BOONE, N.C. — The longest continuous series for App State Football resumes Thursday night, back in a familiar spot on the calendar.
When the Mountaineers (4-4, 1-3 Sun Belt) face Georgia Southern (3-5, 1-3) in Kidd Brewer Stadium for a nationally televised game, available via ESPN2, they will be meeting for the 41st time overall and the 33rd consecutive season, dating back to when the Eagles joined the Southern Conference in 1993.
Combining for nine FCS championships, they made the FBS jump to the Sun Belt together in 2014, with Georgia Southern finishing atop the league standings that year and App State winning four straight Sun Belt titles from 2016-19.
Throughout that time as FBS newcomers, the first six App State-Georgia Southern games were played on Thursday nights. COVID protocols contributed to a 2020 showdown scheduled for a Wednesday night in mid-October being moved to the final Saturday of the regular season, and that spot stuck for five consecutive years, capped by the Mountaineers' 29-20 loss in Statesboro to end their 2024 season one victory shy of bowl eligibility.
They'll meet at The Rock on Thursday with matching league records and work to do in order to reach the postseason. The rivalry will certainly be a big part of the attraction for a fan base that has contributed to App State's average attendance of 31,916 over five midweek home games since the reduced-capacity year of 2020, and fans will be treated to a Drone Show, sponsored by Pepsi, at halftime.
App State's on-field aerial attack has had ups and downs, playing a lead role in several victories and creating "what if" questions following most of the losses. The Mountaineers have totaled one interception in their four victories and eight interceptions in the four losses, with quarterbacks
AJ Swann and
JJ Kohl both having clean, efficient efforts in victories and turnover-plagued showings in losses. They've played behind a banged-up line, and dropped passes haven't helped their causes, but App State have moved the ball well with enough consistency to rank fourth in the Sun Belt at 413.3 yards per game of total offense.
Will Kohl make his fifth straight start Thursday, or will the improved health of Swann and his two fourth-quarter touchdown drives during a late rally at ODU on Oct. 25 trigger a move back into the starting spot he occupied for the first four games?
They both have thrown touchdown passes to receiver
Davion Dozier, who has scored in each of the last four games, and tight end
Kanen Hamlett set career highs with six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown at ODU after replacing
Izayah Cummings, who was having a stellar season before he suffered a serious injury against the Monarchs.
Rashod Dubinion ranked among the FBS leaders in rushing yards through six games, doing his work behind a line that was healthier than it is now, and Georgia Southern currently ranks 135th out of 136 FBS teams by allowing 240.88 rushing yards per game.
The Eagles' three games allowing more than 300 rushing yards, plus the 266 they gave up in their last game, were all road games against opponents with a combined record of 24-5: Fresno State (6-3), Southern Cal (6-2), James Madison (7-1) and Arkansas State (5-4). Georgia Southern's availability report lists six defensive linemen as "out" for Thursday, although just two of those six played in the season opener and only one has started a game this season.
Georgia Southern's second-leading tackler is linebacker
Brendan Harrington, who spent six seasons in Boone from 2019-24 before relocating to Statesboro, Ga. Once unthinkable, it's the second straight season that a veteran of the rivalry has switched sides to close his collegiate career — cornerback
Seth Robertson played at Georgia Southern from 2020-23 before finishing his career at App State last season.
The Eagles' offense has continued to average more yards through the air than on the ground in head coach Clay Helton's fourth season, with returning starting quarterback JC French IV totaling 14 touchdowns and six interceptions while averaging 209.6 passing yards per game. Camden Brown already has nine receiving touchdowns as a big-play threat with 642 yards on 40 receptions.
French, who rushed for two touchdowns last season, has five rushing TDs (all from the 5-yard line or closer) to give the Eagles another red-zone option along with leading rusher OJ Arnold, who is averaging 64.0 yards per game on the ground.
Georgia Southern has rushed for more than 200 yards in all three of its wins, so that potential for offensive balance will provide a tough challenge for an App State defense that has allowed less than 4.0 yards per carry in all but two games (losses to Boise State and Coastal Carolina).
Five opponents have passed for at least 279 yards during App State's 2-4 run through the last six games, and the Mountaineers have been employing different personnel or alignments depending on the opponent.
ODU had only two passing plays of at least 20 yards against App State, but the first one was a 70-yard touchdown immediately after a penalty wiped out an interception by the Mountaineers.
