UNC football vs. App State: Score prediction, scouting report
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
North Carolina (1-0) heads to the Blue Ridge Mountains on Saturday for what is expected to be a historical day at Appalachian State's Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Tar Heels' first visit to Appalachian State's home turf in Boone, which is 3,333 feet above sea level, is being billed as one of the biggest home games in the Mountaineers' history.
A sellout crowd of 30,000-plus that could top the largest in stadium history is expected for the noon kickoff on ESPNU, pitting programs meeting for just the third time overall.
The current record crowd at Kidd Brewer is 35,126, which showed up in 2017 for Wake Forest's visit.
Appalachian State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference coming off a 10-win season, will be making its 2022 debut. UNC, meanwhile, is coming off a 56-24 opening triumph against Football Championship Subdivision squad Florida A&M.
Here's what to know about the UNC-Appalachian State matchup and a score prediction.
THE NEXT BIG RB TANDEM: UNC football has history of great RB duos. Omarion Hampton, George Pettaway next in line.
KEY INJURIES: UNC football could be without stars Josh Downs, Tony Grimes for Appalachian State game
STRONG START: Drake Maye, North Carolina football light up FAMU in season opener
A mountain of experience
Appalachian State's depth chart for UNC features 21 fifth- or sixth-year players, almost evenly spread among the offense (11) and defense (10).
Thirteen of those players are listed as starters, led by record-setting quarterback Chase Brice, running back Camerun Peoples, right offensive tackle Cooper Hodges, outside linebacker Nick Hampton and cornerback Steven Jones Jr.
Brice, who previously competed against UNC while playing for Clemson and Duke, set the Mountaineers' single-season record for passing yards a year ago with 3,337.
Peoples ran for 926 yards and 14 touchdowns last season after racking up 1,124 in 2020, while Hodges is a three-time All-Sun Belt selection.
Jones was named to the Football Writers Association of America All-American first-team in 2021 after recording five interceptions. He has seven picks in his last 18 games.
Hampton is first among returning Sun Belt players with 19.5 career sacks and second with 30.5 tackles for loss.
Hodges, Jones and Hampton all had roles in Appalachian State defeating UNC, 34-31, in the previous meeting between the schools in 2019 at Chapel Hill.
Mountaineer Mack
Mack Brown's Hall of Fame coaching career essentially got its start at Appalachian State.
Brown was a successful offensive coordinator at LSU when he received his first head coaching opportunity with the Mountaineers in 1983. He directed Appalachian State to a 6-5 record in his one and only season before departing to become the offensive coordinator for legendary coach Barry Switzer at Oklahoma.
"I loved Appalachian State and the mountains of North Carolina and all it stands for,'' Brown said. "But I was making $38,500 as head coach at Appalachian State. Oklahoma offered $125,000. I wanted to stay (at Appalachian State). But I knew Oklahoma was one of the best programs in the country and it would be a great experience to call plays for Barry Switzer. So I said, 'I'm not real smart, but I think I need to go.' ''
Brown has remained connected to the area. He and his wife Sally have maintained a home in nearby Linville for years and spent much of their time thereafter Brown stepped down as head coach at Texas.
Several other UNC staffers have strong ties to Appalachian State. Brown's special advisor, Sparky Woods, was his offensive coordinator with the Mountaineers and succeeded him as head coach. Woods directed Appalachian State to 38 wins from 1984-88. Assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway worked with split ends at Appalachian State from 2005-07 and senior advisor Darrell Moody served as assistant head and quarterbacks coach with the Mountaineers with Woods in 1984.
Road worriers
North Carolina has struggled to win road games since Brown's return as head coach in 2019.
The Tar Heels were 4-3 on the road in 2019 with a six-point setback against Wake Forest, a three-overtime loss against Virginia Tech and an overtime defeat at Pittsburgh among those games.
UNC was 3-3 on the road in 2020, losing by three at Florida State and Virginia.
A dismal 0-6 away record came last season if you count the Mayo Bowl loss against South Carolina. Four of those setbacks were by seven points or less.
Brown enters the Appalachian State game with a 7-12 road mark since his return to UNC.
"This and (next game at) Georgia State will be great challenges for us,'' Brown said. "We haven't been able to finish on the road.''
Come what Maye
Sam Howell established new marks for passing in just about every category before departing after last season for the NFL.
Heavily recruited redshirt sophomore Drake Maye won the competition to replace Howell over sophomore Jacolby Criswell and enjoyed a spectacular starting debut last Saturday against Florida A&M.
Maye became the first Tar Heel quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in his first start and the first to throw five in the season opener. The Charlotte native completed 29 of 37 passes for 294 yards passing and added another 55 rushing.
"I was pleasantly surprised Drake played so well in his first game,'' Brown said. "He made good decisions. He threw to a lot of different people (10 different receivers), so he can see the field. His ability to run is not something everyone has seen.''
SHOW OF SUPPORT: New UNC QB Drake Maye gets support from predecessor Sam Howell after 5-TD debut
A run for your money
Athlon Sports ranked Appalachian State's running back corps the 13th-best in the nation in its preseason magazine. And with good reason.
The Mountaineers return three players who have amassed more than 1,000 career rushing yards and added a fourth talented rusher to that group via the transfer portal.
Sophomore Nate Noel was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pick after rushing for a league-high 1,126 yards last season. Junior Camerun Peoples ranked third in the Sun Belt with 926 yards and led with 14 rushing touchdowns. Redshirt senior Daetrick Harrington has appeared in 31 career games at Appalachian State and has 1,425 yards and 12 touchdowns during that time.
Ahmari Marshall, who appeared in 10 games at Wake Forest the last two seasons, has transferred in and enters Saturday third on the depth chart behind Noel and Peoples.
Sophomore Anderson Castle is also back after gaining 236 yards on 47 rushes last season.
Defensive questions
Both Appalachian State and UNC enter the 2022 season with question marks on defense.
The Mountaineers have played stellar defense the last few years, including 2021 when they led the Sun Belt in rushing defense and were among the nation's leaders in tackles for loss.
But Appalachian State must replace seven starters from that unit and up front, and those replacements lack the size of their predecessors.
The Tar Heels have recruited well on defense the last couple of cycles, but many of those players are still relatively untested at the college level. And despite the presence of a number of veterans in the secondary, that unit was touched for 279 passing yards by Florida A&M.
Score prediction: UNC 44, Appalachian State 33
If both teams had a game under their belt, I'd be picking Appalachian State. But I believe in the old adage that teams make their biggest improvement from Game 1 to Game 2, which favors the Tar Heels slightly against the debuting Mountaineers.
Today's in-state college football schedule
UNC at Appalachian State, noon (ESPNU)
NC State at ECU, noon (ESPN)
Western Carolina at Charleston Southern, noon (ESPN+)
Guilford at Greensboro, noon
Shenandoah at Methodist, 1 p.m.
Shorter at Brevard, 1 p.m.
St. Andrews at Campbellsville, 1:30 p.m.
Davidson at Jacksonville State, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wingate at Shaw, 4 p.m.Catawba at Livingstone, 5 p.m.
Elizabeth City State at Benedict, 6 p.m.
Virginia State at Lenoir-Rhyne, 6 p.m.
NC Wesleyan at Randolph-Macon, 6 p.m.
Elon at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (SEC Network, ESPN+)
UNC Pembroke at Fayetteville State, 7 p.m.
NC A&T at NC Central, 7:30 p.m.
Note: Some in-state teams played Thursday and Friday
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football vs. Appalachian State scouting report
