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No. 24 Appalachian State tests new ranking vs. ULM

Field Level Media

October 15, 2019 at 6:38 pm.

Appalachian State is in the Top 25 for a second consecutive season, and coach Eliah Drinkwitz is hoping his No. 24 Mountaineers enjoy their ranking a little longer than they did a year ago.

The program made its poll debut at No. 25 last season before losing 34-14 to Georgia Southern on a Thursday night.

“Last year when we were ranked, we were ranked for five days,” Drinkwitz said. “So it’s not something that we’re focused on.”

The Mountaineers (5-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) are focusing on Saturday’s game against visiting Louisiana-Monroe (3-3, 2-0) in a matchup of Sun Belt division leaders in Boone, N.C.

The ranking is a non-factor, Drinkwitz said.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with our goals,” he said. “Our goal is to win a Sun Belt championship and a bowl game with class, integrity and academic excellence. It doesn’t have anything to do with being ranked.”

ULM coach Matt Viator respects it, however.

“That’s great for Appalachian State,” he said, “and it’s great for our conference.”

The East-leading Mountaineers are on an 11-game winning streak that is the third-longest in the country behind Clemson (21) and Ohio State (12) and is the fourth-longest in program history. They have won their past 13 home games and have an offense that is averaging a league-high 41.0 points a game.

They rank only seventh in the league in scoring defense but limited Louisiana to just one touchdown in a 17-7 win over the Ragin’ Cajuns last week. Linebackers Akeem Davis-Gaither (8.8 tackles per game) and Jordan Fehr (8.0) are among the top 10 tacklers in the conference, and defensive end Demetrius Taylor is No. 2 in sacks (0.9 per game).

“I think you’ve seen a group that’s become more cohesive,” Drinkwitz said. “I think they’ve done a nice job, especially in this last game, of running to the football and playing with more effort, which was great to see on tape. I don’t know if we’ve turned the corner. We’ll find out Saturday.”

That defense will face a challenge. ULM running back Josh Johnson leads the Sun Belt in rushing (118.7 yards per game) and quarterback Caleb Evans ranks second in passing yardage (232.8).

“We’re excited to be 2-0 in the conference,” Johnson said after last week’s 24-14 win over Texas State that kept the Warhawks at the top of the West. “But we’ve still got some things to work on. On offense, we left too many drives out there.”

ULM ranks ninth in the 10-team conference in total defense and is last against the run (228.8). Appalachian State has averaged 218.8 rushing yards per game behind running back Darrynton Evans (108.0).

“The main thing we have to try to do is get them into some second-and-long, third-and-long situations,” ULM’s Viator said.

“But when they get on a roll and they’re on schedule and they’re running the ball, they have the play-action off the running game and they’re doing what they kind of want to do. They’re almost impossible to defend.”

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