Appalachian St Mountaineers 2016 NCAA Football Preview
APPALACHIAN ST MOUNTAINEERS
Sun Belt Conference
2015 Record – 11-2
ATS – 6-7
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
Conference #1
2015 Recap
They would love to have one game back. The loss to Clemson was understandable. But the Mountaineers had the Sun Belt Title within their grasp and lost a home tilt to Arkansas St that sealed their fate. You still have to look at it in a very positive light. 11 wins. Their first bowl victory. Lots to be proud of.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
QB Taylor Lamb returns for his junior season and is coming off a fine campaign in which he threw 30 TD passes and finished in the top 10 in the FBS in passing efficiency. He also ran for 5 scores. Outstanding RB Marcus Cox returns for his final year and he is coming off a 1,400 yard rushing season. Jalin Moore averaged over 7 yards per carry. Overall, the offense had a good recipe in 2015 and it promises to be much of the same this year. Run the ball (2nd in the Sun Belt) and be efficient when you MATRICULATE in the passing game (1st in the Sun Belt passing efficiency). The offensive line returns 3/5 starters and should be very good once again.
The question mark is in the receiving group where they lose their top two WRs from 2015. The running game is the focus of the offense but it would be helpful if they could undercover an additional weapon or two.
DEFENSE
Wow. They were good last season. They were the best defense in the Sun Belt (11th FBS) and also led the conference in sacks with 36. They are definitely going to miss star DE Ronald Blair who had 7.5 sacks and 19 total TFL.
The unit is down to 8 returning starters after 1st Team Sun Belt CB Latrell Gibbs was declared academically ineligible for the 2016 season but they still appear to be the best defense in the conference on paper. Everyone returns to the outstanding LB unit including their top two tacklers.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Mountaineers are going to miss their excellent PK Zach Matics who was 14/17 on FGs including 3/4 from 50+ yards. Freshman Michael Rubino is in line to win the job and that worries us just a bit. Senior punter Bentlee Critcher did a decent job last season and is back this season. The Mountaineers are another team that could use some extra spice in the return game.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 6.0
MEGALOCKS says:
September games against Tennessee and Miami are not going to be fun. However, the remainder of the schedule looks really – dare we say – easy. The road game at Georgia Southern will probably get their attention but that is about it. They avoid Arkansas St. And we suppose, Arkansas St avoids the Mountaineers.
Overall, we give the MOUNTAINEERS a 6.0 ATS Value Rating (Above Average) this season. They were a great example of the difference between a really good team – and a really good team against the point spread. They had an 11-win season and still managed to come away with a mediocre 6-7 record ATS. That is natural when you have a “hot” team that becomes popular with handicappers. Their overall talent level is definitely a notch above the vast majority of teams in the conference, so despite some inflated point spreads, we can still see them scraping out a winning record ATS. Just pick your spots.
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