Saturday, Sept. 5 | 3:30 p.m. ET | Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C.
There is history between Maine and Appalachian State. Just not very much of it.
The programs have met only twice, and both games came in the FCS playoffs. More importantly for Maine, both ended the same way.
The Black Bears traveled to Boone on Nov. 30, 2002 and escaped with a 14-13 victory in the opening round of the Division I-AA playoffs. Nine years later, Maine returned to Kidd Brewer Stadium and did it again, this time in much more convincing fashion. The Black Bears beat App State 34-12 in the second round of the 2011 playoffs, holding the Mountaineers to just three rushing yards.
Now Maine is heading back to Boone for the first time in 15 years.
Everything around the matchup has changed.
Appalachian State is no longer an FCS powerhouse. The Mountaineers made the jump to the FBS in 2014 and have since won four Sun Belt championships. Maine, meanwhile, has been searching for its first FCS playoff appearance since its memorable 2018 run.
On paper, App State is the obvious favorite.
But this may be one of the more interesting moments for an FCS opponent to walk into Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Mountaineers are rebuilding. Again.
Dowell Loggains enters his second season as App State's head coach after a 5-8 debut campaign, and very little about his 2026 roster looks settled.
App State entered the offseason with one of the most aggressive roster overhauls in the country. The Mountaineers have 66 newcomers, including 35 transfers from other NCAA programs, as Loggains attempts to rebuild a roster that never found consistency in 2025.
The coaching staff changed as well.
Mike Anthony was hired as offensive coordinator after spending the previous three seasons at TCU in various offensive roles, including assistant quarterbacks coach in 2025. Anthony has extensive experience working within Kendal Briles-influenced offenses, and his arrival points toward an attack built around tempo, spacing, RPO concepts and the quarterback run game.
And that brings us to the most important newcomer on the roster.