App State Football: 3 takeaways from Sun Belt battle at Louisiana

App State football headed to Lafayette for a Wednesday night battle against Louisiana. What did we learn from the Week 7 showdown between Sun Belt leaders?

Two teams that both average more than 40 yards per game were expected to play out a midweek shootout at Cajun Field in Lafayette on Wednesday to kick off Week 7 action. Instead, Appalachian State and Louisiana showed up on defense and forced punt after punt in a low-scoring affair that ended in a 17-7 Mountaineers victory.

The win kept Appalachian State in an elite field of just four Group of Five that are still undefeated. A 5-0 start that includes a victory over a Power Five opponent has the Mountaineers right in the race to earn the lucrative New Year’s Six spot annually handed out to the top Group of Five champion.

Embarking on a 19-play drive in the fourth quarter, Appalachian State took the life out of the home crowd and ground down more than 10 minutes off the clock before quarterback Zac Thomas kept the ball for his second rushing touchdown of the game to ice the contest. Left with less than two minutes to score twice, the Louisiana offense moved quickly down  into App State territory.

But the Ragin’ Cajuns ran out of time, unable to keep the Mountaineers from extending their winning streak to 11 games. When a contest goes so far from expectations, it provides plenty of opportunity to learn lessons about each team. Here are three lessons from the first FBS contest of Week 7.