September 21, 2023 |
Photo – Appalachian State Head Coach Shawn Clark – Courtesy App State Athletics
If you listen to Appalachian State Head Football Coach Shawn Clark long enough, he starts sounding like Wyoming Head Coach Craig Bohl.
The two are cut from the same mold. They both embody hard-nosed, tough, old-school football. Saturday night promises to be one heck of a game at War Memorial Stadium.
After coming back to his alma mater in Boone, North Carolina, Coach Clark wasted no time getting down to business. Hired in early December of 2019, he racked up nine-wins in his debut season and 10 wins the following year.
This week, Clark showed no fear of bringing his Mountaineers to 7,220 feet in Laramie and the highest stadium in FBS football and putting on a show.
Check, elevation is not going to be a big deal. How about the Wyoming team itself? Coach Clark said the Cowboys know how to control the clock. They demonstrated that last week in Texas. And Wyoming doesn’t commit too many self-inflicted wounds.
Last week in Austin, the Wyoming defense got creative with different package sets up front. Sometimes the Poke’s D went three up-front, sometimes they showed four-man. They even stacked five or six at the line if they expected a run. A safety was always hanging back in the middle of the field. Coach Clark talked about what his plan is for the stout Wyoming defense this week.
The Mountaineers are no slouches, either. Coach Clark clicked through the positives, and some of the negatives, from last week’s 43-28 win over cross-state rival North Carolina.
The stage is set for a Saturday night showdown at the War. Kick is set for 5 p.m., as the teams will meet for the third-ever meeting between the Cowboys and the Mountain and first since the 2015 season. Wyoming is a 3-point favorite and are looking to build on a 9-game home winning streak in non-conference games at War Memorial Stadium.
