Appalachian State (3-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) vs Coastal Carolina (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt)

Friday, October 16th, 2026 8:00pm EST

TV/Video: ESPN2

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)

Brooks Stadium

Capacity: 21,000

Surface: Shaw Sports Powerblade

Jeff Sagarin Ratings

App State: 57.30

Coastal: 55.37

Home: 4.04

Coastal Carolina is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 2.11 points

VegasInsider Consensus: App State -1.5

Series: App State leads 7-5

Last Meeting: Coastal 45, App State 37, October 18, 2025, Boone, NC

I was probably in the stands the last time App State did not score a touchdown in a home game. It was the fourth year in Jerry Moore’s tenure, and we took a homecoming loss to The Citadel in 1992. The Mountaineers had played NC State and Wake Forest earlier that year and lost. The State game was not close. Appalachian lost to Wake by a 10-7 score. So after the loss to The Citadel, on homecoming, the Mountaineers were 1-3, and definitely in the danger zone of missing the playoffs. In 1992, you only played eleven games and an 8-3 record was considered the standard of making the playoff field. The Mountaineers were ranked 17th in the I-AA poll in the first two weeks. In 1992 you did not get penalized for losing games to teams in I-A – unless you started 0-2. The Mountaineers were not ranked again until the last game of the regular season. But somehow, after the lowest of lows, that team decided to change things. They won back-to-back games in Virginia over James Madison and VMI before losing a tough battle to Furman 16-13. With a record of 3-4, the Mountaineers should have been toast. However they found a way to win their final four games against Chattanooga, Marshall, NC A&T and Western Carolina. The Mountaineers made the playoffs and had to travel to Middle Tennessee State where they lost in the first round of the playoffs. They finished with a 7-5 record, and in those five losses, the Mountaineers scored a total of 40 points. The ball has to find the end zone.

The Chanticleers are 2-4 on the season and those two wins came against Fordham and Marshall. This will be their fifth game of the season with a kickoff after 7pm. Both of their wins came in night games. The Marshall game was last weekend and winning in Huntington is no small feat. Marshall turned the ball over six times and on each of their first four drives. That allowed Coastal to build a 27-0 lead into the third quarter before Marshall finally broke through. It must feel bad to get shutout at home in the first half, but that’s what turnovers can do. They are the great equalizer in football. Twice, the Herd turned the ball over inside the Coastal ten yard line. Marshall was competent on offense despite the three interceptions and three fumbles. They amassed 508 yards of total offense, averaged 6.5 yards per play. 5.4 yards per carry and 13.5 per completed pass. But ultimately, if you are a -5 in turnover ratio, you asking for a loss. But goodness gracious, looking at it the other way, Coastal was a +5 in turnovers and still managed to barely squeak out a six point win.

During App State’s bye week, Coastal Carolina hosted Georgia Southern, and lost 31-24. The Eagles went up on Coastal twice during the game by two touchdowns but controlled the game for the most part even after the Chants tied the game at 17-17 in the third quarter. This game really encapsulates the usage of Coastal quarterback Deuce Bailey. During the game, Coastal had a field goal drive that covered twelve plays and travelled twenty-six yards. They converted back-to-back fourth down conversions on the drive and were patient in running the ball even for a couple yards. Bailey is large part of this offense. He will run the ball, and when he does not find what he likes in the passing game, he will tuck and run. He approaches every play like his hair is on fire. Containing Bailey will be a very large task for the App State defense. For the entire game, Bailey dropped back 33 times and ran 14 times. He was involved in 47 of Coastal’s 69 offensive plays. This has essentially been the plan for Bailey and Coastal’s offense all season. Along with the 14-carry effort against Georgia Southern, Bailey has had three other games where he carried the ball for at least ten times. He’s not a high percentage passer because he is always throwing on the run, and you have to defend the field for a much longer period of time.

There are a lot of unsavory things to talk about regarding last week. App State was playing one of the worst offenses in the country, and somehow looked beneath Old Dominion last week. I know you have all seen as much of the box scores as you want. It was a mess of a day dealing with the remnants of Isaias, but if we are being honest with each other, it was not that bad during the game. It was manageable. Old Dominion ran the ball 61 times for 248 for 3.4 yards per carry. The Mountaineers averaged 3.3 yards per carry. The discrepancy is .1 yards per carry. A tenth of a yard is 3.6 inches. That’s a great to describe what we saw. On offense, Old Dominion wanted that game by 3.6 more inches per running play. Forty-nine of those 61 carries by Old Dominion were split between two players. They got a feel for the game. The Mountaineers split their 28 carries between five players, and the leading rusher touched the ball just ten times. They just wanted it more, and the Mountaineers had no answer. The offensive struggles were as mind boggling as the approach to the entire game.

Somehow we have gotten to this point and we have not come close to discussing the health of Malachi Singleton. The quarterback, who may have been considered the most valuable player on the team in September, left the game last week with an injury, and the final drive of the game was engineered by Henry Hasselbeck. The initial word was that Singleton was scheduled for an MRI which led to his “questionable” tag on the Tuesday evening injury report. Usually a questionable designation is not a huge deal on a Tuesday but the game is being played on Friday night. That does not leave much time as usual to make a call with the week including a travel day. After a mess of an offensive performance last week, and Hasselbeck being essentially limited to obvious running situations in games earlier this year, there is no telling what we could see on Friday evening. This throws a lot of uncertainty into the expectations for the game. Is there enough time to truly work in a full game plan? Does Hasselbeck have the entire offense under his belt? Plenty more questions abound. This takes me back to the Birmingham Bowl last year where it was clear that App State was undermanned, and forced into a different approach to competing. Matthew Wilson actually played really well when he ran the ball. But we have seen enough from last year, and now this year, that tells us under no circumstances whatsoever is Dowell Loggains going to forget to throw the ball. Wilson and Noah Gillin threw four interceptions last year in the bowl game. Last week, Sam Pickens III was targeted eleven times and managed to catch one ball. It just feels like a pattern has been created and everyone on the other side of the field can see it. The Mountaineers might have an offensive coordinator in title but it feels like Loggains fingerprints are all over the scheme and playbook. It’s been eighteen games. Yes, Scott Satterfield went 5-13 in his first 18 games and then it suddenly clicked. Loggains is 8-10 overall and 3-7 against conference opponents. Yes, I am counting Georgia Southern twice. It needs to start clicking soon. I would love to drop two predictions here and say, if Singleton can suit up and play, and the ball is dry, that there is a great chance that App State can win. If Singleton cannot play, and it’s Hasselbeck game, that provides way too many questions than answers. The last thing this team needs is another effort that is subpar and to return home to another short week against James Madison.

The First Pick

Dixie Cups 23

Mountaineers 24