BOONE, N.C. – A first-place team with an unbeaten league record, Appalachian State returns to Sun Belt Conference play Saturday with a 3 p.m. ET kickoff at ULM in Monroe, La.
The game between the Mountaineers (5-3, 4-0) and Warhawks (3-5, 3-3) in Malone Stadium will be shown on ESPN3.
Here's a closer look at the Warhawks:
Three weeks ago, ULM was atop the Sun Belt standings at 3-0, a half-game ahead of an App State team that was 2-0 with victories against Texas State and New Mexico State.
Led by second-year head coach Matt Viator, who directed ULM to a 3-5 league record in his first year away from FCS McNeese State, the high-scoring Warhawks started Sun Belt play in 2017 with a 56-50 win at rival Louisiana, a 51-43 home victory against Coastal Carolina and a 45-27 road win against Texas State.
In the last three games, they have suffered a 47-37 home loss to Georgia State, a 33-23 road loss to South Alabama and a 31-23 road loss to Idaho. With six of eight conference games already played, ULM closes the season by facing Appalachian State, Auburn and Arkansas State.
App State's defense will face a test in dual-threat sophomore quarterback Caleb Evans, whose brother, Jerod, played quarterback at Virginia Tech. Evans leads the Warhawks by throwing for 213.8 yards and rushing for 51.5 yards per game. He has nine passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns this season.
Evans, who has thrown only two interceptions this year, was named the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Week after he rushed for 129 yards with five touchdowns and passed for 343 yards with one touchdown against Louisiana. He has thrown for more than 400 yards in conference games against Texas State and Idaho.
As Evans prepares to face an App State defense that's tied for 13th nationally in interceptions per game and tied for 12th nationally in sacks per game, his top targets have been Brian Williams (31 catches for 403 yards) and Marcus Green (30 catches for 455 yards). Green is tied for fourth place in the FBS with 12 all-purpose plays of at least 30 yards this season.
App State quarterback
Taylor Lamb, emerging receiver
Ike Lewis and the rest of the Mountaineers' offense will go against a ULM defense that allows 37.0 points, 287.4 passing yards and 505.0 total yards per game. The team's top tackler is David Griffith, who has 64 stops and eight tackles for loss.
