Mountaineers' streak snapped

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Michigan win is history.

That was clear Saturday to anyone watching the Appalachian State Mountaineers walk slowly and dejectedly out of Gibbs Stadium after their first defeat in more than a year.

Appalachian State, three weeks removed from winning at Michigan, had its 17-game winning streak snapped in a 42-31 loss to Southern Conference rival Wofford.

"We've celebrated long enough," Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore said. "It's time to gird it up and see what we've got."

Jeremy Marshall scored on a reverse and a halfback pass for the Terriers (3-1), who took it to the Mountaineers from the start.

Wofford got three turnovers and held Appalachian State's powerful running game to 98 yards through the first three quarters.

Appalachian State had one last chance to extend its streak, but CoCo Hillary was stopped well short of a first down with 57.9 seconds as Wofford's players leaped wildly on the way back to the sideline.

Appalachian State opened the season with arguably the biggest upset in college football history with its 34-32 win at Michigan. The Wolverines, No. 5 in the nation at the time, became the first ranked major college team to lose to a team from Division I's second-tier.

That victory sparked a wild celebration by the Mountaineers at the Big House and by their fans back home in Boone, N.C.

This time, the Mountaineers could only watch the Terriers' party.

"It's just a great day for our program," Wofford coach Mike Ayers said. When it was over, Moore told his players to keep their heads up and focus on the long season left.

The Mountaineers (3-1) were consensus No. 1 in the FCS polls.

Appalachian State hadn't lost since last year's opener against North Carolina State. It hadn't dropped its first Southern Conference game since 2003.