STATESBORO, Ga. – Appalachian State's Taylor Lamb ran for two touchdowns and the Mountaineer defense stifled rival Georgia Southern in a 34-10 win on Thursday night at Paulson Stadium.
The Mountaineers sputtered for 10 minutes, then completely dominated the final 50, scoring 34 unanswered points, to win their ninth consecutive Sun Belt road game. App improves to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in Sun Belt play to become bowl eligible for the second time in as many FBS seasons. Georgia Southern falls to 4-4, 3-2 in league play.
App held the Eagles to 159 total yards, the fewest in the history of the program at home and held GS without an offensive TD at home for only the second time ever. The defense also intercepted Georgia Southern three times to take the national lead with 15 picks on the season.
The Mountaineers trailed 10-0 early, but steadily took over behind a rushing attack that finished with 299 yards. Running back Marcus Cox – playing for the first time in over a month – looked sharp, notching 115 yards on 18 carries with a 12-yard touchdown run early in the fourth. He passed John Settle early in the third quarter to move to second on App's all-time rushing list. He has 4,499 rushing yards for his career.
Backfield mate Jalin Moore led all rushers with 15 carries for 126 yards and a score. Lamb nearly gave the Apps a third player with a 100-yard night, rushing 10 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Lamb overcame a pair of first-half interceptions to become a dual-threat. He finished 16-for-27 for 199 yards through the air, finding Shaedon Meadors six times for 126 yards.
While the offense methodically wore down Georgia Southern, the defense gave it plenty of opportunities. Freshman Clifton Duck had his NCAA-leading fifth interception, while A.J. Howard and Eric Boggs both had picks to set up App scores. The Mountaineers held GS to 2-fo-13 on third down conversions and the Eagles had only 54 total yards before their final two drives.
App was in complete control after rallying from a 10-0 deficit to tie the game at the half. Lamb guided a 13-play, 41-yard drive to give the Mountaineers a 13-10 lead late in the third. Then, following Howard acrobatic interception near midfield, App added to the lead. Lamb scampered 30 yards back across the field for a touchdown to push the lead to 20-10 late in the third.
App's offensive line would go to work to put the game away. Cox and Moore scored to cap two 80-plus yard drives – all on the ground – to salt the game away in the fourth. Cox broke loose for 42 yards on the final scoring drive, his longest run of the season.
The Mountaineers started the game on shaky ground after a couple of early turnovers.
App fell behind quickly on two early turnovers. The Eagles grabbed a quick 3-0 lead after Lamb was intercepted on the opening possession. GS capitalized on a 32-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo.
App State lined up for a chip shot field goal on their ensuing possessions, but the snap came early to holder Bentlee Critcher, bounced away and to the Eagles' Ukeme Eliqwe, who scooped it up and rumbled 90 yards for the touchdown to push the lead to 10-0.
The Mountaineers settled down behind an impressive effort by the defense in the opening half. App held GS to 40 yards of offense to give Lamb and company plenty of opportunities.
Meadors set up App's first touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7 in the middle of the third second quarter. An acrobatic catch on the left sideline with a defender draped on his set up a 14-yard Lamb TD run to get the offense going.
The defense would quickly help tie the game. Boggs picked off a Seth Shuman pass to set up a Michael Rubino field goal to knot the game at 10-10 at the break. App had one last chance to score in a bizarre final 20 seconds of the half that was determined not end. Lamb scrambled for 13 yards to set up a 53-yard field goal attempt by Rubino, which was blocked. Georgia Southern went to the locker room and was called back out twice before the first-half clock expired.
App returns to Kidd Brewer Stadium next Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff with Texas State. The game will be carried on ESPN3.
-App State-
