App State football is 2-0 for the first time in six years after a close 20-13 victory over the Lindenwood Lions.
With two straight wins to start the season, head coach Dowell Loggains knows that the team is not where it needs to be heading into Sun Belt Conference play.
“Excited to be 2-0, but we acknowledge the urgency that we need to clean up a lot of the things from the previous game. That process has already started,” Loggains said. “It wasn’t good enough, in all three phases. It can be better and it needs to be better and that starts with us as coaches.”
The App State offense only put 20 points on the board mixed with 4 turnovers, including 2 fumbles from senior running back Rashod Dubinion and 6 dropped passes from receivers. These mistakes are something that the coaching staff is aware of and knows needs to be cleaned up.
“My main concern right now is Mountaineers beating Mountaineers. Eliminating the things that hurt us,” Loggains said.
Loggains followed by saying many of these issues are technical and cultural.
“They are technique issues, they are how we respond to issues. Part of this is a cultural issue that we’re trying to clean up,” Loggains said. “It’s fixing the mindset of: So what? It happened. Learn from, grow from it and go make the next play.”
Even with the offense struggling, the Mountaineer defense came to play this past weekend. Lindenwood was only able to muster 216 yards on the game, all of which came through the air as the Lions recorded a negative rushing yard. The defensive line was the lifeblood of the team, notching 8 sacks on the day, the most since 1997.
“I think two weeks in a row our defensive line has dominated. We’ve got them playing really well, and everything starts up front.” Loggains said
The Mountaineers will have their hands full on Saturday as they take on a revamped Southern Miss Golden Eagles team. Including new head coach Charles Huff, the Golden Eagles brought a lot of players over from last year’s Marshall team that won the Sun Belt Championship. While Southern Miss is only 1-1, with the loss coming against a now nationally ranked Mississippi State team, the offense is high powered. Braylon Braxton, the Southern Miss quarterback, was honored with the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year last year due to his ability to run and throw the ball.
“Now you look at Southern Miss, they create space with speed. This will be the fastest team we’ll play to date. But we’ll practice a little bit different to get that speed,” Loggains said. “Guys like Mc-Cantos will have to tackle well in space.”
App State’s Sun Belt Conference opener will take place in Hattiesburg, Mississippi against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
