Appalachian State (1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs East Carolina (0-1, 0-0 American)

Saturday, September 12th, 2026 12:00pm EST

TV/Video: ESPNU

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), 93.7 FM & 790 AM (Johnson City, TN) 87.7 FM (In-Stadium)

Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium

Capacity: 50,000

Surface: Natural Grass

Jeff Sagarin Ratings

App State: 64.57

East Carolina: 62.44

Home: 2.41

East Carolina is favored by the Sagarin ratings by .28 points

VegasInsider Consensus: East Carolina -7

Series: App State leads 23-12

Last Meeting: App State 21, East Carolina 19, September 14, 2024, Greenville, NC

Now that is how you start a season. Saturday left no doubt and provided a pretty calm afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium. There were some tense moments, with an opening drive that ended with a fumble in the red zone. It was about the only part of the day that resembled what we saw last year at times. But we survived that moment and regrouped and thumped Maine. Now comes the hard part. We have to forget it happened and get in gear for what will likely be a hungry East Carolina side. Mainly, the Pirates did not look good last week. Secondly, the Pirates have probably heard enough about this little three game winning streak the Mountaineers have had in this recently rekindled rivalry. From our standpoint, we have enjoyed every minute of it. From the return of fans to stadiums in 2021 to Joey Aguilar coming from behind twice to beat the Pirates. The Greenville folks want this one. It won’t make up the previous three, but to them, it will feel like order has been restored.

East Carolina had a very successful season in 2025. They won eight games in the regular season, six conference games, and capped it off with a P4 scalp by defeating Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl. And with that, the result was an exodus of high performing players and coaches looking for their chance to make a little money. East Carolina lost both offensive and defensive coordinators. John David Baker returned to Ole Miss after the Lane Kiffin transition and defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge headed to South Florida. East Carolina also lost Yannick Smith to SMU. Smith contributed nearly seventy catches and over 1,000 yards receiving in two years in Greenville. Monday night, he was the leading receiver for the Mustangs in their win over Florida State. Tight end Desirrio Riles caught two passes for nine yards in the same game for Florida State. Riles had 28 catches for 362 yards and caught a couple touchdowns for East Carolina last season. And that is just a part of the constant shuffling of players and coaches in college football. Kanen Hamlet and Zyier Gamble left Appalachian last year to continue their careers at East Carolina. We also cannot forget about our good friend Lance Ware who is the Chief of Staff in Greenville.

I would not wish Alabama on anyone, at anytime or place. I also would wish not to begin my season at Alabama, but the juice must have been worth it. East Carolina went to Tuscaloosa last weekend to be their sacrificial lamb to open the season and they were served up rightly so. Alabama won 48-10, but the box score was more lopsided than the scoreboard. East Carolina was limited to five first downs and two yards rushing. The Pirates attempted to run the ball twenty-two times, and they gained 72 inches. That works out to 3.2 inches per carry. I love silly statistics like that. It means nothing however, this early in the season. It does not mean they have issues running the ball. It just means they played Alabama and the Crimson Tide were ready. Mitch Griffis was the starting quarterback for East Carolina. Griffis is in his sixth year of eligibility as he played four years at Wake Forest from 2020-23, and then stepped away from the game in 2024. He resurfaced at Texas Tech in 2025 and now finds himself at East Carolina. Griffis had a so-so outing against Alabama that has some Pirate fans clamoring for Emory Williams, who is a transfer from Miami (FL). Williams played sparingly at Miami and did see some game action late last week. I think we could see both Griffis and Williams at some point on Saturday.

For at least one weekend, we saw something that felt good. A dismantling of an FCS program that seemed familiar but also distant. It featured a balanced offense that spread the ball to playmakers and a quarterback that played within the offense and took advantage of what was given to him. Sometimes football can seem so difficult yet it can really come down to fundamentals and doing the simple thing over and over. Malachi Singleton was great. You almost could not ask for a better debut outside of the first drive of the game. You have seen the box score and the most important number is the zero in the interception column. Nine different players handled a rushing attempt and the work was spread out. Jaquari Lewis had eleven carries for 69 yards. Very efficient and workmanlike. Ja’Quez Cross toted the ball seven times for 66 yards, that included a 39-yard run. Nate Branch had 99 yards of total offense, catching five passes for 55 yards and added 44 yards on the ground. The App State tight end room was also very active. Jamel Howse, Dillon Galloway, Darrin Fugitt and Luke Douglas combined for eleven receptions and 155 yards. Seems like the tight end depth was being prepped for the remainder of the season.

So how do we compare two teams we know very little about after one game? Realistically, what we all gathered from both teams performance was all somewhat expected. In a typical year, most of those games between mid major teams and FCS teams will go the way of the mid major team. The FCS teams might win a couple here and there, and those can usually be identified prior to. And most times, when a blue blood major team plays at home to a mid major, especially in the opening week of games, that blue blood is going to handle business. It was not a surprise that the teams that could potentially win by multiple touchdowns did just that. You are not going to have a UMass happen every year. And forget Tarleton State, Idaho State and The Citadel. Those teams are not broadly separated by their FBS opponents they took down last week. However these games are the litmus test. It’s an out of conference game featuring two schools from opposite ends of the state. Both schools were founded to serve a regional need in the state without their preference of ketchup and vinegar being involved. There will always be some part of these type of games where statistics don’t matter. Which makes this the perfect game for two programs who are not really sure what they have at the moment. Both teams are replacing a bunch of starter’s from last years teams which only exacerbates the uncertainty. All in all, I think this game is very tight, much like the 2024 game in Greenville. That game didn’t start off that way, as East Carolina sped out to a 16-0 lead before the Mountaineers slowly crawled back. And maybe that is exactly the key factor in this game. If App State acquired enough speed in the offseason, it could spell trouble for the Pirates. East Carolina was not really able to get loose from Alabama last week. Their field goal drive was relatively short, coming off a fumble by Alabama. The Pirate offense was legitimately held to three explosive passings plays for the game. Just one of those plays led to offensive points. I am leaning this being a deciding factor in the game. The Mountaineers had no problems finding space on offense last week and exploiting the outside lanes.

The First Pick

Jolly Rogers 20

Mountaineers 24