BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Making its ninth bowl appearance at the FBS level, a short-handed but determined App State team hung tough for a half before Georgia Southern pulled away to post a 29-10 victory Monday in the JLab Birmingham Bowl.
Seniors made big plays for the Mountaineers (5-8), as
Dalton Stroman had three catches for 96 yards to finish his career at No. 1 on the program's career yards-per-catch list and cornerback
Ethan Johnson picked off a second-half pass. Redshirt freshman
Matthew Wilson completed 12 of 22 passes for 128 yards, rushed for 110 yards on 12 attempts and accounted for App State's lone touchdown in his collegiate debut — a 6-yard QB keeper that helped cut the Eagles' lead to 10-7 with less than two minutes remaining before the break.
Defensively,
Colton Phares led the way with 12 stops to cap a 101-tackle season.
The Mountaineers moved inside Georgia Southern's 40 on seven possessions, but a missed field goal and four interceptions ended five of those possessions, with three of those miscues occurring after they had advanced inside the 20 against the Eagles (7-6).
App State went 5-7 in the regular season, and a domino effect of postseason decisions across the country contributed to the Mountaineers receiving an invitation to face a Sun Belt rival for the second time in a span of 53 days. The invitation came after players had conducted exit meetings with first-year head coach
Dowell Loggains, but the majority of the roster returned to campus to prepare for the bowl game, with seniors feeling excited about extending their careers and the Mountaineers embracing an opportunity to compete one more time.
More than 70 team members were in Birmingham, with roughly 65 available to play, including some who had previously announced plans to enter the transfer portal. The five fifth-year App State seniors on the roster (Stroman,
David Larkins,
Jayden Ramsey,
Kyle Arnholt and
Jordan Favors), plus Johnson (a fourth-year App State senior) and
Kevin Abrams-Verwayne (a four-year Mountaineer), all started Monday.
True freshman
Noah Gillon made his first start at quarterback, completing 4 of 7 passes for 64 yards, and Wilson took his first game snaps after making a post-fall camp position switch that led to him spending the regular season as a scout team defensive back and quarterback.
Wilson posted just the fourth 100-yard rushing game by an App State quarterback in the FBS era, with two of those happening in bowl games.
It last happened in 2020, when Zac Thomas had 109 yards on the ground at ULM. Taylor Lamb accomplished the feat twice, rushing for 126 yards in the 2016 Camellia Bowl win against Toledo and 103 yards in a 2015 victory against ULM.
After beginning the game with a three-and-out punt, App State advanced inside the Georgia Southern 30 on all four of its other drives in the first half, getting inside the 20 three times.
Three consecutive drives ended with a missed field goal (after two straight penalties moved the ball from the 18 to the 28 going into a considerable headwind), an interception (on a third-and-3 play from the 28) and another interception (on a second-and-5 play from the 18).
App State's defense held strong during that stretch, with
Saint Farrior and
Aiden Benton forcing one punt via a third-down sack and Phares making a third-down stop to force Georgia Southern to punt from its own end zone.
The Mountaineers started the next series near midfield, and both quarterbacks had key contributions on a seven-play, 53-yard scoring drive. Gillon's 34-yard completion to Stroman for a first down at the 7 set up Wilson's touchdown run. Afterward, he was mobbed by teammates as he went to the sideline and put on strategically placed gold, oversized JLab headphones for a music-driven group celebration organized by the bowl sponsor.
That touchdown with 1:51 left in the first half cut App State's deficit to 10-7, but Georgia Southern ended the half with a 36-yard field goal (after one second was put back on the clock following an incompletion) and scored back-to-back touchdowns on third-quarter drives that lasted less than 90 seconds.
OJ Arnold's 58-yard run on the first play of the second half set up a short touchdown, and the Eagles scored again after coming up with their third defensive interception. Marcus Sanders Jr. had a 20-yard reception before capping a five-play, 65-yard touchdown drive with a 32-yard score to push the lead to 26-7.
Wilson's 42-yard pass to Stroman set up a 27-yard field goal from
Dominic De Freitas with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter, and Johnson was able to celebrate with teammates in the gold headgear as his requested choice of "Mailbox" from Chief Keef played following his interception three plays into the next series.
App State had to punt from its own 45 early in the fourth quarter, and Georgia Southern sealed the game by taking up more than 10 minutes with a 17-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a short field goal.
