NEW ORLEANS — Troy won its eighth-straight game, as App State knocked No. 18/21 James Madison from the ranks of the unbeaten following a record-setting ESPN College GameDay crowd in Harrisonburg in Week 12.
Arkansas State and South Alabama joined the list of bowl eligible Sun Belt programs that already included App State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy and Texas State. Three additional teams—Louisiana, Marshall and Old Dominion—can clinch bowl eligibility with victories in their regular-season finales next Saturday.
No. 18/21 James Madison drew a record crowd of 26,000 to ESPN’s College GameDay Saturday morning—and had a sold-out crowd of 25,838 migrate inside Bridgeforth Stadium Saturday afternoon—but could not continue the celebration into Saturday evening.
It wasn’t for lack of effort, as the Dukes erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit, forcing overtime when redshirt senior quarterback Jordan McCloud connected with sophomore wide receiver Elijah Sarratt on the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute of regulation.
After James Madison settled for a field goal in overtime, App State junior quarterback Joey Aguilar found redshirt junior wide receiver Kaedin Robinson on an eight-yard touchdown to seal the 26-23 win. After making the third-down catch at the five-yard line, Robinson broke multiple tackles and stretched the ball into the end zone to cue the Mountaineer celebration. App State’s victory snapped the Dukes 13-game winning streak—and knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten this season.
Aguilar completed 28-of-46 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns—including two to Robinson. McCloud connected on 27-of-46 attempts for 289 yards and a score and added a second touchdown in the ground game. Sarratt made eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown—with most of his damage coming during the Dukes fourth-quarter comeback.
Senior safety Nick Ross led the way defensively for the Mountaineers with nine tackles and a fumble recovery, while freshman cornerback D’Angelo Ponds starred for the Dukes with seven tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Arkansas State routed Texas State, 77-31, to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2019. The Red Wolves 77 points set a Sun Belt Conference record for points in a league contest.
Three Red Wolves rushed for multiple touchdowns, led by a three-touchdown outing for redshirt sophomore running back Ja’Quez Cross. Cross paced the team with 139 rushing yards and added 166 kickoff return yards and a fourth touchdown in the return game. His 15 receiving yards ran his all-purpose yardage tally to 320 yards.
Arkansas State’s defensive unit added three explosive touchdowns of their own on a 91-yard fumble return by junior safety Trevian Thomas, an 87-yard pick-six by senior linebacker Melique Straker and a 50-yard interception return by redshirt junior linebacker Dane Motley.
Junior wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins had a 165-yard receiving day for Texas State in defeat, while sophomore wide receiver Kole Wilson hauled in a pair of touchdowns.
Reigning Sun Belt champion Troy ran its winning streak to eight games with a 31-24 win over Louisiana to maintain its pole position on hosting rights for the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship Game. The Trojans—who have already clinched the Sun Belt West Division—can earn the right to host the game with a victory at Southern Miss next week. Junior running back Kimani Vidal rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown and now sits 48 yards shy of becoming the Trojans single-season rushing leader. Junior wide receiver Jabre Barber led the Trojans with 74 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Trojans have won 21 of their last 23 games and are a perfect 11-0 against Sun Belt West Division foes since joining the division in 2022.
Junior defensive end Javon Solomon–with six tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks—and senior bandit Richard Jibunor—with seven tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack—were difference-makers on the defensive side of the ball for Troy for the second-straight week.
Ragin’ Cajuns redshirt junior quarterback Chandler Fields set career highs for attempts (39), completions (29), yards (282) and touchdowns (3) in the losing effort.
South Alabama clinched bowl eligibility in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history with a 28-0 shutout of Marshall—the Jaguars first-ever shutout of a fellow FBS program. The Jaguars defense tallied three first-half interceptions, including those by senior safety Jalen Jordan and redshirt junior safety Jaden Voisin on back-to-back drives to open the game.
With nine catches for 126 yards, Caullin Lacy led the aerial attack for South Alabama, while La’Damian Webb paced the ground game with 117 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Webb scored a second touchdown on one of his two receptions.
Fourteen tackle performances from redshirt sophomore linebacker Stephen Dix Jr.—along with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack—and senior linebacker Eli Neal—along with 2.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery—were the highlight for the Thundering Herd in defeat.
After Georgia Southern knotted the game up at 17 with 1:25 to play, Old Dominion junior quarterback Grant Wilson led the Monarchs on a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive to secure a 20-17 win and keep their hopes of going bowling alive.
Wilson picked up 28 of those yards on a third-down scamper, before sliding down at the five-yard line to set up a 22-yard game-winning field goal from sophomore kicker Ethan Sanchez as time expired. Wilson also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from sophomore wide receiver Ahmarian Granger in the contest.
Georgia Southern redshirt senior kicker Michael Lantz made his 21st field goal of the season in defeat, establishing a new Eagles single-season program record.
No. 13/14 Ole Miss led ULM by just four points at the break, 7-3, but the Warhawks conceded 28 unanswered in the second half to fall, 35-3. Sophomore defensive end Kenard Snyder headlined the ULM effort with five tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
Despite a three-touchdown outing for redshirt senior quarterback Jarrett Guest in his return to action, Coastal Carolina fell to Army, 28-21. Guest completed 26-of-36 passes for 279 yards—including touchdown strikes to three different wide receivers. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jared Brown accumulated 185 yards, pacing the Chanticleer with 116 receiving yards and 69 rushing yards.
Golden Eagles senior wide receiver Jakarius Caston caught a 44-yard touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to pull Southern Miss within six points of in-state foe Mississippi State, 26-20, midway through the fourth quarter, before the Bulldogs pulled away for a 41-20 victory. Caston tallied 88 receiving yards on two catches, while junior running back Frank Gore Jr. amassed 95 yards (66 rushing, 29 receiving) on 27 touches.
Senior running back Marcus Carroll set the Georgia State single-season program record with his 13th rushing touchdown of the year in a 56-14 loss to No. 15/15 LSU. Carroll also reached the 2,000-yard rushing mark for his career with an 87-yard performance.
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SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 12 RESULTS
No. 13/14 Ole Miss def. ULM, 35-3
Army def. Coastal Carolina, 28-21
Mississippi State def. Southern Miss, 41-20
App State def. No. 18/21 James Madison, 26-23 in OT
Arkansas State def. Texas State, 77-31
Troy def. Louisiana, 31-24
South Alabama def. Marshall, 28-0
Old Dominion def. Georgia Southern, 20-17
No. 15/15 LSU def. Georgia State, 56-14