The Appalachian State Mountaineers held off a late Toledo rally to win the Camellia Bowl 31-28, giving the team a signature victory to close out the 2016 campaign.
Make no mistake about it: this was an impressive win for the Mountaineers. After all, Toledo entered the game with a 9-3 mark that included a 31-10 victory over Sun Belt co-champion Arkansas State. Considering that the Rockets ranked fourth in the nation in yards per game – highlighted by a 692-yard effort on the road against BYU earlier in the year – it looked like the team had more than enough firepower to defeat Appalachian State.
But, it didn’t. The Mountaineer D turned in one of the better defensive efforts of the year, holding Toledo to a season-low 374 yards. It was especially impressive on third down, allowing the Rockets – who came into the contest ranked third in the nation in third down conversions – to convert on only 4 of its 12 third down chances. That includes a crucial stop on third-and-two at the App State eight yard-line with just over three minutes remaining. As a result of the Mountaineer front seven’s strong performance, Toledo decided not to go for it on fourth down, opting to settle for a game-winning field goal, which it missed.
Although the defense rightly deserves credit for the victory, you’ve got to tip your cap to both Marcus Cox and Taylor Lamb. Cox capped off an outstanding career by rushing for 143 yards, becoming the ninth player in FBS history to finish with four 1,000-yard seasons. And, while Lamb only completed 14 of 32 passes, he did a great job of keeping the Toledo defense honest by running the read option to perfection. He finished the evening with 126 yards rushing on nine carries.
So, what does this win mean in the grand scheme of things?
Quite frankly, it puts an exclamation point on a fine season for the Mountaineers. Sure, App State didn’t upset Tennessee or Miami like it had hoped to when the 2016 campaign started. Nor did it win the Sun Belt championship outright. Yet, it did close out the year with a bang, holding a potent Toledo offense to its lowest output of the season.
It’s hard to argue with that result. Keep an eye out on the Mountaineers as a contender in both the Sun Belt and Gang of Five races next year, as the team welcomes back a number of key players, including Lamb, Clifton Duck, and Eric Boggs.
