First game: ETSU

[NewApp]

Was Mouse Ears in Johnson City?

Mouse Ears, the titty bar?

I always considered it more of a performing arts establishment.

Pretty good performing arts at that!

[AppStFan1]

Even the players haven't started game prep for ETSU yet.

Talk about whatever game you like. We're going to house ETSU and that's a fact. UNC (and South Carolina) is a chance for a program-changing win.

Back in 2007 Michigan said the same thing except replace ETSU with App State and UNC and South Carolina with Penn State and Ohio State. We SHOULD house ETSU. We should beat them 60-0 for sure. They are a top 25 caliber FCS program but it should still not be close. We won't put 100 on them though and I bet they play us much better than Gardner-Webb did last year.

We would be a program-changing win for ETSU. They are looking at us just like we are looking at the combo of winning against South Carolina and UNC. Don't let arrogance bite us in the butt the way it did with Michigan.

Nobody at Michigan thought we could win. ETSU fans are probably looking at us losing an All-SBC OT and think Nasir Player could get to Zac and perhaps think their 2 All-SoCon DBs could then pick a couple passes off and force turnovers. If they can force 2-3 turnovers and keep their defense off the field early on they probably believe they can make it close at halftime and then if close anything can happen in second half. I don't know what their fans are saying but I'm sure they are looking at the ways in which it could happen.

Do I think we beat ETSU? Yes. Would I be disappointed if we only won by 20 points? Yes. I want to win by 50 or more but we can't ignore them. They are our first opponent. Once we beat them I will feel a lot better.

Was anyone on here in the stands back when Chadwell was their QB and we had those temporary bleachers and they beat us? I remember them chanting overrated, shaking their keys to tell us to warm up the car, and the celebration that day. We are much better than we were then but they are better as well. I don't want that feeling and thus we better be ready and come in ready.

And back in [every year ever], [every huge favorite ever] said the same thing about [hopelessly overmatched opponent]... and then blew them out just as expected. There's a reason that Michigan game still makes the all-time upset lists.

If you think Michigan looked at Penn State and Ohio State the way we are our two P5 opponents this year, I'd suggest you do some research on Michigan football history. Those would have been more like, say, Georgia Southern and Troy are for us.

Lastly, *we* absolutely can be as arrogant as we want and ignore ETSU totally, because *we* are fans on a message board. Yes, the players shouldn't overlook anyone - but we've been hearing for months on this board about how we mustn't talk about any game besides ETSU, whereas in reality the actual players are STILL a week away from prepping for that specific game.

#OverlookETSU

When I say we I am talking about App State as a whole. You can do what you want but if any of our coaches and players have your mindset right now, we will lose. I agree with you we should beat the heck out of them. Nobody thinks they can be one of the teams to lose to a lower tier school but we are still just a G5 trying to make it. We aren't unbeatable yet. Alabama had a close game with The Citadel for a half. If Citadel can make Alabama sweat then ETSU can certainly beat us. I don't want to sweat. I want to win big.

[AppStFan1]

Even the players haven't started game prep for ETSU yet.

Talk about whatever game you like. We're going to house ETSU and that's a fact. UNC (and South Carolina) is a chance for a program-changing win.

Back in 2007 Michigan said the same thing except replace ETSU with App State and UNC and South Carolina with Penn State and Ohio State. We SHOULD house ETSU. We should beat them 60-0 for sure. They are a top 25 caliber FCS program but it should still not be close. We won't put 100 on them though and I bet they play us much better than Gardner-Webb did last year.

We would be a program-changing win for ETSU. They are looking at us just like we are looking at the combo of winning against South Carolina and UNC. Don't let arrogance bite us in the butt the way it did with Michigan.

Nobody at Michigan thought we could win. ETSU fans are probably looking at us losing an All-SBC OT and think Nasir Player could get to Zac and perhaps think their 2 All-SoCon DBs could then pick a couple passes off and force turnovers. If they can force 2-3 turnovers and keep their defense off the field early on they probably believe they can make it close at halftime and then if close anything can happen in second half. I don't know what their fans are saying but I'm sure they are looking at the ways in which it could happen.

Do I think we beat ETSU? Yes. Would I be disappointed if we only won by 20 points? Yes. I want to win by 50 or more but we can't ignore them. They are our first opponent. Once we beat them I will feel a lot better.

Was anyone on here in the stands back when Chadwell was their QB and we had those temporary bleachers and they beat us? I remember them chanting overrated, shaking their keys to tell us to warm up the car, and the celebration that day. We are much better than we were then but they are better as well. I don't want that feeling and thus we better be ready and come in ready.

#OverlookETSU

I laughed out loud when I read that.

It is funny that we have fans who saw what happened against Michigan and can overlook people now. Gardner-Webb I overlooked because they weren't even a FCS playoff team. I mean the year we beat Michigan we were the best team in FCS. No ETSU is not the best team in FCS but they have a pulse and are someone I want to crush. We should beat them by 60 or more but if arrogance sets in our lockerroom it will not happen. I just hope we bury them big time. Like Drink said, take it one week at a time and be the best team in the stadium that day. We are light years better than ETSU right now but Michigan said the same thing. That's all I'm saying. We fans can do what we want but I know fans from other schools read this board. I just don't want to give anyone lockerroom material to use as fuel.

[NewApp]

AppStFan, I remember us losing to Wofford the year of the Michigan win. What was the mention of GWU about?

[EastHallApp]

Literally no one is here saying the team should ignore ETSU. This is about all the people who spend the offseason scolding message board posters for talking about other games because they aren't the next one on the schedule.

ETSU fans, if you're reading, feel free to send my posts along to your team for motivation. (It's nothing personal - I know you have a fine FCS team.)

If we need to rely on ETSU not being suitably motivated for App to win this game handily, then we have bigger problems than a message board.

[Rick83]

I'm sorry but the notion that we as fans, and not as players or coaches, might cause our team to lose to ETSU because we're discussing other games on the schedule is laughable. I guarantee you, without even looking, that every college's message board in the country is talking about their entire upcoming season and not just the first game...especially those with lower level opponents as openers...come'on.

[Black Saturday]

Even the players haven't started game prep for ETSU yet.

Talk about whatever game you like. We're going to house ETSU and that's a fact. UNC (and South Carolina) is a chance for a program-changing win.

Back in 2007 Michigan said the same thing except replace ETSU with App State and UNC and South Carolina with Penn State and Ohio State. We SHOULD house ETSU. We should beat them 60-0 for sure. They are a top 25 caliber FCS program but it should still not be close. We won't put 100 on them though and I bet they play us much better than Gardner-Webb did last year.

We would be a program-changing win for ETSU. They are looking at us just like we are looking at the combo of winning against South Carolina and UNC. Don't let arrogance bite us in the butt the way it did with Michigan.

Nobody at Michigan thought we could win. ETSU fans are probably looking at us losing an All-SBC OT and think Nasir Player could get to Zac and perhaps think their 2 All-SoCon DBs could then pick a couple passes off and force turnovers. If they can force 2-3 turnovers and keep their defense off the field early on they probably believe they can make it close at halftime and then if close anything can happen in second half. I don't know what their fans are saying but I'm sure they are looking at the ways in which it could happen.

Do I think we beat ETSU? Yes. Would I be disappointed if we only won by 20 points? Yes. I want to win by 50 or more but we can't ignore them. They are our first opponent. Once we beat them I will feel a lot better.

Was anyone on here in the stands back when Chadwell was their QB and we had those temporary bleachers and they beat us? I remember them chanting overrated, shaking their keys to tell us to warm up the car, and the celebration that day. We are much better than we were then but they are better as well. I don't want that feeling and thus we better be ready and come in ready.

Wonder how many APP fans truthfully thought APP would win that day? I'm sure there are some revisionists though.

[bigdaddyg]

Someone please start a thread solely dedicated to discussing the ETSU game. I’m sure it will go 20 pages at least with in depth analysis of their incredibly powerful squad. This is the first game, first home game and first for Drink. If the guys aren’t fired up and prepared we have HUGE problems on the mountain.

[bigdaddyg]

And why on earth does every situation always come back to the Michigan game? No matter who we play it’s 3 degrees of separation.

[Yosef84]

I don't think Coach Drink is going to let the team look past anyone, especially his very first game as our head coach. He knows full well that starting his tenure at App with a loss to ETSU would put him in a huge hole. That would replace the Loss to Liberty (remember that one?) as our most embarrassing FBS performance. I just don't think that is going to happen...NO WAY. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if it took us a while to start pulling away. ETSU will be super motivated and playing on adrenaline so you just never know.

The only way ETSU hangs with us for more than a half is if App self destructs. That's what happened at GS last year. Again....don't believe that's going to happen.

I expect App to handle the Bucs, but football is a strange sport sometimes. It's a momentum game and a few plays can change the picture quite a bit. Anything less than a dominating performance is going to be disappointing to most (especially the team).

We have 17 returning starters. All those guys remember that loss to GS (embarrassment) and the close loss to Penn State (disappointment). Drink has something to prove and this team has unfinished business. I can't wait until the season starts!

[scatman77]

We don't want to become their Michigan.

[AppSt94]

There isn't anything wrong with discussing other opponents and I have been one to carry the BeatETSU banner. My point is that some of you guys are optimistic that this could be our year to go 12-0. In order to go 12-0, you first have to go 1-0. As for those fully expecting a blowout in week 1, let me be the first to caution you that you might want to temper those expectations a bit because they might lead to a meltdown if the score is, "closer than the experts think." Based off of news coming from camp, I would be more inclined to expect a 38-9 win than a 60-0 blowout. Unless there is a good amount of progress in the next couple of weeks, and I am not saying that is not a possibility, we are going to need to rely on the defense and athletic superiority for the first few weeks until the offense finds their groove.

[Rick83]

I would expect that we'll win easily but not a blowout as we'll be in the implementation phase of Drink's offense and Roof's defense. I would expect a lot of younger players to get reps so that the coaches can get some film on them in game situations. Kind of like UNCC last year where we played a ton of Freshmen only this time throw in a new coaching staff to boot.
I would also expect the playbook to not be fully open for the first game due to phase-in purposes as well as keeping some surprises for our friends in Chapel Hill. Drink is well aware of how the fan base feels about beating a P5 and in particular the light blue variety.

[AtlAppMan]

ETSU is watching this in preparation. Their 1997 win over App.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=et ... ORM=VRDGAR

Someone also needs to explain to me how the laws of the universe cause some dude on a message board, with no direct connections to the actual players or coaches on either team, to post boasting charges that his team will win big against another opponent somehow changes the outcome of that game? Heaven forbid he says something over a beer in a bar.

I think it is most likely we put up 40 plus and they maybe get into double digits. A wider margin or thinner margin either way becomes less likely but possible due to first game for both teams. I fully expect our team will be anxious and ready to roll to prove who they are under the new coaching staff with plenty of adrenaline of their own. Flip the table for a moment, ETSU does not know exactly what they are facing due to all the changes on our side so that is a big unknown for them.

[MountaineerChemist10]

One game at a time fellas.

App vs. ETSU. I can see a remake of last year's game vs. Gardner-Webb coming up. Final score: 55 - 7

[AppSt94]

ETSU is watching this in preparation. Their 1997 win over App.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=et ... ORM=VRDGAR

Someone also needs to explain to me how the laws of the universe cause some dude on a message board, with no direct connections to the actual players or coaches on either team, to post boasting charges that his team will win big against another opponent somehow changes the outcome of that game? Heaven forbid he says something over a beer in a bar.

I think it is most likely we put up 40 plus and they maybe get into double digits. A wider margin or thinner margin either way becomes less likely but possible due to first game for both teams. I fully expect our team will be anxious and ready to roll to prove who they are under the new coaching staff with plenty of adrenaline of their own. Flip the table for a moment, ETSU does not know exactly what they are facing due to all the changes on our side so that is a big unknown for them.

Your last statement isn’t entirely true. They can watch film on State and get a pretty decent idea of what we are trying to do on offense. As for the defense, they can expect some changes, but it actually hasn’t changed that much. Roof is adding a few wrinkles to what already worked but that’s it.

[AtlAppMan]

ETSU is watching this in preparation. Their 1997 win over App.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=et ... ORM=VRDGAR

Someone also needs to explain to me how the laws of the universe cause some dude on a message board, with no direct connections to the actual players or coaches on either team, to post boasting charges that his team will win big against another opponent somehow changes the outcome of that game? Heaven forbid he says something over a beer in a bar.

I think it is most likely we put up 40 plus and they maybe get into double digits. A wider margin or thinner margin either way becomes less likely but possible due to first game for both teams. I fully expect our team will be anxious and ready to roll to prove who they are under the new coaching staff with plenty of adrenaline of their own. Flip the table for a moment, ETSU does not know exactly what they are facing due to all the changes on our side so that is a big unknown for them.

Your last statement isn’t entirely true. They can watch film on State and get a pretty decent idea of what we are trying to do on offense. As for the defense, they can expect some changes, but it actually hasn’t changed that much. Roof is adding a few wrinkles to what already worked but that’s it.

I think what I said was (paraphrasing) they don't know exactly how our offense will look as it will be some hybrid of last year, Drink's NCSU, etc. Yes, you are correct in that it will resemble some of NCSU. So they watch all of the above but when it gets down to it, they really don't know what form it will take on game day. I was just saying they have more uncertainties to deal with that some are admitting.

At the end of the day, it will depend on how well WE execute as to the outcome. If we run smoothly then we roll them. If we don't then it is ugly or really bad.

[goapps93]

I think we could draw up plays with bottle caps in the huddle and beat ETSU pretty convincingly. But then we'd have to learn how to huddle.

[ASU3432Mi]

Will this game be officiated by a Sun Belt crew?

[AppSt94]

Will this game be officiated by a Sun Belt crew?

You mean these guys?