BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State (4-1) takes a 2-0 league record into its Sun Belt Conference matchup Saturday with visiting Louisiana, which is atop the West Division with a 1-1 conference record.
Led by first-year head coach and former Furman quarterback Billy Napier, the Ragin' Cajuns (3-3) have suffered losses to ranked SEC opponents Alabama and Mississippi State as well as Coastal Carolina. Last weekend, Louisiana posted 534 of its school-record 759 total yards in the first half of a 66-38 win against New Mexico State.
Kickoff for the Family Weekend game in Kidd Brewer Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be available on ESPN+.
Today, we'll look at how the defense from App State matches up against the offense from Louisiana:
App State Defense vs. Louisiana Offense
The Mountaineers rank among the national leaders in several defensive categories, including scoring defense (No. 8 at 15.4 points a game despite going to overtime at Penn State) and yards allowed per game (No. 7 at 288.2).
App State is actually No. 1 nationally in defensive three-and-outs per game with an average of 6.4. It has recorded 32 three-and-outs in 69 chances, with seven coming last week on the 16 possessions by Arkansas State, which went only 3 of 17 on third-down conversions.
Appalachian had seven third-down stops in the game when Arkansas State needed 4 yards or less, and defenders
Akeem Davis-Gaither,
Jordan Fehr,
Caleb Spurlin,
Okon Godwin,
Elijah Diarrassouba and
Jermaine McDaniel all contributed to third-down stops.
A defensive lineman who finished with a career-high four tackles, Spurlin showed his athleticism on back-to-back plays, making a stop for a 3-yard gain on a second-down pass play and then bringing down scrambling quarterback Justice Hansen for a 1-yard gain on the third-and-3 play.
Alabama, Southern Miss and East Carolina are all tied for second place behind App State with 6.0 defensive three-and-outs per game. The Mountaineers are preparing for a test against a Louisiana offense that, like App State's, uses a "pistol" formation with its quarterback and runs behind a zone blocking scheme.
"It's going to be a big challenge for our defense to be able to stop the run and be able to get them off the sticks," said App State head coach
Scott Satterfield, referring to the ability to get an offense in unfavorable down-and-distance situations. "Any time you can get an offense where the sticks are not in their favor, then you have a great chance defensively."
Louisiana quarterback Andre Nunez, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior, completed 19 of 25 passes for five touchdowns and 315 yards against New Mexico State to increase his season totals to 11 touchdown passes (with four interceptions) and 180.0 passing yards per game.
With an average of 248.2 rushing yards per game, the Ragin Cajuns' have three talented backs in 227-pound sophomore Trey Ragas (one of the national leaders in tackles broken), 221-pound Elijah Mitchell and 5-9 Raymond Calais. Ragas has followed an 813-yard freshman season with 599 yards via a 6.7-yards-per-carry average in six games, and Mitchell has scored seven touchdowns this year while rushing for 460 yards. He is averaging 7.5 yards per carry, and Calais is at 8.7 with 296 total yards on the ground.
Through the air, five players accounted for the six receiving touchdowns against New Mexico State. Ja'Marcus Bradley has scored on six of his 17 catches and posted a team-leading 284 receiving yards, while Ryheem Malone, a 5-9 slot receiver, has a team-high 24 catches. Nunez has been protected by a line that has four starters who weigh more than 300 pounds, so App State will again attempt to rely on its defensive quickness to combat an opponent's formidable size.
Davis-Gaither and Fehr made 14 tackles apiece last week against Arkansas State, and defensive backs
Tae Hayes,
Josh Thomas and
Austin Exford all picked off passes. App State is allowing just 2.9 yards per rush and 106.8 rushing yards per game through five contests.
"One of the things they do well is run the ball, which we have to stop," Exford said. "They have a good quarterback who is going to throw the ball around, so we definitely have to be on our game."
