This time, Georgia State won’t have to deal with snow.
When the Panthers played Appalachian State last season in Boone, N.C., it snowed. A lot. Coach Trent Miles later said his team didn’t show up in a 44-0 loss. Georgia State’s offense rushed for a program-low 8 yards. The defense gave up 469 rushing yards.
There may have been too much precipitation and not enough perspiration.
“I felt like, when we got there and the environment the way it was, we had guys going out when we woke up in the motel and it was snowing, we had dudes going, ‘Oh my god, I’ve never seen this,’” Miles said.
“Players were taking pictures in it. And then we get out there and it’s blowing sideways. I believe that we were a fragile football team at that point, and they mentally they caved into the elements.”
This year’s game will be in the Georgia Dome. The forecast won’t include snow.
So the Panthers’ (1-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) biggest worry will be trying to improve a defense that, after showing improvement in its previous three games, was gouged by FCS team Liberty for more than 500 yards in a 41-33 loss Saturday.
The coaches know what went wrong against the Flames. The players missed dozens of tackles, didn’t execute their assignments and were pushed back too easily because of poor pad level, according to Miles. Liberty rushed for 263 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Liberty converted numerous third-and-long plays by winning a lot of the “50/50” balls. Some of Georgia State’s defenders forgot their responsibilities and overran some plays, creating large gaps that the Flames exploited.
Miles and Minter took the blame for the performance after the loss, saying they must coach better.
“Guys have to trust each other,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. “We have to do a much better job coming out and try to win this game.”
There’s not a lot of time.
The Mountaineers have scored at least 31 points in three of the past four weeks with a rushing game that has been rolling like a snowball downhill since last year’s game against the Panthers. Appalachian State is averaging 282.5 rushing yards per game this season, second only to Georgia Southern. Georgia State is allowing 205.5 rushing yards per game.
The Mountaineers’ rushing offense is different than Liberty’s. Appalachian is led by Marcus Cox, who averages 122.5 rushing yards per game. They feature a lot of runners who are good at getting outside and will mix in some option behind an athletic offensive line.
“We have to play with an edge,” Minter said. “We have to play with a little bit more of an attitude.”
Trying to win in a shootout may not be an option. Though Georgia State features one of the Sun Belt’s better offenses with an average of 452.5 yards per game, Appalachian features the conference’s best defenses in scoring (13.5 points per game) and yards (278), both by large margins.
“They are a good football team,” Miles said. “They know how to win football games. They are physically tough. They run the football and they play outstanding defense.”
