BOONE, N.C. — App State's pursuit of another Sun Belt Conference title resumes Saturday during a Heroes Day visit from Georgia State, with college teammates are again in charge of division rivals.
First-year App State head coach
Shawn Clark was a freshman offensive lineman for the Mountaineers in 1994 and a sophomore in 1995, when current Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott (just like former App State head coach Scott Satterfield) served as a senior captain for a team that enjoyed an 11-0 regular season before finishing 12-1.
The influence of Hall of Fame coach Jerry Moore is obvious in the schematic similarities between the Mountaineers (5-1, 3-0) and Panthers (3-3, 2-3). Kickoff at Kidd Brewer Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be shown on ESPN+.
"Shawn and I played here at App together, and I know what kind of coach he is," Clark said. "He'll have his team prepared to play."
Phase 3 of North Carolina's coronavirus restrictions allows for outdoor venues with 10,000 or more seats to operate at seven percent of seating capacity. With the addition of the club and loge seats in the new north end zone facility debuting this weekend, this will allow for the welcoming of 2,170 fans to Kidd Brewer Stadium.
No tailgating will be permitted on the App State campus, and gates will open at 1 p.m. All guests must follow the 3Ws —
wear face coverings
, wait to ensure six feet of physical distance and
wash hands often or use hand sanitizer.
App State enters this weekend with the No. 3 rushing attack in the nation at 283.2 yards per game, behind two option-oriented service academies, and Georgia State is No. 24 at 214.7 rushing yards a contest. The Panthers allow just 120.5 rushing yards a game, compared to the Mountaineers' average of 138.0 allowed on the ground.
Georgia State has been involved in more high-scoring affairs, with wins by scores of 49-29 (vs. East Carolina), 36-34 (vs. Troy) and 52-34 (vs. ULM) and close losses by scores of 34-31 in overtime (vs. Louisiana) and 59-52 (vs. Arkansas State). Aside from a 51-0 loss to Coastal Carolina, the Panthers are averaging 44.0 points in their other five games.
That said, they are allowing 348.7 passing yards per game, and App State quarterback
Zac Thomas tied his career high with four TD throws last season in a 56-27 win in Atlanta.
Shaun Jolly returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown as Dan Ellington, now a Georgia State assistant, impressed many with his attempt to play through a serious knee injury. Cornelious Brown made an appearance as a true freshman quarterback that night, completing three passes for 50 yards in relief of Ellington, and now the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Brown has valuable starting experience.
He has thrown for 12 touchdowns and rushed for five more as a complement in the running game to Destin Coates, who is averaging a league-leading 107.2 rushing yards per contest. The Mountaineers' defense allowed 89.7 rushing yards per game in consecutive wins against Campbell, Arkansas State and ULM before Texas State rushed for 215 yards in a 38-17 loss to App State.
"They are lights-out on offense," Clark said. "They're averaging more than 36 points per game, and they do it in a variety of ways. The quarterback is special, they have two great receivers in (Sam) Pinckney and (Cornelius McCoy) from Florida, so they're very explosive.
"They can score points, and we have to do a great job of keeping things in front of us, and our offense, we have to keep the ball away from them. We have to run the football, and when the time presents itself, to throw the ball downfield. It's going to be a battle."
