BOONE, N.C. — In a driving High Country snowstorm, Appalachian State University football put together a second-straight dominating performance and routed visiting Georgia State, 44-0, on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
In its first season as a member of the NCAA Division I FBS Sun Belt Conference, Appalachian State (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt) collected its first-ever Sun Belt home win and its first-ever home triumph over an FBS opponent.
Saturday's victory came in even more impressive fashion than the Mountaineers' 53-14 romp at Troy in their last outing (Oct. 18). Appalachian outgained Georgia State (1-8, 0-6 Sun Belt), 567-62, including a 469-8 advantage on the ground. App State also easily outdistanced the Panthers in first downs (26-6), possession time (38:40-21:20) and third/fourth down conversions (11-of-18 for App State, 3-of-13 for GSU).
Appalachian State's 469 rushing yards were its most in 39 years, dating back to its 572 yards in a 52-28 win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 18, 1975. Defensively, Georgia State's 62 total yards were the fewest that the Mountaineers surrendered in 53 years, dating back to a 22-0 win over Guilford on Nov. 4, 1961.
Additionally, GSU's eight rushing yards were the fewest that App State allowed since North Carolina Central managed just six in a 55-21 Appalachian win on Oct. 10, 2009 and the Mountaineers' 505-yard advantage was their largest since they outgained Georgia Southern, 712-171, in a 52-16 win on Oct. 24, 2009.
The outcome was decided early, as Appalachian State scored what proved to be the only points it would need less that four minutes into the game. Linebacker John Law intercepted GSU quarterback Nick Arbuckle on the fifth play of the game and five plays later Marcus Cox capped a 33-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that made it 7-0.
The Mountaineers stretched the lead to 20-0 on an 11-yard touchdown run by quarterback Taylor Lamb late in the first quarter and a six-yard run by Cox early in the second.
Appalachian maintained the 20-point lead late into the first half and appeared to be content with the opportunity to take a 23-0 advantage into halftime when Bentlee Critcher lined up for a 30-yard field goal with three seconds to go in the half. However, after Georgia State took three-consecutive timeouts in an apparent attempt to ice Critcher, the Mountaineers responded with a perfectly executed fake and Simms McElfresh, the holder on the would-be field-goal attempt, rushed straight up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown run that stretched the Mountaineers' lead to 27-0 at the break.
After the half, the only question that remained was whether the Mountaineers would maintain the shutout. GSU's only true threat to put points on the board came early in the fourth quarter when a 35-yard return on Appalachian's lone punt of the game and a 15-yard penalty for an illegal tackle at the end of the play gave the Panthers the ball inside App State's 20 yard line. However, six plays, Appalachian State's Deuce Robinson recovered a fumble on a botched handoff exchange and the Mountaineers went on to finish off their second shutout of the year.
While the nearly constant snowfall was likely a factor, Appalachian State's defensive effort played a large part in limiting nation's 15th-ranked aerial attack to just 54 yards, 262 below its Sun Belt-leading 316.2 passing yards per game coming in. Most notably, the Mountaineers recorded a season-high four sacks, including a season-best 1.5 by Robinson and forced three turnovers, including two takeaways by Law (an interception and a fumble recovery).
Georgia State's 54 passing yards were the fewest in its five-year program history, 20 yards less than its previous low of 74 versus Alabama in GSU's inaugural season of 2010.
Offensively, Cox ran for a career-high 250 yards and three touchdowns on just 29 carries (8.6 avg.). Over the past two games, the Doak Walker Award candidate has rushed for 373 yards on 45 carries (8.3 avg.) and six scores.
For the third-straight game, Appalachian's rushing attack featured two 100-yard rushers, as junior Ricky Fergerson went over the 100-yard mark for the second game in a row with a career-best 123 yards on just 14 carries (8.8 avg.).
Appalachian State, which has outscored its last two opponents by a combined 97-14, looks to maintain the momentum next Saturday when it hosts longtime Sun Belt stalwart UL Monroe (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt). Kickoff for Appalachian's annual Black Saturday game is set for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
NOTES: Appalachian State amassed at least 500 yards of offense for the third-straight game (637 vs. Liberty on Oct. 11, 551 at Troy on Oct. 18 and 567 on Saturday vs. GSU) … the Mountaineers have recorded two shutouts in a season for the first time since 1998, when they blanked VMI (51-0) and Eastern Kentucky (19-0) in back-to-back weeks (Nov. 7 and 14) … prior to accomplishing the feat in each of the last three games, Appalachian had not featured two 100-yard rushers in any contest since 2011 when current New Orleans Saint Travaris Cadet (133 yards) and Steven Miller (102) both surpassed the 100-yard plateau against The Citadel (Oct. 15) … Appalachian moved to 20-1 in its last 21 home games played in the month of November … the Mountaineers moved to 11-3 all-time versus opponents from the state of Georgia at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
