BOONE, N.C. — Playing for the fourth time in the last 14 months, App State and Louisiana share plenty of familiarity.
Asked on Twitter about the possibility of creating a trophy for the evolving rivalry, App State head coach
Eliah Drinkwitz considered a clever but matter-of-fact response.
"Yeah, it's the Sun Belt Championship trophy, because that's what it's come down to," he said. "I think everybody understands what the game is about."
The Mountaineers will play host to Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship Game at Kidd Brewer Stadium for the second straight year. Kickoff between No. 21 App State (11-1, 7-1) and the Ragin' Cajuns (10-2, 7-1) is scheduled for noon on Saturday, with ESPN's live broadcast occurring immediately after ESPN's College Gameday.
For the first-ever Sun Belt game between two teams with double-digit wins, fans are encouraged to wear black, creating a postseason version of Black Saturday. Game day parking lots will open at 8 a.m., and stadium gates will open at 10 a.m.
"Playing at The Rock is always a great advantage," running back
Darrynton Evans said Friday during the pregame press conference, "We've got a great fan base, and App Nation does a great job of coming out. What better place to play?"
It'll be the second straight year with two matchups between these same East and West Division champs. App State followed a 27-17 home win against Louisiana in October 2018 with a 30-19 home victory in the league's inaugural title game.
This year, App State won 17-7 in Lafayette, La., to put the Mountaineers in the driver's seat to again host the title game. At the time of that game, App State was averaging 47.4 points and the Ragin' Cajuns were averaging 44.0, so it was expected to be a high-scoring affair.
Instead,
Demetrius Taylor delivered a sack on the first play, App State benefited from a goalline stand in the first half and Louisiana trailed 10-7 before
Zac Thomas scored a touchdown with 1:55 remaining to cap a 19-play, 97-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes, 11 seconds.
In a defensive-minded game, four App State drives started at or inside the 5-yard line, and the Mountaineers limited Louisiana's high-powered rushing attack to a season-low 123 yards.
It turned out that App State and Louisiana play high-level offense
and defense, as they're the only Group of Five teams (on a list of just 10 FBS teams) that rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
"I think every game takes on a nature of its own, and I'm trying to not have any preconceived ideas on what style of game this is going to be," Drinkwitz said. "Obviously, in Boone, you never know what the weather is going to be. You never know what the score may indicate, what we have to do offensively."
Thomas has totaled five touchdowns (with four TD passes) in recent wins against both Georgia State and Troy, and the Mountaineers have produced two receivers with 50-plus catches in
Thomas Hennigan and
Malik Williams. Evans was named the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week, and the starting line of
Victor Johnson,
Ryan Neuzil,
Noah Hannon,
Baer Hunter and
Cooper Hodges has produced the nation's 12th-best run grade, according to PFF College.
Each of those five linemen received first- or second-team All-Sun Belt recognition from either the league or PFF College.
Defensively, during a run that began with the 17-7 win at Louisiana, the Mountaineers have allowed an average of 88.1 rushing yards in their last seven victories.
Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year
Akeem Davis-Gaither and fellow outside linebacker
Noel Cook combined for 19 tackles in the October road win against the Ragin' Cajuns, and App State will need another strong defensive effort to slow down a Louisiana team that's averaged more than 300 rushing yards in its 10 victories.
If anything concrete can be taken away from the first matchup, it's the importance of special teams, as Louisiana's Rhys Byrns was responsible for four punts inside the 20 while still averaging 49.3 yards on his six attempts.
"I absolutely think both teams have defenses and special teams, which could contribute to an offense not being able to produce what they have done over the bell curve of the season," Drinkwitz said. "I do have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do on the defensive side of the ball and know that they have been able to hold opponents pretty much all year to doing what they want them to do. So anything can happen, and I know they are a very good football team."
