APP STATE AND MAINE MEET AGAIN AFTER TWO PAINFUL PLAYOFF MEMORIES

Since Appalachian State University transitioned to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2014, the Mountaineers have carved out a reputation as a relentless, giant-killing program capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone in the country. Yet, as they look ahead to their next matchup at Kidd Brewer Stadium, history offers a humbling reminder as there is still one historic ghost they have never quite been able to shake, Maine.

They have met only twice on a football field, both games came in the NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoffs at Kidd Brewer Stadium and both end with Maine celebrating and App State's season coming to an abrupt close.

Nearly 15 years after their last meeting, the Black Bears are returning to Boone on Sept. 5, it will mark the first meeting between the programs since 2011 and the first since the Mountaineers made the move from the FCS to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014.

A one-point ending in 2002

The first meeting came on Nov. 30, 2002, in the opening round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs at Kidd Brewer Stadium. What followed was a one-point loss that ended the Mountaineers' season. Maine escaped Boone with a 14-13 victory. It marked the Mountaineers' first loss in a playoff opener since 1999 and was the beginning of a two-year stretch in which App State did not return to the postseason.

Maine returns in 2011

By the time Maine returned to Boone in December 2011, the Mountaineers had become one of the dominant programs in the FCS, winning three consecutive national championships from 2005 through 2007. App State had also won at least 10 games and at least one playoff game in each season from 2005 through 2010.

The Black Bears arrived at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Dec. 3, 2011, for the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship. App State, ranked No. 9/8 nationally, was playing its postseason opener after receiving a first-round bye.

The game was not as close as the meeting nine years earlier. Maine defeated App State 34-12, outgaining the Mountaineers 466-275 and holding them to just three rushing yards. The loss ended App State's season at 8-4 and snapped a run of six consecutive 10-win seasons and the victory sent the Black Bears to the national quarterfinals.

A series frozen in time

The 34-12 loss remains the last meeting between the programs. App State completed two more seasons in the FCS before moving to the Sun Belt Conference and beginning its transition to the FBS in 2014. The move opened a new chapter for the Mountaineers, bringing bowl games, conference championships and matchups against a different level of competition. Maine remained an FCS program, and the two schools did not meet again. That changes on Sept. 5. The 2026 opener will be App State's first opportunity to face Maine as an FBS program.

A chance to change the story

The history between App State and Maine is brief, but it is difficult to ignore. Maine leads the all-time series 2-0. The circumstances will be different when the teams meet again in 2026. There will be no playoff elimination on the line, no postseason bracket and no December cold ending a season. The Mountaineers will get another chance at the Black Bears on Sept. 5 after losses in 2002 and 2011, the question remain Will the third time finally be the charm?