Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Complete PDF)
Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
Sun Belt Conference Standings
Sun Belt Conference Stats
Focus Shifts to Week Two of Sun Belt Football Season
Sun Belt teams combined for a 6-5 record after the first week of the season which was highlighted by South Alabama's win over Mississippi State and Texas State's 3OT win over Ohio.
The winning record by Sun Belt teams after the first week of the season is worthy of celebration, but the second week of the season presents new foes as well as the conference's first league game of the year.
Texas State will have the week off following its extended contest against Ohio, but all ten of the conference's other teams will be in action. Appalachian State (Old Dominion), Georgia State (Air Force), and New Mexico State (New Mexico) will face opponents from the Group of Five, Arkansas State (Auburn), Idaho (Washington), UL Monroe (Oklahoma), and Troy (Clemson) will face Power Five opponents. UL Lafayette will play McNeese State from the Football Championship Subdivision.
On the conference slate, Georgia Southern and South Alabama will play for the right to begin the conference season with a win - but also the chance to move to 2-0 in the early season schedule.
All three coaches that made their debuts at Sun Belt schools were victorious in week one as Tyson Summers (Georgia Southern), Matt Viator (UL Monroe), and Everett Withers all picked up wins.
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, September 10
Troy at Clemson - 11:30 a.m. (ACC RSN/ESPN3)
Georgia State at Air Force - 1 p.m. (Mountain West Network)
Old Dominion at Appalachian State - 2:30 p.m. (American Sports Network/ESPN3)
Idaho at Washington - 4 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)
UL Monroe at Oklahoma - 6 p.m. (Sooner Sports Network-PPV)
* Georgia Southern at South Alabama - 6 p.m. (American Sports Network/ESPN3)
McNeese State at UL Lafayette - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Arkansas State at Auburn - 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
New Mexico at New Mexico State - 7 p.m. (NMSU Sports TV/ESPN3)
* denotes Sun Belt Conference game
All times Central (CT) and subject to change
Recent Results
Thursday, September 1
#9 Tennessee 20, Appalachian State 13 - 6:30 p.m. (OT) (SEC Network)
Idaho 20, Montana State 17 - 8 p.m. (Idaho TV Sports Network/ESPN3)
Friday, September 2
Ball State 31, Georgia State 21 - 6 p.m. (American Sports Network/ESPN3)
Toledo 31, Arkansas State 10 - 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, September 3
Boise State 45, UL Lafayette 10 - 11 a.m. (American Sports Network/ESPN3)
South Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20 - 11 a.m. (SEC Network)
Texas State 56, Ohio 54 (3OT) - 2:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Troy 57, Austin Peay 17 - 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Georgia Southern 54, Savannah State 0 - 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
UL Monroe 38, Southern 21 - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
UTEP 38, New Mexico State 22 - 7 p.m. (beIN)
Offensive Player of the Week
Dallas Davis (South Alabama, So., QB, Sports and Recreation Management)
Making his first career start at the collegiate level, Davis posted 308 yards of total offense while leading three second-half touchdown drives to help the Jaguars earn a 21-20 victory at Mississippi State - the program's first against a Southeastern Conference school - on Saturday. The redshirt sophomore was 24-of-34 passing for 285 yards, with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Josh Magee to get USA on the scoreboard with its opening drive of the third quarter and a four-yard scoring pass to Gerald Everett in the final minute to secure the win. In addition to 19 of his 23 rushing yards coming with the Jags facing third-and-three on the game-winning drive, moving the team to the MSU-8, Davis was 3-of-3 passing on third downs during the march. Davis' 24 completions tied for the third-highest mark in a game in the school's record books while his 285 yards through the air were the fifth most in a contest as he became the first individual in the program to surpass 300 yards of total offense since the Jaguars' appearance in the 2014 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.
Defense Player of the Week
Roman Buchanan (South Alabama, Sr., LB, Exercise Science)
Buchanan recorded a career-high 12 total tackles in the Jaguars' win Saturday at Mississippi State, with 10 of those of the solo variety and one for a loss of four yards; he also broke up a pass to force a three-and-out on the Bulldogs' second possession of the day. The senior was credited with eight stops in the second half to help South overcome a 17-0 deficit as his efforts helped USA limit MSU to 177 yards and just three points after the break. Buchanan's performance - just the second of his career with 10-plus stops - helped him move into fourth on the program's all-time record list as he now has 188 tackles in three-plus seasons.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Marcus Ripley (Texas State, Freshman, Kicker, Exploratory Studies)
In his first collegiate game, Marcus Ripley made all six of his extra-point attempts and kicked a pair of key field goals in Texas State's 56-54 overtime victory at Ohio. Ripley's first field goal was in the final seconds of regulation when he nailed a 27-yard attempt to send the game into overtime. His second field goal came in overtime when he booted a 37-yard field goal to send the game into a third overtime where Texas State scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to preserve the victory.
Sun Belt News and Notes
Sun Belt Membership
The Sun Belt's 11-school football membership includes Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy. Little Rock and UT Arlington compete in all sports as non-football members while Idaho and New Mexico State are football-only members. Coastal Carolina official entered the league on July 1, 2016 and currently competes as an all-sport member. The CCU football program will begin Sun Belt play in 2017.
Sun Belt Bowl Partners
In 2001, the Sun Belt Conference began sponsoring football and created the inaugural New Orleans bowl in December of that year. The conference now stands as one of the 10 premier college football leagues in the country.
As part of the College Football Playoff a worthy football team in the Sun Belt can be in the national championship picture, and the league is a permanent part of the "Group of Five" conferences (joining the American Athletic Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Mid-American Conference and Conference USA) that sends its highest-rated champion to a premier January 1st bowl game.
In the last three years the Sun Belt Conference has gone from having two primary bowl partnerships to five in 2016. From 2001 to 2009 the Sun Belt Conference had only one bowl partner.
College Football Playoff
Opportunity to select Sun Belt Champion for one of six bowls or CFP semifinals
R L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
First Selection (vs. CUSA)
Dollar General Bowl (Mobile, Ala.)
Second Selection (vs. MAC)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.)
Third Selection (vs. MAC)
AutoNation Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)
Fourth Selection (vs. American)
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Ariz.)
Fifth Selection (vs. Mountain West)
Sun Belt Conference Championship Game
The Sun Belt Conference will hold its first ever football championship game as the league's presidents and chancellors, as well as athletic directors, voted unanimously to play the game beginning in 2018. The addition of Coastal Carolina and the decision to move forward as a 10-team football league, along with the NCAA Division I Council's new rules on championship games, means that the championship game has become a reality.
Sun Belt Coaches and Student-Athletes Team Up For New Orleans Youth Football Clinic
As part of Sun Belt Conference Media Day, Sun Belt Conference Head Football Coaches and Student-Athletes teamed up with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, The Allstate Sugar Bowl & The R L Carriers New Orleans Bowl to provide a free youth football clinic to children in the area.
The Sun Belt Conference Experience
For student-athletes, Sun Belt institutions are leaders in providing career services and the tools to assist in the pursuit of personal goals. Sun Belt members all employ full-time academic advisors and have on average more than 20 tutors for academic support. During the 2015-16 academic year, Sun Belt member institutions awarded over $50 million in scholarships to more than 3,100 student-athletes, while also providing life experiences such as team building, domestic and foreign travel, community service, mentoring, and recognition through honors and awards. The Sun Belt's commitment to academic excellence remains a hallmark, with the league and its institutions annually rewriting the Sun Belt record book for grade-point averages and academic honors. This past spring, a record-tying 14 league programs were recognized for outstanding performance in the classroom, with those teams earning NCAA Public Recognition Awards for posting APR scores in the top 10 percent of their sport nationally. It was the second straight year for the Sun Belt to have 14 programs honored, doubling the amount of the previous years.
The Sun Belt Conference on the American Sports Network
The Sun Belt Conference recently announced that it will air football and basketball games throughout the 2016-17 season on the American Sports Network. While games on ASN will be broadcasts on "over-the-air" and cable affiliates, they will also be available without blackout restrictions on ESPN3 and all WatchESPN platforms. The partnership, made possible through a sublicense agreement with ESPN, allows for a minimum of eight football games and a minimum of 10 basketball games from the Sun Belt to be aired through ASN. The sublicense agreement reached by ESPN and ASN allows the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned network to produce and distribute Sun Belt Conference games via Sinclair affiliate television stations and other over the air and cable stations nationwide. Sinclair Broadcast Group is the largest owner of television stations in the United States, currently owning or operating 173 television stations in 81 markets nationwide and having affiliations with all the major networks. The announcement also comes with the notice that the following Sun Belt football games will be part of the Sun Belt-ASN venture.
Friday, September 2
Ball State at Georgia State - 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 3
Boise State at UL Lafayette - 11 a.m.
Saturday, September 10
Old Dominion at Appalachian State - 2:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern at South Alabama - 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 17
South Alabama at UL Lafayette - 6 p.m.
All times are central and subject to change.
Additional games will be released at later dates.
Sun Belt Institutions Come to Aid of Louisiana Flood Victims
Recent heavy rain and ongoing floods of historic proportions claimed at least 13 lives and damaged more than 40,000 homes in south Louisiana this summer. The University of South Alabama athletics department, under the direction of its athletic director Joel Erdmann sent an 18-wheeler and four large box trucks full of food, water, clothes, diapers and other supplies. Half of them were dropped off in Hammond, where some in that area are also still recovering from March floods along the Northshore, and the other half was sent on to Lafayette. South Alabama coaches, graduate assistants, athletic department administrators and staff along with student-athletes volunteered to load the trucks and gather support for the effort. The Ragin' Cajuns themselves lent a helping hand in their community as well. In an effort to get the community back to normal, the Cajuns head football coach, Mark Hudspeth and his Ragin' Cajun football family extended a helping hand. On a day most would be prepping for the upcoming season, the Ragin' Cajuns put-off their normal practice schedule, loaded up in buses, and went to work in Youngsville to help those in need. The Coastal Carolina University Department of Athletics also recently announced it is conducting a Flood Relief Drive until Sept. 10 to assist those affected by the recent flooding in the Louisiana. "The Department of Athletics is eager to assist those in need by collecting and delivering essential supplies to the state of Louisiana, where many have had their lives upended by the devastating floods," said CCU Senior Woman Administrator Cari Rosiek. "We invite the community to support our efforts by donating goods that are in need, with an emphasis on cleaning supplies. We empathize with those affected by the tragic floods and look forward to partnering with our Sun Belt Conference brethren University of Louisiana at Lafayette in providing relief."
Team News and Notes
Appalachian State Mountaineers
App State led No. 9 Tennessee for 40 minutes and never trailed in regulation in their 20-13 overtime loss to Tennessee on Thursday night. UT recovered a fumble in the end zone on its opening possession of overtime to keep App from pulling the upset. QB Taylor Lamb had a 5-yard TD run and found Marcus Cox for a 33-yard touchdown for App State's two TDs.
App State's 319 total yards allowed were the fewest allowed by the eight Sun Belt teams who faced an FBS in the opening week. App held No. 9 Tennessee to 294 yards in regulation and one touchdown their 20-13 overtime loss.
Marcus Cox owns the App State school record for 100-yard game in a career. He now has 23 career 100-yard games, passing John Settle ('83-'86). He also had a 33-yard TD reception. He has 4,201 career rushing yards, 160 shy of Armanti Edwards on App's all-time rushing list.
Three App State freshmen started against Tennessee. Cornerback Clifton Duck, offensive tackle Victor Johnson, and placekicker Michael Rubino all started for the Mountaineers in their debut. Duck led the way with a pair of pass break ups in his first college game.
App State faces Old Dominion (1-0) in their home opener on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET. The teams met last season in Norfolk, Va. App State rolled 49-0 behind four Taylor Lamb TD passes and a back-breaking 77-yard fumble return for a TD by Devan Stringer to push it to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. Old Dominion topped Hampton on Sunday, 54-21. The game was moved back a day to allow Tropical Storm Hermine pass through.
App State will wear its road whites at home on Saturday against Old Dominion in a "Whiteout" at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Arkansas State Red Wolves
A-State will play the first of back-to-back road games this week, traveling to Auburn to face an SEC opponent for the fourth consecutive season . . . The Red Wolves and Tigers have played three times since first meeting in 2006, and Saturday's game will mark the third game this decade (2010, 2013, 2016) between the two programs . . . Arkansas State will enter the game looking for its first victory over an SEC opponent and their second win over a high resource (Power 5) conference team since moving to FBS status in 1992 (defeated Texas A&M in 2008 while the Aggies were a member of the Big 12 Conference) . . . Four players, including three on offense and one on defense, made their first career start at A-State in the Toledo game . . . Sophomore running back Warren Wand has rushed for at least 50 yards in his last eight games played, including 77 last week against Toledo . . . Including a fumble recovery against Toledo, A-State has posted at least one turnover gained in 24 of 27 games under defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen . . . Six A-State players set new career highs for tackles in a game during the Toledo contest . . . Senior linebacker Xavier Woodson-Luster posted a team-best 14 tackles, which tied his career high and were the most by an A-State player since the 2014 season.
Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern and South Alabama have met just twice before with the Eagles winning 28-6 in 2014 in Mobile, Alabama, and 55-17 last season in Statesboro. The 2014 game was the first Sun Belt Conference contest in GS football history and was the first of eight league wins for the Eagles en route to a 2014 conference title and perfect league record.
GS has played 16 Sun Belt games as it enters its third season in the conference. The Eagles are 14-2 in conference games, although the 2014 win over ULM was vacated due to NCAA violations to make GS officially 13-2 in SBC games.
The Eagles are 8-8 all-time in games played in the state of Alabama, including 2-0 in Mobile and in Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Eagles beat South Alabama 28-6 in 2014 for the program's first-ever Sun Belt Conference victory and rolled past Bowling Green 58-27 in last year's GoDaddy Bowl, which was played in the stadium.
Georgia Southern is just 13-21 all-time in road openers and has lost its last four road openers. In fairness, the past two were against Power 5 teams (at West Virginia last year and a narrow 24-23 loss at NC State in 2014).
Tyson Summers is one of 29 new FBS coaches in 2016. Of those 29, 17 are in their first year as an FBS head coach. Just two of the 14 new "Group of 5" head coaches have previous head coaching experience, including former Georgia Southern head coach Willie Fritz, who is now at Tulane.
Summers is the third-youngest FBS head coach at 36 years old. Only Mike Norvell (34; Memphis) and PJ Fleck (35; Western Michigan) are younger.
Georgia State Panthers
Senior Robert Davis enters his senior season as the top returning receiver in the Sun Belt. He ranks sixth among all active FBS players in career receiving yards (2,484) and 11th in receptions (163).
Davis has caught at least one pass in every Georgia State game the last four seasons (38 straight).
Davis ranks second in GSU history in career receiving yards and receptions. He trails current Kansas City Chief by 12 receptions and 706 yards.
Sophomore cornerback Jerome Smith grabbed two interceptions and returned one for a 48-yard touchdown in the season opener vs. Ball State. That is the second-longest interception return and just the second "pick-six" in Georgia State history.
A pair of quarterbacks made their debuts for Georgia State in the season opener. Graduate transfer Conner Manning was 21-for-32 for 163 yards and one touchdown, while redshirt freshman Aaron Winchester was 4-for-8 for 32 yards while rushing eight times for 59 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown run.
GSU is also breaking in new specialists after the graduation of All-Sun Belt punter-placekicker Wil Lutz. Rogier ten Lohuis of the Netherlands, a former all-state soccer player at Atlanta International School, kicked for the first time ever in a competitive football game with three extra points and three kickoffs. Redshirt freshman Brandon Wright averaged 36.9 yards on seven punts.
Georgia State plays the first of three straight road games with a 2 p.m. ET game at Air Force Saturday at Falcon Stadium. The Panthers then play at Wisconsin (Sept. 17) and at Appalachian State (oct. 1) before finally returning home Oct. 8 vs. Texas State.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho used a strong running game and a stout defense to open the season with a 20-17 victory over Montana State last Thursday night.
It was a night of bests for three Vandals - senior safety Robert Siavii, junior running back Aaron Duckworth and sophomore linebacker Tony Lashley.
Siavii had a career-best three passes deflected and picked up his fifth career interception, which gave him back-to-back games with a pick after he closed the 2015 season with one against Texas State. His passes defensed in the opener ties him for first in the nation with three other players.
As for Duckworth, he had a career day after serving as understudy to current Arizona Cardinal Elijhaa Penny in 2015. Duckworth covered a career-best 108 yards, which includes a career-long 43-yarder.
Lashley, who missed 2015 with injury, came back strong with career-highs in total tackles (nine), solo tackles (six), assists (three) and tackles for loss (three).
The now veteran offensive line proved its growth with just one sack and two tackles for loss during the game. The group is tied for first nationally with 28 others in allowing just one sack and is second nationally and first in the Sun Belt in tackles for loss allowed with just two.
The Vandals are on the road for the three weeks - at Washington, at Washington State and at UNLV, before returning to the Kibbie Dome for Homecoming against Troy on Oct. 1.
UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will continue their season-opening homestand on Saturday (Sept. 10) when they face in-state rival McNeese State in a 6 p.m. contest at Cajun Field. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
UL Lafayette opened the season with a 45-10 loss to Boise State on Saturday as the Ragin' Cajuns were held to 267 yards of total offense. Graduate transfer Anthony Jennings made his debut for the Ragin' Cajuns, finishing 21-for-33 for 168 yards and touchdown.
Elijah McGuire led UL Lafayette with 46 yards rushing while catching a team-high six passes. The game marked the debut for 17 players, seeing their first action in a Ragin' Cajuns uniform with redshirt freshman Ja'Marcus Bradley catching three passes, redshirt freshman Alonzo Brown recording five tackles and true freshman Damar'ren Mitchell adding four stops.
The Ragin' Cajuns scored on a 44-yard field goal by Stevie Artigue at the end of the first half and added a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Jennings found Keenan Barnes on an 11-yard scoring pass.
UL Lafayette and McNeese State will meet for the 38th time on the gridiron - and the first time since 2007. The schools were former rivals in both the Gulf States Conference and Southland Conference and played on an annual basis from 1951-86.
UL Monroe Warhawks
The Warhawks opened 2016 with a 38-21 victory over Southern at home inside JPS Field at Malone Stadium on September 3...ULM has now won its last two season openers at home (vs. Southern and August 2014 against Wake Forest)... The crowd of 24,718 fans that took in Saturday night's opener against Southern at JPS Field at Malone Stadium became the sixth-largest attendance since the stadium's opening in 1978.
In the opener against Southern, sophomore quarterback Garrett Smith became the first Warhawk to rush for 150 yards since Jyruss Edwards racked up 191 yards against Middle Tennessee (Nov 12, 2011)...Smith also became the first ULM quarterback to tally 200 yards in the air since Pete Thomas' 307 yards passing at Georgia Southern (Nov. 29, 2014).
The Warhawks were the only FBS school in Louisiana to win on the opening weekend of the season, with LSU, Louisiana Tech, UL Lafayette and Tulane all losing during the first weekend.
Head Coach Matt Viator is now 7-3 in season openers all-time in addition to his 10-0 mark in home openers going back to his time at McNeese State.
Saturday's meeting will be the second all-time contest between ULM and Oklahoma. ULM opened the 2013 season in Norman, where Oklahoma held Warhawk Kolton Browning to 128 yards passing and the Sooners ran for over 300 yards in a 34-0 Oklahoma win.
This will mark the second consecutive season that ULM will travel to play in the state of Oklahoma, and third time in the last four years, after the Warhawks played at Tulsa last season (Oct. 10, 2015). Prior to the ULM-Oklahoma game in 2013, the Warhawks had not played in the state since the turn of the century. Saturday will mark just the sixth ULM game in the state of Oklahoma all-time (at Tulsa, 1977 & 2015; at Oklahoma State, 1997; at Oklahoma, 2013 &2016). ULM is no stranger to Big 12 teams, as the Warhawks have faced eight of the current 10 members of the Big 12 Conference... The only schools that ULM has not faced are Texas Tech and West Virginia.
New Mexico State Aggies
The NM State football team is set for its second rivalry game in a row as it kicks off the home slate with Rio Grande rival New Mexico on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT in Aggie Memorial Stadium.
The Aggies are 0-1 on the season after falling to Battle of I-10 rival UTEP last Saturday in the season opener. After amassing just 48 passing yards and a field goal in the first half, Tyler Rogers and the NM State offense picked up the momentum for the second half. Rogers finished the game 17-of-41 for 206 yards. In addition, he collected 63 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on nine attempts. As a team, the Aggies scored three touchdowns in the second half.
New Mexico holds a 70-31-5 series lead after the Aggies fell 38-29 on Oct. 3, 2015 in Albuquerque. NM State last defeated the Lobos on Oct. 1, 2011 as they captured a 42-28 win in Albuquerque. During that meeting, Larry Rose III amassed a career-high 260 rushing yards and a personal best three touchdowns. The Aggies held a 29-14 lead early in the third quarter before ultimately falling in a heartbreaking loss.
South Alabama Jaguars
South Alabama earned its first-ever victory over a Southeastern Conference opponent with a 21-20, come-from-behind win at Mississippi State Saturday, overcoming a 17-0 deficit at the half ... Dallas Davis - making his first career start - completed 24-of-34 passes for 285 yards and finished with 308 yards of total offense to become the first Jaguar to surpass 300 yards in the category since Brandon Bridge accomplished the feat at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in 2014 ... That included touchdown throws of 20 yards to Josh Magee and four to Gerald Everett, with the latter coming with just 57 seconds remaining in the contest to help the Jags win a game with less than a minute to go in regulation for the first time in program history. ... Josh Magee led all players with 113 yards on a career-best seven receptions in the win over the Bulldogs, which included four gains of 20 or more yards - that's nearly half the amount 20-plus-yard catches the senior had in 12 games last fall. It was the first time a Jag wideout had 100 or more yards since Magee posted 118 in a wain at Troy on Oct. 3 a year ago. ... Senior TE Gerald Everett matched a career high with a game-best eight catches against MSU, including a four-yard touchdown reception - his first since a Nov. 12 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette last season - with 57 seconds left in the contest to give the Jaguars the win. He finished the day with 95 yards, surpassing both his reception (six) and yardage (77) in the last three games last season combined. ... Buchanan recorded a career-high 12 total tackles in the Jaguars' win at MSU, with 10 of those of the solo variety and one for a loss of four yards; he also broke up a pass to force a three-and-out on the Bulldogs' second possession of the day. The senior was credited with eight stops in the second half to help South overcome a 17-0 deficit as his efforts helped USA limit MSU to 177 yards and just three points after the break. Buchanan's performance - just the second of his career with 10-plus stops - helped him move into fourth on the program's all-time record list as he now has 188 tackles in three-plus seasons. ... Kalen Jackson's nine tackles were the most the senior has recorded since finishing with a career-best 12 against Arkansas State on Oct. 13 last fall, with the total include one stop behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, the defensive back has been credited with at least one tackle for loss in eight of the Jaguars' last nine outings dating back to the win over Troy. ... Starting defensive ends Randy Allen and Chason Milner came into the season opener with a total of four tackles between them, but each collected five stops in the win over the Bulldogs. None of those were bigger than Allen's sack of Damian Williams on third-and-10 from the USA-21 with just over six minutes left in the contest, forcing a 46-yard field goal that fell short to keep USA within six points and set up the game-winning drive.
Texas State Bobcats
A new era officially began when the Texas State won its season opener at Ohio as Everett Withers coached his first game as Texas State's head coach. Withers is in his fourth season as a head coach and owns a 26-13 record after the game at Ohio. The victory at Ohio also gives him a 3-1 record in season openers.
Texas State is in its 109th season as a football program after fielding its first team in 1904. The Bobcats enter their game at Arkansas on September 17 with an all-time record of 507-430-26.
The victory at Ohio also gives the Bobcats a 60-33-2 record in season-openers dating back to the 1919 season.
Texas State is in its fifth season as a NCAA Division I FBS school and fourth year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2016. The Bobcats also played in the WAC during the 2012 campaign.
The 2016 season will be the 109th year for the Texas State football program that fielded its first team in 1904. The Bobcats, who didn't field teams in 1943-45 because of World War II, enter 2016 with an all-time record of 506-430-26. The Bobcats have won two NCAA Division II national championships and 13 conference championships during their history.
Texas State posted a 56-54 victory in triple overtime at Ohio. It was the first overtime game for the Bobcats since they defeated Tulsa 37-34 in triple overtime on September 27, 2014. The Texas State also improved to 2-0 in triple overtime games and owns a 5-7 overall record in overtime games.
Texas State had 19 players make their Bobcat debuts at Ohio. That included five first-time starters on defense, four first-time starters on defense, a new freshman kicker and new holder on special teams.
Troy Trojans
Neal Brown has not been shutout in 101 games as a head coach or offensive coordinator ... The Trojans have won 10 straight home openers that double as season openers. Troy hasn't lost such a game since 1979 ... Saturday's point total was the most in a season opener since the team scored 61 against Alcorn State to start the 1996 campaign ... Jordan Chunn scored on the first play of the game; a 48-yard run. It was the first time Troy scored on its first play of the season since Nov. 6, 2010 against North Texas ... The carry by Chunn was the longest of his career. His previous long was 47 yards against Texas State on Nov. 29, 2013 ... Freshman quarterback Sawyer Smith made his Troy debut on the Trojans first drive of the second quarter. His first pass went for a 47-yard touchdown ... Smith became the first quarterback in Troy's Division I Era to throw a TD pass in his first career attempt ... Smith's touchdown pass connected with Hiram Velez, it was his first career catch and touchdown reception ... Chunn turned in his second career 100-yard rushing performance; his first was Nov. 15, 2014 at Idaho ... Eight different Trojans scored touchdowns in the game ... Troy eclipsed the 500-yard total offense plateau for the first time since Nov. 15 2014 at Idaho when the team racked up 531 yards ... The Trojans 706 yards of total offense was the most since Nov. 3, 2012 at Tennessee ... Troy's 383 rushing yards was the most under head coach Neal Brown ... Brandon Silvers improved his career touchdown-to-interception ration to 33-10 ... The Trojans forced a turnover on downs on Austin Peay's first drive of the game ... Justin Lucas forced his first career fumble in the first quarter ... Kam Melton recorded his first career interception at the Troy 3-yard line in the second quarter ... Troy has 14 turnovers spanning over the last five games ... Safety Kris Weatherspoon led the team in tackles with seven, 1.5 of those for a loss in his first game as a Trojan ... Newcomer Junior Gnonkonde was second on the team with six tackles ... Rashad Dillard and Seth Calloway both notched 1.5 tackles for loss ... Zo Bridges notched his first career sack in his first career game ... Nine different players had a tackle for loss ... Ryan Kay is perfect on extra points (34-for-34) in his career after making four Saturday ... Jabir Frye had 78 kickoff return yards on three attempts in his first game at Troy ... Kay had a 44.5 punting average on two punts for the game ... Bratcher Underwood converted his first career extra point in the third quarter ... Cedarius Rookard raced for a 28-yard punt return in the third quarter.