— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Second-year Appalachian State head coach Dowell Loggains is taking somewhat of a glass half full approach for his Mountaineers as they prepare for Saturday’s 6 p.m. matchup at Marshall.
Appalachian State (5-4, 2-3 Sun Belt) garnered plenty of attention a few weeks back after upsetting then nationally ranked and unbeaten James Madison in overtime, 34-31.
The Mountaineers have failed to maintain the momentum from that victory and have since lost consecutive games to Georgia Southern and Georgia State.
“We’re still 5-4, and we’re still in a position to get the sixth win, which we haven’t done since 2023,” Loggains said. “There’s been a lot of good. At one point you’re 5-2 and you lose two back-to-back, so let’s all stay focused.”
With the Herd (5-4, 2-3) having an identical overall mark, the winner of Saturday’s game becomes bowl eligible.
Appalachian State has battled inconsistent performances and injuries over the past two weeks.
Senior quarterback Malachi Singleton threw for 241 yards with two touchdowns against Georgia State, but was intercepted twice on deflections, both by Panthers’ linebacker Coby Owens.
Injuries to the Mountaineers’ offensive line have made it tough to establish the run as well as provide the adequate time in pass protection for Singleton to take more deep shots.
“The bottom line is you’re not going to win the game if you don’t control the line of scrimmage, you give up 260-plus rushing yards and only rush for 50, and the last two weeks, we are minus-seven in the turnover ratio,” Loggains said. “The 5-2 start, we were doing really well. We have to take care of the football. We have to start getting the ball out again and find a better plan to control both sides of the line of scrimmage.”
Defensively, Appalachian State has been unable to consistently get home with its pass rush and has recorded only 12 sacks — a problem that has also too often been the case for Marshall.
Formerly an offensive coordinator at South Carolina, Loggains understands the frustration from fans as a result of the team’s recent struggles, but Saturday brings an opportunity to right the ship.
“We knew what this was when we took over. There was going to be a lot of change. There were going to be adaptations in NIL and adaptations in the roster, roster construction, all that stuff,” Loggains said. “These are not overnight turnarounds, and you come to places like this because you want to have the expectation of winning. We were trying to recreate those standards, but it’s been a little bit of time since it’s been that.”
The matchup in Huntington will have plenty of emotion as it marks the 56th anniversary of the 1970 plane crash near Tri-State Airport that killed 75 Marshall football players, coaches, administrators, fans and the flight crew returning home from a trip at East Carolina.
The Mountaineers have a 17-11 series lead over the Herd, but are winless over their last four visits to Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The teams have each won three games in the series with both as FBS programs.