COLUMBIA, S.C. — With loud chants of "App" and "State" audible from the large gathering of visitors in an SEC venue, App State created some anxious moments for its fans before securing a 20-15 win at South Carolina.
When it was over, players and coaches joined the fans for a boisterous celebration. Winning on the road requires a team effort, and the Mountaineers continued their away-from-home excellence because of contributions from people in roles both big and not-so obvious.
Take what happened with 34 seconds remaining. A minor injury at cornerback forced
Steven Jones to enter the game for the first time in that high-pressure situation from App State's 35-yard line, and the Gamecocks tried to capitalize immediately by throwing toward the end zone on Jones' side of the field.
Matched up with 6-foot-3 star Bryan Edwards, who had become South Carolina's all-time receiving leader, Jones put himself in good position to force an incompletion near the front pylon.
From reserves performing when their number was called, to a true freshman coming through with a key play and App State fans making a noticeable impact, it all added up to another signature win.
"This team is something special" said senior tight end
Collin Reed, who is from South Carolina. "It's something we've been doing for a long time, and we just have to keep moving forward."
App State became the first Sun Belt team to beat two Power Five conference teams in the same season, and the Mountaineers did it with a pair of road victories against "Carolina" teams from the ACC and SEC. Since the Sun Belt was established in 2001, only four other programs that are currently in a Group of Five league have two P5 road wins in the same season: 2013 Northern Illinois, 2013 East Carolina, 2009 Houston and 2001 Bowling Green.
That stat speaks to bigger-picture success away from Boone, as App State's 23-11 road record since it moved up to the FBS level in 2014 gives the Mountaineers a tie for the fourth-most road wins in that time. Only Clemson (25), Oklahoma (24) and Boise State (24) have more.
How did App State pull off another P5 victory?
The defense held South Carolina to two early field goals before tightening up, with the Gamecocks' last 17 plays of the first half netting 41 yards. All told, the Mountaineers limited South Carolina's dangerous running game to 21 yards on 27 carries, including just 9 yards on 14 attempts from starting running back Rico Dowdle.
A whopping nine players were responsible for App State's 11 pass breakups and three QB hurries, and the stellar defensive showing came with
Caleb Spurlin seeing the most action of his career at defensive end alongside two defensive tackes (
E.J. Scott,
George Blackstock) who also joined the program as walk-ons.
Chandler Staton's two field goals, including a season-long kick of 47 yards, and
Jalen Virgil's 57-yard kickoff return to set up an offensive touchdown meant that special teams were important, and the other seven points resulted from true freshman
Nicholas Ross' 20-yard interception return.
Outside linebacker
Nick Hampton applied late pressure to quarterback Ryan Hilinski, and Ross caught a ball that deflected off a South Carolina receiver's fingertips in the middle of the field. He followed blocks from
D'Marco Jackson and
Jordan Fehr to the end zone to give App State a key defensive score, just like the one defensive end
Demetrius Taylor produced in the 34-31 win at North Carolina.
"That's a big play, especially in a game like this," junior cornerback
Shemar Jean-Charles said. "Proud of him, too. That's a young guy. That's a freshman. He was able to step up for our team, our defense, and I'm proud of him for that."
One play can affect the bigger outcome, whether it's a clear game-changer like Ross' interception or something more subtle like Jones holding his own in a tough spot.
South Carolina had moved inside the App State 10 in the closing seconds before Hampton forced a holding penalty, backing the Gamecocks up to the 19, and
Akeem Davis-Gaither drew another flag for offensive holding on the final play.
When the official announced the penalty and declared the game over, many App State players rushed onto the field to celebrate. Others headed in the opposite direction to interact with the fans who had contributed to another road win accompanied by plenty of Black and Gold.
