BOONE, N.C. — Sun Belt champion Appalachian State (10-2) will face Conference USA runner-up Middle Tennessee (8-5) on Saturday night in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The game, which will be available on ESPN and ESPN Radio, will be played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET).
To break down the bowl showdown, today we'll look at how the App State offense matches up with Middle Tennessee's defense:
App State Offense vs. Middle Tennessee Defense
The Mountaineers have one of the nation's most explosive, big-play offenses. Consider that they rank in the top 15 nationally in several categories, including:
*
Darrynton Evans is No. 3 with five runs of 50-plus yards and No. 4 with 15 runs of 20-plus yards
*
Zac Thomas is No. 11 with 10 rushing touchdowns from the quarterback position, including scores of 35 and 25 yards in the Sun Belt Championship Game to go along with TD runs of 62 and 54 yards earlier in the season
* App State is No. 11 at 5.72 yards per rush, part of why the Mountaineers are No. 15 at 241.0 rushing yards per game
* Leading receiver
Corey Sutton is No. 15 at 19.3 yards per reception, highlighted by nine receptions of at least 30 yards
Averaging 36.7 points and 429.6 yards of offense per game, the Mountaineers will have co-offensive coordinator
Shawn Clark calling the plays against a Middle Tennessee defense that gives up an average 25.3 points and 372.9 yards, including 213.1 through the air.
"You definitely get some looks that are out of the ordinary," offensive tackle
Victor Johnson said. "They blitz a lot, go zero coverage (with no deep safety), so if we can pick it up, that can be a big play."
The Blue Raiders are opportunistic with four defensive touchdowns (sixth-best nationally) and a plus-six turnover margin in the past seven games. Middle Tennessee scored 60 points off turnovers and allowed only 11 during its eight-game league schedule, as it forced 13 turnovers in the last five league games.
The top playmaker on that side of the ball is senior safety Wesley Bush, who ranks third nationally with six interceptions, including touchdown returns of 75 yards against UTEP and 37 yards against Old Dominion. Strong safety Reed Blankenship leads the team with 101 tackles, while linebacker DQ Thomas has accounted for 8.0 of the team's 36 sacks and 14.5 of its 89 tackles for loss. The defensive line is coached by Tommy West, who worked at App State as a receivers and tight ends coach from 1980-81.
The run game has continued to be productive for App State, which has a 1,000-yard back for the seventh straight season even though Evans didn't become the primary back until the fifth game, and Thomas has 11 total touchdowns (seven passing) with no interceptions since returning to the lineup four games ago. They'll attempt to continue their award-winning play against a defense that allowed 21.1 points per game aside from losses to SEC opponents Vanderbilt (35-7), Georgia (49-7) and Kentucky (34-23).
