Close
Help
Settings
Arkansas State vs. Appalachian State

Arkansas State vs. Appalachian State Lone Thursday Game | 2020 NCAAF Expert Analysis

Written by on October 21, 2020

Featured Sports Betting Odds, NCAA Football Betting News

The NFL game on Thursday night this week is a horrible matchup between the one-win New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. The lone college football game is a much better pairing as Arkansas State visits Appalachian State in Sun Belt action.

How to Bet Arkansas State at Appalachian State NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

  • When: Thursday, 7:30 PM ET
  • Where: Kidd Brewer Stadium
  • TV: ESPN
  • Stream: ESPN app
  • Radio:com
  • Opening NCAAF Lines: App State -12 (total 66.5)

Last meeting

The teams met in the 2018 season most recently and the Mountaineers rolled 35-9. Darrynton Evans ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries – he’s now with the NFL’s Titans. The Mountaineers took the lead for good at 14-9 on Zac Thomas’ 25-yard back shoulder pass to Corey Sutton with 2:57 left in the second quarter. Although Arkansas State and Appalachian State have shared the Sun Belt Conference since 2014, the two teams are set to meet for just the fourth time ever. App State leads 2-1.

Why Bet on Arkansas State?  | 2020 NCAAF Expert Analysis

The Red Wolves (3-2) won a wild 59-25 game over Georgia State last week. Arkansas State set two single-game passing records, throwing for a school-record 551 yards and firing eight touchdown passes. A-State’s quarterback tandem of Logan Bonner (18-28, 197 yards, 3 TD) and Layne Hatcher (21 of 28, 332 yards, 4 TD) had a tremendous night passing, completing 39 of 56 passes for 529 yards and seven touchdowns to no interceptions. Roshauud Paul also completed a 22-yard pass for a score. With the eight total touchdown passes, A-State tied the Sun Belt Conference record for touchdown passes in a single game.

Jonathan Adams, Jr. grabbed a career-high 15 catches, tying J.D. McKissic’s single-game record, to go along with a career-high 177 yards. His 15 receptions also tied the most in the nation this season and equaled the second most in Sun Belt history. Adams has recorded at least six catches in each of A-State’s first five games and his 8.2 receptions (41 total) per game ranks seventh in the nation. This season, he is averaging a Sun Belt-high 107.8 receiving yards per game that ranks 11th in the country.  Adams also has seven touchdown catches this year, which are tied for the second most in the country.

Dahu Green was equally potent with nine catches for 172 yards. The duo accounted for four of A-State’s eight touchdowns. In total, the Red Wolves amassed 609 yards (551 passing, 58 rushing) while going 3 of 4 on fourth-down attempts. A-State recorded 34 first downs, which tied the school record.

Blake Anderson collected his 50th career victory as A-State’s head coach with the victory, making him one of four head coaches in school history to win 50 games at A-State. Anderson needs one more victory to tie for the third most wins in school history out of the program’s 30 all-time head coaches. Thirty-nine of the Red Wolves’ 50 wins under head coach Blake Anderson have come by 10 or more points.

Arkansas State has won 57 of its last 73 Sun Belt Conference games (.781 winning percentage) to run its all-time record in the league to 89-52. Arkansas State has won 27 of its last 37 conference road games dating to the 2011 season.

Why Bet on Appalachian State? | 2020 NCAAF Expert Analysis

Appalachian State (2-1) hasn’t played since a Sept. 26 52-21 win over Campbell as App State’s their last two contests were postponed. It has won or shared the Sun Belt Conference title each of the last four years. The 26 days between games will be the longest stretch in program history.

For the second straight year, App State’s Noah Hannon has been named to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, which goes to the nation’s top center. The 6-foot-1, 270-pound Hannon has started at center in all 43 games that App State has played since he enrolled, beginning that streak as a true freshman at Georgia in 2017.

The Mountaineers, who are 35-8 with Hannon at center, ranked in the top 25 nationally in both rushing yards per game and fewest sacks allowed during each of the previous three seasons. In their last game, with two of their top three running backs out, the Mountaineers used their zone blocking scheme to rush for 404 yards.

Daetrich Harrington had career highs of 32 carries for 211 yards and four rushing touchdowns, the most by a Mountaineer since Armanti Edwards against Furman in 2009. Nate Noel added 131 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries vs. Campbell. The Mountaineers were without running backs Marcus Williams Jr. and Camerun Peoples, who both rushed for more than 100 yards in the Sept. 12 home opener.

App State senior quarterback Zac Thomas is 25-4 as a starter, and in one of the losses, he played only one series. He was named the 2020 preseason offensive player of the year in the Sun Belt.

App State’s 56-13 record since the start of the 2015 season produces a winning percentage of 81.2 that’s fifth nationally in that span behind just Clemson (74-5, 93.7), Alabama (70-6, 92.1), Ohio State (61-7, 89.7) and Oklahoma (60-12, 83.3). App State, Clemson and Oklahoma are the only FBS programs that have won a conference title in each of the last four seasons.

Since App State joined the Sun Belt, it is No. 1 in overall wins (63-18, followed by Arkansas State’s 50-32 record) as well as No. 1 in wins vs. Sun Belt teams (43-7, followed by Arkansas State’s 37-13 mark.)

Game Trends

  • Red Wolves are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games.
  • Red Wolves are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
  • Red Wolves are 5-11 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
  • Mountaineers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
  • Mountaineers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games in October.
  • Mountaineers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite.
Expert Prediction App State 35, Arkansas State 24  
College Football Betting News
Help Center