Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 11th, 2021. CSJ will show weekly rankings from the Sagarin rankings throughout the season and will have a final ranking after the national championship game in January. Cincinnati remains at the top spot following […]
What a first week of bowl action of the first ten bowl games of the season! Two games really caught my attention in UCF playing BYU and Coastal Carolina playing Liberty this week before the games started. BYU throttled UCF 49-23 in what looks to be QB Zach Wilson’s final collegiate game in the Boca […]
Appalachian State vs. North TexasWhen: Monday, December 21st, 2:30 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Appalachian State and North Texas M are set to kick off bowl season Monday afternoon in the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl. This is the first bowl game due to the Dec. 19th Frisco Bowl being canceled. The Mountaineers are appearing […]
Louisiana at Appalachian StateWhen: Friday, Dec. 4th, 8:30 PM ESTWhere: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) This was the game that before the season started was what I had predicted to be again for the Sun Belt Conference championship for the third straight season. The original Sun Belt Conference title game was slated for Dec. 4th […]
Appalachian State at Coastal CarolinaWhen: Saturday, Nov. 21st, 12:00 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) The only two teams in the Sun Belt without a conference loss will meet on the teal field in Conway, S.C. this Saturday. Coastal Carolina comes into this game not only undefeated in league play but also undefeated overall. The […]
While there was a number of great match-ups in all of college football this weekend, the biggest news of the week was the return to play of the Power Five’s Big 10 Conference. The news of the Big 10 returning has the two Group of Five leagues that canceled five weeks ago contemplating on their […]
As Clark manned the sidelines at Kidd Brewer Stadium Saturday for the first time as the Mountaineers’ head coach, he drew from his football DNA to direct App State to its 35-20 victory over Charlotte in the 2020 season opener for both teams.
The Sun Belt is the Fun Belt definitely after Week 2!! And the Sun Belt Conference seems to own the Power Five Big 12 Conference this year. Three Sun Belt teams went on the road to Big 12 squads this past Saturday and all three will be coming home with victories. Louisiana, Arkansas State, and […]
Charlotte at Appalachian StateWhen: Saturday, Sept. 12th 12:00 PM EDTWhere: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Charlotte starts is gamut of non-Conference USA games with its first game at Appalachian State. The 49ers will also face two other non-conference games this season but like this game with App State, will not have to leave the […]
The Sun Belt has often been considered the lowest ranked conference in all of FBS but with the play of App State and Louisiana, as well as the rest of the conference, this can not be said any longer. Right now, the Sun Belt looks to be better overall than C-USA and the MAC.
Appalachian State vs. UAB (New Orleans Bowl) When: Saturday, December 21st, 9:00 PM EST Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) New Orleans Bowl History (Last 6) Dec. 15th, 2018: Appalachian State 45, Middle Tennessee State 13 Dec. 16th, 2017: Troy 50, North Texas 30 Dec. 17th, 2016: Southern Miss 28, Louisiana-Lafayette […]
Clark’s incredible journey came full-circle on Friday afternoon when he was introduced as the 22nd head football coach at Appalachian State.
All that ends well. Memphis was the top ranked College Football Playoff Top 25 Group of Five going into the championship weekend with Boise State, Cincinnati, and Appalachian State as the other three teams in the rankings. Memphis played Cincinnati in the the American Association title game at home and held on to win the […]
Evans scampered 58 yards with a screen pass from quarterback Zac Thomas on a third-and-15 play less than two minutes into the game and Appalachian was on its way to the decisive 45-38 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in the second consecutive meeting between the two teams in the conference title clash at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Louisiana at Appalachian State When: Saturday, December 7, 12:00 PM EST Where:Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C. TV/Streaming: ESPN / WatchESPN Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (9-2, 7-1 SBC) Sun Belt West Division Champions Location: Lafayette, La. Enrollment: 19,188 Head Coach: Billy Napier, 2nd Season (Career Record: 17-9) Season Recap:With its 31-30 win over ULM, Louisiana clinched its first 10-win season in […]
This week the Group of Five is down to four and this week, the top two ranked G5 teams meet in the regular season finale for each. Cincinnati plays at Memphis with each having sights at the American Athletic Conference title and a Cotton Bowl bid as the top G5 squad in the final rankings […]
The Bobcats may have been 30-point underdogs against one of the elite teams in the Group of Five, but TSU trailed just 14-13 midway through the third quarter. At that point, Appalachian finally unleashed tailback Darrynton Evans, who rushed for 154 yards on 21 carries and three second-half touchdowns to finally lift the Mountaineers (10-1 overall, 6-1 in the SBC) to their comfortable 35-13 win.
This week, the College Football Playoff Top 25 released its third rankings. The following is the full Top 25. The Group of Five has five teams in the initial release with Memphis ranked as the top G5 team–bumping Cincinnati from that spot from a week ago. Below are the full Top 25 rankings with the […]
It is hard to believe that 24th-ranked Appalachian State could play so badly early in its Sun Belt Conference football showdown Saturday night at historic Turner Field and still find time to engineer its 56-28 victory over the Panthers.
This week, the College Football Playoff Top 25 was released. The following is the full Top 25. The Group of Five has five teams in the initial release with Cincinnati ranked as the top G5 team. Below are the full Top 25 rankings with the G5 teams in bold. Three of the five teams are […]
It seems like nothing ever comes easy for Appalachian State when it is playing a Power-5 Conference football team. So why would Saturday night before 80,849 fans be any different for the Mountaineers in its 20-15 nail-biter over South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium?
BOONE, N.C. — In the wind, the cold and the snow of Kidd Brewer Stadium on Thursday, 20th-ranked Appalachian State seemingly watched the cotton boll of its Cotton Bowl hopes wither and die on the vine as arch-rival Georgia Southern held on for a 24-21 victory before 18,796 brave spectators and the national-television, Halloween-night audience […]
There was no doubt that No. 24-ranked Appalachian State had a couple of extra helpings of motivation heading into Saturday afternoon’s homecoming football game at Kidd Brewer Stadium and the Mountaineers turned that incentive into their convincing 52-7 Sun Belt Conference rout of Louisiana-Monroe. Remembering last season’s 34-14 loss to Georgia Southern four days following […]
[ED. NOTE: This morning, Wayne Otto, one of our College Sports Journal contributors, passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. This piece was one of many great pieces Wayne provided for us here at CSJ, and thought this was a fitting tribute to him. Rest in peace, Wayne.] For years all along […]
With the Major League Baseball playoff series in full swing and the National Basketball Association still in its preseason, ESPN will now start beginning the odd day games of the week. Luckily this week, however, there is a very good Group of Five contest that will allow the nation’s college football fans to witness as […]
One of the longest days in Appalachian State football history gravitated well into the evening as the Mountaineers opened their Sun Belt Conference opener against Coastal Carolina.
But even a two-hour and three-minute lightning delay couldn’t slow down the ASU attack in the 56-37 victory over the Chanticleers.
When Akeem Gaither-Davis partially blocked Noah Ruggles’ 56-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game, the Mountaineers completed their first win over a Power-Five conference team for the first time since the historic 34-32 stunner over Michigan.
Five players including Josh Love from San Jose State, Bryant Kobeck from Toledo, Elijah Mitchell from Louisiana, Demetrius Taylor from Appalachian State, and Bailey Hale from Lousiana Tech have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Sept. 23, 2019 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. The […]
Down goes UCF. The Knights lost for the first time in the regular season in 26 games Saturday with its one point loss at the ACC’s Pittsburgh. This opens the Group of Five up for another team to break UCF’s two year run on the New Year’s Six bowl bid. Another AAC team in Temple […]
This week there are still a number of G5 versus Power Five games and I will be keeping my eyes on these but the one game that has the majority of my attention this Saturday is another Mountain West opener (following the Friday Air Force-Boise State game) in Utah State visiting San Diego State. This game […]
As sprinters, Darrynton Evans and Jalen Virgil would make a fine start to building a successful track relay team.
And at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Appalachian State needed all of that speed and more to hold off upset-minded Charlotte, 56-41 in a non-conference football game.
Eliah Drinkwitz wasn’t shy about savoring the benefits of his first victory as a college football head coach following Appalachian State’s hard-fought, 42-7 win over former Southern Conference rival and Football Championship Subdivision squad East Tennessee State Saturday afternoon before a home-opening crowd of 25,147 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Mountaineers almost pulled off amajor upset in the opening week but lost 45-38 in overtime at Top 10 Penn State in the opening week and rode the momentum into a Sun Belt Conference championship by winning the inaugural Sun Belt title game over Louisiana. The Mountaineers then blew out Middle Tennessee 45-13 in the New Orleans Bowl to finish 11-2 overall (7-1 SBC) but one loss was Coach Scott Satterfield departing for the same job at Louisville.
“We’re not coming here to shock the system, but to enhance the culture,” Drinkwitz said. “This is not a stepping-stone job. This is a top-25 job.”
Five bowl games involving Group of Five schools kicked off the bowl season on Dec. 15. Mountain West champion Fresno State and Sun Belt champion Appalachian State were both in action and both won their games rather easily. Utah State and Tulane were big winners in their games. But the game of the day was […]
Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee State (New Orleans Bowl) When: Saturday, December 15, 9:00 PM EST Where: Superdome, New Orleans, La. TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Appalachian State Mountaineers (1st Sun Belt East, 10-2, 7-1) App State lost to Penn State in overtime in Happy Valley to open the season before winning 10 of its […]
All five Group of Five conference for the first-time hosted championship games with the Sun Belt Conference joining the party this year. Aside from the Sun Belt game, the other four games went down to the final minutes before a winner was decided. I will go over a small recap of each game and provide […]
BOONE, N.C. — There was a sense of symmetry for Darrynton Evans on Saturday afternoon as Appalachian State played in the first Sun Belt Conference football championship game against Louisiana-Lafayette before 14,960 fans at a rainy Kidd Brewer Stadium. “I kind of had a flashback,” said Evans, as he scooped up a bouncing kickoff and […]
Louisiana at Appalachian State When: Saturday, December 1, 12:00 PM EST Where:Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C. TV/Streaming: ESPN / WatchESPN Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (7-5, 6-2 SBC) Sun Belt West Division Champions Location: Lafayette, La. Enrollment: 13,454 Sagarin Rating: 111 (38 in G5) Season Recap: Coach Billy Napier came to the Ragin’ Cajuns from Arizona State where he served as Associate […]
