Heading into November, No. 20 Appalachian State had a lot to play for. The Mountaineers were one of nine undefeated teams and one of about a half-dozen Group of Five teams competing for that New Year's Six slot with the Cotton Bowl. However, a comeback bid against Georgia Southern fell short, and Appalachian State suffered its first defeat of the season 24-21 in Boone, North Carolina. It marks the second straight year App State has suffered a harsh defeat at the hands of the Eagles.
The game was played in particularly terrible weather as a severe system moved through the Eastern part of the United States on Thursday night. Initially, that favored Georgia Southern. The Eagles' option attack was steady through the first half before two huge touchdown runs of 68 and 55 yards, respectively, in the third quarter made it 24-7 Eagles. Appropriately enough, the touchdowns came from running back Wesley Kennedy, who has been a monster since coming back from an academic suspension, and quarterback Shai Werts, who is finally healthy.
Appalachian State made the game interesting in the fourth quarter, however, with 14 unanswered points. The Mountaineers were just unable to cap off the comeback to stay unbeaten. Had this team won on Thursday and beat South Carolina in Week 11, it would have had a good shot to make a bid for the Cotton Bowl, which would take the highest-ranked Group of Five team. However, with the loss, No. 15 SMU, No. 17 Cincinnati, No. 21 Boise State and No. 24 Memphis are probably the short list of teams still in the running.