NEW ORLEANS – Troy (10-2, 7-1 SBC) will host Coastal Carolina (9-2, 6-2 SBC) in the
2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala. Tickets are available now at
TroyTrojans.com/SBCTickets, starting at just $10.
The matchup—which will be the first championship game appearance for both programs since the game’s inception in 2018—will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN. Troy is in search of its conference-leading seventh Sun Belt crown, while Coastal Carolina looks for its second conference title.
West Division champion Troy earned the right to host the championship game by virtue of its 48-19 win at Arkansas State to finish 7-1 in conference play, ahead of East Division champion Coastal Carolina at 6-2.
Georgia Southern, Louisiana and Southern Miss clinched bowl eligibility in Week 13—joining Coastal Carolina, Marshall, South Alabama and Troy to give the Sun Belt seven bowl-eligible teams in its first season as a 14-team football conference.
Troy scored 34 unanswered fourth-quarter points to clinch the Sun Belt West Division title and earn the right to host the 2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship via a 48-19 win over Arkansas State.
Sophomore running back Kimani Vidal rushed for 208 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Trojan offense, alongside a 101-yard receiving outing from senior wide receiver RaJae’ Johnson. Vidal also reached the 1,000-yard plateau for the year, following back-to-back 200-yard rushing efforts to close out the regular season.
The NCAA all-time record holder for career tackles, senior linebacker Carlton Martial, registered a team-high six stops as the Troy defensive unit held Arkansas State to just 38 rushing yards on the day. Junior defensive back Reddy Steward added a pair of interceptions, including a 67-yard pick-six for the Trojans.
Behind a five-touchdown outing for graduate student quarterback Todd Centeio—four passing, one rushing—James Madison delivered a 47-7 victory over No. 23/23 Coastal Carolina in its final game of the 2022 campaign. The Dukes scored 44 unanswered points in the statement win on Senior Day to conclude their inaugural FBS season 8-3.
Centeio completed 17-of-32 passes for 287 yards, including five connections with redshirt senior wide receiver Devin Ravenel for a career-high 102 yards and two scores. Fellow redshirt senior wide receiver Kris Thornton also added six catches for 93 yards to become the first Duke to post multiple and back-to-back seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards.
James Madison’s defense registered nine tackles for loss and five sacks, holding the Chanticleers to a season-low 183 total yards.
South Alabama never led until the 6:40 mark in the fourth quarter, when junior quarterback Carter Bradley found junior tight end DJ Thomas-Jones for a two-yard touchdown strike to lift the Jaguars to a 27-20 win over Old Dominion.
Bradley completed 17-of-29 passes for 190 yards and all three Jaguars touchdowns. Junior running back La’Damian Webb added a team-high 75 rushing yards to become just the second player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a season. The Jaguars 10 wins match the most in a single season for the program (2010).
Senior wide receiver Jalen Wayne set the single-season touchdown receptions high-water mark at South Alabama (9) with his 30-yard score in the third quarter, while junior kicker Diego Guajardo become the single-season scoring leader (96) with nine points in the victory.
Old Dominion redshirt junior running back Blake Watson rushed for a game-high 112 yards and sophomore linebacker Jason Henderson tallied a game-high 18 tackles in defeat. Henderson finished the year with 186 tackles—the third-most in a single season in FBS history.
Running backs Rasheen Ali (102 yards)—a redshirt sophomore—and Khalan Laborn (100 yards)—a sixth-year—each tallied 100 rushing yards, as the Thundering Herd powered past Georgia State, 28-23.
The duo accounted for 3-of-4 Marshall scores, with the fourth coming on a 32-yard connection from redshirt freshman quarterback Cam Fancher to redshirt freshman wide receiver Charles Montgomery. Fancher completed 18-of-28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns—the second on a five-yard completion to Ali.
The Thundering Herd defense held the Panthers to just 74 rushing yards, though Georgia State redshirt junior wide receiver Jamari Thrash posted a 155-yard receiving day. The performance was the third-straight 100-yard outing for Thrash, vaulting him over the 1,000-yard mark for the year.
Panther sixth-year offensive linemen Pat Bartlett (61 games played) and Malik Sumter (53 consecutive games started) established new program records in the contest.
Southern Miss clinched bowl eligibility for the first time since 2019 with a 20-10 road win at ULM.
Sophomore running back Frank Gore Jr. led the way for the Golden Eagles with 225 all-purpose yards—a career-high 199 rushing, 26 receiving—and a touchdown. Gore Jr. finished the regular season with 1,053 yards, surpassing 1,000 yards for the first time in his collegiate career. Redshirt senior kicker Briggs Bourgeois accounted for 8-of-20 points in the win, while going 2-for-2 on field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on extra points.
Louisiana also secured bowl eligibility for the program-record fifth-straight season with a 41-13 road victory at Texas State.
Redshirt junior running back Chris Smith accumulated 140 all-purpose yards—69 rushing, 36 receiving, 35 return—and two touchdowns in the blowout win. Redshirt freshman running back Dre’lyn Washington, senior wide receiver Michael Jefferson and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Lance Legendre also tallied 80-or-more yards.
Sophomore running back Lincoln Pare rushed for a career-high 221 yards and a touchdown for the Bobcats in defeat.
A shootout between two rivals seeking bowl eligibility fittingly took double overtime to decide, with Georgia Southern prevailing over App State, 51-48.
After both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime session, the Eagle defense forced two negative runs and three incomplete passes to hold App State to a field goal in the second overtime. On the second play of the ensuing Eagle possession, sixth-year quarterback Kyle Vantrease found sixth-year wide receiver Ezrah Archie for a 25-yard touchdown strike to secure bowl eligibility for Georgia Southern for the fourth time in five seasons.
Vantrease completed 34-of-51 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns, while redshirt senior wide receiver Jeremy Singleton (133) and senior wide receiver Khaleb Hood (103) posted 100-yard outings.
App State sophomore running back Nate Noel had a 205-yard day—171 rushing, 34 receiving—with three rushing touchdowns to pace the Mountaineers in defeat.
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SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 13 RESULTS
James Madison def. No. 23/23 Coastal Carolina, 47-7
South Alabama def. Old Dominion, 27-20
Marshall def. Georgia State, 28-23
Troy def. Arkansas State, 48-19
Southern Miss def. ULM, 20-10
Louisiana def. Texas State, 41-13
Georgia Southern def. App State, 51-48