Travel issues force Appalachian State to stay overnight in College Station after win over Texas A&M

After pulling off a historic upset over No. 6 Texas A&M on Saturday, Appalachian State’s football team didn’t get to celebrate back home in Boone, North Carolina.

Mechanical issues with the team charter forced Appalachian State’s team to spend the night at a hotel in College Station last night, a team spokesperson told ESPN. With the hotel sold out, the team spread out across the corridors, meeting rooms and lobby area.

The group spent three hours at the airport on Saturday night before returning to the hotel at midnight. Before heading back to the airport, they woke up at an unofficial 3:30am and boarded a 4:30am flight.

The team flew to Charlotte on Sunday morning. They landed at 8:30 am and the five group buses were expected to arrive in Boon, which was about two hours away, around 11 am.

Even if the delay is trivial, it is hard to dampen the morale of the team and the employees. They pulled off what is considered the second-biggest upset in school history, when an impressive Texas A&M program stockpiled talented recruits and coaches and administrators engaged in verbal banter with Alabama coach Nick Saban this offseason. Instead, Marshall beat No. 8 Notre Dame on Saturday to become the second top-10 team to lose to a program from the Sun Belt.

While trying to avoid mechanical issues Saturday night, coach Shawn Clark said the program will host ESPN’s College Game Day for the first time on Saturday. Clarke He is a 1998 graduate of Appalachian State who took over in 2020 and has been on staff for seven seasons.

Appalachian State entered the game coming off a disappointing loss against North Carolina, where the Mountaineers scored 40 points in the fourth quarter and still lost 63-61.

On Saturday, the Mountaineers held the ball for 41 minutes and 29 seconds. The game plan executed by coordinator Kevin Barbary and running back Cameron Peoples (112 yards on 19 carries) allowed Appalachian State to run out the clock. That included 11 plays and 18 second-half drives that consumed more than 15 minutes on the clock.

Appalachian State entered the national sports consciousness in 2007 when it upset No. 5 Michigan. The win over Texas A&M marked the third win over a ranked opponent in school history.

Appalachian State has a storied history as the school won three FCS titles before being promoted to FBS play in less than a decade. Past head coaches include Jerry Moore, who won three titles, and Mack Brown (UNC), Elijah Drinkwitz (Missouri) and Scott Satterfield (Louisville).

Texas A&M paid $1.5 million to play Appalachian State.