country at their place after being down early in both," Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said.

Delaware's offense is led by 6-6 senior quarterback Joe Flacco, a backup at Pittsburgh before transferring in 2004.

An NFL prospect, Flacco has passed for 22 touchdowns and 3,929 yards this season, the most in the FCS.

Another threat for Delaware is running back Omar Cuff, a former defensive back, who has rushed for 1,861 yards and 34 TDs.

Friday's contest could be a high-scoring affair, as Appalachian State averages 42 points per game and Delaware 37.