Tag Archives: 2007

Appalachian State Football: Appalachian vs. Gardner Webb 10/6/2007

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 6:

Gardner Webb (2-2) @ #5 Appalachian State (4-1)
10/6/07

Time: 2:30pm

TV: None
Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: Field Turf
Capacity: 16,650
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     69.13
Elon:    42.54
Home advantage: 2.93 points
ASU is favored to win by 29 ½  points

Series: ASU leads 6-0
Last Meeting: ASU 41, GW 6

 

The wonderful time of the year has finally arrived. The Apps will be back in Boone for the first time in three weeks, and since then, the weather has snapped cooler in the mornings. This time of the year has brought Homecoming, where some fans make their only trip of the year to Boone, with plans of seeing old classmates and get the first look of the changes that have been made to campus since their last visit. The Homecoming games brings a totally different feel to the college football setting. No longer are fans trying to get back into the swing of tailgating, but starting to get back to mid-season tailgating form. Anyone can put some burgers and dogs on the grill, but the real test is trying to bring in some different entrees and beverages. Homecoming is also special at Appalachian because of the values that the campus are built around: Family. Homecoming has become another Parents weekend. It is usually the highest attended game of the year, and this Saturday should be no different. For Appalachian’s opponent, it will be their game of the year. Appalachian State should make it their game of the year because it is the next game on the schedule.

 

This game is most likely the easiest game Appalachian will have for the rest of the season. It is the final non-conference game before the bye week. Luckily, ASU will catch a bye week when it is most needed. ASU is still hurting physically from the effects of the Michigan game, and emotionally from the Wofford game. The Mountaineers need a breather and the cure will be Homecoming and a bye week before facing long time conference rivals in Georgia Southern, Furman and The Citadel in consecutive weeks.

 

The Runnin’ Bulldogs have had an up and down season thus far. They have conveniently won their home games(Jacksonville and Austin Peay), and lost their road games (Mississippi State and Ohio). Gardner Webb has continued to use a two quarterback game plan for the most of the season. Devin Campbell started against ASU last year and finished the game with 96 years passing with three interceptions and three sacks. Sophomore Stan Doolittle did just that against the ASU defense. Doolittle finished the game with two carries for negative seven years, completed zero passes and was sacked once. Doolittle’s best play of the day was a quick punt that went 41 yards and landed inside the ASU 20. This year, both players are competing just under 60% of their passes. Doolittle has thrown two interceptions and Campbell has 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Both signal callers prefer throwing to Duvaughn Flagler who has 29 catches for 374 yards and three touchdowns.

 

 

Like I said last week, I could look good by saying that Kevin Richardson and the running game would find their groove against Elon. It just so happened as Richardson went for 158 yards and inched even closer to the ASU all time record. Richardson needs only 602 yards to break John Settle’s record and looks to feast on Gardner Webb again this week. Richardson went for 64 yards and one touchdown against GW last year, as Armanti Edwards stole the show with 101 yards rushing and 195 yards passing and three total touchdowns. Chances are that Trey Elder will lead the Mountaineers as Edwards continues to rest a sore shoulder. Elder ran for 115 yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 161 yards passing in the victory over Elon. While Elder has started, it is obvious that his favorite target is Hans Batichon. In the past two games, Batichon has caught 11 passes for 167 yards, which averages to a very clutch 15 yards per catch.

 

Now is my time to sound off a little bit. The ASU defense has been catching some serious grief in the last couple weeks. Most of the problems have come in stopping the running game, which many have blamed for the loss to Wofford. Against Elon, on their Family Day and in front of a Rhodes Stadium record crowd of 13,100, the App defense played much better. Elon came out with all their emotions worn on their sleeve. They sent a statement in the first quarter that said they were not going to go down without giving it their all. ASU survived a missed field goal and 200 yards passing in the fist quarter alone by the Phoenix offense. ASU was trailing in time of possession by 4 minutes going into halftime. In the second half, the running game got going and the defense was able to rest as Elon couldn’t stop the Mountaineers. ASU was able to make up the lost time in first half by running the football and eventually ended the game Beating Elon by five minutes. Do the math. Elon had the ball for just over 11 minutes in the second half. The ASU defense played better by not playing at all. In the fourth quarter, the defense was fresh enough to intercept an errant Elon pass and return it for a touchdown. Whenever the defense can put points on the board, any team stands a good chance to win. My point is, despite giving up rushing yards to Mike Hart, and letting Lance Kriesien run out of the pocket, the App defense was fine. The heat played into the beginning of the Elon game, and basically all of the Wofford game. When the ASU ofdefense starts getting back into form, it will have a direct correlation with the ASU running game controlling the clock and putting points on the board.

When it comes down to it, ASU must control the clock on offense. The Elon defense looked pitiful in the second half last week. It was not because they are a bad unit, but because ASU had set the tempo. ASU carried the ball 62 times for 365 yards rushing. The Mountaineer offense is best when it throws the ball around 20-25 times a game. This week, a young Gardner Webb defense will have trouble containing Elder, Richardson, and Devon Moore(172 yards, 2 touchdowns). It seems as if the Apps wanted to keep Moore a secret until later in the year, but felt the time was now to develop a player who will likely start in the 2008 campaign. Gardner Webb may have some success passing the ball as the game wears on, but it will not be a real factor in the game.  The Mountaineer fans are eager to see their team at home. The Mountaineer team is also ready to get back to friendly confines of Kidd Brewer Stadium. Shouldn’t be a problem rolling in this game, but ASU will make sure they are super sound before they start pulling starters. ASU has an all time record of 32-11-2 in Homecoming games but have won 21 of the last 25 Homecoming games. The trend should continue.

 

The First Pick:

Yosef 007           40

Running Dawgs    7

Appalachian State Football: Appalachian vs. James Madison Playoffs Round 1 11/24/2007

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with the First Round:

#12 James Madison (8-3) @ #5 Appalachian State (9-2)
11/24/07

Time: Noon

TV: CSS

Kidd Brewer Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 16,650

Jeff Sagarin ratings:

ASU:     70.62

JMU:    64.92

Home advantage: 2.59 points

ASU is favored to win by 8 points

Series: ASU leads 11-3

Last Meeting: ASU 21, JMU 10

 

The season is finally over for all but 16 teams who have dreams of a National Championship dancing in their heads. For about eight of those teams, the opportunity to win it all is realistic. Two of those eight teams will face off in first round action in Boone, NC. One team is the two-time defending champions who will be playing at home. The other is the last national champion to win it not named Appalachian State. The Mountaineers opponent, James Madison feels as if they were given the shaft again by the NCAA by not being awarded a home playoff game. Some feel that ASU might have received the same sentence by being forced to the road in a possible second round match up with the playoffs’ number two seed in McNeese State. It’s really irrelevant. These two teams will not be thinking about where they should have been come Saturday. It’s the playoffs. It’s put up or shut up time. On Saturday, The Rock will be just as it is every weekend during the season. The Mountaineers will expect to win and James Madison will expect to pull off the upset. One team will play prepared and one will win and the other will be eating leftovers, dreaming of what could have been.

 

The James Madison team that will be taking the field at Kidd Brewer on Saturday is not the same team that Appalachian fans saw at the beginning of the 2006 season. That team was all about running between the tackles and play action passing. The Dukes have now adopted a style of offense that features the quarterback, Rodney Landers, who is questionable for Saturday’s game with a sore ankle. Despite his health, chances are he will probably play if necessary, so the Mountaineers must prepare as if he will. Landers has run for 1194 yards and passed for 1554 yards on the season and has had a hand in 24 touchdowns. In the last two games against Towson and William and Mary, Landers ran for 321 yards on 45 carries. That averages out to 7.1 yards a carry compared to the regular season where he averaged 5.9 yards per carry. However, against playoff teams, Delaware, New Hampshire and Richmond, Landers carried for only 5.4 yards per carry and was held well below is his season average in games against Delaware and Richmond.

 

They one way to stop Landers is get him off the field or force him to pass. In James Madison’s three losses, Landers’ touchdown to interception ratio was 1 to 2. In fact. Landers’ threw all of his four interceptions in the losses to North Carolina, Richmond and Delaware. On the opposite side of the ball, Appalachian is a prefect 19-0 when Corey Lynch incepts a pass. Landers must keep his passes away from Corey Lynch and the rest of the ASU defense if the Dukes are to advance to the second round.

 

The James Madison defense is considered one of the better defenses in all of the country. They have allowed only 21.5 points per contest and don’t allow teams to gain yards on the ground. They have only allowed 8 field goals and 31 touchdowns all season long. If there is a weak part of the JMU defense, its their pass defense, which gives up 205 yards per outing. ASU has shown in a couple games this season that they can throw the ball whenever they please. Madison only has eight interceptions on the season and has allowed teams to convert 63% of their passes.

For Appalachian the offense is similar that it revolves around the production of Armanti Edwards. When the Mountaineers can get to running the ball like they want, they are hard to beat. Although James Madison only allows 120 yards a game against the run, something has to give. I am not sure that James Madison has enough speed to contain the ASU running game as a whole. All season, teams have tried to focus on stopping Kevin Richardson, and if that worked, they were unable to contain Edwards. At the same time, when teams focused on Edwards, that is when Richardson would shine. Both players did their best running last year in the 2006 playoffs, when they blew away teams with their speed and elusiveness.

 

The ASU defense must step up to the plate this week as they face another strong running team. Take away Wofford and Western Carolina, and the rest of the schedule is full of teams that are considered run oriented. The Mountaineers have struggled at times this year with stopping the run, yet rank 10th in the nation in tackles for loss. If the Apps allow a somewhat injured Landers to run wild, it could be a long afternoon.

 

The tone of this game will be set from the very beginning. When I say that, I don’t mean whoever scores first, I mean whoever wins the coin toss. Both teams will likely prefer to take the ball if given the option and that is when either someone will score or get stopped. I think ASU holds the upper hand if they can get on the board first. In the games ASU lost this season, they had to fight back from behind and get out of their offense while doing so. Appalachian is much better team when they play with the lead. James Madison will need to move the ball and keep it out of the hands of the ASU offense early. Against Richmond, James Madison held the ball for only 23 minutes of the game and eventually lost by one point. ASU thrives on the quick score. The majority of ASU’s scoring drives this season have occurred in less than two minutes of possession. Penalties and turnovers are bigger when you play in the playoffs because everyone you play is better and they take advantage of those situations. I think another big factor in this game is field position. Anytime you can pin a team inside of its ten yard line, you force them to scrap half of their playbook. ASU punter Neil Young was able to control the spin on two punts last week to give Chattanooga bad field position. Whether it be Dexter Jackson or CoCo Hillary returning punts, both players have the breakaway speed that has the ability to flip the field on opposing teams. When you talk about field position and punting, the expectations are for a potentially low scoring game. Appalachian has not been held under 30 points all season long and although James Madison is talented defensively, I don’t see why the Mountaineers will not put points on the board. James Madison must make Appalachian play from behind and force the running game, and play mistake free. I think the home field advantage will come into play when it’s over. In 2005, ASU had 6,327 fans for a non-regional opponent in the first round. In 2006, 16,223 fans showed up to watch ASU pummel Coastal Carolina. More ASU fans will pack Kidd Brewer because they have expected to have a game this time of the year. James Madison has not won this year in front of large crowds and the health of their quarterback will certainly be an issue. The Mountaineers should advance to the next round.

The First Pick:

Black and Gold                35

Men don’t wear Purple      26

Appalachian State Football: Appalachian @ Michigan 9/1/2007

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 1:

Appalachian State @ Michigan
9/1/07

Time: 12pm

TV: Big Ten Network
Michigan Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 107,501
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     66.40
UM:    88.36
Home advantage: 3.08 points
UM is favored by the Sagarin rankings by 25 points (rounded).

Series: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a

 

The summer gets longer every year. Especially when your team is the two-time defending national champions. It gets even longer when you open on the road against a high profile opponent. The 2007 edition of Mountaineer football may play its toughest opponent in program history this weekend when it heads to Michigan’s famous “Big House”, which comes in just a few seats shy of 108,000. In 2005, many of the same players played in front of 93,000 fans down in Baton Rouge. That was a lot of people. Add on another town the size of Boone to Tiger Stadium and you get Michigan Stadium. The way the Mountaineer nation sees it, it’s just that many more people to prove that we have a good football team. This will be the first time that Michigan has played a team that is not in the NCAA’s highest division. That stat alone shows the respect that the Michigan athletic department shows our Mountaineers. Well, that and a small scheduling quirk, but lets not talk about that. Let’s talk about football. It is that time again. Labor Day weekend is finally here, so let’s get down to business.

 

In its history, which dates back to 1878, when Michigan defeated Racine (WI), by the score of one touchdown to none, the Wolverines have an all-time record of 860-284-38. On the other hand, ASU defeated Montana State in last years playoffs to record the schools 500th victory. Michigan has gone to 38 bowl games in their history, including twenty Rose Bowls. Appalachian has seen eight bowl games, shockingly no Rose Bowls. Michigan has 11 national titles, Appalachian, 2. This is a game for the ages, right? Most will not see it that way, but for every fan, coach, player and drummer wearing black and gold, it will be.

 

Of course, we live in the ESPN era of sports. Some of you out there, likely most, have seen a college football preview show or twelve, and we all are aware, that this could be Michigan’s best offense ever. I tend to agree. Chad Henne is your typical pocket passer who has accuracy that can’t be taught. Mike Hart has not fumbled since junior high football. Mario Manningham is about as fast as they come with big soft hands at wide receiver. They have it all, on the offensive side of the ball. The questionable part about Michigan’s team is their defense. The secondary was less than spectacular last season against Southern California in the Rose Bowl. Don’t get me wrong, the Trojans had some pretty good receivers, but they were not going to run past anyone. Michigan must also replace three-quarters of their front line, a unit they gave up the fewest rushing yards in the nation last year. However, defensive captain Shawn Crable leads the linebackers, as he is Michigan’s active leader in tackles for loss(14.5) and sacks (8.5).

 

For the Apps, its almost as easy. Armanti Edwards is the cool as a cucumber sophomore quarterback who became only the 5th player in NCAA history to run for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 yards in the same season. Kevin Richardson has been ASU’s leading rusher for two years in a row, amassing over 3,100 yards on nearly 5.5 yards per carry. The offensive line has been solid over the last two years, dominating opposing teams in the trenches. The Mountaineers have arguably the deepest receiving corps in the Championship Subdivision, lead by the speedster Dexter Jackson, including freshman standout CoCo Hillary, and super sophomore Josh Johnson, to go along with veterans James Hill, TJ Courman and Hans Batichon. Last years Mountaineer offense was the most prolific in school history, scoring over 35 points a game.

 

The ASU defense also to plug a few holes on the defensive front, but are anchored by their “back” seven defenders. Cam Speer, Jacques Roman and Pierre Banks are the linebackers that cover sideline to sideline. Free safety Corey Lynch is an absolute ball hawk who needs only 8 interceptions to become the schools all time leader. On the corners, Justin Woazeah and Jerome Touchstone are always in position to cover as they both intercepted two passes last year. Titus Howard will replace Jeremy Wiggins at the strong safety position. The lone returning starter on the defensive front is Gary Tharrington, who thrived on the double teams of Marques Murrell, to the tune of 7.5 sacks. Rotating on the front line will be a combination of LSU transfer Tim Washington, Daniel Finnerty, Anthony Wilson, Anthony Williams, Gordy Witte and freshman Bobby Bozzo.

 

It is going to make than a few bounces of the ball for Appalachian to knock the mighty Wolverines. The mindset for the Mountaineers in this game is to get better with each play. Both teams will likely be a little rusty since it’s the first game of the season. ASU must hope the Big Ten referees are not too flag happy in the opening game. The Mountaineers are going to have to force a couple turnovers, and not give the ball to Michigan in turn, in order to stay with Michigan. The Apps must turn those opportunities into points, and not missed chances. Appalachian will be playing from behind before the kickoff. Each controversial play must go in favor of the Mountaineers. On top of that, Armanti Edwards will have to play like the calm freshman from last year. The ASU receivers will gave to grab every ball thrown their way, and avoid costly drops. Michigan will most likely try to find out how good they are. They will pass the ball just to get some rhythm back. They will also run between the tackles so much it will make the game boring at times. The ASU defense must contain the Wolverines offense, and avoid giving up big plays. Michigan will probably score more points than ASU when the final seconds tick away, but that is not saying that Appalachian will have lost. The experience from this game will pay dividends later in the season at some point. I think ASU has a chance to win this game, unlike most others. A lot of things will have to go the way of the Mountaineers. But when the final bell tolls on Saturday, I will be just as proud to be a Mountaineer as before the game. I hope our offense gives Michigan fits all day long. I hope ASU gets enough pressure on Chad Henne, that it gets him scrambling, and he throws an interception or two. I hope the Apps block a field goal and take it to the house. I just hope none of things happen to Appalachian. Michigan has more horses than Appalachian and they will use them all. ASU will fade in the fourth quarter, but will keep all 108,000 people on the edge of their seats until then. Too much Mike Hart for the young ASU defensive line.

 

 

 

The First Pick:

Black and Gold     16
Maize and Blue     35

Appalachian State Football: Appalachian vs. Richmond SemiFinals 12/7/2007

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with the Semifinals:

#6 Richmond (11-2) @ #5 Appalachian State (11-2)
12/7/07

Time: 8pm

TV: ESPN2

Kidd Brewer Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 16,650

Jeff Sagarin ratings:

ASU:     69.71

UR:       70.45

Home advantage: 2.59 points

ASU is favored to win by 2 points

Series: ASU leads 3-2

Last Meeting: Appalachian 20 Richmond 3, 11/28/87

 

In any given game in the first two rounds of the playoffs, when looking at match ups, you can usually depict which team has the edge, whether it be that one team is playing at home, or that one teams strength can match up against another teams weakness. When you get to the semifinals, with four teams remaining, the ability to predict an outcome of a game gets harder. Every team is good now. There is a reason that a team is able to obtain double digit wins and advance through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Appalachian and Richmond are no different. Both teams play really good football. Both teams can get up and down the field and score points and have been able to keep opposing teams out of the end zone. Both teams are fighting for that elusive goal of getting to Chattanooga. Richmond will be seeking its first appearance in the title game, while Appalachian attempts to advance for the third time in as many years. Whoever wins will have earned the right to play for a national championship.

 

Richmond was able to defeat Wofford in Spartanburg last Saturday. That is something the Mountaineers were unable to do when they had the chance in September. That was two and half months ago and the ASU team that took the field on that day is not the same team that it is today. That team may have been accused of inserting Armanti Edwards into the lineup before he was healthy. Edwards was unsuccessful before injuring his shoulder and giving the reins to Trey Elder. That day was also very warm and muggy in Spartanburg, and it definitely took a toll on the Mountaineer defense that was on the field for 35 minutes. The Mountaineer team that will take the field on Friday night may be the healthiest the team has been all season long. Also take into consideration that the game will not be played in Spartanburg in front of 8500 fans. This game will be played at Kidd Brewer Stadium with a crowd of around 20,000 fans expected. Also, the game time temperature will be slightly cooler then what Richmond faced last week in Spartanburg, and nearly 50 degrees cooler then when ASU played Wofford.

The engine that makes the Richmond Spiders go is Tim Hightower. The Spiders leaned on Hightower’s 140 yards a game rushing to win the Colonial Athletic Conference. Hightower has averaged 24 carries a game this year, including 27 carries per contest in the playoffs. A lot of Hightower’s yards came against inferior opponents. Hightower ran for 246 yards against Northeastern and 295 yards against Bucknell. However, Hightower has slowed toward the end of the season only averaging 109 yards in his last four games, and was held to under 90 yards rushing in two of those contests. Averaging over 100 yards rushing a game it still a pretty big deal, but you can see the trend.

 

At quarterback for the Spiders is Eric Ward who has passed for 2,133 yards and 14 touchdowns. Ward is a very adequate passer and is a threat to run as he has gained 397 yards rushing on the season. Although the Spiders throw a lot, he is a big key to their offense. If Ward fails to be successful through the air, the Spiders will become a one dimensional attack. Ward will need to hit his receivers early in the game in order for Richmond to be able to score points.

Another part of Richmond’s game may have solid results is the kick off return team. Justin Rogers is ranked 3rd nationally in kick off returns with 31.4 yards per return. Appalachian struggled with kick return defense against Eastern Washington, allowing 2 long returns, one of which went for a touchdown. A positive for Appalachian this week is that they have had a week to correct its mistakes and probably have worked extremely hard on kickoff coverage in practice.

 

Appalachian arguably played its best defensive game of the season last week. Although special teams allowed Eastern Washington to score three touchdowns, the pressure on the quarterback was an issue all game long. Appalachian never allowed the Eagles to get into a rhythm offensively. When Eastern Washington could manage a drive, it was Corey Lynch that was intercepting a pass and DJ Smith falling on a fumble while the Eagles were in the red zone.

Appalachian ran up a playoff record 529 yards of total offense against Eastern Washington. Devon Moore filled in nicely for Kevin Richardson with 100 yards on the ground. Armanti Edwards continued his hot streak with another 347 yards of total offense and three total touchdowns. ASU has had a two players rush for 100 yards in four of its last six playoff games. Receivers CoCo Hillary (37 yards) and Dexter Jackson (41 yards) stretched the defense for long pass plays that kept the Eastern Washington defense guessing all game long. The Eagles had only allowed 130 yards rushing a game and the Mountaineers exploded for 309 yards on the ground.

 

This game features some of the best rushing teams in the nation. Appalachian will spread you out and find their holes while Richmond will pound you all night long. Richmond will force the run and try to duplicate the game plan that James Madison tried. The best way to keep Appalachian from scoring is having possession of the ball. Appalachian has not been stopped on offense all year long. James Madison is the only team to hold the Mountaineers under 30 points all season. Appalachian will be able to use Kevin Richardson and Devon Moore and make the Richmond defense guess which back is getting the ball. Turnovers are always key in playoff games. Neither Richmond nor Appalachian would be where they are right now without the untimely miscues by opposing teams. The kicking game may also loom large for both teams in a game that is expected to be very close. Richmond has hit 15/22 field goals this season, with two misses last week against Wofford and three misses in their loss to Towson. Appalachian has hit 17/21 field goals and all of those misses were beyond 40 yards. I think Richmond will put up one heck of a fight, just like James Madison did. The reason the Mountaineers will prevail  is because of the leadership of the seniors. These guys know what it takes to win. The experience in the playoffs the last two seasons will be invaluable. Richmond is a very young team and although they will be a force to be reckoned with for the next few years, their time is not right now. Appalachian will be playing in front of a crowd that will be tailgate deprived due to the exam schedule and they will be relentless. I think this game will be decided in the third quarter. Appalachian will score late and force Richmond to pass the ball and they will press the issue and make mistakes. The Mountaineers know the way the way to the Choo Choo. All Aboard!!

 

The First Pick:

Big Bad Mountaineers    38

itsy bitsy spiders           24

Appalachian State Football: Appalachian @ Wofford 9/22/2007

Posted on by
Reply

Here we go with Week 4:

#1 Appalachian State (3-0) @ #13 Wofford (2-1)
9/22/07

Time: 3:00pm

TV: None
Gibbs Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 13,000
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     73.60
WC:    54.85
Home advantage: 2.93 points
ASU is favored to win by 16 points

Series: ASU leads 14-9
Last Meeting: ASU 14, Wofford 7

 

The Southern Conference schedule is finally upon us. Wofford will have their turn at trying to knock off the nation’s top ranked team. Appalachian will make its second trip on the road this season which looks like it will be the most hostile Wofford crowd that an ASU team has seen. ASU and the Southern Conference have been receiving the “David Beckham” effect. Stadiums are selling out all over the place, just to see the Mountaineers. Wofford has played ASU as tough as anyone the last few years. Wofford coach Mike Ayers is one tough son of a gun and has been licking his chops ever since Wofford gave ASU a scare last year in Boone. Ayers is also Wofford’s winningest coach and currently is the longest tenured coach in the Southern Conference. Josh Collier and Kevious Johnson want their chance to beat ASU just as bad as anyone does in Spartanburg. The only problem is, ASU knows how bad Wofford wants to beat them as well.

 

Wofford was the hottest team in the FCS as the season wound down. The hottest team not to make the playoffs. After losing to Appalachian State, it gave the Terriers their fourth loss of the season. The Terriers rang off five straight wins and wanted to be included in all the playoff talk. One reason they were not selected was their end of year strength of schedule. Their most quality win in those last five games would probably be Elon. I don’t care who you are, if you are trying to sell yourself by saying you beat Elon, Western Carolina, Georgia Southern, Gardner Webb and Chattanooga, you are in a heap of trouble.

 

After resting last week, Jason Collier will likely get the start against the Mountaineers on Saturday. Collier came in for one play in the loss to NC State that was full of turnovers and penalties. Wofford ended the game with 15 flags compared to only 41 in the entire 2006 campaign. Wofford out gained NC State in total yardage and many will tell you that they outplayed the Wolfpack. Maybe the Terriers were looking past NC State. Maybe they were ready to play Appalachian last Saturday. I know one thing, if Wofford has 15 penalties this week, the game should never be in doubt.

 

Wofford has ran 171 rushing plays for 929 yards in three games so far. The interesting stat is they have not had a 100 yard rusher in a game to show for it. Collier ran 19 times against Georgetown and Kevious Johnson ran 11 each against Charleston Southern and NC State. They like to spread the ball around. They won’t give the ball to a guy 25 times a game. Wofford wants to keep opposing defenses guessing. Yeah they will run the ball 57 times a game, but it’s the average of 17 times a game they throw the ball that really makes defensive coordinators scratch their heads. Wofford actually threw for more yards passing then NC State did. Seventy-three offensive plays a game? It’s just silly.

 

On the other side, ASU has been resting their quarterback for some time as well, getting ready for the conference schedule. Armanti Edwards look to return to the huddle for the Mountaineers with fresh legs. Backup Trey Elder played beautifully in two wins, throwing for 426 yards, seven touchdowns and also rushing for 172 yards and another touchdown. Appalachian is very fortunate to have a backup that would start at every other school in the Southern Conference. Also returning this week for the Mountaineers is center Scott Suttle, who sprained a knee in fall camp. This will be first game of the season where the Apps will suit up with all the offensive starters in tact.

 

ASU was given a challenge against Northern Arizona, one that most fans expected. The ASU defense shut down Payton candidate receiver Alex Watson to one catch for negative one yard. Receiver turned quarterback Lance Kriesien took advantage of great secondary coverage by running out of the pocket several times for first downs. Wofford’s Josh Collier will not run as much Kriesien which is a relief to ASU fans.

 

Kevin Richardson took advantage of teams stacking the box to stop the ASU running game by getting out in the open and catching a career high 7 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Trey Elder said it best, “I just dump off a 2-yard pass and then get to watch (Kevin) run down the field and do all the good stuff.” Richardson did add to his rushing totals with 58 yards against NAU. Richardson now has 167 yards on the season, just 787 yards away from John Settle’s all time rushing record.

When it’s time to get in on this Saturday, which team will prevail? In order for Wofford to win, they are going to have to rely on the ground game. Keeping the ball out of the hands of Armanti Edwards and Kevin Richardson will surely help the cause for the Terriers. Wofford must sustain those long drives, you know twelve plays and longer. They must shorten up the game by taking their three or fours yards and liking it. Somebody in the Wofford backfield will have to light it up. Michael Hobbs is the most likely person to do it. Hobbs has breakaway speed that can run around the ASU defense if they are out of position. That is the key for the ASU defense. The front seven must play assignment defense. The onus is all on the defensive line to contain the traps and counters and it falls to the linebackers to stop the options and pitchouts. This is the kind of game where Corey Lynch, Pierre Banks and Jacques Roman end up with near double digit tackles. Offensively for the Mountaineers, They must control the tempo and sustain a couple long drives for themselves. Whoever has the ball in their hands must not make bad decisions with the football. Wofford leads the conference in turnover margin and interceptions. ASU must make Wofford beat them. If ASU does not turn the ball over, there should not be any problems. Wofford is talented enough to turn mistakes into points, but that offense is unlikely to explode for 40 points without some help. Wofford will hang close as long as ASU lets them. If ASU is able to throw the ball early, watch out, it will only make the running game work better in the late stages of the game. Wofford may have a decent team, but they are not quite at the level of Appalachian State.

 

           

The First Pick:

Appalachian Dog Pound  38
Ankle-Biters                         22