BOONE, N.C. – After a perfect and impressive October, Appalachian State begins November with championship hopes on Saturday as the Mountaineers host Texas State in Sun Belt Conference play at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DATE/TIME: Sat., Nov. 5, 2016 - 3:30 p.m. ET – Kidd Brewer Stadium – Boone, N.C.

TV: WATCH LIVE ESPN3 (Brock Boling - PxP, John Gregory - Analyst)

Appalachian Sports Network: LISTEN LIVE (Adam Witten - PxP, Pierre Banks - Analyst, Karl Anderson - Sidelines)

App State (6-2, 4-0 Sun Belt) outscored opponents 112-29 in four conference games during October and allowed all of two touchdowns, only one on defense. A win Saturday would set up a potential showdown of Sun Belt unbeatens next weekend in Troy, Ala., but the Mountaineers must find answers for a dangerous Texas State (2-5, 0-3 Sun Belt) team first and not get caught looking ahead.

The Mountaineer defense has kept its rhythm despite no “typical” game weeks during the months of October. App played on a Wednesday and Thursday during the month with two half-weeks off and a short week ahead of Georgia Southern, but rarely missed a beat. Now, they can settle into a routine the final month of the season.

Who, when, and where they play really hasn't mattered for App State since the middle of September, head coach Scott Satterfield says his team has been full go.

“We have come out, really every game but Miami, ready to play right from the start,” Satterfield said. “We didn't' start great (last week at GS). We moved the football, but we turned it over and they blocked the field goal. But these guys, (being ready to play) is what we are focused on, how much better we can get every single day and stay in the moment. We want to come out this weekend (the same way). We talk about a faceless opponent. We don't really care who we are playing at that point and time, we just want to come out and play our best ball.”

The defensive secondary's “best ball” has been as good statistically as anyone in the FBS. Interceptions have become routine for the “Legion of Boone.” Their 15 picks are tied for the national lead with Utah and Nebraska, (Utah has played nine games). Freshman corner Clifton Duck is second nationally with five interceptions. App had three picks in Statesboro and has had multiple INTs in four of their last five games. Satterfield grins about the self-named defensive backfield, but knows it's a full, 11-man unit getting the job done at a high level right now.

“I will get behind anything (the nickname) that makes us successful, and our guys are playing good in the back end,” Satterfield added. “I say the (DBs), but it's also the front end getting pressure on quarterbacks and forcing throws into traffic. We love our kids and whatever they love, we love. I like them making plays and having fun doing it.”

Satterfield would love to have a repeat rushing performance. The Mountaineers lost a yard on their final kneel down to finish with 299 rushing yards in the win over Georgia Southern. Both Marcus Cox and Jalin Moore eclipsed 100 yards rushing in the win and each had a touchdown. Quarterback Taylor Lamb came close to making it three backs over 100 yards, rushing for 94 yards and two TDs including a 30-yard touchdown to establish control in the third. Satterfield could not have scripted his offense's performance, at least to close out the game, any better.

“If you can draw up a scenario were both of them can have over 100 yards, that's obviously what we want,” Satterfield said of Cox and Moore. “We feel like we have a great chance to win if we do that. I think our offensive line and our backs did a great job of kind of wearing them down a little bit, then really starting to crank it out in the fourth quarter.”

Texas State will be well-rested on Saturday. The Bobcats are coming off a bye week following a 27-3 loss to ULL. The Bobcats led 10-0 at Georgia State in a 41-21 loss and came up just short trying to rally against UL Monroe in a 40-34 loss three weeks ago.   

Quarterback Tyler Jones is averaging just under 250 yards passing per game and is completing over 60 percent of his passes, which leads the Sun Belt. He had 40 completions and 418 yards passing in the three overtime win over Ohio to open the season. Protecting Jones has been the Bobcats' biggest hurdle, he's been sacked 25 times, at least twice in every game. App will try to counter with a defensive front that has 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks over their last three games.

-App State-