Following one of the worst losses in the Shawn Clark era, and allowing the most points in a game since 2011 with a 66-20 loss to No. 25 Clemson, App State looks to rebound against in-state rival East Carolina.
The Mountaineers and the Pirates played in Boone just a year ago, set a Kidd Brewer Stadium attendance record with 40,168 and won the game 43-28.
This time the game is in Greenville and will be another chance for the Black and Gold to test themselves before conference play begins the following week.
App State allowed 66 points and 712 yards, most of which came in the first half when quarterback Cade Klubnik was in the game for the Tigers.
Clark said he was “not pleased” with his team after the trip to Death Valley, but said the team “had some time to review the film and make corrections.”
Senior quarterback Joey Aguilar had 18 completions on 41 attempts with 214 yards and a touchdown, not one of his best games, but one he would certainly love to forget. The one bright spot on the day was junior running back Anderson Castle who tallied 99 total yards and a touchdown.
Clark said Castle is “a tough, hard-nosed kid.”
“Last year he was injured most of the season, and he has gotten better week in and week out, so we have to make sure we feature Anderson as much as we can.” Clark said.
East Carolina comes into this game after a 20-14 win against Sun Belt member Old Dominion. Quarterback Jake Garcia threw for 283 yards on 25 completions but threw four interceptions. This is the quarterback’s first year for the Pirates, having spent his previous years at the University of Missouri and the University of Miami.
Clark said “people are gonna try to throw the long ball against us, we have to be able to defend it,” when not only talking about the Clemson game, but how ECU can perceive that film and try to do what Clemson did well against App State.
Clark had high praise for ECU and their offensive scheme.
“They have some playmakers, they have a great quarterback in Garcia, their scheme is tough to defend, their offensive coordinator came from Ole Miss and it’s a high-powered offense,” Clark said. “Our offense has to protect our defense this week. We can’t go three and out and let them have 97 plays, so we will have to be very creative in the way we run our offense, and make sure we stay on the field as long as we can.”
The game will kick off in East Carolina’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville on Saturday at 4 p.m. and it will be live on ESPNU.