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So Close: ASU players look back on win over JMU
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Published: September 18, 2008
It's easy for Appalachian State's Pierre Banks to recall every detail of last November's season-altering fumble recovery against James Madison.
It's etched in his mind in slow motion.
The visiting Dukes were a chip-shot field goal away from ending Appalachian's national-title run in the first round of the FCS playoffs when they fumbled at the 9-yard line with less than 30 seconds left.
Jamal Sullivan, a redshirt freshman, took a handoff on a first-and-goal play in an attempt to improve field-goal alignment when he was met by a contingent of Appalachian defenders. Linebacker Jacque Roman knocked the ball from Sullivan's grip.
A frenzied chase for the loose ball followed, and Banks, a linebacker, managed to recover the ball near the sideline with 22 seconds left -- preserving a 28-27 victory and continuing the Mountaineers' march to an eventual third straight title.
Banks, whose team will meet James Madison again on Saturday, said that he remembers the entire season flashing in front of him.
"I remember seeing the ball start rolling," Banks said. "When I took off to go get the ball, it seemed like I couldn't go fast enough. Everything started to flash in front of me. I was seeing all kinds of stuff.
"I saw the 2005 fumble when Sticks (Jason Hunter) picked up that fumble in the championship game. And Corey (Lynch) blocking that last-second field goal against Michigan. Everything was going through my mind. It seemed like it took forever.
"There was a big dude on my right side going step to step with me. I finally got there and the guy was right there with me. I figured maybe if I hit him somebody else could come in and get the ball. But when I hit him, I actually knocked him over the ball and he knocked the ball directly to me and I scooped it up. The rest is history."
History will be revisited Saturday night when the Mountaineers play at James Madison. Members of both teams can't help but recall last November's drama.
Appalachian trailed 27-19 with 7:37 left, but closed the gap with a 44-yard field goal.
James Madison out-gained the Mountaineers by 106 yards and had a big advantage in possession time -- 40:27 to the Mountaineers' 19:33. But the Dukes got pinned at their 31-yard line with 2:55 left when Coach Mickey Matthews elected not to punt and instead run on a fourth-and-1 situation.
Tackle Anthony Williams then stopped quarterback Rodney Landers for no gain.
Appalachian took over in prime field position, but needed a fourth-down conversion of its own to take the lead. On fourth-and-4 from the JMU 25, quarterback Armanti Edwards rolled left and just beat pressure with a pass to an open Devon Moore near the goal line. Moore changed direction and lunged in time to haul in a slightly underthrown pass at the 5-yard line.
"I give all the credit to Devon for making that catch," Banks said. "If it wasn't for him making that catch, none of the rest would have mattered."
Edwards followed with a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Mountaineers a 28-27 lead with 1:10 left.
The Dukes began their final drive at their 29, and immediately reached potential scoring position with a 36-yard pass from Landers to Bosco Williams. From there, the Dukes stuck to the ground and ran three more plays, with Sullivan's bullish 17-yard run advancing to the 9-yard line as the final seconds ticked away.
"When they were driving the ball down the field and into field-goal range, as much as I want to say we had hope alive, many of us thought it was over," Edwards said. "They were right there at the goal line, in field-goal range. There was nothing else you could do."
But Sullivan fumbled, Banks recovered and both teams' seasons took a dramatic turn.
"It was a ballgame that either team could have won," Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said. "We score and then they hit the long ball and get down in position to kick a field goal and they had a turnover and the ballgame is over."
Matthews took blame for electing to hand the ball off. He defending the earlier fourth-down attempt, but said that there was one call he wished he had back.
"We wouldn't have handed the ball off there at the end," Matthews said. "That's all we would have done different. I wouldn't have changed anything else about the game."
He said that he couldn't bear to watch tape of the game until earlier this year.
"Without a doubt it's the toughest loss I've ever suffered as a coach," Matthews said. "What we went through that last 30 seconds to lose that game the way we did it was painful to look at."
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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