BOONE, N.C. — The Sun Belt record remains unblemished.
Moving forward from a nonconference loss, Appalachian State (5-3, 4-0) is still unbeaten and atop the league standings heading into its Sun Belt game at ULM (3-5, 3-3) on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff in 30,427-seat Malone Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, and the game will be shown on ESPN3.
The Mountaineers won a Sun Belt title last season, and they're in position to make a run at another championship halfway through their 2017 league schedule.
"Losing is never fun, but on the bright side of things, everything we're still working for is still ahead of us," senior linebacker Eric Boggs said. "We can go win a conference championship and go win a bowl game just like we've been working for all year."
App State has rallied to erase second-half deficits in its conference victories against Texas State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Coastal Carolina. The Mountaineers are hitting a busy portion of the schedule, as a Thursday night home game against Georgia Southern falls five days after this weekend's visit to ULM.
Appalachian State has won 24 of its last 26 conference games and posted a 12-1 road record during that stretch.
App State, which won 59-14 in Malone Stadium two years ago and 42-17 at home last season, will face a ULM offense that ranks second in the Sun Belt by averaging 35.1 points and 463.9 yards per game. Sophomore quarterback Caleb Evans, whose brother, Jerod, played the same position at Virginia Tech, has team-leading averages of 213.8 passing yards and 51.5 rushing yards per game.
"Offensively, they've been putting up a lot of points," App State head coach Scott Satterfield said. "At quarterback, they're very athletic. He can run and throw depending on what they need. Last week, he threw for over 400 yards, but he also ran the football and leads the team in rushing. He's the catalyst for their team."
Evans has nine rushing touchdowns and nine passing touchdowns, but he's thrown only two interceptions. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, possess a defense that's tied for 13th nationally in interceptions per game and 12th nationally in sacks per game. Tee Sims has 5.5 sacks in the last three games, and cornerback Tae Hayes recorded his fourth interception of the year last weekend. He also has broken up nine passes to rank first in the Sun Belt and sixth nationally with 13 passes defended.
ULM's defense allows 37.0 points per game and 505.0 yards, including 287.4 through the air. With senior Taylor Lamb at quarterback, App State senior receiver Ike Lewis has 17 receptions for 294 yards and three touchdowns in the last three games.
Redshirt freshman Marcus Williams Jr. rushed for 125 yards last weekend in his first college start, and true freshman Daetrich Harrington had 43 yards on 13 carries.
"These guys are young," Satterfield said. "Daetrich, it was his first significant action. It's hard for a true freshman to get thrown into the mix like that, but he's a good player. We expect big things out of him, and he'll continue to get better."
