POSTGAME NOTES: App State 34, Georgia Southern 26
With its eighth win of the season, App State joined Alabama and Clemson as the only FBS programs with eight or more wins every year since 2015.
App State still has not lost back-to-back games since 2017, when the Mountaineers fell on the road at UMass (Oct. 28) and ULM (Nov. 4).
App State improved its all-time record to 20-15-1 against Georgia Southern, including 4-3 since both programs joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014.
The Mountaineers have gone 6-2 or 7-1 in league play in all seven of their Sun Belt seasons.
App State improved to 23-5 in Sun Belt road games and snapped a 10-game home winning streak for Georgia Southern, which was 6-0 at Paulson Stadium this season.
In five of App State's last six wins in Statesboro, it faced a fourth-quarter deficit, and it has overcome a double-digit deficit in each of its last three victories at Paulson Stadium (behind 10-0 in second quarter in 2016, 21-10 in second quarter in 2012). The Mountaineers overcame halftime deficits in both 2008 and 2006, and Clark was an offensive lineman on the 1996 team that trailed 28-14 in the fourth quarter but used three touchdown passes from Bake Baker to prevail 35-28 on the road.
The Mountaineers' 28 road wins since their jump to FBS competition in 2014 are tied for third nationally in that span, behind just the 29 from Clemson and Boise State (won at Wyoming on Saturday).
Since 2015, App State improved to an FBS-best 26-0 in non-season-opening games in which it had more than a week to prepare.
Senior receiver
Thomas Hennigan made his 50th career start, joining center
Noah Hannon on the short list of App State offensive or defensive players with at least 50 official starts. Hennigan is App State's first offensive skill position player on the list, which includes CB Jerome Touchstone (55 career starts, all in a row), CB Justin Woazeah (54 starts), Hannon (51), OL
Victor Johnson (51), LB D.J. Smith (50) and OL Scott Suttle (50).
OFFENSE
Thomas Hennigan led all receivers with eight catches for 64 yards and his 17th career touchdown catch, which moves him into a tie for No. 5 in the school record books (with Dexter Jackson and
Corey Sutton). He moved up to No. 4 in school history past Rick Beasley with 180 career catches.
Senior QB
Zac Thomas went 18 of 29 for 208 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.
Zac Thomas improved to 31-6 as a starter. His 31 wins are No. 2 among active FBS QBs behind Clemson's Trevor Lawrence (33-1). Thomas is No. 3 in career wins by an App State starting quarterback, behind just Taylor Lamb (36-13) and Armanti Edwards (42-7).
Returning to full health after dealing with nagging injuries all season,
Jalen Virgil caught three passes for 45 yards and his third TD of the season. Adding 126 kick return yards, he finished with 171 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns.
True freshman
Nate Noel's 70-yard touchdown run was a career long and the longest rush by a Mountaineer this season. He finished with 13 carries for 103 yards, his second 100-yard game of the year. He has rushed for 72+ yards in three straight games.
DEFENSE
The App State defense forced season-high four turnovers with three interceptions and one fumble recovery.
Georgia Southern threw three interceptions in a game for the first time since App State's A.J. Howard,
Clifton Duck and Eric Boggs picked off passes in the Mountaineers' 2016 win at Paulson Stadium.
Senior safety
Kaiden Smith led all players with a career-high 12 tackles and also snagged his third career interception.
With three picks in the game (Smith,
Brendan Harrington,
Nicholas Ross), App State is up to 101 interceptions since the start of the 2015 season, among the top three totals in the FBS.
Sophomore OLB
Nick Hampton tied his career high with eight tackles, including a strip sack that was recovered by sophomore DT
Jordon Earle (his first career fumble recovery).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Jalen Virgil's 100-yard kickoff return gave App State a 24-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. It was the third 100-yard return in school history (
Darrynton Evans vs. Penn State in 2018 and Keith Nash vs. Lenoir-Rhyne in 1968) and the first kickoff return touchdown by a Mountaineer since Evans returned an onside kick attempt by Charlotte on Sept. 7 last year.
Senior K
Chandler Staton was 2-for-2 on field goals (33, 37) and 4-for-4 on extra points to increase his Sun Belt record scoring total to 339 points.
