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

Here we go with Week 9:

#3  Wofford (6-1, 4-0 T1) @ #2 Appalachian State (6-2, 4-0 T1)
10/31/08

Time: 8pm

TV: ESPN2
Stadium: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 20,150
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     68.06
WC:    67.35
Home advantage: 2.68 points
ASU is favored by the Sagarin rankings by 3 ½  points (rounded).

Series: ASU leads 14-10
Last Meeting: Wofford 42, ASU 31; September 22^nd, 2007

The folks at ESPN could not have hand picked it better. When they decided to broadcast their first regular season game from the FCS ranks, it is pretty obvious they chose Appalachian because of the recent success, and Wofford, for being the first team to beat Appalachian after the much heralded win over Michigan in 2007. It just so happened the game was scheduled the night after Halloween. ESPN offered moving the game to Halloween and putting the game on ESPN2. Who could say no to that? What ESPN didn’t know was how the season was going to play out. Wofford and Appalachian are both undefeated and tied for first in the conference title race. In fact, they are one last minute James Madison come from behind victory away from having a game as the top two ranked teams in the country. I think ESPN will settle for a game between #2 Appalachian and #3 Wofford with the home team having revenge on their minds. People have been looking forward to this game ever since the match up was announced, even before ESPN got into the mix. The excitement was going to be there regardless. It has been twelve years since two teams in the conference have been undefeated and playing each other this late in the season. The loser of this match will have an uphill battle to win the conference and will be forced to run the table to secure a possible home playoff game. To the winner goes the inside track to a conference title and a near lock for one of the top four seeds in the upcoming playoffs. Anyone excited yet?

Before the season, most critics felt this would be a rebuilding year for Wofford. The Terriers lost several key seniors, including a quarterback who started the majority of his career. Many did not think that Wofford would be in this position two months ago. Give all the credit to head coach Mike Ayers for making this team believe it had what it took to contend for another championship. Ayers coaches his teams to be extremely disciplined and play together as a team. Evidence to that is the fact that Wofford, although not the least penalized team in the conference, has been penalized for the least amount of yardage this season. Wofford also leads the conference in turnover ratio with an astounding +15 margin. What is more is amazing is that Wofford has only turned the ball over five times on the season.

The Wofford offense is led mainly by three seniors. Quarterback Ben Widmyer has thrown for 742 yards and seven touchdowns and has rushed for 475 yards and six touchdowns. In doing so, he has completed a ridiculous 69% of his passes and has led Wofford to being the most efficient passing team in the conference. Tailback Dane Romero is the leading rusher for the Terriers with 518 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Romero has the lowest rushing average of Wofford rushers with over 30 carries on the season. Wide receiver Andy Strickland has caught 21 passes for 415 yards and five touchdowns. Strickland has caught 38% of the all the completed passes for the Terriers this year.

A lot of what Wofford does on offense is considered old school football. The only problem, is that old school football, when executed properly can make defenses look extremely silly. The Terrier playbook is full of misdirection and counters, speed options and reverses. The goal of any defense when playing Wofford is to play assignment football. Stay with your man. Just because your man doesn’t have the football now, chances are good that he might be getting it, especially if you leave him to pursue. That lesson goes for every player on the field. Wofford has seven players with over 25 rushing attempts on the year. Also, ten different receivers have caught passes. They will give the ball to whoever is open and give every player a chance to beat you.

For the first time in recent history, Appalachian faced a gimmick defense and was stifled all day long on offense. Armanti Edwards ran for 16 yards on 16 carries, but picked up the slack while completing 16-24 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards has now played five straight games without an interception and his 15:2 touchdown to interception ratio is tops in the conference for passers with over 100 attempts. Devin Radford ran for 90 yards, but 84 came on one run in the second quarter. Brian Quick was also responsible for a 44 yard pass reception, but only had one other catch on the opening drive of the game.

The Appalachian defense answered the bell when they were most needed. With the Mountaineer offense struggling, the defense recovered their first three fumbles of the season. Two of the fumbles occurred in the red zone on what looked to be certain Paladin scoring drives. Mark Legree made a nice interception on the sideline on Furman’s opening drive of the second half which also killed any Paladin momentum. The only negative were the adjustments made during the game. Furman struggled to move the chains in the first half and decided to test the Mountaineer rushing defense up the middle. Furman had plenty of success which I am sure the Wofford coaches saw when watching film.

There are so many variables when comparing Appalachian and Wofford. Both teams lead the conference in points scored, total offense, rushing offense and passing efficiency, red zone defense and interceptions. Neither team is very consistent when it comes to penalties, kickoff coverage or time of possession. Sounds to the average football fan like this one could be a shootout with the last team with the ball winning. However, there are plenty of variables that someone cannot decipher from statistics. Both teams came off very emotional victories last week. Wofford had no trouble in defeating Elon and ringing up 55 points along the way. Appalachian found victory in defeating a long time rival in a game that was much closer than the final scored indicated. Wofford racked up its second highest point total of the year. On the other hand, Appalachian scored only 26 points, its second lowest amount of points this season. I think this sets up a potential letdown game for Wofford. If the points don’t come as easy, teams tend to get frustrated and try to do too much. Appalachian was guilty of that last week. I also think this sets up an  opportunity for the Mountaineers to have an offensive explosion. Rarely, this late in the season, does Appalachian struggle offensively in consecutive games. Another variable is the big bright lights of ESPN2. Appalachian is a perfect 12-0 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Wofford has not had the chance to prove themselves on national television like Appalachian has. Wofford nearly lost a 37 point halftime lead last year on the road when facing Western Carolina on ESPNU, before holding onto a three point win. The last time the Terriers played in Boone, Armanti Edwards had started just his fifth career college game. Last year, Edwards was not completely healthy after injuring his shoulder in the preseason and against Michigan. Wofford has been lucky to avoid Armanti Edwards at full strength. Wofford has played their last three games in front of a combined total of 23,331 fans. This year Appalachian is averaging 29,150 fans at home games. I think the crowd noise, particularly on Halloween night will be a factor. The picture I have in my mind is the last time ASU played at home on a Friday Night, against Richmond. There were roughly 24,000 fans in attendance, but there was a buzz, a very unique atmosphere that night that might be duplicated on Friday evening. I think all the chips are stacked against Wofford. They certainly have a fine team, that could easily beat Appalachian on any given day, but I have a gut feeling they will find themselves on the short end of the witch’s broomstick.

The First Pick:

Scrappy Pups            42

Happy Apps               49

Here we go with Week 6:

#9 Appalachian State (3-2, 2-0 2nd) @ Wofford (1-4, 0-2 T7)
10/17/09

Time: 3pm

TV: SportSouth
Stadium: Gibbs Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 13,000
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     57.58
WC:    50.33
Home advantage: 2.98 points

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

Series: Appalachian leads 15-10
Last Meeting: Appalachian 70, Wofford 24, October 31, 2008

The gauntlet of the schedule has arrived. There are no more non-conference games. The meat is here. From now until the end of the season, Appalachian faces its toughest string of games. In the past, the next three opponents have been considered the toughest stretch of games when the Apps face Wofford, Georgia Southern and Furman. The rule of thumb was, get past those three and you have a pretty good shot at winning the Southern Conference and making the playoffs. The rule has changed. A surprising team has emerged in Chattanooga and Elon continues to improve each year. However those surprises should never diminish the task at hand. The most important game is always the next one. Wofford is next.

Last Halloween, Wofford ran into the perfect storm. It was a night game in Boone, on the night of a very popular occasion and the ESPN’s cameras showed up to watch a battle of two of the top ranked teams in the country. What transpired for three and half hours on that night is surely something Wofford players have not forgotten. That is what makes this game scary. Wofford is looking for a little revenge. Secondly, Wofford is off its worst start since 1987, when they started 0-5. In 1988, Mike Ayers was hired and this is the first time in Ayers tenure that the Terriers four of their first five games. Finally, Wofford had an extra week to prepare for the Mountaineers. In Wofford’s case, that extra week off works in their favor as they have had many illnesses and injuries hamper their efforts this season.

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Wofford is the style of football they play. The wingbone attack consists of many misdirections and counters in order to get the defense running the wrong way. It is very similar to the spread rushing offense that Appalachian runs. The quarterback reads the defense and calls a play from the line of scrimmage. Based on what the quarterback sees, he decides what to do with the ball. Wofford will show you a lot of inside fakes to the fullback and pitchouts to the outside, where generally the tailback has a step on the defense. This offense is always hard to defend, no matter the caliber of athlete. The principle of the wingbone offense is to take the athleticism out of the game and beat your opponent with trickery. Appalachian’s style of offense thrives on having quicker athletes. Both styles are successful, as both Appalachian and Wofford are in top ten in rushing offense in the FCS.

Where most of Wofford’s struggles have occurred are on the defensive side of the ball. The Terriers are giving up 32.4 points per contest and are ranked 112^th in passing efficiency defense. They have also been giving up 172 yards on the ground a game which does not bode well for their ball control style. Wofford has also been dominated in time of possession. They have only held the edge in possession in one game, their lone win over Charleston Southern.

Appalachian finally had their breakout game against North Carolina Central. The Mountaineers fell in quick hole to Central by committing two turnovers that the Eagles took in for touchdowns and were quickly down 14-7. However the steady ground finally broke Central as Appalachian finished with 407 yards rushing. Junior Devon Moore recorded his third one hundred yard outing of the season with 11 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Armanti Edwards chipped in 97 yards on 10 carries and two more touchdowns. Edwards did throw his first interception of the season and looked less than crisp while passing for 237 yards. Edwards completed only 58% of his passes, which is disappointing, considering his 70% clip he had been completing passes before last week.

There are a lot of different intangibles in this game that are worth noting. We all know Wofford has had its troubles this year. However, they are still Wofford and the chance of them putting their complete game together is coming sooner than later. They will surprise a team this year in the Southern Conference and it is sad that their season has come to that. They will always persevere and that is something that is in the back of the minds of Appalachian fans. Wofford needs something to turn their season around and what better than revenge from the Halloween massacre of 2008. Despite their losses to date, their season will be made with a win on Saturday. It seems we say that a lot, but as long as Appalachian continues to win, it will be that way. However, I don’t think we will see an upset in Spartanburg this Saturday. Wofford is just way to young on defense. Their secondary is extremely suspect. That will always be the case when you have a team that runs the ball every day in practice. Plus, I doubt what they had from last year got much better, and Appalachian torched them a year ago. They are also starting two freshman linebackers and their run defense is lacking. Their inefficiencies on defense has contributed to their offense not being on the field. Wofford opponents have converted 46% of their third downs. Keeping a young defense on the field that much also leads into the fact that 17 of the 21 touchdowns Wofford has allowed came within the red zone. The Terriers simply cannot get other teams off the field unless they have visited the end zone first. The only remedy for that is forcing turnovers and Wofford is   -0.6 in turnover margin. Appalachian must take care of the football. Wofford will score some points, but scoring their average of 18.6 will not get the job done. Wofford will need long drives on offense, which will keep the ball away from Appalachian. That is the only chance they have on Saturday. Appalachian must tackle. Generally you just have to tackle one guy. Against Wofford you have to tackle two or three guys. Getting Wofford into obvious passing situations is critical. The Appalachian defense must make Wofford work for every yard. I don’t think Wofford can keep up with Appalachian, but if the Mountaineers don’t play sound, solid defense, this game will turn into a battle. I think the Apps have more than enough to beat Wofford and expect Appalachian to run the ball early and often against that young defense.

The First Pick:

Lap Dogs                   21

Mountaineers           42

Here we go with Week 10:

#4 Wofford (8-1, 6-0 1^st) @ #3 Appalachian State (8-1, 6-1 2^nd)

Time: 3:00pm

TV: SportSouth
Stadium: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: Field Turf

Capacity: 21,650
Jeff Sagarin Ratings:
ASU: 67.16
WC: 68.08

Home advantage: 3.15 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 2 points (rounded).

Series: Appalachian leads 16-10
Last Meeting: Appalachian 44, Wofford 34, October 17, 2009

Weeks ago, a showdown in Boone of the top two Southern Conference programs was almost inevitable. The Mountaineers are no strangers to this de facto championship game. This will be the third year in a row for such a game for Appalachian, although the opponent has changed this season. Wofford has literally run all over their competition this season. Appalachian has done the same, despite a bump in the road last week. Wofford had a rough season last year, with tremendous injuries and a rash of the flu bug that decimated the roster, but has bounced back nicely. Both teams will be fighting for, at minimum, a share of the conference championship, but neither wants to share it with the other. In 2007, Appalachian and Wofford shared the championship, and were in line to meet in the NCAA semifinals, but Wofford lost a late lead at home against Richmond. With the NCAA and its love affair with geographical matchups, both Appalachian and Wofford could be in line for another crash course in December. In the meantime, fans will just have to settle for a battle of top five teams, with a ring on the line.

Wofford knows what is like to go into a hostile environment and win. Earlier this season, they slipped past Georgia Southern in Statesboro 33-31. Both teams were ranked in The Sports Network Top 25. Over 21,000 in attendance witnessed a high scoring battle that consisted of 107 total rushing attempts and only 23 passes. Georgia Southern ran for 243 yards, and Wofford carried for 302 yards. At that point in the season, both teams were held below their rushing average for that game, Georgia Southern by 30 yards, Wofford by 20 yards. Throughout the season Wofford has been right around 320 yards rushing per game. Georgia Southern has had their average as high 270 a game, but has fallen to 243 yards rushing. All season long, both Georgia Southern and Wofford have been in the top five in rushing, and in the bottom five in passing. Last weekend, Appalachian held Georgia Southern 50 yards below their season average on the ground. Southern averaged 5 yards per carry against the Terrier defense, while Appalachian stymied the Eagles into 3.3 yards per carry. Both Wofford and Georgia Southern practice against similar offenses all season long, while in one week of preparation, Appalachian held the Eagles to 20% fewer yards and 1.1 yard less per carry than their season average.

There is no secret to the success of the Wofford offense. It runs through Watauga County product Eric Breitenstein. In just nine games this season, Breitenstein has run for 1,189 yards and 17 touchdowns. He is a strong back that fits the Wofford system and only gets stronger as the game wears on. In four games where he has rushed twenty times or more, he averaged 189 yards and 7 yards per carry. However, Wofford results have not depended directly on Breitenstein. In his four games where he was most dominant, two games were blowouts, and the other two were decided by a touchdown in each game. In the five games where Breitenstein had less then glowing performances, one was a loss, three were blowouts, and the other was decided by two points, against, you guessed it, Georgia Southern. With Wofford, you can not forget quarterback Mitch Allen who has 567 yards on 5.2 yards per carry or Mike Rucker, who has 424 yards on 6.1 yards per carry. They all can and will burn you and those are the three options that must be accounted for on every play.

Obviously, last week there were not many bright spots for the Mountaineers. The offense was stagnant and a lot of that had to do with Georgia Southern. The Eagles attacked the line of scrimmage relentlessly, and were able to disrupt any rhythm the Mountaineer offense tried to gain. Fortunately for the Mountaineers, they return home this weekend to face a team that has not had a thought about stopping them in a long time. In the last two years, Appalachian has torched Wofford for 1,231 yards of total offense and 114 points. Of those yards gained, 782 yards have come through the air. The Mountaineers must continue to exploit what has been a weakness in the Wofford defense as they have in years past. The 2010 group of Mountaineer wide receivers is as good as any in school history, from the top to the bottom. The Wofford secondary averages 6’0” tall. Brian Quick is 6’5’ every day of the week. In his two meeting against the Terriers, Quick has caught 12 passes for 353 yards and five touchdowns. That is an astounding 29 yards per catch and a touchdown reception every 2.4 catches.

In the last five years, Wofford has been the only consistent threat to Appalachian during its run of five straight conference championships. During that stretch, only the 2006 game failed to be a high scoring affair, with Appalachian winning 14-7. The winners in the other four games scored at least 42 points. Including the game this weekend, Appalachian and Wofford will face off for the third time in six years as ranked opponents, and Saturday will mark the second time both teams were inside the top five nationally. Wofford will try as it always has, like almost every Appalachian opponent, and try to control the football. In a game like this, turnovers can kill a team. Any quick turnovers by either team will certainly lead to points scored. These two offenses are too powerful to be given extra chances. Most importantly, the team with fewer penalties will certainly benefit. Against an option attack, a free five yards is like giving them another first down. On the flip side of that, neither team can afford a wasted possession that an offensive holding call will result in. Field position will also be very critical. Both teams become very conservative in their play calling when they are pinned inside their own 20 yard line, which can also be viewed as a wasted possession. An absolutely packed house is expected this weekend and since Wofford has joined the conference, they have only won once in Boone. On that day in 2002, Wofford ran all over Appalachian, setting a record for rushing yards against in a single game. I think it is going to take another record breaking performance from Wofford to be able to beat the Mountaineers at home this weekend. The sting from the Georgia Southern loss may be just enough motivation for the Mountaineers this weekend to spring themselves into the playoffs. I am expecting a big day from the Mountaineer offense and defense.

The First Pick:

 Lap Dogs                   31

Mountaineers              45

Here we go with Week 5:

#3 Appalachian State (3-1, 1-0 T2) @ #8 Wofford (2-1, 1-0 T2)        

Time: 3:00

TV: SoCon Sports Network on PBS

Gibbs Stadium         

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 13,000


Jeff Sagarin Ratings: 


ASU: 66.40


WC: 62.39

Home: 3.08 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 1 point (rounded).

Series: Appalachian leads 17-10

Last Meeting: Appalachian 43, Wofford 13, November 13, 2010, Boone, NC         


WXAPP’s Spartanburg Gameday Weather Trends:

Sunny, Mid to upper 60’s  

Funny thing happened last Saturday. The Mountaineer offense forgot to score any points. The last time Appalachian was shut out offensively, the entire country turned their heads and noticed a Mountaineer team that was ready for the big stage. That game was played in Baton Rouge, LA against the Louisiana State Tigers. The Mountaineers lost that game 24-0, but it was a statement loss, if there is such a thing. One can argue that the win over Chattanooga was a statement win; for the Appalachian defense. For the first time, Appalachian unleashed its blitz package from the new base 3-4 defense. And once they were done blitzing, they blitzed some more. Moc quarterback BJ Coleman was hurried seven times, sacked four times, intercepted twice, one returned for the game clinching touchdown, and had ten of his passes defended. The Mountaineer defense did all the work. That recipe will not work this weekend. The Appalachian offense must show up and Wofford’s defense should be the cure to what ails the black and gold attack.

            The Wofford Terriers are coming off a very impressive home victory over Samford. No, it was not a surprise that Wofford beat the Bulldogs, but it was the matter in which they won that was eye-opening. The Terriers controlled the clock for just under 38 minutes and amassed three 100-yard performances from their ground game. Quarterback Mitch Allen ran 16 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. Boone native and fullback Eric Breitenstein ran 29 times for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Backup fullback Donovan Johnson ran ten times for 173 yards and a touchdown. That is 410 yards between three players. Those three are in the top seven in the conference in rushing. On the season, Breitenstein has averaged just over 4 yards a carry, and usually runs in between the tackles. Johnson is a little bit smaller, but quicker, and averaging 9.7 yards a carry. As a team, Wofford is second in the nation in rushing, averaging 355 yards a game on the ground.

            It seems pretty simple. Contain the running game of Wofford and you can be successful. It is not that simple. For the first time in recent memory, Wofford has an all conference receiver in Brenton Bersin. The Terriers have made an effort to throw the ball a little more this year, and with that brings more uncertainty. No matter how hard any team tries, whenever Wofford is ready to throw, they always seem to have a player wide open behind every defender. It happened against Clemson. Wofford only completed two passes against Clemson, both of which went to Bersin, who took one of those in for a touchdown. Bersin caught those two passes for 127 yards. For the season, Bersin has caught seven of Wofford’s fifteen completions.

            For the past three seasons, Appalachian wide receiver Brian Quick has absolutely crushed the Terrier secondary. In three games, Quick has 17 catches, 426 yards and seven touchdowns. To compare, there are four conference schools that Quick has yet to score a touchdown against. Thirteen of Quick’s twenty four career touchdowns have come against conference opponents. It does not matter which defensive back or backs Wofford deploys on Quick, it is a physical mismatch against the smaller secondary of the Terriers.

            As much as there was a lack of offense for Appalachian last week, when the Mountaineers needed to grind some clock, they did. The late drive by Appalachian that consumed 4:26 of clock was most crucial. At the beginning of that drive, Chattanooga had two timeouts, and needed to force a three and out in the worst way. Appalachian converted two third downs into first downs, and forced the Mocs to use the last of their timeouts. When Appalachian punted, the Mocs received the ball on the 20 yard line and most likely had to go about 55 yards in 42 seconds, without a timeout, to attempt a game winning field goal. Without those timeouts, Chattanooga was forced to throw the ball near the sidelines, or for first downs, which meant longer routes for the Moc receivers. The Appalachian defense dialed up the pressure as Dan Wylie tipped Coleman’s final pass which hung in the air forever, long enough for Doug Middleton to cradle it and end the game. In all, you can say in a very perverted way that Appalachian’s offense played a pivotal part in securing the win on Saturday.

            We all know what Wofford is going to do. They are going to do their best to control the clock by running the football and making this game very short. The fewer possessions for Appalachian, the better Wofford’s chances are of winning. That is basic football knowledge, but we have to examine this a little further. Turnovers have killed Wofford in their last three games against the Mountaineers. Wofford lost four fumbles last year in Boone, with three of them leading to three Mountaineer touchdowns. In 2009, after gaining a fourteen point second half lead, Wofford once again turned the ball over twice in the second half that led to two touchdowns for Appalachian. And finally in 2008, Wofford turned the ball over on downs once, fumbled once and had two interceptions that Appalachian turned into twenty eight points. We just saw it last week. Two turnovers by Chattanooga were all Appalachian needed to win the game. The Mountaineer defense has always been an opportunistic bunch, and has scored just about every way you can think of recent history. Even last year, the Chris Aiken blocked a Wofford extra point and Troy Sanders returned it for two points. I believe the point has been made. Wofford must take care of the football and they must move the chains. Wofford does lead the conference in third down conversions, but their lack of discipline is completely uncharacteristic of a Wofford team. The Terriers have committed a league high, 26 penalties for 250 yards, while their opponents have been flagged only 13 times for 109 yards. Wofford can not afford to have costly penalties that set them back on offense. It is an offense that is based on getting positive yardage on each play. Another concern I have is for the Wofford defense. We touched on this briefly in the opening statements. The Terriers have only played three games, against Clemson, Samford and Presbyterian, but have given up points in each game. They allowed 28 to the Blue Hose, 35 to Clemson, which really isn’t that bad, and 23 to Samford. That is bad enough for 8^th in the conference. Only Western Carolina has allowed more points. The Mountaineer offense will get back on track this week. Last week was extremely uncharacteristic of the Mountaineers, and maybe there was not enough credit given to the Chattanooga defense. If I were Wofford, I would not feel good about Appalachian having a bad offensive game last week, and surely would not feel good about Appalachian’s ability to score points in bunches on Wofford in the past. I also wouldn’t feel good about how well Appalachian held down the Chattanooga rushing attack. The Mocs only gained 32 yards on 30 carries. Appalachian held Wofford to 113 yards below their average on the ground in 2010. I really believe the offense will begin to find its groove this week, and there is no way Wofford is as successful running the ball as they were last week against Samford.

The First Pick:

Wooferd                      20

Mountaineers              31