NEW ORLEANS – Following Week 7 action in Sun Belt Conference football, here is a snapshot of what people are saying across media outlets and social media:
Sun Belt
Appalachian State earned the Sun Belt Conference's highest-ever football rankings, coming in at 24th in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches powered by
USA Today Sports Top 25 polls for Oct. 13. - SunBeltSports.org (
Appalachian State Earns Highest-Ever Top 25 Rankings in Sun Belt Football History)
Appalachian State at Louisiana
Appalachian State (5-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) broke a tie with Florida for the third-longest active winning streak in the FBS with 11, trailing Ohio State (12) and Clemson (20). - Associated Press (App State Stays Perfect with 17-7 Win over Sun Belt Rival)
That became clear with a monstrous shove of a sack to open the game. The Mountaineers' defense, struggling to find consistency this season, finally buckled down and pieced together an all-around wrangling of a potent offense. - Winston-Salem Journal (Finally, App State Players Say, The Defense Gets Back to Its Dominant Ways)
App State coach Eliah Drinkwitz said on ESPN2, the network that broadcast the game, that Thomas gave him a hint that he was going to keep the ball on the bootleg and called the same play that Evans carried the previous play. “On that play right before, he came out and looked at me and gave me a wink to call it again because (he was) going to keep it,” Drinkwitz said. “When you have a great player like Zac, you trust him and I trust my players.” - Watauga Democrat (Mountaineers Grind Out 17-7 Win over Louisiana)
“The margin of error in this game was slim,” said Louisiana head coach Billy Napier. “I think the extra time gives you time to change some things, and we benefited from it defensively, but it goes vice versa. If it was a shootout tonight — which I think most people expected — then everyone would say the extra time benefited the offense. It was strength-on-strength tonight and a back-and-forth game between two good football teams.” - Lafayette Daily Advertiser (
Cajuns Defense 'Competed Their Tail Off' as High-Scoring Offenses Deadlock)
ULM at Texas State
This time was no different as reserve running back Austin “Bus” Vaughn’s touchdown with 1:46 remaining put ULM (3-3, 2-0 Sun Belt) up two scores and cornerback Corey Straughter’s interception preserved a 24-14 win over the Bobcats (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) on Thursday night at Jim Wacker Field. - Monroe News-Star (ULM Guts Out Road Win at Texas State)
The stage was set on national television and the Warhawks seized the win behind Josh Johnson’s 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns. - Underdog Dynasty (ULM Runs Away From Texas State, 24-14)
ULM beat Texas State 24-14 on Thursday night at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos. - Monroe News-Star (ULM Rides 'Bus' to Texas State Win)
Georgia State at Coastal Carolina
Dan Ellington threw for 122 yards and a touchdown and added 128 yards rushing while two other Georgia State runners gained more than 100 as the Panthers beat Coastal Carolina 31-21 in a Sun Belt Conference battle Saturday night in Conway, S.C. - Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia State Outruns Coastal Carolina)
The Panthers were able to get their second road victory over Coastal Carolina 31-21. The Chanticleers defense is ranked a Top 40 unit in America, but the Panthers showed otherwise ripping through Coastal Carolina's defense. - 11 Alive (Panthers Cruise Past Coastal Carolina in Second Road Victory)
The Panthers ran over, around and through the Chanticleer defense which came in as a Top 40 unit in America. They certainly won't be that after a 31-21 dub by GSU. - PantherTalk.com (Panthers Run Past Coastal Carolina 31-21)