It took all of one televised Thursday night game to remind of us of the magic of college football.

Here was ninth-ranked Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference, playing before more than 100,000 at storied Neyland Stadium. And here was Appalachian State of the Sun Belt Conference, being paid $1.15 million to play the role of opening game sacrificial lamb.

Instead, nine years to the day after the Appy State Mountaineers knocked off mighty Michigan in one of college football’s most heralded upsets ever, Appy almost did it again.

But for a missed extra point — and a missed field goal — the Mountaineers would have won over a team most experts have picked to win the SEC Eastern Division.

Tennessee survived, in overtime, 20-13, but Appy State reminded us of at least three college football truisms:

• One not need to be 6 feet 5 inches tall to block and tackle. The shorter, more compact Mountaineers did both. Fact: Many of the two-star Mountaineers’ recruits would have been three- or four-star recruits if but a couple inches taller.
• Preseason hype means nothing when the games begin. This may be the year Tennessee gets Alabama, as some have predicted, but the Vols have much work to do before challenging the Tide.
• On any given Saturday, anybody can beat anybody.

That goes for Thursday, too. And now we have three more days of amazing football on this first weekend of the college football season …

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College football kickoff couldn’t have been better

by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today
September 2, 2016

<h1>College football kickoff couldn’t have been better</h1> <p class="byline">by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today <br />September 2, 2016</p> <p>It took all of one televised Thursday night game to remind of us of the magic of college football.</p> <p>Here was ninth-ranked Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference, playing before more than 100,000 at storied Neyland Stadium. And here was Appalachian State of the Sun Belt Conference, being paid $1.15 million to play the role of opening game sacrificial lamb.</p> <p>Instead, nine years to the day after the Appy State Mountaineers knocked off mighty Michigan in one of college football’s most heralded upsets ever, Appy almost did it again.</p> <p>But for a missed extra point — and a missed field goal — the Mountaineers would have won over a team most experts have picked to win the SEC Eastern Division.</p> <p>Tennessee survived, in overtime, 20-13, but Appy State reminded us of at least three college football truisms:</p> <ul> <li>One not need to be 6 feet 5 inches tall to block and tackle. The shorter, more compact Mountaineers did both. Fact: Many of the two-star Mountaineers’ recruits would have been three- or four-star recruits if but a couple inches taller.</li> <li>Preseason hype means nothing when the games begin. This may be the year Tennessee gets Alabama, as some have predicted, but the Vols have much work to do before challenging the Tide.</li> <li>On any given Saturday, anybody can beat anybody.</li> </ul> <p>That goes for Thursday, too. And now we have three more days of amazing football on this first weekend of the college football season …</p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org/2016/09/02/college-football-kickoff-couldnt-have-been-better/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org">Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MT_square-thumb.jpg?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=18549&ga=UA-75003810-1" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

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