I got to Bank of America Stadium an hour before Friday’s game as I wanted to see who looked like they were starting. When the offense came out, it was A.J. Swann leading J.J. Kohl, Noah Gillon and Billy Wiles and leading the cadences. Last we heard, there were “two and a half to three” quarterbacks in the running. The first three were the ones talked about.

I had a weird feeling two days before it was Gillon, the true freshman. Swing and a miss that one. Swann seemed like he was always going to be the guy. In the Spring Game, he was given every chance to establish himself, and when he made good plays, he was the best quarterback.
In the second half, I checked game stats for the first time and was surprised that Swann had 300 yards passing. It was a quiet 300 yards.
The defense was violent, bordering on too violent. Three targeting penalties are rough but correctable. Thankfully, next week is an FCS opponent.

At halftime, I felt everything was going to be OK. The offense clicked after a first-quarter slog and adjustments, the defense was swarming and the Mountaineers got an interception and a field goal before the break, getting essentially a 3-for-1 with the ball out of halftime.
Rashad Dubinion is everyone’s new favorite running back. Tough, physical backs who go five yards a carry. You hope there’s good depth behind him because there are 11 games to go.

Jaden Barnes had a down-and-up game. He had a great play in the long catch, but then let his guard down and had the ball punched out for a touchback. There was no good camera angle to overturn it. It seems like in the past, Barnes would be buried on the bench and never come back. However, Barnes was right back in the game and ended as the leading receiver.

Dalton Stroman, who was hot and cold last season, had a couple of cold moments in this one. But they kept throwing to him, including in the middle, which never happened before.

The same patience was given to Swann, who sailed multiple passes in the first quarter. Swann was given a chance to correct things, and he did.

The 34-11 score doesn’t tell the whole story. Loggains wasn’t fully happy with the game and honestly, Charlotte was a good quarterback away from being competitive. Conner Harrell missed multiple receivers and avoided contact, darting to the sideline when he could. The 49ers wanted to be a bully ball team and could only manage 2.6 yards per carry. They also shot themselves in the foot with pre-snap penalties at the worst times.

D.J. Smith’s App State defense bears similarities to Nate Woody’s defense. Get the offense behind the chains and then sit back and swarm forward.

It felt like App State Football. And looking forward to the schedule, you can’t help but get excited.

Lindenwood is a lower-level FCS team coming to Boone for a paycheck next week. This is their big game and they’ll throw what they can into it.

Clean up the penalties, tow the violence line and everything should be OK this time next week going into the Sun Belt opener in Hattiesburg.

And I never want to see mayonnaise used the way I saw it used last Friday ever again.