On Saturday, Appalachian State pulled off an epic upset, defeating No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14, and launching them back into the college football conversation. That conversation will get even louder next weekend when ESPN’s College GameDay was broadcast from their campus.
Boone, North Carolina was quite the scene on Saturday as App State fans celebrated the upset from afar. But this upcoming Saturday, they’ll get the chance to cheer on their Mountaineers as they host the Troy Trojans. ESPN made the surprising decision to originate from Boone and take in that celebration first-hand.
GAMEDAY IS COMING TO BOONE❗
Home of @AppState_FB 😤 pic.twitter.com/r1uzaBobmM
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 11, 2022
It’s the first time College Gameday has ever broadcast from App State. It also continues the huge run of success that the Sun Belt Conference is seeing.
“This is what we’ve been working for since we made the transition to FBS,” App State Director of Athletics Doug Gillin said in a school statement. “This is a special opportunity to showcase our university, community, and football program to a national audience.”
There were certainly some interesting options for ESPN to choose from, with Penn State visiting Auburn, BYU at Oregon, and Miami at Texas A&M. The latter choice might. have been the logical pick, if not for App State’s win over the Aggies. So they might have quite literally earned this honor themselves.
There were lots of reactions around the college football world to the news of College Gameday’s visit to Boone.
Oh. My. WHAT??!!! https://t.co/Mk7HhcqIWF
— Charley Belcher FOX (@CharleyBelcher) September 11, 2022
College Gameday going to Troy @ App State next week is so amazing and good for this sport
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 11, 2022
live from the two-story Wendy’s? https://t.co/CctSX6jko8
— Jeremy Markovich 🐇🕳️ (@deftlyinane) September 11, 2022
BREAKING: @CollegeGameDay is headed to Boone, North Carolina next weekend for Appalachian State vs. Troy. pic.twitter.com/R7cVnwoukP
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 11, 2022
November 12: Appalachian State at Marshall. College Game Day, let’s go.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 10, 2022
It should be quite the show from Boone on Saturday.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.