Appalachian State (2-1, 0-1 Sun Belt) @ Boise State (2-1, 1-0 Mountain West)

Saturday, September 27th, 2025 7:30pm EST

TV/Video: FS1

Radio: FLAGSHIP 97.3 FM (North Wilkesboro), 730 AM & 97.5 FM (Charlotte), 950 AM & 92.7 FM (Greensboro), 980 AM & 96.7 FM (Winston-Salem), 107.7 FM & 1450 AM (Hendersonville), 97.3 FM & 790 AM (Johnson City, TN) 87.7 FM (In-Stadium)

Albertson’s Stadium

Capacity: 36,363

Surface: AstroTurf

Jeff Sagarin Ratings

App State: 58.15

Boise State: 73.90

Home: 5.25

Boise State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 21 points

VegasInsider Consensus: Boise State -16.5

Series: Boise St leads 1-0

Last Meeting: Boise State 17, Appalachian State 14, December 3, 1994, Boise, ID

This week was supposed to have an incredible build up and anticipation for two of the biggest little teams, on opposite ends of the country to face off on the gridiron for the first time in 31 years. The Mountaineers lost before their bye week, and looked somewhat pitiful while doing so. And then the Mountaineer program suffered an incredible loss this past Sunday night, when news spread that their former beloved head coach Shawn Clark was unable to overcome a medical event that occurred nearly a couple weeks prior. Coach Clark was a larger than life human being that always took an interest in everyone else above himself. He was an All-American as a player for the Mountaineers, and worked his way back to Boone through the assistant coaching ranks. He loved his family, his faith and his players. He wanted nothing more than to be what his coach, Jerry Moore, was to him when he was in college. The last few days have been incredibly hard for anyone who has ever spent time in these mountains. In one way or another, Coach Clark touched us all, and a day will not go by where he won’t be missed.

Since the last time Boise and Appalachian have played each other, both schools have made a name for themselves for a number of reasons. Boise State was long considered the standard of Division I-AA to Division I transitions. For Boise their success mainly started a couple seasons after they made the Division I move. That success has been ongoing for 25 years now, with very few bumps in the road. It has brought them to the national forefront as an elite non-autonomy program with major bowl games and a college football playoff appearance last season. Without question, the 2006 Fiesta Bowl overtime victory over Oklahoma, which included a 4th down conversion on a hook-and-lateral play that went for a game-tying touchdown with seven seconds left, was the game that really put the Broncos on the map. That game also included a Statue of Liberty two-point conversion that cemented the win. A little over a decade before that Fiesta Bowl, Boise State advanced to the I-AA national championship game in 1994 before losing to Youngstown State. They defeated Appalachian State in the quarterfinals before dispatching Marshall in the semifinals.

Heading into the fourth week of the regular season, both Boise and Appalachian have had an early season bye game, and both played their first game before the opening Saturday of the season. Boise travelled to South Florida and literally fumbled the game away to the Bulls. Boise ran more plays, had more offense, but three lost fumbles stymied the Broncos. Boise got on the board with a touchdown to make 7-0 in the first quarter, but it was South Florida who scored 34 unanswered points to finish the game. All four of South Florida’s touchdown scoring drives were fewer than 8 plays. Of the three touchdown scoring drives in the second half, South Florida ran a total of 12 plays. Boise then disposed of Eastern Washington, who are now 1-3 on the season, by a 51-14 score. Last week Air Force and Boise got into a score fest where defense was optional. Both teams rung up over 500 yards of offense. Boise averaged 10.2 yards per offensive play, while Air Force, typically a run first offense, used a backup quarterback to throw for 246 yards as a team.

Without dwelling too much on a game that was played prior to the bye week, a lot of the Mountaineer offensive attack was consistent with what we had seen in the first two games. The run game had to take a back seat due to game script, but Rashod Dubinion pretty much carried the weight with 95 yards. Jaquari Lewis did have 12 yards, but his work was essentially undone by playing three quarterbacks and several sacks that were taken after AJ Swann had to leave the game. The turnovers remained, and as one would expect, they hurt. Three red zone interceptions would be hard for any team to overcome, but especially this Mountaineer team that had trouble closing drives against Charlotte and Lindenwood. The offense is there, but the scoring is not. It will have to come around if App State wants to contend this season. Jaden Barnes had a spectacular game, with ten catches for 132 yards against Southern Miss. Yet, it felt like he didn’t get the ball enough. That’s a product of needing another playmaker somewhere on this offense. Izayah Cummings also had a season high with seven catches and 82 yards against the Golden Eagles, but it still feels like this team needs one more threat in order to keep the team fresh through the end of the season.

Clearly, we know what issues Appalachian has faced over the course of the first three weeks of the season. At least new issues have not popped up. If new ones popped up from one week to the next, the outlook could potentially be less promising. Comparing when Boise beat Eastern Washington, and App State squeezed by Lindenwood, one team took advantage of a lesser opponent and the other did not. The Mountaineers should have put up more points on Lindenwood, but even if they did, and still turned the ball over against Southern Miss, would you feel any better about this Saturday? The same trap that Boise fell into in South Florida is exactly what happened to the Mountaineers in Hattiesburg. Boise had a long road trip and then turned the ball over, and went home with a lopsided result. App State had their first road trip of the season, played in conditions that were warmer than it ever gets in Boone, and proceeded to turn the ball over and had a double digit loss. It’s fair to say that both teams played better than the scoreboard gave them credit for on those respective evenings. Boise has been able to remove that bad taste from the season opener with a couple wins. The Mountaineers have had to sit on it for a couple weeks. Ultimately, the rest vs rust argument comes into play, but App State will probably take the rest to allow for a few players to nurse some injuries. This week will really be a test for both teams in regards to being in the present, or where their feet are. Next week, Boise will head to South Bend to face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame while the Mountaineers will host Oregon State. A win for either school could be a springboard into that next game. But before next week, this Saturday looms large, as both teams stand with a 2-1 overall record, and the difference between 3-1 and 2-2 is pretty big psychologically. This should come down to which team runs the ball with more efficiency, and in turn stops the run. Boise’s play selection skews more towards a run-first balanced offense, while the Mountaineers trend more toward a 55-45 pass-run split. Boise has three backs with more than 25 carries, while the Mountaineers have more of a one man show. The Mountaineers could have enough in the tank from their key playmakers, but it seems like Boise has been in better control of their roster and spreading the work around. The Mountaineers injuries also concern me until see we otherwise. I believe the 16.5 point spread has baked in some blue turf and uncertainty for some of the App State players availability. Boise is likely to prevail, but if App State can hold onto the ball, I think they can hang around and make things interesting late.

The First Pick

Smurfs 34

Mountaineers 28