Yosef's Cabin fires off their perspective of the game

Sep 11, 2015, 1:11 PM

Kyle over at Yosef's Cabin (the website for App St.) did a back-and-forth with me about this Saturday's game. Here is his message to Clemson fans.....

You're playing WHO this weekend? Appalachian huh? I'm from Yosef's Cabin, the Appalachian State Mountaineers main stomping ground before going into battle. I must say - I got here quicker than I thought! All of the construction signage I passed on the way into this blog got me concerned I might never get a preview of the Appalachian State team out to th....

What's that David? The orange I saw wasn't warning me about construction? It's one of the main colors of your team?!? Nice kitties....

You'll have to forgive me - I'm with the group of hillbillies riding in a wagon down the mountain to play a little bit of foosball in the Valley. I'll do what I can to get to know Clemson a bit better so that we fit in when we get to the Valley.

Like, if you didn't know, The Appalachian State Mountaineers are, like, totally awesome. OMG we are like, in the FBS now and the FBS transition was, like, totally last season, so...

What now David? You don't play in the Valley - you play in Death Valley? That can't be good...

Ok. How 'bout I just give it to you straight.

This Saturday, Appalachian State will travel down to Clemson for what the media likes to call, a money game. And let's face it, this is a money game for Appalachian State. We're smart. We have a budget and unlike our politicians in Washington, we will do what we need to balance it. Sometimes that means signing up for an ### kicking, but sometimes it means signing up for what most people think will be an ### kicking.

While I don't think any Mountaineer fans are expecting another Michigan win, we certainly aren't expecting our team to roll over either. Make no mistake about it though, we do not consider this game to be a money game. For those of you thinking that this is another Wofford warmup that will end at halftime, hold on to your seats. A couple of interesting notes heading into the game:

The last time Clemson and Appalachian State met, Clemson "surprisingly struggled with the Mountaineers". Appalachian has a rich history of not laying up for the 'money games' (or 'opportunity games' as our ex ball coach used to say). We have admittedly not been as competitive in these types of games in the last few years but are looking at returning to our usual form of putting up a fight and not giving in. Just don't be surprised if a struggle ensues.
Appalachian State is returning 20 of 22 starters, more than any team in the FBS. We are riding a 7 game winning streak and fully plan on extending that to 8.
The Michigan win had us with a great team and great coaching staff. Our offensive line coach who was responsible for helping us win? None other than Shawn Elliott, Appalachian State grade and current South Carolina co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. His playing days at Appalachian State were with current Appalachian State Head Coach Soctt Satterfield. They played together for years and then coached together for years. Do you really think at the very least a phone call hasn't been made between the two of them asking for any pointers or help breaking down and attacking the Tigers?
The betting line opened at a 21 point spread and has tightened to a 17 point spread. It may end up being a 14 point spread by kickoff. We like those odds.
So what does the team look like? While we still operate out of the spread that made us famous, our offense has become increasingly complex. We like to keep a quick pace and but we aim to run the ball at least 40 times this weekend. Appalachian State returns one of the top running backs from last year in the FBS with junior Marcus Cox, averaging 111 yards a game. Expect a lot of grind from him and his very capable stable of backups.

While rushing up the middle is our bread and butter, our QB, Taylor Lamb, is more than capable of handling himself through the air. While he's not going to be the next Andrew Luck, he's a fantastic game manager and has been very careful with the rock after getting comfortable a few games in last season. He's not going to turn the ball over often (if at all) and if he does, it wont' hang on his conscious. We have a couple of WRs that you need to keep an eye on as we like to spread it around: Malachi Jones is one of our most all around talented receivers, able to stretch you downfield and also catch the ball in traffic. Simms McElfresh is reminiscent of a Wes Welker (a la his Patriot days) and Shaedon Meadors is a speedster that has worked hard to get involved in the short and medium routes this season.

On the defensive side of the house, our front 7 is stout. We would like to be a bit deeper on the line, but our 3-4 scheme gives others enough trouble as they don't get to see it too often that it helps keep the offense guessing. We may be a bit smaller, but our strength and conditioning program will have you wondering how we are keeping up in the trenches. Our secondary can be suspect at times but has come into their own over the last season gaining much needed experience.

The biggest question mark for Appalachian State fans is our special teams. Historically, we have lived (see Michigan '07) or died (see Southern Miss, '14) by our special teams play. We were among the worst special teams units in the entire country last year (including pee wee leagues). While we've only played one game this year against FCS Howard, there was certainly some hope that we have improved from last year's debacle, which in fairness to our team was marred by injuries.

So what is our bold prediction for the Clemson game?

Clemson 28, App State 17

On a more somber note, please keep our starting linebacker, Devan Stringer in your prayers. His 11 day old daughter suddenly passed away this week making this the toughest week Devan will likely ever have in his life. We do not know whether he will play Saturday and only he can make that decision, but God be with him and his family.
Thanks for letting me hi-jack your space for a bit. Come learn more about Appalachian State at our fan site, Yosef's Cabin. You'll find on the Mountaineer Message Board that apart from a few knuckle headed hillbillies, we're generally a very welcoming and respectful group of fans that will vigorously defend our team to the end! Good luck this weekend and may you go 11-1 this season, winning out after September 12th.