Photo via Appalachian State Alumni
It’s game day, Appalachian State fans. For the first time in 2021, our Mountaineers will take the field.
The opponent in Charlotte — if you even want to call them that — will be East Carolina. On Wednesday, we offered you an unbiased preview of the contest.
This piece will be brought to you in black and gold blinders.
Um, We’re Really Good
Folks, Mountaineer football is back and we have the potential to be better than ever. Quarterback Zac Thomas might be gone, but we could be looking at the best pocket passer we have ever seen put on the black and gold. While he might not be as agile as Thomas, don’t be surprised if you see Chase Brice snap off a 25-yard run like it’s nothing.
He has a solid frame, a lot of size on him, and a damn good arm. Brice can throw the ball on a dime and put it in places like we haven’t seen since Armanti Edwards was winning FCS titles. We’ve got a huge chip on our shoulder after being overlooked with how last season went. Seeing Louisiana and Coastal being held in such high regard after we pushed the conference to new heights in 2019 really left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
This game against ECU will be the first glimpse at what could be the best offense we’ve ever seen. We’ve never seen our receiver or running back rooms as absolutely stacked as they’ll be this year.
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Camerun Peoples will be the best running back we’ve ever had (so far) and is going to put on a show this season. He won’t be held back by a snap count to start the year like he was in 2020. Nate Noel absolutely exploded onto the scene in 2020 and could be the starting running back anywhere else as a sophomore.
We don’t know anything about incoming transfer Jahmir Smith, but he’s got great size and speed and played at Notre Dame. That is a pretty impressive resume already. We also get Daetrich Harrington back later in the season. That will give the Mountaineers four running backs who can run roughshod over defenses.
Everyone is pointing out how we’re losing three starters on the line, but don’t be worried. We’ve always developed great linemen and the incoming transfer Isaiah Helms has turned a lot of heads. The new guys won’t miss a beat.
Full Blown Homer Prediction
We’ll absolutely blow the Pirates out of the water. One win against SMU who was backsliding for a few weeks is not enough to give the slightest worry.
ECU’s run defense is atrocious and our running backs are NFL caliber. Stack the box, and we slash them with our raring-to-go receivers. Our defense shuts them down.
Will they score an inexplicable touchdown on the first play or return the opening kickoff for a touchdown? Absolutely; that’s the Appalachian way. We win quarters two, three and four and win big.
Prediction: Appalachian State 52, East Carolina 10.