Have you ever been so excited for the first Appalachian State Football game day of a season that you have trouble sleeping? Can’t wait to get up early, pop those tailgate tents, set up those chairs, wait until the sun rises over Boone before putting out the cornhole boards so they don’t get dew on them, get the grill hot and crack open that first beer. That rules.

Do you feel that way this season? Honestly, not really. Maybe it’s only one winning season in the last four? Maybe it’s the uncertainty of Appalachian State Head Coach Dowell Loggains? Maybe it’s wondering if Athletic Director Doug Gillin has run out of ideas? Maybe it’s just *gestures at everything*? Or maybe it’s because we all look inward at ourselves and see the carefree youth dwindling while anxiety builds up over the months and years?

It’s probably a different answer each day. It is for me.

Let’s peel the curtain back a little bit here, if you’ll indulge me. It’s my blog after all.

After seven years, I started seeing a therapist again in July. It was something I should have kept doing after 2019, but life changed so much, and not because of COVID. I was leaving Boone/Blowing Rock before the pandemic hit, but it actually saved me from a bad career decision. Still, I had to leave. It was the right decision, but it felt like I had failed in the High Country. Years later, people still ask me if I’m at a job I left over six years ago.

In those six years since April 2020, I’ve moved four times to four different areas, worked multiple part-time jobs in 2020 thinking I’d never go back to print journalism then worked for three different newspaper organizations in a row, got laid off hours before the 2022 App State vs Georgia State game, took a month off to recharge, killed it work-wise in 2023 and 2024, and now I’m chugging along not far from Boone in a management role.

In 2024, I realized there wasn’t a lot going on for me outside of work. So, I made it a point to do something new or out of town every week. That streak got to over 30 weeks before seasonal depression kicked in one week that December, but it was a good run.

Found myself in that same rut after a tough June of doing nothing outside of work. Therapy helped me plan fun events, commit to day trips and that vacation and schedule days off.

If anything, I can take pride in breaking the “men will do X before going to therapy” trope.

Still, even with this new wind, nothing was getting me excited for this upcoming Appalachian State Football season. Not getting my season tickets via email (I used to film myself pulling the ticket package out of the mailbox), not Sun Belt or App State Media Days, and not message boards or Discord chats.

Then on Aug. 9, I stumbled on this via IG Stories.

After over two decades of fandom, an acapella version of Hi Hi Yikas was something I didn’t know I needed. Thank you, Marching Mountaineers.

There’s hope with a new football season. Hope that the team looks good, plays hard and shows passion. There’s the hope of seeing old friends in the stands, catching up on nine months of tea as the band plays Hi Hi Yikas, Yosef fires his gun, some new tradition thought of by a new staffer is introduced, the DJ plays a mix of songs and you hope will get better by October.

Eventually, you do it enough times, and you get to see love blossom, families grow and we all get a little bit older and maybe a bit wiser. And eventually, you mainly hope to be there.

Hope is all we can do. Unless you have two commas in your yearly donation total, you’re a passenger in the Subaru known as Appalachian State Football.

Why is Appalachian State Football a Subaru? Look around Boone! The Subaru is a mountain car. Efficient on gas, well built and while it ain’t the prettiest car, it can go. If a deer steps in front of that Subaru cruising at 55 mph, that Subaru is getting everyone home.

The Subaru has been needing some repairs lately. Time and half-measures do that. You can blame everyone else for letting the tires wear, the underbody rust and the brake pads wear down. You’ve played the blame game with your friends, your social networking website mutuals and whoever else is in the vicinity. But Rafiki hits you in the head with his stick and says it’s in the past. Stop blaming others, duck the next swing of the stick and buy those all-weather tires with the good warranty. Then make sure to rotate them every few thousand miles.

Subaru parts are more expensive than ever. Can’t just offer a full scholarship for a new set of tires anymore. You have to pay out of a different bucket. Maybe that bucket came from the Holmes Center? Maybe it was up Bodenheimer Drive? Maybe it was at the site of where Watauga High School was? In the end, that Subaru’s gotta run again.

That head mechanic is the guy the Subaru’s owner tasked with the repairs. And there’s a limited number of parts.

Last year, that mechanic was rebuilding a Subaru on the fly, despite never working on a Subaru before. He’s worked on some nice cars with some rich owners as an apprentice, but this is his first time in charge of a shop.

In 2025, some big parts broke pretty quickly and worst of all, the Subaru would get stuck in third gear on the highway. But that mechanic kept on driving, coming down to the wire. And in the last second, the mechanic’s work fell apart.

It was a bitter end, or so we thought. A free tow truck showed up and carried that Subaru to Birmingham for one last race. It broke down after the first half and was never going to win, but taking that race itself was commendable.

Before Birmingham, the mechanic had blueprints and ideas for 2026. Got a new engine, the one he wanted last year but was outbid for, and believes it’ll race with the best of em.

The 2024-and-before parts are all but gone. This Subaru is built with only 2025 and 2026 parts, with around 65% coming in this year.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how well that mechanic talks in a room full of collared shirts or how podcasters wish someone with Subaru experience was the head mechanic. Just fix the damn Subaru.

How do we know starting quarterback Malachi Singleton is the starting quarterback? Could it be that it was basically admitted that Singleton was head and shoulders above the other QBs before the spring game? Or the several dozen other open hints?

No, because people saw Henry Hasselback running the ball well in what was touted as a spring game but really was an extended practice with a limited playbook, so he should be the starting quarterback! Plus, Hasselback Senior is the coach’s good buddy. Ignore Hasselback Junior’s erratic passing; he tucked that ball and ran real good at times.

You saw what Dowell sees in Singleton in limited glimpses that day. He finds the strike zone of his receivers, checks down when needed and reads the field very well.

Singleton was unanimously voted team captain (according to Dowell) and was featured in multiple preseason videos and photoshoots. Along with Colton Phares, Singleton went to New Orleans for Sun Belt Media Days to talk to a bunch of sportswriter dudes and radio hosts in ill-fitting jeans, plus Kara Richey.

As of today, tomorrow, next week and likely Aug. 30, Singleton is the QB1.

One thing Dowell harped on over the last several weeks was that team speed is much improved. It better be. For whatever reason, the team was slow last year. Almost no explosive plays.

The longest running play of 2025 was 39 yards. Thirty-nine yards. And that was Dubinion at Boise State. There were only two touchdowns of more than 40 yards the entire season. One was Stroman’s 72-yard touchdown catch vs FCS Lindenwood 18 seconds into the game, and the other was Barnes’ housing a kick return versus Coastal, which should have won that game.

The running back room has been praised as being deep and wondering how to share the load. Less has been said about the wide receivers, minus the whole “much faster” thing. Tight ends will be interesting to see. If Dowell really is an App State coach, he will know they are open.

The main thing on offense will be the play calling. Between the 25s, Dowell was decently good last season. But once the red zone beckoned, he would default to NFL brain. Throw it up on first down, trying to find the open man in the end zone and nothing else creative.

Mike Anthony, the offensive coordinator who looks like an older Young Sheldon (but not regular adult Sheldon), will create the plays and scripts, but Dowell will still call the plays. Dowell has admitted he’s an NFL mind and Mike is a Briles-spread option mind. If the offense struggles, will Dowell default to his NFL mind, especially in the red zone?

Defense will be anchored by Colton Phares and Ja’Den McBurrows. The latter got hurt early last season. Wonder if Dowell is having Defensive Coordinator DJ Smith install an NFL-style playbook with many looks? And if there are issues in October, we’ll hear about how the defense is being simplified.

And if the defense can’t be really good, can they at least force turnovers? That’s what this team needs: momentum-shifting plays.

Defense ain’t what it was 30 years ago. Giving up 14 points is a great success in 2026. Heck, giving up less than 30 on average can get you to a bowl game. Offenses will get their 300-plus yards on offense; it’s up to the defense whether a certain eight to 12 plays will keep the scoreboard at 21 instead of 42.

You can go more in-depth on the offensive players, defensive schemes and even the new kicker who has a cannon of a leg, but in the end, it’s all about the schedule.

Saturday	Sept. 5	vs Maine	3:30 p.m.
Saturday	Sept. 12	at ECU	Noon
Saturday	Sept. 19	vs Charlotte	6:00 p.m.
Saturday	Sept. 26	at NC State	TBD
Saturday	Oct. 10	vs ODU	TBD
Friday	Oct. 16	at Coastal	8 p.m.
Thursday	Oct. 22	vs JMU	7 p.m.
Saturday	Oct. 31	at Ga Southern	TBD
Saturday	Nov. 7	vs Georgia St	TBD
Saturday	Nov. 14	at Marshall	TBD
Saturday	Nov. 21	vs ULM	TBD
Friday	Nov. 27	at S. Alabama	3:00 p.m.

There are two distinct seasons here: non-conference and Sun Belt, with a bye week in between each.

Above each of these game previews is a favorite short YouTube video of mine, in a completely randomized order. There’s no rhyme or reason besides that these videos bring me joy and have nothing to do with Appalachian State, the Sun Belt or college football.

Maine

Obviously, beating Maine is required. This isn’t the 2011 or 2003 FCS Playoffs, but if the Mountaineers go 0-3 all-time versus the Black Bears, the season might as well be over.

ECU

The ECU game is the last of a four-game series, of which the Pirates are 0-3 (in three different cities). Two years ago, ECU blew a 16-0 lead at home. That coach is gone and the Pirates are gonna be the favorite, especially at High Noon at home in Greenville. ECU opens at Alabama, so they will definitely know what their weaknesses are going into this one. And barring an El Niño miracle, it will be hot.

Charlotte

Charlotte is 0-4 versus App State in recent times (funny enough, in three different stadiums), but those times are the only times in this series. The Niners were the worst FBS team last season, something we learned after the season-opening Mayo Game win. Charlotte will likely be 1-1 (The Citadel, Ole Miss) going in. This is a “you better win Dowell” game, especially if ECU is a likely loss.

NC State

NC State has preseason hype and dreams, so they’re going 7-6. It’s the Dave Doeren Way. The Wolfpack fans might be tired of this Song That Never Ends, but they’ll be looking forward to hosting Louisville the following week. The Pack will be coming off a trip to Vanderbilt, so the NC State hype train might already be derailed by Week 4. Eh, who am I kidding? The financial gap is getting bigger as NC State tries to keep up in case the ACC dies. App State has like a 5% chance. Just hope Dowell doesn’t try to act like Carter-Finley is like an NFL stadium.

Off Week

After the off week, it’s eight Sun Belt games in eight weeks for the Mountaineers. Three of those weeks have one less day, with two of those being road games and the other being lifelong App State hater Billy Napier and the defending conference champs.

Old Dominion

First up is a home game against the Sun Belt’s NC State, aka Old Dominion. For the last three years, they’re gonna be good because the coach is still there, as is most of the team. Then they’re OK. This series follows a simple formula: home team wins. This game is in Boone. The Monarchs will be coming off a trip to Atlanta and a rivalry home game versus JMU two weeks before, while the Apps are coming off their off week.

Coastal Carolina

I really don’t want to lose five in a row to them. OK, fine, you’re an official rival App State now. Hubris caught up with the Apps in a big way with this series. The Chants had a coach they fired who went undefeated versus App State. They planted their flag at midfield after last year’s game after coming back from down 14 points in the second half. This is a Friday night game, so everyone will be a little bit drunker. The Chants play in Huntington six days before. Take the bus and kick their ass.

James Madison

In no universe should JMU be 48 points better than App State. It might as well have been 90. You had two teams on different trajectories and a head coach showing stuff to his (not yet teen) son on the sideline after a failed fake punt. Then there was leaving AJ Swan out there to screw up his knee even worse. It was an embarrassing day. Anyway, noted Furmie Billy Napier is now their head coach, and I hate him even more. This is another six-day turnaround as it’s a Friday to Thursday night in Boone. It’s a five-day turnaround for the Dukes after hosting Georgia State and they might still be mad about the snowball, despite their own fun with snowballs last December.

Georgia Southern

Hate Week is nine days this year for the Apps and 14 days for the Eagles because they got an off week, the only App State opponent to be off the week before (minus Maine if you want to be technical). Last year there was a five-day Hate Week and a 22-day Hate Week because there was a caked-up Lumberjack trophy to play for. 2025 was weird. What isn’t weird is that Clay Helton has taken Georgia Southern from mediocrity to mostly mediocre. They’ll probably throw the ball. It’s Halloween night, so there will be costumes, and maybe some of them won’t be camouflage. It’s in Statesboro because it’s an even-numbered year. At least the game is back in October when we’ll both have some hopes and dreams, because November was getting depressing. Man, I really wanted that Birmingham Bowl trophy.

Georgia State

For reasons of mind and body, the Panthers always play better in Boone than in Atlanta. Probably because of the crowd and crowd energy. We all make fun of Georgia State and their lack of attendance, but CenterParc Stadium is just weird. It’s still a baseball park, still has the outdated scoreboard, that godawful train whistle and isn’t conducive to any atmosphere if the attendance isn’t at least 20,000 real people. Anyway, Dell McGee has four wins in two seasons, which is three more than he had as interim Georgia Southern head coach. Unless Dell found the secret sauce, there’s a chance the Panthers will be on a multi-game losing streak going into this one. They host Coastal the week before. But they always play better in Boone, so beware.

Marshall

App State hasn’t won in Huntington since 1995. That’s only four games, but the point is this game is a tough nut to crack. The Herd will feel like they let it get away in Boone last season, but then again, they haven’t won in Boone since 1996. This is like the ODU series, but more personal. This comes after a two-game road swing for Marshall at ODU and Georgia Southern, respectively. They could lose both and be clinging to bowl eligibility or win both and be in the Sun Belt East race. This is also the annual 75 game for Marshall, honoring the memory of those who died in the famous 1970 plane crash, so it’s an emotional day in the town. It’s worth the trip. I went in 2024 and was treated excellently. An App State win would be a famous win.

ULM

The Warhawks win the “potentially freeze to death in Boone” sweepstakes in 2026. Your prize is in the hands of Mother Nature and climate change. If this was ULM in September (as we saw in 2023), it’s one thing. But this is late-season ULM. The one thing about ULM is that they can’t win after Halloween. They lost eight in a row to finish 2025, six in a row to finish 2024, 10 in a row to finish 2023, two in a row to finish 2022 (when wins in both would have got them to 6-6), five in a row to finish 2021 and went 0-10 in 2020. The Warhawks have only won twice in November this decade. Both came in consecutive weeks in 2022 versus Texas State and Georgia State by a combined four points. One positive for ULM is that they’ll be coming off a Thursday home game versus the Cajuns, so they have two extra days to prepare.

South Alabama

3 p.m. on Black Friday in Mobile to end the regular season. And on ESPN+. The date change was a South Alabama request so attendance wouldn’t die going head-to-head with the Iron Bowl. This is an odd one to map out because it’s at the end of the season and because of the circumstances of the game. Is there anger from the infamous 2024 Mark Ricks “no one cares about the score, students want to get drunk” game? No, that was more of just sinking depression; then a week later, Helene hit. The Jags will be coming off the “Delta of Hate” in consecutive weeks with Troy at home and then Southern Miss away, in that order. If USA is fighting for bowl eligibility, Major Applewhite might be coaching for his job.

Does Dowell have to win? Well, yeah. He has to win enough to outpace the buyout. For those curious, Dowell’s buyout would be his base salary of $50,000 each month, or $600,000 a year, through December 31, 2029. While head coach, Dowell also makes $500,000 in “personality rights” in 2026. That amount increases by $100,000 each year through the rest of the contract. “Personality rights” is not part of the buyout. Doing some math, the base salary due to him over the remainder of his contract is $2 million and will be $1.85 million on Dec. 1, four days after South Alabama.

That’s the worst-case scenario. If you’re rooting for that, go touch grass. No self-respecting Appalachian State Football fan would want a horrible season to get rid of a coach before the ball is even kicked. If Maine, ECU and Charlotte are outright disasters, that discussion will suck.

More than five wins is base level for a modicum of success. Dowell has said multiple times the players he inherited were not winners. And in 2024, they weren’t, despite how much we wanted them to be. And now, in 2026, there are eight players from the 2024 roster left (one less than in March), four of whom have never played a snap and only three have started any games (Cayden Sweatt, Colton Phares and Kanye Roberts).

It’s your roster, Dowell. You built it last year, moved on from many of them and now you rebuilt it after learning those lessons. Roughly seven out of every 10 players are new to Appalachian State this season. You got the quarterback you wanted last year. You got an increased NIL budget. You recruited the highest-ranked Sun Belt Conference class in history.

Eight wins seem like a solid thumbs up. But that also depends on what the four losses are. Some losses mean more. We all hope Dowell realizes that, and not in an NFC East way.

Tell us the stories about this team. And not just the “I knew Malachi Singleton from Arkansas” story. Make us proud of these Appalachian State Football players. Not the potential future NFL players, but the Mountaineers.

I honestly think Dowell can do this. His staff has more of a mix of old NFL heads and modern college football dudes. He’s learning. Satterfield’s growth as a head coach was rough for the first 18 games. Not everyone will step into a well-built Subaru and set best lap times as Drinkwitz did. I critique Dowell for his NFL-centric mind, the program’s secrecy and watching the TVs at Ale House during the coach’s show, but I seriously hope he turns into a great coach here.

He’s waited years for a chance like this. Despite the program’s struggles and fan doomerism regarding NIL and revenue sharing, he’s jumped in and tried to make it a positive. He gets the new indoor facility sometime during this season. He’s got Steve Wilks as a sounding board and fundraiser. If Dowell can make us proud, give us some joy and bring us back to competing for championships, he’ll be an App State Guy to me.