Blue White Illustrated

from-behind victory over the Nittany Lions last season at the Horseshoe that avenged the previous year's loss but also reaffirmed the belief that this is going to be an entertaining rivalry in the years to come. How entertaining? We'll start to find out when Ohio State returns to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 29 for the Nittany Lions' Big Ten home opener. It's a bit early in the year for the East Division powers to face off. The Buckeyes and Lions haven't played in September since 2006, a 28-6 Ohio State victory in Columbus. Meyer surely wasn't surprised to learn that this year's game will be a White Out. Penn State made that announce- ment in April, but school officials could probably have made it years earlier when the 2018 conference schedule was an- nounced. And yet, this is one of those rare sea- sons in which the home schedule offers up a number of other games that are nearly as White Out-worthy as the matchup with the program's biggest rival. There's also a meeting with Michi- gan State, the only other team to defeat Penn State last year, and a rematch with revenge-minded Iowa in late October. In November, the Lions will play host to Wisconsin, a team they have defeated three times in a row, most recently in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game. The road schedule begins with a non- conference visit to Pitt, where the Lions haven't won since 1998, and there's also a trip to Michigan, where they haven't won since 2009. Only half of Penn State's 12 upcoming opponents reached the postseason last year, but five of those teams are bunched up in the rock-hard center of the sched- ule. The Lions will face Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin during a six-week span be- ginning the final weekend of September. The regular season concludes with games against Rutgers and Maryland, teams against which PSU has gone 64- 4-1 over the years. Here's a week-by-week look at how this year's slate shapes up: 2017 RECORD 9-4, 7-1 Sun Belt Confer- ence COACH Scott Satter=eld (41-22 in =ve seasons at Appalachian State; career record: same) SERIES RECORD The Nittany Lions and Mountaineers will be meeting for the =rst time. EXPECTED STRENGTHS The Moun- taineers should have a very good receiver corps thanks in part to an in>ux of Kansas State transfers. Corey Sutton arrived last year and will be eligible this fall a@er sit- ting out in 2017. Dominique Heath is a graduate transfer and will be eligible right away a@er catching 95 passes in his three seasons with the Wildcats. On defense, the secondary should be excellent. It's led by cornerbacks Tae Hayes and Cli@on Duck, who combined for 10 of the Moun- taineers' 18 interceptions a year ago. POTENTIAL CONCERNS Appalachian State will be breaking in a new quarter- back following the graduation of four- year starter Taylor Lamb. Sophomores Zac Thomas and Jacob Huesman battled in spring practice, with the former emerging as the most likely starter this fall. Thomas backed up Lamb last year but didn't play much, seeing action in four games and attempting only 10 passes. The defense has some holes to =ll in the front seven, but the biggest loss may be coordinator Nate Woody, who le@ for Georgia Tech. Under Woody's guidance, the App State defense surren- dered only 30 points in its =nal four games, including a 34-0 shutout of Toledo in the Dollar General Bowl. SCHEDULE A@er opening at Penn State, the schedule gets a lot more manageable for the Mountaineers. They face Char- lotte in week two, then play their home opener against Southern Miss. The Sun Belt Conference has split into divisions this year, and App State is in the East along with Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Troy. GAME OF THE YEAR Senior day vs. Troy could be a very consequential game, as it might determine both the participants and the location of the Sun Belt title game. The game will be played Dec. 1 at the home of the higher-seeded team. OUTLOOK At some point, probably in the days leading up to the opener, James Franklin will remind everyone of Ap- palachian State's 34-32 upset of =@h- ranked Michigan in 2007. That game may be the ultimate cautionary tale for would- be national title aspirants. But the Moun- taineers' success story consists of more than one game. App State is the only team in FBS history to win bowl games in each of its =rst three years of eligibility, and it has gone 37-14 and claimed two Sun Belt championships since moving up to col- lege football's top division in 2014. If it can get its quarterback situation resolved, this year could burnish the program's rep- utation even further. The Lions will be a tough out on opening day, but since 2014, App State has played road games at Michigan, Tennessee, Clemson and Geor- gia, so it won't be spooked by a big crowd. And even if it doesn't pull o? a shocker at Beaver Stadium, another Sun Belt title is there for the taking. –M.H. APPALACHIAN ST. MOUNTAINEERS P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> TOP RETURNEES PASSING Zac Thomas 6 of 10 | 33 yds. | 0 TD | 0 int. RUSHING Jalin Moore 183 att. | 1,037 yds. | 12 TD RECEIVING Thomas Hennigan 45 rec. | 585 yds. | 7 TD TACKLING Anthony Flory 56 solo | 31 asst. | 87 total INTERCEPTIONS Clifton Duck 6 int. | 98 yds. W E E K 1 | S E P T E M B E R 1 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M

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