WEEK 11 CONFERENCE NOTES
NEW ORLEANS – Both of the remaining unbeaten teams that hail from non-autonomy conferences will be on display as part of the Sun Belt’s Saturday slate in Week 11.
Southern Miss at Louisiana will close out the Sun Belt’s mid-week matchups for the 2023 season under the Thursday night lights at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
App State, Arkansas State and Louisiana can each clinch bowl eligibility with a victory this week, joining a list of bowl eligible teams that already includes five Sun Belt programs—Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy and Texas State.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS – Southern Miss will visit Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, on ESPNU to conclude the Sun Belt’s mid-week matchups for the 2023 season. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 40-11-1, including a 39-24 win a year ago in Hattiesburg in the first-ever meeting as Sun Belt Conference foes. Louisiana, which can clinch bowl eligibility with a victory, will need to do something it hasn’t done since 1993 to do so—defeat Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles have won 10-straight in the head-to-head series. With a win, Louisiana would clinch bowl eligibility for the sixth-straight season.
- STEPPING OUT – The two remaining unbeaten teams that hail from a non-autonomy conference will be on display on ESPN+ as part of the Sun Belt’s Saturday slate. Old Dominion will step out of conference play to visit No. 25 Liberty—which is 9-0 on the year and vying for the first undefeated season in program history—at 12 p.m. Fresh off its highest-ever rankings in the national polls, No. 21/21 James Madison will host UConn in non-conference action at 1 p.m.
- POSTSEASON PUSH – App State, which went to a bowl game in each of its first seven seasons of eligibility at the FBS level and won its first six, will attempt to earn the right to return to postseason play after a one-year hiatus in 2022. The Mountaineers, who can clinch bowl eligibility with a victory, will travel to Georgia State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, on ESPN+. The Panthers, led by App State alum and longtime staffer Shawn Elliott, will attempt to earn their first-ever victory over the team from Boone. App State is 9-0 in the all-time series.
- BEST IN THE WEST – Troy will attempt to maintain its one-game lead in the Sun Belt West Division when it travels to ULM at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, on ESPN+. Texas State—2:30 p.m. at Coastal Carolina on ESPN+—and Arkansas State—4 p.m. at South Alabama on ESPN+—who each sit a game back of the reigning Sun Belt champion Trojans will also hit the road as they aim to stay in the Sun Belt West Division race. The Trojans and Bobcats have already secured bowl eligibility, while the Red Wolves—who appeared in nine-straight bowls from 2011-19—can clinch bowl eligibility with a win. Troy is 11-8-1 all-time against ULM, but is 1-5 in its last six trips to Monroe. Texas State has dropped three-straight to Coastal Carolina to fall to 1-3 in the all-time series. Arkansas State maintains a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series with South Alabama, but has dropped four-straight.
- WE ARE MARSHALL – Marshall will honor the 75 lost in the crash of Southern Airways Flight 932 on Nov. 14, 1970, when it hosts Georgia Southern at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, on NFL Network. The Eagles will also pay respect to the 75 souls lost with a decal on the back of their helmets. Marshall has won five-straight games in the series to run its all-time record to 5-2 against Georgia Southern.
WHERE TO WATCH
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