Carolina visits Appalachian State on Saturday, Sept. 3 in just the third all-time meeting between the two in-state schools and the first game held in Boone. The Tar Heels earned a 56-16 home win over the Mountaineers in the season opener of the 1940 season.
In 2019, the Mountaineers picked up a 34-31 victory in Kenan Stadium. Mack Brown was the Appalachian State head coach in 1983 and Senior Advisor to the Head Coach Sparky Woods served as head coach from 1984-88 in Boone after working on Brown’s staff in ’83.
With App State selling out this game in July — and season tickets selling out for the first time in school history — the biggest crowd in Kidd Brewer Stadium history is expected. Wake Forest’s 2017 visit to Boone drew a stadium-record crowd of 35,126, surpassing the 34,658 from Miami’s 2016 visit. Last year, App State set single-season school and Sun Belt records with an average home attendance of 30,441.
About UNC
- In the first ever meeting between Carolina and Florida A&M on the football field, the Tar Heels rolled up 608 yards of total offense in a 56-24 season-opening victory in week zero of the college football season.
- Drake Maye earned his first career start at QB and responded by completing 29 of 37 attempts for a career-high 294 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a career-high 55 rushing yards on four carries.
- Maye becomes the seventh UNC QB to record five touchdown passes in a game and is the first since Sam Howell threw for five against Virginia in 2021.
- Running back Omarian Hampton’s 101 rushing yards marked the first Tar Heel true freshman to rush for over 100 yards in his first collegiate game since Carolina legend Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice ran for 102 yards against Virginia Tech on Sept. 28, 1046.
- Eleven Tar Heels made their first ever starts at Carolina. Notable performances included 10 tackles and two TFL for linebacker Power Echols, 36 yards and a TD for wide receiver Gavin Blackwell and four tackles from sophomore DeAndre Boykins.
- For just the third time since 1972, Carolina saw four players rush for 50 yards in the same game.
- Last Saturday, Omarian Hampton (101), Elijah Green (69), Drake Maye (55) and George Pettaway (51) all notched more than 50 yards on the ground.
About Appalachian State
- App State opens the 2022 season as the home team against an in-state FBS opponent for the third straight year, as the Mountaineers beat Charlotte in Boone two seasons ago and posted a 33-19 win last season against ECU in an App State home game held in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
- App State’s last five games vs. P5 teams have all been decided by seven points or less: 2021 at Miami (L, 25-23), 2019 at So. Carolina (W, 20-15), at UNC, 2018 at Penn State (L, 45-38 OT) and vs. Wake Forest.
- App State, Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma are the only FBS programs with nine-plus wins every year since 2015. App State is one of eight programs with 10-plus wins in at least five of the last seven years.
- Shawn Clark was the only first-year FBS head coach in 2020 to win nine-plus games, and he added a 10-win regular season in 2022. At 20-7, his .741 win percentage is topped by only seven active FBS head coaches: Ryan Day (.895), Lincoln Riley (.846), Kirby Smart (.815), Nick Saban (.801). Dabo Swinney (.790), Billy Napier (.769) and Jimbo Fisher (.760).
- Since App State’s 2014 FBS debut, its 42-7 home record is the nation’s sixth-best mark behind just Clemson (53-1), Alabama (52-2), Ohio State (48-4), Oklahoma (43-6) and Georgia (43-6).
- App State’s offense returns QB Chase Brice (school-record 3,337 passing yards last season), two RBs with 1,000-yard seasons (Nate Noel in 2021, Camerun Peoples in 2020), four of five OL starters from 2021 and three of its top four tight ends. The Mountaineers lost four WRs who signed NFL contracts.
- The defense lost seven primary starters from 2021, including ILB and NFL draft pick D’Marco Jackson. CB Steven Jones Jr., OLB Nick Hampton, ILB Trey Cobb and DT Jordon Earle are returning starters.
UNC vs App State
Series: Tied 1-1
Series Streak: App State won last game
Last Meeting: App State won 34-31, 2019
Last UNC Win: 56-6, 1940
How to Watch
Kickoff: NoonMark Neely, play-by-play; Charles Arbuckle, analyst; Dana Boyle, sideline
Stream: Watch ESPN
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM (158 or 202), App (965)
Blue Devils Continue to Establish Themselves as a Force on the Gridiron