Separated by 55 mountain miles and a state border, Appalachian State and ETSU are meeting on the gridiron once again.
October 4th, 1997 was a great day for East Tennessee State. On that day, the Bucs made the journey over the border to Boone, North Carolina and exploded for a 20-point fourth quarter en route to a 51-28 win over Appalachian State.
Both teams finished the season 7-4 and tied for second in the Southern Conference, but after that year, the trajectories of each program would radically change. In the next six seasons, ETSU wouldn't win more than six games in a season while the Mountaineers never won fewer than seven in that same time span, which included five trips to the I-AA (now FCS) playoffs.