BOONE, N.C. - No. 3 Appalachian State University raced out to 38-0 lead and cruised to a record sixth-consecutive Southern Conference championship by dismantling No. 4 Wofford, 43-13, on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

With the easy victory in the de facto SoCon championship game, Appalachian (9-1, 7-1 SoCon) not only cliched at least a share of its sixth-straight conference title but also sealed the league's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Championship. ASU tied the SoCon record for consecutive conference crowns, set originally by Georgia Southern from 1997-2002.

The SoCon championship is the Mountaineers' 11th in 39 seasons in the conference. Since the SoCon began crowning a champion in 1933, only Furman, which has won 12 titles in 72 years in the league, has claimed more championships than ASU.

Saturday's showdown between top-five NCAA Division I FCS teams was a mismatch from the get-go. The Mountaineers outgained Wofford (8-2, 6-1 SoCon) 125-23 in the first quarter, 248-35 in the first half and had nearly as many points (38) as Wofford had total yards (40) when they expanded their lead to 38-0 less than four minutes into the second half. ASU scored on six of its first eight possessions while the Terriers' first eight series featured four punts (including three three-and-outs) and three fumbles. Wofford, which went nearly 25 minutes without a first down during one stretch, picked up 235 of its 275 total yards after Appalachian jumped out to the 38-0 advantage.

Appalachian dominated Wofford in all phases of the game. Offensively, senior running back Devon Moore and junior wide receiver Brian Quick combined to score all five of the Mountaineers' touchdowns.

Moore turned in his finest performance of the season, rushing for 115 yards on 17 carries and three scores, all season highs. The 100-yard effort was his first of the season and eighth of his career. Quick caught five passes for 73 yards and scored on six- and 34-yard receptions. In three career games against Wofford, Quick has torched the Terriers for 426 yards and seven touchdowns on 17 receptions. Quarterback DeAndre Presley bounced back from last week's sub-par performance at Georgia Southern to complete 15 of his first 17 passes and finish with 192 yards on 17-of-26 completions and 17 more yards on 11 rushes.

Despite Wofford picking up a large chunk of yardage long after the game had been decided, ASU limited the Terriers' vaunted wingbone rushing attack to just 189 yards, its lowest total of the season and barely more than half its FCS-leading 326.1-yard rushing average coming in. Wofford's 275 total yards were 125 fewer than it was averaging on the season.

Linebacker D.J. Smith led the staunch defensive effort with a game-high 10 tackles, his seventh double-digit tackle performance in the last eight games. Defensive end John Rizor chipped in with a career-high nine tackles and a fumble recovery and linebacker Brandon Grier also added a career-best nine stops, including 1.5 of ASU's six tackles for loss.

Appalachian also turned in a number of big plays on special teams. Brad Hardee forced a fumble on a kickoff to set up a second-quarter touchdown, Jason Vitaris booted a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, the longest by a Mountaineer in over a decade, and Ed Gainey blocked the extra-point attempt following Wofford's final touchdown and Troy Sanders returned it for a defensive two-point conversion that closed out the scoring. The defensive two-point conversion was the second in three weeks for Sanders. Prior to Oct. 30, ASU had only accomplished the rare feat once in school history (the famous “Miracle on the Mountain” play versus Furman in 2002).

The lone bright spot for Wofford was the play of backup quarterback Brian Kass, who replaced starter Mitch Allen after the Terriers fell behind 38-0 and led the team with 128 yards of total offense (86 passing and 42 rushing). Boone native Eric Breitenstein, the nation's sixth-leading rusher with 1,189 yards coming in, managed just 39 yards on 17 carries (2.3 ypr) against Appalachian's ultra-athletic defense.

While ASU clinched no less than a share of the SoCon title and the league's automatic postseason berth with the convincing victory, it must still hope for a Wofford loss to Chattanooga (6-4, 5-2 SoCon) next Saturday to win the championship outright. A Wofford win over UTC would give it a share of the conference title with Appalachian.

The Mountaineers close out the regular season next Saturday when they travel to one of college football's most hallowed venues, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., to face national NCAA Division I FBS power Florida. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.

NOTES: Appalachian moved to 11-2 all-time in games when it had a chance to clinch at least a share of the SoCon championship ... ASU has won eight-straight potential SoCon title-clinchers, dating back to 1995 ... the Mountaineers are all but assured of a bye in the first round of the upcoming NCAA Division I Football Championship and likely sewed up a top-two seed and homefield advantage through the national semifinals with Saturday's win ... Appalachian moved to 22-3 all-time in games aired regionally on SportSouth ... since 2003, ASU is 17-2 in games that immediately follow a same-season loss ... the Mountaineers have not lost consecutive games in November or later since 1982 ... Vitaris' 50-yard field goal was the longest by a Mountaineer since Mark Wright booted a 57-yarder against Troy State on Sept. 9, 2000 ... Quick moved into third on ASU's all-time receiving list with 2,163 career yards, surpassing Bob Agle (2,151 yds. – 1965-68) ... Moore's three touchdowns moved him into a tie with Damon Scott (1993-96) for fourth in ASU history with 38 career rushing touchdowns ... prior to Saturday, Wofford's largest deficit in a SoCon game this season was four points.