2025 App State Football Predictions: Mountaineers Ranked 96th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136

This isn't your average college football ranking.

My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:

  • Who do I think is good?
  • Why do I think they're good?
  • What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?

Here is a look at where Appalachian State lands in my Ultimate 136.

App State ranking: 96
Last year’s ranking: 40
Top player: RB Kanye Roberts: Rushed for 1,155 in three seasons and 10 touchdowns at Appalachian State; recorded 574 all-purpose yards in eight games last season.

[App State's 2025 schedule]

RJ’s take: Head coach Dowell Loggains is in a spot to shock some folks. After 21 years in the NFL, it took him no time to get South Carolina going. He turned quarterback LaNorris Sellers into a bona fide NFL Draft darling and now looks to do the same with signal-callers AJ Swann (LSU) and JJ Kohl (Iowa State). If wideout Jaden Barnes can be the 1,000-yard receiver at App State that he was at Austin Peay, Loggains can turn up the heat in the Sun Belt this season.

[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]

App State Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (-160) Under 5.5 (+130)

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.