BOONE, N.C. — South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference play Thursday night at Appalachian State, carrying the momentum of a record-setting first win under head coach Major Applewhite into a nationally televised matchup at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Jaguars (1-2) scored in all three phases last Thursday in an 87-10 rout of FCS Northwestern State, setting single-game scoring records for both the program and the Sun Belt. It was the highest-scoring college football game since 1991, even though the fourth quarter was shortened to six minutes. Appalachian State (2-1) is also opening conference play.
The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and is the only college football game scheduled for Thursday night. South Alabama’s game against Northwestern State was moved to a Thursday to give the Jaguars a full week to prepare after ESPN picked up the Appalachian State matchup.
Appalachian State Under Shawn Clark
Shawn Clark is in his fifth season as head coach of the Mountaineers, his alma mater. He returned to Boone as an assistant under Scott Satterfield for two seasons and was retained by Eliah Drinkwitz after Satterfield left for Louisville following the 2018 season. Drinkwitz went 12-1 in his lone season, a year that included a win over North Carolina and the program’s fourth consecutive Sun Belt championship game victory, before leaving for another job.
Clark was promoted and made his head coaching debut in the 2019 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, a 31-17 win over UAB. He is 37-19 overall and 22-10 in conference play, and his teams have beaten a ranked opponent in three straight seasons: No. 14 Coastal Carolina in 2021, No. 6 Texas A&M in 2022 and No. 18 James Madison in 2023. Before returning to Appalachian State, Clark coached the offensive line at Kent State, Purdue and Eastern Kentucky.
Appalachian State went 9-5 overall and 6-2 in the Sun Belt last season and represented the East Division in the conference championship game. The Mountaineers finished second in the division, but division winner James Madison was ineligible under FBS transition rules.
Mountaineers on Offense
Appalachian State runs a pro-style offense built on tempo, speeding up after big plays to keep defenses from substituting and slowing down at other points in the game.
Quarterback Joey Aguilar, the Sun Belt’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year, has completed 72 of 124 passes (58.1 percent) for 964 yards and five touchdowns. He was named Sun Belt Player of the Week after throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns in a come-from-behind 21-19 win over East Carolina.
Kaedin Robinson leads the receivers with 18 catches for 290 yards. Makai Jackson has 14 catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns, Christian Horn has 11 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown, including an 83-yard reception, and Eli Wilson has 10 catches for 122 yards and two scores.
Anderson Castle leads the ground game with 148 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Jackson has 71 yards and a touchdown on three carries, Kanye Roberts has 63 yards on 19 carries, Ahmani Marshall has 49 yards on 14 carries and Aguilar has 44 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
Mountaineers on Defense and Special Teams
Appalachian State lists a 3-4 base defense but often plays a 3-3-5 that relies on a hybrid linebacker-safety at its “Star” position. Linebacker Caden Sullivan leads the team with 20 tackles, nine solo, and safety Ronald Clarke has 18 tackles, nine solo. Outside linebacker Thomas Davis has 1.5 sacks, and five other players have one sack each. Senior cornerback Seth Robertson has the defense’s only interception.
Mitchell Lake averaged 38.2 yards per punt over the first two games with a long of 61, and Connor Maynard averaged 44.8 yards in the most recent game. Michael Hughes is 5-for-5 on field goals with a long of 36 yards and 8-for-8 on extra points.
Jaguars on Offense
Quarterback Gio Lopez returned against Northwestern State after missing the previous game with a turf toe injury. He has completed 41 of 68 passes (60.3 percent) for 689 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Bishop Davenport has completed 23 of 37 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the receivers with 20 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns and leads the team with 416 all-purpose yards, including 129 punt return yards and a 62-yard punt return touchdown against Northwestern State. Devin Voisin has 13 catches for 184 yards, and DJ Thomas-Jones has five catches for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Shamar Sandgren, Jeremiah Webb and Anthony Eager each have a touchdown catch.
Fluff Bothwell, coming off his first career 100-yard rushing game, leads the Jaguars with 243 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, an average of 10.6 yards per carry. Kentrel Bullock, who also topped 100 yards last week, has 157 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. PJ Martin, Lopez and Jarvis Durr each have a rushing touchdown. Braylon McReynolds is also part of the backfield rotation.
Jaguars on Defense and Special Teams
Blayne Myrick leads the defense with 25 tackles, nine solo, along with a half tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs has 17 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup, and Jaden Voisin has 16 tackles, 10 solo, and an interception. Amarion Fortenberry and Chrystyile Caldwell each have an interception, and Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr. and Tyler Thomas each have a sack.
The South Alabama secondary allowed a 75-yard touchdown pass in the first half against Northwestern State, and the Jaguars generated little pressure on opposing quarterbacks in their first two games.
Special teams mistakes figured in both losses. Against North Texas, a punt struck one of the Jaguars’ own blockers after a bad snap and was recovered for a touchdown. Against Ohio, a muffed punt by Pritchett set up a short field that the Bobcats converted into points.
Aleksi Pulkkinen has handled punting the last two games, averaging 37.6 yards with four punts downed inside the 20. Jack Martin has averaged 44 yards on two punts. Laith Marjan is 5-for-6 on field goals with a long of 39 yards and 12-for-12 on extra points.
Series History
South Alabama won the first meeting between the schools in 2014, but Appalachian State has won the four meetings since, including a 31-7 decision in 2021. The Mountaineers are listed as 7.5-point favorites. The forecast for Boone calls for a better than 60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms Thursday evening.
