Sun Belt Championship 2019: 3 takeaways from App State’s win over Louisiana

2. Mountaineers beat Louisiana at its own game

The Mountaineers beat the Cajuns at their own game. It’s the Ragin’ Cajuns who want to pound the ball on the ground. Louisiana has three running backs with at least 700 yards rushing including 1,000-yard back Elijah Mitchell. Instead it was the Mountaineers who went ground and pound in this game.

The Mountaineers out-gained the Cajuns on the ground 267-159 and had 13 more carries (51-38). Appalachian State junior quarterback Zac Thomas ran the ball almost as much as he threw today. He was not efficient throwing (9-for-17), but had two touchdown passes.

Any time the opposition gets out to a big lead you adjust the game plan. That’s what happened to Louisiana. App State jumped out early and Louisiana could not use their usual game plan; they had to take to the air to get back into the game. When you have a big lead you want to shorten the game by using the run and possessing the ball. The plan almost backfired on the Mountaineers.

The Cajuns got back into the game because they could not stop the passing game of the Cajuns. The Mountaineers run game was just good enough to win the day and the Sun Belt.