World News – CA – North Texas, Appalachian State start bowl season in Myrtle Beach – National Football Post

A chance for another dramatic ending awaits the climbers in the first Myrtle Beach Bowl. The Appalachian State will be seen on Monday afternoon in Conway, S. to compete against North Texas. C.. .

« Every time you play post-season, you have the opportunity to play for a championship, » said Shawn Clark, Appalachian State coach. “A bowl game is a big deal. ”

The game will take place at Brooks Stadium on Coastal Carolina. Appalachian State lost a regular game in the Sun Belt Conference in November. 21 in this place. The climbers use the locker room they are familiar with and have the potential benefit of familiarity.

Appalachian State (8-3) and North Texas (4-5), who finished fourth in the West Division of Conference USA, meet for the first time.

« I think it’s great for your program, » said Clark. « It is broadcast on national television. This way you can introduce our program and our university. ”

For the mountaineers, the acceptance of a bowl bid was always on the table. You’re excited about the opportunity to play again and still have team members at home for the Christmas break. This is the sixth bowl in six seasons that the Appalachian State has been eligible for bowls since moving to this level.

« We were full the whole time, » said Clark. « It’s a way to send our seniors on the right message. ”

It won’t be the normal bowl experience. The team is only on the road for two nights for this trip.

North Texas is no stranger to bowl games, taking a postseason spot for the fourth time in five seasons under coach Seth Littrell. Overall it is the 12th. and 9. Bowl of Mean Green over a period of 20 years.

« Despite the uncertainty we’ve had all season, I’m glad we can continue our season for another game and we’re very excited about the opportunity to play at the Myrtle Beach Bowl, » said Littrell said.

« This has been a challenging year for sure, but we’ve tried to focus on the things we can control and the resilience of this team has been excellent. Having the chance to end the season playing a bowl game is an endorsement for this team and I’m very proud of it. ”

The mountaineers are 5-0 in bowls, although the last games were played as league champions. As in the last two years in the New Orleans Bowl, the Appalachian State will again face an opponent from Conference USA in the postseason.

The game comes just nine days after the climbers finished the regular season with a 34-26 win at Georgia Southern.

Appalachian State finished runner-up in the East Division of the Sun Belt that year after holding at least one portion of the championship title for the past four years.

North Texas won three of its last five regular season games, including a decision between 45 and 43 in December. 11 against UTEP with Austin Aune throwing five touchdown passes. Four of them were caught by Jaelon Darden.

Darden, a senior receiver, leads the mean green at career receptions (230), receives touchdowns (38), yards (2. 782) and touchdown catches for one season (19). .

« Statistics don’t really mean anything to me, but I just want my coaches and teammates to look at me and say, ‘He was a great player and gave everything he had,’ said Darden. « That’s how I want to leave my legacy here more than anything. ”

Littrell said, “He deserves (the records and the credit) for the amount of work he puts in. If you’ve been around him, you know he’s a special player, but what makes him special is what he does off the field when no one else is just training. ”

Clark made his head coaching debut in the 2019 Appalachian State bowl game after Eli Drinkwitz left to take the job in Missouri.

« It’s been a very challenging year, » said Clark, noting the impact of gambling during a pandemic. “We didn’t have a game plan for it. ”

The climbers have veterans with receiver Thomas Hennigan, center Noah Hannon and offensive lineman Victor Johnson with at least 50 career starts. Quarterback Zac Thomas is 31-6 as a starter and gives him the second most wins among active quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence (32 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game). On the defensive, Kaiden Smith of Appalachian State showed a performance with 12 tackles at Georgia Southern.

Play games in December. 19, the mountaineers’ three defeats this year, faced teams with a combined 27-2 record.

Appalachian State Mountaineers Football, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, North Texas Mean Green, Sun Belt Conference, Bowl Game, Appalachian State Mountaineers, College Football, Conference USA