Appalachian State Sep 17, 2022; Boone, North Carolina, USA; Appalachian State Mountaineers wide receiver Christan Horn (13) celebrates his Hail Mary catch for a touchdown with a fan in the end zone to win the game against the Troy Trojans at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The college football world went through Boone, North Carolina this weekend and the Appalachian State Mountaineers saved their most exciting moment for the very end. On the same day that ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast from Boone, App State ended their game against the Troy Trojans with an epic Hail Mary touchdown to seal a 32-28 comeback victory.

Just a week after their upset of Texas A&M, no one would have blamed the Mountaineers for having a bit of a letdown on Saturday. For most of the day, that’s exactly what seemed to be happening as Troy led 28-24 with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

Rather than punt, the Trojans opted to take an intentional safety, which made the score 28-26. The move seemed bizarre since it effectively gave App State a better field position and a chance to win with a field goal. However, the Mountaineers couldn’t advance very far and found themselves at their own 46-yard-line with time for one last play.

Naturally, it was a Hail Mary attempt. And, naturally, the ball was tipped and caught by Mountaineers receiver Christian Horn who ran it into the endzone for the epic victory.

Here’s the ESPN+ call courtesy of David Jackson along with Avery Hall.

And if you want the real local flavor, you have to hear the radio call from Adam Witten, who was in the Learfield and Varsity App booth with analyst Brandon Turner.

And if you want to experience this sequence of events in a heartbreaking fashion, here’s the Troy radio call by Barry McKnight.

It’s been a truly stunning two weeks for Appalachian State and while we don’t expect next week’s game against James Madison to live up to all this hype, it’s hard to discount the Mountaineers for even a second this season.

[ESPN, Tim Burke]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.