POSTGAME NOTES: App State 41, ULM 40
App State won its ninth straight Sun Belt opener and its second straight on the final play (following last year's Hail Mary win over Troy).
The Mountaineers won on the road for the first time this season after last-second losses to then-No. 17 North Carolina (40-34 in 2OT) and Wyoming (22-19). The Mountaineers' 33 road wins since moving up to the FBS level in 2014 are sixth-most in the country behind Boise State, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma and Alabama.
App State trailed 40-35 at the end of the third quarter before a pair of
Michael Hughes field goals sent them to a win. It's the first comeback win after trailing at the end of three quarters since a 31-30 win over Marshall in 2021.
This is the Mountaineers' first win when giving up 40+ points since a 56-41 win over Charlotte in 2019.
App State earned its first win of the year when losing the turnover battle. Under head coach
Shawn Clark, the Mountaineers are 17-1 when winning the turnover battle, 5-10 when losing, and 7-3 when they have the same number of turnovers as the opponent.
The Mountaineers' season-high 536 yards of total offense marked the fourth time in five games that App State has had more yards of offense than the opponent.
App State's 82 wins since 2015 are tied with Notre Dame for sixth-most among all FBS teams behind only Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
OFFENSE
The Mountaineers' offense posted a season-high 536 total yards with 201 rushing and 335 passing.
Nate Noel rushed for 109 yards on 18 attempts, his fifth 100-yard effort in five games this season and his sixth straight over the century mark dating back to last year. He's the first App State player with six straight 100-yard games since Jalin Moore had six straight in 2016.
Three of Kaiden Robinson's career-high 10 catches came in the final minute of play as the Mountaineers marched into field goal range for the game-winner. Those three catches accounted for 44 of his career-high 112 yards. He also scored a second-quarter touchdown that put App State ahead 21-14.
Christan Horn had touchdown grabs of 52 and 22 yards for his second career multi-touchdown game. He finished with a career high-tying six catches for 124 yards.
It's the first time two Mountaineers went over 100 receiving yards since the 2021 win over Coastal Carolina (Malik Williams and Corey Sutton).
Joey Aguilar threw for a career-high 335 yards on 27-of-39 attempts with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 49 yards on seven carries.
Aguilar completed a pass to nine different receivers.
Kanye Roberts rushed for his second touchdown of the year.
DEFENSE
App State's defense held ULM to 3 of 11 third-down conversions.
Tyrek Funderburk scored on a 23-yard pick six to become the first App State player with pick sixes in back-to-back games since
Steven Jones Jr. in 2021.
The Mountaineers' 131 interceptions since 2015 are third-most among FBS schools behind San Diego State and Iowa.
True freshman
Nate Johnson recorded a sack for the third straight game.
Nick Ross had a team-high 10 tackles and 1.5 TFLs, including a huge one to help hold ULM to a three-and-out on its final drive that led to App State's ensuing game-winning drive.
Shawn Collins had a sack among his two tackles and two quarterback hurries.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Michael Hughes nailed a 54-yard field goal as time expired to clinch the victory. It's App State's first game-ending field goal since 2021 (Chandler Staton vs. No. 14 Coastal Carolina) and the longest game-ender in school history. It's the Mountaineers' longest field goal since 2000 (Mark Wright's school-record 57-yarder vs. Troy).
Hughes also made a 28-yarder to pull App State to within two at 40-38. He connected on all five PATs and had four touchbacks on seven kickoffs.
Jordan Favors blocked an extra point to maintain App State's 35-34 lead with 8:24 left in the third quarter. The saved point proved to be critical in the 41-40 victory.
