The Appalachian State Mountaineers (0-1) continue their early tough schedule as they travel to College Station to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M (1-0). App State lost a hard-fought overtime thriller, 63-61 to North Carolina at home on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile the Aggies easily dismantled Sam Houston, 31-0, on Saturday. The #8 Aggies will look to move up the rankings with a second straight home win this weekend. The opening kickoff is set for 3:30pm EST.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers were painfully close a season-opening statement win against a conference power in North Carolina. In front of a record home crowd, the Mountaineers nearly pulled off the upset against their in-state rivals. It was a back and forth affair as the Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead, then trailed big before finally rallying for to tie the game in one of the most frenetic fourth quarters in recent memory. The two teams combined to score three touchdowns in the final 31 seconds and the game wasn't decided until App State's two-point try with nine seconds left failed in a thrilling 63-61 North Carolina win.
“I want to say thank you to App Nation — what an incredible atmosphere we had out there today with 40,000 fans to set an all-time attendance record,” App State head coach Shawn Clark said. “A great football game. A great football game. Why we don't play these in- state football games every single year blows my mind, but I'm very proud of our football team. We were down 20 in the fourth, and our guys never quit. We're going to have a helluva football team.”
There were plenty of highlights in this back and forth battle. Quarterback Chase Brice threw six touchdowns on the day, a school record, and four of those touchdown throws occurred in the scintillating fourth quarter. Six different receivers caught a touchdown pass from Brice but the offensive heroics were not limited to the air. App State ran for 288 yards on the day, led by Nate Noel's 116 yards rushing to go along with two touchdowns. Brice helped to lead the Mountaineers back from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter and made life miserable for the Tar Heel defense. Brice's fifth touchdown, a 28-yard touchdown to Deshaun Davis with 31 seconds left, brought the Mountaineers within a point but Clark decided to go for the win. After the failed at tempt, the Mountaineers amazingly got another chance after UNC returned the onside kick for a touchdown and took an eight point lead. Brice threw his sixth and final touchdown to Kaedin Robinson with nine seconds left but the two-point conversion failed and the epic comeback was thwarted.
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Congrats, @chasebrice7!#GoApp | #SunBeltFB pic.twitter.com/idWEhI50ME
— App State Football (@AppState_FB) September 5, 2022
The Mountaineers defense had their moments in this one, slowing the Tar Heels early in helping App State jump out to a 21-7 lead. Nick Hampton had 2.5 sacks on the day and forced a fumble that helped the Mountaineers during its epic comeback. Andrew Parker added a team-best eight tackles on the day. Overall, the Mountaineers defense allowed 567 yards of total offense, including 352 yards passing. App State won the time of possession battle, holding the ball 32 minutes compared with 27 minutes for UNC. The two teams each committed a turnover with the Mountaineers recovering a fumble while also throwing an interception on the day.