ULM 44, Georgia Southern 25
MONROE, La. -- Caleb Evans threw two touchdown passes to Marcus Green and ran for two scores and ULM beat Georgia Southern 44-25 on Saturday one week after the Eagles upset No. 25 Appalachian State.
Evans scored on a 5-yard keeper on the opening Warhawks drive, then connected with Green for an 80-yard TD on a slant pattern after a missed Georgia Southern field goal. Evans hit Green on another slant in the second quarter for a 69-yard score and a 20-0 lead.
Evans was 13 of 22 for 337 yards with two interceptions, including Jessie Liptrot's 57-yard pick-6. Evans gained 102 yards on 15 carries and scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Warhawks (5-4, 3-2 Sun Belt).
Derrick Gore gained 115 yards on 18 carries, his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and fourth of his career for the Warhawks, who had 573 total yards to the Eagles' 216.
Shai Werts, 8 of 15 for 78 yards, hit Mark Michaud on a 22-yard scoring pass and Benz Josue returned a blocked punt 5 yards for a score for Georgia Southern (7-2, 4-1), which had 62 votes in the AP Top 25 this week.
Texas State 40, Georgia State 31
ATLANTA -- Willie Jones III completed 21 of 26 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns and Texas State created enough distance to hold off Georgia State for a 40-31 win on Saturday.
Texas State (3-6, 1-4 Sun Belt) led 13-10 at halftime before Jones took over. He threw an 11-yard score to Javen Banks to increase the lead to 10. The 18-yard scoring drive was set up when the Bobcats recovered Penny Hart's fumble of a punt early in the second half.
After forcing Georgia State (2-7, 1-4) to punt, Jones completed a 93-yard pass to Jeremiah Haydel for a 26-10 lead. Keenen Brown's 3-yard TD run with 3:04 left in the third made it a 23-point lead.
Aaron Winchester and Dan Ellington each threw for 112 yards for Georgia State with Winchester throwing a TD pass. Ellington added 89 yards rushing on 13 carries before leaving the game with an injury late in the third quarter.
Arkansas State 38, South Alabama 14
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Justice Hansen ran for a score and threw three touchdown passes, including a 78-yarder to Justin McInnis, and Arkansas State beat South Alabama 38-14 on Saturday.
Hansen hit Kirk Merritt on a 5-yard TD pass, but the Jaguars' Evan Orth tied it up on the next possession with a 17-yard strike to Malik Stanley.
Warren Wand's 1-yard TD run put the Red Wolves (5-4, 2/3 Sun Belt) up 14-7 at halftime. Hansen had an 11-yard TD pass to Javonis Isaac on the opening drive of the third quarter. Hansen's 78-yarder to McInnis late in the third quarter was the Red Wolves' longest play of the season.
Hansen was 26 of 32 for 332 yards passing for Arkansas State, which had 509 yards of total offense. Hansen also scored on a 2-yard keeper in the fourth quarter that made it 38-7.
Orth was 7 of 15 for 63 yards passing for South Alabama (2-7, 1-4). Backup Cephus Johnson threw a 5-yard TD pass to Jamarius Way. The Panthers had just 93 yards passing and 260 total yards.
Troy 26, Louisiana 16
TROY, Ala. -- Damion Willis had 10 catches for 213 yards, B.J. Smith set a school record with his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game and Troy remained unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play with a 26-16 win over Louisiana on Saturday.
Kyler Knudsen, making his first career start, caught an interception with 2:08 left in the game and learned in the locker room after the game that he had earned a scholarship .
Sawyer Smith was 18 of 22 for 317 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions for the Trojans (7-2, 5-0). Willis had 184 of his yards receiving in the first half and finished 12 yards short of the school record. B.J. Smith ran 22 times for 103 yards and a score.
Troy and Louisiana traded field goals on their opening drives and then the Trojans scored the next 20 points to lead 23-3 before halftime.
The Ragin' Cajuns (4-5, 2-3) scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the third quarter and cut the deficit to 10 before the end of the third.
Appalachian State 23, Coastal Carolina 7
CONWAY, S.C. -- Darrynton Evans ran for 159 yards and a touchdown as Appalachian State beat Coastal Carolina 23-7 on Saturday night.
Evans scored on a 26-yard run early in the first quarter and his 39-yard run helped set up Marcus Williams Jr.'s 1-yard score midway through the fourth. Evans entered as the second leading rusher in the Sun Belt Conference averaging 105 yards a game. Williams had 103 yards on 19 carries.
Jacob Huesman threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Corey Xavier Sutton in the second quarter for Appalachian State (6-2, 4-1). Huesman was 9-of-19 passing for 127 yards.
Derambez Drinkard intercepted Huesman twice, including a 60-yard pick-6 in the first quarter for Coastal Carolina's (5-4, 2-3) only score.
Appalachian State played for the first time at Coastal Carolina and leads the series 5-0.