Week One: East Carolina versus Appalachian State

Appalachian State at East Carolina--This is an in-state matchup between Appalachian State and East Carolina. The Appalachian State Mountaineers are coming off of an 8-4 season  involving one game versus an FBS opponent in which they were blown out by Virginia State 66-13 in the season opener. The East Carolina Pirates struggled to a 5-7 record in 2011 losing 4 of 5 games to put themselves in a deep hole.

Offense: The Appalachian State Mountaineers were slightly down on offense compared to the past finishing only 38th in the FCS with 390 yards per game. The Mountaineers were able to gain 155 yards on the ground with a 4.0 yards per carry average and 23 rushing touchdowns. The passing game added 234 yards and 19 touchdowns but 12 interceptions on the season. Appalachian State ended the season with 28.7 points per game putting the Mountaineers at 38th nationally in scoring. East Carolina ended the 2011 season 50th nationally in total yards per game based on a strong passing attack. The Pirates put up 286 yards passing per game to go along with 25 touchdowns on the season. The Pirates did give the ball away 20 times via interceptions. The East Carolina rushing attack was anemic with only 109 yards per game on the ground to go along with a 3.3 yards per carry average. The Pirates struggled to score like they did in the past but did put up 26.3 points per game last fall. EDGE: East Carolina

Defense: The Appalachian State defense gave up 355 yards per game last fall in a surprising lack of solid defense in 2011. The Mountaineers played solid defense versus the rush with 149 yards given up per game but only 3.9 yards per carry. The biggest problem with the Appalachian State run defense was its inability to keep opponents out of the end zone giving up 23 rushing touchdowns on the season. The pass defense was good, giving up 203 yards per game and 17 touchdowns but intercepting 17 passes from opponents. The 23.8 points allowed per game was good for 41st in the FCS. East Carolina were much better defensively in 2011 than in the past with the Pirates giving up only 376 yards per game. While 376 does sound high, that was much better than in 2010. The Pirates rush defense was still porous giving up 174 yards and 4.5 yards per carry. Opponents were also able to score 24 touchdowns on the ground. The Pirate pass defense was much more solid in only giving up 202 yards in the air and 17 touchdowns facing several potent pass offenses. The 7 interceptions must be increased for the defense to take a step in 2012. Overall, the Pirates took a step forward on defense in 2011 but with teams still putting up over 30 points per game including 56 from South Carolina, 56 from Houston, and 48 from Southern Miss; the defense has a long way to go this fall. EDGE: East Carolina, barely.

Coaching: Jerry Moore is the head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers and is entering his 48th year in the coaching profession. Moore started as an assistant at SMU in 1965 before coaching at Nebraska, North Texas, Texas Tech, Arkansas, and finally Appalachian State. Moore was the head coach at North Texas (11-11) and Texas Tech (16-37-2) before taking over the Mountaineers in 1989. In his 23 years as Appalachian State's head coach, Moore has gone 207-83 with three national championships. Ruffin McNeill is the head coach at East Carolina and is entering his third year with the school. McNeill has been coaching since 1985 after a playing career for the Pirates. McNeill started at Clemson before heading to Austin Peay, North Alabama, Appalachian State, East Carolina, Appalachian State again, UNLV, Fresno State, Texas Tech and finally East Carolina again. McNeill coached one game as the interim head coach of Texas Tech where he won the Alamo Bowl. In his two years as head coach of ECU, the Pirates are 11-14 with one bowl appearance. EDGE: Appalachian State

The teams have played 30 times overall with Appalachian State holding a 19-11 series advantage. The two teams have not played since a 29-24 win by ECU in 1979.

East Carolina deserves props for renewing a rivalry versus a traditionally very potent Appalachian State team. The Mountaineers pulled off one of the biggest upsets of a FCS team over a FBS team in beating Michigan in 2007 with the Wolverines ranked #5 in the country. This is not a Mountaineer team that is at that level but should give East Carolina a nice warm up game that will test how well some players can adjust to getting major playing time for the Pirates. I expect ECU to struggle in the first half but jump out quickly in the second half and pull away from the Mountaineer by at least 17 points.