WEEK 10 CONFERENCE NOTES
NEW ORLEANS – Three national television broadcasts with division race implications dot the Sun Belt football Week 10 schedule, which kicks off with a pair of mid-week matchups on ESPN2.
Sun Belt East Division-leading James Madison will visit Texas State on Tuesday night, ahead of a head-to-head clash of its East Division challengers—Marshall and Coastal Carolina—on Thursday night.
Sun Belt West Division co-leader Troy will look to set the pace for an idle Southern Miss club as it hosts Arkansas State on Saturday night on ESPNU.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- GOIN’ UP ON A TUESDAY – Sun Belt East Division preseason favorite and leader James Madison will attempt to jettison its second Sun Belt West Division opponent when it travels to Texas State at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28, for a primetime date on ESPN2. Having already bested Sun Belt West Division preseason favorite Louisiana, the Dukes will look to do the same with the team picked second in the division in the preseason ledger. The Bobcats have trailed by just one point at the end of regulation in their three prior Sun Belt matchups this season, but are 0-3 in those contests, dropping a 31-30 game to Arkansas State in regulation and falling in overtime to Troy (48-41 in OT) and Marshall (40-37 in 2OT). The Dukes, on the other hand, are off to a 4-0 start in Sun Belt Conference action, as 1-of-3 remaining unbeaten teams in conference play. James Madison won the lone prior meeting, rolling to a 40-13 victory over Texas State in its first Sun Belt Conference home game in 2022.
- FAMILIAR FACES – After spending the 2020-22 seasons together as coordinators on Dave Doeren’s staff at NC State, Marshall head coach Tony Gibson and Coastal Carolina head coach Tim Beck will square off for the first time at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, in front of a national television audience on ESPN2. Gibson was the defensive coordinator at NC State from 2019-2024, before taking the reins for the Thundering Herd. Beck was the offensive coordinator at NC State from 2020-22, before taking over as the head coach for the Chanticleers. With just one conference loss on their ledgers—and future dates with Sun Belt East Division-leading James Madison on the schedule—the Thundering Herd and Chanticleers each control their own destiny in pursuit of a Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship Game presented by Visit Pensacola berth. Thursday’s victor will continue to do so, setting up an all-important date with the Dukes in either Week 11 (Marshall) or Week 14 (Coastal Carolina).
- IN THE TRENCHES – Old Dominion will travel to ULM for the first-ever matchup between the two programs at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, on ESPN+. With a victory, the Monarchs can clinch bowl eligibility for the third time in five seasons of competition under head coach Ricky Rahne. The battle in the trenches will be pivotal to the cross-division showdown, which features the two Sun Belt programs conceding 1.25-or-fewer sacks per game. ULM paces the conference and ranks 20th in the country, allowing just 1.13 sacks per game. Old Dominion is not far behind at 1.25 sacks allowed per game, good for second in the conference and 27th in the nation.
- KEEPING BOWL HOPES ALIVE – For the second-straight week, South Alabama will play a game in which the winner will keep its hopes alive in the hunt for bowl eligibility, while the loser will be mathematically eliminated. The Jaguars prevailed, 38-31, over Georgia State last week and will look to do the same as they host Louisiana for homecoming at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, on ESPN+. Louisiana leads the all-time series 9-4, though South Alabama has won two of the last three meetings—both in Lafayette. The Jaguars last victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns in Mobile came in 2015.
- THE AVENGERS – Sun Belt West Division co-leader Troy, which is 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 2018, will attempt to extend its Sun Belt-leading five-game winning streak as it hosts Arkansas State at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, in front of a national television audience on ESPNU. The Trojans have won four-straight games against teams that beat them a year ago—South Alabama, Texas State, ULM and Louisiana—with Saturday’s date with the Red Wolves completing the five-week run of potential conference avengement games. Arkansas State leads the all-time series 12-9, though Troy has cut into that margin of late, winning four of the last six head-to-head matchups.
WHERE TO WATCH
All Times CT