So what do Appalachian State and Furman do for an encore? The No. 16 ranked Mountaineers and the No. 6 Paladins meet Saturday in Greenville, S.C. at 3:30 p.m. in what has become one of I-AA's craziest rivalry. "I guess our TV ratings are outstanding," said Furman coach Bobby Lamb, whose Paladin team has been on the losing end three wild finishes in Lamb's three years as a head coach. The 2002 game had arguably the goofiest ending since the trombone player got run over in the end zone at the Cal-Stanford game of 1982. Referred to by many fans as the "Go for two game," Furman scored in the final seconds to take a 15-14 lead in Boone. But ASU defensive end Josh Jeffries intercepted a tunnel screen pass from Furman quarterback Billy Napier and pitched the ball to cornerback Derrick Black, who ran it in for a game-winning two-point defensive conversion. The incredible play was repeated hundreds of times on national television. Final score: Appalachian State 16, Furman 15. In 2003, ASU made several goal-line stands, including two in the final two minutes to hang for a 13-10 victory in Greenville. And last year, ASU quarterback Richie Williams had the game of a lifetime, completing an NCAA record 28 passes in a row, going 40-of-45 (an NCAA record 88.9 completion percentage) with a school-record 413 yards. His 13-yard scoring run with 35 seconds left to end a six-play, 67-yard drive and lift the Mountaineers to a 30-29 victory in Boone. In 2000, ASU trailed Furman 17-11 in Boone with the Paladins marching towards a game-clinching score in the fourth quarter. But Paladin quarterback Justin Hill threw an interception in the end zone and the Mountaineers won the game 18-17 with an 80-yard scoring drive. Furman has had its share of late comebacks, too. The Paladins came back for two late touchdowns in 1993 to turn a 21-13 ASU lead into a 27-20 victory in Greenville. And the Paladins drove the length of the field in 1996 at Boone to change a 14-13 deficit into a 20-14 triumph. Other classic Appalachian-Furman games through the years include a 26-23 triple-overtime win by ASU in 1991 at Greenville, a 17-17 tie in 1986 in Boone and a 24-9 victory by the Paladins in 1988 that drew a Kidd Brewer Stadium-record crowd of 25,301 Overall, Furman leads the series 20-11-3. "This has always been a big, big football game, even before I got here," said ASU coach Jerry Moore, who is 8-8 lifetime against the Paladins. Appalachian (3-1 overall, 1-0 in league) is the only remaining unbeaten team in the Southern Conference and the Mountaineers know that wins this week on the road at Furman and next week at home against Georgia Southern would put them in the driver's seat for the league title. For Furman (4-1, 0-1), almost any hope the Paladins have for defending the league crown starts with a must-win over the Mountaineers. Furman put itself in that position with a 41-21 conference loss at Western Carolina last month. "To me, (Appalachian) is probably playing better than anyone in the league this year," Lamb said. "We're probably facing the toughest team we've faced all year long and I'm not sure we're going to be able to stop them." Furman has a dangerous attack that is piling up 39 points per game, keyed by quarterback Ingle Martin, a bevy of running backs and tight end John Rust. "Ingle Martin is probably one of the best athletes in the league, throwing, running, or punting," said Moore. "I don't know that you stop him, maybe you just slow him down." But defense has been a problem for the Paladins, who are giving up over 34 points per contest. "I think it's inexperience," Lamb said. "People forget we had to replace seven starters on defense. But we've played enough games where we can't use that as an excuse anymore." The Paladins have also seen similar offensive schemes in the past three games, wins over Samford, Hofstra and Gardner-Webb. But none of those schools has a quarterback as dangerous both running and throwing the ball as Williams. "App's quarterback is a much better athlete," said Lamb. "Richie will be a big test for our defense." The Mountaineer defense is also much improved, allowing less than 11 points per game in three I-AA games and has forced 11 turnovers, helping to fuel a balanced, no-huddle offense. The Gridiron Power Index, a system which measures computer rankings and polls, rated ASU as the third best team in the country this week, trailing only New Hampshire and North Dakota State. Furman is rated 30th in the GPI. With an off-week after a 45-13 victory over The Citadel, ASU also has had two weeks to prepare for Furman, something it has never done before. "We spent about half of our practice time on fundamentals and half on Furman," Moore said of the bye week. "We got a lot done." But Moore also expects this to be as tough as most Appalachian-Furman games have been. "When I look at Furman, I don't see a lot of weaknesses," Moore said. "If there is a weakness, it usually gets corrected. They don't just sit out there and overlook mistakes."