2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game

The 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina, to determine the 2019 champion of the Sun Belt Conference. The game, the conference's second championship game, featured the East division champions Appalachian State and the West division champions Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.[2]

2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Appalachian State Mountaineers
(10–2) (11–1)
38 45
Head coach: 
Billy Napier		 Head coach: 
Eliah Drinkwitz
APCoachesCFP
202021
1234 Total
Louisiana 710714 38
Appalachian State 211473 45
DateDecember 7, 2019
Season2019
StadiumKidd Brewer Stadium
LocationBoone, NC
FavoriteAppalachian State by 5.5[1]
RefereeJason Autrey
Attendance18,618
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersClay Matvick (play-by-play), Ryan Leaf (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
2019 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 19 Appalachian State x$  7 –1     13 –1  
Georgia Southern  5 –3     7 –6  
Georgia State  4 –4     7 –6  
Troy  3 –5     5 –7  
Coastal Carolina  2 –6     5 –7  
West Division
Louisiana x  7 –1     11 –3  
Arkansas State  5 –3     8 –5  
Louisiana–Monroe  4 –4     5 –7  
Texas State  2 –6     3 –9  
South Alabama  1 –7     2 –10  
Championship: Appalachian State 45, Louisiana 38
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game featured East Division champion Appalachian State against West Division champion Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns for the first title game for the conference. The Mountaineers defeated the Ragin' Cajuns by a score of 30–19.[3]

Teams

The 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was contested by the Appalachian State Mountaineers, East Division champions, and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, West Division champions. The teams had met 7 times previously, with the Mountaineers holding a 7–0 edge in the series. The teams' most recent meeting was earlier in the 2019 season; Appalachian State won, 17–7. Louisiana had yet to win in the series, since they first met in 2014[4] This was the teams' second meeting in the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game, a rematch from the previous year.

Appalachian State

Appalachian State clinched its spot in the Championship Game after its November 23 win over Texas State.[5] The Mountaineers secured hosting rights on November 29 with a 48–13 win over Troy.[6] This is Appalachian State's second consecutive and overall appearance in the Championship Game.

Louisiana

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns earned their spot after clinching the West Division title on November 23 with a win over Troy.[7] This will be the Ragin' Cajuns' second consecutive and overall appearance in the Championship Game.

Game summary
2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game
1 2 34Total
Louisiana 7 10 71438
No. 21 Appalachian State 21 14 7345

at Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, North Carolina

Game information
First Quarter
  • (13:02) APP – Zac Thomas 58 yard pass to Darrynton Evans, Chandler Staton kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:58; Appalachian State 7–0)
  • (9:38) APP – Darrynton Evans 8 yard rush, Chandler Staton kick (Drive: 5 plays, 47 yards, 2:00; Appalachian State 14–0)
  • (1:43) APP – Zac Thomas 5 yard pass to Darrynton Evans, Chandler Staton kick (Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards, 6:42; Appalachian State 21–0)
  • (0:25) LA – Levi Lewis 37 yard pass to Peter LaBlanc, Stevie Artigue kick (Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 1:12; Appalachian State 21–7)
Second Quarter
  • (13:27) APP – Marcus Williams Jr. 29 yard rush, Chandler Staton kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:58; Appalachian State 28–7)
  • (8:13) LA – Levi Lewis 1 yard pass to Elijah Mitchell, Stevie Artigue kick (Drive: 11 plays, 76 yards, 5:08; Appalachian State 28–14)
  • (4:13) APP – Daetrich Harrington 25 yard rush, Chandler Staton kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:54; Appalachian State 35–14)
  • (0:03) LA – Stevie Artigue 53 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 1:06; Appalachian State 35–17)
Third Quarter
  • (5:57) APP – Josh Thomas 16 yard interception return, Chandler Staton kick (Appalachian State 42–17)
  • (2:41) LA – Levi Lewis 2 yard pass to Ja'Mar Bradley, Stevie Artigue kick (Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:09; Appalachian State 42–24)
Fourth Quarter
  • (8:12) APP – Chandler Staton 35 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards, 4:41; Appalachian State 45–24)
  • (4:18) LA – Elijah Mitchell 1 yard rush, Stevie Artigue kick (Drive: 13 plays, 76 yards, 3:42; Appalachian State 45–31)
  • (1:19) LA – Levi Lewis 38 yard pass to Peter LaBlanc, Stevie Artigue kick (Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 1:09; Appalachian State 45–38)

Statistics
StatisticsLAAPP
First downs3120
Plays–yards84–51368–416
Rushes–yards38–15951–267
Passing yards354149
Passing: Comp–Att–Int24–46–19–17–0
Time of possession29:4930:11
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
LouisianaPassingLevi Lewis24/46, 354 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
RushingElijah Mitchell18 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingPeter LaBlanc3 receptions, 118 yards, 2 TD
Appalachian StatePassingZac Thomas9/17, 149 yards, 2 TD
RushingDaetrich Harrington9 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingDarrynton Evans2 receptions, 63 yards, 2 TD

See also

References
  1. "Louisiana vs. Appalachian State - Game Summary - December 7, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  2. McElwain, John. "Sun Belt, ESPN Announce Updates to 2019 Football Schedule". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. "Louisiana vs. Appalachian State - Game Summary - December 1, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. "Winsipedia - Appalachian State Mountaineers vs. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  5. "Evans scores 3 TDs, No. 23 App State tops Texas State 35-13". ESPN. November 23, 2019.
  6. "Thomas, No. 22 Appalachian State rout Troy 48-13". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 29, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  7. Stephenson, Creg (November 23, 2019). "Louisiana hands Troy most-decisive Sun Belt loss in school history, 53-3". AL.com.
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