Appalachian State (10-1, 6-1 Sun Belt) @ Troy (5-6, 3-4 Sun Belt)
Friday, November 29th, 2019 6:00pm
TV/Video: ESPN+
Radio: Boone/Blowing Rock: WATA 1450 AM & 96.5 FM; North Wilkesboro/Hickory/Charlotte WKBC 97.3 FM; Asheville WZGM 1350 AM; Hendersonville WHKP 107.7 FM & 1450 AM; Charlotte/Gastonia WCGC 1270 AM; Charlotte/Rock Hill WAVO 1150 AM; Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point WSJS 101.5 FM & 600 AM
Veteran’s Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 30,000
Surface: ProGrass
Jeff Sagarin Ratings
App State: 79.00
Troy: 61.82
Home: 2.32
App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 14.86 points
Line: App State -12.5
Series: App State leads 4-2
Last meeting: App State 21, Troy 10, November 24, 2018, Boone, NC
Forecast: Mostly Sunny with temperatures in the mid-60’s
Last Saturday was an emotional day of sorts. A fine group of seniors could have played their last game in Boone, but they took care of business and received help from across the conference. Now the door is open to potentially play another game at home. That’s music to you ears. Tuesday evening was also emotional, as the Mountaineers were once again passed over in favor of your Power Five Flavor of the Week, and dropped one spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. What’s that motto again? Keep the Chip. The season’s goal is now directly in front of App State. Their destiny is in their hands. Win at Troy. Play at home for the conference title. One more game in Boone, in December. But you cannot look ahead, because its all about being 1-0 this week. Troy has plenty to play for. They are looking to get their sixth win, and potentially play in a bowl game. After all they went through this season on the injury front, that would be a great way to finish their season. No offense to Troy, but App State is not in the business of making friends. They have goals to accomplish of their own and they have come too far to let it all go to waste.
Troy is arguably the most interesting story in the Sun Belt this season. Like Appalachian, the Trojans lost their former head coach due to success. Neal Brown fled to the Big XII and West Virginia, in what seemed like a pretty easy fit for the other Mountaineers. In comes Chip Lindsey, which gives App back to back weeks with new head coaches as their opponent. Lindsey and Eliah Drinkwitz are pretty familiar with each other. Both spent times on the plains of Auburn around Gus Malzahn. Despite their years of employment not directly overlapping, you can probably assume these two know each other just as much as any two sets of coaches in the Sun Belt. They have been mentioned at least once over the years in the same coaching search at places such as Tennessee. Had Lindsay landed the Tennessee job while at Auburn, Drinkwitz was being rumored as a potential Lindsay replacement at Auburn. Chances are more likely these guys have shared a cup of coffee, er cinnamon bun, er Diet Mountain Dew, in many diners across the southeast on more than one occasion.
Two years ago, when App State and Troy were slated for a end of season game, the Sun Belt surely had one thing in mind: Set up the drama prior to the championship game. That worked in 2018, when App knocked off Troy and it set up the inaugural championship game in Boone. Nobody in 2019 expected Troy to be fighting for bowl eligibility on the last weekend of the season. But, here we are. Troy lost one of the best running backs in the conference in BJ Smith just two games into the season during the loss to Southern Miss. That was the double whammy that should have keyed many into what Troy would be dealing with. That loss also shed light on a very vulnerable secondary that has been eaten alive by just about everyone in the Sun Belt. Southern Miss threw for 514 yards. Two weeks later, Arkansas State, 455 yards. Coastal Carolina, 285 yards. Louisiana last week, 344 yards. It was a season high for Southern Miss, Louisiana and Arkansas State, and the third highest total by Coastal on the season.
Many of you were probably really surprised to see Troy’s humiliating loss to Louisiana last week. Hard to understand how a team with bowl eligibility on the line would get sucker punched by a score of 53-3. It was likely Troy’s worst game of the season outside of Missouri. Troy has been able to run or throw the ball for at least 212 yards in every game this season, so they can beat you in a number of ways. The Louisiana and Missouri games were the only ones where that magical 212 yard run/pass mark was not achieved. The Trojans scored a combined 13 points in those two games. Both of those games were on the road. In home games, Troy has not had a let down. They have been downright nasty at home, in a good way. The Trojans have amassed a whopping 518.6 yards per game and scored on average 42.8 points per game at home this season.
The App State defense held Texas State to its lowest output of the season in another bad weather game at Kidd Brewer. The Bobcats had put up back to back 400+ yard offensive games, but the Mountaineers cut that total in half. Over one-fourth of the yards Texas State gained was on one play, the touchdown pass right before the half. The Bobcats had thirteen possessions in the game, and nine of them went for 13 yards or fewer. You cannot ask for much more. Meanwhile, the offense played it somewhat close to the vest, which was all that was necessary. The Mountaineers churned out 280 rushing yards, led by Darrynton Evans with 154 yards and three touchdowns. Marcus Williams Jr added 78 yards. The bad news however, came when Corey Sutton suffered a season-ending injury. That obviously has a serious impact on the passing game, as Sutton is a transcendent weapon in this offense, and was always a threat to take the top off a defense.
Last year’s game between Troy and App State was an absolute classic game. It was billed by some as the real conference championship game. Whoever would come out of that game was sure to beat whatever came out of the west division. That same scenario will not play out this time around. Troy remains a dangerous team, with plenty of weapons and enough defense to beat a team if they are not having their best game. Troy is still the third highest scoring offense in the conference at 35.7 points per game. They have gained the second most yards on offense in the Sun Belt. They have the third best rushing defense, and are tied for the most interceptions. But the Trojans record remains a game below .500 because they have had trouble stopping teams. They have the worst pass defense in the league and give up 33.5 points per game. They have played in a lot of shootouts. They let several teams embarrass them up and down the football field. And that might be what we are in store for this weekend. Don’t be surprised to see a back and forth affair between two offenses who know how to get in the end zone. The difference will be those few precious possessions that one defense is able to stop an offense with a turnover, whether on downs, or by giving up the football. Those turnovers will be huge in a game like this where momentum will be of the utmost importance. Whichever team can establish the run, and force their tempo upon the opposing defense also stands a great chance of winning. In the end, App State’s defense will get more stops than Troy.
The First Pick
T-roy 21
Mountaineers 35
