The App State football season began Aug. 29 in Charlotte at the Dukes Mayo Classic with a 34-11 win against the UNC-Charlotte 49ers. The team kept up this momentum as they headed back to Boone the following week, with a 20-13 win against the Lindenwood University Lions. This momentum came to a halt as they went back on the road to take on the University of Southern Mississippi. The Mountaineers lost 38-22, and were defeated again on the road by the Boise State University Broncos 14-47.Â
Home games brought lots of excitement as students packed out Kidd Brewer Stadium on Oct. 4, with the sixth-largest attendance in stadium history. Fans rushed the field in excitement as the Mountaineers defeated the Pac-12 Oregon State University Beavers 27-23.Â
Following this, App State was victorious in Atlanta over the Georgia State University Panthers, winning 41-20.Â
Back at Kidd Brewer, the Mountaineers fell 37-45 to Coastal Carolina University in a close rivalry game, then again on the road to Old Dominion University losing 24-21. Back at home in another rivalry battle, App State fell 23-25 to Georgia Southern University. Following this was another tough loss for the Mountaineers as they played James Madison University on the road and lost 10-58. App State brought one last win to Kidd Brewer against Marshall University on Nov. 22. They then lost to Arkansas State University at home on Nov. 29 in a close 29-30 game, bringing the season to an end.
This season brought a unique fan experience, including a fly-over on Nov. 22 at Kidd Brewer for the Heroes Day game. Yosef also made an appearance as he zip-lined into the stadium during the national anthem on Oct. 4. Paragliders flew the American flag into the stadium on Oct. 18 during pregame. Along with this, the App State Cheer and Dance teams performed for each game, hyping up the crowd and supporting Mountaineer football. Throughout these games the App State Marching Mountaineers played tunes from the stand and gave a stunning halftime show.Â
Quarterbacks AJ Swann and JJ Kohl both played throughout the season, with redshirt sophomore Kohl taking over in the last two games after redshirt junior Swann was injured at JMU. Other season highlights included major plays from redshirt freshman defensive lineman DeNigel Cooper, including 2 blocked kicks. Other notable players included senior running back Rashod Dubinion with 4 total touchdowns. This also included junior wide receiver Jaden Barnes with a total of 8 total touchdowns and 7 receiving yards and 1 punt return this season.
