App State, Georgia Southern carry mutual 'Hate' into Birmingham Bowl

There is a lot of shared history between the football teams at Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.

On Monday, a new chapter in the rivalry both sides call "Deeper Than Hate" will be written as the Mountaineers and Eagles meet on a neutral field for the first time at the Birmingham Bowl in Alabama.

App State (5-7) and Georgia Southern (6-6) have played at least once every season dating back to 1993 when the Eagles were new members of the Southern Conference at the FCS level. After both won multiple FCS national championships, they made the jump to FBS together in 2014 by joining the Sun Belt.

All of their previous 40 meetings were played on their respective campuses in Statesboro, Ga. or Boone, N.C., including their two previous postseason meetings, both coming in FCS playoff games.

Typically, teams that finish with a regular-season record below .500 don't get the opportunity to play in bowl games. However, when teams such as Notre Dame, Iowa State and Kansas State opted out of the postseason, there was a trickle-down impact that left bowl organizers scrambling for worthy opponents. In years where not enough teams finish 6-6 to become bowl-eligible, 5-7 teams can become eligible if they have a high Academic Progress Rate. As it turned out, App State's score was good enough.

First-year App State coach Dowell Loggains thought the season was over after the Mountaineers lost by a single point to Arkansas State in the regular-season finale. Then, his phone rang several hours after the College Football Playoff bracket was unveiled and bowl opt-outs started to become public.

"My athletic director called me on Sunday evening and asked me about playing in a bowl," Loggains said. "I said yes, we'll play in a Walmart parking lot."

Having pivoted his focus to offseason recruiting and roster management before he found out the Mountaineers would be playing in a bowl game, Loggains then faced the challenge of getting players back on campus and figuring out who will or won't play. Loggains told players who have intentions of entering the transfer portal that they are still welcome to compete for App State in the Birmingham Bowl.

"This is the 2025 team and they're part of it. I think you will be surprised at some of the guys who will play," Loggains said. "The kids are close, the buy-in is there. They care about each other, they care about their school and they care about the block A, so we're excited about it."

The Mountaineers lost four games this season by eight points or fewer. One of them was at home to Georgia Southern -- a 25-23 home setback on Nov. 6.

The Eagles jumped out to a 19-0 lead before App State mounted a comeback, but Georgia Southern held on for a victory. Eagles quarterback JC French IV threw for 352 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 18 yards and a score.

That win helped the Eagles reach bowl eligibility for the fourth consecutive season under fourth-year head coach Clay Helton. So far, Georgia Southern is 0-3 in bowl games in his tenure. Getting his first postseason win -- and doing so over App State -- would be meaningful to him and the Eagles fanbase.

"We know how special this game is and the opportunity to do something that has never been done," Helton said. "This is another chance for these seniors to leave a legacy. They became the first Georgia Southern players in history to play in four straight bowl games, and now they have a chance at winning a ring."

--Field Level Media