BOONE, N.C. — Confidence can be an intriguing concept.
Since the middle of the 2014 season, Appalachian State has gone 13-1 in Sun Belt Conference play and in the past two years, there hasn’t been a league team the Mountaineers have dominated so throughly as Georgia State.
Two years ago, ASU played inhospitable hosts, beating the Panthers 44-0 during a snowstorm at Kidd Brewer Stadium. And last season, the Mountaineers turned the Georgia Dome into a de facto home game on the way to a 37-3 victory.
Coming off its most challenging non-conference campaign ever — a four-week, four-game journey through Tennessee, Old Dominion, Miami and Akron — Appalachian could feel secure in the fact that it has survived the toughest part of its schedule.