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No one needs to remind both coaching staffs of the events that occurred in 2007. Although both have different head coaches, the memories still linger.
With Appalachian State preparing to visit Ann Arbor on Saturday, it rekindles pleasant times of their massive 34-32 upset over the Wolverines seven years ago.
Entering his second year as head coach at Appalachian State, Scott Satterfield is coming off a 4-8 record in his first year at the FBS level in the Sun Belt Conference. A lifelong Mountaineer, he was a quarterback from 1991-95 where he started 27 games, an assistant for from 1998-2008 and returned as an offensive coordinator in 2012 before being named head coach.
Being around the program when it beat Michigan, Satterfield knows what that feeling was like. It still doesn't take away the excitement from traveling to Ann Arbor with a vastly different team.
"We're excited about this opportunity to go back to Ann Arbor," Satterfield said during his weekly teleconference. "Ever since 2007our fans and our alumni obviously have special memories of that place. It's a different team and coaching staff, we do have pleasant memories.
"Throughout August we've managed to stay heathy for the most part, we're just excited about opening up our season against Michigan and seeing what kind of squad we'll end up having this year but we're excited about it."
Excitement aside, the team still needs to play the game. Just like last time the two teams met, Appalachian State was an underdog and will continue to be heading into the contest on Saturday. With that aside, Satterfield's team is still trying to reach their potential in a large stadium.
"For us it's all about the process," Satterfield said. "We've been trying to get as good as we can possibly get, we are really trying to reach our potential. We're trying to prepare for anything and everything that could happen while we're up there. We know it's a big stadium, a loud stadium, but the size of the football field is the same size in North Carolina as it is in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
With Appalachian State having the edge in this series, the events that unfolded in 2007 is enough motivation for the team. An underdog can be successful at any time, the team doesn't need to be motivated with words.
"I don't think there is any special pre-game speech or any kind of special words," Satterfield said. "The guys have to confidence in the gameplan we've put together is good and go out there and execute.Those guys that they have are good football players but if we execute we feel like we will be able to make some plays."
Enough plays, Satterfield hopes, are enough to do the unthinkable... again.