The 2021 Boca Raton Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 11:00 a.m. EST on ESPN.[4] It was the 8th edition of the Boca Raton Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by roofing repair company RoofClaim.com, the game was officially known as the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl.

2021 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
8th Boca Raton Bowl
1234 Total
Western Kentucky 1417217 59
Appalachian State 141077 38
DateDecember 18, 2021
Season2021
StadiumFAU Stadium
LocationBoca Raton, Florida
MVP
  • Offense: Bailey Zappe (QB, Western Kentucky)
  • Defense: Antwon Kincaid (DB, Western Kentucky)
  • Sp. teams: John Haggerty III (P, Western Kentucky)[1]
FavoriteAppalachian State by 2.5[2]
RefereeSteve Baron (Mountain West)[3]
Attendance15,429
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
ESPN Radio
AnnouncersESPN: Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Tiffany Blackmon (sideline)
ESPN Radio: Chris Carlin (play-by-play), EJ Manuel (analyst), and Taylor Davis (sideline)
Boca Raton Bowl
 < 2020  2022

Teams edit

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game was played between teams from the Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA (C-USA). The bowl also has tie-ins with the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Mid-American Conference (MAC), and Mountain West Conference (MWC).

This was the sixth meeting between Western Kentucky and Appalachian State; the Mountaineers entered leading the all-time series, 4–1.[5] It was also the first time the Mountaineers and Hilltoppers played each other as FBS teams.

Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe entered the game on the verge of FBS records for single-season passing yardage and touchdowns, respectively set by B. J. Symons of Texas Tech in 2003 and Joe Burrow of LSU in 2019.[6]

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers edit

Appalachian State Mountaineers edit

Game summary edit

During the game, Zappe threw for 6 touchdowns and 422 yards, giving him possession of both aforementioned single-season FBS passing records. He finished the season with 62 touchdowns and 5,977 yards. Zappe also tied Burrow's single-season FBS record of 65 touchdowns responsible for (combined passing and rushing) from 2019.[7]

2021 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
Western Kentucky 14 17 21759
Appalachian State 14 10 7738

at FAU StadiumBoca Raton, Florida

  • Date: Friday, December 18, 2021
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Wind: SE 17 mph
  • Game attendance: 15,429
  • Referee: Steve Baron
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Tiffany Blackmon (sideline)
  • Box score
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP WKU APP
1 13:14 8 74 1:46 Western Kentucky Jerreth Sterns 1-yard touchdown reception from Bailey Zappe, Brayden Narveson kick good 7 0
1 3:25 6 63 2:58 Appalachian State Malik Williams 36-yard touchdown reception from Chase Brice, Chandler Staton kick good 7 7
1 3:11 1 75 0:14 Western Kentucky Mitchell Tinsley 75-yard touchdown reception from Bailey Zappe, Brayden Narveson kick good 14 7
1 1:11 5 76 2:00 Appalachian State Jalen Virgil 60-yard touchdown reception from Chase Brice, Chandler Staton kick good 14 14
2 11:48 7 64 1:21 Western Kentucky 24-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson 17 14
2 8:57 5 61 2:51 Appalachian State Dashaun Davis 33-yard touchdown reception from Chase Brice, Chandler Staton kick good 17 21
2 6:54 8 75 2:03 Western Kentucky Joey Beljan 5-yard touchdown reception from Bailey Zappe, Brayden Narveson kick good 24 21
2 2:55 8 64 3:59 Appalachian State 28-yard field goal by Chandler Staton 24 24
2 0:29 8 78 2:26 Western Kentucky Jerreth Sterns 10-yard touchdown reception from Bailey Zappe, Brayden Narveson kick good 31 24
3 12:49 1 86 0:12 Western Kentucky Noah Whittington 86-yard touchdown run, Brayden Narveson kick good 38 24
3 5:56 11 73 4:38 Western Kentucky Mitchell Tinsley 2-yard touchdown reception from Bailey Zappe, Brayden Narveson kick good 45 24
3 5:38 1 62 0:18 Appalachian State Christian Wells 62-yard touchdown reception from Chase Brice, Chandler Staton kick good 45 31
3 2:42 6 75 2:56 Western Kentucky Jerreth Sterns 37-yard touchdown reception from Bailey Zappe, Brayden Narveson kick good 52 31
4 9:40 2 2 0:09 Western Kentucky Kye Robichaux 2-yard touchdown run, Brayden Narveson kick good 59 31
4 1:55 7 69 2:17 Appalachian State Anderson Castle 9-yard touchdown run, Chandler Staton kick good 59 38
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 59 38

Statistics edit

Statistics WKU APP
First downs 27 24
Plays–yards 75–637 78–609
Rushes–yards 28–215 43–251
Passing yards 422 358
Passing: comp–att–int 33–47–0 20–35–2
Time of possession 28:48 31:12
Team Category Player Statistics
Western Kentucky Passing Bailey Zappe 33/47, 422 yards, 6 TD
Rushing Noah Whittington 7 carries, 150 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Jerreth Sterns 13 receptions, 184 yards, 3 TD
Appalachian State Passing Chase Brice 15/23, 317 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Camerun Peoples 13 carries, 101 yards
Receiving Christian Wells 4 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD

References edit

  1. ^ Parry, Rose (December 18, 2021). "Western Kentucky Tops Appalachian State, 59-38, in the 2021 Roofclaim.Com Boca Raton Bowl". roofclaimbocaratonbowl.com (Press release). Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  2. ^ Fawkes, Ben. "Odds for College Football Playoff, every bowl game". vsin.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021–22 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "2021 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "Winsipedia – Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky". Winsipedia.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Hale, David M. (December 17, 2021). "Bailey Zappe's journey to a historic season for Western Kentucky". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  7. ^ "Zappe gets records, WKU rolls past App St 59-38 in Boca Bowl". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.

External links edit