Published: 9:08 PM, 10/13/2009

Last updated: 12:52 PM, 11/17/2009

By: Steve Behr Sports Editor

Many times when sports folks say "Nobody expected us to blah, blah, blah," it's often true.
Certainly only the most brazen of Appalachian State football fans expected the Mountaineers to beat Wofford 70-24 last year on a Halloween night that was a nightmare for the Terriers.
It didn't start out that way. The game was 14-14 and Appalachian State showed little ability to stop the Wofford running game. Even in defeat, and even with the huge deficit, Wofford rushed for 393 yards.
Still, few, if any, expected a 46-point Appalachian State victory.
The two teams play again Saturday, this time at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. There will be no national ESPN2 audience watching, though it will be televised on SporthSouth. Maybe the crowd will be around 12,000 or so, instead of the ASU record 30,931 who jammed every nook and cranny of The Rock in 2008. The Terriers are struggling at 1-4 and aren't the No. 3-ranked FCS team they were last year.
No. 9 (TSN) or 10 (coaches) Appalachian State isn't quite the No. 2 team it was last year but the Mountaineers took another step in the right direction last Saturday with a 55-21 victory over N.C. Central. It was a good win for the Mountaineers, not only because it was homecoming, but after playing in three games decided by five points or less, it was good for them to get a comfortable victory.
It wasn't so easy at the start. N.C. Central made the Mountaineers sweat a bit by taking a 14-7 lead with help from two ASU turnovers leading to two NCCU TDs. But once the Mountaineers took the lead, the Eagles weren't going to get it back.
The numbers were staggering on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Mountaineers gained 644 yards in total offense. Defensively, they held N.C. Central to just five yards rushing.
I know that N.C. Central is 0-6 and as Bill Parcells says about teams' records: "You are what you are."
But N.C. Central is headed in the right direction. The first half of the Eagles' schedule was much tougher than the bottom half and they have a good chance of winning several of their upcoming games against Central Methodist, Central State. Old Dominion, Winston-Salem State or Savannah State, their final games on their schedule. N.C. Central isn't exactly a juggernaut, but they weren't exactly chopped liver either.
That may have been how Wofford coach Mike Ayers though about the Terriers' performance in a 38-9 defeat to Chattanooga, and his team's 1-4 record.
Yet Wofford is always a threat, especially if the Terriers don't turn the ball over. They don't always have the best athletes, but they are very well coached by Mike Ayers and Appalachian State would be wise to take Wofford seriously.
Because nobody expects the Terriers to win, except themselves.

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