Saturday, October 26th, 2024 1:00pm EST

TV/Video: ESPN+

Radio: FLAGSHIP 97.3 FM (North Wilkesboro),1060 AM/97.3 FM, & 1030 AM/99.1 FM (Charlotte), 96.3 FM (Greensboro), 96.3 FM (Winston-Salem), 1350 AM/96.1 FM (Asheville), 790 AM/93.7 FM (Johnson City), 1450 AM107.7 FM (Hendersonville), 1250 AM/103.9 FM (Marion); The Varsity Network App, Sirius/XM 990

Kidd Brewer Stadium

Capacity: 30,000

Surface: AstroTurf

Jeff Sagarin Ratings

App State: 62.37

Georgia State: 57.69

Home: 2.69

App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 7.37 points

VegasInsider Line: App State -7.5

Series: App State leads 10-0

Last Meeting: App State 42, Georgia State 14 November 11, 2023, Atlanta, GA

This has been a long time coming. Maybe it’s only been 37 days since the Mountaineers have played at home, but it’s also been 56 days since they have played at home on a Saturday. It feels like an eternity, because it has been. This weekend is the last Saturday of October. The Mountaineers have not played here on a Saturday since August. We know it’s always a treat to play at home due to everything that comes with it. And although this weekend might not mimic what most of us are used to, it will be enough to get us by. We all know why. There is no secret here. The Mountaineers record is hard to look at. We know what might come with that. It’s possible the crowd is less interested or less present. We also know that this weekend was supposed to be homecoming. A crowd where some folks make their only pilgrimage of the season. And a crowd that simply cannot be supported by the infrastructure that surrounds these mountains we all love. We’ll miss those that have been forced to stay home. We’ll catch you next time. For those that can make it, we are ready to see you. It’s been too long.

The Panthers of Georgia State are taking their lumps this season in conference play, and are adjusting to first year head coach Dell McGee. As with any coaching turnover nowadays, it also comes with a roster purge, lots of transfer additions and subtractions, which results in a fresh start for many. Of course, this is the third Georgia State head coach that App State will see since they have begun play in the Sun Belt. Neither Trent Miles or Sean Elliott fared well, having lost all ten games in the series. Until that changes, which is hopefully no time soon, it will remain a talking point. The first six games of the season for the Panthers have not really been surprising to this point. Oddly, the first five games of the season were played in Atlanta. That included a road game, down the street at Georgia Tech, and then four straight home games at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium. Last Thursday’s loss at Marshall was the first true road game of the season, which leads the Panthers to this weekend; their first Saturday road game outside of the city of Atlanta this season.

Georgia State’s two wins came over FCS Chattanooga and Vanderbilt. One of those games is unlike the other. An FCS win should be expected. A win over Vanderbilt is not a complete surprise, but this is a new Vanderbilt. This is now a ranked Vanderbilt team with a win over Alabama. The timing could have not been more odd. After Georgia State beat Vanderbilt at home, the Commodores went home the following week and beat the Crimson Tide. If that does not tell you how wild college football has been this year, I am not sure what does. The most recent Georgia State games were closer than most others. Despite losing by two touchdowns to Marshall, the Panthers drove the length of the field in the fourth quarter before failing to convert deep in Marshall territory. The Herd scored on an 88-yard rushing touchdown on the next play for the final margin. The Old Dominion game was the exact opposite. A late Panther touchdown brought the final margin to seven points while the Monarchs ran out the final two minutes of clock.

One of these my least favorite parts of doing this is rehashing games after a loss. When midweek games became a thing, it felt like it elongated that process. It’s a wonder what a couple days will do to you. Even worse? Coming off a loss after a traditional bye week. It feels like its been so long since we played Louisiana. We did play better in some aspects of the game compared to the week before against Marshall. But, the sentiment is that we took a step forward and took a couple steps back. For instance Kayne Roberts had arguably one of his best games as a Mountaineer, while Joey Aguilar had his worst. In a season where nothing seems to be going right, the margin of error is razor thin. So when you lose the turnover battle by four, and lose by ten points on the road, it’s not hard to diagnose the issue for a particular game. The results are team-driven. There are eleven players on the field at all times and not all interceptions can be blamed on the guy throwing them. However, when they occur in that frequency, you can’t help but wonder.

Considering what they have gone through, Georgia State has been really close this year to winning a couple games. They have been in one possession games late into the second half, but have just failed to make that play or two that gets them over the hump. Statistically, they are a middle of the road team. They have some offense, and some defense, but really are not toward the top of the Sun Belt in any specific category outside of their kicking game. Their passing offense is ahead of their run game, which is probably the exact opposite way you would want to attack the Mountaineers, who have faced three of the Sun Belt’s individual rushing leaders in their first three conference games. Georgia State back Freddie Brock is fifth in the conference with 71.7 yards per game. Brock is fresh off his best game of the season where he had a season high in carries (18) and yards (124). Brock has found the end zone twice this season on the ground, while as a team, the Panthers have just three rushing touchdowns. Christian Veilleux was part of the reason the Panthers defeated Vanderbilt a few weeks back, as he tossed for 269 yards and three touchdown passes. However, the former Pitt quarterback backed that up with three interceptions against Georgia Southern and another pick against Old Dominion. He started last week against Marshall, but only led two drives before taking a seat to allow Zach Gibson, formerly of Georgia Tech, to finish the game. Gibson played well against Old Dominion and Marshall, but it was not enough to lead the Panthers to victory. So with more than a week to prepare with quarterback uncertainty, you could see Georgia State make a move here to Gibson as the starting quarterback. The Panthers have not been eliminated from the postseason, but they have road games at James Madison and Texas State looming. Gibson is in his final season as student athlete while Veilleux is listed as a junior. I really think Appalachian should get back to running the ball in this game if they can. At some point it needs to be established if the Mountaineers want to play beyond their current schedule. The Panthers have allowed 200 or more yards on the ground in all of their losses. At the same time, Georgia State found a groove against Marshall on the ground with a season high 218 yards on the ground. Can they find that again? Does Gibson push them over the top? Or will it be the same song and dance it always has been between these two teams.

The First Pick

Blue Cats 24

Mountaineers 33