Appalachian State handed Georgia Southern their first ever loss in the Sun Belt on Thursday night, winning 31-13 and controlling the game in dominant fashion. The App State defense held Georgia Southern to only 252 total yards, nearly half of their season average, and quarterback Taylor Lamb helped the offense conduct an efficient evening.
Appalachian State takes control of the Fun Belt and could have a New Year’s bowl in its future
The Mountaineers could have a bigger prize on their mind than conference honors, though.
Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
For all the words spent leading up to this game on the two offenses, the best unit on the field by far was the Appalachian State defense. The Mountaineers gave up a touchdown on the first drive of the night, but after that they put the Georgia Southern offense into a choke hold. It wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that they surrendered another point, well after the game had been decided.
Taylor Lamb was efficient, going 14 of 20 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead the ‘Neers. Marcus Cox had 84 rushing yards and two touchdowns to spearhead a 184-yard team rushing effort. The delightfully named Simms McElfresh led them with 66 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Matt Breida was held to only 78 rushing yards, his lowest total of the season since their season-opening loss to West Virginia. Kevin Ellison and Favian Upshaw each threw a pick, but Ellison did have a rushing touchdown.
With this win in their pocket, App State becomes the odds-on favorite to win the Sun Belt. But beyond that, the Mountaineers could have a shot at grabbing the Group of Five New Year’s bowl bid, which would be a shocking climb for a program in only their second year in the FBS.
They’ll need some help to get there, of course, but if they do, they’ll be carried there by their defense. Their performance against Georgia Southern was no fluke. They had the 27th-ranked defense in terms of Defensive S&P+ entering this week, and that number will certainly not be hurt by their drubbing of the potent Eagles’ attack. Their offense isn’t exactly chopped liver either at 39th in Offensive S&P+, so it’s really not that difficult to conceive of them surviving while the teams ahead of them like Houston, Memphis, Toledo and others, all knock each other off while the Mountaineers keep chugging along and end up playing in a bowl game on New Years Day.
It may not be the most likely scenario, but neither is a second-year FBS program even being in this position. Why stop now?
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