Can Appalachian Stun LSU, Too?

It used to be when Appalachian State ventured out of its own level of competition to play a major school, it meant only one thing.

"It was a money game," coach Jerry Moore said.

Like most schools playing in Division I college football's second tier, App State would collect a six-figure check to help pay the bills, get some national exposure, play in front of plenty of people — and take a beating. The Mountaineers lost to North Carolina State, Kansas and LSU by a combined 83-18 in the 2005 and '06 seasons.

But after Appalachian set the tone for a wacky 2007 by stunning Michigan on opening weekend, few are concerned with how much money the Mountaineers will collect when they visit defending national champion and No. 7 LSU Saturday.

With dynamic, elusive quarterback Armanti Edwards, a tough-to-defend spread offense and plenty of speed, the question is: Can the Mountaineers do it again, pull another stunner in the matchup of defending champions from college football's top two divisions?

"We know we're a huge underdog and the chances are even worse than David and Goliath," Moore said yesterday. "We don't have enough stones up here, but we're looking forward to it."

Certainly after last year's 34-32 win at then-No. 5 Michigan, college football's all-time winningest program, you can't rule out anything. And with LSU facing uncertainty at quarterback, the speedy Edwards may be the best QB in Saturday's game, which was moved up a year so it could be nationally televised by ESPN.

"Anybody that plays sports should go in expecting to win," said Edwards, who accounted for a whopping 3,536 yards and 38 touchdowns last season.

Don't expect Appalachian State to enter Tiger Stadium overwhelmed. Not after winning 36 of its last 40 games, capturing three straight Football Championship Subdivision titles, and with the memories of silencing 109,000 fans at the Big House still fresh in their minds.

"All you guys like to refer to the Michigan game and I'll refer to it, too," Moore said. "We had very few penalties (seven) against Michigan. Our kicking game (two field goals) was pretty solid against Michigan. Those two things alone kept us in the game. It gave us a chance."