Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Complete PDF)
2014 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2014 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2014 Sun Belt Conference Standings

Ten Teams in Action Saturday; Georgia Southern to Play First Ever Sun Belt Game
Eight Sun Belt teams will continue their non-conference schedules in week four, while Georgia Southern makes its debut in Sun Belt play as the Eagles travel to Mobile to play South Alabama.

To date Sun Belt teams have played six of the nine opposing Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) confernces and will add to that number this week when Georgia State plays Washington out of the Pac-12. By the end of the month of September, Sun Belt teams will have played eight of the nine conferences when Texas State plays Tulsa. The only conference that the Sun Belt will not play against this season is the Big 12 – marking the first time ever in the Sun Belt’s 14 year history that no team will play against the Big 12 during the season.

In addition to Georgia State’s trip to Seattle, five other Sun Belt teams will be on the road for non-conference games this week. Like the Panthers, UL Lafayette will travel some distance for their game as the Cajuns matchup with Boise State. It will be the first meeting between the two teams despite both having been former members of the Big West Conference (the Cajuns and Broncos time in the Big West did not overlap). And in similar fashion to Georgia State, Texas State and Troy will have games against members of “Power Five” conferences as they play Illinois and Georgia respectively. The remaining non-conference road games for the week are Idaho’s game at Ohio and Appalachian State’s game at Southern Miss. It will be the second consecutive week that the Vandals have played a team out of the Mid-American Conference and the second ever meeting between Idaho and Ohio. Appalachian State’s game against Southern Miss will be the first time the two schools have played.

Arkansas State and New Mexico State play home non-conference games for this week as both host teams out of the Mountain West Conference. A-State’s meeting with Utah State is the sixth in the series, but the first game where the two meet in non-conference play. Utah State and Arkansas State played three games as members of the Big West and two games as members of the Sun Belt. Utah State played two seasons in the Sun Belt (2003-04). New Mexico State’s meeting with New Mexico will be the 106th meeting between the two schools – the game has become known as the “Rio Grande Rivalry.”

Georgia Southern is coming off of a second game against an ACC opponent in which the Eagles nearly won despite being double-digit underdogs. As first year members, the Eagles visit to play South Alabama is their first ever Sun Belt Conference game and it is the first meeting between the two schools. The game will be available for viewing on the Sun Belt Conference Network via ESPN3.

Upcoming Schedule

September 20
Troy at Georgia - 11 a.m. (SEC Network)
Texas State at Illinois - 3 p.m. (ESPNews)
Georgia State at Washington - 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Net)
Utah State at Arkansas State - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Appalachian State at Southern Miss - 6 p.m. (ASN)
Idaho at Ohio - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Georgia Southern at South Alabama - 6:30 (Sun Belt/ESPN3)
New Mexico at New Mexico State - 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
UL Lafayette at Boise State - 9:30 p.m. (CBS-SN)

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

Recent Results

September 13
Georgia Tech 42, Georgia Southern 38 - 11 a.m. (ACC RSN)
Air Force 48, Georgia State 38 - 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
Miami 41, Arkansas State 20 - 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Mississippi State 35, South Alabama 3 - 3 p.m. (ESPNEWS)
#14 Ole Miss 56, UL Lafayette 15 - 3 p.m. (SEC Net)
Western Michigan 45, Idaho 33 - 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
#10 LSU 31, UL Monroe 0 - 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Abilene Christian 38, Troy 35 - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
UTEP 42, New Mexico State 24 - 7 p.m.
Navy 35, Texas State 21 - 7 p.m. (ESPNEWS)

Sun Belt Players of the Week - As selected by a media voting panel

Co-Offensive Players of the Week

Kevin Ellison (Georgia Southern, So., QB)
Kevin Ellison directed a comeback attempt at Georgia Tech as the Eagles scored 28 unanswered points in the second half with Ellison rushing for the first of the four touchdowns to start the scoring spree. Ellison ran for 102 of his 107 yards and was 7-8 passing for 164 yards, all coming in the key second half.  Georgia Southern posted 228 yards of total offense in the third period, with Ellison accounting 77 rushing and 128 passing yards. His 164 yards passing rank as the second-highest of his career and Saturday was his fourth career game with both 100 yards rushing and passing.

Nick Arbuckle (Georgia State, Jr., QB)
Nick Arbuckle tied the Georgia State single-game record with 414 yards passing and accounted for three touchdowns in the Panthers' 48-38 loss to Air Force. Arbuckle completed 26 of 42 passes, including a pair of second-half touchdown passes to LynQuez Blair, covering 15 and 13 yards. He added a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.  Arbuckle hooked up with Kyler Neal for a 73-yard completion that is the sixth-longest pass play in school history.  The junior from Camarillo, Calif., led the Panthers to 549 yards of total offense, the second-highest total in school history.  For the season, Arbuckle leads the Sun Belt in passing yards (373.7 per game) and total offense (382.3), ranking in the top five in the NCAA in both categories.

Defensive Player of the Week

Maleki Harris (South Alabama, Sr., LB)
Harris recorded a game- and career-high 14 total tackles while tying a school record forcing two fumbles — both recovered by the Jaguars — in South Alabama’s home opener against Mississippi State.  The senior’s first forced fumble came on a tackle for a loss of five yards on the Bulldogs’ first snap after taking over on the USA-31 following a turnover, keeping the score 7-0 late in the opening quarter, and the other stopped an MSU drive in the red zone five yards from the end zone.  It was the second time Harris has posted a double-digit tackle total, having first accomplished the feat in a victory over Kent State on Oct. 19 a year ago.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Daniel Cadona (UL Lafayette, P, Sr.)
The native Australian averaged 51.1 yards per attempt in seven tries against No. 14 Ole Miss … recorded punts of 50 yards or greater on his first six attempts and placed three inside the Ole Miss 20-yard line … opened the day with a 54-yard punt and followed with kicks of 54, 50, 51, 50, 61 and 38 … on the season, is averaging 49.3 yards per punt with nine punts of 50 yards or more, seven kicks placed inside the 20-yard line and a long of 77.

Around the Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt sets win record vs. Non-Conference Foes
The Sun Belt Conference’s 21 non-conference wins in the 2013 season eclipsed the previous record mark of 19 set in 2012. Additionally, of note for the league’s non-conference win total was that the Sun Belt fared well against its peer opponents in the non-AQ BCS ranks during the 2013 season. The Sun Belt finished the year a combined 8-1 against members of Conference-USA (4-1), the Mid-American Conference (3-0) and the Mountain West Conference (1-0). The Sun Belt also had the best overall non-conference win percentage when comparing the four non-AQ conferences.

Sun Belt Membership
The Sun Belt Conference will contest the 2014 football season with 11 members – Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy. UALR and UT Arlington compete as non-football playing members. The Sun Belt will have four new members in the league this year as Appalachian State and Georgia Southern were added as all-sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State were added as football playing members. Both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern bring with them highly successful 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 Undefeated in 2013 Bowl Games
The 2013 football season saw two teams take home bowl championship trophies, as UL Lafayette won its third consecutive R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and Arkansas State won its second consecutive GoDaddy Bowl. The Red Wolves won their second consecutive GoDaddy Bowl by defeating Ball State 23-20. The previous season the Red Wolves defeated Kent State in the annual bowl game played in Mobile. The Red Wolves have made three consecutive appearances in the game, having lost to Northern Illinois in their first appearance. The Ragin’ Cajuns closed the 2013 football season with a 9-4 record that included a share of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference title and a 24-21 win over Tulane in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

Preseason Awards Candidates
Paul Hornung Award Watch List - Rashon Ceaser, UL Monroe, J.D. McKissic, Arkansas State; Lou Groza Award Watch List - Maxwell Johnson, New Mexico State; Ray Guy Award Watch List - Austin Rehkow, Idaho Justin Manton, UL Monroe; Rimington Award Watch List-Bryce Giddens, Arkansas State, Mike Marboe, Idaho, Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, New Mexico State; John Mackey Award Watch List- Darion Griswold, Arkansas State; Wes Saxton, South Alabama; Jim Thorpe Award Watch List - Sterling Young, Arkansas State, Rocky Hayes, Arkansas State; Biletnikoff Award Watch List -Rashon Ceaser, UL Monroe, Wes Saxton, South Alabama, Shaverez Smith, South Alabama, Jamal Robinson, UL Lafayette; Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List - Justin Hamilton, UL Lafayette,Gerrand Johnson, UL Monroe, Qushaun Lee, Arkansas State, Mykhael Quave, UL Lafayette, Daniel Quave, UL Lafayette, Tyler Roberts, Troy, Dominique Tovell, UL Lafayette, David Mayo, Texas State, Davey O’Brien Watch List - Terrance Broadway, UL Lafayette; Dick Butkus Award Watch List - Michael Orakpo, Texas State; Doak Walker Award Watch List - Marcus Cox, Appalachian State, Michael Gordon, Arkansas State, Alonzo Harris, UL Lafayette, Robert Lowe, Texas State; Maxwell Award Watch List - Qushaun Lee, Arkansas State; All-State Sugar Bowl Manning Award Watch List - Terrance Broadway, UL Lafayette.

Sun Belt Bowl Games
The Sun Belt Conference maintains primary bowl tie-ins with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl and the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. A team from the Sun Belt Conference has played in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl since its inception in 2001. The SBC has won five consecutive R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl games and seven out of the last eight. The GoDaddy bowl matches teams from the Sun Belt Conference and Mid-American Conference. Arkansas State has helped lead the Sun Belt to two consecutive wins in the GoDaddy Bowl. The Camellia Bowl will match-up the Sun Belt Conference against the Mid-American Conference beginning in December. The game will be played yearly at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.

Come 2015, the Cure Bowl will feature a team from the Sun Belt Conference against the American Athletic Conference. The game will be played yearly at the newly renovated Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the weekend before the Christmas holiday. The Cure Bowl is the first of its kind to combine the passions of college football with the goal of supporting breast cancer research.

The Sun Belt Conference will also be part of the rotation for the newly created Bahamas Bowl and Miami Beach Bowl.

With the 2014-15 year marking the debut of the College Football Playoff (CFP) the Sun Belt continues to find itself among the 10 premier college football conferences and the new system is guaranteed universal access based on performance – there are no automatic qualifiers for the playoff system. Additionally, the CFP will mean that a spot among the premier bowl games of college football will be guaranteed to the highest-ranked champion from the “Group of Five” conferences: the Sun Belt Conference, American Athletic Conference, Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA.

Georgia State’s Ruiz Named John Mackey Tight End of Week
Georgia State tight end Joel Ruiz was named John Mackey Tight End of the Week after his season opening performance in the Panthers’ 38-37 win over Abilene Christian. Ruiz, a junior from Kingsland, Ga., had a career-best game with seven receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Sun Belt Bowl Game Winning Percentage
Over the last five years the Sun Belt Conference ranks second out of the 10 FBS conferences in postseason bowl game winning percentage. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference ranks ahead of noted leagues – the ACC, Pac-12 and the Big Ten.

Conference	Winning %
SEC	0.625
Sun Belt	0.571
Mountain West	0.538
C-USA	0.536
Big 12	0.513
Pac-12	0.500
ACC	0.439
American	0.400
Big Ten	0.385
MAC	0.346

All-Time Sun Belt Standings for Current Members (Sorted by Winning Percentage)

School	Wins	Losses	Percentage	Years in Sun Belt
Troy	49	25	0.662	11
New Mexico State	16	11	0.593	6
Arkansas State	47	39	0.547	14
UL Lafayette	50	44	0.532	14
UL Monroe	47	47	0.500	14
South Alabama	5	10	0.333	2
Texas State	2	5	0.286	2
Idaho	7	20	0.259	6
Georgia State	0	8	0.000	2
Appalachian State	0	0	0.000	1
Georgia Southern	0	0	0.000	1

Sun Belt Conference Head Football Coaches Teleconference
Every Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:47 a.m. beginning August 25 to November 24
All times Central (CT) and subject to change
Contact John McElwain (mcelwain@sunbeltsports.org) for info

10:30 a.m. – Announcements – If Necessary
10:30 a.m. – Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State
10:37 a.m. – Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern
10:44 a.m. – Dennis Franchione, Texas State
10:51 a.m. – Larry Blakeney, Troy
10:58 a.m. – Paul Petrino, Idaho
11:05 a.m. – Doug Martin, New Mexico State
11:12 a.m. – Blake Anderson, Arkansas State
11:19 a.m. – Mark Hudspeth, UL Lafayette
11:26 a.m. – Todd Berry, UL Monroe
11:33 a.m. – Trent Miles, Georgia State
11:40 a.m. – Joey Jones, South Alabama

Sun Belt Conference Video Feed
Contact Travis Llewellyn (llewellyn@sunbeltsports.org) for info.

The Sun Belt Conference will provide a weekly video feed of head coach interviews and game highlights each Tuesday during the 2014 football season. The video feed will be made available exclusively through a digital download this season using the website https://sunbeltsports.egnyte.com/. New videos made available on this site will be uploaded on Tuesday of each week by 2 p.m. The videos will also be maintained and archived throughout the season. Members of the media may also find supplementary content on this site such as logos and photos. For login information please contact Travis Llewellyn (llewellyn@sunbeltsports.org) or John McElwain (mcelwain@sunbeltsports.org).

Team News and Notes

Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State evened its record at 1-1 with a 66-0 win over Campbell.

Appalachian State’s 66-point margin of victory was the fourth-largest in school history and its largest since beating Arkansas-Monticello, 67-0, on Sept. 27, 1941.

Appalachian State’s 66 points were the seventh-most in school history and its most since it scored 70 in a 70-24 win over Wofford on Oct. 31, 2008.

The shutout was Appalachian State’s first since a 41-0 win over Mars Hill on Sept. 16, 2006.

Appalachian State’s 45 points in the first half were the most that it scored in an opening half since it led Western Carolina 45-21 at halftime of a 79-35 win on Nov. 10, 2007.

Appalachian State won for the 12th time in its last 14 home openers and moved to 62-20-2 (.750) all-time in home openers.

With the win, Appalachian State avoided starting 0-2 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992-93 and avoided losing consecutive home openers for the first time since 1982-83.

Saturday night’s attendance of 25,861 marked the 52nd time in its last 53 regular-season home games that Appalachian State in front of a crowd larger than the official seating capacity at Kidd Brewer Stadium (which is currently 23,150).

In his first start of the season, Appalachian State sophomore running back Marcus Cox – a Doak Walker Award candidate – rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, marking the seventh time in 11 career starts that he has rushed for 100 yards. Cox did not start the season opener at Michigan after missing nearly two weeks of practice due to a lower body injury.

Appalachian State has a bye on Sept. 13 before traveling to Southern Miss on Sept. 20.

Arkansas State Red Wolves
Caleb Caston became the second true freshmen to start a game this season for A-State, joining fellow defensive lineman Chuks Ota (vs. Tenn.) . . . Along with Caston, sophomore defensive lineman Chris Odom, redshirt freshman RB Johnston White and soph. WR Booker Mays also got their first career start against Miami . . . A-State has now had 11 players make their first career start at A-State over the first three games of the season . . . A-State wraps up its regular season non-conference schedule this weekend against Utah State . . . Junior quarterback Fredi Knighten has recorded over 200 yards total offense in every game this season, including a career-high 323 yards total offense . . . Junior wide receiver J.D. McKissic caught a season-high seven passes against Miami to give him 201 for his career and make him the fifth player in Sun Belt Conference history to post 200 receptions in a career . . . Arkansas State has scored a touchdown on one of its first two offensive possessions in every game this season . . . Senior linebacker Qushaun Lee, who entered the Miami game with the sixth most career tackles in the nation among active players, posted his 300th career tackle in the game . . . Junior punter Luke Ferguson has posted at least two punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line in every game this season.

Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern (1-2) begins Sun Belt Conference play this week, facing South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The game at Ladd-Peeples Stadium kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the Sun Belt Conference Network on ESPN3. Georgia Southern has won three of its last five conference openers, but is 10-11 overall in those contests.

Facing their second Atlantic Coast Conference opponent of the season, the Eagles scored 28 unanswered points in the second half against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, but Georgia Tech capitalized on a ruled fumble and pulled out a 42-38 win. The Yellow Jackets got the ball back with just over four minutes to play and drove down for the winning touchdown with just 23 seconds remaining.

Leading Georgia Southern’s charge was sophomore quarterback Kevin Ellison as the Eagles put up 398 yards of total offense in the second half with Ellison accounting for 100 yards of rushing and 128 passing yards, most coming in the third quarter. He finished with his second-highest passing total of 164 yards and posted his fourth career game with at least 100 yards rushing and 100 passing. He rushed for one touchdown and threw for another.

Contributing to the comeback efforts, the Eagle defense held Georgia Tech to only 40 yards of total offense in the third quarter and forced the Yellow Jackets to punt on four straight possessions in the second half. Junior linebacker Antwione Williams had a career-best and game-high 10 total tackles, nine solo, and defensive tackle Jay Ellison recorded eight total.

Ellison’s 68-yard pass to B.J. Johnson to pull the Eagles within five points late in the third quarter was the longest for the Eagles since 2012, a 75-yarder from current Minnesota Viking Jerick McKinnon to Zach Walker. Johnson was the Eagles’ top receiver last year with 12 catches, but Saturday’s touchdown was the first in his career. Georgia Southern had 245 yards of passing, matching a 2013 game-high total against Saint Francis (Pa.), distributed among four receivers with five catches by Zach Walker.

Saturday’s attendance of 53,173 at Bobby Dodd Stadium was the largest in a non-conference, non-Georgia home game since 55,646 saw the Yellow Jackets play host to Notre Dame Sept. 2, 2006. The Eagles play five more games in the state of Georgia, with four at Paulson Stadium and a second game in Atlanta against Georgia State on October 25th.

Georgia State Panthers
Georgia State fell to Air Force 48-38 in the highest scoring game in Georgia State history. The previous high was a combined 80 points in the Panthers’ 53-27 loss to Old Dominion in 2012. Georgia State put up 549 yards of total offense against the Falcons, the second-highest total in school history.

Georgia State leads the Sun Belt Conference in passing offense (373.7 yards per game) while ranking second in scoring (35.7 points per game) and total offense (523.7 yards per game).

Junior linebacker Joseph Peterson collected 13 tackles in the game to raise his career total to 207, need just 25 games to eclipse the Georgia State career record of 199, set by Robert Ferguson. Peterson ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference and third in the nation with 13.0 tackles per game.

Quarterback Nick Arbuckle tied the Georgia State single-game record with 414 yards passing and accounted for three touchdowns against Air Force. He completed 26 of 42 passes, including a pair of second-half touchdown passes, and he added a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. For the season, Arbuckle leads the Sun Belt in passing yards (373.7 per game) and total offense (382.3), ranking in the top five in the NCAA in both categories.

Senior outside linebacker Jarrell Robinson leads the Sun Belt with five tackles for loss, giving him 17 for his career as he moved past Jake Muasau (16.5) for the Georgia State career record.

Sophomore running back Kyler Neal accounted for 171 all-purpose yards as he rushed for 80 yards on just 10 carries, including a 25-yard touchdown run, and caught three passes for 91 yards. In the fourth quarter, he took short pass from Nick Arbuckle and rambled for a 73-yard completion down to the 2-yard line. Neal’s reception is the sixth-longest pass in school history.

Senior LynQuez Blair had touchdown catches of 15 and 13 yards among his five receptions for 74 yards against Air Force. He also returned five kickoffs to total 180 all-purpose yards.

Wil Lutz booted one field goal and five extra points to top the 100-point mark for his career. Lutz now has 102 points, first among kickers and second overall to Albert Wilson in the Georgia State record book. Lutz has made 14-of-15 career field goals from 40 yards and in.

With 15 receptions (5.0 per game), junior Joel Ruiz is tied for the national lead in catches by a tight end with Cam Serigne of Wake Forest. Ruiz averages 74.3 yards per game, second to Western Kentucky tight end Mitchell Henry (75.0).

Idaho Vandals
Redshirt Matt Linehan, with 324 yards in his debut and 362 Saturday, is the first freshman quarterback in school history to throw for back-to-back 300-plus yards. He became just the fourth to have a 300-plus game as a freshman and now joins Brian Brennan as the only one to have two.

Two of his targets once played quarterback. Joshua McCain, now a senior, made the conversion last spring and leads the Vandals with 15 receptions for 221 yards and three touchdowns. The other, Justin Podrabsky, came to Idaho as a QB but was converted to a tight end and has nine catches for 72 yards, which includes an acrobatic one-hander for a touchdown against Western Michigan.

McCain’s 75-yard connection with Linehan, which led to a fourth-quarter touchdown against WMU, ties for 24th longest in school history.

Coach Paul Petrino has talked about the significant improvement of this year’s offense over last year’s. So far, the Vandals have scored 64 in two games. They were partway through their fifth game a year ago before they had that many.

Punter Austin Rehkow, who also handles Idaho’s kicking duties, is averaging 47.8 yards per kick. He also is perfect on his eight PATs and both of his field goals (28 and 17 yards).

Idaho has played Ohio University twice – in 1972 (Idaho won 17-14 at home) and in 1976 (Ohio won 35-0 at Athens). There were Linehans on both those teams – Matt’s uncle Ron in 1972 and his uncle Rick in 1976.

UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will wrap up its non-conference schedule on Saturday when it travels to Boise, Idaho to face Mountain West opponent Boise State at Bronco Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.

The meeting between UL Lafayette (1-2) and Boise State (2-1) will be the first between the schools and is part of a home-and-home series with the schools scheduled to meet at Cajun Field on Sept. 3, 2016.

Alonzo Harris rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown against No. 14-ranked Ole Miss, scoring his 34th career touchdown and moving into fourth-place on the school’s all-time list in rushing attempts (573). Harris moved past the 2,700-yard mark in rushing yards in his career moving to 2,706, fourth in school history.

Against Ole Miss, quarterback Terrance Broadway became the fourth player in school history to record 7,000 yards of total offense in a career. The senior recorded 188 yards of total offense against the Rebels to increase his career total to 7,167 yards and join Jake Delhomme (8,876), Brian Mitchell (8,782) and Jerry Babb (7,730) as the only players in Ragin’ Cajuns history to reach the 7,000-yard barrier.

Broadway, who went 15-for-30 against the Rebels, moved into fourth place on the school’s all-time list in passing completions (426), passing Chris Masson (421, 2008-11).

Punter Daniel Cadona had seven attempts against Ole Miss, averaging 51.1 yards per attempt with six kicks covering 50 yards or more. The native Australian launched a 61-yard punt in the fourth quarter and placed three kicks inside the Ole Miss 20-yard line. On the season, Cadona is averaging 49.3 yards per attempt with nine kicks over 50 yards, seven inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and long of 77 yards.

UL Monroe Warhawks
ULM will have its first bye week of the season as the Warhawks will rest next weekend after two contests against Power Five competition as well as a league game against Idaho.

After three games, the Warhawks are 2-1 overall with a 1-0 mark in Sun Belt Conference Play… ULM opened the season 2-0 with home wins over Wake Forest (W, 17-10, Aug. 28) and Idaho (W, 38-31, Sept. 6)… ULM’s 2-0 start was the first since 1993 (the last season for ULM at the 1-AA [FCS] level).

ULM dropped its first road game of the season on Sept. 13 at #10 LSU… The Warhawks trailed just 10-0 at the break, but LSU added three second half touchdowns to claim a 31-0 win... LSU is the first of three SEC teams that ULM will face this season… The Warhawks still have road games against SEC members Kentucky (Oct. 11, Lexington, Ky.) and Texas A&M (Nov. 1, College Station, Texas).

Mitch Lane recorded a career-high 14 tackles at LSU… The junior safety finished with four solo stops and 10 assisted tackles… He also recorded one interception and assisted on a tackle for loss.

Justin Manton punted 10 times for 402 yards (40.2 avg) at LSU… Manton recorded a long punt of 56 yards and had three punts land inside the LSU 20.

ULM will return to action on Sept. 27 when it welcomes Troy to JPS Field at Malone Stadium for Homecoming… Last season, the Warhawks topped the Trojans in a shootout (49-37) on Halloween night in Troy, Ala.

New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies will meet the New Mexico Lobos at Aggie Memorial Stadium for the 106th time in the two schools history, Saturday, Sept. 20. The Rio Grande Rivalry game has been played every year since 1946, and before that from 1911-1942.

The overall record for NM State in the series is 31-69-5. The last game was played on Oct. 5, 2013 in Albuquerque, N.M., where the Aggies fell 66-17. The first time the two schools met was in 1894 at New Mexico, where the Lobos won 18-6.

The last win for the Aggies over their in-state rival was on Oct. 1, 2011 when NM State won 42-28 in Albuquerque. According to the NM State football media guide, the Aggies defeated UNM 110-3 in 1917, which is the largest margin of victory. NM State lost to the Lobos 53-0 on Nov. 24, 2001 in Albuquerque.

The NM State Aggies are 2-1 heading into this year’s Rio Grande Rivarly game in Las Cruces, N.M., Sept. 20, against the New Mexico Lobos, who are 0-2 on the season.

Last year, the Aggies were 1-2 heading into the game, which ended in a 27-14 loss for the Aggies. The last time NM State entered the game with a winning record was in 2007, where the Aggies had won their season opener on Aug. 30 against SE Louisiana and played UNM the next game.

In 1993, the Aggies also went into the matchup with the Lobos with a 2-1 record, having beaten UTEP and Arkansas State, with a loss the Kansas State.

The New Mexico State Aggies suffered a 42-24 loss to the UTEP Miners in El Paso, Texas, Saturday, September 13. NM State falls to 2-1 on the season, while falling to 35-55-2 in the overall series with UTEP, having lost the last six meetings between the two teams.

The Aggies showed signs of coming to life, but could never really get the run game going, having to relay fully on their passing attack. Head Coach Doug Martin said, “The third downs; when you can’t run the ball you are going to have a lot of third downs. A lot of third and longs and couldn’t convert. We also dropped a lot of passes that I thought hurt us. Overall, offensively we were just very ineffective.”

South Alabama Jaguars
The Jaguars faced Mississippi State in their home opener Saturday, playing in front of a sell-out crowd of 38,129 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Not only was it the second-highest attendance figure ever for a Sun Belt Conference school at its home facility — Louisiana-Lafayette drew 41,357 against Southern in 2009 — it surpassed the previous program high of 26,783 from its inaugural contest against Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy on Sept. 5, 2009. … Senior ILB Maleki Harris recorded a game- and career-high 14 total tackles while tying a school record forcing two fumbles — both recovered by the Jaguars — in against the Bulldogs. The senior’s first forced fumble came on a tackle for a loss of five yards on the Bulldogs’ first snap after taking over on the USA-31 following a turnover, keeping the score 7-0 late in the opening quarter, and the other stopped an MSU drive in the red zone five yards from the end zone; he had been credited with just one forced fumble in 34 appearances entering play. It was the second time Harris has posted a double-digit tackle total, having first accomplished the feat in a victory over Kent State on Oct. 19 a year ago, while with the performance he surpassed 100 stops in his three-plus-year career. … Both Shavarez Smith (four catches, 52 yards) and Wes Saxton (six catches for 30) went over 1,000 career receiving yards in the MSU game. Smith has accomplished the feat in just 14 games for the Jaguars, while Saxton’s performance came one week after he was held without a catch in USA’s season-opening victory at Kent State. … After two games, senior Terrell Brigham is tied for the national lead with 2.50 passes defensed per contest — along with Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves and Josh Jenkins of Army — after breaking up a pair against the Bulldogs; in fact, it’s the first time in his career that he has recorded two or more in consecutive outings. The safety also tacked on a season-best nine stops last weekend, the most Brigham has been credited with since equaling a career high with 11 on Nov. 2 a year ago against Arkansas State. … Theo Rich matched his career-high with four total stops in the MSU game while setting another one with a pair of tackles for loss, the most by a Jag in two outings this fall — that figure included his second career sack, with the first also coming against an SEC opponent at Tennessee on Sept. 28 last season. After missing the first two contests of 2013 due to injury Rich had eight tackles at the midway point of the year, the same amount he has through two games thus far. … P Brandon McKee tied a school record with four kicks downed inside the MSU-20, equaling a mark recorded twice by Scott Garber last season against Arkansas State and UL Lafayette. With the performance, it marks five straight games dating back to the Jaguars’ 36-14 defeat of UL Monroe last November that the Jags have had multiple punts end inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.

Texas State Bobcats
Texas State enters the Illinois game looking to open a season with a 2-1 record for third consecutive season and sixth time in seven years after splitting its first two games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Navy.

Texas State is playing its first road game of the season and enters the 2014 campaign looking to win three road games in a season for the first time since 2009.

Texas State and Navy played in front of the second-largest crowd in Bobcat Stadium history with an attendance of 32,007.

Junior linebacker Trey McGowen had a career-high nine tackles in his first start as a Bobcat. .

Junior linebacker Jerrid Jeter-Gilmon recorded his first career sack against Navy in his first start since 2012. Ironically that start also came against the Midshipmen.

Sophomore safety Germod Williams recorded his second career interception and first interception for the Bobcats this season against Navy.

Senior tight end Bradley Miller tied his career-high of seven receptions for 62 yards against Navy. He also had seven catches against Louisiana Tech in 2012.

Sophomore quarterback Tyler Jones accounted for 313 yards total offense and two touchdowns in Texas State’s game against Navy. Jones completed 24 of 36 passes for 231 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a career-best 82 yards and a one-yard touchdown on 19 carries.

Senior linebacker David Mayo registered a game-high 15 tackles against Navy’s triple-option offense. Mayo had eight solo stops and 11 of his tackles came in the second half. His 15 tackles marks the second straight game in which he has recorded 10 or more tackles and is one shy of his career-best of 16 tackles against Troy last season.

Troy Trojans
Wide Receiver John Johnson recorded his first touch on offense. He rushed for a gain of 13 yards and a first down in the first quarter. Johnson ended the night with four receptions for 72 yards … Brandon Silvers and Brandon Burks connected on a 53-yard screen pass. The play was the longest of each of their careers. It was also Troy’s longest play of the season … Silvers’ 5-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter gave him a rushing TD in two straight games. Silvers is the first quarterback since Deon Anthony (2012), to have rushing touchdowns in back-to-back games. Anthony’s streak was five games, the last two being Middle Tennessee (11/24/12) and UAB (8/31/13) … Silvers is the first Troy QB with two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown in a game since Deon Anthony vs. Navy on Nov. 11, 2012 … Jarvis Bentley and John Johnson recorded their first receptions as Trojans. With their reception, 16 different receivers have recorded a catch, this season … Silvers completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Burks for Troy’s third touchdown. This marks the first career passing TD for Silvers and the first career receiving TD for Burks … Khary Franklin recorded his first career rushing touchdown in the third quarter to extend the Trojans’ lead to 28-14 … Chandler Worthy moved into 13th in career all-purpose yards with 3,008 for Troy. He also became the 14th leading receiver in Troy history with 105 receptions. Worthy also moved up to 16th all-time in receiving yards with 1,496 … This marks the first time a Trojan has had multiple interceptions in one game since Sharrod Martin (3) against Alcorn on Sept. 13, 2008 … This marks the first time since September 29, 2012, (South Alabama) that Troy has had two interceptions in a game.