WEEK 4 CONFERENCE NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt, which is home to 2-of-35 remaining unbeaten teams in the country, will look to build on a 10-6 mark against fellow non-autonomy conference programs and seize the opportunity in three autonomy conference matchups in Week 4 play.
 
Coastal Carolina will host SportsCenter on Campus ahead of its Thursday night matchup with Liberty. James Madison will travel to Old Dominion for a standalone conference opener between in-state rivals that each finished with 10-or-more wins a season ago. 
 
The Sun Belt’s Week 4 slate features seven peer conference matchups, five nationally-televised games and three opportunities against autonomy conference opposition, as 11-of-14 programs conclude their non-conference slate. 
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• FAMILIAR FACES – Three former Sun Belt head coaches will take on their former teams in Week 4 action. Jamey Chadwell, who was Coastal Carolina’s head coach from 2019-22, will return to Conway with his Liberty team for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 24, on ESPN. ESPN’s SportsCenter On Campus will also air from Coastal Carolina for the second time over the past three seasons at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24. Willie Fritz, who was Georgia Southern’s head coach from 2014-15—the program’s first two seasons in the Sun Belt, will return to Statesboro with his No. 25-ranked Houston squad for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 26, on ESPNU. The Cougars are the first autonomy conference team to play a game in Paulson Stadium. When Southern Miss travels to Tulane for a 6:00 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 26, on ESPN+, Will Hall—the Golden Eagles head coach from 2021-24—will be on the opposite sideline. Southern Miss is 24-10 all-time against Tulane, including a 12-4 record against the Green Wave in New Orleans. When FCS foe Gardner-Webb rolls into Huntington for a 2:30 p.m. contest on Saturday, Sept. 26, a familiar name will be under center for the Bulldogs. Cole Pennington—son of Thundering Herd legend Chad Pennington—took over as the Gardner-Webb starting quarterback midway through the 2025 season after spending the 2022-24 campaigns as a backup with the Thundering Herd. 
• RISING – The Sun Belt—which owns a 10-6 mark against fellow non-autonomy conference members this season—has seven such matchups on the schedule in Week 4, as 11-of-14 conference teams complete their non-conference slates. The aforementioned Liberty at Coastal Carolina matchup on Thursday, Sept. 24, will kick off the seven-game peer conference slate. Six peer conference matchups—Northern Illinois at Georgia State at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+; Louisiana at Charlotte at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+; Kennesaw State at Arkansas State at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+; Southern Miss at Tulane at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+; Troy at Utah State at 6:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network; and Florida Atlantic at ULM at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+—dot the Sun Belt’s Saturday schedule. 
• OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS – The Sun Belt, which owns 12 victories over autonomy conference opposition since 2022, will have its final three regular-season opportunities against such foes in Week 4. South Alabama will venture to Lexington for a 11:45 a.m. kickoff against Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 26, on SEC Network; No. 25 Houston will visit Georgia Southern for the aforementioned Willie Fritz homecoming matchup; and App State will hit the road to in-state foe NC State for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPNU. Saturday’s games will be the first-ever meetings between South Alabama and Kentucky and Georgia Southern and Houston. NC State is 6-0 all-time against App State, but Saturday will be the first clash between the programs since the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt and the FBS in 2014. 
• ROYAL RIVALRY – James Madison will travel to Old Dominion for a standalone Sun Belt Conference opener on Saturday, Sept. 26. The in-state Royal Rivalry matchup will kick off at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Dukes and Monarchs were both 10-win teams a season ago, giving the Sun Belt multiple 10-win teams for the eighth-straight year. James Madison, which is currently receiving votes in both national polls after its fourth 3-0 start in five FBS seasons, leads the all-time series 4-2. The Dukes have won four-straight in the series, encompassing every matchup between the two programs as Sun Belt rivals.  
• GETTING AFTER THE QUARTERBACK – Five Sun Belt student-athletes rank among the Top 10 nationally, averaging at least 1.00 sacks per game through Week 3 action. App State senior defensive lineman Caleb Sandstrom leads the Sun Belt and ranks third in the country with 1.33 sacks per game, followed closely by a quartet of Sun Belt student-athletes that is averaging 1.00 sacks per game to rank ninth in the nation. That group includes Coastal Carolina redshirt senior defensive lineman Ibrahim Diawara, Louisiana Tech third-year linebacker Alonzo Jackson Jr., Old Dominion second-year linebacker Jackson Forrest and Troy fourth-year defensive lineman Donnie Smith. 

 
WHERE TO WATCH
 

Date	Game	Game Notes	Time	Broadcast
Thursday, Sept. 24	Liberty at Coastal Carolina	Game Notes	6:30 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 26	South Alabama at Kentucky	Game Notes	11:45 a.m.	SEC Network
Saturday, Sept. 26	Northern Illinois at Georgia State	Game Notes	1 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 26	Gardner-Webb at Marshall	Game Notes	2:30 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 26	No. 25 Houston at Georgia Southern	Game Notes	3 p.m.	ESPNU
Saturday, Sept. 26	James Madison at Old Dominion	James Madison | Old Dominion	5 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 26	Louisiana at Charlotte	Game Notes	5:30 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 26	Kennesaw State at Arkansas State	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 26	Southern Miss at Tulane	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 26	App State at NC State	Game Notes	6:30 p.m.	ESPNU
Saturday, Sept. 26	Troy at Utah State	Game Notes	6:30 p.m.	CBS Sports Network
Saturday, Sept. 26	Florida Atlantic at ULM	Game Notes	7 p.m.	ESPN+

 
All Times CT