WEEK 14 CONFERENCE NOTES
NEW ORLEANS – Southern Miss and Troy will clash for the Sun Belt West Division title—and a berth to the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola—to headline the final weekend of the 2025 regular season.
The seven-game Saturday slate also features six teams seeking to clinch bowl eligibility—including two head-to-head matchups with a bowl berth at stake—and a nationally-ranked James Madison club attempting to complete the third unblemished run through the Sun Belt regular season during the championship game era.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- PLAYING FOR POSTSEASON – With six Sun Belt teams sitting a win away from clinching bowl eligibility, the final regular season weekend will feature two head-to-head clashes of teams seeking their sixth win. Georgia Southern will travel to Marshall at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, for a game broadcast on ESPN+, ahead of Arkansas State’s visit to App State at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Each of the teams knows what is at stake—win and go bowling, lose and go home. For the first time in program history, Georgia Southern can clinch bowl eligibility for a fourth-straight season with a road win on Saturday, while Marshall can clinch bowl eligibility for the ninth-straight year with a win at home. The Thundering Herd leads the all-time series, 6-3, including a 3-0 mark inside Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Arkansas State can clinch bowl eligibility for the third-straight season with a road win on Saturday, while App State can clinch bowl eligibility for the ninth time in 11 postseason eligible seasons with a win at home. The Mountaineers lead the all-time series, 4-1, with their lone loss to the Red Wolves coming in 2015. App State boasts an .819 winning percentage inside Kidd Brewer Stadium during its FBS era, a mark that ranks 12th among FBS teams since 2014.
- CHASING HISTORY – Old Dominion will attempt to close out its regular season with a fifth-straight victory when it hosts Georgia State at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, on ESPN+. The Monarchs, who have already clinched the first winning season under head coach Ricky Rahne and the second winning season in program history, have their sights set on a program-record 10-win campaign. That mark—which Old Dominion can reach with a win over Georgia State and a victory in its bowl game—would match the program’s all-time-best record of 10-3 set in 2016, a year in which the Monarchs tied for the Conference USA East Division title and secured their first-ever bowl win in the Bahamas Bowl. Old Dominion leads the all-time series, 5-1, though the Georgia State has outscored the Monarchs 69-63 in three prior meetings as Sun Belt Conference foes.
- KEEP THE STREAK – Louisiana and Texas State will host West Division opposition at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, on ESPN+ to close out the regular season. Both the Ragin’ Cajuns and Bobcats will attempt to extend bowl streaks with victories. The Ragin’ Cajuns will welcome in-state rival ULM to Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium, while the Bobcats will play host to South Alabama at UFCU Stadium. Louisiana is riding a three-game winning streak into its in-state rivalry matchup with ULM and has won six of the last seven head-to-head meetings. After falling to Louisiana, Texas State has won back-to-back games to set up its all-important date with South Alabama. The Bobcats picked up the first-ever road win in the series a year ago to take a 6-4 edge in the all-time ledger. Louisiana is seeking an eighth-straight bowl berth, while Texas State is searching for its third-straight and third all-time bowl appearance.
- TITLE TILT – A Sun Belt West Division title and a berth to the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola will be on the line when Southern Miss hosts Troy at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, on ESPN+. The Golden Eagles are looking to secure their first championship game berth since joining the Sun Belt ahead of the 2022 season. The Trojans are seeking their third championship game appearance over the past four seasons. Southern Miss leads the all-time series, 8-6, though Troy is riding a four-game head-to-head winning streak into Saturday's pivotal matchup. The Trojans have also won in their last three trips to Hattiesburg (2016, 2021 and 2023).
- LAST OF THE UNBEATENS – No. 20/21 James Madison will hit the road to Coastal Carolina for a 2:45 p.m. matchup on ESPNU on Saturday, Nov. 29. With a win over the Chanticleers, the Dukes can complete just the third unblemished run through the Sun Belt regular season during the championship game era, joining Coastal Carolina in 2020 and Louisiana in 2021. The nationally-ranked Dukes are the lone non-autonomy program that is unbeaten in conference play this season and have already clinched hosting rights for the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 5.
WHERE TO WATCH
All Times CT