In what was easily their most impressive offensive display of the season, Appalachian State piled up 552 yards of total offense and 49 points, led by the strong play of Jamal Jackson in his first start at quarterback for the Mountaineers. Although the game seemed out of hand early in the 3rd quarter, ASU ended up needing every bit of their offensive production as they held off a late rally by The Citadel to secure a 49-42 victory.
Yosef was dancing in the stands early, as Jamal Jackson completed his first 15 pass attempts with 3 touchdowns en route to a 35-14 halftime advantage. Jamal spread the ball around in the passing game as Brian Quick, Tony Washington and Ben Jorden all caught touchdown passes. In all, 7 different ASU players registered receptions on the day. The offensive balance was equally important in keeping The Citadel on their heels defensively. Steven Miller (18 rushes, 102 yards) and Travaris Cadet (18 rushes, 133 yards) each eclipsed the 100-yard plateau and found the end zone. Cedric Baker Boney also contributed 24 rushing yards and a score.
Jamal Jackson finished the afternoon completing 21 of 27 passes for 234 yards, 3 touchdowns and no turnovers. He was poised in the pocket and despite fighting cramps in the 2nd half, came into the game to seal the victory by eating up the last 6 minutes of the 4th quarter. The final drive included two clutch 3rd down completions and a first down scamper by Jackson. The Bulldogs ran out of timeouts as ASU drove inside The Citadel 5 yard line and instead of running the score up to 56, the Mountaineers closed out the game in victory formation with just over a minute remaining.
In spite of the final score, the ASU defense did fairly well against The Citadel triple option offense. Several of the Bulldogs' big gains came on unorthodox plays including a fake punt and a double wide receiver reverse pass. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a late fumble by Steven Miller left the ASU defense on the field entirely too long in the second half as The Citadel made their late charge. These were big mistakes by the Mountaineers that easily could have cost them this game and put their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. However, these problems are fixable and not an issue with their defensive scheme, which would be much more concerning.
Defensively, ASU was led by Jeremy Kimbrough who had 11 tackles in his return from a one-game suspension earned by 2 unsportsmanlike penalties in the Chattanooga game. Dominique McDuffie had his best game as a Mountaineer as he tallied 8 tackles (1 for a loss), a pass break-up and a fumble recovery. He was disruptive in the secondary all afternoon and looked as healthy and fast as I've ever seen him.
In spite of the second half lapse that nearly cost them, this game was a huge step forward for ASU. The offense looked like the Mountaineer juggernaut that we have been spoiled by for the last 6 years and the defense made enough plays to hang on for a victory.
The announced attendance at the game was 14,154 and the ASU faithful had a relatively strong showing. The picture above was taken from the home side of the stadium right after halftime. Both the cadets and ASU crowd were still in the process of returning from the concession stands, but the healthy amount of black and gold was refreshing.
Now, ASU turns their attention to a Homecoming match-up with the Samford Bulldogs, who enter the contest at 4-2 and riding a 3-game winning streak.
Offensive game ball: Jamal Jackson
Defensive game ball: Dominque McDuffie
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