WEEK 9 CONFERENCE NOTES
NEW ORLEANS – Championship game rematch, Deeper Than Hate rivalry game and a clash atop the Sun Belt West Division dot the Sun Belt Football Week 9 slate.
App State and Louisiana Tech will attempt to clinch bowl eligibility—and continue to control their own destinies in pursuit of a Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship Game berth—on the road on Saturday.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- CHAMPIONSHIP GAME REMATCH – Troy will travel to James Madison for a Thursday night cross-division clash at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2, which will be a rematch of the 2025 Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship Game presented by Visit Pensacola. James Madison won last year’s meeting, 31-14, en route to the Sun Belt’s first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. The Dukes have not lost to the Trojans in Sun Belt play, own a 3-1 lead in the all-time series and carry an 11-game home winning streak into Thursday night’s matchup. Both the Dukes and Trojans are looking to rebound from losses, aided by late-game heroics, a week ago. Snaps in the red zone will be contentious, as the game pits Troy’s Top 11 red zone defense (.720) against James Madison’s Top 10 red zone offense (.951).
- UNDER CENTER – The bottom half of the Sun Belt East Division standings will meet in a pair of Saturday, Oct. 31, contests. Marshall will visit Old Dominion at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+, followed by Coastal Carolina at Georgia State at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Thundering Herd and Monarchs have each utilized three different quarterbacks during the 2026 campaign. Marshall leads the all-time series 10-1. The Chanticleers at Panthers matchup will feature the Sun Belt leaders in passing touchdowns and points responsible for per game in redshirt freshman Coastal Carolina quarterback Deuce Bailey (18th, 16; 35th, 14.0) and fifth-year Georgia State quarterback Cameran Brown (24th, 14; 43rd, 12.9). Coastal Carolina leads the all-time series 5-4, including the first back-to-back victories in 2024 and 2025.
- TAKE THAT BALL AWAY – The last remaining unbeaten team in Sun Belt Conference play—Louisiana Tech—will travel to South Alabama for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 31, on ESPN+. The top two teams in the Sun Belt West Division will meet for the first time as Sun Belt Conference foes and the fourth time overall, with the Bulldogs owning a 2-1 edge all-time. The turnover battle will be key in the regional rivalry matchup, with South Alabama (9th, +1.00) and Louisiana Tech (14th, +0.86) being the top two teams in the Sun Belt and among the Top 14 in the country in turnover margin. Louisiana Tech can clinch bowl eligibility with a win on Saturday.
- FEELING EMOTIONS — Two teams coming off emotional victories a week ago—Southern Miss and ULM—will square off in Monroe, La., at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, on ESPN+. Southern Miss’ 35-31 win over Louisiana snapped a five-game losing streak and was the Golden Eagles first conference win since Nov. 8, 2025. ULM’s 21-14 victory over Troy snapped a 14-game skid and was the Warhawks first conference win since Sept. 27, 2025. Southern Miss has won 3-of-4 meetings as Sun Belt Conference rivals and head coach Blake Anderson owns a perfect 7-0 mark against ULM from his seven-year tenure as head coach at Arkansas State.
- DEEPER THAN HATE – After unseating previously unbeaten James Madison in front of a sold-out crowd and national television audience last Thursday, App State now controls its own destiny in pursuit of its first Sun Belt Football Championship Game appearance since 2023. Things do not get easier this week for the Mountaineers, as they hit the road for rival Georgia Southern—a fellow one-loss team in Sun Belt play—at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, on ESPN+. The Eagles have won three-straight over the Mountaineers and can match the longest-ever winning streak in the series with a win on Saturday. App State owns a razor-thin 21-19-1 margin in the all-time series and can clinch bowl eligibility with a victory on Saturday. The rivalry clash will be a white-out game at Allen E. Paulson Stadium, with significant influence on the Sun Belt East Division race.
WHERE TO WATCH
All Times CT