On the evening after hosting ESPN's College GameDay show for the first time, App State capped a historic day in Boone with a fourth-down, Hail Mary finish for the ages. With 2 seconds left and facing fourth down,
Chase Brice lofted a high pass about 5 yards short of the end zone that was tipped by
Dalton Stroman before landing in the arms of
Christan Horn, who followed a
Kaedin Robinson block into the end zone for the walk-off victory.
App State won its eighth straight Sun Belt opener in its ninth season as a member of the conference.
Since the Mountaineers' 2014 FBS debut, App State has the sixth-most wins (82) in the FBS in that span behind just Alabama (107), Clemson (101), Ohio State (96), Georgia (89) and Oklahoma (89).
Since 2014, App State has the nation's eighth-best home record with a 43-8 mark during that time. Only Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Memphis and Oregon have better marks.
Attendance at Kidd Brewer Stadium was 34,406, the fourth-largest crowd in stadium history and the largest for a non-ACC opponent.
First-string linebackers
Brendan Harrington and
Trey Cobb and running back
Nate Noel did not play due to injury.
Inside linebacker
Tyler Bird and outside linebacker
Caden Sullivan earned their first starts as a Mountaineer.
Offense
After his 53-yard Hail Mary touchdown catch,
Christan Horn finished with career highs of five catches and 98 yards.
Chase Brice completed 22 of 34 passes for 278 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. After three games, his seasons totals are 62-of-100 for 773 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception.
Ten different receivers caught a pass, including nine different ones from Brice.
Wide receiver
Dashaun Davis threw a touchdown to
Christian Wells on his first career pass attempt after receiving the handoff from Brice. It was Wells' second TD of the year and the ninth of his career.
Anderson Castle hauled in his first career touchdown reception and his fourth career score with an 18-yarder from Brice with 1:22 left before halftime.
Daetrich Harrington's 19-yard touchdown that tied the score at 21-21 in the third quarter was his first score of the year and the 13th of his career over six years.
Camerun Peoples led the rushing attack with 17 carries for 84 yards.
Defense
Dexter Lawson Jr. intercepted a pass on Troy's first offensive play. It was the Central Connecticut State graduate's first pick as a Mountaineer.
The Mountaineers registered three sacks on the day by
Tyler Bird (second career),
KeSean Brown (first career) and a shared sack by
Hansky Paillant and
Nick Hampton.
Safety
Nick Ross led the defense with a career-high 12 tackles, while inside linebacker
Andrew Parker contributed a career-high 10 tackles.
Special Teams
Michael Hughes, who kicked last week's game-winning field goal, made a 23-yarder late in the third quarter to give the Mountaineers a 24-21 lead.
