Texas A&M Football: What you need to know about Appalachian State

Texas A&M football comes off of a blowout win against the Sam Houston State Bearkats to then defend their turf again against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. If you paid attention to the rest of college football on Saturday, you definitely heard about what the Mountaineers were up to.

Appalachian State started their year with a home matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels, and man was it a good one. The Mountaineers were trailing 41-21 entering the fourth quarter and it seemed like all hope was lost. However, the game was seemingly just beginning.

The Mountaineers went on to (somehow) tie the game up 49-49 with four minutes left to play. The two teams went back and forth with touchdowns, but a failed two-point conversion by App. State dug a hole that was too much to get out of with the time they had left. Despite scoring 47 (!!!) points in the fourth quarter alone, UNC ended up winning the game 63-61.

History

It turns out, this one is a first in the record books. The Aggies have never faced the Mountaineers. If we want an idea of what to expect from a Sun Belt team, the last team they faced from that conference was Texas State in 2019, a game in which the Aggies won 41-7.

Last season, The Mountaineers enjoyed a solid 10-4 season. It was a bit below their standards, but overall it was a good season. The games they lost were against good teams as well, with a loss against Miami, two losses against Louisiana, and a bowl game loss to Western Kentucky.

Their most successful season as of recent came in 2019 when they went 13-1. They finished with a conference championship, a bowl game win over UAB, and ranked 19th in the final AP poll of the season.