Appalachian State played in the New Orleans Bowl like it was out on Bourbon Street. After sleepwalking through the first seven or eight minutes and falling behind 3-0 to Middle Tennessee thanks to a pair of turnovers, the Mountaineers finally got going with a pair of trick plays for touchdowns in the second quarter of a 45-13 victory.
The first came on a double pass from sophomore wide receiver Malik Williams to Thomas Hennigan for a 30-yard score to go up 10-3.
"Awesome from @AppState_FB!" pic.twitter.com/TcHhWBYn9b
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) December 16, 2018
The next was a sneaky little reverse that also resulted in a touchdown pass from Williams to quarterback Zac Thomas -- the so-called "Philly Special" -- from eight yards out to go up 17-3.
Have a little fun, why don't ya, @AppState_FB?! pic.twitter.com/RLyGpvdAcL
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) December 16, 2018
The New Orleans Bowl has been sloppy by both sides. Appalachian State and Middle Tennessee turned the ball over a combined five times, and the Blue Raiders were also penalized on numerous plays for false starts. Still, early on at least, App State was misfiring so much that you had to wonder where their heads were. Given that coach Scott Satterfield left to become the coach at Louisville, it wasn't all that surprising to see the Mountaineers a little sluggish out of the gate. However, with the successful bag of trick plays, App State seemed to have found its mojo again.
