Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Davidson vs App State almost happened

Davidson football coach Tripp Merritt leaned back in his office chair and pondered what might have been.

The Wildcats almost took a game at Appalachian State Sept. 8, which would have given the Wildcats a nice payday and a chance to see where they stacked up against the two-time NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision title winners.

Davidson could have faced running back Kevin Richardson - who scored 30 touchdowns last season - and tried to break Appalachian State's 27-game home winning streak.

"That would have been something, wouldn't it?" Merritt said. "We talked about it as a staff. We really think we can play with anybody."

Davidson even had approval from Wingate - which had been scheduled to play the Wildcats that day - to move their game to Sept. 22 (Davidson's bye week) and let the Appalachian game happen.

Merritt mulled over the offer, but then decided to back off. Adding the Appalachian State game would have created an 11-game schedule for Davidson, a non-scholarship program. The Davidson coach said he preferred the Wildcats' current setup, where Davidson plays three non-conference games and then has a bye before its Pioneer League opener against Jacksonville Sept. 29.

"You always have to worry about injuries, and we only have 78 guys on our team," he said. "It just wasn't the right fit."

The Wildcats might have to wonder about the missed chance for a few years. Merritt said his team has already completed its 10-game schedule through 2010, and Appalachian State is not expected to have any openings before then. -- Kevin Cary

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"We talked about it as a staff. We really think we can play with anybody."

More like... I dont feel like being down 50 points at the half.

Anonymous said...

Jerry wouldn't let that happen,it would be spread out over 4 quarters for a 63-0 final...

Anonymous said...

App State should play a home game at BoA stadium against some FBS/1-A school.

WB said...

Davidson has no business playing App. The money is not worth it. For Davidson, there would be nothing good to come from playing that game.

...And this comes from a former Davidson football player.

Anonymous said...

I am for the BoA Stadium game. How about the Furman/ASU game there? Easily draw 40-50,000.....about the att for the ECU/NCState game a few years ago.

former ASU player

Anonymous said...

Don't know about Davidson playing a team that can beat Michigan in the big house. We're a basketball school remember?