| Game Name: | New Orleans Bowl |
| Subheader: | 18th New Orleans Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | R+L Carriers |
| Date Game Played: | December 15 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
| City: | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Visitor School: | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Middle Tennessee |
| Visitor Nickname: | Blue Raiders |
| Visitor Record: | 8–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | C-USA |
| Visitor Coach: | Rick Stockstill |
| Visitor 1Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | Appalachian State University |
| Home Name Short: | Appalachian State |
| Home Nickname: | Mountaineers |
| Home Record: | 10–2 |
| Home Conference: | Sun Belt |
| Home Coach: | Mark Ivey (interim) |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 24 |
| Home 3Q: | 14 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Zac Thomas (QB, Appalachian State)[1] |
| Odds: | Appalachian State by 7[2] |
| Referee: | Adam Savoie (AAC) |
| Attendance: | 23,942[3] |
| Payout: | 925,000 [4] |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer and Olivia Dekker (ESPN) Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons (ESPN Radio) |
| Intl Network: | ESPN Deportes + |
| Intl Announcers: | Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega |
The 2018 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 15, 2018,[5] with kickoff scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. local CST).[6] It was the 18th edition of the New Orleans Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The game featured the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders from Conference USA and the Appalachian State Mountaineers, the 2018 Sun Belt Conference champions. The teams previously met three times (1974, 1989, and 1992) with Middle Tennessee holding a 2–1 edge in the series.[7]
See main article: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team. Middle Tennessee was defeated in the 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game on December 1; they subsequently received and accepted an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl on December 2.[8] The Blue Raiders entered the bowl with an 8–5 record (7–1 in conference). Blue Raider quarterback Brent Stockstill is the son of head coach Rick Stockstill.[9]
See main article: 2018 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team. Appalachian State defeated Louisiana in the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game to secure a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.[10] The Mountaineers entered the bowl with a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference). Due to the resignation of head coach Scott Satterfield, who took the same position with the Louisville Cardinals on December 4, the Mountaineers were coached in the bowl game by interim head coach Mark Ivey.[11]
| Statistics | MTSU | APP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 23 | |
| Plays–yards | 72–392 | 60–448 | |
| Rushes–yards | 35–62 | 34–233 | |
| Passing yards | 330 | 215 | |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 25–37–2 | 17–26–2 | |
| Time of possession | 33:31 | 26:29 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Brent Stockstill | 25/37, 330 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Chaton Mobley | 10 car, 45 yds | |
| Receiving | Gatlin Casey | 6 rec, 64 yds | |
| Appalachian State | Passing | Zac Thomas | 15/24, 177 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | 14 car, 108 yds | ||
| Receiving | Corey Sutton | 8 rec, 78 yds, 2 TD |