App State football is set to play Lindenwood in its home opener on Saturday as fans will pack The Rock for kickoff, which is set for 3:30 p.m. This is the first matchup ever between these two teams. Lindenwood (0-1) plays at the FCS level, losing to St. Thomas 35-13 in its opener last weekend.
🏈 Game Vitals
Who: Lindenwood at Appalachian State Mountaineers
When: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 – 3:30 p.m.
Where: Kidd Brewer Stadium (Boone, N.C.) | Tickets Sold Out
How to Watch: ESPN+
Duke’s Mayo Victory: What happened last week?
The first game of the Dowell Loggains era started with an emphatic 34-11 win against the Charlotte 49ers at Bank of America Stadium.
Redshirt junior quarterback AJ Swann shined with 368 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Mountaineers had a healthy mix of passes and runs during the game, which helped keep the 49er defense on its toes.
Loggains was ecstatic about picking up his first win as a head coach but still focused on the players: “It’s always about those kids and it’s why we coach and it was awesome,” he said.
App State now turns to Lindenwood in hopes of starting the season 2-0.
“We haven’t started 2-0 around here in a long time and so we got a big one this week at home,” Loggains said.
App State Key Players
Following his performance last week, look for Swann to take control of the offense again. Against the 49ers he threw 46 passes, and he could come close to this number again if he stays on the field.
When asked about the game, Swann said, “Winning’s fun, football’s fun.” Now that the team has a taste of a hard-fought win, they need to stay even and not let a lower-level opponent like Lindenwood outplay them.
If the Mountaineers build a commanding lead, redshirt sophomore quarterback JJ Kohl might see playing time like he did against Charlotte. Kohl completed 2-of-4 passes for 36 yards.
Junior receiver Jaden Barnes was Swann’s favorite target last week with 6 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt senior Dalton Stroman led the game in receptions with 8 for 88 yards. Swann will likely look to them early and often.
Senior running back Rashod Dubinion was a workhorse with 22 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. If the Mountaineers are in short yardage situations or need a quick spark expect them to call Dubinion’s number.
Lindenwood Key Players
Redshirt senior quarterback Nate Glantz threw for 318 yards and a touchdown in the loss to St. Thomas from the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League last week. He has the reins to the Lions offense and their success weighs heavily on him. Glantz was at Iowa State in 2022 before transferring to Lindenwood.
The Lions have two strong running backs in redshirt sophomore Steve Hall and redshirt junior Jared Rhodes. These two are a solid pairing allowing them to always have fresh legs in the backfield. Hall will likely be the main option as he is coming off a great freshman campaign where he was named Big South-OVC Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2024.
On the defensive side, redshirt senior defensive back Eric Gant will be disrupting plays. Last week he recorded a team high 9 tackles.
Max Schwanz is the sports editor for The Appalachian, the student newspaper at Appalachian State University. A journalism major and digital marketing minor from Cornelius, N.C., you can find more of his work at The Appalachian.
