1. Escaping at the last second

ULM nearly closed out the game several times, but left the door open for the Mountaineers to take advantage of the late-game opportunity. With four seconds remaining, App State put their trust in the foot of junior kicker Michael Hughes. Lining up for a career-long 54-yard field goal, Hughes drilled the kick with extra yards to spare as the ball fluttered through the uprights. Once the ball left his foot, Hughes knew the kick had enough distance and the game-winning celebration began from there. While the celebration on the field spread to the locker room, the Mountaineers were seconds away from a possible 2-3 record, but the Black and Gold went back to Boone 3-2 instead.

2. 24 seconds

With no timeouts and 24 seconds remaining at their own 19-yard line, junior quarterback Joey Aguilar had an uphill climb to get in field goal range. Aguilar then completed three straight passes of 14, 16 and 14 yards, all caught by redshirt junior Kaedin Robinson. Each reception by Robinson was smartly run out of bounds to stop the clock. In 20 seconds, Aguilar and Robinson moved the ball from their own 19-yard line to the Warhawks 37-yard line, setting up Hughes for his game-winning kick. In Aguilar’s fourth game starting at quarterback, he showed poise and command in a late-game situation where many falter and come up short. 

3. Goal line stand

After Aguilar threw his second interception of the game, ULM’s offense took the field at the Mountaineer 40-yard line with 9:23 remaining and leading 40-38. The Warhawks called six consecutive run plays, setting up their offense at the 1-yard line on third down. In what could’ve been a game-sealing touchdown drive, the Black and Gold held ULM back-to-back times from crossing the goal line. In two plays with App State on their heels, the Mountaineer defense stepped up to give the offense another chance for a game-winning drive. 

4. Jordan Favors

In the third quarter, the Warhawks scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown, hoping to tie the game at 35. ULM’s extra-point attempt was blocked by redshirt sophomore safety Jordan Favors. It was a routine kick that would’ve brought the score to 35-35, but instead, it was 35-34 because of Favors’ block. Consequently later in the third quarter when ULM scored another touchdown, the Warhawks attempted a two-point conversion to make up for the blocked kick, but failed the two-point attempt. Due to Favors’ block, App State was only down 40-38 instead of 42-38, forcing the Mountaineers to score a touchdown instead of kicking a field goal.

5. A break before the long haul

In what’s been a very up-and-down five weeks for the Mountaineers, they’ll go into the bye week at 3-2 and 1-0 in the Sun Belt. The extended break will allow players to recover from injuries, and for the team to be reassessed with potential adjustments. App State will take the field again in Boone Oct. 10 against Coastal Carolina. With the game being played on a Tuesday night, the Black and Gold will receive extra days off before going on the road to play Old Dominion Oct. 21. While the Mountaineers opened up the season shaky, the Sun Belt remains wide open with everyone’s goal set on the Dec. 2 championship game.