Record crowd gets Moore's attention
By Steve Behr

sports@wataugademocrat.com

Appalachian State’s Kidd Brewer Stadium officially holds 16,650. Just don’t tell that to the record crowd of 28,802 that jammed into The Rock Saturday afternoon to watch the Mountaineers pummel Lenoir-Rhyne 48-7.

Fans not only took up every available seat, they became creative. The grassy knoll in the south end zone was filled and fans were standing behind them near the trees that are on the grounds.

On the north side, fans were filling up the grass section next to the bleachers and on top of the wall that holds the Mountaineers’ national championship sign.

“It was an awesome experience,” Moore said when he saw the crowd. “I told those guys that I’ve been in a lot of big stadiums and in front of some unbelievable crowds, but in a 16,000-seat stadium and you’ve got 28,000 people, it shows a great respect about what our people think about our football program and what they think about their school. Whether they ever step foot in a classroom or not, they may have five acres of tobacco and 20 acres of Christmas trees, but they love the Mountaineers and we love them, because they support our football program. It was awesome, awesome and I’m going to tell you, I was taken aback by it.”

Linebacker Pierre Banks said he only noticed the crowd when the defense made a big play.

“Every game, I never look at the crowd,” Banks said. “I can hear them after the play is over. I don’t ever look at crowd or notice how many people are there. I’m so focused on trying to read my keys and doing what I need to do.”

The previous record for ASU attendance was set last year when 26,620 fans jammed into Kidd Brewer to see ASU beat Elon 45-21. Four of the top 10 crowds to see an Appalachian State game in Boone were set in 2006.

The largest crowd to ever see an Appalachian State team play was Sept. 1 at Michigan, when 109,281 crammed into The Big House to see Appalachian State beat the Wolverines 34-32.

ASU in AP poll
The Mountaineers, who are a unanimous No. 1 in the Sports Network and the FCS coaches polls, received 19 points in the Associated Press poll Sunday.

The 19 points, which puts them 31 overall, is four points behind Auburn and seven points in front of Cincinnati. Florida State received two points.

Southern California is No. 1 and LSU is No. 2.

Moore was asked about the revision of the rule, which now allows AP voters to vote for Football Championship Subdivision teams.

“I think it’s good for football,” Moore said. “It’s particularly good for I-AA football. We might get a vote, but we’re not going to get a lot of votes. The thing is, it’s too early anyway.”

Michigan loses
Oregon handed Michigan a 39-7 loss, the worst home loss the Wolverines have suffered since a 50-14 loss to Ohio State back in 1968.

Michigan, 0-2, has lost four straight dating back to its loss to Ohio State in its final regular season game last season. Michigan also lost to Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

Still, Moore said the Oregon loss takes no luster off the Mountaineers’ win over the Wolverines the prevous week.

“I think Oregon is a good football team,” Moore said. “They do the same things we do. Their quarterback is like our quarterbacks. I think he’s a 6-foot-2 guy and he’s as quick as our guy. They run roughly the same thing. Michigan got a good look at that two weeks in a row.”

Suttle returns
Starting center Scott Suttle returned to his position Saturday, but the Mountaineers held out left tackle Mario Acitelli as a precautionary measure.

Suttle missed the Michigan game because of a sore knee, but was with the first team against the Bears.

“We didn’t decide to play Scott until Thursday,” Moore said. “And then, we were only going to play him for maybe a quarter. He’s really done well. We would not have played him if he wasn’t ready to play.”

No letdown
Banks said that there was no letdown for Satuday’s game, and the evidence shows that he was right.

Appalachian State scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and did not allow Lenoir-Rhyne to cross the 50-yard line until late in the first half when Bears quarterback Daniel Anderson hit Reggie Odrick for a 17-yard gain that gave them a first down at the Mountaineers’ 46. Lenoir-Rhyne eventually tried a 39-yard field goal, but Banks blocked the kick and the Mountaineers took over.

“We didn’t want them to score,” Banks said. “Corey (Lynch) lined up beside me, he’s the one that got it last week, and he told me, ‘Pierre, go on and get it.’ Corey told me that, it meant he was going to do something. He did an outside move and the wing went with him. The tight end went down and that opened up my gap. I just became free and put my hands up and got a little piece of it.”

Sports Illustrated cover
Dexter Jackson said he was surprised to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Receivers coach Lonnie Galloway broke the news to him after Wednesday’s practice.

“It was overwhelming. My position coach told me after practice that I was going to be on the cover,” Jackson said. “When I saw it, I was just shocked. All of the players were congratulating me. Without them, I would not have been on it.”