NEW ORLEANS – James Madison overcame an 11-point deficit and an 80-minute weather delay to notch a victory at Virginia and punctuate the second week of the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Football season.
Sun Belt teams won seven non-conference games on Saturday. The Dukes’ victory against the Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference marked the conference’s second win against an autonomy-five program this season after Texas State beat Big 12 Conference foe Baylor one week ago.
Five Sun Belt teams remain undefeated after the second week of the season – Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, ULM and Marshall.
Three of the Sun Belt’s five non-conference losses on Saturday came against Associated Press Top-20 opponents.
James Madison trailed 35-24 with 12:06 remaining in the game after play was halted due to weather, setting up the team’s thrilling rally to a 36-35 victory. Once play resumed, Ty Son Lawton rushed for a 27-yard touchdown to cut the Dukes’ deficit to 35-30. With 55 seconds left, Kaelon Black snagged a 10-yard touchdown reception from Jordan McCloud to complete the comeback.
McCloud finished the game 20-of-31 for 234 passing yards, while Lawton posted a team-high 79 rushing yards with two touchdowns.
James Madison held a 167-18 advantage on the ground and the Dukes’ defense wrapped up 10 tackles for loss. James Madison blocked a punt for touchdown in the first quarter to give the Dukes punt blocks in back-to-back games. The Dukes have now won 18 consecutive games against in-state opponents.
Old Dominion claimed the first Sun Belt Conference victory of the 2023 season, pulling out a 38-31 win against Louisiana in Norfolk. Quarterback Grant Wilson, a transfer from Fordham, threw for four touchdowns and completed 13-of-19 passes for 247 yards. Running back Keshawn Wicks charted a career-high rushing yards for the second consecutive game, finishing with 103. All-American linebacker Jason Henderson totaled 17 tackles. Louisiana’s Ben Wooldridge passed for 285 yards with two touchdowns, while Jacob Kibodi rushed 10 times for 54 yards.
Georgia Southern used a strong offensive performance to defeat UAB, 49-35, in Statesboro. Quarterback Davis Brin threw for 318 yards with a pair of touchdown passes, directing an offense that finished with 462 total yards. Wide receiver Khaleb Hood caught eight passes for 70 yards with a touchdown and broke the Georgia Southern career receiving yards record. He now has 1,859 receiving yards for his career. Marques Watson-Trent led the Eagles’ defense with 14 tackles.
Marshall scored 21 points during a five-minute span in the fourth quarter to earn a 31-13 road win at East Carolina. Chuck Montgomery found Caleb McMillan for a 75-yard trick-play touchdown to put the Herd in front with 11:07 remaining in the game. Rasheen Ali followed with a pair of rushing touchdowns to make the final margin. Ali finished with 107 yards on the ground and three scores. He also caught four passes for 45 yards. The game was halted for more than 100 minutes at halftime due to weather.
Coastal Carolina defeated Jacksonville State, 30-16, in the team’s home opener to mark head coach Tim Beck’s first win at the helm of the Chanticleers. Jared Brown led the team in both receiving and rushing, catching seven passes for 93 yards with a touchdown, and rushing for 77 yards and a TD. The 77-yard run was the longest of his career. Quarterback Grayson McCall threw for 268 yards with a touchdown.
Darren Grainger and Marcus Carroll each turned in 100-yard rushing efforts to help Georgia State claim a 35-14 victory against UConn. Grainger totaled 142 rushing yards with a touchdown and also passed for 144 yards with a TD. Carroll rushed for 107 yards with three touchdowns and became just the 12th player in Georgia State history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards. The Panthers held a 250-50 advantage in the ground game.
The Sun Belt improved to 10-0 this season against FCS opponents. SBC teams have outscored their FCS opponents by a combined 365-167 this year.
La’Damian Webb scored a pair of touchdowns and South Alabama notched a 35-17 win against Southeastern Louisiana in the Jaguars’ home opener. Kentrel Bullock was the team’s leading rusher with 91 yards, while Webb finished with 81. Receiver Caullin Lacy caught eight passes for 139 yards with a score. Quarterback Carter Bradley completed 19-of-26 passes for 258 yards.
ULM improved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2018 season with a 24-14 victory against Lamar. The Warhawks’ had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the game in Isaiah Woullard (113 yards) and Hunter Smith (101 yards).
Troy had its 12-game winning streak – the second-longest active streak in the nation – snapped with a 42-13 loss at No. 15/15 Kansas State. Wide receiver Chris Lewis hauled in a pair of impressive one-handed catches in the first half, with his second one coming on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Watson just before halftime. Watson completed 17-of-32 passes for 167 yards. Kimani Vidal rushed for 83 yards, pushing his season total to 331 yards, the most by a Troy player through the first two games of a season in program history.
App State took No. 17/16 North Carolina to double-overtime in Chapel Hill before falling, 40-34. It marked the Mountaineers’ eighth consecutive game against an autonomy-five opponent that has been decided by seven points or fewer. In his first start for App State, quarterback Joey Aguilar completed 22-of-43 passes for 272 yards with two touchdowns. Nate Noel rushed a career-high 26 times for 127 yards with a pair of scores.
Texas State, which won at Baylor last week, dropped a 20-13 decision at UTSA. Jahmyl Jeter scored the Bobcats’ touchdown on Saturday, giving him a rushing score in back-to-back games. Mason Shipley was 2-for-2 in field goals. Texas State totaled 11.0 tackles for loss, its most in a game since the 2016 season.
Southern Miss fell at No. 4/5 Florida State, 66-13, while Arkansas State dropped a 37-3 contest to Memphis.
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SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 2 RESULTS
No. 15/15 Kansas State def. Troy, 42-13
James Madison def. Virginia, 36-35
UTSA def. Texas State, 20-13
South Alabama def. Southeastern Louisiana, 35-17
No. 17/16 North Carolina def. App State, 40-34 (2OT)
Marshall def. East Carolina, 31-13
Georgia Southern def. UAB, 49-35
Old Dominion def. Louisiana, 38-31
Memphis def. Arkansas State, 37-3
Georgia State def. UConn, 35-14
ULM def. Lamar, 24-14
Coastal Carolina def. Jacksonville State, 30-16
No. 4/5 Florida State def. Southern Miss, 66-13