In a wild shootout, in which the teams combined for nearly 1,000 offensive yards, Appalachian State survived New Mexico State for a 45-31 Sun Belt Conference win in its homecoming game Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone.
New Mexico State rolled up 532 yards of offense, while the Mountaineers had 425 (957 total for the teams). But Appalachian State’s defense rose to the occasion when it needed to most and set a school record by picking off six passes to key the win. They included a record-tying three apiece from its two starting cornerbacks, Tae Hayes and Clifton Duck.