AMHERST, Mass. — Championship pursuits are supposed to be challenging.
Appalachian State (5-2) steps away from its Sun Belt Conference schedule this weekend with a road game against FBS independent UMass (1-6) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and the Mountaineers will take a 4-0 league record into their next Sun Belt game.
They have shown the resolve to overcome second-half deficits in all four of the conference victories, and UMass is no stranger to close games. Its 0-6 start involved no losses by more than 10 points, with a 17-13 loss at Tennessee turning some heads, and the Minutemen led 48-17 at halftime of a 55-20 win against Georgia Southern last weekend.
Defending well against UMass' high-powered offense will be a key for App State's hopes of winning, whether it's in nail-biting or convincing fashion.
In their first four Sun Belt games, the Mountaineers have trailed for more than 110 out of a possible 240 minutes but still pulled out four victories. They took their first lead late in the third quarter of a 20-13 win at Texas State and were behind twice in the fourth quarter of a 45-31 victory against New Mexico State.
App State trailed 20-0 before breaking even with 10:04 left in a 23-20 win at Idaho, and the Mountaineers were behind 22-17 in third quarter against Coastal Carolina before they scored the next 20 points in a 37-29 victory.
The Mountaineers have plenty of veteran leadership, starting with senior captains
Taylor Lamb,
A.J. Howard,
Beau Nunn and
Eric Boggs. On the flip side, they finished well against the Chanticleers with 21 true freshmen or redshirt freshmen playing, as App State's leading receiver (
Jalen Virgil) and rusher (
Marcus Williams Jr.) are both redshirt freshmen.
"The biggest thing is composure," Lamb said. "We've talked about playing like we're down 20 from the start and playing desperate. That's how we need to play all four quarters, but still have that same composure throughout the fourth quarter."
In earning a share of the 2016 conference title with a 7-1 record, App State didn't trail after halftime in any of the seven victories. It was behind for a total of 38:55 in those wins.
To find the last time the Mountaineers have been this resilient, rewind to the 2012 season, when they erased second-half deficits in Southern Conference victories against Elon, Samford, Georgia Southern and Furman on the way to a SoCon co-title.
Offense, defense and special teams have done their part during the comebacks and strong finishing kicks.
Texas State managed only a second-half field goal against App State, and the Mountaineers ended the New Mexico State game with a 28-7 run over the final 10:31. Idaho managed only 57 second-half yards, including 23 on a final play that was stopped short of the first-down marker, and App State went from trailing 22-17 against Coastal Carolina to leading 37-22 with four defensive possessions in which the Chanticleers moved the ball 10 yards in a combined 14 plays, counting offensive penalties.
"Football, there's such a fine line between winning and losing," App State coach
Scott Satterfield said. "You have to be able to win the close games. For us, we just keep playing. You have to make one more play than they do. Whatever that is, at the very end, hopefully you've made enough to be on top."
Lamb became App State's career leader in touchdown passes last weekend, and his 76 TDs are tied for third in Sun Belt history behind the first-place total of 81. Lamb is also fifth in Sun Belt history in rushing yards by a quarterback, with a career total of 1,703 leaving him just 54 away from moving into sole possession of fourth place. He's averaging 6.6 yards per carry in 2017.
With dual-threat quarterback Ross Comis and left-handed Virginia Tech transfer Andrew Ford both playing meaningful snaps behind center, UMass throws for 311.4 yards per game. Like Toledo in last year's Camellia Bowl, the Minutemen have a big, NFL-quality tight end in 6-foot-5, 255-pound Penn State transfer Adam Breneman.
Breneman leads UMass with 43 catches for 581 yards, raising the importance of how well App State's safeties and linebackers perform in pass coverage. With Howard playing alongside
Desmond Franklin and
Austin Exford in the secondary and the Mountaineers employing
Rashaad Townes and
Akeem Davis-Gaither at outside linebacker spots that have different responsibilities, Breneman is a focal point for most defenses.
"You better know where he is at all times," Satterfield said. "I think they do a really good job with formations and try to manipulate you with their formations. Next thing you know, he's loose. They're certainly going to target him."
