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Moore says Mountaineers not overconfident
S.C. State comes into game featuring Will Ford, who led the MEAC with 1,382 yards
Journal File Photo
S.C. State's Markee Hamlin (11) and Devonne Quattlebaum (8) lower the boom on running back Rod Fluellen of Winston-Salem State.
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Published: November 29, 2008
BOONE
Appalachian State will begin its quest for a fourth straight national title when it plays S.C. State at noon today in a first-round game of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Coach Jerry Moore said that his Mountaineers will take the same approach as the past three years -- focusing only on the game at hand rather than a championship -- and said he doesn't sense any complacency. He said that this year's team is young enough, with half of its starting lineup freshmen or sophomores, to still be excited about the prospect, unspoken or not, of winning another title.
"There are a lot of these kids that are hungry and have been riding the shirttails of these other kids that have been here a while now," Moore said. "They're on their own … it's their team. A lot of them have never been there. We've got a good number that have, but still I don't think we're a good enough football team to be complacent. We're pretty humble about that, I think."
The Mountaineers (10-2 and ranked No. 2 in FCS polls) will go up against a team that truly will be having a new experience.
S.C. State is in the playoffs for the first time since 1982.
"We're about as ready as we figure to be," Coach Buddy Pough of the Bulldogs said. "A big thing is that (Appalachian is) so experienced at this. They've had so much success that they know how to get it done in pretty much every situation. They've been ahead, they've been behind, they've been in big stadiums, they've been in little stadiums.
"It's hard to put them in a situation where they can't draw on the experiences of winning championships. They're a team of confidence. They have an aristocracy about them.
"We want to be just like them someday."
The Bulldogs (10-2, No. 12) will do what they can to make that day come sooner than later.
"We're just little old country guys," Pough said. "We see them on TV. We just want to go up there and look around."
The Bulldogs will most certainly do more than that.
The Bulldogs, led by a talented offensive backfield including 1,000-yard rusher Will Ford and a defense that has shut out three straight opponents, appear to be a formidable opponent.
They won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title for the first time since 1994, and Moore remembers the last time his team played a MEAC opponent. That was in 1999, when the Mountaineers lost 44-29 to Florida A&M at home in a first-round playoff game.
"They wore us out," Moore said. "I'll never forget that.
"We're certainly not overconfident I'll tell you that. And we weren't overconfident when we played Florida A&M. They just beat us. They had a great plan and a great football team. They were really a terrific football team, and these guys are that way. S.C. State is that way. Buddy Pough has got as good of a background as anybody in the business."
The Bulldogs will run a balanced offense similar to Appalachian's spread attack. Ford led the MEAC with 1,382 yards rushing.
"He's probably the best running back that we've seen this year," Moore said. "He's got the speed and the strength to do what they want to do. He's one of the finalists for the Peyton Award, which speaks for itself."
Malcolm Long, a 6-3, 257-pound sophomore, and DeWain Clark, a 6-3, 200-pound freshman from West Iredell, both have been productive quarterbacks.
Defensively, the Bulldogs have allowed just 15.3 points a game and rank fifth in the FCS in sacks with 38.
"We have started to play pretty well on defense, but we haven't met anybody the caliber of these guys in a while," Pough said.
The Mountaineers rank third nationally in scoring and total offense, with 39.3 points and 464 yards a game.
Armanti Edwards, who is nearing the 10,000-yard mark in total offense and ranks second nationally in passing efficiency, did not play in the final regular-season game last Saturday but is expected to be back in form today.
"He's fine," Moore said. "He's good to go."
The winner of today's game, which will be televised by ESPNU, will move on to face today's Eastern Kentucky-Richmond winner in the quarterfinals.
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
ASU'S First-Round Results
Year - Opponent - Result
2007 - James Madison - W 28-27
2006 - Coastal Carolina - W 45-28
2005 - Lafayette - W 34-23
2002 - Maine - L 14-13
2001 - William & Mary - W 40-27
2000 - @Troy State - W 33-30
1999 - Florida A&M - L 44-29
1998 - Tennessee State - W 45-31
1995 - James Madison - W 31-24
1994 - @New Hampshire - W 17-10
1992 - @Middle Tennessee - L 35-10
1991 - @Eastern Kentucky - L 14-3
1989 - @Middle Tennessee - L 24-21
1987 - Richmond - W 20-3
1986 - Nicholls State - L 28-26
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