Here we go with Week 12:

Chattanooga (2-8) @ #6 Appalachian State (8-2)
11/17/07

Time: 3:30pm

TV: Sports South

Kidd Brewer Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf
Capacity: 16,650

Jeff Sagarin ratings:

ASU:     71.97

UTC:    49.47

Home advantage: 2.64 points

ASU is favored to win by 25 points

Series: ASU leads 20-10

Last Meeting: ASU 56, UTC 21

Entering the final week of the regular season, Appalachian has a chance to do what many thought was nearly impossible as of four weeks ago. With a victory on Saturday against Chattanooga, the Mountaineers will wrap up their third straight conference championship. Despite the outcome, ASU will most likely host a first round playoff game on Thanksgiving weekend. A win also gives the Mountaineers a chance of obtaining one of the top four seeds in the playoffs as well. Before we get ahead of ourselves, ASU must first beat a Chattanooga team that has had a very bumpy season and looks to extract some revenge from the 56-21 blowout win the Mountaineers enjoyed last season. Unfortunately for Chattanooga, it will be Senior Day for one of the best classes to come through Appalachian State University. Among those, Trey Elder, perhaps the best “backup” quarterback, and Kevin Richardson, ASU’s career all-purpose yardage leader and the school’s future all-time leader rusher. Those two and the rest of the class will certainly want go out with a win on Saturday.

Chattanooga shares some of the same weaknesses as Western Carolina.  The Mocs have problems stopping the running game. They are giving up over 200 yards on the ground a game. In the games where Chattanooga really struggled, its when they couldn’t stop the likes of Arkansas’ Darren McFadden, Wofford’s Josh Collier and The Citadel’s duo of Tory Cooper and Duran Lawson. Those were the games where Chattanooga suffered its most lopsided defeats. That weakness plays right into the hands of Kevin Richardson, who ran for a career best 215 yards against Western Carolina. When you cant stop the run, you cant get your defense off the field. Against Wofford and The Citadel, the Mocs time of possession in both of those games was under 23 minutes. The only bright spot on the Moc defense is linebacker Chris Camacho was has accumulated 91 solo tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.

On the offensive side of the ball, Chattanooga has not fared much better. The Mocs are scoring less than 24 points a game and are ranked 94^th in total offense with 318 yards a game. Part of the reason they cant move the ball is third downs. The Mocs have only converted a paltry 28% of the third down conversions. Usually third down is considered a down where you see more passing plays then running plays. Chattanooga quarterback Antonio Miller has completed just 51% of his passing attempts for 5.8 yards per attempt. All of this points to a very bad football team.

Against Western Carolina, the Mountaineers sent a message to the entire FCS world by racking up 743 yards of offense and 79 points, the second highest totals in school history. Appalachian quarterbacks connected with ten different receivers and completed 80% of their passes. As previously mentioned, Kevin Richardson ran like he did in the 2006 playoffs. Richardson will most likely set the bar for career rushing at Appalachian as he needs only 27 more yards to break the school record set by John Settle.

This series between these two schools has been that was dominated by Appalachian, but whenever Appalachian has needed a win the most, Chattanooga has more than welcomed the chance to knock the Mountaineers off their perch. In 2004, the Mocs hung on for a three point win as Appalachian went winless on the road that season. In 2000, ASU had a chance at a high seed in the playoffs before Chattanooga kicked a field goal at time expired to win by three points as well. I do not expect to see a three point ball game this week, but we are talking about the 2007 football season, one of the wackiest seasons of recent memory. Appalachian will be too overpowering for the Mocs. The Mocs have had trouble with defending the running game all year long and Appalachian will certainly exploit that weakness. ASU also has a lot riding on this game and they hope to garner playoff seeding possibilities with a victory. Kevin Richardson may break John Settle’s record on the first Mountaineer drive. Senior Trey Elder will hopefully get plenty of playing time as he will play in his last regular season home game. Corey Lynch, Justin Woazeah and Jerome Touchstone will also play their last home game as perhaps one of the best ASU pass defending trios at the school. Kerry Brown will certainly be considered one day for ASU Hall of Fame honors along with teammates on the offensive line Scott Suttle and John Holt. Dexter Jackson will always be remembered as the Sports Illustrated cover boy and Chase Laws as the ultimate team player, as he switched from quarterback to linebacker. Julian Rauch is the school’s all time leading scorer and Nic Cardwell fought through a painful neck injury to play in his senior season. Russell Wilson will never forget making a perfect snap to Hunter Stewart before putting the Apps up two at Michigan. There have been memorable highlights for all of the Appalachian Seniors, but their work is not done. They all understand that the second season is just around the corner. The Apps will not look past Chattanooga on Saturday.

The First Pick:

Hoping for a Seed            56

We’ll see ya’ll in December      20

Here we go with Week 10:

#2 Appalachian State (7-2, 5-0 1^st) @ Chattanooga (1-8, 0-5 9^th)
11/8/08

Time: 2pm

TV: None
Stadium: Finley Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 20,668
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     71.77
UTC:    35.42
Home advantage: 2.79 points
ASU is favored by the Sagarin rankings by 33 ½  points (rounded).

Series: ASU leads 21-10
Last Meeting: ASU 37, UTC 17; November 17^th 2007

The Mountaineers have survived the so called gauntlet of their schedule by defeating Georgia Southern, Furman and Wofford in consecutive weeks and find themselves in a very familiar situation. Appalachian controls its own destiny for the rest of the regular season. As long as the Mountaineers continue the winning ways, a fourth straight conference championship is on the horizon. Standing in their way is a very emotionally defeated Chattanooga football team, who has suffered from a difficult schedule and the announcement that their head coach will not be returning next season. This scenario is very scary for a team that has just played its most complete game of the season. Appalachian could be in for a wake up call. In 2006, Appalachian was just starting to hit their stride when they blitzed the Mocs on the way to a 56-21 victory. However, Mountaineer fans will never forget what happened the last time they Mountaineers and Mocs played in an election year. Records were broken left and right when the Mocs stunned Appalachian in an offensive shootout, 59-56. Will Appalachian guard against a letdown on Saturday afternoon, or can the Mocs do the unthinkable and go win one for the coach?

As previously mentioned, Chattanooga was given a tough task of facing two of the most prestigious college football programs in the country in Oklahoma and Florida State. After sandwiching a win over Division II Cumberland between the losses to Oklahoma and Florida State, the Mocs suddenly faced a different Jacksonville State team than they imagined, as Ryan Perrilloux had transferred in from Louisiana State. After another loss, the Mocs faced the “App State Gauntlet” in Furman, Georgia Southern and Wofford and suffered heavy defeats from all three of those opponents. Followed by those losses was another blowout loss to Elon and a very disappointing loss to Western Carolina, who snapped their conference losing streak at 20 games. It seems Chattanooga never had a chance in the 2008 season.

Chattanooga’s problems are pretty obvious. All season, they have had trouble scoring, and stopping other teams from scoring. The Mocs are being outscored by an averaged of 26 points pre game. Their defense is last in the conference in total yards and their offense is in the same predicament. In fact they are last or next to last in 18 statistical categories. Part of the issues have surfaced due to inconsistent quarterback play. Three players have logged time on the field for the Mocs. Only Jare Gualt has played in all nine games. Gualt has lead the Mocs with 665 yards passing with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Sloan Allison, son of head coach Rodney, has thrown for 243 yards. Allison has zero touchdown passes and seven interceptions in only 67 attempts. Tony Pastore has been the most efficient option for the Mocs with 456 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Pastore averages a decent 7.72 yards per attempt. All told, Moc quarterbacks have eight touchdown passes and 15 interceptions on the season. Their favorite target has been Clint Woods who has 40 catches for 430 yards and two touchdowns. The running game has been led by Erroll Wynn (56 ypg) and Shaun Kermah (24 ypg).

Against the Terriers, the Mountaineers took a page out of the Mike Ayers playbook and forced five turnovers and gave none away in what turned into a blowout win for Appalachian. The game was tightly contested until Mark Legree picked off the first of his three interceptions in the first quarter that eventually gave the Mountaineers a two touchdown margin. Wofford had trouble containing the Appalachian passing game. Armanti Edwards threw for 367 yards and five touchdowns, all to freshman. Receiver Brian Quick was the beneficiary of three touchdowns and tight end Ben Jorden caught two first quarter touchdown passes as well.

Besides the three interceptions by Mark Legree, the rest of the Mountaineer defense only allowed Wofford to convert 36% on their third down conversions and allowed no fourth down conversions. Despite giving Wofford all the yardage they wanted in the running game, it was the first half turnovers that really made the difference. By the time the dust had settled in the first half, the Mountaineers had built a 42-14 halftime lead that was too big for the Terriers to overcome.

Last week, all the chips were stacked against Wofford, which favored Appalachian. The previous week, Wofford had put 55 points on the board against Elon in a very intense game. The same happened for the Mountaineers last week. In a very similar situation, the Mountaineers responded with 70 points, while Wofford could only muster 24 points. The same could happen to Appalachian against Chattanooga. It is highly unlikely the Mountaineers will put up another high number against the Mocs. Although, I would never bet against this offense to do it, it is just not going to happen. The difference is, Appalachian is not playing a terrific defense in Chattanooga. A game like Appalachian and Chattanooga has now been labeled in the college football world as a “trap game”. Appalachian played a high profile opponent last week and will come off of that high and play a team that appears to be a significantly lesser challenge, right before playing another big game against Elon. If the Mountaineers travel to Chattanooga thinking they are going to roll over the Mocs, they are mistaken. The Chattanooga players will like to send their lame duck coach off into the sunset with a victory before the season is over. There is no bigger giant on their schedule besides Appalachian State. However, Jerry Moore will have his players prepared and focused. You simply cannot take a week off in the Southern Conference and Moore has learned that lesson all too well with past teams. The Mountaineers have not lost a conference road game in November since that fateful night in Cullowhee in 2004 and I do not see it happening this week.

The First Pick:

Thomas the Train            10

Train Wreckers                42

Here we go with Week 9:

Chattanooga (5-3, 3-3 T4) @ #7 Appalachian State (6-2, 5-0 T1)
11/7/09

Time: 3:30pm

TV: None
Stadium: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 21,650
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     59.85
UTC:    46.53

Home advantage: 3.31 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin rankings by 16 ½ points (rounded).

Series: Appalachian leads 22-10
Last Meeting: Appalachian 49, Chattanooga 7, November 8, 2008

For the second season in a row, Appalachian has survived the conference gauntlet, which may be the last season such a gauntlet exists. Part of the reason is the emergence of Chattanooga as a player in the Southern Conference race. Chattanooga is eliminated from SoCon championship contention, but instead of being at the bottom of the league, they are one of only three SoCon teams with an overall winning record. They have five wins which is as many as they have had since 2005 when they finished 6-5. Chattanooga has announced the to the rest of the conference that they are back and ready to be recognized as a team that is no longer a pushover. Even in the lean years, Chattanooga was always a team that gave Appalachian some trouble. It may be in Appalachian’s best interest that the Mocs have risen from the SoCon cellar, as they have been a game that is generally played later in the schedule, when the Mountaineers start to build momentum for the playoffs.

Another reason that Chattanooga has been successful has been the play of their offense. Tennessee transfer quarterback B.J. Coleman leads the Mocs with 1,710 yards passing and 13 touchdowns. Coleman is your typical pocket quarterback who rarely runs. His favorite target is Blue Cooper, who has 60 catches for 588 yards. Cooper is probably the best receiver in the conference that nobody knows, mainly because he has spent his career at Chattanooga. Cooper had his best game of the season last week with 16 catches for 143 yards in the win over Western Carolina. Earlier in the season, Cooper grabbed 13 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown against Furman. As you can see, Cooper averages 7.5 catches a game, but nearly of his catches this season came in two games.

Probably the most impressive improvements made by Chattanooga have been on the defensive side of the ball. Of Chattanooga’s twenty three sacks, 16.5 have come from their bookends on the defensive line, Josh Beard and Joshua Williams. Beard is the younger brother of Appalachian running back Jerry Beard and leads the team with 10.5 sacks. The Moc defense has also held opponents to only 291 yards of offense per game and held opponents to only 3.5 yards per carry on the ground. They will be tested this week as Appalachian is averaging 513 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry on offense.

Chattanooga grabbed most people’s attention this year when they manhandled #17 Wofford 38-9. However that was before anyone knew that Wofford was as bad as they were. Since then, the Mocs are 2-2, with wins over Samford and Western Carolina, and losses to Elon and Georgia Southern. Three of those four games were on the road, and their losses came on long road trips, while their wins were at home, or closer to home. In those four games, the offense has only averaged 17 points per game.

Appalachian has now moved to 5-0 in poor weather games this year. Four of those games were in the last four weeks and Appalachian is averaging 50 points a game. The pattern this weekend is for the best weather we have seen all season at home. One can only imagine the numbers that the Mountaineers can put up without a wet ball or field. It should be a fast track and that is exactly what the Mountaineers will need against a game Chattanooga team. Armanti Edwards continues to be the reason why the Mountaineers are dominating the Southern Conference once again. Edwards added to his long list of honors as being named the SoCon player of the week, and was also named national player of the week by two different associations. Edwards threw for two touchdowns and ran for four more. Edwards’ 461 yards of total offense was good enough for the fourth highest single game total in Appalachian history.

In this series, Appalachian has dominated in recent memory. Appalachian has allowed two games to get away from them against the Mocs in Chattanooga within the last 10 years. However, the Mocs have not won in Boone since 1983 and Jerry Moore is 18-2 all time against the Mocs. Boone has simply not been very friendly place to visit for Moc football teams. The Mocs are coached by former Richmond defensive coordinator Russ Huesman, who was able to defeat the Mountaineers last year in the playoffs. Huesman has said some things in the last week or so that has grabbed the attention of many Mountaineer fans. He is on record for saying that, he knew his 2008 Richmond team was going to beat Appalachian last year. He has also mentioned that Elon is probably going to win the Southern Conference. These type of comments remind me of another first year head coach in the state of Tennessee, who has had more than his fair share of sticking his foot in his mouth. In the Southern Conference, respect is earned and not given. Games are won and lost on the field, and not a message board or in the newspapers. I think Appalachian fans attend this game with a little chip on their shoulder. I think they will be extra rowdy this weekend seeing that the season’s goal is in the near future. In the past weeks, Chattanooga has been average. They are road weary and their offense is simply not explosive enough. Seventeen points and 300 yards of offense simply will not beat Appalachian at Kidd Brewer. Despite the potential loss of CoCo Hillary, I don’t think the Mountaineers miss a beat on offense. They are plenty of players who bust their tail each week in order to see playing time and now is their time to step up and show the world what they can do. Chattanooga will have to take to the air to win this one and I do not believe the Mocs offensive line can hold back the Mountaineer pass rush all day. They Mountaineers will win, but the Mocs will make it interesting  early.

The First Pick:

Mockingbirds            24

Mountaineers           40

Here we go with Week 1:

#3 Appalachian State @ Chattanooga
9/4/10

Time: 3:00pm

TV: SportSouth
Stadium: Finley Stadium
Surface: Polyetheylene FieldTurf

Capacity: 20,668
Jeff Sagarin Ratings:
ASU:     69.36
UTC:    47.89

Home advantage: 3.08 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 19 points (rounded).

Series: Appalachian leads 23-10
Last Meeting: Appalachian 35, Chattanooga 20, November 7, 2009

Like many season openers recently for Appalachian football, there has been plenty of press and build up leading into the game. However, in 2010, the Mountaineers will do something they have not done since 1991, and that is open the season against Southern Conference opponent Chattanooga. This will also mark the first time since facing Eastern Kentucky in 2005 that the Mountaineers will not face an opponent from the BCS division. In 1991, Appalachian knocked off then SoCon member Marshall 9-3. Appalachian also defeated its last non-BCS opener Eastern Kentucky, 24-16. The similarities are there. Both games were decided by one score or less. Sounds like the fans will be in for a great college football opener as the Mocs have a great chance to snap Appalachian’s 20 game conference win streak.

Chattanooga is a program that is trying to rid itself of several years marred by losing season and NCAA mandated APR restrictions. The Mocs have had scholarships reduced and practices limited all while trying escape for the SoCon cellar. Second year head coach and alum Russ Huesman is in charge of turning it all around for Chattanooga. The Mocs were easily the most improved team in the conference in 2009, with a 5 game turnaround in the win/loss column and the team and community has high hopes for the upcoming season.

Former McCallie star and Tennessee transfer B.J. Coleman is the centerpiece of the Mocs team. Coleman accounted for all the touchdowns scored against Appalachian last year, as he threw a touchdown and also ran for another. Coleman was named the second team all-SoCon quarterback in July. Coleman had a fantastic sophomore season as he threw 17 touchdown passes to only 9 interceptions. Coleman also averaged 213 yards passing a game in 2009, which was good for third in the SoCon behind Elon’s Scott Riddle, and some other guy named Armanti Edwards.

Coleman lost his favorite target in Blue Cooper to graduation, but senior Chris Pritchford returns as the one most likely to replace Cooper in the lineup. The wide receiver hauled in nine passes for 106 yards against Appalachian last year. Coleman should have plenty of time to find Pritchford, as the Mocs return all their starters from an offensive line that only allowed nine sacks last season. Where the Moc offensive line needs to improve is in their running game. Chattanooga was last in the Southern Conference last year, only gaining 85 yards a game on the ground. Last year, the Mocs grinded away against the Mountaineers by controlling the clock and running 36 times, despite only gaining 105 yards.

For the last four years, Armanti Edwards was the signal caller for the Mountaineers. The 2010 season will be slightly different for the Mountaineers. Appalachian fans and FCS fans everywhere most likely felt like he would never graduate. His graduation led to biggest question of the offseason for Appalachian: Who’s the quarterback? That same question was asked back in 2006. Appalachian fans felt like Trey Elder could certainly shoulder the load vacated by the legend Richie Williams, but if he couldn’t, there were a couple of capable and very talented freshmen to back him up. Fast forward to 2010, and we have the same situation, except Trey Elder is now the wide receivers coach. DeAndre Presley was named the starting quarterback last week, and has more then enough tools to be considered a game manager. But if Presley cant carry the torch, freshmen Jamal Jackson or Kalik Barnes can certainly take over.

The quarterback position is not the only one where Appalachian face a very similar circumstance as 2006. We know about the quarterback uncertainty, but what is forgotten from 2006, was that running back Kevin Richardson was returning after running for 1,433 yards and 19 touchdowns in 15 games. Returning in 2010 is Walter Payton Award candidate Devon Moore, who torched opponents for 1,374 yards and 19 touchdowns in 14 games. The difference is one game played and roughly sixty yards. Richardson led the team in receiving that year as well with 52 catches. I would say the 2010 version of leading receivers for Appalachian is slightly more polished than 2006. The combination of Matt Cline, Brian Quick and CoCo Hillary combined for nearly 2500 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last season alone, compared to wide receivers Jermane Little, Dexter Jackson and Zach Johnson, combined for just under 1600 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2005 season.

What it comes down to for Chattanooga is one simple thing. Patience. Will the Mocs have enough patience like in the 2009 game to do everything it can to keep Appalachian off the field. Neither of these teams lost much as far as returning starters from a game that was played only 10 months ago. The Mocs controlled the clock, maintaining possession for over 36 minutes of the game. Despite being dropped in an early 21-0 hole, the Mocs had diligent in the getting the momentum of that game back on their side. Slowly the Mocs pulled within a point, and then Mountaineers woke up. Two onside kicks were converted in the second half. The Mocs were playing loose, and having fun. The Mountaineers couldn’t convert first downs and were cursed by ill-timed interception. But when the plays needed to be made in fourth quarter, the Mountaineers were there making all the plays. Fourth down stops and interceptions ignited the Mountaineer offense to two late touchdown drives, resulting the final score. At that time, the Mocs could not have played a more perfect game, yet it still was not enough to knock off Appalachian. Another game like 2009 would surely be the wish of Russ Huesman, minus the final score. Chattanooga is considered by some as a dark horse to contend for a playoff berth in 2010, and to do that, beating Appalachian will certainly lead them in the right direction. However, I don’t think the Mountaineers will allow for the Mocs the dictate the pace of the game like 2009. Appalachian will unveil its new look to its backfield in 2010. The use of two running backs and a very experienced offensive line should lead to huge numbers in the running game. Throw in all conference receivers like Quick, Hillary and Ben Jordan at tight end, and Appalachian has all the tools to keep defenses guessing all season. Defensively, the Mountaineers should be better as well. The use of a fifth defensive back  or third safety will be utilized against spread formations and on passing downs. The defensive line appears to be eight deep, led by ends Lanston Tanyi and Jabari Fletcher. I think the Mocs have improved a lot, but I think some prognosticators  are getting ahead of themselves. Three of their wins were by one score or less against some of the lesser talented teams in the SoCon in Western Carolina, Citadel and Samford. If they are as improved as they think they are, they must soundly defeat those opponents this year, and knock off someone better then a depleted and injury riddled Wofford team. I think this will be a close game as both teams shake the first game jitters, but I have hard time believing the Mocs have caught up with Appalachian in less than two years.

The First Pick:

Scrappy                     12

Mountaineers           28

Here we go with Week 4:

#13 Chattanooga (2-1) @ #3 Appalachian State (2-1)        

Time: 3:30

TV: GoASU TV

Kidd Brewer Stadium         

Surface: Field Turf

Capacity: 23,150


Jeff Sagarin Ratings: 


ASU: 61.51


UTC: 60.57

Home: 3.08 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 4 points (rounded).

Series: Appalachian leads 24-10

Last Meeting: Appalachian 42, Chattanooga 41, September 4, 2010, Chattanooga, TN       


WXAPP’s Boone Gameday Weather Trends:

Should be APPTASTIC! Sunshine with a few clouds

Kickoff: Mid 60’s

Winning a championship is a step by step process. This Saturday, for Appalachian State and Chattanooga, will be step one of eight toward achieving that goal. Appalachian has completed the process for six straight years and is looking to make history in 2011 with an unprecedented seventh straight title. The Chattanooga Mocs gave Appalachian all it could handle last year in both teams’ season opener, before falling in the final minute on a failed two point conversion. In 2009, Chattanooga also gave Appalachian fits with converted onsides kicks in the second half before falling in the fourth quarter after two interceptions by current Moc quarterback B.J. Coleman. In each of the last two years, the Mocs have been on the doorstep of beating the Mountaineers, but have been turned away. The question is: Can Chattanooga get over that hump? That question and several others will be answered this Saturday at The Rock.

What we know about Chattanooga is that last year they were 6-5, and came very close to being 8-3. They started the season 0-2, first losing the heartbreaker to Appalachian, and then giving up a 17-0 lead to Jacksonville State in the second half before losing 21-17. An 8-3 record might have put Chattanooga in the playoffs, but they finished the season very poorly. The Mocs lost three of their last four, to Elon, BCS champion Auburn, and Wofford. This season has started differently for Chattanooga. After losing to FBS ranked #10 Nebraska, they followed with wins over then FCS ranked #10 Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky.

Chattanooga is most known for their quarterback BJ Coleman. In his third year as a starter, Coleman has put up the numbers we have expected. Coleman has completed 64% of his passes for 747 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. The 2:1 touchdown-interception ratio has been commonplace for Coleman. In 2009, he was at 17-9 and 2010, he was at 26-13, touchdowns to interceptions, respectively. He is well known for his passing yards, but he has thrown his fair share of picks. In his career against Appalachian, Coleman has thrown four touchdowns and three interceptions. His game against Appalachian in 2010 was arguably his best game of the season, completing 23 of 37 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for two touchdowns.

            Coleman’s go to receiver is easily Joel Bradford, who has hauled in 25 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns. The All-SoCon first team selection caught 81 passes for 1284 yards and eight touchdowns last season. No other Moc receiver has caught more than eight passes this season, but there are five Mocs with six or more catches. Bradford is far and away Coleman’s favorite target as he has caught 36% of all of Coleman’s completions. The Mocs have four receivers ranked in the top twenty in yardage in the Southern Conference.

            As much as Chattanooga likes to throw the ball, or is known for it, they have made an effort to run the ball more efficiently this season. Last year, Chattanooga averaged 71 offensive plays over the course of the season. On average, the run-pass ratio was pretty balanced, with 36 running plays to 35 passes. This season, averaging 75 offensive plays, the Mocs have run roughly 39 times a game to 36 passes. One can look and say they are passing about the same amount, but three more running plays a game is about two minutes of game clock, which is two more minutes the other team can not score. Last year, the Mocs only ran 29 times against Appalachian to 37 passes.

            The ring season is finally upon the Mountaineers with high anticipation. Each and every Appalachian game this season has been a blowout, with games being decided by halftime. Mountaineer fans are anxious to see what the 2011 team is really made of. Each game has seemed very predictable and plain. Fans are ready for the playbooks to be opened up on both sides of the ball. Despite giving up only 12 points in the last two games, the defense seems to have been giving up one too many third down conversions. Giving up an extra set of downs against BJ Coleman will spell disaster for Appalachian.

            DeAndre Presley had another turnover free game against Savannah State. The senior passed for 186 yards on 11 of 17 passing with a touchdown pass. Presley ran seven times for 21 yards and had a touchdown as well. Brian Quick had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown while Appalachian rushed 44 times for 234 yards on the day. Cedric Baker Boney continues to lead the team with 59 rushing yards a game.

            Everything points to this game being one to remember, which will be quite an anomaly considering the series. The last four times Chattanooga beat Appalachian were all by less than 4 points, and all of those games were played in Tennessee. In fact, it has been since 1983, that a Chattanooga team has beaten Appalachian in Boone. Appalachian owns a thirteen game winning streak over the Mocs in Boone. Appalachian has also won their SoCon home opener each year since 1982. History does not bode well for the Mocs, but that is just that. History is in the past. Chattanooga is the most improved team in the conference in the last few years. Chattanooga has always been able to recruit well, but they have not been able to put it together on the field. They finally have a good coaching staff in place and are ready to return to the top of the conference. A win over Appalachian would provide a great boost of confidence to their players, and could spring them into having a very successful season. However, there are some concerns I have for them as a team, especially this week. Chattanooga is starting seven freshman and sophomores on the defensive side of the ball. Three of those freshmen are on the defensive line. We all know that Appalachian will maintain a very balanced offense, working the pass early in order to run as the game wears on. Appalachian has a variety of running backs that all have different qualities. Cedric Baker Boney is the more physical back, while Travaris Cadet is very elusive, and Stephen Miller has speed to burn. The Mountaineers will find out which one of those will work best against that young Moc defense and exploit it. Defensively, I believe the Mountaineers will come out of their shell a bit. BJ Coleman is not your typical dual threat quarterback, but he can buy time in the pocket. The front seven of the Mountaineers must contain the run and force Chattanooga to be one dimensional on offense, and then get in Coleman’s face. Field position can also be huge in this game. Appalachian has probably the best punter in the conference in Sam Martin and Chattanooga’s kicking game leaves a lot to be desired. They rank near the bottom of the conference in net yards per punt, and we all remember the missed extra points last year. This will be a good one, but I see the Mountaineers prevailing in the end.

The First Pick:

Blue Caboose             28

Mountaineers              38