YouTube Gold: Appalachian State’s Miraculous Finish

Sep 18, 2022 - 10:00 AM

Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, there is no more entertaining NCAA football team so far this season than Appalachian State.

In the opening loss to UNC, App State put up 40 points - in the 4th quarter. They lost 63-61 but Holy Smokes what a game.

Then last weekend they traveled to Texas A&M, where they got paid (fans will be happy to tell you this) $1.5 million and knocked off the Aggies.

This weekend might have topped those stunners.

After the A&M upset, ESPN pulled Game Day from A&M, where it was supposed to be Saturday, shifting it to Boone instead. ASU played Troy and, with perhaps a bit of an emotional hangover, trailed late 28-24 when Duke transfer Chase Brice whiffed on 4th down on the two yard line with just 1:13 left.

But hold the phone! App State got a safety on the next play to cut the lead to two and got the ball back with 15 seconds left.

Troy State played solid defense on the series, but on the last play, with :02 left, Brice got a pass off to a receiver who was at about the five yard line - and completely surrounded. But a Troy State defender went up to contest the pass and batted it away...but it was caught by ASU wide receiver #13 Christian Horn who ran forward and then hooked around the defense and headed for the end zone.

But here’s the great part of that play.

Well, all of it was great because everyone was putting their heart and soul into it. The defense was superb on the last series.

But when Horn picked up the ball and started running, #2, Kaedin Robinson, immediately began to block. And that made the rest of the miracle possible.

It’s one of those plays that people who were there will never forget and people who weren't there will lie that they were. It’s one of the best plays of the year at one of the country’s finest football schools. No, App State is not in a big conference. They just play like they are.