The 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl has the 4-5 North Texas Mean Green going up against the 8-3 Appalachian State Mountaineers. Here is the 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl preview.
North Texas Mean Green (4-5)
North Texas only won four games, but were invited to a bowl game. They lost five games, with two of them coming against teams under .500 in USM and Charlotte. The Mean Green didn’t beat any teams with a .500 record or better.
The Mean Green have scored 35.1 points per game this season, which ranks 27th in the country. They average 284.1 passing yards (ranking 21st) and 230.2 rushing yards (ranking 13th) per game.
Two quarterbacks have taken a lot of snaps for the Mean Green this season. Austin Aune has passed for 1,650 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions on 54.6 percent completion. Jason Beane has 880 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions on 53.2 percent completion. North Texas will be without their leading receiver Jaelon Darden, who opted to sit out of the bowl game. That means Deonte Simpson and Austin Ogunmakin will need to step up. Simpson had 25 catches for 517 yards and four touchdowns, while Ogunmakin has 16 catches for 218 yards.
Four players have over 300 rushing yards for North Texas this season. DeAndre Torrey leads the team with 113 carries for 656 yards and six touchdowns. Oscar Adaway is not too far behind with 73 carries for 475 yards and two touchdowns. Tre Siggers has 338 yards and a touchdown, while Bean has chipped in from the quarterback position with 336 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
The defense is one of the worst in the country as they allow 41.3 points per game. They allow 243.6 rushing yards per game (ranked 120th) and 265.9 passing yards per game (ranked 107th). Linebacker KD Davis has led the team in tackles with 70. Larry Nixon and Gabriel Murphy have had 3.0 and 4.5 sacks respectively to lead the team.
Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-3)
Appalachian State wasn’t atop the Sun Belt conference this year, but had a solid season with an 8-3 record. Their only losses came to teams who had great seasons in Marshall, Louisiana and Coastal Carolina. They were able to beat Georgia State and Georgia Southern who have records above .500.
The offense scores 31.8 points per game, as a solid unit. They run the ball extremely well at 243.5 yards per game (ranked ninth) and pass for 191.7 yards per game (ranked 102nd).
Zac Thomas is a leader of the offense as a senior quarterback. He has passed for 2,075 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 64.7 percent completion this season. Thomas has four receivers with over 200 yards and two receivers with over 500 yards. Thomas Hennigan has 45 receptions for 571 yards and three touchdowns. Malik Williams has also produced well with 41 receptions for 536 yards and three touchdowns.
The Mountaineers have four running backs with over 400 yards this season. Camerun Peoples leads the team with 807 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Behind Peoples, Deatrich Harrington, Nate Noel and Marcus Williams all have been productive backs averaging over 5.6 yards per carry.
Their defense has been impressive this season, allowing 19.8 points per game. Against the pass, the Mountaineers have been great allowing just 169.8 yards per game (ranked seventh). The run defense allows 143.7 yards per game (ranked 46th). Linebackers Trey Cobb and D’Marco Jackson each have over 75 tackles for Appalachian State. Defensive backs Kaiden Smith and Shemar Jean-Charles have been great in the secondary with eight and 16 passes defended respectively. The best pass rusher on the team is Demetrius Taylor, who has six sacks on the season.
Prediction
Appalachian State has a huge advantage with a great defense and a senior quarterback leading the way. With North Texas’ best player, Darden, opting out of this game, the Mountaineers should be able to win the game by a decent margin.
Appalachian State Mountaineers 29 North Texas Mean Green 17
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