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able to go to Tennessee and take them to overtime, and when you look at the final score (of the Georgia game), it's deceiving. "I think more than anything, we want to make sure our guys respect every opponent they play. Those are stories we'll be able to tell them, stories that we'll be able to tell to illustrate what we're talking about." Franklin's App State counterpart, Scott Satterfield, knows those stories well. He was in charge of the Mountaineers' quar- terbacks in 2007, and the veteran assistant, a former App State quarterback himself, was named head coach in 2013. While the Michigan game was one of the great upsets in college football history, it has assured that the Mountaineers won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore. As Satterfield said prior to last year's visit to Georgia, "I think the fact that the Michigan thing al- ways gets thrown up every year we play a Power Five school, and the fact that we did what we did at Tennessee, [means that] their kids are not going to overlook us." App State, which four years ago moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision, has gone 0-8 against Power Five opponents since upsetting Michigan, including a 52-14 loss to the Wolverines in a 2014 rematch, the team's first game as an FBS member. But Penn State, which goes into its opener ranked 10th by The Associated Press and ninth by the coaches, has reason to be wary, and not just because the Mountaineers pulled off a shocker 11 years ago. Preseason favorites to win the Sun Belt Conference's newly formed East Division, this year's App State squad is led by senior running back Jalin Moore. A two-time Sun Belt rushing champion, Moore has amassed 3,170 yards in his career, the second-high- est total among returning FBS players. The Mountaineers also have a squadron of very good sophomore receivers and a couple of talented transfers in Dominique Heath and Corey Sutton, both of whom were formerly at Kansas State. They'll need new starting quarterback Zac Thomas to take charge right away after throwing only 10 passes in his first season. But if Thomas is equal to the challenge, this offense has the potential to be one of the best in the Sun Belt. The defense has talent, too. Junior cor- nerback Clifton Duck has 11 interceptions over the past two seasons, and he's joined in the secondary by another experienced CB, Tae Hayes, who had four picks as a jun- ior. The Mountaineers will have to break in some new players elsewhere, but they have seasoned vets on the first and second lev- els, with seniors MyQuon Stout and An- thony Flory back at nose tackle and line- backer, respectively. Last year, App State allowed only 30 total points in its last four games, all wins. It was a tremendous performance, but the man who oversaw it, Nate Woody, left in the off- season for Georgia Tech. App State is now under the direction of a new defensive co- ordinator, Bryan Brown. Considering the job that Brown did with the cornerbacks the past few years, it looks like the defense should be in good hands. App State has made some big transitions in recent years, the biggest being its move to the FBS. It was ineligible for the postsea- son in 2014, its first year of FBS competi- tion but has played in three bowl games since then and won them all. Last year's 34-0 victory over Toledo in the Dollar General Bowl was a dominant perform- ance, as App State allowed only 146 yards and forced four turnovers. Penn State isn't Toledo, but the Nittany Lions know they can't afford to take any- thing for granted, even in a season like this one in which hopes are running high. Said Franklin, "I think we've all learned that on any given Sunday or any given Saturday or any given Friday night, if you don't have your mind right, and you haven't prepared the right way and you haven't approached it the right way, you're going to be in for a long day." 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 3 PHIL GROSZ 11-2 in 2017 | This should be the coming out party for Penn State's new of- fensive coordinator, Ricky Rahne, running back Miles Sanders, receiver K.J. Hamler, eight new starters on the defense, plus a new-look offensive line. FiCh-year senior quar- terback Trace McSorley will lead the new skill players on Penn State's offense and not miss a beat from what the Nittany Lions produced last fall. The defense will struggle at times to control a solid Appalachian State running game, but for the most part they will get the job done. | PENN STATE 38, APPALACHIAN STATE 10 MATT HERB 11-2 | Appalachian State has made a very skillful jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and history shows that it can't be taken lightly. For the record, I don't think Penn State will take the Mountaineers lightly. I think it's going to go into this game with the confident but respectful attitude that James Franklin has said he wants to see. More important, it's going to go into the game with an offense that is capable of piling up points quickly. App State would love to hit Penn State with a lot of Jalin Moore runs, especially with a young quarterback set to make his first career start in a very hostile environment. But if the Nittany Lions are able to build an early lead, it will blunt the effectiveness of a ground-oriented approach. No matter what the score, Moore and his offensive line should provide an interesting test for the Lions' rebuilt defensive front. If Penn State can contain one of the country's more effective running backs, it will be a good omen heading into next week's visit to Pitt. | PENN STATE 38, APPALACHIAN STATE 16 TIM OWEN 12-1 | An overachieving small-school squad that will show up on Saturday eager to play spoiler, Appalachian State will offer every challenge it can, but Penn State pre- vails in its first test of the season. | PENN STATE 42, APPALACHIAN STATE 13 RYAN SNYDER 10-3 | Last year, Appalachian State finished a respectable 9-4, splitting the Sun Belt Conference championship with Troy. The Mountaineers have gone 37-14 since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision, so this is likely the best Group of Five op- ponent that Penn State has seen in recent years. App State has also played road games against Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee and Michigan, so its players won't be spooked by the atmosphere inside Beaver Stadium. With that said, the Mountaineers have to replace a bunch of key pieces from last season and will be facing another stacked Nittany Lion squad. | PENN STATE 44, APPALACHIAN STATE 10 S T A F F P R E D I C T I O N S

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