MOSCOW, Idaho — Taylor Lamb didn’t even realize what he’d accomplished.
It’s hard to blame him. Appalachian State had just come back from a 20-point deficit to beat Idaho, 23-20. The win kept the Mountaineers perfect in Sun Belt Conference play.
Lamb threw three touchdowns, all in the second half, and had 155 yards passing in the victory. He also tied the program’s career record for passing touchdowns at 74, a mark held by former App State great Armanti Edwards.
“I didn’t know that happened,” Lamb said after a question about tying the mark. “That’s cool. It gives a good chance to break it at home next weekend (against Coastal Carolina).
“But it’s all about the win today. Those guys made plays.”
By “those guys,” he meant everybody on his team.
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Appalachian State (4-2, 3-0 Sun Belt Conference) stumbled out of the gate. The Mountaineers had 30 total offensive yards in the first quarter and only 74 at halftime. After receiving the ball to start the second half, App State’s first series started and ended with an interception.
That pick set up a turning point, where both the Mountaineers’ offense and defense began securing the game. The defense held Idaho to a field goal on a short field, then the Mountaineers grabbed their first points. Lamb whipped the ball out left to senior wide receiver Ike Lewis, who wiggled around defenders for a 38-yard score.
That pattern repeated. App State’s defense caused a three-and-out.
The Mountaineers offense followed with a 14-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a touchdown to tight end Collin Reed to start the fourth quarter.
The App State defense created another three-and-out. Lamb found Lewis for the second time on a 45-yard score.
The defense forced and recovered a fumble. Mountaineers kicker Michael Rubino hit the finalizing field goal, from 31 yards out.
In a 15-plus-minute span of game time, App State took control.
Senior linebacker Eric Boggs said the team could feel the energy building as the units synced up.
“We just went out there and tried to do our job,” Boggs said. “We know eventually the offense is going to do what they got to do too.
“We are a team, that is what we’re for.”
The defense’s job wasn’t easy to start. The unit defended for nearly 20 minutes in the first half, dealing with long runs from Idaho’s Aaron Duckworth and quick strikes from quarterback Matt Linehan.
Meanwhile, the App State offense couldn’t respond. What little success the Mountaineers found seemed to come from Lamb’s feet. He had the Mountaineers’ longest play of the first half, a 17-yard scramble during App State’s second drive. It was the first time the Mountaineers got a first down.
App State coach Scott Satterfield said the coaching staff tried to give Lamb more designed options to run in the second half. That, Satterfield said, helped keep the defense uneven. Lamb’s throwing options improved from that point forward.
The game is the largest comeback for Appalachian State since at least 2010. Against Chattanooga in the season opener, the Mountaineers trailed by 21 before winning, 42-41.
Lamb finished the night 19-of-26 passing, recovering from a poor performance against New Mexico State a week ago when he had just 48 yards on 10 completions.
But like that game, Saturday’s contest also ended in a win.
Satterfield let out an excited and relieved breath when he thought about the Mountaineers most recent stretch.
The team somehow keeps finding ways to get victories.
“We’ve had so many, not 20-point comebacks, but we’ve had so many games that come down to the wire,” Satterfield said. “Really, my whole career. I can go back to when I played in ‘95, and we ended up winning them all.
“But championship teams win games like this. You have to find a way to win it. Pull it out in the end. That’s why you play four quarters ... because if you keep playing and keep pressing, good things usually happen. Our team is just resilient.”