While the timing of the first bye week was strange for the Bobcats, and honestly not that useful, the timing of the team's second bye last week came at a perfect time as Texas State prepares for its stretch run of the 2016 season.  It gave the 'Cats a chance to recover and refocus after a tough start to Sun Belt Conference play.  The road moving forward doesn't get any easier as three of Texas State's next five opponents are unbeaten in Sun Belt play: Troy, Arkansas State and Appalachian State.  All three teams have the conference title in their sights but the Bobcats can seriously derail those hopes in the coming weeks.  First up is Appalachian State this Saturday.  Here's five things you should know about the game.
 
1) Appalachian State Has A Two-Headed Monster At Running Back
 
Let's start things off with the Mountaineers' offense which features a lethal combination of Marcus Cox and Jalin Moore at running back.  Coming into the season, Cox figured to be App State's "bell cow" and for good reason after posting three straight seasons of over 1,200 yards rushing, including a career-high 1,423 yards rushing as a junior in 2015.  Coming into the season, Cox figured to smash App State's career yardage mark, needing just 716 yards to do so. 
 
But in App State's third game of the season against Miami, after Cox had put up 115 yards against Tennessee and 133 more against Old Dominion, a record crowd of over 34,000 at Kidd-Brewer Stadium collectively held its breath as Cox went down with an injury to his left leg.  With their all-conference running back out of commission, the Mountaineers turned to sophomore tailback Jalin Moore.
 
Moore wasn't exactly a bad Plan B to have. He ran for more than 700 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games as a freshman last season.  However, he only had 99 carries spread out over those 13 games and had just 20 carries total in the first two games this season before Cox's injury, so it was fair to wonder if he could handle an increased workload.
 
Yeah, he can:
 

Game	Rush attempts	Yards (ypc)	TD
@ Akron	39	257 (6.6)	2
vs Georgia State	28	149 (5.3)	1
@ UL-Lafayette	14	106 (7.6)	2
vs Idaho	23	114 (5.0)	1
@ Georgia Southern	15	126 (8.4)	1
TOTALS	119	752 (6.3)	7

 
First off: 67 carries in two games right out of the gate…wow.  That was only 32 fewer in 13 games the season before.  While his carries decreased significantly in the three games after that, his rushing totals suggest that he didn't wear down.  He won't have as much asked of him moving forward either as Cox made his return from injury in last Thursday's game at Georgia Southern and promptly ran for 115 yards and a touchdown. 
 
With those two, the Mountaineers have arguably the best 1-2 punch of any backfield in the conference.  With a running game like that at its disposal…
 
2) App State Will Grind You And The Clock
 
Well, not you the reader, but you get the idea.  In addition to the talent the Mountaineers feature at running back, App State has a veteran offensive line paving the way.  Three of the five projected starters are seniors and the unit has combined for over 100 starts.  With that offensive line, and those running backs and a very good quarterback in Taylor Lamb, not only do the Mountaineers put up points (third in the Sun Belt at 26.4 PPG), they chew up a ton of clock.
 
App State leads the Sun Belt in average time of possession at over 34 minutes a game which is good for ninth in the FBS.  The Mountaineers have won the T.O.P. in all eight games this season and had the ball a whopping 37:21 at Georgia Southern last Thursday, a season high. 
 
Because of their ability to play ball control, the Mountaineers don't yield much time or many possessions to their opponents.  Texas State is averaging just 25:12 T.O.P. which means if these trends continue for both teams on Saturday, the Bobcats are going to have to maximize the time that they do have the football.  The Bobcats can ill afford three-and-outs or empty possessions because they simply may not have many.
 
3) The Bobcats Have Been Storming Out of the Gates Recently
 
Up until Texas State's conference opener at Georgia State, the Bobcats had gone 12 games without a touchdown on their opening drive.  Texas State ended that streak that afternoon in Atlanta and scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game the following week at ULM.  In their last game two weeks ago against UL-Lafayette, the Bobcats didn't score a touchdown on their first drive but did score to take an early 3-0 lead against the Cajuns.  That's 17 points in three drives which is great, and in the first quarters of their first three Sun Belt games, the Bobcats have scored 31 points.
 
This is obviously a good trend, but the other trend that has followed has been concerning: the Bobcats have been struggling on offense once the first quarter ends.  In the nine other quarters of Texas State's three Sun Belt games, the Bobcat offense has managed a total of 13 points.  There's a saying that you can't win a game in the first quarter and the Bobcats have been finding that out the hard way. 
 
It is frustrating on a number of levels, one of them being that the defense has improved and played its best game of the season against the Cajuns two weeks ago.  But far too often the defense was forced into defending against short fields and wore down from being on the field too much. 
 
We've seen the offense at its best and we've seen the defense at its best but we have yet to see both at their best at the same time.  It's a byproduct of a young football team lacking depth but if everything can come together for 60 minutes then we'll start to see what this team is capable of.
 
4) The Mountaineers Boast The Sun Belt's Best Defense
 
Appalachian State has perfected football's most simple formula to winning games: establish a successful rushing attack, protect the football and play great defense.  Those three things are easier to say than do but the Mountaineers have managed to pull all three off brilliantly.  We've already broken down App State's running game in great detail, and when it comes to turnovers, the Mountaineers have only committed 10 of them through eight games, the second fewest amount of turnovers in the conference.  App State's turnover margin of +6 is also second best in the Sun Belt.
 
But there have been games when either the Mountaineers running game has just been okay or they have been sloppy with the football.  App State ran for just 129 yards against Idaho but won by 18 points.  Last Thursday, the Mountaineers committed three turnovers but won handily at Georgia Southern 34-10.  How was App State so dominant despite less than stellar play in those two areas?  Because their defense is really, really good. 
 
In the win over the Vandals, the Mountaineers intercepted three passes, two of those picks courtesy of freshman cornerback Clifton Duck, who took one of them back for a touchdown.  App State also limited Idaho to 2-of-12 on third down and sacked Vandals quarterback Matt Linehan four times.  In the win over the Eagles five nights later, the numbers were nearly identical: three interceptions, Georgia Southern was 2-of-13 on third down and the Mountaineers threw in one sack for good measure.
 
Week in and week out, Scott Satterfield knows that no matter how well or average the offense plays (they rarely play poorly), the defense will almost always come through.  There was a two week window which made the defense look suspect in games against Miami and Akron but since Sun Belt play has started, the Mountaineers' defense has been close to perfect.  In three of App State's four conference games the Mountaineers haven't allowed an offensive touchdown and in the only game they did, against Idaho, the Vandals' lone touchdown came with four seconds left with the game well in hand.
 
If you want more proof that this is the Sun Belt's best defense, check out Appalachian State's rankings in some of the bigger defensive categories:
 
Rush defense: Second in the Sun Belt
Total defense: First in the Sun Belt
Points allowed: 13th in the FBS
Sacks: Second in the Sun Belt
Turnovers forced: Third in the Sun Belt
Interceptions: Tied First in the FBS
Third downs: Third in the FBS
Red Zone: Fewest RZ trips allowed in the Sun Belt
 
The Mountaineers lost the reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in Ronald Blair to graduation, but they haven't missed a beat.  This could very well be the best defensive unit the Bobcats have faced in the Sun Belt since joining the conference three years ago.
 
5) App State Has Enjoyed Its Stay In The Sun Belt So Far
 
The Mountaineers had one of the great runs in the history of FCS football in the 2000's and seemed prime for a jump to the FBS but needed to find a conference to call home before making the move.  The Sun Belt came calling in 2013 extending its invite to App State which cordially accepted and became an official member of the conference on July 1, 2014. 
 
Fast forward halfway into App State's first FBS season and some wondered if the Mountaineers were in fact ready for move.  The Mountaineers were coming off a 4-8 record in their transitional season the year before and stumbled to a 1-5 start in 2014 with a pair of +20 point losses to Sun Belt teams and a home loss to FCS Liberty.  This was not what the Mountaineers signed up for.
 
What they did sign up for is what has happened since.  After the loss to Liberty, App State annihilated Troy on the road 53-14 and the Mountaineers have not looked back.  They won their final six games that season (including wins over Sun Belt powers UL-Lafayette and Arkansas State), went 11-2 last season and are 6-2 this season. 
 
Whatever fire the Flames lit into the Mountaineers worked, as they have won 23 of their last 27 games with three of the losses coming to Power 5 programs (the other to Arkansas State last season).  After losing its first two Sun Belt games, App State has won 17 of 18 conference games by an average of 24 PPG. 
 
There is no question that what App State has done has been impressive and the Bobcats undoubtedly have a huge mountain to climb this Saturday (pun fully intended).  If Texas State can limit its mistakes, make App State pay for any they commit and maximize its opportunities, then this becomes a mountain the Bobcats can conquer.
 
Eat 'Em Up!