2018 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
18th New Orleans Bowl
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Appalachian State Mountaineers
(8–5) (10–2)
C-USA Sun Belt
13 45
Head coach: 
Rick Stockstill		 Head coach: 
Mark Ivey
(interim)
1234 Total
Middle Tennessee 3370 13
Appalachian State 024147 45
DateDecember 15, 2018
Season2018
StadiumMercedes-Benz Superdome
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
MVPZac Thomas (QB, Appalachian State)[1]
FavoriteAppalachian State by 7[2]
RefereeAdam Savoie (AAC)
Attendance23,942[3]
PayoutUS$925,000 [4]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN & ESPN Radio
AnnouncersJason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer and Olivia Dekker (ESPN)
Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons (ESPN Radio)
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes +
AnnouncersEduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega
New Orleans Bowl
 < 2017  2019 > 

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.

Teams

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]

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

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]

Appalachian State Mountaineers

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]

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP MTSU APP
1 5:15 7 39 3:18 MTSU 24-yard field goal by Crews Holt 3 0
2 13:48 10 72 4:34 APP 22-yard field goal by Chandler Staton 3 3
2 10:06 3 44 1:01 APP Thomas Hennigan 30-yard touchdown reception from Malik Williams, Chandler Staton kick good 3 10
2 6:38 7 41 3:02 APP Zac Thomas 8-yard touchdown reception from Malik Williams, Chandler Staton kick good 3 17
2 0:45 8 85 2:01 APP Henry Pearson 1-yard touchdown reception from Zac Thomas, Chandler Staton kick good 3 24
2 0:00 6 59 0:45 MTSU 33-yard field goal by Crews Holt 6 24
3 11:06 10 75 3:54 APP Corey Sutton 17-yard touchdown reception from Zac Thomas, Chandler Staton kick good 6 31
3 8:01 2 64 0:46 APP Camerun Peoples 63-yard touchdown run, Chandler Staton kick good 6 38
3 5:56 5 75 2:05 MTSU Isiah Upton 43-yard touchdown reception from Brent Stockstill, Crews Holt kick good 13 38
4 13:06 6 66 2:11 APP Corey Sutton 11-yard touchdown reception from Zac Thomas, Chandler Staton kick good 13 45
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 45

Statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 3 3 7 0 13
Mountaineers 0 24 14 7 45
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 Darrynton Evans 14 car, 108 yds
Receiving Corey Sutton 8 rec, 78 yds, 2 TD

References

  1. ^ @AppStateMania (December 16, 2018). "NEW ORLEANS BOWL MVP ZAC THOMAS!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "StatMonitr Stat Feed".
  4. ^ "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  6. ^ "R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl announces 2018 date, time, and conference affiliations for 18th annual bowl game". neworleansbowl.com. May 2, 2018.
  7. ^ "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  8. ^ "New Orleans Bowl to host conference finalists Appalachian State and Middle Tennessee | nola.com". Archived from the original on December 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "Stockstill father-son duo going into last season at MTSU". USA Today. AP. August 1, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "Appalachian State tops UL-Lafayette for Sun Belt title, trip to New Orleans Bowl; Cajuns to Cure Bowl". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Gardner, Tim (December 5, 2018). "Mark Ivey named Appalachian State Interim Head Football Coach". High Country Press. Retrieved December 15, 2018.

External links

2018–19 NCAA football bowl game season
New Orleans Bowl
Appalachian State Mountaineers bowl games
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders bowl games
Categories