App State focusing on what it controls

The ring quest hit a snag last week, but Appalachian State still has plenty to play for.

Coming off its first Sun Belt loss in more than a calendar year, a 10-win season is still within reach for the Mountaineers as they head west to meet Idaho at the Kibbie Dome in a conference matchup Saturday.

A conference title is still possible, but the Mountaineers need help from one of the three teams remaining on Arkansas State’s schedule. With that out of their control after last week’s 40-27 loss to the Red Wolves, the Mountaineers (7-2, 4-1) are focusing on what they can control.

“Our goals haven’t changed; we want to win every game. That was our goal from the beginning to win every game we played,” linebacker John Law said. “That game is a setback as far as winning the conference championship, but like Coach (Scott Satterfield) talked about, you never know what happens, so you have to take it one game a time.”

Over the past two weeks, the App State defense — once ranked in the nation’s top 10 — has slipped, allowing averages of 40.5 points and 483 yards. Before that, the Mountaineers allowed averages of 12 points and 277 yards.

With nine days off, the Mountaineers made a point to focus on fundamentals.

“When we looked at the film, it’s getting back to the basics ... it’s late in the season; we’ve been doing some changing in our defense, putting different things in. We’ve got to make sure we’re fitting the gaps in our base defense the right way,” linebacker John Law said. “We have to do a good job of staying focused out there and make sure we’re doing our job.

“Sometimes when the game gets exciting and the momentum kind of swings, people tend to try to do stuff other than what’s their job. We have to do a good job of doing our job, and fitting within the scheme of the defense.”

Satterfield didn’t place the blame on the defense, pointing out the offense struggled in key spots over the two-game stretch, converting 12 of 32 third down opportunities and being penalized for an average of 67.5 yards a game, despite piling up an average of 449 yards.

Awaiting them in Moscow, Idaho, is a Vandals team that has turned the tide over the past month, going 2-2, with both seven-point losses coming in excruciating fashion. This season’s three victories equal the past three seasons combined, and are the most since Idaho finished 6-7 in 2010.

Given those two tough losses for the Vandals (3-6, 2-4), quarterback Taylor Lamb of App State knows they’ll see a hungry team.

“They play hard, and they’re fundamentally sound. They’re in the right spots. They don’t mess up a whole lot,” he said. “They’ve lost a lot of close games; it’s different if you’re getting blown out (than) if you’re losing close games, because you feel like you’re right there, on the edge. It’s only going to take one game to get it done.”

Running back Elijhaa Penny of Idaho averaged 170 yards over the past three games, and Matt Linehan has thrown for over 300 yards in that same stretch, despite the loss of leading receiver Dezmon Epps.

“They’ve got some good weapons offensively, and I think (coach Paul Petrino) out there does a good job, great offensive mind and they understand how to attack defenses,” Satterfield said.

The Vandals’ defense, however — ranked 120th in the nation and allowing 486 yards per game — might be just what the doctor ordered for an App State offense that has played well enough but just missed big breaks.

Depending on how the Vandals’ struggling rushing defense — 123rd in the nation — decides to handle Marcus Cox, the Mountaineers could be in for an offensive explosion.

Cox, just seven yards from his third straight 1,000-yard season, hasn’t been asked to carry a heavy load, carrying the ball more than 25 times just once this season.

Last season, the junior gashed the Vandals for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

If they decide to pay extra attention to the Mountaineers’ run game, as many Sun Belt opponents have done with an extra safety in the box, Lamb and the App State passing attack could benefit.

Over the past two weeks, Lamb has completed 62 percent of his attempts for 505 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. With 23 touchdown passes, he’ll have a shot at Armanti Edwards’ single-season record of 30.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 7:33 PM with the headline "App State focusing on what it controls."