We came to Chattanooga.

We saw.

We kicked some Blue Hen butt. 49-21 to be exact.

2007 National Champions. The first ever three-peat in I-AA history. The first ever three-peat in all of Division I football since Army in the 1940's.

The game had a lot of quirks and memorable moments to it. An overflow crows of over 23,000 made it in afte rthey opened the grass area behind once end zone to about 2000 people. This becomes relevant later on. Robb and I spent some time in teh pavillion, took in both pep rallys and band performances, and headed in to the game. Seats were near the top but right around the 50. Perfect seats.

ASU jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, and it was evident right then Delaware was going to have to beat us in a track meet. UD looked to respond, but what looked from the stands to be a UD touchdown was reviewed and correctly overturned. But that game them a 3rd and goal inside the one yard line. UD has a 6-6 quarterback and an all-conference tailback, and ASU's run defense has been suspect at best all year. So of course we stuff them on 3rd and goal, and UD for some weird reason goes for it on 4th and goal, and tries to pass it in. Ball is knocked down and the Apps hold!

5 plays, 99 yards, and 1:26 off the clock later, ASU makes it 14-0 on a 43-yard TD run where Devon Moore went untouched up the middle. Delaware misses a short field goal, and the Apps storm down the field again and score. Now it's 21-0 and dangerously close to already being a rout. But UD puts together a drive and with less than a minute left in the half makes it 21-7. A little momentum for the Hens going to the locker room. For about 26 seconds. Edwards hits Dexter Jackson in stride for a 60+ yard touchdown pass, and the Hens need a miracle at this point.

Midway in the third quarter, ASU strikes again. Edwards finds a completely uncovered Kevin Richardson who walks into teh end zone from 20 yards out, and it's 35-7 and the rout is officially on. Delaware does get a touchdown on a long drive, making it 35-14 in teh 4th quarter, but ASU eats about 8 minutes of game clock and Edwards plows in teh end zone for a 42-14 lead.

The party is already in full gear in the stands, and with 3:30 to go, the beginnings of controversy are growing. The National Guardsmen that are manning the area around the grassy end zone seating start waving the ASU fans down to the field. There are numerous eyewitnesses to this being the catalyst for a full out mob surrounding the entire ASU sideline, one end zone, and part of the Delaware side. It should be noted that the ASU fans stayed away from teh Delaware players and coaches. They were, however, packed 3-5 deep all over the place, and there's still 3:30 to go!

Then came the play that probably was the most important play of the game. Trey Elder, the most selfless player I have watched in a long time, takes over at quarterback. This is a player that came in highly recruited, saved the 2005 season by taking over and leading us to the semifinal win over Furman, and was the starter going into 2006. This ia player that easily is one of the top 15 quarterbacks in all of I-AA, but three games into the 2006 season ot became evident that Armanti was simply a special player, probably the best talent in all of I-AA. Edwards took over the starting role, and Elder never once made a fuss about it. He was the consumate team player. After 2006 ,I was among many that thought Trey would transfer out and get a senior season in of playing at the D-II level. He didn't, he stayed. After Edwards led us to the win at Michigan, Trey took over while Armanti rested his injured shoulder. Elder went 4-0 as a starter in 2007, and almost pulled it out for us in our two losses, where he took over later in those games and performed great.

So, what happens on the first snap Elder takes in his final game of his college career? He fakes the inside handoff and runs around the right side. He runs past the whole UD defense, and scores from 53 yards out. The entire stadium is going crazy now. We all love this kid, and if ever there was a reward for doing things the right way, Trey just got it. It's now 49-14, and a fitting end to a career that will go quietly in the night, but is as valued as ever in ASU history.

Unfortunately, the best of times are sometimes tempered by ugliness. Such was the case on the ensuing kickoff. Mark Duncan, a wideout for the Hens, returns the kickoff for a touchdown. He ran it into the end zone surrounded by ASU fans. Fans that still to this point have stayed off the field. So what's Duncan do? He fires the football at the crowd, hard. He hits a police officer full in the face from about 10 feet away. The policeman charges after Duncan, and has to be restrained by the National Guardsmen. Duncan is ripped into by his coach, and the mood of the stadium has now gotten nasty. To be brutally honest, the best thing that happened was that Duncan hit the cop, instead of his intended target, the fans. Because imagine what would have happened if some 19 year old girl had taken a football in the face at close range. It would have been a mobbing of the field, no doubt dozens of drunk and/or emotionally charged fans would have gone after Duncan, just like the cop did. It would have gotten ugly, and someone would have gotten seriously hurt. I stand by that thought to this day from my seat in Section 225.

ASU gets the kickoff, and runs the clock out. The fans finally do charge the field, and the celebration begins. The season started with a history making win at Michigan, and was ended by a history making win in Chattanooga. And I was there for both of the games, the only two games I went to all season, in fact.