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MOSCOW, Idaho — The Kibbie Comeback kept Appalachian State undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play.
App State mounted its biggest rally in seven years and moved atop the Sun Belt standings with a 23-20 victory at Idaho on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (4-2, 3-0) trailed 20-0 early in the third quarter in the Kibbie Dome before coming back behind a sack-hungry, turnover-minded defense and three touchdown throws from senior quarterback
Taylor Lamb, who tied Armanti Edwards' school record of 74 career TD passes. It was App State's biggest comeback since it erased a 35-14 deficit in the fourth quarter of a 42-41 victory at Chattanooga in the 2010 opener.
"What a game," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "It's not too often you're part of a 20-point comeback like that. I'm really proud of our guys.
"When we started getting that momentum, our defense kept playing, and our offense went and scored. Once we got the momentum, we didn't let up until we got the lead. It was just a battle."
Lamb's 45-yard touchdown pass to
Ike Lewis helped tie the game with 10:04 left, and
Michael Rubino made a go-ahead field goal from 31 yards out with 7:24 remaining.
Idaho (2-4, 1-2) started its final drive by regaining possession at its 46-yard line with 2:23 remaining, and
Tee Sims had a hand in two sacks leading up to a fourth-and-24 pass that was completed but stopped a yard short of the marker with 50 seconds left.
After App State fell behind 20-0, the last six drives against the Mountaineers' defense covered a total of 17 yards, including the 23-yard pass on the Vandals' last offensive play. Their first 22 plays of the second half produced 34 yards and the team's lone first down after the break.
The Mountaineers totaled six sacks, and Idaho's 17 plays over its last six possessions included three sacks, two lost fumbles and five incompletions.
"We came out slow at the beginning, but we finish," said senior linebacker
Eric Boggs, whose team has overcome fourth-quarter deficits while outscoring its last two opponents 44-14 in the final period. "What matters is how you finish."
Sims was credited with 2.5 sacks, and Boggs made two fourth-quarter fumble recoveries. Lamb threw for 155 yards, and Lewis scored twice while catching six passes for a career-high 101 yards.
Idaho forced a turnover on the first play of the third quarter, but an App State defensive stand triggered a fourth-and-1 scenario from the Mountaineers' 2-yard line and led to a short field goal that pushed the Vandals ahead 20-0.
The Mountaineers went 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions in scoring touchdowns on each of their next two drives.
Facing a fourth-and-2 situation from its 44 with nine minutes left in the third quarter,
Jalin Moore gained 18 yards to set up Lewis' 38-yard touchdown reception on a one-handed catch of a short pass from Lamb.
A kickoff tackle from
Zy Letman at the 13, followed by big hits from Boggs and
Tae Hayes, forced a quick Idaho punt to keep the momentum going.
"You know it's huge in this game," Boggs said. "Zy went and made a great play on the kickoff, and that momentum kept building from there."
Lamb rushed for 11 yards on a fourth-and-6 keeper from the Idaho 36 to prolong App State's second scoring drive, and
Terrence Upshaw gained 3 yards on a fourth-and-1 carry from the 16 before Lamb found tight end
Collin Reed for a 6-yard touchdown with 13:23 remaining in the game. That capped a 14-play, 53-yard march that lasted 7:19 — or 2:54 longer than the Mountaineers' longest scoring drive in their first five games.
Chris Willis' first career sack and two under-pressure incompletions led to another three-and-out series for Idaho's offense. Lamb tied Edwards' school record for career touchdown passes with his deep play-action offering to Lewis, and Rubino tied the game on his PAT.
"That was just me going back to the slot and seeing something I see every day," Lewis said. "Taylor made the throw, and I just had to capitalize."
Outside linebacker
Rashaad Townes forced a fumble on the next play from scrimmage, and Boggs' short return to the Idaho 28 set up a 31-yard, tiebreaking field goal from Rubino. The Vandals started a drive at App State's 18 with 4:46 remaining, and Boggs fell on a third-down fumble at the 12 after quarterback Matt Linehan lost the ball on a scramble.
App State trailed 17-0 at halftime, as Linehan threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Joe Wysocki with nine seconds left before the break. Cade Coffey's 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter opened the scoring, and Linehan connected with Alfonso Onunwor on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 5:24 remaining in the half.
It was a day of small and big accomplishments for Appalachian, which didn't commit a single penalty during the 600th win in program history.
The road victory, coupled with the first league loss by ULM (3-3, 3-1), allowed the Mountaineers to reach the top of the Sun Belt standings. App State returns home to face Coastal Carolina next weekend at 3:30 p.m.
"We came out in the second half and throw a pick, the defense held them, and we went right back out on the field and scored," Lamb said. "That's a championship team. You're going to have some of these games, but we'll try not to have too many of these games. We have to put the work in at practice this week for this coming weekend."
