Know the Foe: Appalachian State at Wyoming

Sep. 22—Adam Witten is in his eighth season as the play-by-play broadcaster for Appalachian State University football. He weighs in on what University of Wyoming fans can expect during Saturday's matchup between the Cowboys and Mountaineers.

App State is averaging 451 yards and 41.7 points per game. What does Wyoming need to do to slow down this Mountaineers offense?

I don't know if I would say Wyoming has to do a whole lot different than what it's been doing. Their defense has been really solid. Watching them and how they played against Texas for most of that game, it was really impressive. App is a very solid running team, and certainly running is going to be a priority for us in any game. The thing that stands out about Wyoming's defense, it's really tough to take the top off of that defense. They're a team that's going to keep everything in front of them, so you're going to have to be patient, you're going to have to be precise, and you might have to run a lot of plays and consume some clock to get points on the board. App is capable of doing that, because that's a style of offense they're more than happy to run.

I see such similar styles of the offenses coming into this game. It's going to be super physical, it's going to be won at the line of scrimmage, use all the clichés you want to. Wyoming should be prepared for a team that might look similar to what they see on the other side of the ball when they're in practice. If Wyoming was capable of coming up with a game plan to stop its own offense, that might be something they try to do in a game like this.

How excited are you for this matchup to see a program like App State and a program like Wyoming get together and schedule this game?

I'm really excited about it because it's a different environment. I can tell you our fans are really excited. We're going to bring a lot of fans to this game. We sold out of our allotment, and we have a fairly large alumni base in Denver that is going to be making this trip. Me personally, I think this is such a measuring-stick type of game for both teams. Wyoming has as good of a chance as any to win the Mountain West this year, and the Mountain West is an upper echelon in the Group of Five. That's a good league, and Wyoming's hoping to contend this year.

App is the same way in the Sun Belt. They're hoping to get back into contention. ... I think this is the first game on the schedule where you look at it and say, 'How does App State match up with a fellow contending program in the Group of Five on their field?' The first three games were super interesting and a lot of fun, and we learned a lot about this team, but in terms of how they stack up nationally against teams that have similar aspirations, that's what this game's going to tell us.

App State took then No. 17-ranked North Carolina to double overtime on the road two weeks ago. Did you expect that game to be close?

It wasn't a surprise. Quite honestly, App is kind of past the point where moral victories are something that they take out of games like that. I was not surprised, just because the way the two previous games in the series against North Carolina had gone. App won by blocking a last-second field goal in 2019 in Chapel Hill, and last year they played a game in the 60s that North Carolina won by two points. We expected a close game, and App went into that one expecting to win, and had chances to win that game.

This will be Joey Aguilar's third game starting at quarterback for App State. What have you seen out of him since he took over the starting job?

He's an unflappable kid. That's the best adjective I can think of for him. It's a personality that drives (head coach Shawn Clark) and other people crazy because — you expect when a guy makes a mistake or comes into a dramatic, pressure-packed situation that he's going to show some nerves and show some frustration when he makes a bad throw or he's going to get angry. That's just not him. He's out there like, 'I'm going to do my thing. I'm going to play my best, and I love the game, but I'm going to be pretty even-keeled and level-headed throughout the entire thing.' ... He's a really good football player, and he does learn from his mistakes, and he does get better each and every week and each and every practice. I can tell you, it drives the coaches crazy that he just has a personality that just doesn't show a ton of (emotion).

Nate Noel is No. 2 in the country in rushing going into this weekend. What has stuck out about him so far?

Nate is someone who didn't just burst onto the scene this year, but it kind of appears that way because he didn't get a lot of preseason recognition from the conference. Two years ago, when he was healthy, he led the Sun Belt in rushing. He's had this in him since he was a freshman back in 2020; the problem was, he just couldn't stay on the field and stay healthy last year. He only had three games where he had double-digit carries last year. He could not shake some nagging injuries. This year, he's fully healthy, he's worked really hard to build up a lot more muscle and strength and durability, and so now, he's at the point where, I don't necessarily think he's a better running back, he's just at the point where he's getting more opportunities.

Wyoming won the time of possession battle with Texas by 17 minutes and by 10 minutes against Texas Tech. Is that going to be a point of emphasis for both teams this weekend?

Absolutely. I think what it's going to come down to there is third down. Can you force the other team into third-and-long and make stops on third down? The way you keep drives going is by converting on third downs.

App has been pretty good trying to convert around 50% or better on third down, but you're not going to be able to do that if you're around third-and-nine or third-and-10. ... I think whoever has the best third-down conversion rate is going to win time of possession, but you also have to make sure you take advantage of all your opportunities. This could be a low-possession game. If you're not efficient with your possessions, if you're not scoring at all or kicking field goals instead of touchdowns, that could come back to haunt you late in the game.

Wyoming opened as three-point favorites. What do you expect to happen this weekend?

I think you're going to see two very similar teams. Wyoming is bigger than App. That offensive line is massive. App has a good offensive line, but they're going to be more undersized in most situations, so they're going to rely on speed and athleticism to make their impact. In terms of style, I think you're going to see two very similar teams playing against each other. I expect a close game. I expect a low-scoring game, and by low-scoring, I mean both teams scoring less than 30 points, just because I don't anticipate seeing a lot of possessions in this game. Unless we get a ton of turnovers, then who knows what can happen there.

At the end of the day, can players make plays in big moments? Can guys make big catches or tough catches on third down? Can you protect the football in critical situations? Can you make your kicks? Can you win field position? It's going to be old-school type of football.

Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.