NEW ORLEANS — With all seven Sun Belt West Division teams in conference action in Week 6, reigning Sun Belt champion Troy and South Alabama showcased why they were the preseason favorites in the division.
The Trojans—37-3 over Arkansas State—and Jaguars—55-7 over ULM—delivered dominant conference victories against West Division foes, amassing over 575 yards of total offense apiece in the process.
Louisiana, which trailed until the 2:21 mark in the fourth quarter, earned a 34-30 come-from-behind victory over Texas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns are now 11-0 in the all-time series against the Bobcats.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Zeon Chriss accounted for 4-of-5 scores for the Ragin’ Cajuns, converting on 13-of-17 passing attempts for 205 yards and three touchdowns and adding 67 yards and a score in the ground game. Chriss’ favorite target was redshirt sophomore wide receiver Robert Williams, who hauled in five passes for 90 yards and a score.
A blocked punt by redshirt junior wide receiver Dalen Cambre was recovered by redshirt senior safety Patrick Mensah and returned to the Texas State 22-yard line with 4:33 to play, setting up the go-ahead score for Louisiana on an eight-yard run by Chriss four plays later.
Three Ragin’ Cajuns—redshirt junior safety Tyrone Lewis Jr., redshirt sophomore cornerback Courtline Flowers and junior linebacker K.C Ossai—recorded a game-high nine tackles. Ossai forced the game-sealing fumble, which was returned to the Bobcat 15-yard line by redshirt sophomore safety Tyree Skipper with 1:19 to play.
Texas State scored on its first four drives of the game to jump out to a 20-7 lead, but was outscored 27-10 from the midway point of the second quarter on. A familiar quartet of redshirt sophomore quarterback TJ Finley, junior wide receiver Joey Hobert, junior wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins and sophomore running back Ismail Mahdi did most of the damage for the Bobcats in defeat.
Finley completed 30-of-40 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Hobert made eight catches for 132 yards and a score, Hawkins added eight receptions for 93 yards and Mahdi amassed 188 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries.
Troy scored the first 37 points in a dominant 37-3 victory over Arkansas State. Kimani Vidal, who went over the 3,000-career rushing yard mark in the contest, tallied 245 rushing yards and three touchdowns to lead the Trojans attack. Vidal is now just 258 yards shy of becoming Troy’s all-time leading rusher, following his 10th career 100-yard rushing game, the second-most in Trojans program history.
Hometown product sophomore kicker Scott Taylor Renfroe also went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, while sophomore wide receiver Chris Lewis added a 64-yard touchdown reception to his highlight reel.
Troy’s defense held the Red Wolves to just 47 rushing yards and 156 yards through the air. Five different Trojans recorded a team-high five tackles, highlighted by junior defensive end Javon Solomon, who also added two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
A 45-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Dominic Zvada got the Red Wolves on the scoreboard with 3:51 to play in the fourth quarter.
South Alabama scored early and often in a 55-7 bounce-back victory over ULM. Senior quarterback Carter Bradley completed 20-of-29 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers.
Junior wide receiver Caullin Lacy caught a game-high seven passes for 156 yards and a score, which came on a 44-yard completion from Bradley. Three different Jaguar running backs also scored touchdowns, with senior La’Damian Webb pacing the South Alabama ground attack with a 100-yard outing.
On defense, senior linebacker Trey Kiser accumulated a team-high nine tackles with a tackle for loss and a sack in the win.
ULM scored its lone touchdown on a 14-yard connection from graduate student quarterback Jiya Wright to sixth-year wide receiver Tyrone Howell as the clock struck zero at halftime.
Behind a pair of rushing touchdowns and a game-sealing third-down conversion with 1:04 to play from redshirt junior running back Keshawn Wicks, Old Dominion outlasted Southern Miss, 17-13, for its second conference win—matching its total from the 2022 season.
Wicks—54 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries—and junior running back Kadarius Calloway—93 yards on 12 carries—split time in the backfield for the Monarchs. Entering in relief of starter redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Shields, junior quarterback Grant Wilson helped lead Old Dominion to victory.
With 17 tackles, to go along with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack, junior linebacker Jason Henderson became the all-time leading tackler in Monarch program history.
Southern Miss scored its only touchdown on an explosive 82-yard punt return by sophomore wide receiver Ti Mims.
Marshall failed to convert on a potential game-tying drive in the final minute of the game, suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of NC State, 48-41. The Thundering Herd scored 10 points over the final 2:34 of the first half to carry a 24-21 advantage into the break, but could not close out their second victory over an autonomy five opponent this season.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Cam Fancher led the way for Marshall, completing 29-of-51 passes for a season-high 315 yards and two touchdowns and adding two more scores to go along with 25 yards on the ground. Sophomore defensive back Josh Moten had a momentum-shifting 27-yard pick-six in the first quarter—1-of-3 interceptions for the Thundering Herd defense on the day.
The Sun Belt boasts a .653 winning percentage and a 32-17 record in non-conference play with seven non-conference games remaining during the 2023 regular season.
For exclusive Sun Belt football content on game days and throughout the 2023 season,
follow @SunBeltFB on X.
SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 6 RESULTS
NC State def. Marshall, 48-41
Louisiana def. Texas State, 34-30
Troy def. Arkansas State, 37-3
South Alabama def. ULM, 55-7
Old Dominion def. Southern Miss, 17-13