New Orleans Bowl preview: Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee

Appalachian State won the inaugural Sun Belt championship game. Their reward is a date with C-USA west winner Middle Tennessee in the New Orleans Bowl.

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Eleven years after winning their third straight FCS national championship, Appalachian State is headed to their fourth straight bowl game after a third consecutive share of the Sun Belt title. This year, the Mountaineers won the conference outright in the first-ever league title game. By taking down a resilient but overmatched Louisiana squad, Appalachian State earned a date with another Group of Five conference finalist but lost coach Scott Satterfield to the open Louisville job.

The reward for winning the Sun Belt is always a trip to the Superdome for the New Orleans Bowl. This year, Appalachian State’s opponent, Middle Tennessee, knocked off UAB on Thanksgiving weekend to get themselves into the Conference USA championship game ahead of Florida International and Marshall. But the Blue Raiders couldn’t replicate the feat the following week on their home field, as the Blazers ran away with the league spoils. They at least have stability in their coaching staff and throughout their roster to lean on in this contest.

Middle Tennessee has also been able to lean on senior quarterback (and son of the head coach) Brent Stockstill throughout the season. Appalachian State has relied on Zac Thomas, a dual threat who led the team in rushing touchdowns as well as boasting an 18-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio at the quarterback position.

Which quarterback will prevail against their opponent at the New Orleans Bowl on the opening day of bowl season? Here’s how you can watch the New Orleans Bowl between Sun Belt champion Appalachian State and C-USA East winner Middle Tennessee:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 15
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: New Orleans, La.
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Appalachian State has been great in most phases of special teams this year, save their kickoff coverage. When the Mountaineers kick off to their opponents, they are one of the half-dozen worst teams in the country in terms of yards allowed. Keeping Middle Tennessee from gaining too great an advantage on special teams will be a major factor in whether the Mountaineers will prevail.

Middle Tennessee needs to keep Appalachian State out of their backfield at the New Orleans Bowl. The Blue Raiders rank 106th in sacks allowed and 100th in total times tackled for loss. Better returns from their punt return unit, and better results from their punting unit and punting coverage team, would go a long way toward putting Middle Tennessee in a position to pull off the upset.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Appalachian State -7
Over/Under: 50.5

Prediction

This feels like it has the makings of a back-and-forth thriller. Though Appalachian State is a seven-point favorite against the Blue Raiders, Middle Tennessee is going to take several leads and keep things close all day long. Stockstill will put the Blue Raiders up for good on the scoreboard, as they open a double-digit lead and then hold on as App State claws away at the score.

Final Score: Middle Tennessee 41, Appalachian State 37