App vs. Elon
So who is the favorite in Saturday’s Southern Conference showdown between Appalachian State and Elon?
The Mountaineers have won or shared the last four SoCon titles, and have won three FCS national titles in that span. The Phoenix, eight-game winners for the second straight season, are seeking their first title since joining the SoCon in 2003 as well as their first FCS playoff berth.
But the Phoenix, after an impressive string of blowouts, jumped past the Mountaineers, which began the season 0-2, in national polls earlier this year. The Phoenix will enter Saturday’s game ranked No. 6 in both media and coaches polls. The Mountaineers are No. 7 and No. 8.
Do the polls matter?
“We’ve been winning for the last four years,” Cortez Gilbert of the Mountaineers said. “So it’s kind of like a slap in the face. But we’ve been slapped in the face before.”
Teammate Jacque Roman said: “The only poll that matters is the one at the end of the season.”
The SoCon title will be decided soon. The winner Saturday will clinch at least a share.
Then both teams will most likely get a do-ever in the playoffs, regardless of who wins Saturday’s game.
The winner Saturday will lock up a playoff berth. If Elon loses, it will most certainly get an at-large bid with a victory in its final regular-season at Samford, and could possibly squeak in even with another loss. If ASU loses Saturday, it will need a closing victory over Western Carolina to get in.
Saturday’s game will match the top-ranked offense in the FCS against the top-ranked defense.
ASU leads the nation with 491.8 yards a game. Elon has allowed just 213.1 yards, and only 12 points a game.
“There’s no weak link on that defense,” quarterback Armanti Edwards said of Elon’s defense. “Everybody flies to the ball and they like to confuse the offense with a couple of the defenses they play. We’ll have to come with our ‘A’ game and be ready.”
Offensive tackle Mario Acitelli said: “They play harder than anyone we’ve seen on film this year. They’re not more athletic than anyone we’ve played at most positions, but they have great motors and they run to the ball. That’s the biggest thing you notice.”
Elon’s offense isn’t too shabby, either. It ranks No. 5 in the FCS with 455.1 yards a game. The Phoenix running game has improved, and a prime challenge will be containing a passing game led by quarterback Scott Riddle and receiver Terrell Hudgins, the all-time leader in Division I pass receptions.
“As a defensive back, this game and The Citadel are the biggest games to look forward to just because The Citadel has Andre Roberts and Elon has Terrell,” cornerback Cortez Gilbert said. “As a defensive back, you want to go against the best and those two are the best. It’s a challenge. But a challenge brings out your best.”
Devin Radford, the Virginia Tech transfer who rushed for 520 yards and four touchdowns for ASU last season before missing four games with a knee injury, has re-emerged.
Radford had just two carries this season before rushing for 21 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries last Saturday against Chattanooga. He also returned two kickoffs for 44 yards, replacing the injured CoCo Hillary in that role.
“Devin has picked it up a little bit, so to speak,” Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said. “Chris (Moore, running backs coach) has given him an opportunity to break in there and he’s practiced well.
“I think early on during camp he probably was questioning maybe the stability of his knee but I think as the season has worn on, and he didn’t play much early, his knee has gotten stronger and I think there’s a confidence level there now that probably wasn’t there six or eight weeks ago. Consequently he’s practicing better and playing better.”