AMHERST, Mass. — Championship pursuits are supposed to be challenging.
Appalachian State (5-2) steps away from its Sun Belt Conference schedule this weekend with a road game against FBS independent UMass (1-6) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and the Mountaineers will take a 4-0 league record into their next Sun Belt game.
They have shown the resolve to overcome second-half deficits in all four of the conference victories, and UMass is no stranger to close games. Its 0-6 start involved no losses by more than 10 points, with a 17-13 loss at Tennessee turning some heads, and the Minutemen led 48-17 at halftime of a 55-20 win against Georgia Southern last weekend.