When Appalachian State beat Michigan Saturday it was immediately called one of the biggest upsets in the history of college football. Appalachian State competes at the Division I-AA level and no I-AA team had ever beaten a ranked team, let alone the No. 5 team in the country.

"It's like Chicago electing a Republican mayor," college football historian Beano Cook said.

Upsets of this degree happen once a decade or so. With the help of Cook, the Post-Gazette compiled the top five greatest upsets in the history of college football.

5. Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32 (2007). Playing the nation's winningest college football team at the historic Big House, the Mountaineers block a field goal in the final seconds to secure the shocker. The Mountaineers are the two-time defending I-AA champions, but no one expected them to knock off the Wolverines. "This will be in Lloyd Carr's obit," Cook said. "In the first or second paragraph."

4. Mississippi Southern 25, Alabama 19 (1953). A lot of similarities between this game and the Appalachian State-Michigan game. Alabama was ranked No. 5 going into this game as well. According to Cook, famed sports writer Grantland Rice picked Alabama before the season as his national champion. What geniuses among us picked Michigan to win it all?

3. Holy Cross 55, Boston College 12 (1942). Boston College had allowed 19 points in its first eight games but got blitzed by the Crusaders. The loss likely cost Boston College the national championship because a one-loss Ohio State team was voted No. 1. The loss turned out to be a saving grace for Boston College players. They had planned a victory celebration at the Boston nightclub Cocoanut Grove but canceled it in the wake of the defeat. That night, the Cocoanut Grove caught fire, and 492 people died. One other interesting note from that game: The two Boston College captains pictured on the game program wore jersey numbers 55 and 12.

2. Centre College 6, Harvard 0 (1921). Harvard competes in Division I-AA today, but the Crimson was once a national power. Harvard, already winners of seven national titles, had a 25-game unbeaten streak going into the game against Centre, which is in Danville Kentucky. It turns out Centre was no slouch. It also beat Clemson, Kentucky, Auburn and Arizona that year and finished 10-1. "They were still writing about that game 30 years later," Cook said.

1. Navy 14, Army 2 (1950). Army was the supreme power of the day, having won national championships in 1944, '45 and '46. The Cadets, ranked No. 1 at the time, had not lost since 1947 and were heavy favorites over the Middies, who carried a 1-6-1 record into the game. "That's the greatest upset in my mind," Cook said.

Lopsided

Appalachian State's victory saved college football from an otherwise dreadful first weekend of games.

The average score of games pitting Bowl Championship Series conference schools against non-BCS conference foes was 37-13. The average score of the six Big East games against non-BCS schools was 48-9.

Get used to it. Only one Big East school plays an opponent that is currently ranked in the non-conference. South Florida plays at Auburn this week.

Only six other BCS conference schools lost to non-BCS schools - North Carolina State, Virginia, Iowa State, Baylor, Minnesota and Arizona.

Fallout

The loss to Appalachian State gave Michigan another piece of unwanted history Tuesday when the Wolverines fell from No. 5 to out of The Associated Press poll.

Since the AP poll went to 25 teams in 1989, no team had fallen as far as the Wolverines. Notre Dame had held the record for biggest fall - 16 spots after going from No. 9 to No. 25 after losing to Northwestern in 1995.

Emotional letdown

One week after stepping up in competition and playing Michigan, Appalachian State is taking a step down this week and playing a Division II team. Appalachian State plays host to Lenoir Rhyne. This is the home opener for the Mountaineers, who have been enjoying the fruits of their victory against Michigan. If you're looking for another upset here, don't bother. Lenoir Rhyne was 3-8 last season and lost to the likes of Presbyterian and North Carolina Central.