Appalachian State Mountaineers:
One of the most consistent Group of Five programs resides in picturesque Boone, North Carolina. App State joined the FBS ranks in 2014 and has not had a losing season. The 2022 Mountaineers went 6-6 and the 2014 version went 7-5. Otherwise, this is a program that has won at least nine games every other season and has also found a whole lot of bowl game success with a 7-1 record.
Some believed that the one-year blip in ‘22 was a sign that the tide might have been turning for the team that plays at the highest elevation east of the Mississippi, but last year’s team won six of the last seven games after getting off to an uncharacteristically slow start. Instead, we just have the usual high expectations for Shawn Clark’s crew, including a fifth appearance in the Sun Belt Championship Game.
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Offense
This is always a good team on both sides of the ball. Joey Aguilar has only spent one season with the program and is already the fifth-most productive passer with 3,757 yards. He set the single-season passing record for the Mountaineers and is back for more with all of his top targets from last season on the roster. Aguilar is one of five career App State passers with at least 30 TD tosses after racking up 33 last season.
Leading rusher Nate Noel took his talents to the SEC, but Kanye Roberts was more productive on a per-carry basis with 5.7 yards per pop and actually led the team with seven touchdowns. The Mountaineers are always stout in the trenches, as Clark served as an offensive line coach from 2003-19 before getting the head coaching gig at his alma mater where, you guessed it, he played offensive line.
Defense
This is a big season for second-year DC Scot Sloan. The Mountaineers were gashed on the ground last season to the tune of 4.98 yards per carry and over 178 yards per contest. They finished 117th in YPC and allowed 28 rushing scores. By effectively slowing down the opponents’ passing game, App State was 75th in yards per play allowed, but that was their worst showing in FBS history.
In fact, it was the first time that the Mountaineers finished outside the top 50 in YPP. The closest they came was 48th in 2022. So, it is entirely possible that the defensive well may be running a little dry, but Sloan, who was on staff from 2010-17, returns most of the front seven. Whether or not that is good or bad remains to be seen. App State did lose two guys with 100+ tackles.
Outlook
A road tilt with Clemson in Week 2 should shed a little light on how the defense and the offense look, but the crossover games are against South Alabama and Louisiana, so the Mountaineers avoid Troy and Texas State. I will say that I think 7-5 would be an extremely bad year for this team, so there’s some push protection at 8-4 and 9-3 is way likelier than 7-5.
Pick: Over 8 Wins
