Big Appalachian State upset no shock to T.O.
BY LEE BARFKNECHT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Tom Osborne has a different view of what many are calling the biggest upset in college football history — Division I-AA Appalachian State's 34-32 victory over then-No. 5 Michigan.
"I don't think it was as big an upset as many think," the former Nebraska coach said Wednesday. "I watched them in the Division I-AA championship game last year.
"That quarterback is a great player. And they've got some kids who can really run. I remember before the game thinking Michigan will probably win, but that they've got a lot bigger task ahead than they think."
Part of Osborne's view comes from his insight into how Appalachian State, featured on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, is coached.
ASU's coach, Jerry Moore, was one of the three outside assistants Osborne hired upon becoming head coach at Nebraska in 1973. At the time, Moore was the receivers coach at SMU under Hayden Fry.
"I had met Jerry at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp in Colorado," Osborne said. "I really liked him. We talked a lot of football, and he seemed like a bright young guy who was doing well."
Moore, a native of Bonham, Texas, provided Nebraska a pipeline into recruiting in Texas.
Among those he helped lure were All-America tight end Junior Miller, All-America offensive tackle Kelvin Clark, I-back Rick Berns, lineman David Clark and quarterback Tom Sorley.
"Jerry was always a great recruiter," said Guy Ingles, who as a graduate assistant in the early 1970s at NU worked with Moore coaching receivers. "He's just a real pleasure to be around."
Ingles, now an investment adviser in Omaha, said he has stayed in touch with Moore through the years.
"This week, I'm one of the thousands of people on his voice mail," Ingles said.
Moore, after six seasons at Nebraska, left to become head coach at North Texas for two seasons and at Texas Tech for five. He had a losing record every year at Tech and was fired after the 1985 season.
"Getting let go there really hurt him," Osborne said. "He decided he'd had enough of coaching and went into business for a couple of years."
It was successful for Moore, Osborne said, but not fulfilling.
"Jerry called a couple of times and said, 'I'm just not happy,'" Osborne said. "He said he had made some money and didn't have the hours he used to, but that he really wanted to coach again."
In 1988, Moore returned to coaching as an assistant to Ken Hatfield at Arkansas.
The next year, he got the Appalachian State job and went 9-3 his first season. Now in his 19th year, he has the most wins of any coach in Southern Conference history and has won back-to-back I-AA national titles.
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