App State must play ‘nearly perfect’ to upset Clemson

CLEMSON- App State comes to Clemson on Saturday looking to take on another giant.

The Mountaineers will always be remembered for going to the Big House and defeating Michigan in 2007, but they have had even more big wins since then.

In 2019, App State traveled to Williams-Brice and defeated the rival Gamecocks. That same season, the program also went on the road and beat North Carolina. In 2022, they traveled to Texas A&M as a 19-point underdog and defeated the No. 6 Aggies 17-14, the program’s first win over a top-10 team. Add to that a top-25 win in each of the last three seasons, and this Mountaineer program knows what success looks like.

This week, App State travels to Death Valley looking to pull off another improbable upset. The Tigers, who opened as 16.5-point favorites, have won all five games in the series, with the two teams last meeting in 2015. Clemson won that game 41-10.

“It’s definitely a big task for us,” App State head coach Shawn Clark told the Winston-Salem Journal. “Coach Swinney has a great program there. He’s been there for 15 years, won a lot of conference championships, national championships. We’re just going to have to go there and play close to perfection.”

The Mountaineers have proven they are capable of playing on the big stage and Clark believes his team will be ready.

“It’s a game our players are looking forward to,” Clark added. “We love big moments like that on the national stage.”

While 25th-ranked Clemson enters the tournament coming off a 34-3 loss to first-ranked Georgia, App State beat ETSU 38-10 in its season opener.

The Mountaineers held on for their first win of the season, and Clark said his team will need a repeat performance to have any hope of pulling off an upset against a Clemson team that is 65-3 at home in the College Football Playoff era.

“We have to go out there and make sure we play App State football,” Clark said. “Make sure we take care of the ball and play cleanly. You can’t have turnovers in these games. We’ll have to stay close in the fourth quarter and see what happens. It’s not going to be a big moment for our kids.”

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