New Orleans Bowl 2018: Appalachian State downs Middle Tennessee

1. Appalachian State defense quickly figured out Brent Stockstill

Brent Stockstill, playing in his last game at quarterback for Middle Tennessee, had a hot start to the New Orleans Bowl. Stockstill completed his first six passing attempts for 90 yards and five first downs, driving the Blue Raiders into position for a pair of field goal attempts. Middle Tennessee placekicker Crews Holt connected on the shorter of the two chances, giving the C-USA runner-up an early 3-0 lead.

After that point, though, things changed dramatically. Over the rest of the half, Stockstill went just 10-of-20 for 84 yards and two interceptions. Entering the game with only eight interceptions in his first 13 games of the season, it was an uncharacteristic breakdown for the veteran Blue Raiders quarterback.

As Stockstill’s productivity decreased, the Mountaineers were able to key in even further on bottling up the Blue Raiders running game. Unable to find much space on the ground, the quarterback compiled yardage but suffered a fate similar to the C-USA championship game where Middle Tennessee struggled to punch it in for touchdowns.

By the end of the game, Stockstill finished the last game of his college career with 330 yards and one touchdown on 25-of-37 passing, with two interceptions and six sacks. It was a recipe for disaster for a team that has depended so much on strong quarterback play for their success in 2018.