APP STATE 34, NORTH CAROLINA 31
POSTGAME NOTES
Appalachian State posted its first win against a Power Five conference team since the 34-32 victory against Michigan in 2007, when App State was an FCS program.
App State recorded its eighth victory against an ACC program and their first since beating Wake Forest 20-16 in 2000.
App State's nine-game winning streak is the nation's third-longest active streak behind Clemson (19 with a win Saturday) and Ohio State (10 after Saturday's result).
With its 44th win since the 2015 season, App State is tied with Boise State for most wins among Group of Five teams during that span.
App State has won its last 14 games with
Zac Thomas as its primary quarterback.
App State head coach
Eliah Drinkwitz was part of a win against North Carolina for the fourth straight year. NC State went 3-0 overall and 2-0 in Chapel Hill with Drinkwitz as the Wolfpack's offensive coordinator from 2016-18.
This is App State's first 3-0 start to a season since the 2010 squad began that year with eight straight victories.
App State has won four straight contests away from Boone since suffering a 34-14 defeat at Georgia Southern on Oct. 25 last year.
OFFENSE
Malik Williams set a single-game career high for the second straight week. After catching six passes for 73 yards against Charlotte, he had six catches for a career-high 78 yards against UNC.
This was App State's first win in a game in which it did not total 200 rushing yards since a 45-9 victory over Charlotte in Week 2 of last season.
Zac Thomas had a 50-yard run, giving him three runs of at least 50 yards in 19 career games and seven runs of at least 20 yards.
Offensive tackle
Victor Johnson made his 40th career start in an App State uniform.
DEFENSE
Demetrius Taylor recorded a career-high 2.5 sacks and matched his career high of 2.5 tackles for loss, a total that was accomplished in App State's previous game against Charlotte.
Demetrius Taylor's 20-yard fumble return for a touchdown was App State's first fumble "return" for a touchdown since
Austin Exford fell on an end-zone fumble at Charlotte in 2018. The last distance-covering fumble return for a touchdown by a defensive player was Devan Stringer's 77-yard return against Old Dominion in 2015.
Senior linebacker
Akeem Davis-Gaither, who is one of the national leaders among non-defensive backs with 11 career PBUs, recorded his first career interception.
Young cornerbacks
Steven Jones,
Mike Price and
Milan Tucker (true freshman), as well as reserve safeties
Ryan Huff,
Kaiden Smith and
Nicholas Ross (true freshman), played key roles on App State's defense to help the Mountaineers maintain a fourth-quarter lead.
Defensive end
Tommy Dawkins Jr. made his first career start.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Xavier Subotsch averaged 49.6 yards on five punts with a long of 58 and one punt inside the 20.
Chandler Staton went 2-for-2 on field goals and improved to 110-for-110 on PATs in his career.
