Interview requests aren't exactly unusual for Chad Henne.
With the NFL season about to start, the starting quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars, like any of his 31 counterparts across the league, is at the center of a lot of attention.
For Henne, though, the last couple weeks haven't been quite as much fun as usual when it comes to dealing with the media. Unlike Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Matt Stafford, Henne is finding that many of the requests are from people who don't actually want to talk about the Jaguars at all.
Oh, they might ask a question or two about the team and its outlook, but then they get to the question that he's learned to dread:
"So, can we talk about Appalachian State?"
Henne has known since 2007 that his name will always be associated with the small school located in Boone, N.C., because of one of the most famous games in college football history.
"I've been getting a lot of calls about Appalachian State recently, and they all want to know what I remember," Henne said after last week's exhibition game against the Lions. "I remember everything about that game -- I don't know that I'll ever forget it -- but it certainly isn't a fond memory."
Along with tackle Jake Long and running back Mike Hart, Henne had opted to skip the NFL draft after his junior season to come back to what seemed like a loaded Wolverines roster. They went into the season opener ranked No. 5, and as the favorites to win the Big Ten and maybe even take a shot at winning the national title.
Like many highly ranked teams, they scheduled a FCS team for their opener -- but they really chose poorly. Instead of picking a mediocre school that just wanted a payday, Michigan scheduled the Mountaineers, who were ranked No. 1 and coming off two straight national titles.
Everyone knows what happened. Appalachian State led 28-17 at the half, and although Michigan rallied to take a 32-31 lead late in the fourth, the Mountaineers kicked a go-ahead field goal with 26 seconds to play, then blocked the Wolverines' game-winning attempt on the final play.
It's generally considered the biggest upset in college-football history, and gave Michigan the distinction of becoming the first team to ever go from the top 5 in the AP poll to unranked in one week.
For Henne, Hart, Long and their teammates, stories about the game had finally started to die out until -- for reasons still unclear -- Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon decided to have the Wolverines open the 2014 season with another visit from Appalachian State.
It isn't going to be a big moneymaker for the Wolverines, who are paying Appalachian State a million dollars to come provide an "easy" win -- it was only $400K seven years ago -- and it puts the players in a no-win situation. If they win, even in a rout, they beat a bad team.
If they lose ... that doesn't bear thinking about. An 0-2 record against the Mountaineers would be an embarrassment beyond words for the winningest program in college-football history.
It shouldn't happen. Of course, it shouldn't have happened the first time, but it really shouldn't happen this time.
The Mountaineers are now longer a FCS powerhouse, but a team mired in the ugly transition that comes with moving to the FBS level. They are coming off a 4-8 season that included a lopsided loss to Georgia, and are now first-year members of the Sun Belt Conference.
They are small and inexperienced on defense -- a welcome sight for a Michigan offensive line that is still very much a work in progress -- and they don't have any weapons like quarterback Armanti Edwards and running back Kevin Richardson provided in the first game.
This year's offense is led by tailback Marcus Cox, who rushed for 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns last year as a freshman, and junior quarterback Kameron Bryant. Bryant, like Devin Gardner, is a pass-first quarterback who can still make plays as a runner and is dealing with a depleted receiving corps. Cox is a dangerous target out of the backfield, and the Mountaineers also have a deep threat in Simms McElfresh.
Easy Michigan win, right? You would think so, but blowouts weren't exactly a Wolverine speciality last season. Remember needing a goal-line stand to narrowly beat lowly Akron? Having to rally from 21-7 down to beat Connecticut? The blown leads against Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio State?
Michigan needs to jump on the Mountaineers early and often, and have the game put away by halftime. If it's close in the second half, they will start missing players like Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield and Jeremy Gallon, while Appalachian State will certainly remember what a team in their uniforms has already done once at the Big House.
Henne's NFL teammate, Denard Robinson, will be at Michigan Stadium, but Henne will be watching the game at home.
"Coach Hoke has a great staff and great players, and Michigan is still a great program," Henne said. "They will be ready. It shouldn't happen again.
"I certainly hope it doesn't happen again."
