NEW ORLEANS —
Akeem Davis-Gaither is a leader among App State's redshirt seniors who are pursuing a fifth straight bowl victory.
The 2015 start to the Mountaineers' record-breaking run of postseason success transpired on somewhat shaky ground. This year's Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year came out on the wrong end of a collision with kicker Zach Matics, who had just delivered a game-winning field goal against Ohio.
"I was on the sideline cheering the guys on when Zach Matics made the field goal, and he actually ran over and knocked me over," Davis-Gaither recalled with a laugh. "It's been great seeing how we've been climbing over the years."
Briefly knocked down, the rise of Davis-Gaither and App State's program have the Mountaineers ranked No. 20 nationally heading into their R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl matchup with Conference USA runner-up UAB (9-4) on Saturday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The ESPN game will begin at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET).
North Carolina's highest-ranked FBS team for the second straight year, App State won its fourth straight Sun Belt championship earlier this month. The official debut for new head coach
Shawn Clark, who was hired Dec. 13, will mark the program's fifth bowl appearance in as many postseason-eligible years.
The Mountaineers improved their bowl record to 4-0 last year with a 45-13 victory against Middle Tennessee in New Orleans, and they're back in the Big Easy with hopes of closing a record-setting season by celebrating in the Superdome.
"We're just trying to make sure the players have a world-class experience down here and to really enjoy this bowl game because of all the hard work we've put into it since August. We have a wonderful team — it's a player-led team — so it's easy to lead those guys."
Winning another bowl game would be quite a way for fifth-year seniors such as Davis-Gaither,
Desmond Franklin,
Victor Johnson,
Collin Reed and
Josh Thomas to go out. Fourth-year seniors
Jordan Fehr and
Noel Cook already have clinched a career sweep of conference titles.
A coaching transition last year led to Clark calling the offensive plays in the high-scoring win against Middle Tennessee. Running backs coach
Garrett Riley will serve as App State's play-caller Saturday, with the rest of the program's 2019 assistants working in familiar roles.
The Mountaineers' balanced, explosive offense has been preparing for a UAB defense that ranks ninth nationally by allowing just 294.1 yards per game. Before their 49-6 loss to FAU in the Conference USA title game, the Blazers were giving up an average of 18.5 points and 269.8 yards (fifth nationally at the time).
App State counters with reigning New Orleans Bowl MVP
Zac Thomas at quarterback, two-time Sun Belt Championship Game MVP
Darrynton Evans as the lead running back, a pair of 50-catch receivers in
Thomas Hennigan and
Malik Williams as well as an offensive line that the Joe Moore Award ranked as one of the top 15 units in the country.
With a defense led by linebacker Kristopher Moll (96 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 16.0 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles) and defensive tackle Garrett Marino (12.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks), UAB excels at forcing and recovering fumbles (No. 3 nationally with 13 recoveries), preventing third-down conversions (No. 5 at 28.9 percent) and pressuring the quarterback (No. 8 at 3.31 sacks per game).
App State's offense ranks in the top 25 in all three of those categories, highlighted by its ball security, and the Mountaineers' defense has turned four of its 13 interceptions into pick-six touchdowns. An injury changed the Blazers' quarterback outlook, as primary starter Tyler Johnston III is healthier after coming off the bench in the CUSA title game to replace Dylan Hopkins, who had started five straight games. Johnston leads the team with 1,952 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to go along with 14 interceptions.
UAB possesses several big-play receivers, notably Austin Watkins (19.9 average per catch with 933 total yards) and Kendall Parham (21.0 average with six TDs), while Spencer Brown is the program's career rushing leader with more than 3,000 yards.
App State has allowed an average of 97.0 rushing yards in its last eight victories thanks to the work of leading tacklers such as Fehr (98 stops), Davis-Gaither (95), defensive tackle
E.J. Scott (6.5 tackles for loss from the middle of the line) and defensive end
Demetrius Taylor (7.0 sacks).
Like Scott Satterfield and 2018 interim head coach Mark Ivey is previous years, Clark will be leading his alma mater into a nationally televised bowl game that means something in the big picture.
"This is a guy who bleeds black and gold,"
Zac Thomas said. "He loves App State like nobody I've ever met. He loves App State football and will do anything for these players and these coaches."
