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2019 App State

13–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Eli Drinkwitz, then Shawn Clark (interim, bowl game), finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

App State in 2019, game by game: won vs. East Tennessee State 42–7; won vs. Charlotte 56–41; won at North Carolina 34–31; won vs. Coastal Carolina 56–37; won at Louisiana 17–7; won vs. UL Monroe 52–7; won at South Alabama 30–3; lost vs. Georgia Southern 21–24; won at South Carolina 20–15; won at Georgia State 56–27; won vs. Texas State 35–13; won at Troy 48–13; won vs. Louisiana 45–38; won vs. UAB 31–17+45−3Won 42–7 vs. East Tennessee State+35East Tennessee …Won 56–41 vs. Charlotte+15CharlotteWon 34–31 at North Carolina+3North CarolinaWon 56–37 vs. Coastal Carolina+19Coastal CarolinaWon 17–7 at Louisiana+10LouisianaWon 52–7 vs. UL Monroe+45UL MonroeWon 30–3 at South Alabama+27South AlabamaLost 21–24 vs. Georgia Southern-3Georgia SouthernWon 20–15 at South Carolina+5South CarolinaWon 56–27 at Georgia State+29Georgia StateWon 35–13 vs. Texas State+22Texas StateWon 48–13 at Troy+35TroyWon 45–38 vs. Louisiana+7LouisianaWon 31–17 vs. UAB+14UAB
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsEast Tennessee StateW 42–⁠791%
Sep 7vsCharlotteW 56–⁠4184%
Sep 21atNorth CarolinaW 34–⁠3169%
Sep 28vsCoastal CarolinaW 56–⁠3782%
Oct 9atLouisianaW 17–⁠757%
Oct 19vsUL MonroeW 52–⁠783%
Oct 26atSouth AlabamaW 30–⁠387%
Oct 31vsGeorgia SouthernL 21–⁠2481%
Nov 9atSouth CarolinaW 20–⁠1565%
Nov 16atGeorgia StateW 56–⁠2771%
Nov 23vsTexas StateW 35–⁠1393%
Nov 29atTroyW 48–⁠1368%
Dec 7vsLouisianaSun Belt Championship GameW 45–⁠3870%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsUABNew Orleans BowlW 31–⁠1777%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UAB 31–⁠17 in the New Orleans Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; Sun Belt Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 58 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 24
  2. Wk 9: 21
  3. Wk 10: 20
  4. Wk 13: 23
  5. Wk 14: 22
  6. Wk 15: 20
  7. Wk 16: 20
  8. Final: 19

Sun Belt Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Sun Belt Championship Game

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 19
Points
543–⁠280
Coach
Eli Drinkwitz, then Shawn Clark (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1756 +124 this season
SP+ rating
11.3 No. 27 of 130; offense No. 31, defense No. 37, special teams No. 56
SRS
9.1 No. 29 of 130 in FBS
Returning
83% of last season’s EPA, No. 15 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 101 roster talent No. 101 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Ted Roof
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense13th of 130
  • Defense25th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted24th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted27th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2343%1.3613th of 130
Defense0.0137%1.3425th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.03 def		41% off
37% def		—24th off
27th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.7own 3117% allowed
Defense3.3own 2620% caused

CORE rating 11.7, 22nd of 130 (offense 2.8, defense -8.8).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsZac Thomas QB2,709 yds
Passing touchdownsZac Thomas QB28 TD
Rushing yardsDarrynton Evans RB1,479 yds
Rushing touchdownsDarrynton Evans RB18 TD
Receiving yardsThomas Hennigan WR763 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Xavier Sutton WR7 TD
TacklesJordan Fehr LB107 tkl
SacksDemetrius Taylor DL7 sacks
InterceptionsShaun Jolly DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

David Baldwin-Griffin DUAL★★★No. 889
Raykwon Anderson CB★★★No. 1140
Brendan Harrington S★★★No. 1284
Larry Dowdy OT★★★No. 1664
Emmanuel Jenkins CB★★★No. 1826

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.863
Receivers23.00.818
Offensive line33.00.822
Defensive line13.00.808
Linebackers23.00.818
Defensive backs63.00.827
Athletes and specialists32.30.784
Whole class182.90.818

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 3Darrynton Evans RBTennessee Titans
Rd 4Akeem Davis-Gaither OLBCincinnati Bengals

Roster 118

The 2019 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
App State7–⁠113–⁠119
Louisiana7–⁠111–⁠3
Arkansas State5–⁠38–⁠5
Georgia Southern5–⁠37–⁠6
Georgia State4–⁠47–⁠6
UL Monroe4–⁠45–⁠7
Troy3–⁠55–⁠7
Coastal Carolina2–⁠65–⁠7
Texas State2–⁠63–⁠9
South Alabama1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.