NEW ORLEANS — Southern Miss and Troy earned double-digit home victories to clinch bowl eligibility, remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play and co-lead the Sun Belt West Division.
The Golden Eagles and Trojans join Sun Belt East Division-leading James Madison, which clinched bowl eligibility in Week 8, in securing bowl eligibility. The Sun Belt has paced the non-autonomy conferences in Bowl Season representation in each of the past three seasons.
South Alabama snapped a six-game losing streak with a 38-31 victory over Georgia State in front of a national television audience on ESPN2 on Thursday night. After an early shootout, the Jaguars led 28-14 at the half, but conceded 17-straight points to the Panthers out of the break to trail for the first time, 31-28. Four plays after a game-tying field goal from redshirt freshman kicker Davis Little, redshirt junior linebacker Tirrell Johnson forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt junior defensive back Jayvon Henderson to give the ball back to the Jaguars with 4:11 to play. On his sixth consecutive run, South Alabama senior running back Kentrel Bullock cashed in for the go-ahead four-yard touchdown scamper. Johnson made his preference felt one last time, hauling in the game-sealing interception on the ensuing Georgia State possession.
Bullock rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, while redshirt junior quarterback Bishop Davenport threw for a career-high 280 yards and two touchdowns for teh Jaguars. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jeremy Scott (3 catches, 121 yards, 1 touchdown) and graduate student wide receiver Devin Voisin (7 catches, 98 yards) served as his top targets. Defensively, Johnson had a hand in both Jaguar takeaways to go along with a career-high 10 tackles. Georgia State redshirt junior quarterback Cameran Brown threw for 241 yards and all four Panther touchdowns in defeat, including five connections with senior wideout Ted Hurst for 110 yards and two scores.
Old Dominion recovered an onside kick attempt with 1:34 remaining, halting an App State comeback bid and securing a wire-to-wire 24-21 homecoming win. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Colton Joseph threw for 310 yards and all three Monarch touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-high 61 yards in the victory. Sophomore wideout Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding hauled in a career-high eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Red zone interceptions by Monarchs sophomore defensive back Jerome Carter and redshirt sophomore defensive back Ryan Ramey left App State with an empty first quarter despite moving the ball 120 yards.
Seeing his first action since Sept. 27, Mountaineers redshirt junior quarterback AJ Swann led back-to-back fourth-quarter touchdown drives to pull App State within three. Swann completed 12-of-16 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore defensive back Zyeir Gamble paced the defense with 13 tackles and a tackle for loss, while adding a goal-line fourth-quarter interception on a tipped pass by redshirt junior defensive lineman Rondo Porter that sparked the Mountaineer rally.
A dominant 49-21 homecoming victory over ULM helped Southern Miss clinch bowl eligibility and stay unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play. Redshirt senior quarterback Braylon Braxton carded his first four-touchdown performance for the Golden Eagles, completing 18-of-23 passes for 248 yards and connecting with four different receivers for scores. Redshirt senior running back Matt Jones punched in two Golden Eagle touchdowns in the ground game. The Nasty Bunch defensive unit accumulated three takeaways on interceptions by redshirt senior defensive back Anthony Richard Jr. and sophomore linebacker Chris Jones and a fumble recovery by redshirt senior defensive back Dominick Hill.
Senior running back Zach Palmer-Smith (111 yards, 1 touchdown) recorded his first 100-yard rushing day in a Warhawk uniform to headline the ULM performances in defeat.
A career-high 113-yard rushing day from sophomore running back Jordan Lovett, including two second-half touchdowns, helped lift Troy to a 35-23 victory over Louisiana to clinch bowl eligibility and stay undefeated in Sun Belt Conference action. Junior quarterback Tucker Kilcrease rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns, while accumulating 180 passing and 24 rushing yards in his fifth-straight win since taking over as the Trojans starting quarterback. The Troy defense posted three interceptions, headlined by a 30-yard pick six by junior defensive back Jaquez White.
Ragin’ Cajuns redshirt sophomore quarterback Lunch Winfield threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a team-high 139 yards in the losing effort.
Arkansas State scored 21-straight points—on three rushing touchdowns from junior quarterback Jaylen Raynor—to erase a 21-10 deficit in an eventual 34-24 win over Georgia Southern. Alongside Raynor, who threw for 216 yards and rushed for 52 yards, redshirt junior running back Kenyon Clay (17 carries, 124 yards, 1 touchdown) and sophomore running back Devin Spencer (14 carries, 123 yards) each went over the century mark in the ground game for the Red Wolves. Raynor’s top target—redshirt sophomore wideout Chauncy Cobb—caught half of his passes for a team-high 81 yards.
Eagles redshirt junior quarterback JC French IV accounted for all three Georgia Southern touchdowns, rushing for 39 yards and a score and throwing for 208 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass—a 24-yard strike to Camden Brown—helped the senior wide receiver establish a new Georgia Southern single-season program record for receiving touchdowns.
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SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 9 RESULTS
South Alabama def. Georgia State, 38-31
Old Dominion def. App State, 24-21
Southern Miss def. ULM, 49-21
Troy def. Louisiana, 35-23
Arkansas State def. Georgia Southern, 34-24