# 2021 Boca Raton Bowl

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. 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.

## Teams

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. 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.

### Appalachian State Mountaineers
## Game summary

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.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Western Kentucky | 14 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 59 |
| Appalachian State | 14 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
at FAU Stadium • Boca 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 | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 59 | 38 |

### Statistics

| 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 |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing | Noah Whittington | 7 carries, 150 yards, 1 TD |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving | Jerreth Sterns | 13 receptions, 184 yards, 3 TD |
| Appalachian State | Passing | Chase Brice | 15/23, 317 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| Appalachian State | Rushing | Camerun Peoples | 13 carries, 101 yards |
| Appalachian State | Receiving | Christian Wells | 4 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD |