Employing the tenets of solid football ? fundamentals, hard work, attention to detail and conditioning ? Appalachian State believed it could compete. Throw in a healthy dose of admiration for Florida coach Urban Meyer, and the result is an amazing story.
Moore loves that spread offense. From a distance, he had admired Meyer's version of it. But it was just wasn't X's and O's that drew Moore.
"When (Meyer) was at Utah, we got our hands on every bit of Utah tape we could," Moore said, pointing to a box of film. "It wasn't so much Alex Smith. We were just infatuated with how physical their right guard played."
Moore said he met Meyer for the first time at January's American Football Coaches Association convention in San Antonio. They were at the head table.
"What I wanted to talk about was how physical they were," Moore said. "I asked if I could come down and watch them. He gave me his number and told me to come down anytime."
Moore traveled to Gainesville, Fla., during spring practice. "He was so open and willing to share just about everything with us," Moore said.
(Incidentally, Florida is a future Appalachian State opponent as are LSU, Georgia and Virginia Tech.)
The desire to be physical, like Meyer's teams, translated into Appalachian State's quest for stamina.
"That's why looking at film any earlier than we did wouldn't have made a difference," Moore said. "We're big into fundamentals, and we're big into conditioning."
Paula - what's the mood like in AA?
