2022 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team explained

Year:	2022
Team:	Appalachian State Mountaineers
Sport:	football
Conference:	Sun Belt Conference
Short Conf:	Sun Belt
Division:	East Division
Record:	6–6
Conf Record:	3–5
Head Coach:	Shawn Clark
Hc Year:	3rd
Off Coach:	Kevin Barbay
Oc Year:	1st
Off Scheme:	Pro-style
Def Coach:	Dale Jones
Dc Year:	6th
Def Scheme:	3–4
Stadium:	Kidd Brewer Stadium

The 2022 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers were led by third-year head coach Shawn Clark. Appalachian State played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium on the school's Boone, North Carolina, campus, and competed as a member of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference.

The Mountaineers finished the season 6–6, going 3–5 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference's East Division. Despite finishing the season with 6 wins, the Mountaineers were not bowl eligible as two of their wins came against FCS opponents.

Preseason

Coaching changes

On February 9, 2022, offensive coordinator Frank Ponce was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the Miami Hurricanes.^[1] On February 21, Kevin Barbay was hired to be the Mountaineers' new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Barbay previously served in the same role for the Central Michigan Chippewas.^[2]

Media poll

The Sun Belt media days were held on July 25 and 26. The Mountaineers were predicted to finish in first place in the Sun Belt's East Division. Appalachian State also received 10-of-14 first place votes.^[3]

Media poll (East Division)
1	Appalachian State	94 (10)
2	Coastal Carolina	77 (2)
3	Georgia State	68 (1)
4	Marshall	62
5	Georgia Southern	35 (1)
6	James Madison	31
7	Old Dominion	25

Sun Belt Preseason All-Conference teams

Offense

1st team

Camerun Peoples – Running back, RS-JR
Cooper Hodges – Offensive lineman, RS-JR

2nd team

Chase Brice – Quarterback, RS-SR
Nate Noel – Running back, SO
Damion Daley – Offensive lineman, RS-JR

Defense

2nd team

Nick Hampton – Linebacker, RS-JR
Trey Cobb – Linebacker, SR
Steven Jones Jr. – Defensive back, RS-SR

Schedule

All conference games were announced March 1, 2022.

Staff

Shawn Clark	Head coach	3rd
Kevin Barbay	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach	1st
	Assistant head coach/recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach	7th
	Defensive coordinator/Inside Linebackers coach	3rd
Lawrence Dawsey	Wide Receivers coach	1st
Mark DeBastiani	Outside linebackers coach	2nd
Brian Haines	Special Teams coordinator/running backs coach	2nd
David Lockwood	Safeties coach	2nd
Robert Nunn	Defensive line coach	3rd
Geep Wade	Offensive line coach	1st
	Cornerbacks coach	2nd
Brad Bielaniec	Director of athletic performance	3rd

^[4]

Game summaries

North Carolina

See also: 2022 North Carolina Tar Heels football team. Statistics

Statistics	UNC	APP
First downs	30	38
Total yards	567	649
Rushing yards	215	288
Passing yards	352	361
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	27:57	32:03

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Carolina	Passing		24/36, 352 yards, 4 TD
Rushing	Caleb Hood	6 rushes, 87 yards
Receiving	Kobe Paysour	8 receptions, 92 yards, TD
Appalachian State	Passing		25/36, 361 yards, 6 TD, INT
Rushing	Nate Noel	14 rushes, 116 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Dashaun Davis	6 receptions, 72 yards, TD

At No. 6 Texas A&M

Statistics

Statistics	APP	TAMU
First downs	22	9
Total yards	315	186
Rushing yards	181	89
Passing yards	134	97
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	41:29	18:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	15/30, 134 yards, TD
Rushing		19 rushes, 112 yards
Receiving	Dashaun Davis	4 receptions, 39 yards
Texas A&M	Passing		13/20, 97 yards
Rushing		10 rushes, 66 yards, TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 48 yards

This was Appalachian State's first win over an AP Top 10 team since a 34–32 victory over Michigan in 2007.^[5]

Troy

See also: 2022 Troy Trojans football team. Statistics

Statistics	TROY	APP
First downs	25	23
Total yards	359	456
Rushing yards	57	161
Passing yards	302	295
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	27:52	32:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Troy	Passing		23/37, 302 yards, INT
Rushing	D. K. Billingsley	6 rushes, 38 yards, TD
Receiving	Deshon Stoudemire	6 receptions, 70 yards
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	22/34, 287 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Camerun Peoples	17 rushes, 84 yards
Receiving	Christian Horn	5 receptions, 98 yards, TD

College GameDay traveled to Boone, North Carolina for the first time.^[6]

The two teams went back and forth for most of the game, with the largest lead being only 7 points. The Trojans took a 28–24 lead early in the 4th quarter, a score that would stand for almost ten minutes. On their second-to-last offensive drive, the Mountaineers marched down to the Trojans' 2-yard line, but could not convert on 4th down and turned the ball over on downs. Troy could not pick up a 1st down and decided to go for it on 4th. On 4th down, Trojan quarterback Gunnar Watson intentionally ran out of his own end zone for a safety. On the kickoff, Ahmani Marshall returned the kick to the Mountaineers' 47-yard line with just 0:15 left to play. On the final play of the game, Chase Brice threw a Hail Mary pass that Troy's defense tried to knock down, but Christian Horn caught the deflected pass and ran it in for the game-winning touchdown.^[7]

James Madison

See also: 2022 James Madison Dukes football team. Statistics

Statistics	JMU	APP
First downs	19	15
Total yards	376	298
Rushing yards	172	63
Passing yards	204	235
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	33:28	26:32

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
James Madison	Passing		16/28, 204 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Kaelon Black	18 rushes, 85 yards, TD
Receiving	Reggie Brown	4 receptions, 81 yards
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	17/28, 235 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing	Ahmani Marshall	8 rushes, 40 yards
Receiving	Dashaun Davis	3 receptions, 57 yards

The Citadel

See also: 2022 The Citadel Bulldogs football team. Statistics

Statistics	CIT	APP
First downs	13	21
Total yards	223	545
Rushing yards	172	247
Passing yards	51	298
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	39:51	20:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing	Peyton Derrick	2/7, 45 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Sam Llewellyn	10 carries, 41 yards
Receiving	Jay Graves-Billips	2 receptions, 42 yards
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	12/18, 265 yards, 4 TD
Rushing	Camerun Peoples	4 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Christian Horn	3 receptions 132 yards, 2 TD

At Texas State

See also: 2022 Texas State Bobcats football team. Statistics

Statistics	APP	TXST
First downs	20	22
Total yards	436	334
Rushing yards	41	53
Passing yards	395	281
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	27:21	32:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	40/53, 395 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Nate Noel	5 carries, 19 yards
Receiving	Dalton Stroman	5 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD
Texas State	Passing		26/36, 281 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Lincoln Pare	20 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Ashtyn Hawkins	6 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD

Georgia State

See also: 2022 Georgia State Panthers football team. Statistics

Statistics	GAST	APP
First downs	20	26
Total yards	301	466
Rushing yards	228	404
Passing yards	73	62
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	23:26	36:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Georgia State	Passing		9/23, 73 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Darren Grainger	19 carries, 100 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Ahmon Green	2 receptions, 24 yards
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	7/17, 62 yards
Rushing	Camerun Peoples	23 carries, 168 yards, 2 TD
Receiving		1 reception, 31 yards

Robert Morris

See also: 2022 Robert Morris Colonials football team. Statistics

Statistics	RMU	APP
First downs	7	29
Total yards	148	512
Rushing yards	78	287
Passing yards	70	225
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	32:37	31:53

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Robert Morris	Passing	Anthony Chiccitt	10/27, 70 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Alijah Jackson	11 carries, 36 yards
Receiving	Demonte Martin	1 reception, 37 yards
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	17/23, 185 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Nate Noel	5 carries, 88 yards
Receiving	Dashaun Davis	3 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD

At Coastal Carolina

See also: 2022 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team. Statistics

Statistics	APP	CCU
First downs	16	23
Total yards	367	476
Rushing yards	88	192
Passing yards	279	284
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	22:04	37:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	19/28, 279 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Nate Noel	6 carries, 31 yards
Receiving	Christian Horn	4 receptions, 57 yards
Coastal Carolina	Passing		18/26, 253 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Jared Brown	3 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Sam Pickney	4 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD

At Marshall

See also: 2022 Marshall Thundering Herd football team. Statistics

Statistics	APP	MRSH
First downs	17	17
Total yards	293	341
Rushing yards	116	121
Passing yards	177	220
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	31:46	28:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	15/34, 177 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Nate Noel	18 carries, 72 yards
Receiving	Christian Horn	4 receptions, 66 yards
Marshall	Passing		16/28, 225 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing		18 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Charles Montgomery	5 receptions, 109 yards

Old Dominion

See also: 2022 Old Dominion Monarchs football team. Statistics

Statistics	ODU	APP
First downs	20	24
Total yards	394	498
Rushing yards	86	207
Passing yards	308	291
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	27:18	32:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Old Dominion	Passing		22/37, 308 yards, 2 TD
Rushing		10 carries, 69 yards
Receiving	Javon Harvey	4 receptions, 133 yards, 2 TD
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	15/21, 291 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Ahmani Marshall	19 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Kaedin Robinson	3 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD

At Georgia Southern

See also: 2022 Georgia Southern Eagles football team. Statistics

Statistics	APP	GASO
First downs	25	27
Total yards	629	487
Rushing yards	376	102
Passing yards	253	385
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	32:33	27:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Appalachian State	Passing	Chase Brice	15/26, 253 yards
Rushing	Nate Noel	12 carries, 171 yards, 3 TD
Receiving	Christian Horn	2 receptions, 55 yards
Georgia Southern	Passing		34/51, 385 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	AJ Brown	14 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Jeremy Singleton	10 receptions, 133 yards

Notes and References

Web site: Navarro . Manny . February 9, 2022 . Miami hires Appalachian State offensive coordinator Frank Ponce as QBs coach . September 21, 2022 . The Athletic.
News: February 22, 2022 . Football hires Kevin Barbay as offensive coordinator . September 21, 2022 . Watauga Democrat.
Web site: July 25, 2022 . Sun Belt Announces Football Preseason Awards & Poll . September 21, 2022 . Sun Belt Conference.
Web site: Football Coaches . App State Athletics.
Web site: September 10, 2022 . Appalachian State Mountaineers stun No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies at College Station . September 17, 2022 . ESPN.
Web site: September 17, 2022 . Best signs from College GameDay at Appalachian State . September 17, 2022 . ESPN.
Web site: Cooper . Sam . September 17, 2022 . App State shocks Troy with wild Hail Mary touchdown as time expires . September 17, 2022 . Yahoo! Sports.