POSTGAME NOTES — App State 52, ULM 7
App State became the first Sun Belt team to win a game as a ranked team. Troy started 8-1 to reach No. 25 in 2016 but lost 35-3 against Arkansas State the following week, and App State's 5-1 start to earn a ranking of No. 25 in 2018 was followed by a 34-14 loss in which
Zac Thomas suffered a game-ending injury on the first series at Georgia Southern.
App State has won 16 straight games with
Zac Thomas as the team's primary quarterback.
App State's 12-game winning streak is the nation's third-longest active streak behind Clemson (22) and Ohio State (13). It's tied for the second-longest winning streak in program history, matching App State's 12-0 start to the 1995 season. The Mountaineers won 17 straight games to end the 2006 season and begin the 2007 season.
App State is now 5-for-5 in becoming bowl-eligible as a postseason-eligible FBS program.
The 45-point margin of victory is tied for App State's second-highest margin in a Sun Belt win, matching a 52-7 win against South Alabama in 2018 and a 59-14 win at ULM in 2015. The top margin is 49 points from a 63-14 win against Louisiana in the 2017 home finale.
App State picked up its 250th win in Kidd Brewer Stadium, improving its home record to 250-75-5 since the stadium opened in 1962.
App State's 14 straight home wins are tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation. The Mountaineers are 29-5 at The Rock as an FBS program and 96-17 at home since 2003.
OFFENSE
Zac Thomas tied his career high of three touchdown passes for the second time this season and fifth time in his career.
Zac Thomas accounted for four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing), tying his career high for the fourth time in his career.
Six different players scored a total of seven touchdowns for the Mountaineers.
With a 59-yard touchdown sprint in the first quarter,
Darrynton Evans notched his third run of 50 or more yards this season.
Darrynton Evans, who entered the game with the nation's fourth-highest all-purpose yards per game average at 154.8, amassed 177 all-purpose yards (136 rushing, 41 receiving). He also added a rushing TD and receiving TD to increase his season total to 12 scores this year, which ranks among the FBS leaders.
Head coach
Eliah Drinkwitz had a season-high run of approximately 25 yards as he went from one end of the coaches' box to another while sprinting down the sideline to follow
Corey Sutton, who had broken a tackle and run another 44 yards on a 54-yard reception.
From the first quarter of the last ULM game in 2017 to the second quarter of Saturday's game against ULM, App State running backs had a streak of no fumbles that covered 777 carries for 4,694 yards. That streak involved four-plus games to end 2017, all 13 games in 2018 and five-plus games in 2019, or 22 straight full games without a running back fumble.
DEFENSE
With a holding penalty involved, ULM posted 92 yards of offense on its game-opening drive, as Caleb Evans went 4-of-6 passing for 61 yards and Josh Johnson rushed the ball four times for 30 yards. For the rest of the game, ULM gained 121 yards on 44 plays, with Evans completing five passes in 13 attempts for a total of 14 yards from the end of the first drive until he was replaced midway through the third quarter. Backup quarterback Colby Suits went 2-for-8 passing for 27 yards.
App State's defense held Sun Belt rushing leader Josh Johnson to a season-low 77 rushing yards and no touchdowns. He had 47 yards after the first drive of the game.
In the last two games, App State allowed a combined 14 points against teams that were averaging 44.4 points (Louisiana) and 30.3 points (ULM). Louisiana was averaging 540.0 yards per game, and ULM was at 462.8, but App State allowed a combined 467 yards in those two games.
Louisiana was averaging 314.0 rushing yards per game, and ULM was at 217.5, and App State allowed a combined 234 rushing yards in its last two wins.
Shaun Jolly picked up his third interception of the season, and senior linebacker
Jordan Fehr intercepted a pass for the first time since the 2017 opener at Georgia.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Xavier Subotsch averaged 48.2 yards on four punts, including a career-long kick of 67 yards, and he had two downed inside the 20.
Mike Price downed a punt at the 2, and another punt was downed at the 3.
Chandler Staton made a 27-yard field goal, had two touchbacks on kickoffs and improved to 127-for-127 on extra points in his career.
Matthew McQuinn made kickoff return tackles at the 18 and 22.
