Appalachian State (1-0) vs Clemson (0-1)
Saturday, September 7th, 2024 8:00pm EST
TV/Video: ACC Network
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
Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 81,500
Surface: Natural Grass
Jeff Sagarin Ratings
App State: 72.56
Clemson: 80.71
Home: 3.82
Clemson is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 11.97 points
VegasInsider Line: Clemson -17
Series: Clemson leads 5-0
Last Meeting: Clemson 41 App State 10, September 12, 2015, Clemson, SC
The first test is over. Nothing to get excited about one way or another, but the second will be tougher. Appalachian finds itself knowing there is a lot of time to grow, which is much better place to be than thinking you have it all figured out. Both teams find themselves in an interesting spot. Clemson might find themselves in a semi-must win situation. Nobody wants to be 0-2 to start the season at any level of football. You start questioning yourself and what you are doing. Appalachian is looking for that win that most would consider a resume booster. It’s an opportunity to prove that your team belongs that does not come often for most schools. It’s not and end of the world scenario for the Mountaineers if they were to lose, but it could signal the beginning of something special if they were to win. The pressure will always lie with the favorite in these type of games. The humiliation would be overpowering, much greater than the expected result. But isn’t that why we play the games? To write the storylines that could meander down a path that nobody expects, from the lowest of valleys to the highest peaks?
It really feels like we could talk about this same Clemson team last week, and opinions would unlikely change. Just don’t ask a Clemson fan. The Tigers have had good seasons of late. They just have not had great seasons. That’s hard to accept. Mountaineer fans can certainly relate. When the ceiling of your program’s success is competing not only for conference championships and bowl wins, but also national championships, chances are you are going to fall short more times than you will achieve that ultimate prize. As far as last week goes for Clemson, a loss to Georgia in Atlanta is nothing to be ashamed of. But it does matter what you look like when you lose. Last year Clemson lost at Duke on the scoreboard, but dominated the game from a statistical standpoint. They just made too many mistakes on a Monday night of the opening week of the season. They also lost two games in overtime, to Florida State and Miami, and then fell at NC State. Three of those four losses were on the road. The talent remains in Death Valley, they just have been on the wrong end of some tough games.
The statistics are kind of ugly from last weekend for Clemson. They could not get much going against the Georgia defense. The Tigers ran just 52 plays, averaging 3.6 per yards play, and failed to eclipse 200 yards of total offense. They also failed to convert two red zone chances into touchdowns. Running back Phil Mafah carried sixteen times for just 59 yards at 3.7 yards per carry. Georgia was ready and they played up to the challenge. It was a really tough day for Clemson. Time will tell how good Georgia really is, but chances are, they are national title contenders. It’s still possible that Clemson makes the playoff in a suddenly wide-open Atlantic Coast Conference race, and they will get a bye next week before facing off against North Carolina State. However, the positives exist for the Tigers. Their defensive front seven is absolutely loaded with deep NFL talent on the line and backers who are more than capable of making things difficult on opposing offenses. The Tigers are weaker in the secondary, but that is only due to how good they are up front.
It was a good opener for App State this past Saturday. Despite allowing East Tennessee to draw the score close in the third quarter, it never truly felt like the result was in doubt. A busted defensive assignment felt like the only true blunder. But as quickly as the score was 17-10, the Mountaineers mashed the throttle and put the game away. After turning the ball over on downs in ETSU territory to open the second half, the Mountaineers scored touchdowns on their next three drives and kept the Bucs from sniffing the end zone. Joey Aguilar accounted for four total touchdowns, two by air, and two on the ground. Aguilar looks quicker and more decisive on the read-option runs. Although he ran just five times for nineteen yards, he was committed to the play call. It had the look of quarterbacks from the past who were dangerous on the ground. Aguilar also extended a couple plays with his legs that drew plenty of cheers from the crowd.
Last week we talked about the number of turnovers the Mountaineers forced in the latter half of the 2023 season. That’s one main reason I was completely comfortable with the final score, and the way the game played out on Saturday. Turnovers are difference makers in games. East Tennessee did a good job of taking care of the ball. Even if there was just one turnover in the game, the possibility exists the game becomes more lopsided. If the Mountaineers are going to beat Clemson, they’ll likely need to be on the plus side of the turnover column. When App State has won the turnover battle under Shawn Clark, they hold an 18-1 record. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has vowed in press conferences earlier this week to get the ball to his young playmakers, and that his staff had failed in doing that against Georgia. Swinney remains confident in much maligned quarterback Cade Klubnik stating that he is “our guy”. Klubnik was sacked twice and threw one interception last week.
For the sake of Tiger fans, Clemson needs to make a comeback. For Mountaineer fans, we wouldn’t mind if that comeback waited a couple more weeks. There are so many similarities between these two schools at their core. Both universities enrollments have exceeded the size of their towns in which they inhabit. They love the sport of football and they expect to win. The activities of town revolve around the universities. It’s gameday in town for everyone, even those that do not hold a ticket. Additionally, if the winning doesn’t happen, the fans will remind you until you do. It’s quite simple. Sure, there are a lot of factors, such as money that get in the way of college football, and create discrepancies between Clemson and Appalachian. But in the end, its about winning games. Clemson has a 7-8 record in it’s last 15 games against P4 opponents. That does not cut it at Clemson. Likewise, Appalachian does not want to go .500 over a similar stretch of games versus peer opponents. So clearly, the natives have been restless in upstate South Carolina. Dabo Swinney holds on to the hope that Cade Klunbik and other players will evolve into premier producers on the gridiron, but in the meantime it all sums up to talent and potential. Clemson missed on quarterback prospect DJ Uiagalelei. More than anything, I think that has set them back, especially considering a team that relied heavily on star quarterback power to win national championships. A similar thing happened to Appalachian. Sometimes recruits do not pan out like you hope, and your team wins fewer ballgames than they were used to. It happens. As far as Saturday night goes, there are a lot of outcomes. I think the Tigers come out fired up, and App State needs to be prepared for that. The Mountaineers cannot afford to lose the game in the opening moments. So the way the Mountaineers weather that storm is by being steady and never panicking. A gameplan with appropriate tempo has worked well for Shawn Clark in games against Texas A&M, James Madison and Miami. In all three of those games, App State had multiple ball carriers eclipse ten carries. They were not necessarily successful, but they created those “dirty runs” that coaches talk about that bleed clock and shorten the game. It all comes down to completing passes on second and third down to keep the chains moving. I do believe that the game will be tight and the Mountaineers have kept eight straight Power 4 opponents within eight points. Here is to hoping the Mountaineers have just the right combination of plays made at the right time to leave Death Valley as winners.
The First Pick
Cheeto Hands 20
Mountaineers 24
