Despite the loss in its regular-season finale, Appalachian (9-2, 7-1 SoCon) will almost certainly be one of five seeded teams in the upcoming 20-team NCAA Division I Football Championship. ASU is a top contender for one of the field�s top-two seeds, which would ensure home-field advantage leading up to the national championship game on Jan. 7, 2011 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The championship bracket was unveiled on Sunday during a 30-minute special on ESPNU.

Florida (7-4) controlled the action throughout, especially in the first half when it rolled up 327 of its 547 total yards en route to a commanding 28-0 halftime lead. However, Appalachian had opportunities to stay within striking distance on a number of occasions but could not capitalize.

The Mountaineers went three-and-out just once in seven first-half possessions and drove into Florida territory twice but came up empty-handed thanks in large part to seven first-half penalties that cost them 55 yards. ASU�s second drive stalled at the UF 30 yard line when a fourth-down pass from DeAndre Presley to Ben Jorden was a thrown a tad behind Jorden and slipped through the tight end�s hands and a second possession ended prematurely when Brian Quick lost a fumble inside the ASU 30.

After the Gators scored on the first series of the second half to stretch their lead to 35-0, the Mountaineers settled in and put together back-to-back scoring drives for their only points of the game. A 33-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris capped a 12-play, 60-yard drive that put ASU on the scoreboard and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Presley to Matt Cline culminated an eight-play, 64-yard drive that closed out the ASU scoring.

Presley led Appalachian�s 274-yard effort against the nation�s 10th-ranked NCAA Division I FBS defense, completing 19-of-28 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown and running eight times for 26 more yards. Quick matched a game high with six receptions for 56 yards.

Defensively, linebacker D.J. Smith had a game-high 14 tackles, becoming only the second player in ASU history with 500 career tackles in the process. Smith�s 503 stops rank behind only three-time all-American Dexter Coakley (616 tackles from 1993-96) in the program�s all-time annals.

Florida quarterback John Brantley completed 16-of-22 passes for 222 yards and also caught a touchdown pass while another Gator QB, Jordan Reed, ran for three scores and threw for another.

NOTES: With temperatures in the high 70s, Appalachian wore the untraditional combination of white jerseys and white pants, marking the first time it has worn white pants since Sept. 20, 2008 at James Madison ... ASU trailed 21-0 after three series for the first time since a 35-21 loss at Furman in 1999 ... the Mountaineers have allowed a touchdown on the opponent�s first possession in five of their last six games against FBS competition ... Appalachian fell to 7-38-1 against FBS competition since the inception of NCAA Division I football subdivisions in 1978 ... the game was ASU�s first in Florida since it defeated Tampa, 9-7, in 1962 ... the Mountaineers fell to 4-9 all-time in games played in the Sunshine State ... Appalachian dropped to 1-12 all-time against current members of the Southeastern Conference ... ASU defensive back Ed Gainey and Florida wide receiver Carl Moore were both ejected after receiving offsetting personal fouls early in the second quarter ... per Southern Conference rules, Gainey must sit out until the same point of the next game when the ejection occured, which means that he will be unavailable for the Mountaineers until approximately two minutes into the second period of their first postseason contest.

Media Contact:
Appalachian Sports Information
Mike Flynn
828-262-2845
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