The Miracle on the Mountain

[Mr. C]

In honor of today's showdown between rivals Appalachian State and Furman, College Sports Journal has a special entry in its CSJ Classic series: The original article on the 2002 Miracle on the Mountain game, one of the all-time classic finishes in college football history, which occurred (hard to believe) 10 years ago.

Of all of the wild finishes to games I've seen in a 35-year sportswriting career, this one tops them all.

Here is the link:

http://www.college-sports-journal.com/index.php/ncaa-division-i-sports/fcs-football/531-csj-classic-the-miracle-on-the-mountain

[citdog]

Heard somewhere that there is a really good book with a similar title.

[FUBeAR]

In honor of today's showdown between rivals Appalachian State and Furman, College Sports Journal has a special entry in its CSJ Classic series: The original article on the 2002 Miracle on the Mountain game, one of the all-time classic finishes in college football history, which occurred (hard to believe) 10 years ago.

Of all of the wild finishes to games I've seen in a 35-year sportswriting career, this one tops them all.

Here is the link:

http://www.college-sports-journal.com/index.php/ncaa-division-i-sports/fcs-football/531-csj-classic-the-miracle-on-the-mountain
FUBeAR is wondering what sort of karma of the universe was in play this past weekend.

FUBeAR watched happily as Appy decided to “Go for 2” with 31 seconds left to try to win a Football game that really was the biggest event, not only in the history of their Football program, but also in the history of their school, and in the history of the town of Boone, NC. FUBeAR was near-gleeful when Appy FAILED in their “Go For 2” attempt. They could have easily kicked the XP to tie the game, and played for OT, but letting FUBeAR see them FAIL was a better choice…but wait…it gets better…

After FAILING to make their “Go for 2” attempt, they onside kicked to try to get the ball back…and THIS happened…
https://twitter.com/footbaiiism/status/1566181430480326656
and their opponent scored on a Return after they FAILED in their “Go for 2”…but wait…it gets better…

So Appy quickly scored a TD, but that’s not the good part. Because they FAILED in their prior “Go for 2” attempt, now they HAVE TO “Go for 2” again to try to tie the game and go to OT…and they FAILED … AGAIN…LOSING THE GAME after twice FAILING on their “Go for 2” attempts!! Let’s have a look at these feel-good blessed events…
https://twitter.com/cfbonfox/status/1566159716551512064
FUBeAR was elated and LHAO!! … but wait…it gets better…

Later the same evening, the Universe, a known humorist, decided to rub some well deserved karmic salt in Appy’s 2 “Go for 2” wounds of the day.

20 years after the so-called “Miracle on the Mountain,” on the same day after Appy FAILED in not one, but 2 attempts to “Go for 2,” a fine young man that was pivotally involved in the so-called “Miracle,” made a decision to “Go for 2” late in the game to put his Team up by 3 instead of 2, so that a FG doesn’t beat him.

Yep - one Billy Napier, the FU QB who threw the INT on FU’s 2 point attempt @ Appy in 2002, now the Head Football Coach at the University of Florida, made the same decision that was made that day in Boone 20 years ago - because it was the right decision then & is the right decision now. Here’s how it turned out yesterday…
https://twitter.com/onlygators/status/1566241733394014216
…and Coach Napier’s Gators pull off a HUGE upset, with a “Go for 2” being a big part of the win while the Appy’s “Two-Fer Go for 2” ended in DOUBLE FAILS.

The world just feels more balanced today, doesn’t it?

[walliver]

I've heard that the play actually run was not the play Bobby Lamb wanted, but was somehow miscommunicated. The original play was a safer over the middle play.

The Miracle has always bothered me because, if App had lost to Furman (having already lost to Wofford and GSU), Wofford would have gotten the third bid and the term "woofed" would not be in the AGS vocabulary.

[FUBeAR]

I've heard that the play actually run was not the play Bobby Lamb wanted, but was somehow miscommunicated. The original play was a safer over the middle play.

The Miracle has always bothered me because, if App had lost to Furman (having already lost to Wofford and GSU), Wofford would have gotten the third bid and the term "woofed" would not be in the AGS vocabulary.
Yeah - that’s kinda related to the thing that has bothered FUBeAR about it and the huge deal the Appy’s made about it.

It was an early/mid season game and the effects of the outcome of the game with regard to Championships & Playoffs, wouldn’t be sorted out for weeks in the future, but Appy acted like they won the Natty that day on that play and they continued to act like that play was so significant for them & for Furman. They actually lost to GaSou & Woffy the next 2 weeks in a row - probably still celebrating their “Miracle.”

Kid made a nice play and was smart. Furman failed to execute a reasonable call. FUBeAR understands when people want to say how stupid the call to go for 2 was with only 7 seconds left, but look at UNC/Appy yesterday - 19 points were scored in 31 seconds. That’s over 4 points every 7 seconds. Playing to go up 3 was a reasonable call, poorly executed.

Poor play by Furman. Nice play by App. Game winner. Everyone go home….not act like they won the Natty.

The Ingle Martin ice slip in the Semi’s in 2005 was much, much worse and much more painful for Furman and much more monumental for Appy. That’s the Anti-Furman play those MountainGoobers should celebrate instead of this so-called “Miracle” that just really wasn’t that big a deal. FUBeAR has decided, if he needs to ever refer to the play / this game again, he’ll call it by a more apt name, “Meh on the Mountain.”

[penguinpower]

Youngstown State vs Florida A&M in the 1999 semifinals was the best game I've ever seen. Someone should check that game out. The fans left to go back to the tailgate lots with about 5 min left in Q4 with the Penguins down big. Then the wildest minutes in college football happened. People were trying to get back into the stadium to see it, but we're denied due to NCAA rules. FAMU players were laying on the field in shock they pissed the game away.

It all started when the penguins were down by something like 19 points and FAMU had the ball inside the 20 going into score. They put their second team QB in the game. They didn't need to throw it, but they did, and Tim Johnson picked the ball off in the end zone and ran it back to the 30. The penguins the strung a series of plays together across multiple possessions that couldn't have gone any other way. It was like a switch was thrown and they won the game in the final seconds on a broken pass play thrown up for grabs into the end zone. It was Amazing. There's no way they should have won that game. I've never seen anything like since then.

[crusader11]

It all started when the penguins were down by something like 19 points and FAMU had the ball inside the 20 going into score. They put their second team QB in the game. They didn't need to throw it, but they did, and Tim Johnson picked the ball off in the end zone and ran it back to the 30. The penguins the strung a series of plays together across multiple possessions that couldn't have gone any other way. It was like a switch was thrown and they won the game in the final seconds on a broken pass play thrown up for grabs into the end zone. It was Amazing. There's no way they should have won that game. I've never seen anything like since then.

I think you may be overstating this a bit.

Here's the boxscore from that game: https://youngstown_ftp.sidearmsports.com/custompages/fball/1999-00/files/game14.htm

FAMU was leading 24-13 midway through the 4th quarter. They had the ball at the YSU five on 3rd and goal. It's not ridiculous to think that they'd be passing in this situation. If they kicked a FG, it's 27-13 (still a two possession game). A touchdown would all but put the game out of reach.

YSU intercepts the ball and then scores four plays later. It's 24-19 (they missed the two-point conversion) with 7:22 remaining.

There have been hundreds of games in the past 20 years where a team was trailing by two scores midway through the 4th quarter and come back to win.

[FUBeAR]

I think you may be overstating this a bit.

Here's the boxscore from that game: https://youngstown_ftp.sidearmsports.com/custompages/fball/1999-00/files/game14.htm

FAMU was leading 24-13 midway through the 4th quarter. They had the ball at the YSU five on 3rd and goal. It's not ridiculous to think that they'd be passing in this situation. If they kicked a FG, it's 27-13 (still a two possession game). A touchdown would all but put the game out of reach.

YSU intercepts the ball and then scores four plays later. It's 24-19 (they missed the two-point conversion) with 7:22 remaining.

There have been hundreds of games in the past 20 years where a team was trailing by two scores midway through the 4th quarter and come back to win.
But it was certainly a big game for YSU. Playing for an opportunity to play in the National Championship game is big for any Team - even if they’ve been there a few times before. That’s the time to create legends and to celebrate the memory - even a memory “advantaged by the years” as Coach Billy Shakespeare once termed such human actions.

…NOT about a mid-season game which merely raises your record to 5-1 (Woo Hoo!)

[penguinpower]

Yes I was stating it from memory. YSU had no business winning that game. Maybe we were down by 19 at one point in the game. It was so many years ago.