ORLANDO, Fla. — A season that began with up-and-down results gave way to a division-clinching run of success and closes with an opportunity to secure a ring-worthy bowl victory.
Champions of the Sun Belt Conference's East Division, App State will face MAC champion Miami (Ohio) on Saturday in the Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl at UCF's FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando. The game, which will be televised by ABC and kick off — likely in rainy conditions — at 3:30 p.m., will be the first football meeting between App State (8-5) and the RedHawks (11-2).
App State was 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Sun Belt before head coach
Shawn Clark's team ended the regular season with five straight victories, including rivalry wins against the likes of Marshall, previously unbeaten James Madison and Georgia Southern. The Mountaineers trailed 21-17 entering the fourth quarter of a 49-23 loss to host Troy in the Sun Belt Championship Game.
Coached by Chuck Martin, the RedHawks opened the season with a 38-3 loss to the Miami Hurricanes and went 7-1 in league play, with the only MAC loss coming against Toledo (21-17). One highlight of the regular season was a 31-24 overtime victory against Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati, and Miami prevailed 23-14 during a rematch with Toledo in the MAC title game.
The transfer portal affects how the roster of every bowl-bound FBS program looks, although App State is expected to be missing only two starters from the regular season. The biggest uncertainty surrounding the game is probably the quarterback situation for Miami, considering that Game 1 starter Brett Gabbert suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8 and transfer portal entry Aveon Smith is not listed on the depth chart after he started the RedHawks' last five games.
Atop the bowl depth chart is redshirt sophomore Henry Hesson, who likely will be called upon to direct an offense led by a big, talented offensive line that creates running lanes for back Rashad Amos (895 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns).
Miami's defense ranks seventh nationally by allowing just 16.2 points per game, with opponents throwing for only 197.2 yards per contest, and the RedHawks' special teams units have been critical to the 2023 success.
They have blocked five field goals or extra points this season, including two field goals in the MAC title game. A blocked 35-yard field goal sent the Cincinnati game to overtime before Miami pulled out the victory, and it blocked a go-ahead field-goal attempt with 1:04 left in a 17-15 win against Ball State. Meanwhile, Miami's Graham Nicholson won the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top kicker.
After making its FBS debut in 2014, App State went 6-0 in bowl games during its first six postseason-eligible seasons. That streak began with three wins against MAC teams, counting victories against Ohio and Toledo in the 2015 and 2016 Camellia Bowls and Toledo again in the 2017 Dollar General Bowl.
App State quarterback
Joey Aguilar already has a school-record 3,546 passing yards, and he is currently tied for third place nationally with his school-record 33 touchdown passes. On the ground, redshirt freshman
Kanye Roberts has led App State in rushing in five of the last eight games and scored five touchdowns in the last six games, while
Anderson Castle has rushed 14 times for 110 yards in the last two games.
Defensively, senior safety
Nick Ross is set to play in his 66th game to match the App State career record held by Thomas Hennigan, Caleb Spurlin and Xavier Subotsch (all from 2017-21). Ross and
Andrew Parker Jr. are the leading tacklers for a defense that allowed just 15.3 points per 60 minutes and picked off eight passes during the last four games of the regular season — all victories against bowl-bound teams.
App State's 26-23 overtime win at No. 18 JMU on Nov. 18 was the program's first victory against an opponent with a record of 10-0 or better, and the Mountaineers will be attempting to beat an opponent with double-digit victories for the fourth time at the FBS level. Their other wins came against Louisiana (10-2 entering the 2019 Sun Belt Championship Game), and Toledo (11-2 entering the 2017 Dollar General Bowl).
The inaugural Cure Bowl was held in 2015, and the game shines a spotlight on the fight against breast cancer. By the time the 2022 game was complete, the Orlando Sports Foundation had donated more than $4.1 million to cancer research.
