South a-luh-BAM-uh....

[Longrifle28]

Man, I sure remember the a$$whoopin we received the last time USA came to Boone.

The showed up and physically beat us up, and I swear we kind of acted like we liked it. Then Liberty came in the next week and won a barn burner. It was before we turned things around that year and won the last six games. I think the USA game was kind of a wake up call, you better get tough or get beat.

No prediction thread, but I think USA would like to get into a shoot out with us Saturday. I hope our defense is up to the task. I hope we show them the kind of speed and physicality they showed up here with in 2014. I hope they have a very unpleasant experience Saturday. I believe we have the team that can do it to them....

[Stonewall]

I remember it well.We looked FCS that day my friends,very FCS.Then "BOOM" , the turnaround was quite remarkable.

[Rick83]

OMG...that Liberty loss was when we hit rock bottom. I remember David Jackson on the post game radio show stopped taking callers after the first one was so anti-Satterfield. That was a miserable day and we had rented a cabin for the weekend and it was such a buzz-kill...but then the next week the team pulled it together and haven't looked back since. Now, I'd say we're entering a new era with this current team...but I don't want to jinx anything. USA scares me a little...if the team stays focused...and I would normally add healthy but with our depth of talent I'm not that concerned. Even at QB, Derrick has looked impressive as hell so far, running backs, receivers...OMG. Feelin' good about our Mountaineers!!

[Rekdiver]

...it was such a buzz-kill....

Can we eliminate the word "buzz" from our lexicon????

[Rick83]

...it was such a buzz-kill....

Can we eliminate the word "buzz" from our lexicon????

Noted....will do so going forward! LOL.

[SpeedkingATL]

I too remember that cold miserable night in 2014 where Brandon Bridge looked like a Heisman candidate against App. Hopefully Apps defense can put the brakes on a pretty good USA offense and App's O can play the way they have played all year thus far. It could become a shootout but I don't think Apps defense will let that happen, especially at home.

[AppAlum1]

I recall that last USA game in Boone. Uggh! Their QB was like 6'5", 250 lbs, could throw a bullet from one end of the field to the other & ran like a rumbling freight train. We were not ready for that.

But ... having said that, we are ready now! Bring it! I hope we hang 60 points on USA.

One more point ... what on earth was their coach thinking when he mispronounced our name in the press conference? Hope he hears it so many times on Saturday, he hears it in his sleep.

[Saint3333]

After we pulled half a dozen redshirts off we were a completely different team.

This is a talented, yet inconsistent, USA team. They also tend to play up to the competition level in conference.

Hopefully they continue to make the mistakes that have haunted them in the past.

[hotrod2001]

Yeah they looked pretty good against Memphis last week for the majority of the game before they went off the rails in the 4th.

We should beat them but they could make it interesting.

[appstate77]

I recall that last USA game in Boone. Uggh! Their QB was like 6'5", 250 lbs, could throw a bullet from one end of the field to the other & ran like a rumbling freight train. We were not ready for that.

But ... having said that, we are ready now! Bring it! I hope we hang 60 points on USA.

One more point ... what on earth was their coach thinking when he mispronounced our name in the press conference? Hope he hears it so many times on Saturday, he hears it in his sleep.

My guess is he wanted to intensify the fanny whoopin' his team is going to get. You just dont say things like that to or about a very hungry, quite talented team you are about to play.....Can anyone say "bulletin board material?"

[AtlAppMan]

No prediction thread, but I think USA would like to get into a shoot out with us Saturday. I hope our defense is up to the task. I hope we show them the kind of speed and physicality they showed up here with in 2014. I hope they have a very unpleasant experience Saturday. I believe we have the team that can do it to them....

Sorry but I don't think USA wants to get into a shoot out with us. We are #6 in the nation in scoring offense at 51.7 pts/game, almost twice what USA is averaging at 28.8 pts/game. We are also averaging only 20.3 pts against us on defense while playing the #1 FBS offense in PSU vs 42 pts/game for USA. Those are not favorable comparisons for USA to get into a shoot out with us. If that is their strategy I say, "Let's get it on".

[hapapp]

South Alabama's three loses have come to teams with a combined 8-3 record. Our wins have come against very weak competition. I don't think the statistical comparisons hold up. We haven't played anyone of consequence is almost a month. I would say they are significantly more battle tested than we are. Not suggesting that we lose this game, but notions of a rout seem far fetched to me.

[Longrifle28]

No prediction thread, but I think USA would like to get into a shoot out with us Saturday. I hope our defense is up to the task. I hope we show them the kind of speed and physicality they showed up here with in 2014. I hope they have a very unpleasant experience Saturday. I believe we have the team that can do it to them....

Sorry but I don't think USA wants to get into a shoot out with us. We are #6 in the nation in scoring offense at 51.7 pts/game, almost twice what USA is averaging at 28.8 pts/game. We are also averaging only 20.3 pts against us on defense while playing the #1 FBS offense in PSU vs 42 pts/game for USA. Those are not favorable comparisons for USA to get into a shoot out with us. If that is their strategy I say, "Let's get it on".

I was looking more at their defensive stats. I think they can score some points. Can we keep them at or below their average. Everybody has put points on them.

[Yosef84]

I think our offense will be able to play a more controlled game Saturday than we did against Penn State. By that, I mean that we won't necessarily have to air the ball out as much and we can eat more clock. Our D played well against PSU until they wore down from being on the field so long.