Middle Tennessee was defeated in the 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game on December 1; they subsequently received and accepted an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl on December 2.[8] The Blue Raiders entered the bowl with an 8–5 record (7–1 in conference). Blue Raider quarterback Brent Stockstill is the son of head coach Rick Stockstill.[9]
Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State defeated Louisiana in the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game to secure a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.[10] The Mountaineers entered the bowl with a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference). Due to the resignation of head coach Scott Satterfield, who took the same position with the Louisville Cardinals on December 4, the Mountaineers were coached in the bowl game by interim head coach Mark Ivey.[11]
^@AppStateMania (December 16, 2018). "NEW ORLEANS BOWL MVP ZAC THOMAS!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
^"StatMonitr Stat Feed".
^"2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
^"2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
^"R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl announces 2018 date, time, and conference affiliations for 18th annual bowl game". neworleansbowl.com. May 2, 2018.
^"Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
^"New Orleans Bowl to host conference finalists Appalachian State and Middle Tennessee | nola.com". Archived from the original on December 3, 2018.
^"Stockstill father-son duo going into last season at MTSU". USA Today. AP. August 1, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
^"Appalachian State tops UL-Lafayette for Sun Belt title, trip to New Orleans Bowl; Cajuns to Cure Bowl". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
^Gardner, Tim (December 5, 2018). "Mark Ivey named Appalachian State Interim Head Football Coach". High Country Press. Retrieved December 15, 2018.