App. State goes from hunter to hunted at New Orleans Bowl
The giant-killer role doesn’t fit any more for Appalachian State.
Instead, the Mountaineers enter Saturday night’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl as the big favorite — a nationally-ranked team facing an upset-minded UAB.
Kickoff for the game, which launches Shawn Clark’s career as App State head coach, is 9 p.m. at the Superdome.
The Mountaineers, who knocked off Power Five opponents North Carolina and South Carolina this season, are ranked 20th nationally. That’s the program’s best-ever ranking, and the Mountaineers are favored by 16.5 points, second-biggest spread of the 41 bowl games.
All that is not lost on UAB coach Bill Clark.
“I’m not a big point-spread guy, but that jumps out at you,” Clark said. “I think App State has earned that. I think for us, the challenge is there.”
Appalachian State, which drubbed Middle Tennessee 45-13 in last year’s New Orleans Bowl, is 12-1 and coming off a victory over Louisiana two weeks ago in the Sun Belt Conference championship.
UAB, at 9-4, was rocked by Florida Atlantic 49-6 on Dec. 8 in the Conference USA championship game.
The side story in this game is the coaching change at Appalachian State, with Clark moving from offensive line coach to the head position, after the departure earlier this month of Eli Drinkwitz to Missouri.
Clark says the coaching change will not affect his team Saturday night.
“We had a game plan ready for UAB two weeks ago,” he said. “We’ve had a good week of practice, and we’re ready.”
Mountaineer players say they’re excited to have him as coach.
“That guy loves Appalachian State football,” quarterback Zac Thomas said. “I think they got the right guy at the right time. We’re excited to be playing with him.”
Here are five things to watch in Saturday night’s game:
WILL UAB RUN EFFECTIVELY?
The Blazers run the ball 63 percent of the time and like to slow the pace in games. In their losses, the running game was shut down and the Blazers had to pass. Which leads us to the next point.
TYLER JOHNSON VS. APP STATE DEFENSE
Johnson, UAB’s quarterback, threw for 1,952 yards and 15 touchdowns but also was picked off 14 times and had injury problems. Watch for ASU senior linebackers Jordan Fehr (of Providence High) and Akeem Davis-Gaither to put pressure on Johnson.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
UAB has turned the ball over 25 times this year. Appalachian State has forced opponents into 21 turnovers and were among the best in the Sun Belt Conference in that department. Defensive back Shaun Jolly picked off five passes.
DARRYNTON EVANS VS. UAB DEFENSE
Evans rushed for 1,323 yards this season, and the Mountaineers tended to wear down opponents with their ground game. UAB ranked 13th nationally against the run, led by linebacker Khristopher Moll (96 tackles, four forced fumbles).
CAN ASU PROTECT ZAC THOMAS?
Thomas, the Mountaineers’ quarterback, was New Orleans Bowl MVP last year. Appalachian State allowed 17 sacks this season — 19th-best in FBS. UAB averaged 3.31 sacks per game — eighth-best in FBS.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 3:29 PM.