Friday, September 2
 
Ball State 31, Georgia State 21
ATLANTA (AP) James Gilbert ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns to lead Ball State to a 31-21 win over Georgia State in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
 
Tied at two touchdowns apiece, Ball State took the lead for good with a 44-yard field goal from Morgan Hagee midway through the third quarter. Teddy Williamson and Darian Green each ran in a touchdown in the fourth to pad the advantage and hand Mike Neu a victory in his first game as Cardinals coach.
 
Georgia State struck in the first two minutes of the game when Jerome Smith intercepted a pass from Ball State's Riley Neal and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers scored again with a 14-yard pass from Conner Manning to Penny Hart to open the second quarter but were kept out of the end zone until the final minutes of the game as Ball State piled up 17 straight points.
 
Toledo 31, Arkansas State 10
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) Logan Woodside passed for three touchdowns and a career-high 371 yards Friday night to lead Toledo to a 31-10 win over Arkansas State in the season opener for both teams.
 
Woodside hit 23 of his 31 throws and got help from Cody Thompson, who hauled in five of the passes for a career-high 174 yards, including a touchdown and a 54-yard grab in the third quarter to set up Toledo's final TD of the game. Michael Roberts caught the other two TD passes, a 5-yarder in the second quarter and a 22-yard catch in the fourth.
 
Kareem Hunt punched in a touchdown from the 1 and Jameson Vest had a 42-yard field goal as Toledo piled up 556 total yards to Arkansas State's 266.
 
Arkansas State struck first with a 43-yard field goal set up by Chris Humes' fumble recovery late in the first quarter, and got a touchdown in the fourth from Armond Weh-Weh.