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ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Two days after a loss that sent shock waves through the college football world, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr knows what his team must fix: just about everything.
While much national attention is centered on what lingering effects the Wolverines’ historic 34-32 season-opening loss to Appalachian State will have on a team that started the season ranked fifth and as a national championship contender.
Carr said Monday that Michigan, which was penalized seven times and committed two costly turnovers against the Mountaineers, is starting from scratch heading into Saturday’s game against Oregon.
“What we have to do in a short time here is become a more disciplined team, a smarter team and a team that executes better,” Carr said.
Appalachian State’s stunner at Michigan Stadium marked the first time a Football Championship Subdivision team — formerly I-AA — beat a team ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.
“There were a lot of people on the team (who) were really in a bad mood and a lot of people who took a lot of blame on themselves,” offensive lineman Adam Kraus said. “But we had a lot of missed opportunities in there, and it ended up really hurting us.”
The final blown chance came with Michigan in prime position to kick a winning field goal after Appalachian State took a two-point lead on Julian Rauch’s 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining.
Michigan set up for a 37-yard field goal after Chad Henne connected with Mario Manningham on a 46-yard pass with 6 seconds remaining. But Jason Gingell’s kick was blocked by Corey Lynch, clinching the upset.
“With a chance to win the game, we didn’t execute a fundamental play — a play that we have worked extremely hard at all fall,” Carr said.
Gingell also had a 44-yard field goal attempt blocked with 1:47 remaining with Michigan clinging to a 32-31 lead. Carr said he initially believed Gingell’s kick was low, but after watching game film, he blamed it on Michigan’s protection team.
“You can’t fault (Gingell) for those last two (blocked kicks),” Carr said. “He made two (field goals) and for a guy that has not been in games before, to go in there and kick two in a row in his first start is a very positive thing for him.”
Now Michigan is left to recover while preparing for an Oregon team that will present many of the same challenges, running the spread offense the Wolverines struggled to defend against Appalachian State.
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But as tough as Saturday’s loss was, it provided Michigan’s players with an unexpected source of motivation.
“It hurts because you don’t like losing,” linebacker Chris Graham said. “But how far can you hold your head down? I’m not holding my head down at all. You’ve got to move on forward.”
Indianapolis Colts defensive back Marlin Jackson, a former Michigan standout, said he was embarrassed by the result.
“We lost to a I-AA program, and we were a top-five team,” he said. “To go out and be the first team in history to lose to a I-AA team, it hurts.”
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“That’s all I’ve been getting the last couple of days. Every text message I get just says ‘Appalachian State.’ That’s all it says,” he said.
“The Ohio State guys have been all right. It’s everybody else around here. Even coach (Tony) Dungy said something to me about it.”
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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