Code Orange

Halftime

Here are some halftime stats:

Appalachian State has 295 yards.  Edwards is 4 for 6 passing for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He also has 11 rushes for 67 yards.  Moore still has 2 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown.  Richardson has 10 rushes for 47 yards.  They’ve run 31 total plays and have earned 13 first downs.

Delaware has 252 total yards.  Flacco is 13 for 23 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown.  Cuff has 13 rushes for 54 yards and Michaud has 2 rushes for 20 yards.  Delaware has run 42 plays with 13 first downs.

As much as the announcers in the game have said that Delaware is getting hammered with penalties (and that there were a lot in the game overall), Delaware has 4 penalties for 50 yards while ASU also has 4 penalties for 31 yards.

On a side note, I noticed that Yahoo! Sports is really the only sports site giving this game any play.  Not even the ESPN College Football section has this game as it’s leading story.  Only Yahoo! Sports College Football section seems to be paying attention. Rather sad.  I do have to give props to SI, though.  Even though their front story isn’t about the title game, they do ask whether ASU’s Edwards could be a Heisman trophy contender next year.

Halftime

Delaware is able to quickly get down the field and gets within field goal range. However, Delaware attempts to go for the touchdown instead of kicking a field goal and fails, and ASU goes into halftime leading 28-7.

0:44 2nd Quarter

Dexter Jackson scores on a 60 yard touchdown reception (see! I said ASU should start passing) and ASU goes back up by 3 touchdowns, 28-7.

1:10 2nd Quarter

Delaware has another touchdown called back, this time on an offensive pass interference call. However, they get it back this time, again on an official review, but Delaware is finally on the board, but is still down 21-7.

2:56 2nd Quarter

Delaware gets a short field after kick-catching interference is called on ASU on the punt.

3:27 2nd Quarter

Perhaps it’s time that ASU start airing it out a little (Edwards only had 4 passes so far). The Mountaineers try 3 straight runs and goes 3-and-out once again.

5:05 2nd Quarter

Delaware trades ASU’s 3-and-out with one of their own.

6:50 2nd Quarter

ASU is finally held to a 4th down and has to punt to Delaware.

8:50 2nd Quarter

On to Delaware’s 4th drive. Delaware is able to pick up a first down, but is then forced to punt after that, and ASU gets the ball back. Appalachian State has scored a touchdown on all 3 of their drives so far tonight.

10:22 2nd Quarter

Here are some stats for you.

Appalachian State has 212 total yards. Edwards only has 3 official passes so far in the game. He has completed 2 of them for 60 yards. Meanwhile, Edwards has 8 rushes for 58 yards, Moore has 2 rushes for 55 yards, and Richardson has 8 rushes for 45 yards.

Delaware has 147 yards. Flacco is 6 for 11 passing for 81 yards. Cuff has 10 rushes for 46 yards while Michaud has 2 rushes for 20 yards.

10:22 2nd Quarter

A pair of long Edwards runs puts Appalachian State back in the red zone on their 3rd drive of the game. Richardson ends up fumbling the ball into the endzone, where it is recovered by Appalachian State for a touchdown and the Mountaineers go up 21-0.

End 1st Quarter

Appalachian State takes over and will face a 2nd and 1 on their own 29 yard line when the 2nd quarter begins.

0:13 1st Quarter

Delaware quickly moves down the field on their 3rd drive of the game, but the drive stalls at around the 15 yard line. Delaware attempts a 35 yard field goal attempt, and once again Delaware gets into the red zone and comes away with nothing. It’s still 14-0 ASU.

4:14 First Quarter

I know that it is very, very premature to be handing ASU a 3rd title, much less talk about a blowout, but just for reference, the most points scored by a team in a I-AA title game was 59 by Georgia Southern against Youngstown State in the 1999 title game. The biggest blowout was a 40-0 shutout by Delaware against Colgate in 2003.

4:14 First Quarter

A 46 yard rush by Moore puts Appalachian State up 14-0, and this game starts much like the semi-final game against Richmond did.

4:45 First Quarter

A 7 yard rush by Richardson, a 4 yard rush by Edwards, a 17 yard Richardson rush, and a 15 yard face mask on Delaware quickly moves ASU from the shadow of their own endzone out to near midfield.

5:40 First Quarter

Just as a comment - I know Delaware gets ASU pinned back, but that last series had to be crushing to Delaware. They had a touchdown on the board, had it taken off, and then couldn’t get any points as a result.

5:40 First Quarter

Cuff gets a 4 yard rush down to the half yard line after a called touchdown was reversed on replay. However, that made it third down, and Appalachian State stuffed a run up the middle by Cuff to make it 4th down. Delaware decides to go for a fake field goal and doesn’t convert, so Appalachian State takes over on their own one yard.

10:47 First Quarter

Applachian State gets the ball and drives down the field, capping the drive with a 19 yard touchdown pass to Richardson, and ASU gets on the board first in the national championship, going up 7-0. This is after Delaware went 3-and-out on their first drive.

Pre-Game

It’s that time. Appalachian State is looking to become the first team to ever win 3 straight I-AA/FCS National titles and to become the first team in any division to win three in a row since Mount Union did it in Division III between 2000 and 2002.

The last time a team won a share of the Division I national championship was when Minnesota won the Associated Press/United Press poll championship (the only championship at the time) 3 in a row between 1934 and 1936 - the first three years of it’s existence. No team has won 3 straight championships in Division I via the same method (i.e. via the I-AA playoffs or 3 times in a row in the same poll) ever.