2018 Sun Belt Football News and Notes:
Week 11 Release (PDF) | Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship Info
AROUND #SUNBELTFB
Sun Belt Breaks Regular Season Non-Conference Win Total
After a win by Texas State in the Sun Belt’s final non-conference game of the 2018 regular season, the Sun Belt total for non-conference wins this season now sits at 21. That total is good for the most regular season non-conference wins in league history, breaking the record of 19 that was set in 2013. Including the postseason, the Sun Belt’s record for non-conference wins in a season is 22, which was set in 2016. The conference has a minimum total of five remaining non-conference games this season when factoring in postseason bowl opportunities. Also of note, the Sun Belt Conference has the second highest non-conference win percentage amongst all Group of Five Conferences with a .538 mark (1. American - .543, 2. Sun Belt - .538, 3. Mountain West - .531, 4. Conference USA - .412, 5. Mid-American - .383).
Troy, ULM take Divisional Leads
After being deadlocked in ties in both Sun Belt divisions, Troy now sits alone atop the East Division standings at 5-0 while ULM took the lead in the West Division at 3-2. ULM took sole possession of first in stylish fashion by defeating previously tied East Division leader Georgia Southern this past Saturday by a score of 44-25. Troy, meanwhile, defeated former West Division co-leader Louisiana by a score of 26-16. The Trojans can take a big step forward to claiming the East Division title when they play at Georgia Southern on Saturday. A win would keep the Trojans in first place and would also put a second defeat in Georgia Southern’s loss column. Appalachian State remains firmly in the East Division mix with only one loss. Troy visits Appalachian State the last weekend of the season.
Three Sun Belt Teams Bowl Eligible, Others in Striking Distance
Georgia Southern (7-2) became the first Sun Belt team this season to hit the mark to be eligible for a postseason bowl game this year when they earned their sixth win on Oct. 20 against New Mexico State. Troy (7-2) followed up days later when it tallied its sixth win on Oct. 23. Appalachian State (6-2) hit their mark this past weekend with a 23-7 win versus Coastal Carolina. Coastal (5-4) is among three teams that sit one game away from reaching bowl eligibility, joining Arkansas State (5-4) and ULM (5-4). With Coastal playing Arkansas State this upcoming Saturday, one of those teams will reach six wins and give the Sun Belt its fourth bowl team. ULM, meanwhile, faces West Division opponent South Alabama (2-7) in its quest to reach bowl eligibility.
Offensive Player of the Week
Caleb Evans, ULM (Jr, QB, Mansfield, Texas)
Junior quarterback Caleb Evans accounted for 439 yards total offense and four touchdowns to lead ULM to a 44-25 victory over Georgia Southern. Evans became the first opposing quarterback to produce 400-plus yards total offense against the Georgia Southern defense since the 2014 campaign. He recorded his second 300-yard passing game of the season and seventh of his career, completing 13-of-22 throws for 337 yards, and two touchdowns. Evans hooked up with Marcus Green for scoring plays of 80 and 69 yards in the first half. He also posted his second 100-yard rushing game of the season and third of his career, with 15 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Evans scored on runs of 5 and 2 yards. He led ULM to touchdowns on four of its first five possessions as the Warhawks jumped out to a 27-3 lead over the Eagles, who dropped their first league game of the season.
Defensive Player of the Week
Jordan Fehr, Appalachian State (Jr, LB, Charlotte, N.C.)
Jordan Fehr led a dominant defensive effort with a team-high eight tackles and a career-high three sacks, while also forcing a safety, in a 23-7 road win at Coastal Carolina. He was the lead tackler on the safety that gave App State a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter. He just missed a fourth sack with a QB hurry on the play right after his third sack. The Mountaineers' defense did not allow a point to the Coastal offense and held the Chanticleers to 178 total yards, 72 rushing yards and 11 first downs.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Tyler Sumpter, Troy (So, K/P, Hoover, Ala.)
Tyler Sumpter tied a school record with four field goals in Troy's win over Louisiana last Saturday. Sumpter made a pair of 40-plus yard kicks including a 49-yard attempt and was also perfect on a pair of extra points. Sumpter has made eighth straight field goals and is 11-of-14 on the season.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, November 10
* Troy at Georgia Southern, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
* Appalachian State at Texas State, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Georgia State at Louisiana, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
* ULM at South Alabama, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
* Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, November 17
* Georgia State at Appalachian State, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
* ULM at Arkansas State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
* Texas State at Troy, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
* South Alabama at Louisiana, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
All Times are Central and Subject to Change
* - Sun Belt Conference contest
RECENT RESULTS
Saturday, November 3
* Texas State 40, Georgia State 31 (ESPN+)
* Arkansas State 38, South Alabama 14 (ESPN+)
* ULM 44, Georgia Southern 25 (ESPN3)
* Troy 26, Louisiana 16 (ESPN+)
* Appalachian State 23, Coastal Carolina 7 (ESPN+)
Saturday, October 27
* Coastal Carolina 37, Georgia State 34 (ESPN+)
* Louisiana 47, Arkansas State 43 (ESPN+)
Texas State 27, New Mexico State 20 (ESPN3)
* - Sun Belt Conference contest
#SUNBELTFB TEAM NEWS AND NOTES
Appalachian State
Overall vs. Texas State: Fourth Meeting – App. State Leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 2017 (W, 20-13) – San Marcos, Texas
Bowl eligible for the fourth straight year, App State is the only FBS program with a bowl win in each of its first three seasons after the complete transition.
App State will be playing at Texas State for the second straight year, and last year’s meeting in San Marcos was the Mountaineers’ first-ever game in the state of Texas.
At Coastal Carolina, the Mountaineers allowed single-digit points for the fifth time this season and didn’t give up an offensive touchdown for the second time in three Sun Belt road games. Arkansas State kicked three field goals in a 35-9 loss to App State.
Inside linebacker Jordan Fehr was the initial tackler on a safety that gave App State a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter at Coastal Carolina, and he also had a career-high 3.0 sacks. He just missed a fourth sack with a quarterback hurry on the play right after his third sack, and the safety was App State’s first since Fehr produced one against Savannah State last season.
Jacob Huesman became the first App State quarterback to lead the Mountaineers to a win in his first career start since Jamal Jackson completed his first 15 passes in a 49-42 victory at The Citadel in 2011.
At Coastal Carolina, App State had a pair of 100-yard rushers for the second time this season, as Darrynton Evans rushed for 159 yards and Marcus Williams Jr. had 103.
Arkansas State
Overall vs. Coastal Carolina: Second Meeting – Arkansas State Leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 2017 (W, 51-17) – Jonesboro, Ark.
With its 38-14 victory over South Alabama, Arkansas State moved its record above .500 (5-4) through nine games for the eighth consecutive season.
The Red Wolves have won two of their last three Sun Belt Conference games and stand tied for second place in the West Division, one game behind leader ULM.
Last week’s home victory over the Jaguars secured A-State a winning record at Centennial Bank Stadium for the 14th straight year.
Arkansas State has won 22 of its last 27 games played in the month of November.
Blake Anderson took over fifth place at Arkansas State for the most wins ever by a head coach at the school.
Although the Red Wolves have yet to win a Sun Belt Conference road game this season, they have still claimed a victory in 23 of its last 30 road outings against league opponents.
A-State and Coastal Carolina met for the first time ever last season when the Red Wolves claimed a 51-17 win in Jonesboro.
Coastal Carolina
Overall vs. Arkansas State: Second Meeting – Arkansas State Leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 2017 (L, 17-51) – Jonesboro, Ark.
The Chants returned home for only the third time this season in a 23-7 loss to Appalachian State last Saturday on Homecoming weekend. CCU will play each of its next two games at home in Brooks Stadium.
CCU will have to wait one more week to try to get win number six on the season and become bowl eligible in its first year of eligibility. The Chants enter play this week at 5-4 and 2-3 in Sun Belt play.
Last week, CCU’s defense had a number of career performances, as linebackers Teddy Gallagher and Michael Makins each had a career-high 14 tackles, while defensive end Tarron Jackson added a career-high nine stops in the game.
Sophomore Derambez Drinkard had two interceptions in the game versus the Mountaineers, including returning one for a touchdown, the first defensive touchdown of the season for the Chants.
Jeffrey Gunter added 2.0 tackles for loss last week to give him 13.5 on the season, a Sun Belt season high, and tied for the second-most in a single season in Chant history. He is just 2.5 TFL away from tying the single-season Chanticleer record with 16.0 tackles for loss set back in 2003.
Despite season lows in yards and points last week, the CCU offense still ranks third in the Sun Belt in rushing offense (231.7 yards per game) and second in both first downs (197) and third down conversion percentage (42.9 percent).
Georgia Southern
Overall vs. Troy: 18th Meeting – Troy Leads, 11-6
Last Meeting: Oct. 28, 2017 (L, 16-38) – Troy, Ala.
Georgia Southern and Troy have met 17 times on the gridiron with the Trojans holding an 11-6 lead in the series that dates back to 1934, although that number is a little misleading.
Since Georgia Southern re-started its football program for the 1982 season, the Eagles are 6-3 against Troy, winning four of the past five. The two teams played every year from 1934-1941 with the Trojans winning all eight contests.
Outside linebackers coach Jeremy Rowell spent 15 seasons at Troy, including the final six as the defensive coordinator. Rowell also led Troy to a 19-3 regular season record as a starting quarterback in 1994 and 1995.
From 2006-2010, the Trojans won the Sun Belt Conference title outright or shared the title each of those five seasons.
GS will recognize 16 seniors before Saturday’s final scheduled home game.
The Eagles have won six straight games at home dating back to last year’s Senior Day win over South Alabama and will be looking for their 13th undefeated home season at Paulson Stadium, the first since 2014.
Georgia State
Overall vs. Louisiana: Fourth Meeting – Louisiana Leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 7, 2015 (L, 21-23) – Lafayette, La.
Junior receiver Penny Hart ranks fourth in Sun Belt history with 2,883 yards receiving and seventh with 197 receptions.
With Hart at No. 4, Georgia State has two of the top four all-time receivers in Sun Belt history. Former Panther Robert Davis (2013-16) ranks No. 2 with 3,391 receiving yards.
Quarterback Dan Ellington is third in the Sun Belt in passing (201.9 ypg) and total offense (254.2 ypg) while accounting for 14 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He is completing 60.5 percent with 1,817 yards passing and 471 net rushing yards, leading the team in both categories.
Hart is GSU’s leading receiver with 43 receptions for 502 yards and two touchdowns, along with 106.4 all-purpose yards per game.
Among all active FBS receivers, Hart is second in career receiving yards per game (80.1), fourth in career receiving yards (2,883) and receptions per game (5.47) and seventh in receptions (197), all in just 36 games.
Junior Tra Barnett followed his career-high 161 yards vs. Coastal Carolina with 85 yards and two touchdowns vs. Texas State. Over the last five games, Barnett has averaged 75.0 yards per game and 6.5 yards per carry while scoring seven touchdowns.
Louisiana
Overall vs. Georgia State: Fourth Meeting – Louisiana Leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 7, 2015 (W, 23-21) – Lafayette, La.
Louisiana dropped a close game at Troy, 26-16, on Nov. 3, losing its third conference game of the season.
A win against Georgia State would extend Louisiana’s winning streak at home to three games. That would be the best in-season winning streak at home since 2009 when Louisiana beat Southern (9/5), Kansas State (9/12) and North Texas (10/10).
Sophomore running back Trey Ragas ran for 106 yards on 18 attempts, scoring two second half touchdowns. The 100-yard game was the fifth 100-yard game of the season for Ragas and it places him one 100-yard game away from tying the school record of six 100-yard games in a season.
Louisiana went five-for-15 on third downs at Troy, despite those numbers Louisiana has remained fourth in the FBS in third down conversions, converting at a clip of 50.4 percent on the season.
Junior wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley completed a 21-yard pass to Jarrod Jackson for the first completion of his career. It was the fourth pass attempt in Bradley’s career, and the longest completion by a Louisiana receiver since Al Riles completed a 48-yard pass at Georgia Southern on Nov. 10, 2016.
ULM
Overall vs. South Alabama: Fifth Meeting - Series Tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2017 (L, 23-33) – Mobile, Ala.
Fifth-year senior Marcus Green, who recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with two receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns in ULM’s 44-25 win over Georgia Southern, has been named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll for Week 10. Green caught a pair of slants from Caleb Evans and turned them into scoring plays of 80 and 69 yards.
Fifth-year senior Derrick Gore produced his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and fourth of his career, with 19 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown against Georgia Southern. He capped off an 11-play, 67-yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge midway through the third quarter to extend the Warhawks’ lead to 34-10. ULM is 3-0 this season when Gore eclipses the 100-yard rushing milestone.
Fifth-year senior linebacker David Griffith recorded a team-high eight tackles, including a 4-yard sack, to help lead ULM to a 44-25 victory over Georgia Southern. Griffith has produced at least one tackle for loss in each of the last four games and six of nine games overall. The ULM defense limited Georgia Southern to its second-lowest rushing total of the season (80 rushing yards at Clemson), as the Eagles managed 138 yards on 46 carries. The Eagles’ 216 yards total offense marked the fewest allowed by ULM under head coach Matt Viator. The Warhawks registered nine tackles for loss (38 yards) against Georgia Southern while matching their season high with five sacks (29 yards).
South Alabama
Overall vs. ULM: Fifth Meeting - Series Tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2017 (W, 33-23) – Mobile, Ala.
The Jaguars celebrate Homecoming weekend for the second year in a row against ULM Saturday afternoon. South has won each of its previous nine Homecoming contests, with the last four of those coming against Sun Belt Conference opponents. Four of USA’s five Homecoming contests in league play have been decided by one score, with last year’s victory over the Warhawks the first to be decided by a double-digit margin since the Jags defeated Kent State, 38-21, on Oct. 19, 2013.
The Jaguars have won five of their last six conference contests at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in November dating back to a 36-14 decision over ULM on Nov. 23, 2013.
The Jaguars fell in their opening game of the last month of the regular season, 38-14, at Arkansas State on Saturday, with the Red Wolves ending the contest with a 509-260 advantage in total offense.
Nigel Lawrence and Bull Barge recorded 17 and 13 tackles, respectively, for the Jags, marking the second time this season the duo has finished with a double-digit stop total in the same game having first accomplished the feat in South’s win over Texas State on Sept. 15. Lawrence had 10 stops at the half, finishing the day with a career-best total that’s not only the most recorded by a Jaguar this season but the most by a South defensive player since Blake Dees was credited with 20 tackles in a win over Idaho on Nov 7, 2015. In fact, Lawrence’s effort tied the third-highest figure recorded in a contest in school history. It was the first time in his career that Barge has been credited with 10-plus tackles in consecutive contests as he tied a career high in the category as well.
Texas State
Overall vs. Appalachian State: Fourth Meeting – App. State Leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 2017 (L, 13-20) – San Marcos, Texas
After recording its first road win and Sun Belt Conference victory, Texas State hosts Appalachian State in a conference game. The Bobcats enter the Appalachian State game with a 2-2 record in home games this season.
Texas State has a two-game winning streak after posting wins against New Mexico State and at Georgia State. The Bobcats averaged 420.5 yards total offense with 201.5 yards rushing and 219 yards passing during the past two contests.
Texas State recorded two fumble recoveries at Georgia State and has 11 recovered fumbles to rank third among NCAA leaders and lead the Sun Belt Conference.
The Bobcats rank 14th nationally and second in the Sun Belt Conference on kickoff return defense after surrendering an average of 17.33 yards per return.
The Bobcats rank No. 27 nationally and third in the Sun Belt Conference in turnover margin with an average margin of 0.44 per game.
Texas State ranks 42nd nationally and fourth among Sun Belt Conference leaders with six interceptions this season after intercepting two passes against New Mexico State.
Troy
Overall vs. Georgia Southern: 18th Meeting – Troy Leads, 11-6
Last Meeting: Oct. 28, 2017 (W, 38-16) – Troy, Ala.
Neal Brown has never been shutout as a head coach or as an offensive coordinator -- a span of 135 games … Troy scored seven points off three Louisiana turnovers in the game; the Trojans entered the game eighth nationally over the last three seasons averaging 7.21 points per game off turnovers … Troy led Louisiana 10-3 at the end of the first quarter; Troy improved to 25-3 all-time under Neal Brown when leading after one quarter … Troy has outscored its opponents 99-17 in the first quarter over the last eight games; Troy entered the game fourth nationally with an 8.5 scoring advantage in the first quarter this season … Troy led 23-3 at the half; Troy improved to 29-1 all-time under Neal Brown when trailing at the half … Troy led 26-16 at the end of the third quarter; Troy improved to 31-0 all-time under Neal Brown when leading after three quarters of play … After opening 3-8 under Neal Brown, Troy is now 29-8 in its last 37 games … Troy is now 19-4 in its last 23 game dating back to the 2016 Dollar General Bowl … The victory was Troy’s 11th straight Sun Belt Conference win which is the second-longest active conference winning streak in the country (UCF, 13). Troy has won 19 of its last 22 overall league games … Troy’s defense forced three Louisiana turnovers compared to one by the Trojans; Troy is now 24-1 under Neal Brown when winning the turnover battle … Damion Willis caught 10 passes for 213 yards for his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game; he is the first Trojan since Teddy Ruben in 2015 against Idaho and New Mexico State to do so in consecutive games. Willis’ 213 yards are the most by a Sun Belt player this season; he has two of the top six totals this season (both coming in the last two games) … Damion Willis’ 213 yards are the second most in school history trailing only Danny’s Grant’ 225 against McNeese State in 1968. His 213 receiving yards are the 11th most by a player in the country this season.