By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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As has become almost customary, the game between Appalachian State and Georgia Southern is shaping up to be the de facto conference championship bout.

If there seems to be a familiar vibe surrounding this Thursdays rivalry showdown between Appalachian State and Georgia Southern in Boone, it certainly is not without good reason.

Prior to the programs joining the Sun Belt Conference for the start of the 2014 season, the Mountaineers and Eagles combined to absolutely dominate the Southern Conference at the FCS level. In fact, over their final ten seasons in the SoCon, there was only one season in which neither Appalachian State nor Georgia Southern either won or shared the conference title. Interestingly enough, that lone occurrence took place during the programs final year in the conference in 2013.

These arent simply programs that are used to being competitive and finishing with winning records, they are two perennial powers that expect to contend for championships.

The Eagles and Mountaineers have won games with such frequency and consistency over the past decade that individual losses are not just disappointing, they oftentimes feel cataclysmic. If you need proof of this concept, you only need to have the misfortune of finding yourself in Boone or Statesboro in the aftermath of a loss to experience how the respective fan bases treat their infrequent run-ins with failure.

Or you could simply examine the fact that these teams remarkably have a combined one conference loss in games that arent against each other through one-and-a-half seasons.

Heading into the 2015 version of the rivalry which has already established its rightful place as the Sun Belts best and most intense series, both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are sharing a spot in the drivers seat for the conference championship.

Technically speaking, the team that wins Thursday nights contest will by no means have clinched the regular season title. They will, however, have put themselves in a position where it would take a massive undoing in order to not bring home the hardware.

The Eagles are already coming off an inaugural season at the FBS level which saw the program go undefeated in conference play on its way to a Sun Belt title. And with four league games remaining versus teams against which Georgia Southern will be heavily favored (Texas State, Troy, South Alabama and Georgia State), it seems like a near certainty that a win over the Mountaineers would equate to, at the very least, a share of the conference title once again this fall.

Appalachian State does have a more difficult remainder of the conference docket to maneuver, but a win over the Eagles at x9cThe Rockx9d would almost assuredly make the Mountaineers a favorite in each of their final five contests. Through two Sun Belt games which have already been played, the Mountaineers are currently averaging winning conference games by 39.5 points.

But even though it may appear to the outside world that this weeks game is going to bring a new level of anticipation or excitement to the series, those who are entrenched in the rivalry know that this is an intense battle every season.

x9cWell, I dont know if there is any more hype [this season] than in the history of the rivalry. There have been some great games back when we were FCS, where both teams were playing for No. 1 or playing for the conference championship back when we were in the Southern Conference,x9d Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield commented on the weekly Sun Belt teleconference. x9cBut its against a team that we have a great respect for and its just a great rivalry, so thats what makes it a great game I think.x9d

Not surprisingly, the people in charge of making the odds in Vegas expect this to be a close contest as well. Las Vegas books generally have Appalachian State as a six-point favorite over the Eagles, who won last years meeting 34-14 at Paulson Stadium.

The league may have changed, and the fact that the game will be nationally-televised is a relatively new aspect, but the vast majority of the dynamics remain similar as Appalachian State and Georgia Southern prepare to square off in what figures to be the biggest regular season game of the Sun Belt season.

These teams know what to expect when they line up across from one another on the gridiron, and nothing appears to have changed in that regard this time around.

As has become almost customary, the game between Appalachian State and Georgia Southern is shaping up to be the de facto conference championship bout.

And the fans wouldn’t have it any other way.