BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State's football team will begin its Sun Belt Conference schedule Saturday when it plays at Texas State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game in 30,000-seat Bobcat Stadium will be available on ESPN3.
DATE/TIME: Sat., Sept. 16, 2017 – 7 p.m. ET – Bobcat Stadium – San Marcos, Texas
WEATHER FORECAST AT KICKOFF: 87 degrees (feel of 91, 0% precipitation, 53% humidity)
TV: ESPN3 (Tyler Denning - PxP, Stan Lewter – Analyst)
Appalachian Sports Network: Adam Witten - PxP,
Pierre Banks - Analyst, Molly Cotten – Sidelines
APP STATE GAME NOTES
GAME DAY CENTRAL
PLAYER PROFILE: TE LEVI DUFFIELD
OPPONENT OUTLOOK: TEXAS STATE
Appalachian State travels to Texas State for its first Sun Belt Conference game of 2017. It's also the Mountaineers' first football trip to Texas — period.
From Mack Brown to Jerry Moore, App State has deep coaching connections to the Lone Star State, but its three previous games against Texas teams all occurred in Boone.
Current head coach and former quarterback
Scott Satterfield threw two touchdown passes in an FCS playoff loss to Sam Houston State in 1995, and the Mountaineers' 2-0 record against Texas State includes a 35-10 home victory last season in their first matchup as Sun Belt foes.
The pursuit of another conference title begins Saturday night, as App State is involved in one of two league openers. Troy plays at New Mexico State.
"You're glad you have a couple games under your belt because a lot of times you're making some silly mistakes in the first couple of games," Satterfield said. "Usually, guys are trying to find their roles and you're trying to find the identity of your team and all the different things that happen early in the season. After a couple games, you usually have a pretty good idea of where you are, who you feel good about making plays, what your strengths and weaknesses are.
"It's a big game, a conference game, the first one for both teams, so obviously a lot is on the line."
To this point, App State has played a top-15 SEC team on the road and an FCS program at home. The Mountaineers led 45-0 at halftime of their 54-7 victory against Savannah State last weekend.
App State's defense didn't allow a point — it actually contributed two points thanks to a second-half safety credited to linebacker
Jordan Fehr – and
Taylor Lamb's five touchdown passes in the first half led the offense.
Appalachian ranked first nationally last year by allowing only 94 points against its league schedule. The per-game average of 11.75 points ranked second in Sun Belt history behind the 9.83 average from North Texas in 2002, when the Mean Green gave up 59 points during a 6-0 run through the league.
Of the 94 points allowed last season, six came when Georgia Southern scored its only touchdown by returning a fumble 90 yards after a botched field goal. The Mountaineers' defense allowed only nine touchdowns in league play, with Idaho scoring its last touchdown against second-string defenders in the closing seconds and Texas State posting its only touchdown thanks to a blocked punt that gave it possession at App State's 3-yard line.
The Mountaineers held the Bobcats to 197 total yards, including 14 on 28 rushing attempts, when former App State defensive back Everett Withers coached his first Texas State team in Boone last season.
"The thing I've always noticed the last few years watching Appalachian State play defense is how hard they play and how much effort they give on the defensive side of the ball," said Withers, whose starting quarterback is Mississippi State graduate transfer Damian Williams. "You turn on the tape, you see 11 guys chasing the ball no matter the circumstances. That's what you're striving for, and that's what they do a good job of."
Texas State has made defensive strides early in Withers' second season in San Marcos.
With a 20-11 win against Houston Baptist and 37-3 loss at Colorado, the Bobcats are allowing only 75.0 rushing yards per game. Like App State, they use a 3-4 defensive scheme, but Texas State relies on more man-to-man coverage than the Mountaineers as it applies heavy pressure with blitzing defensive backs and stunting defenders.
"They've gotten after the passer quite a bit, so you have to do a great job O-line-wise deciphering their scheme and what they're trying to do blitz-wise," said Satterfield, who has a true freshman center in
Noah Hannon. "When they bring some of that pressure, stacking the box, you have to be able to make some plays down the field just like we did (last) Saturday. We'll get some one-on-one opportunities.
"Taylor has to make the throws; guys have to make the catches. You're still trying to find ways to get the ball on the ground and run the football."
