BOONE, N.C. — First place in the Sun Belt Conference's East Division will be at stake in App State's second Saturday home game of 2021.
It's homecoming weekend in the High Country, with the Mountaineers (5-2, 2-1) set to host ULM (4-3, 2-2) for a 3:30 p.m. game at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The 1991 team that won coach Jerry Moore's first conference title 30 years ago will be recognized during the game.
Tickets for the Sun Belt showdown can be purchased by
clicking HERE, and the game will also be available on ESPN+.
Fans attending the game and dressing up for Halloween are advised that face coverings that cover the entire face and fake weapons that resemble real weapons are prohibited.
App State will return to action with a 10-day break between games, as it won 30-27 last Wednesday against then-No. 14 Coastal Carolina with an above-capacity crowd of 31,061 in attendance. Three days later, under the direction of first-year head coach Terry Bowden, new offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez and a turnover-hungry defense, ULM posted a 41-31 victory against fellow West Division team South Alabama.
The Warhawks have forced 13 turnovers in their four wins (intercepting 12 passes), and their plus-eight turnover margin this season leads the Sun Belt. App State is currently last in the league at minus-five.
While App State's
Chase Brice threw for 347 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against Coastal (206 of those yards came on passes to
Malik Williams), ULM freshman quarterback Chandler Rogers actually was voted the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Week thanks to his 369 passing yards and four TD throws.
Rogers, leading rusher Andrew Henry (52.4 yards per game), top receiver Boogie Knight (51.0 yards per game) and the rest of the Warhawks' offense will be facing an App State defense that limited high-scoring Coastal Carolina to 55 rushing yards on 29 attempts and recorded four sacks among eight tackles for loss.
Nick Hampton has a sack in each of the Mountaineers' first three league games, with 5.0 tackles for loss in that stretch, and
Demetrius Taylor also has 5.0 tackles for loss (with 3.5 sacks) through three league games.
ULM didn't hold a lead during a 2020 season that included a 31-13 loss to App State, which has a 5-1 record in the series, but the Warhawks have gone 4-1 at home during the first seven games of 2021. They followed a 45-10 loss at Kentucky with back-to-back home wins against Jackson State (12-7) and Troy (29-16).
After consecutive losses to Coastal Carolina (59-6) and Georgia State (55-21), ULM bounced back with a headline-making win against Malik Willis-led Liberty (using a 28-0 third quarter to rally in a 31-28 victory) and the win against South Alabama.
Eight different defenders have an interception for ULM's defense, but Brice has thrown nine touchdown passes, tossed only two interceptions and averaged 301.6 passing yards in the Mountaineers' five wins.
Nate Noel leads the Sun Belt in rushing (635 yards, 90.7 per game), and
Camerun Peoples is No. 1 with 10 rushing TDs even though he missed two straight games before scoring twice against Coastal Carolina. Noel, Peoples and
Daetrich Harrington had yet to all play together in the same game this season before last week, when the trio combined for 186 rushing yards on 35 attempts (5.3 yards per carry).
Two career records could be broken Saturday, as
Thomas Hennigan is tied for first place in school history with 208 catches (Andrew Peacock had 208 from 2010-13) and
Chandler Staton is tied for first place in school history with 55 field goals (Bjorn Nittmo had 55 from 1985-88).
