Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Complete PDF)
2013 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2013 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2013 Sun Belt Conference Standings

Cajuns Keep on Rolling; ASU Makes For Fourth Bowl Eligible Team
UL-Lafayette continued its winning ways this past Saturday with a win over first-year Sun Belt member Georgia State. The win was the eighth straight win for the Cajuns and they remain unbeaten in Sun Belt play and sit alone in first place in the league standings. The Cajuns will take a week off before hosting UL-Monroe in the final game of the season at Cajun Field.

While the Cajuns 5-0 record is good for first place, they have not clinched the league championship yet because Arkansas State has won three straight and holds a 4-1 record in the league which is good for second place in the league standings.

Arkansas State’s win over Texas State not only keeps the Red Wolves in the hunt for the conference championship, but it also made them bowl eligible. In fact, four Sun Belt teams are now bowl eligible (UL-Lafayette, Arkansas State, Texas State and WKU). UL-Monroe and Troy both have five wins each and are on the brink of being bowl eligible. The record for bowl eligible Sun Belt teams in a single season is five – and that number was set just last year.

With teams still looking to get bowl eligible and a tight race atop the league standings the final weeks of the Sun Belt season will make for one of the most interesting stories in college football. Fortunately all three games this upcoming Saturday will be available for a home viewing audience.

Upcoming Schedule

November 23
* Western Kentucky at Texas State - 6 p.m. (Longhorn Network)
* UL-Monroe at South Alabama - 6 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)
* Georgia State at Arkansas State - 2 p.m. (ESPN3)

November 29
* Texas State at Troy - 1 p.m.

November 30
* South Alabama at Georgia State - 1 p.m.
* Arkansas State at Western Kentucky - 3 p.m.
* UL-Monroe at UL-Lafayette - 6 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)

December 7
* UL-Lafayette at South Alabama - TBA (RCN/ESPN3)

December 21
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - 8 p.m. (ESPN)

January 5
GoDaddy.com Bowl - 8 p.m. (ESPN)

All times Central (CT) and subject to change
* denotes Sun Belt Conference game

Recent Results

November 16
Ole Miss 51, Troy 21 - 11a.m. (ESPNU)
* UL-Lafayette 35, Georgia State 21 - 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
Navy 42, South Alabama 14 - 2:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
* Arkansas State 38, Texas State 21- 6:30 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)

November 9
Western Kentucky 21, Army 17 - 11 a.m. (CBS College Sports)
* Arkansas State 42, UL-Monroe 14 - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)

November 7
* UL-Lafayette 41, Troy 36 - 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

November 2
* Western Kentucky 44, Georgia State 28 - 12 p.m. (Sun Belt Network)
Texas State 37, Idaho 21 - 4 p.m.
UL-Lafayette 49, New Mexico State 35 - 4 p.m. (RCN/ESPN3)
* Arkansas State 17, South Alabama 16 - 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

October 31
* UL-Monroe 49, Troy 37 - 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week (as selected by media panel)

Offensive Player of the Week

Elijah McGuire (UL-Lafayette, Fr., RB)
Became the first player in school history to rush for and catch passes for more than 100 yards in the same game when he touched the ball 14 times for 232 yards (16.6 avg.) and two touchdowns in a 35-21 win over Georgia State. McGuire, a true-freshman who ranks second in the nation averaging 9.0 yards per carry, rushing 11 times for 107 yards and caught three passes for 125 yards and a pair of scores. He opened the scoring in the game when he took short pass on a jet sweep and out-ran the defense for an 80-yard touchdown. He caught a screen pass in the third quarter and used his speed to turn it into a 36-yard touchdown that broke a 21-21 tie and gave the Cajuns the lead for good. With UL-Lafayette playing ball possession in the fourth quarter, he burst free for a 39-yard run that put him over the 100-yard mark for the second time in his career. McGuire also become the second Louisiana running back, and first since 1950, to catch passes for more than 100 yards in a game.

Defensive Player of the Week

Trae Johnson (UL-Lafayette, Jr., LB)
After making just seven tackles all season, Johnson made an emergency start at linebacker and responded with a career high 12 tackles (10 solo) with two TFL (-4) in UL-Lafayette’s 35-21 win over Georgia State. With the Cajuns holding onto a 28-21 lead with 11:33 left in the game, Johnson made the biggest stop of the game when he tackled GSU back Kyler Neal one yard short of the first down on a fourth-and-3 from the Cajun’s 16. The Cajuns then drove down the field for the insurance touchdown and the Panthers never seriously challenged.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Brian Davis (Arkansas State, Sr., K)
Arkansas State senior kicker Brian Davis became the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time career scoring leader during the Red Wolves’ 38-21 victory over Texas State, finishing the game with eight points to push his career total to 303. Davis became the first Sun Belt Conference player to ever score 300 career points, passing Middle Tennessee’s Alan Gendreau (295 points, 2008-11) for the record. He was 5-for-5 on his extra point attempts and made his only field goal attempt, which covered 23 yards. A Lou Groza Award semifinalist, Davis improved to 11-of-11 on field goal attempts this season and has now made his last 13 consecutive attempts.

Around the Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Membership
The Sun Belt Conference will contest the 2013 football season with eight members – Arkansas State, Georgia State, UL-Lafayette, UL-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky University. UALR and UT Arlington compete as non-football members. Come the 2014 season, the Sun Belt will have four new members in the league as Appalachian State and Georgia Southern were added as all-sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State have been added as football playing members. Both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern bring with them highly successfully football programs and each team will begin the process of transitioning to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) immediately. The 2014 Sun Belt football season will mark the debut of both in the league schedule and standings. Additionally, both the Mountaineers and Eagles will be able to compete for the league championship in football for the 2014 season. Both teams will first be eligible to compete in a spot for a postseason bowl game come the 2015 season. Idaho and New Mexico State are familiar partners of the Sun Belt Conference, having been football members from the league’s inaugural year of football in 2001 through the 2004 season. Both members played an integral part of forming the Sun Belt Conference for football and now add strength to the league. Both teams will be immediately eligible to compete for the Sun Belt football championship and also for a spot in postseason bowl games.

Sun Belt vs. Non-Conference
The Sun Belt Conference has moved its non-conference win total to 18. The league had already established its second highest non-conference win total of all-time and has three regular season opportunities to catch last year’s record of 19 total non-conference wins.

Of note for the league’s non-conference win total is that the Sun Belt has fared well against its peer opponents in the non-AQ BCS ranks. The Sun Belt stands at a combined 6-1 against members of Conference-USA (3-1), the Mid-American Conference (2-0) and the Mountain West Conference (1-0).

The Sun Belt also has the best overall non-conference win percentage when comparing the four non-AQ conferences.

Georgia Southern Football Featured on NBC Nightly News
As Georgia Southern Football practice held its first full-contact practice August 5th, there were more than just Xs and Os discussed on the banks of “Beautiful Eagle Creek.” An initiative from Georgia Southern University President Brooks Keel after the National Institutes of Health awarded a grant to study concussions led to the installation of the Helmet Impact Telemetry System (HITS) technology to measure and record helmet impacts during practices and games. NBC Nightly News dispatched a broadcast crew to Statesboro to cover the story on the adoption of this technology as Georgia Southern is the only collegiate football program in the state of Georgia to use HITS. The feature aired Sunday, August 11th.

Troy’s Robinson Sets Elite Records in Win Over UAB
Troy senior quarterback Corey Robinson broke an NCAA record, three Sun Belt records and two Troy records in Troy’s dramatic 34-31 season opening victory over UAB. Robinson completed 30-of-32 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown; his 93.8 completion percentage broke Steve Sarkisian’s record of 91.2 percent set in 1995 for quarterbacks with at least 30 completions. Robinson broke the Sun Belt career passing yardage and completions records held previously by Ryan Aplin. Robinson tied Troy’s mark for consecutive completions with 20 and set the school mark for completion percentage in a game.

WKU Tops Kentucky For Second Consecutive Season
Keshawn Simpson ran for a pair of 3-yard touchdowns and Antonio Andrews added his own 3-yard score as Western Kentucky beat Kentucky 35-26 making coach Bobby Petrino a winner in his debut. The Hilltoppers also beat their in-state rival for a second straight year, though they didn’t need overtime like they did last year in this win over the Southeastern Conference program. They outgained Kentucky 487-419 in total offense and held the ball for 35 minutes.

NCAA Announces Tighter Targeting Rules to Take Effect
A new football rule going into effect this season requires that players who target and contact defenseless opponents above the shoulders will be ejected. The change increases the on-field penalty for targeting by adding the automatic ejection to the existing 15-yard penalty. The rule, passed by the Football Rules Committee in February and approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in March, addresses the committee’s concern about player safety by taking more measures to remove targeting, or above the shoulder hits on defenseless players, out of the game. The rule in football means that discipline for players flagged for violations will mirror the penalty for fighting. If the foul occurs in the first half of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game. If the foul occurs in the second half or overtime of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game and the first half of the next contest. In an effort to address concerns when one of these plays is erroneously called on the field, the ejection portion of the penalty will be reviewable through video replay. The replay official must have conclusive evidence that a player should not be ejected to overturn the call on the field. Additionally, a postgame conference review remains part of the rule, and conferences retain their ability to add to a sanction.

Robinson Named AT&T All-America Player of the Week
Troy University senior quarterback Corey Robinson was named the AT&T All-America Player of the Week following a nationwide fan vote after the first week of the season. Robinson broke numerous records in Troy’s 34-31 victory over UAB, including a 17-year old NCAA mark. Robinson completed 30-of-32 pass attempts for 319 yards and a touchdown as the Trojans won their 22nd home opener in 23 years under legendary head coach Larry Blakeney. His 93.8 completion percentage set Troy and Sun Belt Conference records and erased Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian’s name for the NCAA record book. Sarkisian, who played at BYU, held the NCAA’s record for completion percentage (minimum 30 completions) after he completed 31-of-34 passes (91.2 percent) against Fresno State in 1995.

WKU’s Andrews Named Semifinalist for Doak Walker Award
WKU senior running back Antonio Andrews was named a semifinalist for the 2013 Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s premier running back, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors announced recently. Andrews is one of ten semifinalists and on Monday, November 25, three finalists will be named.

WKU’s Andrews Selected as Week Four Paul Hornung Award Honoree
Western Kentucky running back Antonio Andrews, a Paul Hornung Award Finalist in 2012, had five scores and 291 all-purpose yards leading the Hilltoppers to a 58-17 victory over Morgan State and was slected as a Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll Selection exemplifying his versatility on the field. Andrews had 17 carries for 217 yards and five touchdowns, one kick return for 19 yards and four punt returns for 58 yards.

WKU’s Andrews Selected as Week Five Paul Hornung Award Honoree
Western Kentucky’s Antonio Andrews carried the ball 32 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers downed Navy 19-7. He finished with five catches for 35 yards; it was his 18th straight game in which he caught a pass. Andrews also returned one punt and two kickoffs in the game for a total of 252 all-purpose yards.

WKU’s Andrews Selected as Week Nine Paul Hornung Award Honoree
For the third time this season, Antonio Andrews was selected to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor Roll. Andrews finished the game against Troy with 292 all-purpose yards, the ninth most in a single-game by a player in the FBS. Andrews had 28 rushes for 144 yards and one touchdown, seven receptions for 125 yards, and one kick return for 23 yards in a 32-26 loss.

Franchione Wins 200th Career Game
Texas State’s game against Wyoming was memorable for many reasons. There was Tyler Jones’ first start, the defense having another outstanding performance, dominating victory by the Bobcats, or what looked to be the story of the night, the three hour rain delay. Through it all, a significant milestone was reached as head coach Dennis Franchione earned his 200th career victory with the win.

A-State’s Davis, Troy’s Scott named Semifinalists for NFF Campbell Trophy
Arkansas State senior kicker Brian Davis and Troy senior kicker/punter Will Scott have been announced as a National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete Awards candidates and semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes the top scholar-athlete in the nation. William V. Campbell Trophy.

Five Sun Belt Student-Athletes named to 2013 Ray Guy Award Candidate List
Five punters from Sun Belt Conference schools have been named to the 2013 Ray Guy Award Candidate List, announced the Augusta Sports Council on Friday. On the list are UL-Monroe junior Justin Manton, Texas State senior Zach Robinson, Texas State junior Will Johnson, Troy senior Will Scott and WKU redshirt senior Hendrix Brakefield.

Bowl Game Winning Percentage (Last Five Years)
Over the last five years the Sun Belt Conference ranks sixth out of the 11 FBS conferences in postseason bowl game winning percentage. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference ranks ahead of noted “BCS AQ” leagues – the ACC, Pac-12 and the Big Ten.

UL-Monroe’s Newsome Wins Numerous National Player of the Week Awards
Isaiah Newsome became just the second player in both UL-Monroe history and Sun Belt Conference history to record two interception returns for touchdowns in UL-Monroe’s win at Texas State. He also set conference records in interception return yards (146) and interception return yard average (73.0). His two interceptions for touchdowns landed him at number five on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 and won him Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week, the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week, and National Defensive Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards.

South Alabama’s James Nominated for Discover Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award
The Football Writers Association of America recently announced that University of South Alabama senior Bryson James has been selected as a nominee for the 2013 Discover Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. A 6-foot-2, 235-pound native of New Orleans, James was born prematurely and weighed just one pound when he was delivered; he did not have any developed skin and was able to be held in one hand. Doctors believed he would be mentally disabled and would never learn to walk. Since then, the inside linebacker’s mother, Valorie, has undergone two brain surgeries — most recently when he was a high school senior — to correct blood flow and to remove a tumor, while his family’s home has suffered extensive damage due to both Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Storm Isaac. James has lettered four seasons for the Jaguars, collecting a total of 107 stops — including four behind the line of scrimmage — to go along with two interceptions, a pair of forced fumbles and six passes defended. This fall, he has been credited with 16 tackles, with a season-best six coming in USA’s 31-24 Sun Belt Conference victory over Western Kentucky. The Courage Award was created by ESPN’s senior columnist Gene Wojciechowski, also a FWAA member. A select group of writers from the FWAA vote on the winner each year. The requirements for nomination include displaying courage on or off the field, including overcoming an injury or physical handicap, preventing a disaster or living through hardship.

Sun Belt Part of Bahamas Bowl Lineup
Complete Sports Management President Lea Miller announced recently that the Bahamas Bowl will join the bowl line-up in 2014 as the only postseason college football game outside of the United States. Five conferences will be represented on a rotational basis in the Bahamas. Commissioners from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference and Sun Belt Conference, and a representative from the American Athletic Conference were on hand for the official announcement with the Bahamas Minister of Tourism.

Sun Belt Part of Miami Beach Bowl Lineup
The creation of the Miami Beach Bowl – a groundbreaking event that will bring postseason college football back to Miami – was recently announcedy. The Miami Beach Bowl will be played at Marlins Park in Miami beginning with the 2014 season. The Miami Beach Bowl will match an American Athletic Conference team against an opponent from either Conference USA, the Sun Belt Conference or the Mid-American Conference. The existing contract covers six seasons, beginning in 2014.

WKU’s Henry on Mackey Award Midseason Watch List
WKU tight end Mitchell Henry was added to the 2013 John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List, the organization announced recently. The award is given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end. The 2013 John Mackey recipient will be presented live on Dec. 12, 2013 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show: 6 p.m. on ESPNU. Other key dates include the announcement of the 2013 Mackey Semifinalists on Nov. 18, 2013 and the 2013 Mackey Finalists on Nov. 25, 2013. All future announcements can be found at www.johnmackeyaward.com and on the official Twitter account: @JohnMackeyAward.

Troy’s Will Scott Named Semifinalist for Ray Guy Award
roy University senior Will Scott is one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, the Augusta Sports Council announced recently. Scott is the only semifinalist from a non-automatic qualifying conference for the award that is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding punter.

Team News and Notes

Arkansas State Red Wolves
Arkansas State is bowl eligible for the third consecutive season and the sixth time over the last nine years . . . The Red Wolves have ensured themselves a winning record at Liberty Bank Stadium for the ninth straight season . . . A-State has won nine consecutive games in the month of November dating back to the 2011 season . . . With its 38-21 victory over Texas State, ASU has now won its last 10 games against opponents from the state of Texas . . . Arkansas State needs one more victory to guarantee a winning record for the third straight year . . . Senior kicker Brian Davis became the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time scoring leader last week, finishing the Texas State game with eight points to make him the first player in the history of the league to score over 300 (303) career points . . . Arkansas State has shutout its last two opponents in the second half and has allowed just 13 second half points over its last four games . . . Soph. WR J.D. McKissic needs only one catch to break the school record for career receptions (163).

Georgia State Panthers
Playing the Sun Belt Conference’s top team, Georgia State was tied with UL-Lafayette 21-21 late in the third quarter before the Ragin’ Cajuns scored the final 14 points to pull away. The Panthers recorded seasons highs for rushing yards (183) and total offense (481) in the game.

Quarterback Ronnie Bell set Georgia State records for career passing yards and total offense, as well as the GSU season record for total offense. With 229 yards passing against UL-Lafayette, Bell raised his career total to 2,596, passing Drew Little’s career mark of 2,497 yards. With 266 yards of total offense, Bell became Georgia State’s career leader. He now has 2,763 career total offense yards (rushing and passing), moving ahead of Drew Little (2,531, 2010-11). He has 2,188 yards of total offense, this season, breaking Little’s 2010 mark of 2,078.

With eight receptions against UL-Lafayette, Albert Wilson tied his career high. He also raised his season total to 58 to break the GSU single-season record set by Danny Williams, who had 54 catches in the inaugural 2010 season. Wilson tied his own season record with his seventh receiving touchdown, and he needs just 21 yards to break his season record of 947 yards.

Albert Wilson collected 196 all-purpose yards against the Ragin’ Cajuns to raise his season total to 1,832, breaking the season record of 1,810 that he set last year.

Albert Wilson’s 48-yard run in the first quarter was the longest run of his career, one yard longer than his 47-yd run at Texas State. He finished with a career-high 64 yards rushing on just five carries.

For the season, Albert Wilson leads the Sun Belt in receiving yards (92.7 ypg) while ranking second in receptions (5.8 pg) and all-purpose yards (183.2 ypg).

Georgia State’s second-leading receiver is freshman Robert Davis with 37 catches for 541 yards and four touchdowns. He is the only freshman to rank among the Sun Belt top 10 in receptions or receiving yards.

UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
After enjoying their second bye weekend of the season, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will return to the gridiron to host ULM on Saturday, Nov. 30 beginning at 6:00 p.m. CST. The game will be televised by the Sun Belt Network with Tom Dore, Cole Cubelic and Emily Gagnon providing the commentary.

With two games left in the regular season, the Cajuns are on the precipice of claiming their second Sun Belt Conference title, needing just one win or one Arkansas State loss to clinch a share of the title for the first time since 2005.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will be featured on ESPNU this week with a 30-minute all-access show that will air on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4:00 p.m. CST. A video crew was on campus last week to chronicle one day in UL-Lafayette football

UL-Lafayette received six votes in this week’s USA Today poll, good for 29th place. It marks the third time in the last four weeks that the Cajuns received votes in the poll.

The Cajuns used a 35-21 win at Georgia State on Nov. 16 to tie the school record with their eighth straight win, equaling the mark set in 1976 when UL-Lafayette won its first eight games and when the Cajuns won their last seven games in 1916 and the opener in 1917.

The victory was also the eighth of the year, leaving the Cajuns o one win shy of the school record of nine wins in a year, which has been accomplished four times, including in each of the last two years.

Freshman Elijah McGuire turned in another record-setting performance at Georgia State, becoming the first player in school history to rush for more than 100 yards (11-107) and catch passes for more than 100 yards (3-125, 2 TD). The freshman turned a jet sweep into an 80-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of the game and then scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 36-yard screen pass in the third quarter.

Junior Trae Johnson was an emergency starter at Georgia State and he responded to his first career start by making 12 tackles (10 solo) with two tackles for loss in the win. He came up with the biggest play of the game, stopping GSU back Kyler Neal one yard short of the first down on a fourth-and-3 from the Cajuns 16 with UL-Lafayette leading 28-21 with 11:33 left.

UL-Monroe Warhawks
After having the week off for the second time this season, ULM will hit the road for a Sun Belt Conference tilt at South Alabama.

The Warhawks closed out the 2013 home slate with a 42-14 loss to Arkansas State on Nov. 9... With the loss, ULM finishes the season with a 2-3 home mark... It is just the second time in the last eight seasons that the squad has finished below .500 at home (2011 [2-3]).

ULM forced a turnover in the first quarter of the home finale against Arkansas State... It is the 24th straight game that the team has forced a turnover, putting ULM fourth-nationally... Missouri leads the way with 40 straight, followed by Stanford (35) and Arizona State (25).

Prior to the contest against the Red Wolves, head coach Todd Berry and his staff honored its 16 seniors during a pre-game ceremony.

Against Arkansas State, Rashon Ceaser recorded two touchdown receptions for the first time in his Warhawk career... His 59-yard TD reception on the final play of the first quarter allowed ULM to even the game at 7-7... With eight seconds to play in the first half, his 10-yard TD reception allowed the Warhawks to even the game at 14-14 just before the break.

Rashon Ceaser went over the 100-yard mark for the second time in his career (and second straight game) as he totaled 118 yards on just five receptions (23.6 ypc)... His 59-yard reception from Kolton Browning was a career-long reception for the sophomore.

Tre’ Perrier hauled in two catches for the second consecutive game... Against Arkansas State, Perrier tallied 16 yards on two receptions... In the Warhawks’ previous game at Troy (Oct. 31, 2013), the redshirt-freshman made two catches (both touchdowns) for 52 yards (23-yard TD; 29-yard TD)... The receptions at Troy were also the first of his career.

South Alabama Jaguars
After dropping a 42-14 decision at Navy Saturday, the Jaguars will close out the regular season with three straight Sun Belt Conference match-ups including a pair at home. That includes the co-favorites in the league’s annual preseason poll, as the Jaguars will take on Louisiana-Monroe first on Saturday before facing Louisiana-Lafayette in the regular-season finale Dec. 7. … Senior Enrique Williams paced all players with 12 tackles last time out, the third consecutive game that the inside linebacker has been credited with a double-digit total — he first accomplished the feat in the Jags’ three October contests a year ago. With the effort, Williams became the first individual in program history to collect 10 or more stops on 10 occasions, with half of those efforts coming this fall after he posted five games with 10-plus tackles his first four seasons combined. He now ranks third both in the school’s season record books with 85 stops and in the Sun Belt with 9.44 per outing. … WR Shavarez Smith became the second USA player this year to catch multiple touchdown passes after he accounted for both Jaguar scores against the Midshipmen; with Danny Woodson II turning the trick at Texas State on Oct. 26, it marks the first time the program has had more than one individual accomplish the feat in the same season. The junior-college transfer caught five balls for 65 yards in the game, leading the squad in both categories while setting a new school season record with 616 receiving yards this year after he surpassed Courtney Smith — who had 592 yards on receptions in 2010 — last weekend. He has now topped USA in yards receiving in five of the last six contests. … Smith wasn’t the only Jag to set a season record against the Middies, as Ross Metheny surpassed his own mark for total offense after 183 in the Navy game gave him 2,359 for the campaign. The senior quarterback, who is among the top five in the SBC in total offense (second, 262.11 ypg), passing yards per game (third, 219.67 pg) and passing efficiency (fourth, 139.42 rating), needs just 23 yards through the air to surpass 2,000 for the second straight season. … ILB Desmond LaVelle made the first start of his career at Navy, posting five total stops to rank among the team leaders in the category on the day. That figure included a stop for loss, his second in as many games after he was credited with a total of two in his first 17 appearances. The junior has finished with at least four tackles in four of the last five contests, and with 26 this fall he has surpassed his freshman year total by one.

Texas State Bobcats
The Texas State football team looks for its fourth win in five games when the Bobcats play host to Western Kentucky in their final home game of the 2013 season this Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. Texas State will honor 23 seniors in a pregame ceremony. The class includes Tyler Arndt, Isaiah Battle, Phillip Benning, Prestin Brown, Jamie Clavell-Head, Jeff Clermond, Lee Conoly, Xavier Daniels, Duke DeLancellotti, Andy Erickson, Colby Goodwin, Justin Iwuji, Aaron Matthews, Blake McColloch, Damion McMiller, Jordan Norfleet, Tyler Potter, Zach Robinson, Andrew Sims, Kamu Taulelei, Ryan Williams, D.J. Yendrey and Mike Yoder.

Texas State also looks to win its seventh victory this season and are bowl eligible in just their second season as an FBS member with a 6-3 record.

This marks the second time in the last three years under head coach Dennis Franchione that the Bobcats have six wins in a season after finishing 6-6 in 2011.

Texas State enters its final home game with a 114-79 all-time record at Bobcat Stadium after opening the 2013 season with a 4-1 home record.

Texas State has a 6-4 record to open the 2013 season and it is the second season in three years under Dennis Franchione that the Bobcats have won six of their first 10 games. The Bobcats also opened 2011 with a 6-4 mark.

Texas State has a 4-1 record in home games this season. It marks the second time in three seasons and just the third time since 2005 that Texas State has won four home games. The Bobcats also won four home games in 2011 and 2009 after ending the 2005 campaign with a 9-1 home record. Texas State is 11-6 during the last three seasons at Bobcat Stadium.

Texas State is in its 106th season and enters the Western Kentucky game with an all-time record of 501-421-26. The Bobcats began playing football in 1904 when they posted a 5-1 record. Texas State did not play football in 1942, 1945 and 1946.

Troy Trojans
Chandler Worthy caught a pass 64-yard from Corey Robinson in the first quarter, the longest play of the season for the Trojans. It is also the 11th play of the year of at least 50 yards. … Brandon Burks rushed for his second touchdown of the season in the first quarter (5 yards) … Eric Thomas had a 31-yard reception in the second quarter, his 16th reception of at least 20 yards this season and his eighth of at least 30 yards. … Corey Robinson threw a 14-yard pass to Brett Thiesen in the second quarter, putting him over 3,000 yards for the season. He becomes just the fourth player in NCAA history to eclipse 3,000 yards in four seasons (Timmy Chang - Hawaii, Landry Jones - Oklahoma, Kellen Moore - Boise State). … Jordan Chunn rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, his 12th of the season. He is now tied with Shawn Southward for the most rushing touchdowns by a true freshman in program history (Shawn Southward). His 12 rushing touchdowns are also the fifth most in a single season by a Trojan in program history. … Chandler Worthy caught a 50-yard pass from Dallas Tidwell in the fourth quarter, the 12th play of the season for Troy of at least 50 yards. It was also the longest completion of Tidwell’s career. … Corey Robinson moved up in the Troy single-season record books. He now sits in fifth in completions (268), sixth in attempts (399) and sixth in passing yards (3,086). … Robinson moved up the all-time NCAA records as well. He is now in sixth in attempts (1,801), seventh in completions (1,162) and ninth in passing yards (13,344). … Eric Thomas continues to climb the record books as well. He moved into 10th in Troy history in single-season receiving yards with 901 this year. He also moved into a tie for 10th in receptions, with 60. … Thomas moved up in the Sun Belt record books too. He moved into fifth place in SBC history with 191 career receptions. … Tyler Roberts forced a fumble in the second quarter, his third of the year. He is now tied with Terris Lewis for the team lead. … Ethan Davis recovered the fumble, his first of the year and second of his career. … Terris Lewis made his first career interception, coming in the fourth quarter. … Jeremy Spikner record a career-high 10 tackles. … Troy’s Chris Pickett blocked Ole Miss’ PAT attempt on the Rebels’ second touchdown. It is Troy’s second blocked PAT this season (Chris Davis, South Alabama). … Will Scott recorded a 77-yard punt in the third quarter, the longest of his career. It was also the fifth longest punt in the nation this season.

WKU Hilltoppers
The two-yard touchdown run from Antonio Andrews to give WKU to lead with 32 seconds remaining was the latest the Hilltoppers have scored a game-winning touchdown in regulation since at least 1999. Jake Gaebler’s touchdown reception from Justin Haddix to beat Western Illinois in 2006 was the previous latest with 35 seconds to go.

WKU is one of just 14 teams to rank in the top 35 in both total offense and total defense. The others are: Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State, Clemson, Marshall, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Louisville, Georgia, Utah State, Cincinnati and LSU.

Andrews maintained his mark as the nation’s top all-purpose player (219.2 YPG) and is No. 2 nationally in rushing yards (1,407) behind Boston College’s Andre Williams (1,471). He needs just 267 yards to pass Jeremy Maclin for the FBS record for the most all-purpose yards over a two-year span.

Senior running back Antonio Andrews finished the game with 117 yards on 24 carries, including the game-winning touchdown carry with 0:32 remaining in the game. Andrews continues to climb the NCAA’s FBS career all-purpose yards list. He moved into the top 30 and is now at 6,372 career all-purpose yards. Andrews moved into fourth place on the NCAA’s FBS best two-year all-purpose list. He now has 5,343 yards, passing Damaris Johnson of Tulsa. He is now behind only Tavon Austin, Ryan Benjamin and Jeremy Maclin. Andrews had his nation-leading 23rd straight game with 100 or more all-purpose yards. It was the 28th such game in his career. Andrews now has 1,407 yards rushing on the season, moving him into 8th place on the single-season list at WKU. Andrews now has 17 career games with 20 or more rushing attempts. Andrews has posted 100 or more rushing yards in 19 of his last 21 games. The 19 games with 100 rushing yards is also the total for his career. Andrews has posted 100 or more rushing yards in nine straight games.

Willie McNeal caught his 100th career pass in the third quarter when he caught his second pass of the day. It was good for a WKU touchdown to cut the Army lead to 10-7. McNeal had two touchdown catches in the game, his second and third touchdown catches of the season. It was his 10th and 11th career touchdown receptions.

Appalachian State Mountaineers (Coming in 2014)
Appalachian State (3-8, 3-4 SoCon) snapped a two-game skid with a convincing 33-21 win at No. 24 Wofford on Saturday afternoon.

Two of Appalachian State’s three wins this season have come against nationally ranked FCS teams (Appalachian also beat No. 24 Georgia Southern, 38-14, on Oct. 26).

Senior wide receiver Andrew Peacock became Appalachian State’s all-time leader in receptions when he made the 203rd catch of his career on a seven-yard pass from Kameron Bryant in the third quarter, breaking the previous school record of 202 set by current St. Louis Ram Brian Quick from 2007-11. Peacock finished the day with seven receptions, giving him 206 for his career.

Peacock also became only the fifth player in Appalachian State history with 2,000 career receiving yards with a 12-yard catch from Bryant on the first play of the game. He finished the day with 54 yards, giving him 2,053 for his career.

With 119 yards in the game, running back Marcus Cox became the third freshman in Appalachian State history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, joining Armanti Edwards (1,153 yards in 2006) and Chip Hooks (1,062 yards in 1991). Cox has 1,035 rushing yards on the season.

Georgia Southern Eagles (Coming in 2014)
One final game remains on the 2013 schedule for Georgia Southern (6-4) in its first transition year as it prepares for FBS play in the Sun Belt Conference next season. The Eagles face the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday, November 23rd in Gainesville, Fla., with kickoff set for 2 p.m. A broadcast of the game will be available on pay-per-view in the state of Florida and on ESPN GamePlan elsewhere.

The Eagles closed the Southern Conference chapter their history with a 38-20 win at Elon, scoring the most points against a SoCon opponent this year. The victory guaranteed a winning season for the fourth consecutive year and for the 29th time in the program’s 32-year modern era.
All scoring against the Phoenix was accomplished by three freshmen with three touchdowns by running back Irving Huggins, two by quarterback Kevin Ellison and eight points from freshman placekicker Younghoe Koo (FG, 5 PATs). The Eagles had 502 yards of total offense and were just two yards shy of the 400-yard mark with 398 as Ellison led the team with a career-best 163 yards rushing. He added 104 passing yards to go along with his two rushing scores. Seven different Eagles carried the ball and Ellison connected with four different receivers.

Georgia Southern responded to two early Elon field goals by rattling off five straight scores with Ellison racing 53 yards to the endzone to give the Eagles their first lead 7-6. A two-yard touchdown run by Huggins and season-long 49-yard field goal by Koo, also his career long, put Georgia Southern up 17-6 at the half. Ellison galloped for a career-long 56 yards to bring the Eagles to the Elon 30, but at fourth-and-12, Koo was called in with less than a minute remaining for the field goal.

The Eagles opened the second half with back-to-back scoring drives with Huggins capping their longest drive of the night in both yards and time with a two-yard burst to the goal line. Junior running back Tray Butler caught a 27-yard pass to convert a third-and-10, and ran for another first down to set up the Eagles fourth touchdown. Ellison split the secondary for his second TD and an Eagles’ 31-13 lead late in the third quarter. Both teams put up a score in the fourth quarter with Georgia Southern taking advantage of good field position, starting at its own 39. Ellison helped the cause with a 32 yards rushing in the drive and an Elon personal foul penalty gave the Eagles a fresh set of downs at the Phoenix six. Huggins finished the drive with another two-yard score, his third rushing touchdown of the night. Senior running back William Banks was the last Eagle to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game with his coming against St. Francis (Pa.), on September 7th.

Idaho Vandals (Coming in 2014)
Idaho is 1-9 after last weekend’s loss to Old Dominion and had its second bye week of the season before heading to Florida State Nov. 16.

The University of Idaho Athletic Department played host to Pat Yarber, a 53-year-old resident of Nashville, Tenn., who, on Nov. 9, completed his quest to visit every FBS stadium when he watched the Idaho-Old Dominion game. Yarber’s adventure is of particular note because he is legally blind.

The Nov. 16 game at Tallahassee will be the first between the Vandals and Florida State.

New Mexico State Aggies (Coming in 2014)
The New Mexico State football team (1-9) travels to Boca Raton, Fla., to face Florida Atlantic (4-6, 3-4), Nov. 23. Game time is set for 1 p.m. inside FAU Stadium. Saturday’s game will be the second time this season that NM State has faced a team with the nickname ‘Owls.’

This will be the second meeting between the two schools as NM State won the only meeting back in 2004. The Aggies won 35-7.

The Aggies game against Florida Atlantic will be the third team from C-USA that NM State has faced this season. NM State competed with the Rice Owls for the first time on the football field on Oct. 19 and versus UTEP on Sept. 14. NM State has a history with other members of Conference USA. The Aggies played at least one game against eight current C-USA teams including rival UTEP. The Aggies have played 90 games against UTEP in a matchup that started in 1914. They hold an overall record of 56-103-4 against C-USA opponents, including the 2013 meetings with UTEP and Rice.