Box Score ATLANTA — Appalachian State took care of business Saturday in its first-place showdown. A conference championship will be at stake next weekend.
Capitalizing on big third-quarter plays from captains Jalin Moore and
A.J. Howard, App State gained the separation it needed to claim a 31-10 road victory against Georgia State.
The Mountaineers and Panthers were two of four teams that began the week as part of a first-place tie in the Sun Belt Conference, and App State (7-4, 6-1) can clinch a share of a second straight league title by winning its Dec. 2 finale against Louisiana at 2:30 p.m. in Kidd Brewer Stadium. The winner of the Troy-Arkansas State game in Jonesboro, Ark., is guaranteed to finish with a 7-1 conference record.
"We've got some good things we can build off of," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "For us, this is a championship week coming up. We know what's at stake with (Louisiana) coming into Boone next week. We're so excited and ready to get back on the practice field right now to start preparing them."
Moore rushed for 239 yards with one touchdown in his return to the starting lineup, quarterback
Taylor Lamb had a hand in three touchdowns and the Mountaineers' defense limited Georgia State (6-4, 5-2) to 292 total yards.
App State rushed for 323 yards as a team, topping the previous season high of 238 rushing yards allowed by Georgia State's defense, which entered Saturday ranked second in the Sun Belt by allowing only 129.9 per game. Tennessee State had that total in the 2017 opener at Georgia State Stadium, thanks to Treon Harris' 91 rushing yards that had served as the individual high against the Panthers' defense before Moore's timely performance.
Georgia State was the only FBS team in the country that hadn't let an opponent produce a 100-yard rusher this season.
"We really challenged our offensive line to run the football against a team that really doesn't give up any rushing yards," Satterfield said. "We ended up getting the most rushing yards they've given up all year. I credit our offensive line for that and our backs, with
Jalin Moore being the trooper he's been. He's been dinged up really the whole season."
Leading by three points at halftime, App State used the big plays from Moore and Howard to set up a pair of Lamb touchdown passes that pushed the Mountaineers ahead 24-7.
On the fourth play of the second half, Moore stayed patient before finding an up-the-middle hole between zone blocks from right guard
Colby Gossett and right tackle
Beau Nunn. Moore burst through it on a 58-yard rush to the Georgia State 6, and Lamb threw a touchdown pass to tight end
Collin Reed on the next play.
"I haven't done that in a while," said Moore, who had missed the Georgia Southern win on Nov. 9 after coming off the bench to play against ULM on Nov. 4. "Before this game, the team hadn't played in 17 days, and I hadn't played in farther than that. I knew I was away from the game for a while, more than normal, so I just felt good. It felt good to get back out there and break those long runs."
Georgia State advanced to its 45-yard line on the next drive before linebacker
Anthony Flory applied heavy pressure to quarterback Conner Manning, whose deep pass was intercepted by Howard at the App State 34.
Howard's 61-yard return to the Georgia State 5 preceded Lamb's 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver
Ike Lewis, who scored for the eighth time in the last six games. After breaking tackles, changing sides of the field and almost scoring, Howard celebrated with a home-run swing in the former home of the Atlanta Braves.
"I checked my phone, and somebody said it looked like a punt return," Howard said. "I was like, 'Yeah, you're right.' "
App State held a 10-7 halftime lead thanks to a 3-yard touchdown run from Moore and a 42-yard field goal from
Chandler Staton, who is 6-for-6 this season. Georgia State converted a field goal with 4:46 remaining to cut its deficit to 24-10, and Lamb added a 14-yard touchdown run in the final minute.
Defensively, the Mountaineers limited star receiver Penny Hart to five catches for 61 yards with a long of 19. Flory,
Eric Boggs and
Devan Stringer had nine tackles apiece to lead App State, which gave up Georgia State's only touchdown following a turnover that allowed the Panthers to begin a possession at the Mountaineers' 36.
"Our defense played outstanding football today," Satterfield said. "It's really a good offense as far as the aerial attack goes, and Penny Hart is the best receiver in the league. We did a good job containing him."
