College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25, Week 3
By Zach Bigalke
On a weekend where several Sun Belt rivals make major noise against Big 12 opponents, Appalachian State opened their bid for a third straight conference crown at home with a relatively pedestrian 35-20 win over Charlotte. The Mountaineers only pulled away from the 49ers in the fourth quarter, looking somewhat rusty as they opened the year.
Zac Thomas threw for only 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 14-of-21 passing, but he didn’t need to do too much with his arm. Both Marcus Williams Jr. and Camerun Peoples ran for over 100 yards, with each scoring a touchdown, and Daetrich Harrington added a pair of rushing scores. The Mountaineers finished the day with 308 rushing yards as a team, while the defense held Charlotte under 300 total yards of offense.
After opening the year among the others receiving votes in the AP Top 25, App State will take advantage of canceled fall seasons around the country to vault up into the rankings this week. Another non-conference test awaits next week against another Conference USA foe, but this time the Mountaineers hit the road to face Marshall in Huntington.