BOONE -- When Appalachian State and Richmond met last season in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) semifinals, Mountaineers quarterback Armanti Edwards rushed for an NCAA quarterback-record 313 yards and seven total touchdowns.
But don't expect a repeat today when No. 2 Appalachian State (11-2) faces No. 7 Richmond (10-3) in an FCS quarterfinal at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is noon.
Edwards is nursing a hip pointer sustained three weeks ago in a win over Elon. Although the gifted junior played in last week's 37-21 first-round victory over S.C. State, he was limited to 48 yards on 18 carries.
Still, he was effective. Edwards passed for a school-record 433 yards.
Edwards says he's still hurting but is playing closer to 100 percent.
"I'm a little banged up right now," he said. "My hip is still bothering me, but I can manage."
ASU will need a quality performance from Edwards if it is to continue its quest for a fourth national championship.
ASU holds a 4-2 advantage in all-time meetings with Richmond, including a 2-0 mark in the postseason. In addition to last year's semifinal, the Mountaineers also eliminated the Spiders from the 1987 playoffs with a 20-3 victory in Boone.
"We had our running game going really well that night and we didn't turn the ball over," Edwards said of last year's game. "I was healthy. I was at a point where I didn't have (any) injuries. I was at full speed."
Today's game also marks the fifth time in its past seven postseason games that Appalachian has faced a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. ASU has won each of the previous four showdowns.
The Mountaineers are 8-1 in the postseason against current members of the CAA and are 20-9 all-time vs. CAA foes.
Appalachian has won 13 straight postseason games and is 5-4 all-time in the national quarterfinals.
ASU's offense ranks among the nation's top 10 in scoring (39.2 ppg), rushing (243.9 ypg) and total offense (471.5 ypg). Richmond's defense is in the top 15 nationally in scoring (16.1 ppg), rushing (98.5 ypg), passing (152.5 ypg) and total defense (251.0 ypg).
Richmond is led by senior running back Josh Vaughan, who has rushed for 1,503 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
Today's winner advances to a semifinal meeting with the Northern Iowa-New Hampshire winner either Friday or Saturday.
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