Monthly Archives: September 2015

Wyoming @ Appalachian Football

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 4
Wyoming (0-4, 0-0 Mountain West) @ Appalachian State (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday October 3rd, 3:30 PM
TV/Video: ESPN3
Radio: WKBC 97.3 Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Winston Salem, Hickory & High Country; WATA 1450 Boone, Blowing Rock; WGVZ ESPN 730 Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury; WCOG 1320 Winston-Salem, Greensboro; WCMC 99.3 Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill; WZGM 1350 Black Mountain, Asheville; WDNC 620 Durham, Raleigh; WHKP 1450, WHKP 107.7 Hendersonville; WAZZ 1490, WAZZ 94.3 Fayetteville; WPWT 100.7 Bristol
Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 23,150
Jeff Sagarin Ratings:

App State: 68.53

Wyoming: 42.37
Home: 3.37
App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 29.5 points (rounded)

Sportsbook: App State -25.5
Series: Wyoming leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Wyoming 53, Appalachian 7; September 4, 2004 (Laramie, Wyo.)
Weather: Rain and gusty winds likely. Temps  steady in the low to mid 50’s

         Winning football games are hard. Over the course of a game, eleven players on the field at a time must beat another eleven players over three hours and 150 plays or so. When your team scores more points over that period of time, it is a satisfying feeling. The margin of defeat can sometimes get in the way of how satisfying those feelings are. Appalachian shuting out Old Dominion on Saturday to the tune of 49-0 was widely unexpected. A game where the oddsmakers and the Sagarin ratings index lined up was also quite irregular. Perhaps the drubbing that ODU received from NC State the prior week was enough to lean in Appalachian’s favor by over a full touchdown. Maybe it was the respectable, scoreboard-doesnt-tell-whole-truth loss the Mountaineers suffered at the hands of Clemson. Somewhere between those two results was the actual truth: Appalachian laid down a soul-crushing beatdown of the Monarchs. If the game were played nine more times, you’ll plausibly see closer scores, but unlikely a different result. The Mountaineers are playing that well right now on the defensive side of the ball. Wyoming will bring a talented but young and inexperienced group to the mountains to face a team that is on fire, who has won eight of nine games while recording three shutouts in the same span.  
          To be brutally honest, Wyoming has had a tough start to their 2015 season. The Cowboys schedule set up nicely before Mountain West conference play was to begin, with three home games in their first four games. But the Cowboys had trouble mounting the horse and stumbled to North Dakota, an FCS school in their opener. The following week, 4,500 fewer fans showed up to watch the Cowboys get thumped by an Eastern Michigan program that has been in the dumps for years. Washington State and New Mexico continued the trend with double digits wins over Wyoming. Beyond being 0-4, and losing every game by over ten points, Wyoming has surrended 207 yards rushing per game to their opponents and allowed 5.2 yards per carry and twelve rushing touchdowns. This bodes well for Appalachian, who is fresh off a 303 yard rushing performance last weekend. 
         Wyoming is in need of several recruiting classes in order to get the program turned around. Currently, Wyoming is playing more freshmen and redshirt freshmen than almost any other FBS program in the country. Only Clemson has played more of those types of athletes this season. Likely, the Pokes will continue to take their lumps playing so much youth, but that is exactly the risk Appalachian State took in 2013. Without a postseason to play for, Scott Satterfield decided to prepare for the future and that seems to be paying off. Eventually the ahletes get older and better and the results will show. In the meantime, the Cowboys  will have a tall task in front of them to avoid losing ten games this season. 
          Allthough many losses are on the horizon for Wyoming, they will be entertaining to watch. They like to run their offense with tempo and their preference is the power running game. They employ several tight ends in their sets and use the wide receivers to block quite often. With the Pokes having to play from behind most of the season, it has led to some decent looking statistics for quaterback Cameron Coffman. The redshirt senior leads the Mountain West in passing yards at 314 yards per game. Coffman started his college career at Indiana, where he averaged 248 yards per game as a Hoosier. Coffman looks a lot like Johnny Manziel in the pocket as he is quick enough to avoid a rush and keep the play alive, but Coffman doesn’t  like to scramble upfield. His prefence is to keep looking downfield and hit an open receiver. Coffman’s athleticism will be fun to watch, especially if Appalachian shys away from sending pressure. 
             Sophomore running back Brian Hill has hit the century mark twice this season, in the last two games, and will be one Appalachian must keep an eye on early in the game. Hill appears to be in line for an increased role this Saturday as senior Shaun Wick has already been ruled out to an injury. Wick had a chance of becoming Wyoming’s all time leading rusher entering the season. Hill is a bigger back at 6’1 and 204 pounds and really fits what coach Craig Bohl wants to do with the power running game. Hill lined up several times against Washington State as the wildcat option and was successful in those situations. Hill ran for 242 yards against Eastern Michigan, the fourth highest total by any FBS back this season. Hill had more yards on fewer carries that ODU’s Ray Lawry did against the same Eastern Michigan team. 
          After another strong performance from the Appalachian offense at ODU, the Mountaineers will face an opponent for the second straight week that struggles defensively and the weather pattern appears to nearly mimic the conditions from last weekend. The App running game will once again be called on to help control the clock and battle the conditions. Even more so than last week, the ground attack will play right into a major weakness for Wyoming. Wyoming is also thin on the edges of their defense. The Pokes do have two 300-pound tackles, but at the defensive end, the size drops to 250 pounds on both sides. That is great size for a pass rusher, but it is improbable that Appalachian passes much this Saturday. Taylor Lamb only threw fifteen passes against ODU and four went for touchdowns. 

          Seems like a lazy gameplan doesnt it? With the rain, let’s run the ball, because that’s what we do well and what they don’t. Eventually, Appalachian will run into some resistance with a strategy like that. In meantime, the Mountaineers are going to ride the horse that got them where they are. Hopefully Appalachian can get to a point in the game where we can see them using several backs and keeping Marcus Cox and Terrance Upshaw  fresh before the conference slate begins. Jalin Moore had a fantastic touchdown run last weekend and Josh Boyd was also impressive on his five carries. Wyoming is gonna score some points this weekend. The Cowboy offense has shown enough versatility this season to able to take what the opponent gives them and adjust during the game. The big difference for Wyoming is that they will be facing their toughest test on offense by facing the Mountaineer defense. The previous three FBS defenses the Cowboys faced are not much to speak of. Eastern Michigan is ranked 118th in total defense. New Mexico comes in at 68th, much of that due to their ball control option offense, and Washington State is ranked 61st, with an incredibly weak schedule that includes Rutgers & FCS Portland State. I think the spread might have gotten out of hand this week and expect for Wyoming to keep it interesting early, but everything about this game points to an easy Mountaineer win.

          
        

The First Pick:

Cowgirls 20

Mountaineers 41

Appalachian Football @ Old Dominion

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 3

Appalachian State (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) @ Old Dominion (2-1, 0-0 CUSA) 

Saturday September 26th, 3:30 PM

TV/Video: American Sports Network

Radio: WKBC 97.3 Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Winston Salem, Hickory & High Country; WATA 1450 Boone, Blowing Rock; WGVZ ESPN 730 Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury; WCOG 1320 Winston-Salem, Greensboro; WCMC 99.3 Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill; WZGM 1350 Black Mountain, Asheville; WDNC 620 Durham, Raleigh; WHKP 1450, WHKP 107.7 Hendersonville; WAZZ 1490, WAZZ 94.3 Fayetteville; WPWT 100.7 Bristol

S.B. Ballard Stadium

Surface: Astroturf GameDay Grass 3D

Capacity: 20,118

Jeff Sagarin Ratings:
App State: 60.99
Old Dominion: 51.31

Home: 2.65

App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 7 points (rounded)
Sportsbook: App State -7.5

Series: first meeting

Last Meeting: n/a

Weather: Mostly cloudy to cloudy and breezy. Rain likely throughout the day. Low 70’s 

        

          According to Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson, games like this weekend’s are the ones the conference needs to win. After a couple weeks of paying the bills, Appalachian travels to Norfolk for more than just a football game, but for an audition of what could be at the end of the regular season. Appalachian and Old Dominion have the same mindset when it comes to  games between fellow members of the Group of Five conferences. The games are highly important to each program’s place within the Group of Five. Each win is one game closer to getting to six wins, which is the minimum requirement to be considered for the post season. When bowl committees are looking for schools to invite to their game, they want to know who wins on the road and who sells tickets. Neither team wants to be sitting at 6-6 hoping for a telephone call that may never come. Old Dominion and Appalachian are both in their first year of bowl eligibilty and it would mean a lot for both schools to reach that goal this season. Both schools fan bases expect to win. Anything short of that will be a disappointment and leave their team sitting with an even win-loss record or less. 

          Old Dominion has arguably fielded the best startup program in recent memory. In only their 7th season of football, the Monarchs have accomplished just about all you can ask for in that short period of time. In the two years they were eligible for the FCS playoffs, they qualified. Honestly, Old Dominion has been spent more time transitioning their program as a startup in FCS and later into FBS than they have been eligible for any conference title or postseason game. In 2014, the Monarchs finished 6-6, their fewest wins in program history. They have done it right by winning games throughout their short history, but FBS football is a different animal. The Monarchs endured a five game losing streak last season before finishing with three wins to close the season. 

          Along with getting the transition to FBS football behind them, Old Dominion is now transforming its once pass happy offense to a style that is more run heavy. Part of that is due to redshirt freshman quarterback Shuler Bentley. Once an offense that would routinely pass the ball 40-50 times a game, Bentley has only dropped back seventy-seven times this season in three games, an average of just under twenty-six passes per game. Bentley is only completing 53% of his passes and averages under six yards per attempt. Fortunately, Bentley has managed the game well only turning the ball over once in those three contests. 

          Luckily, Shuler Bentley has Ray Lawry to help take the heat off of him in the backfield. Lawry was leading the country in rushing yards prior to Old Dominion’s game against NC State last week. But Lawry was held in check by the Wolfpack defense to the tune of 15 yards on eleven carries. Much like what Clemson did to Appalachian the week before, they focused on the Monarch strength, completely took it away and forced a young quarterback to make some throws with pressure in his face. Even after last weekend, Lawry is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has 453 yards on the season. Seven of the ten Monarch touchdowns this season have come form Lawry. Old Dominion goes as Lawry does. If he is getting his yards, it bodes well for the Monarchs to run him behind a very big offensive line. 

             The Monarch defense has never really been one to write home about, but they believe they are making strides in that department. It does not seem to show in the statistics. Old Dominion has left their defense on the field for over 32 minutes a game on average. NC State held a 2-1 time of possession advantage over the Monarchs. The two FBS opponents ODU has faced have scored 34 and 38 points, respectively. Eastern Michigan has been one of the worst FBS programs for a very long time and NC State is not close to contending in the ACC this season. 

          Appalachian will have had two weeks to recover and stew over their lopsided loss to Clemson when the ball is teed up this Saturday. The team was so ready to get back to work on Tuesday after a long weekend, that Scott Satterfield called it the best practice of the season. The bye week appears to have been a highly  needed repose from the grind of practice that has been continuous since early August. Many newspaper articles have cited the bad taste after what happened in Clemson. The defense played better than the final score, but the offense had one of their worst games since last season. Turnovers are the undoing for any football team at any level. It was going to be tough for Appalachian to pull off a win, and nearly impossbile being -3 in the turnover battle. 
           
           The first two games have served as an exhibition of sorts. Appalachian has faced both ends of the spectrum of college football, the good and the really bad. The next ten games will all be played against Group Of Five teams. This is the time for Appalachian to prove who they really are. Old Dominion will be playing their third straight home game, and Appalachian could serve as a swing game for them. Next week Old Dominion faces Marshall on the road in their Conference USA opener. I hate using the term, but this game has some “trap”-like tendencies. Defined as the game between two very big games, Old Dominion may not be done licking their wounds from a very physical game against NC State. If anything, the Mountaineers will be fresh and looking to enact some frusturation on their next opponent. They key to this game is simple. Whichever team is able to stop the opposing running game the best will likely win. Ray Lawry is the guy that carries the ball for Old Dominion with 70 carries in three games. The Monarchs substitute him out sparingly. Appalachian will rotate Marcus Cox(36-204) and Terrance Upshaw(18-115) in effort to keep both players fresh, not only for this game, but for the remainder of the season. So not only do I feel that Appalachian can run better, but I think they can stop the run better from ODU. The edge at quarterback also leans the way of the Mountaineers with Lamb having an extra year of expeience, and hungry to get on the field to attone for his miscues at Clemson. Regardless of what the weather does this weekend, I just think Appalachian is better this Saturday. 

        
The First Pick:
Lioness 21
Mountaineers 31

Appalachian Football @ Clemson

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 2
 
Appalachian State (1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) @ #12 Clemson (1-0, 0-0 ACC) 

Saturday September 12th, 12:30 PM

TV/Video: ESPN3 

Radio: WKBC 97.3 Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Winston Salem, Hickory & High Country; WATA 1450 Boone, Blowing Rock; WGVZ ESPN 730 Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury; WCOG 1320 Winston-Salem, Greensboro; WCMC 99.3 Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill; WZGM 1350 Black Mountain, Asheville; WDNC 620 Durham, Raleigh; WHKP 1450, WHKP 107.7 Hendersonville; WAZZ 1490, WAZZ 94.3 Fayetteville; WPWT 100.7 Bristol

Memorial Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 81,500
Jeff Sagarin Ratings:

App State: 64.61

Clemson: 86.55
Home: 2.65

Clemson is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 24.5 points (rounded)

Sportsbook: Clemson -18.5
Series: Clemson leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Clemson 23, App State 12, Septeember 6th, 1997        
Weather: Partly sunny skies with spotty chances for an afternoon shower. Lower 80’s/70
        

          Occasionally, the results you hope for might not be what is best. As much as a lopsided win can be fun to celebrate it can lead to a false sense of security. It does not hurt to have to endure some adversity along the way. Unfortunately, that adversity can be found off the field. In a few short weeks, the Mountaineers team had been dealt an emotionally difficult hand. As if the loss an ex-teammate due to a senseless act, and a current player lost for a non-football injury were not enough, the Apps were left with news that was unimagineable. The loss that Devan Stringer suffered with the passing of his young daughter is an event no parent prepares for. A tragedy like this reminds us that sometimes the football crossing the goal line is not most important. Look no futher than the words of Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson when passing prayers along to Stringer. Watson and Stringer are childhood friends who have been there for each other during tough times. A topic like this is not easy to talk about, but eventually it’s more than just football, it’s about family. 
         

          By scheduling Clemson, the Mountaineer athletic program will receive a nice pay day of around $900,000 to help fund their other sports. On the other hand, its an opportunity for Appalachian to showcase its name on a national stage. It is also a chance for just over a dozen Mountaineers to showcase their skills in their home state, where Clemson may have overlooked them in the recruiting process. Often these games are scheduled with an easy win for the home team in the back of their minds. Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney has been very public about how he feels about Appalachian this weekend. He knows his team has to be ready for an opponent that is on a roll, given a seven game winning streak spanning since last season. Clemson is young team at several key positions as Louisville lurks in the back of their minds next Thursday night.

          The youth can mostly be found on the offensive side of the ball for Clemson. Left tackle Mitch Hyatt is a true freshman and he will have to deal with Mountaineer senior defensive end Ronald Blair, who has 13.5 career sacks and has started every game he has played in. Sophomore Artavis Scott caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown last weekend against Wofford. Scott led the Tigers in receptions and touchdowns catches as a freshamn in 2014 with 76 catches and eight touchdowns. Scott was also back for punt and kickoff retuns last week. If you can’t tell, Clemson wants to get Scott the ball. Sophomore Wayne Gallam is the starting runningback. He led the team with 92 rushing yards against Wofford.  Gallam also led the Tigers in 2014 with 769 yards rushing. 
          

         Clemson’s defense is loaded with prototypical size at every position. Their tackles are all 295 pounds or more. The ends are 270, and the defensive backs all tip the scales at 195. You get the point, it’s an impressive unit. Clemson held opponents to 260 yards and 16.7 points in 2014, and didnt miss a beat against Wofford last weekend. Appalachian fans are very familar with how disciplined a team must be to defend the option. Lucikly, Clemson had more than a week to prepare for the wingbone option that Wofford employs, but it may not have mattered. Clemson held the Terriers to 213 total yards, and only 123 of those on the ground. Wofford had only nine first downs in the game, and their lone touchdown came after Clemson muffed a punt. 
                     
          All in all, Clemson and Appalachian had very similar games for their openers. Both teams took care of business in games where they were highly favored. Both scored 49 points, and had their games under control in the early going. Both teams were able to play a lot of players and stay relatively fresh while also not showing the other much of their offense. Scott Satterfield has hinted at adding a couple of different wrinkles for his own offense. While Appalachian prefers an uptempo offense, its backbone is based on ball control. Clemson prefers to get plays off very quickly, giving no time for the opposing defense to rest or get lined up. 

          Marcus Cox did, after all, lead the Mountaineers in rushing on Saturday, but for the most part it was a group effort. Cox had an easy eleven carries for 105 yards, in which most came on a 68-yard touchdown run. In all, nine different Mountaineers carried the ball for total of fifty-six carries. That theme continued from fall camp, where Cox  stepped aside in order to get some of the younger backs some repetitions. Jalin Moore carried nine times for 69 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback J.P. Caruso even showed some of his wheels with six carries for 66 yards. In total, 376 yards were racked up on the ground for a team average of 6.7 yards per carry.  

          We move on from Howard, to Howard’s Rock down in Clemson, better known as Death Valley. Clemson has won over 70% of their games at home which include four victories over the Mountaineers. The last time, 1997, I remember riding around Clemson, most likely looking for a place to buy a box of fried chicken, when I heard the Clemson radio shout as they started their pregame. “It’s a beautiful day in Clemson and we are ready to put a whoopin’ on the Mountaineers” I’ll never forget that. If anything, Tiger fans walked out Memorial Stadium wondering just who Appalachian State was. Clemson won that game by eleven points, but it was way to close for comfort. Appalachian’s unspoken motto of “anyone, anyplace, anytime” was never more true that day, as I am sure it will be on Saturday. Clemson has plenty of talent, and will more than likely win this football game, but Appalachian won’t let it come easy. This group of Mountaineers has something special brewing this season. They might have just enough experience and and enough chemistry to make it really tough on Clemson. Taylor Lamb has enough poise to drive this team down the field and score points and there are plenty of Mountaineer weapons in his aresenal. The difference in this game will be how well the Appalachian defense does its job. Clemson likes to get in an offensive rhythm with their quick pace. The Mountaineers must keep everything in front of them to have a chance. I just think Clemson has one too many athletes this weekend. 
        

The First Pick:

Tigger 38

Mountaineers 24

Howard @ Appalachian Fooball

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 1:
Howard (0-0, 0-0 MEAC) @ Appalachian State (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) 

Saturday September 5th, 3:30 PM

TV/Video: ESPN3 

Radio: WKBC 97.3 Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Winston Salem, Hickory & High Country; WATA 1450 Boone, Blowing Rock; WGVZ ESPN 730 Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury; WCOG 1320 Winston-Salem, Greensboro; WCMC 99.3 Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill; WZGM 1350 Black Mountain, Asheville; WDNC 620 Durham, Raleigh; WHKP 1450 Hendersonville; WAZZ 1490 Fayetteville
Kidd Brewer Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 23,150

Jeff Sagarin Ratings:
App State: 60.85

Howard: 31.66

Home: 2.65
App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 32 points (rounded)
Sportsbook: no line

Series: First Meeting

Last Meeting: n/a        

Weather: Mostly cloudy skies. Rain chances dimishing throughout the day 71/63

           It has been a long fourteen years since Appalachian has hosted a football game in Boone on the opening weekend of the college football season. And in those fourteen years, much has changed on the mountain. Some things don’t change however, and that is the excitement that builds each season for Mountaineer  football. This years team leaves behind the past two years that were pretty atypical for this program. The transition from one division to the next isn’t for just anyone. For Appalachian it came with a multitude of growing pains on the field and on the sideline. Freshman were all over the field the last two seasons, learning the difference between Western Carolina and South Alabama. Scott Satterfield had his plate full as well as he had to learn the hard way in his first eighteen games what it takes to be a head coach. Fast foward to 2015, and all those freshman are now starting with loads of experience under the belts. The head coach and his staff figured out the brand of football it takes to win in the bowl division. And now, the Mountaineers, who are not far from removed 1-6 and 1-5 starts the last two seasons, are suddenly considered contenders in the Sun Belt and favorites to secure a bowl bid in December. Until then, there is plenty of work to do and it starts this weekend with the Howard Bison. 

          Although Appalachian is somewhat familiar with schools from MEAC, this will be its first meeting against Howard. North Carolina A&T has faced the Mountaineers more than any other MEAC team. Despite a decent record of 11-3 against MEAC opponents, schools from that conference have given Appalachian some of their more embarassing losses. in 1993, NC A&T stunned Appalachian on the road in the season opener. That game was especially puzzling considering App had beaten A&T in November of 1992 by a score of 42-6. In the first round of the 1999 playoffs, Florida A&M controlled the clock with its short passing game and knocked out the 4th ranked Mountaineers out of the playoffs early. And then there was the 2013 home openeer that A&T defeated App, that is still too fresh on the mind. 

          After the gradution of quarterback Greg McGhee, Howard has some major holes to fill on its offense. McGhee was a two time offensive player of the year in MEAC and led the Bison in rushing and passing yards last season. McGhee was responsible for over 3200 yards and 28 touchdowns. Chances are that Jamie Cunningham gets the first shot behind center. Cunningham stands at 6’3 and 215 pounds and went to high school in Greensboro. Cunningham played in six games last year and completed one pass for four yards. Don’t be surprised to see freshman Kalen Johnson or Jason Collins see some time on the field if this game gets out of hand. 

          If Cunningham does start, his favorite receiver will likely be Matt Colvin. Not only is Colvin the leading returner with 41 catches and 611 yards last season, Colvin and Cunningham both attended Southern Guildford HS in Greensboro and likely were in the same graduating class. Colvin will be flanked by junior Robert Mercer who hauled in 19 passes last season for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Howard is a team that prefers to run the ball by nature. They still use the fullback in their offense and are deep at the running back position. Aquanius Freeman ran for 421 yards in ten games last season mainly as the second guy. Freeman also caught 36 passes out of the backfield. Willam Parker was supposed to return this season, but was injured in the last game of the season in 2014 and will be forced to redshirt. Freeman has good size at 6’0 and 200 pounds. Also look for Anthony Philyaw to see some action as he stands at 6’1 and 220 pounds.

        With the bevy of talent Appalachian returns on both sides of the ball, a successful season might be more than just a goal, but an expectation. Coming back for his sophomore season is the gutty quarterback Taylor Lamb who took over for Kam Bryant last season. Lamb showed some shakiness early in the season, but his improvements that were made each week were beyond noticeable. Six of his nine interceptions were thrown in the first six games, while only three interceptions were thrown in the final half of the season. Lamb also fancies himeself as deceptive runner, amassing 483 yards on the ground in his freshman campaign. 

            Part of the reason Lamb could elude a defense is due to all the attention defenses had to give to Marcus Cox. It seems like he has been on the team forever, but thankfully Cox still has two more seasons in the black and gold. Cox is on pace break Kevin Richardson’s all time rushing record. Cox sits eighth on the all time list and barring injury, will likely catapult himself into the top five by the end of the season. The downside of all those yards, is the number of carries that it has taken Cox to get there. He isn’t a bulldozer, as his career 5.3 yards per attempt will attest, but getting 250 carries a season may eventually take its toll. Its doubtful that we will see much of Cox this weekend as he has been nursing a lower body injury. He’ll play, but getting twenty carries seems like a bit much at this point in the season. 

          Last year, we predicted that Malachi Jones would not lead the team in yards and receptions at the end of the year, even though he was the most experienced returning receiver. We were half right. Jones did lead the team in yards, but Simms McElfresh led the Mountaineers in receptions, outpacing Jones by six catches. One might expect a similar prediction this year in favor of Shaedon Meadors, but we aren’t going there. Meadors may have the most talent with his one hand grabs and his long touchdowns, but he isn’t a chain mover. Meadors by far led the team in yards per reception, and that is exactly what he is, a playmaker. It might be hard to believe Meadors only caught fifteen passes last year in the seven games he played in. 

          Coachspeak might tell you that the most important game is the next one. For Scott Satterfield it truly is. Satterfield had to be reminded that Tuesday was September 1st. All the focus is on Howard this week and none on the next game down in Death Valley. A Satterfield coached team has never been 1-0 before. Getting that first win can do wonders for a teams confidence. Speaking of confidence, the Mountaineer defense might be even better than they were last year, when they led the Sun Belt in total defense. Fall camp was dominated by the defense more this year than in recent memory. I beleive that is where the battle will be won on Saturday. I doubt Howard is going to come out of the gates throwing the football with a brand new quarterback, whoever it is. The Bison will likely get him acclimated to the game by running the football and controlling the clock. The special teams game will be one to watch on both sides of the ball. Howard was really good at returning kicks last season, but that will happen when your defense gives up over 30 points a game. I am really curious to see what improvements haven been made by the addition of runningbacks coach Stu Holt on kick and punt return defense. Just about every aspect of the Mountaineeer special teams  was tough to watch in 2014. I’ll take Appalachian this weekend to cover the Sagarin spread and some other running back not named Marcus Cox will get 125 yards on the ground. 

        
The First Pick:
Bison 10
Mountaineers 42