New Orleans Bowl 2018: Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee State live stream – Watch online
Bowl season kicks off with the New Orleans Bowl between Appalachian State and Middle State from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The first five of 39 bowl games, not including the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, begin on Saturday, Dec. 15 and the main event should be a good one.
Sun Belt champion Appalachian State looks to improve to 11-2 on the year with a win over 8-5 Middle Tennessee State who was the runner-ups in Conference USA. Appalachian State has been one of the better success stories of the year and head coach Scott Satterfield was rewarded by getting the head job at Louisville, replacing the fired Bobby Petrino.
Satterfield turned Appalachian State into a power in the Sun Belt after moving up from the FCS. This year’s team had a dominating ground game and an even more dominating defense that was one of the best in the nation. The Mountaineers only allowed 15.7 points per game to put them in good company with Clemson, Alabama and Michigan in that regard.
The Appalachian State offense is led by quarterback Zac Thomas who has thrown 18 touchdowns to only four interceptions. Running back Darrynton Evans paces the run game with 1,079 yards and seven rushing scores this year.
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Middle Tennessee State counters with a strong passing game led by veteran quarterback Brent Stockstill who has thrown for 3,214, 28 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. He’s one of the top passers in the Group of Five and should face a tough test against the App State defense.
How to watch and bet Appalachian State – Middle Tennessee State
Date: Saturday, Dec. 15
Start time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: New Orleans, LA
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Spread: Appalachian State -7
Channel: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Prediction: Appalachian State is just too good on both sides of the ball and will be able to outscore the Blue Raiders and the defense will slow Stockstill enough to get the win and cover the spread.