BOONE, N.C. — Playing its first home game as a nationally ranked FBS team, No. 24 App State will face fellow division leader ULM in a matchup featuring the only two teams without a Sun Belt Conference loss.
Game time at Kidd Brewer Stadium is 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and only a small number of tickets remain available. Tickets can be purchased by
clicking HERE, by calling 828-262-2079 and by visiting the Appalachian State Athletics ticket office located at the Holmes Center.
East Division leader App State (5-0, 2-0) followed a league-opening home win against Coastal Carolina with a 17-7 victory at Louisiana last Wednesday.
ULM opened league play with a 30-17 win against South Alabama and moved atop the West Division thanks to a 24-14 victory at Texas State last Thursday. The Warhawks (3-3, 2-0) played a difficult nonconference schedule, losing 45-44 in overtime at Florida State, 72-20 at Iowa State and 52-33 when Memphis was ranked No. 23.
Here's a closer look at how App State's offense potentially matches up against ULM's defense:
App State Offense vs. ULM Defense
After averaging 47.0 points in its first four games, App State posted two touchdowns and kicked one field goal in a low-scoring win at Louisiana.
The game took on a defensive-minded tone in large part because the Mountaineers began four of their 10 drives at or inside their own 5-yard line, but they still put together a 95-yard touchdown drive to open the scoring and then used 10 minutes, 11 seconds in a 19-play, 97-yard touchdown drive that sealed the win.
With offensive linemen such as Week 7 All-Sun Belt picks
Cooper Hodges and
Baer Hunter helping App State's backs grind out yards, the Mountaineers converted a third-and-4 with an 8-yard keeper and an third-and-10 with a 10-yard pass to
Malik Williams. A fourth-and-4 completion for 4 yards to
Thomas Hennigan — helped by a push from almost every App State player on the field — and a defensive penalty for pass interference on a fourth-and-5 throw from the Louisiana 25 moved the Mountaineers into the red zone, and they had touchdowns on both of their trips inside the 20.
For the season, the Mountaineers are tied for first place nationally by converting 90.9 percent of their red zone visits into touchdowns. In 22 trips, that's 20 touchdowns with one made field goal and one field goal that bounced off an upright.
"I think any time you're successful in the red zone, it goes back to your execution," head coach and offensive coordinator
Eliah Drinkwitz said. "And we pride ourselves on practicing the red zone probably as much as anybody else in the country. But when you get down there, there's two things we talk about.
"One is you've got to run the football to win, and we've been able to run the football successfully. And then you want to take shots and make competitive plays in the end zone. And I think about the touchdown catches we've had down there, they've been competitive catches that our guys have gone up and made plays for."
One new wrinkle in the App State offense is the addition of true freshman
Raykwon Anderson at running back, a position where there has been an injury-related effect on depth. A multi-position star as a high school senior, he began his college career as a receiver and touched the ball for the first time on a jet sweep against East Tennessee State.
Anderson had three carries for 30 yards against Louisiana, including a 23-yard gain to set up
Chandler Staton's tiebreaking field goal in the third quarter.
"Raykwon's an explosive athlete, a guy that's dynamic with the ball in his hands," Drinkwitz said. "We knew when we recruited him that he was a guy that played some high school quarterback. He's got electric speed … I think he's going to fill a role for us in the running back room. And I do anticipate him getting more carries in the upcoming week."
App State is preparing to face a ULM defense that already has 11 takeaways, including seven interceptions.
Corey Straughter, a junior cornerback, leads the way with four interceptions and six pass breakups. He picked off one pass and broke up four more last week against Texas State.
Allowing 34.8 points, 228.8 rushing yards and 249.8 passing yards per game, the Warhawks have held their first two Sun Belt opponents to a combined 31 points. Weakside linebacker Cortez Sisco leads the team with 9.0 tackles per game, and defensive tackle Donald Louis has 4.5 sacks among his 7.0 tackles for loss.
"They're very multiple on defense — multiple fronts, multiple pressures," Drinkwitz said. "They change up coverage. They do a nice job forcing you on things you don't want to do, just based off numbers. I think they're a real test."
