The biggest -- or at least most notable -- win in Appalachian State history came at the expense of Michigan. While possibly not as historic, this latest victory will certainly register highly in the football program’s annals.
Seemingly left for dead through three quarters of play, ASU was able to right itself and roar back to claim a monumental come-from-behind, final-gun 31-29 win over Ohio in the Raycom Media Camelia Bowl. The win was the first-ever in an FBS bowl for the Mountaineers, and came in their first-ever FBS postseason contest.
Entering the fourth quarter down 24-7, it appeared that first win might very well have to wait until next year at the earliest.
A lightning-quick 21-0 run in the first three minutes of the final stanza, however, pushed the Mountaineers out to their first lead since it was 7-3 late in the second quarter at 28-24. Ohio, though, scored five points -- safety with 6:06 left, 21-yard field goal with 1:47 remaining -- to take a 29-28 lead.
That set the stage for some late-game heroics for App. St., with quarterback Taylor Lamb running for 32 yards to put the Mountaineers in field goal range with just under a minute remaining and Zach Matics, who missed his first two attempts in the game, hitting from 23 yards out as time expired to give ASU its historic win.
The two sides to a game-winning FG. https://t.co/HWUVmRBkNu
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 20, 2015
App. St. outgained Ohio 427-272, with running back Marcus Cox accounting for 162 yards of the Mountaineers’ 303 yards on the ground.
ASU finishes the 2015 season, its first as a full-fledged FBS member, at 11-2, with its two losses coming against top-ranked Clemson in Death Valley and 2015 Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State. Ohio finished at 8-5, its best season since finishing the 2012 season at 9-4.