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Is App State’s 2-0 Start Legitimate?
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- Is App State’s 2-0 Start Legitimate?
| Source: Lastwordonsports.com - Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor
Appalachian State entered this season with low expectations, as they were predicted to finish sixth by the coaches in the Sun Belt East Division. The Mountaineers are coming off a 5-8 season, which ended with a loss to Georgia Southern in the Birmingham Bowl.
Through two weeks of the season, the Mountaineers are 2-0, and both wins were in different ways, one in dominant fashion, the other in a close ball game. While it's only been two games, there have been signs that the Mountaineers can be a legitimate Sun Belt threat.
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The question for App State will be whether this start to the season is legit or fool's gold.
App State's Season Outlook
Encouraging Signs
The first game against Maine was a perfect example of how to handle business against a lesser opponent. Maine is not an FBS team, so App State made sure to make quick work of them. It was a commanding 55-3 victory for the Mountaineers. Despite that game not saying much about how they can match up against other FBS competition, it's always a good sign when a team destroys inferior competition.
A 27-24 win against East Carolina was more impressive. East Carolina is a fellow G6 opponent and has been a good team the last two seasons. Even though the Pirates are 0-2 to start, it's still a solid win.
Photo Courtesy: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
So far, the Mountaineers have been led by quarterback Malachi Singleton . He is second in the Sun Belt in passing yards with 558, also recording three touchdowns and completing 80.8% of his passes.
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One facet of Singleton's game that the Mountaineers haven't had to use yet is his ability to run. Last season with Purdue, he ran for 202 yards, primarily as a backup. Once he has to utilize his legs, that will make him even more formidable because he's done a good job as a passer, especially taking care of the ball.
Areas of Improvement
For the Mountaineers to continue reaching top Sun Belt team status, certain aspects can still be strengthened. Because they played a near-flawless game against Maine, there weren't any negatives to point to, but the game against East Carolina presented some challenges.
The first area of improvement for the Mountaineers will be penalties. They were penalized 13 times for 80 yards against East Carolina. It's mainly the offense that will need to play a cleaner game. On a touchdown early in the second quarter, they were called for back-to-back false start penalties, pushing a third-and-2 at the four-yard line back to third-and-12 at the 14. A pass interference call bailed them out, but you can't afford to lose yards, as that will cost you games.
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Running the ball was an area of weakness for App State. Even though they ran for 128 yards, those came on 44 carries, which is about 2.9 yards per carry. The Mountaineers will have to have a repeat performance similar to the one against Maine when they rushed for 299 yards on 7.7 yards per carry. Maine wasn't a quality opponent for them, so the 299 yards can be looked at as less impressive.
Defensively, they allowed East Carolina to rack up a significant number of yards. The Pirates had 417 total yards and 187 of those on the ground. Even though the Mountaineers forced two turnovers, you can't consistently rely on turnovers to force stops.
Schedule
The Mountaineers still have two out-of-conference games remaining. The first is against a Charlotte team coming off a lopsided defeat to No. 9 Ole Miss. Then they travel to Raleigh to face North Carolina State.
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Charlotte and NC State have been effective running teams this season, so it will be interesting to see if or how App State can stop the run.
For the Sun Belt portion of their schedule, they will face several teams that are considered contenders. East division teams James Madison, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina , Marshall, Georgia Southern and Georgia State are on the schedule.
The JMU and Old Dominion games are ones to look out for as those should be great measuring sticks for the Mountaineers.
App State has put itself in a great position to finish over .500. If the Mountaineers can win those games against Charlotte and NC State, there is a realistic pathway for them to finish somewhere around 8-4 or 9-3.
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Are They a Contender Yet?
The East will be a tough division for the Mountaineers to win. Competition will only get tougher. Maine was really a tune-up game to start the season, so an opponent like that won't be on the schedule again.
Despite the early success, it's too early to say the Mountaineers are back. They are on the right track to getting to the level of competing for the Sun Belt Championship, but two games are too small of a sample to tell.
Main Image: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
