There may be quite a lot of shared historical past between the soccer groups at Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
On Monday, a brand new chapter within the rivalry each side name “Deeper Than Hate” can be written because the Mountaineers and Eagles meet on a impartial discipline for the primary time on the Birmingham Bowl in Alabama.
App State (5-7) and Georgia Southern (6-6) have performed at the very least as soon as each season courting again to 1993 when the Eagles have been new members of the Southern Convention on the FCS degree. After each gained a number of FCS nationwide championships, they made the bounce to FBS collectively in 2014 by becoming a member of the Solar Belt.
All of their earlier 40 conferences have been performed on their respective campuses in Statesboro, Ga. or Boone, N.C., together with their two earlier postseason conferences, each coming in FCS playoff video games.
Sometimes, groups that end with a regular-season document under .500 do not get the chance to play in bowl video games. Nevertheless, when groups akin to Notre Dame, Iowa State and Kansas State opted out of the postseason, there was a trickle-down affect that left bowl organizers scrambling for worthy opponents. In years the place not sufficient groups end 6-6 to develop into bowl-eligible, 5-7 groups can develop into eligible if they’ve a excessive Tutorial Progress Charge. Because it turned out, App State’s rating was ok.
First-year App State coach Dowell Loggains thought the season was over after the Mountaineers misplaced by a single level to Arkansas State within the regular-season finale. Then, his cellphone rang a number of hours after the School Soccer Playoff bracket was unveiled and bowl opt-outs began to develop into public.
“My athletic director referred to as me on Sunday night and requested me about enjoying in a bowl,” Loggains mentioned. “I mentioned sure, we’ll play in a Walmart car parking zone.”
Having pivoted his focus to offseason recruiting and roster administration earlier than he discovered the Mountaineers can be enjoying in a bowl recreation, Loggains then confronted the problem of getting gamers again on campus and determining who will or will not play. Loggains informed gamers who’ve intentions of coming into the switch portal that they’re nonetheless welcome to compete for App State within the Birmingham Bowl.
“That is the 2025 group and so they’re a part of it. I feel you may be shocked at among the guys who will play,” Loggains mentioned. “The children are shut, the buy-in is there. They care about one another, they care about their faculty and so they care in regards to the block A, so we’re enthusiastic about it.”
The Mountaineers misplaced 4 video games this season by eight factors or fewer. One among them was at residence to Georgia Southern — a 25-23 residence setback on Nov. 6.
The Eagles jumped out to a 19-0 lead earlier than App State mounted a comeback, however Georgia Southern held on for a victory. Eagles quarterback JC French IV threw for 352 yards and a landing whereas additionally speeding for 18 yards and a rating.
That win helped the Eagles attain bowl eligibility for the fourth consecutive season underneath fourth-year head coach Clay Helton. Up to now, Georgia Southern is 0-3 in bowl video games in his tenure. Getting his first postseason win — and doing so over App State — can be significant to him and the Eagles fanbase.
“We all know how particular this recreation is and the chance to do one thing that has by no means been finished,” Helton mentioned. “That is one other probability for these seniors to depart a legacy. They grew to become the primary Georgia Southern gamers in historical past to play in 4 straight bowl video games, and now they’ve an opportunity at successful a hoop.”
–Area Stage Media
