BOONE, N.C. — Charlotte acts as a home away from home for App State Football, as legions of fans in black and gold contributed to a big Bank of America Stadium crowd for the 2025 opener.
With head coach
Dowell Loggains making his debut at The Rock on Saturday, the Mountaineers are set to play in their actual home for the first time this year, and a 12th consecutive Kidd Brewer Stadium sellout means the High Country will attract a crowd comparable to what awaited App State last week in an NFL venue.
Building off a 34-11 victory against Charlotte with a home win against FCS program Lindenwood would mean the Mountaineers' first 2-0 start since 2019.
"To be 1-0, happy with that … it's so hard to win, and you don't want to take that away from anyone," Loggains said, "but understand this week (in practice) is going to be harder than last week. Our fans deserve that, and our players want to pay these people back with how we play,"
App State's balanced, team effort against Charlotte translated to individual accolades in several areas, including recognition for quarterback
AJ Swann (Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week, plus a pair of national honor rolls), defensive coordinator
DJ Smith (Sun Belt coordinator of the week from CBS Sports) and defensive lineman
Kevin Abrams-Verwayne (national Group of Six team of the week via PFF).
Thirty-six players made their App State debuts in the opener, including Swann and 26 other transfers. The nine other debuts came from six true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and one redshirt sophomore.
While the Mountaineers performed well enough to earn a decisive win, Loggains has noted the need for improvement — the team's nine penalties served as a troublesome total that he has repeated throughout the week.
"I told the guys, 'This week, I'm going to be hard (on you),' " Loggains said. "We have to make the jump. We have to. We have to clean up the things that hurt us and clean up the things that got us off the field on offense, and you gotta clean up the things that kept us on the field on defense. There were a lot of those things where there is still a lot of improvement to be made."
It will be the first game at The Rock for the 57 newcomers on App State's roster, with their classmates working to make sure that a festive environment enhances that first impression. App State has an enrollment of 21,500-plus students, and more than 10,000 (or roughly half the student body) have claimed tickets.
App State will face an opponent that appeared in the Division II playoffs in 2021 before moving up to the FCS ranks as a provisional member in 2022. Located in St. Charles, Mo., about 30 minutes from St. Louis, Lindenwood is a member of the OVC-Big South Football Association with the likes of Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern.
The Lions, who are also called the Black and Gold, played an FBS program for the first time in the 2024 opener (a 48-3 loss at Kansas). They were led last Thursday in a 35-13 loss against the St. Thomas (Minn.) Tommies to open the 2025 season by quarterback Nate Glantz (318 yards on 18 completions) and running back Steve Hall (70 yards on 14 carries).
Hall was the OVC-Big South Offensive Freshman of the Year last season for eighth-year head coach Jed Stugart, while Glantz is a returning starter who began his collegiate career at Iowa Western, spent the 2022 season at Iowa State and was a reserve quarterback for McNeese State in 2023.
"We try to treat every week like it's a championship game," Loggains said. "We know the intensity we need to play with this week."
