Appalachian State Mountaineers: So Close to Climbing Rocky Top

The Appalachian State Mountaineers showed the college football world that they are pretty good Thursday Night, they just did not close the deal.

The Appalachian State Mountaineers gave a heck of an effort on Thursday night. They were the better team against #9 Tennessee in the Vols home stadium. They just didn’t get the win in 20-13 overtime game. For a team that doesn’t get too many of these opportunities that had to hurt.

The Mountaineers followed the script through the first half. They utilized their weapons, particularly Marcus Cox, to move the ball down the field for two scores. They gave up only a field goal to the other team. That result alone would have surprised many people who remembered the Volunteers punishing teams with their run game last year. Not so on Thursday.

There were signs of trouble even in that first half, but they could easily be ignored. One was a missed extra point by new kicker Michael Rubino. That missing point actually played a roll in the rest of the game. The other was just how hard the Mountaineers were working against a deeper Vols roster. One missed play could make the difference.

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Yet if you believed that Tennessee would flip the script in the second half and storm to quick scores with superior talent, that did not happen either. The App defense continually kept the Vols out of the red zone. The Volunteer comeback, such as it was, was a combination of a field goal and one long strike pass play.

App’s offense did not score in the second half due to a stiffening of the Tennessee defense, but they also did not do themselves any favors with the opportunities that they had. Rubino was called upon to kick the potential 42 yard game winner with about five minutes to go in the game. This represented his first collegiate field goal attempt in the most hostile environment and biggest game he could be in. He missed it wide and it’s hard to blame him.

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The Mountaineer defense gave them one more chance, holding the Vols and forcing a final punt. Now clock management took away the only shot that they had. App refused to call its final timeout before the final play to stop the clock. Then quarterback Taylor Lamb held the ball too long, only to run out of bounds thinking there was more time.

Overtime allowed the Vols the one advantage that the Mountaineers had refused them all game. It gave them the ball within twenty-five yards of the goal. Finally the athleticism of quarterback Josh Dobbs came into play. He ran a couple times, the last one being a lunge at the goal line. He was met by the defense and he was stripped. Unfortunate ball bounces found their way back to Tennessee to give them what would become the winning score.

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The Mountaineers played hard, but not perfect. Their season ceiling is slightly lower now and they could still dominate the Sun Belt, and might even be favored when Miami comes calling. There will be no New Years Bowl game however. The Mountaineers must be careful to remember that this game did not their entire season make.

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