App State didn’t put college football on notice by beating ECU, but watch out next week
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College Football Week 1
Scores, highlights analysis from around NC and SC this week
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Piling up 485 yards of offense against one of college football’s worst defenses isn’t worthy of crowning Appalachian State the Group of Five’s best team.
Nothing App State did Thursday night in a 33-19 win over East Carolina will gather much national attention, and it shouldn’t.
But make no mistake: The Mountaineers are good. They’re darn good. And if they can play with the competency they did Thursday again next week, they can win at Miami and then put college football on notice.
That all starts with the rushing game and junior running back Camerun Peoples. All of App State’s success on offense centered around him and the tempo he established by rushing for 43 yards on his first four carries of the game, including a 21-yard touchdown that put the Mountaineers up 14-6 in the first quarter, extending a lead they’d never relinquish.
Peoples, an NCAA record holder for most rushing yards in a bowl game, finished Thursday with 100 yards on 14 carries, adding a fourth-quarter touchdown run from 12 yards out. Sophomore Nate Noel added 126 on 15 carries.
ECU (0-1) took an early lead on its second possession. After forcing a three-and-out on App State, Pirates quarterback Holton Ahlers hit running back Keaton Mitchell on a screen pass that went 63 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown before the point-after try was missed. But App State (1-0) had an answer — a theme that continued throughout the night.
The ensuing possession was capped by a 34-yard touchdown pass from Chase Brice to Thomas Hennigan that put the Mountaineers up 7-6. In the third quarter, a 10-play, 66-yard drive by ECU ended with a field goal to cut the lead to 20-9, but App State scored two plays later when Brice found Mallard Creek grad Corey Sutton for an 18-yard score.
ECU scored 10 points in the fourth quarter on an Owen Daffer field goal (39 yards) and 38-yard touchdown pass from Ahlers to tight end Ryan Jones.
Below are Thursday night’s highlights.
Offsides
Let’s not go overboard talking about the officiating here; it didn’t cost ECU the game. That being said, there were two key calls that went against the Pirates in the second quarter that dramatically shifted momentum.
On the second play of the quarter, a 57-yard touchdown run by Ahlers was wiped out by a holding call. Upon replay, there did not appear to be a hold on the play. Instead of having first-and-goal, ECU punted two plays later from its own 43.
To end the half, Ahlers threw a Hail Mary that was called a touchdown on the field. Had the call stood, the score would have been 20-12 (PAT pending) at halftime, but the Sun Belt Conference officiating crew, after a long replay process, overturned the call to an interception. There did not appear to be clear video evidence that was shown in the stadium or on the ESPNU broadcast that justified overturning the call on the field.
Still, there were plenty of self-inflicted wounds by ECU. The Pirates were penalized seven times for 90 yards and gave up four sacks.
Touchdown
Credit to Brice, who had a knack as Duke’s quarterback last season for forcing the ball into heavy traffic, leading to his 10-15 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Thursday night, the only obviously poor throw he made was a fourth-quarter interception in the end zone to Ja’Quan McMillian, who baited Brice into thinking there wasn’t double coverage.
Brice’s 259 passing yards were just shy of his career-best (279 vs. Virginia Tech in 2020).
ICYMI
The game was already out of hand with App State up 33-9 late in the fourth quarter when Mountaineers strong safety Nick Ross was ejected for targeting. He’ll have to miss the first half of next week’s game at Miami.
Key numbers
36,752. Official attendance at Bank of America Stadium.
295. Passing yards by ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers.
4. Video replay reviews by officials.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 10:57 PM.
