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Sports Blog: Some Things to Take Note Of

By Paul T. Choate

Deuce Robinson and the eighth-ranked Mountaineers open Southern Conference play today versus No. 21 The Citadel. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Photo courtesy of Keith Cline and Appalachian Sports Information

Sept. 15, 2012. It’s a Saturday afternoon in September and you know what that means — Appalachian State football! The game is now less than an hour away. Here are a few things to take note of regarding today’s matchup against The Citadel.

•  Both ASU and The Citadel are ranked teams. ASU is ranked No. 8 in The Sports Network’s NCAA Division I FCS media poll and No. 7 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Citadel is ranked No. 21 by The Sports Network and No. 23 by AFCA.

•  In the past nine meetings between ASU and The Citadel at Kidd Brewer Stadium the Apps are undefeated. The Citadel’s last victory in Boone came back in 1992.

•  ASU has not lost a Southern Conference (SoCon) home opener in 30 years. They are 22-2 all time when playing their SoCon opener at Kidd Brewer. 

•  ASU is 13-3 overall when facing The Citadel in their SoCon opener.

Despite the numbers overwhelmingly favoring the Mountaineers, this 2012 Citadel squad is a very tough team. Both teams are coming off big wins last Saturday, with ASU defeating Montana 35-27 and The Citadel beating strongly favored Georgia Southern 23-21.

“I hope The Citadel scores first,” one ASU fan told me yesterday. “I would hate to think App runs down the field and scores a touchdown in the first few plays of the game. They are riding a high [after beating Montana last Saturday] and the natural direction to trend from there is to go down some. I think they will need some adversity early to stay sharp.”

Though I can’t share in the sentiment of hoping the Mountaineers don’t score first, I do think they will need to be on top of their game to pull off a win today. 

“That’s one thing about The Citadel — they have no quit in them. It’s part of their training,” the same fan told me. “They can be down 40-0 and they will still be playing like it’s the first play of the game.”

Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. and High Country Press will be on the scene, snapping tons of photos and providing top-notch coverage. Remember to check back after the game today for post-game analysis and the ever-popular “12th man” fan photos.

See you at the game. Go Mountaineers!