NEW ORLEANS — Troy clinched the Sun Belt West Division—and a berth into the 2025 Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola—for the third time in four seasons, earning a date with nationally-ranked Sun Belt East Division champion James Madison at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 5, on ESPN.
Four other teams—Georgia Southern, Arkansas State, Texas State and Louisiana—clinched bowl eligibility to run the total of Sun Belt bowl-eligible teams to nine. For the fourth-straight year, the Sun Belt will lead the non-autonomy conferences in Bowl Season representation.
Senior wide receiver Camden Brown caught nine passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns to propel Georgia Southern to a 24-19 victory over Marshall to clinch bowl eligibility. With the win, the Eagles are bowl eligible for a fourth-straight season for the first time in program history. With his performance, Brown broke the Georgia Southern single-season program record for receiving yards and became the first-ever Eagle to surpass the 1,000-yard plateau.
Redshirt junior quarterback JC French IV completed 24-of-37 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns—both to Brown. Senior wideout Marcus Sanders Jr. caught a third touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Weston Bryan, as part of an eight-catch, 135-yard outing. An eight-tackle day from redshirt senior defensive back Justin Meyers and an interception by junior defensive back Ayden Jackson highlighted the Georgia Southern defensive effort.
Marshall junior wide receiver Adrian Norton carded a game-high 160 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight receptions in defeat, while freshman kicker Lorcan Quinn set a new Thundering Herd single-season program record with two field goals to run his season-long total to 21.
After falling behind 10-0, Old Dominion scored 27 unanswered points to earn a 27-10 victory over Georgia State and conclude its regular season on a five-game winning streak. With the win, the Monarchs completed an unbeaten home slate for the first time since 2016 and just the third time in program history.
Redshirt sophomore running back Devin Roche carded his first career multi-touchdown game and second career 100-yard rushing performance, amassing 137 yards and two touchdowns in a career-high 21 carries. With a 108-yard rushing effort, redshirt sophomore quarterback Colton Joseph went over the 1,000-yard mark for the year, becoming the first-ever Monarch quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. A double-digit tackle day from redshirt sophomore defensive back Zion Frink led the Old Dominion defense.
Senior wideout Ted Hurst caught seven passes for 76 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for Georgia State.
Taking possession with 1:34 remaining, junior quarterback Jaylen Raynor led Arkansas State on a seven-play, 75-yard go-ahead touchdown drive to claim a 30-29 win over App State and clinch bowl eligibility for a third-straight season. Raynor completed 32-of-47 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chauncy Cobb and redshirt senior wide receiver Corey Rucker served as Raynor’s top targets. Cobb hauled in five passes for a game-high 117 yards, while Rucker caught 10 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns to tie Omar Bayless for the program’s career touchdown high-water mark (26). Junior linebacker Aaron Alexander registered a career-high 16 tackles, the most for a Red Wolves player since 2019.
Freshman kicker Dominic De Freitas converted five field goals for the Mountaineers, but saw a 45-yard game-winning attempt sail wide ride as time expired. Freshman running back Jaquari Lewis rushed for 108 yards on 22 carries and redshirt senior defensive lineman Kevin Abrams-Verwayne recorded 2.5 sacks amongst a career-best 10 tackles.
Texas State outscored South Alabama 35-7 through three quarters en route to a 49-26 win to clinch bowl eligibility for a third-straight season.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brad Jackson accounted for five touchdowns—three rushing and two passing—in the victory. Jackson completed 20-of-26 passes for 280 yards and rushed for a team-high 113 yards on 13 attempts. With eight catches for 154 yards, junior wideout Chris Dawn Jr. led the Bobcats receiving corps, while redshirt senior running back Lincoln Pare added a 132-yard performance (92 rushing, 40 receiving, 1 touchdown). Redshirt junior return man Jaylen Jenkins posted a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown to produce the final Bobcat tally.
With an 84-yard performance, senior running back Kentrel Bullock set the South Alabama single-season rushing record with 1,085 yards on the year.
Louisiana delivered a 30-27 overtime victory over in-state rival ULM to clinch bowl eligibility for a Sun Belt-leading eighth-straight season.
Redshirt freshman return man Ja’Corian Norris returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to set the table for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who also got an explosive 76-yard touchdown run from redshirt sophomore running back Bill Davis as part of a day in which he was the team’s leading rusher (126 yards) and receiver (33 yards). Defensively, senior Jaden Duggar carded 16 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. In overtime, freshman defensive back Brent Gordon Jr. came down with an interception in the end zone to hold the Warhawks scoreless and the Ragin’ Cajuns answered with a game-winning 19-yard Tony Sterner field goal.
ULM broke 500 yards of total offense for the first time since 2021, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Aidan Armenta throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns, including two to fellow redshirt sophomore wide receiver Nic Trujillo (133 yards, 2 touchdowns). Senior running back Zach Palmer-Smith led the ground assault with 114 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts in the losing effort.
Troy clinched the West Division title and its third berth to the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola over the past four seasons with a 28-18 victory over Southern Miss.
Redshirt junior quarterback Goose Crowder threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns, with senior wide receiver RaRa Thomas catching five balls for 118 yards and two scores. Thomas also rushed for 39 yards, trailing only junior running back Tae Meadows (94 yards, 1 touchdown) among Trojans. Junior Donnie Smith was a disruptive force on defense with two tackles for loss—both sacks.
Southern Miss redshirt senior quarterback Braylon Braxton threw for 209 yards, with four connections with redshirt senior wide receiver Carl Chester for 76 yards and a touchdown in defeat.
No. 20/21 James Madison capped an unblemished run through the Sun Belt regular season with a 59-10 rout of Coastal Carolina for its 10th-straight win. The 2025 Dukes are just the third team to complete an undefeated Sun Belt campaign during the championship game era, joining Coastal Carolina in 2020 and Louisiana in 2021. The East Division champions will host the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola on Friday, Dec. 5.
Redshirt junior quarterback Alonza Barnett III accounted for four touchdowns, completing 15-of-21 passes for 207 yards and three scores and rushing for 31 yards and the fourth touchdown. Redshirt senior running back Jobi Malary led the Dukes with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 73-yard score. Redshirt junior running back Wayne Knight added 85 rushing yards to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark on the season. James Madison’s defense held Coastal Carolina to -5 rushing yards and 170 yards of total offense, with junior linebacker Drew Spinogatti carding three tackles for loss and a sack and sophomore defensive back KJ Flowe adding a pick six.
Coastal Carolina redshirt sophomore quarterback Tad Hudson threw for 148 yards and the lone Chanticleer touchdown in defeat.
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SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 14 RESULTS
Georgia Southern def. Marshall, 24-19
Old Dominion def. Georgia State, 27-10
Arkansas State def. App State, 30-29
Texas State def. South Alabama, 49-26
Louisiana def. ULM, 30-27 in OT
Troy def. Southern Miss, 28-18
No. 20/21 James Madison def. Coastal Carolina, 59-10