NC State Football: A Win Over App State Is Just What the Football Doctor Ordered
Sometimes football gives you exactly the opponent you need at exactly the right time. For NC State, that opponent is Appalachian State. Without rehashing the final seconds in Nashville, the Wolfpack enters Saturday night at Carter-Finley sitting at 1-2, while the Mountaineers arrive at 3-0. After what happened against Vanderbilt, Dave Doeren and his team don't need another lesson in how quickly a football game can turn. They need a win, and they need it in front of their own fans.
And because this one kicks off at 7:30, the tailgating should be terrific. There will be plenty of black and gold walking around those parking lots, and I'm guessing some of those Mountaineer fans will have plenty to say. That's part of what makes this matchup interesting. Appalachian State has built a successful football program, and its fans have every right to be proud of it. But there has also been a little-brother edge to the way some of the fan base approaches the state's larger programs. Spend enough time around Boone and you understand it. The 2007 win at Michigan didn't create that attitude, but it certainly gave it rocket fuel.
That afternoon in Ann Arbor was monumental for college football. Appalachian State walked into Michigan Stadium and beat the No. 5 Wolverines 34-32, becoming the first FCS team to defeat a ranked FBS opponent. It remains one of the most famous upsets in the sport. But there is another part of that story worth remembering: this wasn't the Michigan juggernaut that many people associate with the program. The Wolverines finished 9-4 that season and were 7-4 heading into the bowl, hardly the dominant force Michigan would become in later years. The loss was historic, but it didn't suddenly make Appalachian State the equal of Michigan or the rest of the state's major programs. It made the Mountaineers famous, and understandably so. But one spectacular Saturday doesn't erase the difference between programs built to compete at very different levels.
North Carolina and NC State haven't exactly helped cool down the rhetoric. Both have experienced losses to Appalachian State and ECU over the years, which is why these games can feel like no-win situations for the bigger programs. Win, and you were supposed to win. Lose, and you hear about it for years. That's the reality of playing an in-state program with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Appalachian State has proven repeatedly that it can make these games uncomfortable, and its current 3-0 start gives tonight's matchup legitimate substance beyond the usual in-state bragging rights.
But tonight is different for NC State. This isn't simply about avoiding an embarrassing loss. The Wolfpack needs to get back on the field and play football without the Vanderbilt game hanging over every possession. NC State led Vanderbilt 31-28 with six seconds remaining before the infamous end-zone fumble turned what appeared to be a victory into a 35-31 loss. That kind of ending doesn't disappear because a coach tells his players to move on. The fastest way to change the conversation is to line up again and win.
That's why App State is exactly what the football doctor ordered. A victory doesn't erase Nashville. It doesn't fix every question surrounding this football team. It doesn't guarantee anything about the rest of the season. But it gives NC State something it desperately needs: a Saturday night in Carter-Finley where the final image is a Wolfpack victory instead of a mistake that will be replayed for years. And with Louisville waiting next week, there is value in getting the program back on solid ground before the ACC schedule really starts to tighten the screws.
I don't have a dog in this fight, which may make Saturday night even more entertaining. Bring on the black and gold. Let the parking lots get loud. Let the Mountaineer fans talk. Let the Wolfpack fans answer them. Because by about 11 o'clock Saturday night, NC State doesn't need another moral victory, another explanation or another discussion about what happened in Nashville. They need a win. And from my seat, this is a night when only one thing will do: a victory stogie. Anything else, and somebody might want to have a U-Haul waiting in Raleigh on Monday morning.
