As history will tell you, the Appalachian State Mountaineers aren’t scared of big moments.
Time and time again, the Mountaineers have either upset or pushed to the edge top-end opponents and they’re a team that’s always looking to disrupt someone’s schedule.
Their latest challenge though will be one of their toughest, as they head on the road to face the No. 14 Clemson Tigers.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge, one we look forward to,” said head coach Shawn Clark. “I have a lot of respect for Coach [Dabo] Swinney and what he does in his program. If you look at the years he’s been there, they’ve competed for championships year in and year out. We have a lot of respect for them and we’re going to have to play our absolute best to have a chance to win on Saturday.”
Last year, the Mountaineers pushed another top ACC team in the UNC Tar Heels to the edge in a back-and-forth shootout, before falling just short in double overtime, but the Tigers present a different challenge entirely.
“What impresses me is everything,” Clark said. “You look at the size, the speed they have. There’s a reason why they’ve won national championships. There’s a reason why they’ve won ACC championships. It’s because they do the right things all the time.”
Although Clemson had a tough time getting anything going offensively against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in Week 1, the Tigers are hoping to have better results against a team not at the top of the college football world.
Clemson is hoping to click with their new offensive scheme set up by a familiar face in offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who was the running back coach for App State back in 2019.
While it may take some time for the Tigers to work things out with the skill positions, they have the benefit of having one of the top lines in the country.
“This week presents a huge challenge for us upfront,” Clark said. “You watch the Georgia game this past Saturday when Clemson played Georgia and their front four are some of the best we’ve played since I’ve been here as a position coach or head coach. They have four first-round draft picks, and they bring in the second unit and there’s not much drop-off. We have to get a lot of work done in a hurry.”
App State kicked off their schedule last weekend against East Tennessee State on Saturday, cruising to a 38-10 win.
Senior quarterback Joey Aguilar had a strong showing, accounting for four of the Mountaineers’ five touchdowns.
Aguilar finished the evening with 326 yards and two touchdowns through the air and two touchdowns on five carries on the ground.
Senior receiver Kaedin Robinson led the team in receiving yards with 103 on eight catches and both senior tight end Eli Wilson and senior receiver Christian Horn hauled in touchdowns – Horn having had the longest play of the evening going 83-yards for his score.
App State will need to keep that offense clicking if they want to have a chance against the Tigers in Death Valley.
“We expect to win big games,” Clark said. “I guess the secret is out that we play well in big games, but you watch the tape, and they have a very good football team. They just happened to play one of the best in the country on Saturday. You look and it was 6-0 at halftime. The score is what it is, but they gave Georgia all they wanted for three quarters.”
Despite their impressive 40-game home winning streak having been broken last year, Clemson still has one of the best home-field advantages in the NCAA at Memorial Stadium.
“This is a place you dream about playing,” Clark said. “It’s going to be a hostile environment, one of the best environments in all of college football and they have a very passionate fan base like ours. We’ve been in these situations before, though. So, the moment won’t be too big for our players.
“It’s a challenge we look forward to and we just want to make sure we make App State proud this weekend.”
