Blue White Illustrated

Appalachian State Pregame

Penn State Sports Magazine

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P R E G A M E R E P O R T P E N N S TAT E v s . A P P A L A C H I A N S TAT E T I M E 3 : 3 0 P . M . , S E P T . 1 | T V B T N APPALACHIAN STATE FACTS COACH Scott Satterfield (Ap- palachian State, '96) COACH'S RECORD 41-22, 31-9 Sun Belt Conference, in five sea- sons at Appalachian State; career record: same 2017 RECORD 9-4, 7-1 Sun Belt Conference RECORD VS. PSU First meeting GOOD NEWS Appalachian State has fielded one of the most opportunistic de- fenses in the country the past three seasons. Since 2015, the Mountaineers have intercepted 56 passes, second-most in the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision over those three seasons. Thirty of those picks were by the team's corner- backs, a position group coached by Bryan Brown, who was recently promoted to defensive coordina- tor. BAD NEWS App State really likes to challenge itself on opening day. This will be the third year in a row in which the Mountaineers have opened on the road against a top-15 opponent. They lost to No. 9 Tennessee, 20- 13 in overtime, in 2016 and to No. 15 Georgia, 31-10, last season. DID YOU KNOW? The Mountaineers are the first team ever to jump from the Foot- ball Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision and immediately play in, and win, three consecutive bowl games. Since the 2015 season, its first as a bowl- eligible member of the Sun Belt Conference, Appalachian State has defeated Ohio and Toledo in the 2015 and '16 Camellia bowls and last year topped Toledo in the Dollar General Bowl. M A T T   H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Everyone remembers the Michigan game. And really, how could you not re- member it? If you were a college football fan in the latter part of the previous decade, you surely recall how Appalachian State, then a member of the Foot- ball Championship Subdivision, went into the Big House on opening day and stunned the fifth-ranked Wolverines, 34-32. You may not remember all the details – how the Mountaineers kicked a 24-yard field goal to take the lead with 26 seconds remaining, how they blocked a 37-yard attempt by Michigan on the final play of the game – but you definitely remember the result. In the 11 years since, the Mountaineers' historic upset has become the ulti- mate cautionary tale for Power Five teams as they get set to face some seem- ingly overmatched nonconference opponent early in the season. The message, delivered by wary coaching staffs to audiences made up largely of former Nittany Lion players head off the field following a practice ses- sion earlier this month. PSU is look- ing to build on two con- secutive 11- win seasons. Photo by Steve Manuel 1 A U G U S T 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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