Sun Belt Championship preview: UL Lafayette vs. Appalachian State

They say familiarity breeds contempt. If that’s the case, these two programs are beginning to despise each other. In a rematch of the first Sun Belt Championship game last year, Appalachian State and Louisiana-Lafayette will face each other for the fourth time in just more than 14 months. In October they squared off during the regular season, a contest the Mountaineers won 17-7 in Lafayette. App State shut out its opponent in the second half and prevented the home team from avenging its 30-17 loss in last year’s conference title game.

Louisiana-Lafayette at #21 Appalachian State, Saturday, noon ET, ESPN

Appalachian State and Louisiana-Lafayette have faced each other seven times, all within the past six seasons. Louisiana-Lafayette is still in search of its first victory. The Ragin' Cajuns would love to finally get their first win Saturday and claim a conference crown in the process.

App State ran over Louisiana-Lafayette in the regular season

In their matchup earlier this year, it was the Appalachian State running game that led the way. The Mountaineers rushed for nearly 200 yards on 53 carries, and quarterback Zac Thomas and running back Darrynton Evans each gained more than 60 yards on the ground. This helped them put together a seven-play, 95-yard touchdown drive in the first half, which was aided by a 47 yard completion from Thomas to wide receiver Corey Sutton to get them out of their own end.

App State then used the run game to embark on a soul-crushing, 19-play, 97-yard drive that ate more than 10 minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter. It culminated the exact same way the first scoring drive did—a Thomas rushing touchdown from 7 yards out—which left just 1:55 on the clock.

Louisiana-Lafayette’s lone touchdown of the game came on a similar drive. The Ragin' Cajuns were able to march down the field in the final four minutes of the first half, and they covered 94 yards in 10 plays. They capped off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Levi Lewis to fullback Nick Ralston, which tied the game at 7-7 at the halftime break. But aside from a missed field goal on their first drive of the second half, every other Louisiana-Lafayette possession ended with a punt.

The ground game will reign supreme on Saturday

On Saturday expect both teams to stick with what works best for them, which is running the ball. Only five teams run for more yards per game this season than Louisiana-Lafayette (275 yards per contest). The Mountaineers aren’t too far behind, ranked 17th at almost 230 yards per contest. However, while Appalachian State’s defense ranks 34th at stopping the run, 23rd in yards allowed per play and 18th in points allowed, the Ragin' Cajuns have struggled to stop the run. Their 80th-ranked rush defense was picked apart in the first matchup, which allowed the Mountaineers to maintain nearly a 10-minute edge in time of possession.

Last week Louisiana-Monroe put almost 600 yards and 30 points on the board against Louisiana-Lafayette and missed a last-second field goal that would have upset its rival. Appalachian State crushed that same team, 52-7, in October, and has won its last three games by an average of 28.7 points. While the Ragin' Cajuns have put up some impressive numbers on offense this season, Appalachian State has shown it can stop them at their place, and now the Mountaineers get to face them at home.

Evans has rushed for more than 1,200 yards and has found the end zone 20 times this season, and the Mountaineers will ride him to their second straight conference crown.

Pick: Appalachian State -5.5 

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