South Alabama vs. App State prediction, pick, odds for Thursday, Sept. 19

South Alabama vs. App State Preview

South Alabama Jaguars Betting Preview: Coaching Staff Turnover in Mobile

It was an interesting offseason for South Alabama. Former head coach Kane Wommack guided the program to two bowl games in his three seasons in Mobile but left to become the defensive coordinator at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer.

The Jaguars also lost their own defensive coordinator after Corey Batoon took the same position at Missouri.

How did South Alabama replace two coaches who made the jump to the Southeastern Conference? It decided to hire from within by elevating Major Applewhite to head coach after serving as offensive coordinator.

This will be Applewhite's second job as head coach after guiding Houston to back-to-back winning seasons in 2017 and 2018.

So far, Applewhite’s offense has not disappointed. The Jaguars’ 87 points against Northwestern State were the most in a single game in school history. It also set a new Sun Belt Conference record for single-game points, and it was the most points scored by an FBS team since 1991.

Plus, South Alabama accomplished all of this in a contest shortened due to weather.

If Applewhite can get his defense to match the offense, he should be able to get this season back on track.

App State Mountaineers Betting Preview: Aguilar Leads Mountaineers

After the disappointing loss at Clemson, Appalachian State bounced back last week thanks to a great comeback against East Carolina. Those are types of performances that have become the norm under head coach Shawn Clark.

In fact, the Mountaineers have made four conference championship game appearances in the last six seasons. The only other FBS schools to do so are Alabama, Boise State, Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and Utah.

Last year was another successful campaign for Clark’s squad, as it reached the Sun Belt Championship before falling to Troy. Luckily for Clark, he returns a lot of players from that team.

The Mountaineers rank 33rd nationally in returning production with 68% coming back from the 2023 squad. That includes star quarterback Joey Aguilar.

The Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year threw for a career-high 424 yards to help App State overcome a 16-0 deficit against the Pirates last week. He’ll need another huge performance here to start conference play with a win.

South Alabama vs. Appalachian State

Matchup Analysis

Data via CollegeFootballData.com, SP+, Pro Football Focus and SportSource Analytics.

South Alabama vs. App State Pick & Prediction

It didn’t take me long to scan through the opening lines for college football this week before I found a bet I loved. Once I saw this South Alabama-App State line, I could only look toward the home team.

With that said, my best bet is to take Appalachian State at -7 at BetRivers, which I would bet up to -7.5. This is also a solid moneylineparlay piece if you have another partner.

Teams making the trip to Boone have to defend the pass well if they want to leave with a victory. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I don't see South Alabama doing that.

This is a Jaguars defense that allowed 415 yards and three touchdowns through the air to North Texas in the opener. The secondary followed that up by allowing new Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro to complete 71% of his passes and throw for his season-high in terms of yardage.

Ultimately, I just don't trust this new-look South Alabama squad and staff to go on the road and keep up here.

This is a team that lost the program’s winningest quarterback, a 1,000-yard rusher, a 1,300-yard receiver and a pair of defensive masterminds on the coaching staff.

Meanwhile, everything flipped for App State down the stretch last year. It won five of its last six to make the conference title game, including a win over previously undefeated James Madison.

I’ll put my money behind Aguilar and Clark at home on this short week, especially considering the Mountaineers have won 17 of their last 20 in Boone against SBC foes.

Pick: App State -7 (Play to -7.5)

How to Watch South Alabama vs. Appalachian State Live: Start Time, TV Channel, Location

South Alabama vs. Appalachian State Betting Trends

• App State has landed 76% of the tickets and 81% of the money.
• Total-wise, the under has taken 57% of the bets and 58% of the cash.

About the Author

Brett Pund is a writer for The Action Network specializing in college football, soccer and college basketball. He started writing for Action in 2021 and has been betting since 2018. Before joining Action, he worked in athletic media relations at the collegiate and pro level, which is where his writing passion grew. 

Follow Brett Pund @bchinop on Twitter/X.