At 9 AM this morning tickets went on sale for the Appalachian State vs. Wake Forest football game this season on September 23. Within two hours of the tickets going on sale the game was considered sold out.

Out of the previous 22 meetings, this will be the first time the Demon Deacons will travel to Boone North Carolina. Although Appalachian State has been in a smaller classification, they have had their fair share of wins against the Deacs.

The sellout today showed many great reasons on why these two schools should meet more often. This is a rare “P5” and “G5” combination that could actually give both programs the lime light if planned properly. So let us go through, and see the three reasons why this could benefit both programs.

Series History

Wake Forest leads the series at 14-7-1

All 22 games have been played in Winston Salem

All 22 games were played when Appalachian State was considered 1-AA (modern day FCS)

Boone NC is 86 miles from Winston Salem NC

Proximity benefits everyone

Every person affiliated with a certain football program loves the idea of having the most home games on the schedule they possibly can. Because programs cannot play every game at home, the idea is to schedule games regionally. The original concepts of conferences for college football was to help for scheduling, and explains why most conferences started out regional. You always need out of conference games, and the opponents that are close to you are beneficial to schedule.

Currently both Appalachian State and Wake Forest are considered small programs. It is a lot easier for a fan base to travel 86 miles, then to fly cross country (mhmmm West Virginia). This is also a win for school administration and financial departments as a game this close makes it easier for money and even logistics. In my opinion smaller programs should do what is best for their program by making it easier for fans to travel, and to save money. More people in the state of North Carolina are going to care about Wake Forest vs. Appalachian State than Wake Forest vs. Utah State.

Is it really a lose lose situation???

Some would say a P5 program has no business risking a loss against an instate G5 opponent. Like we mentioned above, Wake Forest has already had its fair share of losses to App State that were considered embarrassing back then. I would even say that losing to Appalachian State as a low tier P5 school is nothing to be ashamed of in modern college football. If losing to Appalachian State did not kill Wake Forest football in the past, it will not kill them now. Wake Forest will always recruit the same type of kids, and will continue being in recruiting battles against Appalachian State whether they like it or not.

This would give a great opportunity for both teams to showcase for North Carolina prep recruits easily. Often times both teams target the same recruits, it would kill two birds with one stone having both teams play yearly, and inviting more recruits to see their respected programs.

Rivalry Week

Currently neither program has an out of conference rival. A lot of tradition comes from having a rivalry game on the first or last week of the season. A P5 vs G5 rivalry can work well for instate schools, just ask the two in Colorado. An out of conference rivalry game could give more attention to these two in the state and also the region. With them recruiting the same in state kids, there could definitely be some heated games, if played more consistently.

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