Game 4—Appalachian State Mountaineers

[mes102]

On 7/28/2016 at 9:59 AM, AppinSC said:

Just wanted to stop by and get some conversation started about our upcoming September game with Akron. Looked at your season record prediction thread and noticed that there is not much respect for App in there..... Just remember, we might be in the SunBelt but we are just now getting up to 85 scholarship level as of this coming season and won 11 games last season including a win over Ohio. App has a tough start to our schedule with games at Tennessee and a home tilt with Miami (not the Ohio variety) but many of our fans are looking to see how we stack up against a tough non conference foe like Akron. Looking forward to the game and I might make it to this one as I have relatives in Minerva that I need to see anyway. I see this as a really good FBS G5 matchup. We have a spread option attack on offense with a talented qb in Taylor Lamb who set our all time record for td passes last season as a soph. We also have a stable of about 4 running backs that can all tote the rock including Marcus Cox who has gone over 1000 yards each of his first 3 seasons. With that said , it is our Defense that really dictates how we play. Very physical linebackers and 9 returning starters from last season. 

Give me some info on Akron and your thoughts on this matchup. 

Welcome to ZipsNation!!!! Like others said on here, ton of respect for Appalachian State. We have VMI, Wisconsin, and Marshall before Appalachian State. So if it seems like we aren't talking about ASU that much, it's because we're trying to not look ahead. At least that's where my head is at at the moment.

As for relatives in Minerva, my high school alma mater is in the same conference as Minerva. My alma mater is playing at Minerva this season. I was hoping September 23rd so that if you were there, I would love to introduce myself and then hype up the game the following day. However, they're at Minerva on September 16th so it looks like it didn't align for that.

Seeing the reaction all over this state when you went to Ann Arbor and won, was just incredible. When we had Michigan on the ropes up there a few seasons ago, you can see in their faces that they were thinking "oh no...not again", but we were one play too short(and a few referee calls too, but that's a different story). Hope you guys have a great season except for when you play us. Have a safe trip if you do make it up.

Edited August 3, 2016 by mes102

[Blue & Gold]

11 hours ago, AppinSC said:

For those of you lucky enough to make the trip to Boone next year, here is some scenery. 

 

Beautiful.

[Captain Kangaroo]

10 hours ago, K92 said:

1.) It's hard to put a lot of stock in whatever happens in bowl games, especially using those results to rank the strength of conferences, they are meaningless post-season exhibitions.  

 

2.) That being said, however, Georgia Southern destroyed Bowling Green in the Go Daddy Bowl last year.  This was a GS team that was in its first year of bowl eligibility against the MIGHTY MAC champ; a MAC champ that disemboweled the Zips.  After that dark day in October as the Zips took that long ride home from Wood County after a 59-10 shellacking, there were many on this board that put forth the notion that the Zips had nothing to be ashamed of because the Falcons were really, really, really, really, really, really good.  The Eagles must not have read that thread.

 

3.) Helpful hint to anyone that may ever feel like they might want to. . .  No MAC fan should ever look down on any other conference.  Just sayin'.

 

4.) I don't know a whole lot about ASU, but I am impressed by their level of fan support.  Obviously, ASU students and alumni would rather watch their alma mater play in person rather than staying home to watch UNC, NCSU, WF or Duke.  School pride!  A concept that never took on a foothold in the MAC.

 

5.) If you do make it up to the game, stop by the tailgate and introduce yourself, AppinSC.  We are actually pretty nice for a bunch of damn Yankees.

 

Addressing the 5 points as follows:

 

1.) I feel bad that I experienced a lot of meaningless post season pride when the Zips traveled to Boise and beat Utah State in a bowl game. In retrospect, what a meaningless post-season exhibition it was. I watched the replay a couple nights ago. Too bad those Zips players and coaches...the suckers that they are...took pride in that win. They should realize the only games that count are the championship finals. We should have stayed at home with the Kent fans. 

 

2.) I will be the first to admit - I was on the sidelines for the BG/UA tilt. I was really impressed by BG, and wrote a fairly detailed account of the game...in all it's gory detail...with the summary that BG was a high-level MAC program on a roll, that steamrolled the not-ready-for-prime-time-Zips. I'll stand by that Game Day critique. That said - that regular season game has little to do with the bowl game vs. Georgia State. When coached by a substitute teacher, anything can happen. GS was motivated, and BG seemed discombobulated/unmotivated. They were up at halftime, and then had two turnovers deep in their own territory in the 3rd qtr. They couldn't recover. That's football.

 

Tough to excel when your dad leaves the family for another woman. It kinda bums you out. Props to Georgia State on a meaningless exhibition win for their program.

 

3.) I've never seen a MAC fan look down on another conference. No one would be that stupid.

 

4.) If the Zips turned 1-A after winning a couple 1-AA championships, we'd have had a much bigger bandwagon...one like ASU. But we have shot ourselves in the foot for a quarter century instead...and no one should be shocked that the stands are empty. Thank God Bowden took a chance on the Zips. Kiss the guy's feet the next time you see him because he turned water into wine for the first time in about 2,000 years. 

 

<Insert footnote>: ASU won the D1-AA Championship three consecutive seasons 2005, 2006, 2007 before they beat Michigan.  Compare that to any stretch of Zips football...ever. Yes, even the vaunted 2010-2012 Zips seasons.

 

5.) I would love to see a strong App State road crew at InfoCision. That makes for a fun college football environment! That's what it should be like every fall week in Akron...if you compete for championships and win bowl games.

 

Big fan of K92. Look forward to some stout this fall. But I can't hit the "like" button on the post. My opinion differs.

 

I thought Bowden did an awesome job getting the 2015 Zips better week by week. Even in the October losses, you could see the team was on the cusp of turning the corner. In November, they did. And in December, they made history. Can't wait for the 2106 season to kick off!

[AppinSC]

11 hours ago, UA1987 said:

What happened to your great HC Jerry Moore?

Long story short, Coach Moore came to App in 1989 and stayed through the 2012 season. Coach Moore was 73 and did not want to see us make the jump to FBS football. He and our administration did not see eye to eye on this and Coach Moore left after 2012. Coach Satterfield was a qb under Coach Moore and had been an assistant at App for about 10 years or so before he left to be the Offensive Coordinator at FIU. From there, he went on to be the Offensive Coordinator for Toledo (I may have his timeline mixed up a bit). He came back to App in 2012 and took over the reins in 2013 and has helped us make a very strong transition from FCS to FBS. We love Coach Satt ! 

[skip-zip]

8 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Big fan of K92. Look forward to some stout this fall. But I can't hit the "like" button on the post. My opinion differs.

 

I thought Bowden did an awesome job getting the 2015 Zips better week by week. Even in the October losses, you could see the team was on the cusp of turning the corner. In November, they did. 

 

Yes, Bowden should be commended for finding a way to get us to 7 wins and a bowl game victory.  

 

But in fairness, the schedule got enormously easier in November.  Everyone clearly saw that as a golden opportunity to get bowl eligible.  It will be interesting to see if that carries over, unlike what happened after the 2013 season.  

 

"We got better week by week....even in the October losses" is a tough one for me.  Sitting through Two HOME losses to CMU and OU, where we simply could not score, didn't leave Zips fans with a "on the cusp of turning the corner" kind of feeling, as you suggest.  A home win over lowly EMU and a blowout loss to Bowling Green wasn't a trigger for renewed optimism either.   

 

For me, the only game I can point to as any real turning point was the convincing win over Buffalo in mid-November, since it happened after we had just squeaked by UMass, and tallied a less-than-impressive home win against a really bad Miami team who's only previous wins were against EMU and Presbyterian. 

[K92]

8 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

 

Addressing the 5 points as follows:

 

1.) I feel bad that I experienced a lot of meaningless post season pride when the Zips traveled to Boise and beat Utah State in a bowl game. In retrospect, what a meaningless post-season exhibition it was. I watched the replay a couple nights ago. Too bad those Zips players and coaches...the suckers that they are...took pride in that win. They should realize the only games that count are the championship finals. We should have stayed at home with the Kent fans. 

 

2.) I will be the first to admit - I was on the sidelines for the BG/UA tilt. I was really impressed by BG, and wrote a fairly detailed account of the game...in all it's gory detail...with the summary that BG was a high-level MAC program on a roll, that steamrolled the not-ready-for-prime-time-Zips. I'll stand by that Game Day critique. That said - that regular season game has little to do with the bowl game vs. Georgia State. When coached by a substitute teacher, anything can happen. GS was motivated, and BG seemed discombobulated/unmotivated. They were up at halftime, and then had two turnovers deep in their own territory in the 3rd qtr. They couldn't recover. That's football.

 

Tough to excel when your dad leaves the family for another woman. It kinda bums you out. Props to Georgia State on a meaningless exhibition win for their program.

 

3.) I've never seen a MAC fan look down on another conference. No one would be that stupid.

 

4.) If the Zips turned 1-A after winning a couple 1-AA championships, we'd have had a much bigger bandwagon...one like ASU. But we have shot ourselves in the foot for a quarter century instead...and no one should be shocked that the stands are empty. Thank God Bowden took a chance on the Zips. Kiss the guy's feet the next time you see him because he turned water into wine for the first time in about 2,000 years. 

 

<Insert footnote>: ASU won the D1-AA Championship three consecutive seasons 2005, 2006, 2007 before they beat Michigan.  Compare that to any stretch of Zips football...ever. Yes, even the vaunted 2010-2012 Zips seasons.

 

5.) I would love to see a strong App State road crew at InfoCision. That makes for a fun college football environment! That's what it should be like every fall week in Akron...if you compete for championships and win bowl games.

 

Big fan of K92. Look forward to some stout this fall. But I can't hit the "like" button on the post. My opinion differs.

 

I thought Bowden did an awesome job getting the 2015 Zips better week by week. Even in the October losses, you could see the team was on the cusp of turning the corner. In November, they did. And in December, they made history. Can't wait for the 2106 season to kick off!

1.  Bowl games are a reward for the teams for having a good season.  They are also an enjoyable bonus for fans to see your team play one more time against a (usually) unfamiliar foe.  I loved the crap out of the Potato Bowl.  Tears were shed.  My pride swelled.  It was great and I wish I was able to attend.

 

I did not mean to disparage the bowl experience by saying they meaningless exhibition games.  But reading anything into the results of a bowl game is a fool's game because there are too many unique circumstances involved.  I won't belabor the point.  Anyone interested in the topic can Google it and read much better commentary than mine.

 

2.  I totally contradicted my first point on the second, but can you tell I'm still a little salty about the BG game?  I'm tired of losing to those potlickers.  My commentary should have been in support of my belief that the results of a bowl game mean precious little.  I should have said that BG was run over by GS because of a combination of getting a shitty bowl and losing their coach.  My hate for Freddy Falcon derailed me.

 

3.  I've read many comments from MAC fans building a case for the tallest midget or at leart arguing that the Sun Belt and CUSA are shorter midgets.  I could look up examples but I'm too lazy.

 

4.  I hope that someday Akron has support like ASU enjoys.  If the Zips get there, they will have accomplished what no other MAC program has ever been able to do.

 

5.  Did we agree on this one?

 

I am a big fan of CK.  You have done as much as anyone to promote the Zips.  Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks.

[AppinSC]

Some more shameless plugs for the App State experience.................. Again, thanks for y'alls hospitality and good luck on your upcoming season.       ** The aerial shot of the stadium is a work up including the new video board and endzone seating that we anticipate to happen in the next few years. 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2016 by AppinSC
left something out

[ZippyRulz]

Nice...what is the capacity currently?  I have to say your stadium is looking a lot better than ours...just be careful where you step if you come to the game at our place. And wear a hard hat if you venture under the stands.

 

Photo credit: ABJ

Photo credit: www.dailymail.co.uk

Edited August 3, 2016 by ZippyRulz

[AppinSC]

1 hour ago, ZippyRulz said:

Nice...what is the capacity currently?  I have to say your stadium is looking a lot better than ours...just be careful where you step if you come to the game at our place. And wear a hard hat if you venture under the stands.

 

 

 Our current capacity is listed at 24,250 but we have had crowds north of 30,000 . Might hit 35,000 for Miami game in September. 

[zippy5]

Stadium looks nice - they need to take care of that track though

[zipsoutsider]

11 hours ago, K92 said:

1.  Bowl games are a reward for the teams for having a good season.  They are also an enjoyable bonus for fans to see your team play one more time against a (usually) unfamiliar foe.  I loved the crap out of the Potato Bowl.  Tears were shed.  My pride swelled.  It was great and I wish I was able to attend.

 

I did not mean to disparage the bowl experience by saying they meaningless exhibition games.  But reading anything into the results of a bowl game is a fool's game because there are too many unique circumstances involved.  I won't belabor the point.  Anyone interested in the topic can Google it and read much better commentary than mine.

 

The bowl was extremely meaningful to the players and they wear their rings proudly. The bowl is really about the experience for the kids, first and foremost.

[K92]

9 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

 

The bowl was extremely meaningful to the players and they wear their rings proudly. The bowl is really about the experience for the kids, first and foremost.

I agree.

[ZippyRulz]

20 hours ago, AppinSC said:

 Our current capacity is listed at 24,250 but we have had crowds north of 30,000 . Might hit 35,000 for Miami game in September. 

 

Of course I am kidding and the Rubber Bowl has been replaced but I was there a few times with 30K+ others and it's a fun atmosphere. I'm sure "The Rock" will be rocking for the Miami game and hopefully again when the Zips are there.

 

[tpsjugglerdude]

AppinSC- I live over in Wilmington and might make it to an Ap St game this year with some friends who are alumni. Any place I should be sure to hit up?

[AppinSC]

1 hour ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

AppinSC- I live over in Wilmington and might make it to an Ap St game this year with some friends who are alumni. Any place I should be sure to hit up?

As far as non chain restaurants, give the following a try - Peppers , Black Cat , The Rock Bar and Grill, Troys Diner, Macados, and Portofinos. I intentionally left out the regular chains that you see. Price Lake in Blowing Rock on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a really pretty and scenic lake setting. Also, if you get a chance , drive the Blue Ridge Parkway south from Blowing Rock toward Grandfather Mountain and you will drive across the Linn Cove Viaduct , a pretty cool engineering marvel of a bridge that looks like you are driving out into the sky. 

Come on up the mountain if you get a chance. App brings more spirit to football than anyone else in North Carolina (with East Carolina being a close 2nd). 

[Captain Kangaroo]

9 minutes ago, AppinSC said:

Come on up the mountain if you get a chance. App brings more spirit to football than anyone else in North Carolina (with East Carolina being a close 2nd). 

Just curious...how many App State fans would you expect to make the trip to Akron. 300? 1,000?

[AppinSC]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Just curious...how many App State fans would you expect to make the trip to Akron. 300? 1,000?

It is hard to say, Captain. If, by the grace of God and all things good , we were to upset Tennessee in the opener and beat Miami in Boone the week before our game, we might bring some charter buses full of people. However, since many of our base is travelling to the Tennessee game in Knoxville, and heading up for the Miami game the week before, I don't suspect that we would bring more than 200-350 or so to Akron. We did, however, take close to 10,000 to Montgomery for our bowl game last year , so I might be wrong. 

[tpsjugglerdude]

If any Ap fans are looking for a reason to Come to Northeast Ohio...

Edited August 5, 2016 by tpsjugglerdude

[MDZip]

1 hour ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

If any Ap fans are looking for a reason to Come to Northeast Ohio...

I didn't think that was a great movie by any stretch but I did think LeBron James was really good in it and by far the funniest part of the movie. And the prop football hall of fame just down the road ought to be enough of a draw just to keep it on topic. :-)

[LosAngelesZipFan]

Regarding getting the 'canes at home like Appy... given the relationship Coach Terry has w Florida schools, do you think we have explored getting them to Akron?  They are going to Cincy and Toledo over next few years.  I think this is the type of team that would raise eyebrows in NEO and give people a reason to look closer at Akron.   There should be a marquis game like that every year... 

[skip-zip]

8 hours ago, LosAngelesZipFan said:

Regarding getting the 'canes at home like Appy... given the relationship Coach Terry has w Florida schools, do you think we have explored getting them to Akron?  They are going to Cincy and Toledo over next few years.  I think this is the type of team that would raise eyebrows in NEO and give people a reason to look closer at Akron.   There should be a marquis game like that every year... 

 

I think these games certainly raise a lot more eyebrows than most.  Syracuse and Pitt in recent years are good examples.  Pitt ended up being a real disappointment because of the weather.  I thought that could have been a great crowd under good weather conditions.  The ticket pre-sale seemed to indicate that.  A Miami game would probably be another level up from that.  

 

Miami's willingness to go to Appalachian State, Cincinnati, and Toledo should be applauded.  I certainly hope we are paying attention when we see any program of that stature that might travel, because I still think it's pretty uncommon for someone to travel to those kinds of destinations if they are closer to the top of the echelon.  

[kreed5120]

There are so few programs of Miami's caliber that are willing to play on the road. Expecting to get an opponent like that at home every year is just setting yourself up for disappointment. Even Pitt, who recently had a home and home with Akron, is on record saying they will no longer schedule anymore home and home series with G5 programs. Sure when they opportunity presents itself they need to jump on it. Those opportunities just don't come around frequently.

[LZIp]

I think Miami's caliber is being overstated some. Yes we all know their history, but they have been nothing close to that for a better part of a decade now (maybe longer, but I don't care to look). Maybe Richt will change that, but I don't see it seeing that it seemed like he always underachieved at UGA. In fact, Pitt has finished higher than Miami in the ACC the past 2 seasons. Don't get me wrong..I'd love to get Miami at home, but I don't think its much better than us getting Pitt. Buffalo lucked out and got Baylor at home a few seasons ago. And it seems like MSU plays at a directional Michigan school every few years. Those are real scores. We've got Iowa State next year at home. Not as good as the others mentioned above, but still a good chance to beat a P5 team at home with what should be a bigger crowd. That's a good way to raise awareness.

[AppinSC]

Our AD and staff have done a very good job of scheduling thus far in our transition to FBS football. Not only do we have Miami coming to Boone this season, but we have home and homes lined up with Southern Miss, Marshall, Wake Forest, and possibly East Caroliina. These regional matchups generally excite our fan base as they are easy to travel to on the "away" year. Good luck to you guys this season (with one small exception ).

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

I think Miami's caliber is being overstated some. Yes we all know their history, but they have been nothing close to that for a better part of a decade now (maybe longer, but I don't care to look). Maybe Richt will change that, but I don't see it seeing that it seemed like he always underachieved at UGA. In fact, Pitt has finished higher than Miami in the ACC the past 2 seasons. Don't get me wrong..I'd love to get Miami at home, but I don't think its much better than us getting Pitt. Buffalo lucked out and got Baylor at home a few seasons ago. And it seems like MSU plays at a directional Michigan school every few years. Those are real scores. We've got Iowa State next year at home. Not as good as the others mentioned above, but still a good chance to beat a P5 team at home with what should be a bigger crowd. That's a good way to raise awareness.

 

MSU offered WMU, CMU, and EMU a 3 for 1 series. Each as those schools have to play at MSU 3X and in return MSU will go to their stadium to play 1 game. This isn't the same as a home and home series.