The Appalachian State Mountaineers and Old Dominion Monarchs clash Saturday in a week 12 Sun Belt college football matchup from Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Old Dominion Monarchs come into this game looking to snap a four-game losing skid after a 37-3 loss to James Madison in their last game. Hayden Wolff has thrown for 2,315 yards, 14 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on 56.5% passing while Blake Watson leads ODU with 737 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Ali Jennings III leads Old Dominion’s ground attack with 54 grabs for 959 yards and 9 touchdowns while Javon Harvey has 24 catches for 390 yards as well this season. On defense, Jason Henderson has a team-high 159 total tackles while Old Dominion’s defense as a whole has combined for 28 sacks and 11 interceptions this season.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers will try to rebound from back-to-back road losses after a 28-21 loss to Marshall last time out. Chase Brice has thrown for 2,377 yards, 25 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on 62.8% passing while Camerun Peoples has a team-high 593 rushing yards with 5 touchdowns and Daetrich Harrington and Nate Noel have combined for 690 rushing yards this season. Christan Horn has a team-high 537 receiving yards while Dashaun Davis has 399 receiving yards with a team-high 34 catches and three more Mountaineers each have 200+ receiving yards this season for App State’s receiving group. On defense, Nick Ross has a team-high 58 total tackles while Nick Hampton has 8 sacks, Jalen McLeod has 5 sacks and Dexter Lawson Jr. has 3 interceptions.
Old Dominion is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 conference games while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games following a double-digit loss at home. Appalachian State is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 conference games while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games against a team with a losing record.
I get the reasoning for backing either side in this game, as this is a ton of points to give up, but Old Dominion’s offense has been non-existent in recent weeks and a win here clinches bowl eligibility for the Mountaineers. The Monarchs are now at the point where they’re just playing out the string and I think App State takes advantage of that on the way to a win and cover here.