Checking in at No. 25 in the in the AP Top 25 on Sunday, Appalachian State landed in the longtime college football poll for the first time in school history. Fresh off a 27-17 home win against Louisiana, the Mountaineers will take their new ranking and momentum on the road Thursday for a Sun Belt Conference contest with Georgia Southern. Appalachian State boasts a 5-1 overall record and is perfect at 3-0 in conference play. At 6-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, Georgia Southern is part of a log jam (with Appalachian State and Troy) atop the Sun Belt East division, so the second half of the season will be fun. In his first full year at the helm, Chad Lunsford has the Eagles off to their hottest start in recent history, which is even more impressive considering Georgia Southern went 2-10 last season. The Eagles defeated New Mexico State 48-31 last week to clinch bowl eligibility. Appalachian State owns an 18-13-1 advantage over Georgia Southern in the all-time series and earned a 27-6 win in last year’s meeting. The Mountaineers currently have a three-game win streak over the Eagles. Georgia Southern this season is 4-0 at home. Appalachian State at Georgia Southern Kickoff: Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET TV: ESPNU Spread: Appalachian State -8.5 Three Things to Watch 1. Appalachian State’s high-octane offense The Mountaineers scored 27 points last week, which ended up being a season-low. However, that performance is far from indicative of what Appalachian has been able to do this season. The Mountaineers are averaging 44.8 points per game, which ranks them No. 5 in FBS and No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring offense. Appalachian State has scored 186 over its last four contests, and its offense enters Thursday having scored 36 touchdowns in six games this season. The Mountaineers rattled off 38 points against Penn State in Week 1 in a game where the Nittany Lions needed overtime to secure a seven-point win. Georgia Southern’s defense this season is allowing 15.6 points per game to Sun Belt Conference opponents, and the unit currently sits at No. 24 in FBS in scoring defense (19.3 points per game). 2. Georgia Southern’s rushing attack With 1,929 yards rushing this season, Georgia Southern has the FBS’ No. 5 rushing offense (275.6 yards per game). Quarterback Shai Werts and running back Wesley Fields have made the Eagles formidable on the ground. Werts has already amassed 542 yards rushing and a Sun Belt Conference-leading nine ground scores this season, while Fields has run for 472 yards and four touchdowns. They rank No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, in yards rushing in the Sun Belt Conference. Fields suffered an injury in Georgia Southern’s Oct. 11 victory at Texas State, and he didn’t play last week against New Mexico State. Despite his absence, the Eagles were still able to amass 389 yards rushing, thanks in part to contributions from Logan Wright and Wesley Kennedy III. Wright, who started in place of Fields, rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns, and Kennedy dashed for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The short week isn’t ideal for Fields’ recovery, but Wright and Kennedy have are worthy replacements should he not be ready to play. 3. Appalachian State’s rushing defense In order for the Mountaineers to exit Allen E. Paulson Stadium with a win, keying in on and stopping Georgia Southern’s rushing attack is paramount. If Appalachian State’s past performances this season offer any indication, the defensive unit is well-suited for the task. Opposing running backs are averaging 112.3 yards per game against the Mountaineers this season, and the defensive unit has allowed just seven ground scores. Those efforts have the Mountaineers sitting at No. 18 in FBS for run defense. Appalachian State hasn’t allowed an individual 100-yard rusher all season. The Mountaineers' vaunted run defense is allowing 2.97 yards per rush and has surrendered 674 ground yards all year. Final Analysis The Sun Belt Conference has garnered well-deserved attention this season due to the efforts of Appalachian State, Troy and Georgia Southern, and the national audience will be treated to a front-row seat Thursday for this pivotal conference matchup. Fields’ status remains unclear, and although Wright and Kennedy performed well in his absence last week, Fields’ impact on Georgia Southern’s offense is undeniable. His loss would be a big blow to the Eagles. Appalachian State ranks at or near the top of the Sun Belt Conference in several offensive categories. Georgia Southern, while talented, isn’t suited to match the Mountaineer offense point-for-point. Appalachian State should clinch bowl eligibility with a win Thursday. Prediction: Appalachian State 35, Georgia Southern 21 — Written by Elton Hayes, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. A sports reporter for The Meridian Star, Hayes also has been an invited guest on "The Paul Finebaum Show." Follow him on Twitter @EHDC12. (Top photo courtesy of @AppState_FB)<doc-sep>In this rivalry edition of Five-On-Five, App State Mania welcomes Justin Judy, publisher of Eagle Sports Insider at 247 Sports, to add perspectives on the Thursday-night, national-stage battle between Sun Belt Conference co-divisional leaders Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. On Georgia Southern Realizing that some of the staff was there last season, what are the key differences the new coaching staff has brought to Georgia Southern's program both on and off the field? I think first and foremost it is a new belief that Georgia Southern football is getting back to what the fans and traditions hold the standard to be. It seems to have gotten lost during the last regime but before that Willie Fritz in his short time really had Georgia Southern rolling in the transition to FBS. One key through all the transition has been Chad Lunsford, so he has seen the highs and the lows. He did a fantastic job assembling a staff which has aided in the quick turnaround. What have been Shai Werts' biggest areas of growth this season? First thing is the leadership skills have developed. Werts came in as one of the highest profile recruits Georgia Southern has had in a long while during the recruiting process and I think he just needed to mature. He is also making better decisions with the football and utilizing players around him better this season. How significant and successful has Scot Sloan's transition to the 3-4 defensive scheme been for the team this season? Sloan has been a really nice asset to this staff - I think Lunsford hit a home run on both coordinator hires with Offensive Coordinator Bob DeBesse and Defensive Coordinator Scot Sloan. Sloan has been running a multiple defense this year as Georgia Southern was mainly a 4-3 base last year. He definitely inherited some talent on that side of the ball but he has elevated some guys’ play as well. Several key Georgia Southern players missed last week's game at New Mexico State. What have you heard about the status of those players? Georgia Southern is really coy on injuries, like most schools, so they do not like to give much out. I think running back Wesley Fields will probably try to give it a go being this is his last App State game, but we will see who is out for pregame. Is the rivalry with App State still as significant for the Georgia Southern fan base, now that Southern is in the same conference as Georgia State? No question - I think Georgia Southern/App State will live on forever, and if it does not shame on whoever lets it die. Georgia Southern and App State goes back way farther than Georgia State, so I personally do not think that "rivalry" is within the same zip code as Georgia Southern vs. App State. The fans want this App State game more than any I've seen in a few years, and I have even dubbed this game one of the biggest in the history of Paulson Stadium with App State coming in ranked #25. On App State App State has been on a roll this year with a near upset of Penn State. What would you attribute most of the success to? Off the field, it’s the program’s culture. The continuity of coaching staff, namely Scott Satterfield, has allowed App State to maintain standards that have generated success for nearly 30 years. And, it’s been that culture that’s guided the program through the FBS transition. On the field, it’s the focus on execution over complexity. As Georgia Southern Head Coach Chad Lunsford said earlier this week, “They get good at what they do. It’s not a smoke and mirrors show.” When teams play App State they know what’s coming and the Mountaineers rely on their ability to do that so well that opponents still can’t stop it. Star running back Jalin Moore suffered a season-ending injury a few weeks back. How has that affected the Mountaineers? First, you don’t lose a runner of Jalin Moore’s ability, as he was headed towards easily becoming the program’s fifth 4,000-yard rusher, without that loss of talent impacting your offense. But, since his injury defenses have backed out of the box a little more and balanced their manpower to address the passing game, as well. Since, App State has run for nearly 500 yards, averaged almost 6.0 yards per carry, and scored five touchdowns on the ground. There’s still plenty of running talent, it just occurs more by committee. Off the field, Moore is a leader and he’s now exclusively focused there. His teammates have committed themselves to playing for him and meeting all of the goals they set together before the season, and that’s a powerful role behind the scenes. App State lost its Co-Defensive Coordinators last year to Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech respectively. How has the transition been to the new Defensive Coordinators? Incredibly successful, and that’s not at all a slight towards Bryan Brown’s and Dale Jones’ predecessors. In fact, credit Nate Woody for involving all of his staff so heavily in game-planning over the years. That prepared Brown, in particular, for the task of calling the defensive signals. By his own admission, Brown sees the game a little differently as a defensive-secondary expert, but works with Jones to maintain the proper balance for run-game planning. The entire staff remains heavily involved in weekly schemes, as well. As a result, App State is nationally ranked in the top 25 of all four major defensive-stat categories. Appalachian State Defensive Coordinator & Cornerback Coach Bryan Brown On offense App State lost Taylor Lamb but seems to not have missed much of a beat offensively, how has that happened? Again, it first goes back to an offensive scheme that’s more about great execution than a ton of variations. Next, quarterback Zac Thomas benefitted from two seasons of working behind Taylor Lamb. Thomas has great physical skills, but watching Lamb run the offense with great precision helped Thomas prepare for the mental demands of the position. It’s also the continuation of increasingly effective recruiting. As the FBS transition has continued App State’s recruiting process has evolved and improved. Today, the Mountaineers’ offensive depth chart includes 17 freshmen and sophomores across the two-deep, demonstrating the level of new talent that App State is signing. How do App State fans view the Georgia Southern rivalry with App State getting the better of Georgia Southern the last few years? It never changed for App State fans, this is THE rivalry. In fact, it’s the only remaining rivalry since the transition away from the Southern Conference. The move to the Sun Belt Conference has been beneficial in many ways, but it also means new league rivalries, which take time to develop, aren’t nearly as meaningful yet. That makes the Georgia Southern rivalry even more significant for Mountaineer fans. This will always be “Hate Week” for App State, as a team and a fan base.<doc-sep>
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. EST, Oct. 25 Location: Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Ga. Records: Georgia Southern (6-1, 3-0 Sun Belt), No. 25 Appalachian State (5-1, 3-0 Sun Belt) Weather: 65 degrees at kickoff, 40 percent chance of rain TV: ESPNU Betting Line: Appalachian State -9.5, O/U 47.5 Georgia Southern Outlook This season’s matchup between Georgia Southern and Appalachian State may have the most implications both conference-wide and nationally than the previous 33 contests between the two teams. The Mountaineers come into Paulson Stadium ranked nationally at #25, and both teams are eyeing a potential bid to represent the Sun Belt East in the conference title game, while Troy is still working out all the kinks without starting quarterback Kaleb Barker. I have been beating this drum all year, and this will be the first time I would like to see the Eagles adjust. Since the beginning of the season, GS has come out of the gate slow offensively and offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse has not helped things with his incredibly conservative play calling early on in games. This will be the game that determines how quickly DeBesse and company are able to adjust, as it is hard to imagine a world where App will just lay off for 2+ quarters of action and allow the Eagles to cut it on in time for the third quarter. One of the few troubling aspects of last week’s victory at New Mexico State is how slow the defense started as well for Southern. After letting the Aggies just walk down the field on the first two drives, the Eagles’ D stacked up and stopped NMSU from doing much of anything the rest of the game. Neither side of the ball will be able to cakewalk through half of the game against an App team that is ranked 25th in the country. Shai Werts and company will need to play its cleanest game of the season and have the play calling support them instead of putting them in poor 3rd and longs early in the game. Too many times against NMSU was the offense just told to run a deep pass play on 3rd and 8 only to have Werts bail the team out with a timely run. The Eagles can’t have any of that should it want a chance to win in this one. Oh, and Wesley Kennedy III needs to actually be involved in the offense. Heavily. Appalachian State Outlook Well here we are another big time showdown between the Mountaineers and the Eagles. This go round Appalachian State is ranked 25th in the nation. Any time these two programs get together expect the unexpected because these two former FCS powers know how to play football. Running back Darrynton Evans rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns a week ago against UL and assured everyone that he is very capable of handling the biggest part of the workload in the backfield. Zac Thomas didn't have his best day as he was 10/20 passing for 106 yards with a score and a pick, but heavy winds played a role in the decision to not throw the deep ball as much in the contest. The defense has been lights out and has been the foundation this team can stand on. Southern brings a different dynamic than the average run game. The triple option is always tough to prepare for even more so on a short week. Akeem Davis Gaither and Jordan Fehr will be key cogs to watch along with Myquon Stout on the front line. Prediction Brian: I think on paper that Appalachian State is a very, very good team. I also think Georgia Southern could be that good if they played consistently on both sides of the ball. For at least one night I think GS puts it all together and doesn’t take its opponent lightly for two or more quarters and Southern squeaks out a tight 31-27 win at home under the Thursday night lights. Aikman: App has so much to play for this week on the backs of a big shining light for this program and the strides it continues to make waves at the FBS level. Expect a dog fight but App knows it still has big things to prove. 24-21 App State.