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Apphole
November 9th, 2011, 11:41 AM
http://appstategonzo.blogspot.com/2011/11/rivalry.html

Links are on the actual page

"There are a lot of schools in the Southern Conference that perceive App State as their most hated rival. Georgia Southern and Furman fans could certainly make a strong case, depending on their graduation year. Over the past two decades, Furman, Georgia Southern and Appalachian have taken turns beating each other; occupying the "big three" of the conference. All three of these schools have won national championships during this time. Wofford fans might also throw their hats in the ring of hatred. During App's recently vacated tenure as six-time conference champs, we shared the title with the terriers twice.

Indeed, there's a long list of schools who's fans circle the App State game on the schedule every year, but there is one in particular that hates App above all things: The Western Carolina Catamounts. In this annual clash of North Carolina mountain schools, called "the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug," the winner enjoys the eternal glory of hoisting a yellow-painted, 25-pound moonshine bottle. The trouble for Western is, since 1984, the cats have only had the thing twice.

Of course, Western hasn't faired quite as badly in other sports. They've won more often than not on the basketball court as of late and just defeated the mountaineers in women's soccer, but as far as the grid iron goes, these kitties aren't competitive. In fact, with the all-time series 56-18-1 since 1976, "the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug" might be considered one of the most one sided rivalries of all time. They love to hate us, and perhaps that is a direct result of an almost guaranteed Catamount loss every season.

Western's football woes have reached a critical level this year, even by their lack-luster standards. Following multiple seasons of finishing at the bottom the conference, Western Carolina Football has set the bar even lower by losing every game against a division one opponent so far in the 2011 season. Their only win came against Mars Hill in which the division two school still managed to score 31 points. Over the past few weeks, Western has fired their defensive coordinator and athletic director, with head coach Wagner likely on the way out at the end of the season.

On the opposite side of the FCS spectrum of success, App State has become the standard of championship subdivision success, with three national championships and six conference championships in the last decade. The 2011 season has brought the Mountaineers a few more losses than usual, and hope of an unprecedented seven straight is unlikely at this point, but App State is still considered a playoff contender. With a move to the FBS on the horizon, many App fans are looking in the rear-view mirror and having trouble spotting the little purple cats, struggling to keep up in the distance.

In light of widening gap between these institution's football programs, its pretty safe to say that this isn't the year Western will collect it's third win against the Apps in 23 years. Furthermore, with ASU on it's way out the door and Western's program in shambles, it is unlikely that the kitties will collect any more wins against the Mountaineers at all. It appears the rivalry will be dead upon App State trading the 'C' for 'B', that is, if a it still exists at all."

Squealofthepig
November 9th, 2011, 12:21 PM
I think a case could be made for "rivalry" in the 90s, when the Catamounts kept the Mountaineers within ten points most years, and winning in 1993 (and 2004). However, when I think of "App State rivalry" traditionally, I think of GSU, then Furman, then Wofford, and while their 2004 win over ASU was surprising, it's telling that every game but one since then has been by three touchdowns or more (24, 5, 25, 39, 22, 38 respectively).