WEEK 1 CONFERENCE NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference will return to the gridiron on Friday, Sept. 4, when Georgia State plays host to North Carolina A&T at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The matchup is 1-of-8 season-openers against FCS opposition for the conference this season.
 
Saturday’s 13-game non-conference slate will feature two highly-anticipated peer conference rivalry bouts, three clashes with autonomy conference foes and four nationally-televised games. 
 
The Sun Belt is coming off a 2025 season in which it earned its first-ever berth into the College Football Playoff (CFP) after having six teams listed in the CFP Selection Day Rankings over the past seven seasons. The Sun Belt also paced all non-autonomy conferences in Bowl Season representation for the fourth-straight year and for the eight-straight year boasted multiple 10-win teams in Sun Belt champion and CFP participant James Madison and Old Dominion. 
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• KICKING THINGS OFF – Georgia State will officially open the Sun Belt football season when it hosts North Carolina A&T at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, on ESPN+. The matchup is 1-of-8 Sun Belt season-openers against FCS opposition in 2026. On Saturday, Sept. 5, App State will host Maine at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+; Southern Miss will welcome Alcorn State to Hattiesburg at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN+; Old Dominion will clash with cross-town foe Norfolk State at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+; Georgia Southern will take on Charleston Southern at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+; South Alabama will host Southeastern Louisiana at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+; Louisiana Tech will take on Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and Louisiana will face Lamar at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Sun Belt is 55-0 against FCS opposition since expanding to 14 football-playing members in 2022. 
• AGAINST AUTONOMY – The Sun Belt, which owns 12 wins over autonomy conference foes since 2022, will have three opportunities to add to that tally in Week 1 in front of national television audiences. On Saturday, Sept. 5, Coastal Carolina will take on West Virginia at 11:00 a.m. on TNT; Marshall will travel to No. 18/17 Penn State at 2:30 p.m. on FS1; and ULM will visit Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The Chanticleers, who will commence the Ryan Beard era on Saturday, own three wins over autonomy conference foes since 2019. The Thundering Herd has earned two victories over autonomy conference opposition since joining the Sun Belt in 2022. This is the second-straight season that Marshall will open against a nationally-ranked foe, after traveling to then-No. 5/4 Georgia to kick off the 2025 campaign. 
• BATTLE OF THE BLUE RIDGE – Head coach Billy Napier—who led Louisiana to four-straight Sun Belt West Division titles and Sun Belt Football Championship Game berths ahead of a four-year stint as the head coach at Florida—will make his James Madison debut when the reigning Sun Belt champion Dukes host in-state rival Liberty at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, on ESPNU. James Madison leads the all-time series 13-6, including a 31-13 triumph in Lynchburg a year ago en route to a 12-2 season that concluded with a Sun Belt championship and the conference’s first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. In the 19 prior meetings in the Battle of the Blue Ridge rivalry between the Dukes and Flames, 10 games have been decided by one possession. 
• FAMILIAR FOE – Arkansas State will take on a familiar foe in Memphis to open the 2026 season at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, on ESPN+. The Red Wolves have played the Tigers more than any opponent in program history, with Saturday’s matchup marking the 63rd all-time clash since 1914. Memphis leads the all-time series 33-24-5, including a 24-11-4 mark at home in Memphis. As it opens a four-year, home-and-home series that will run from 2026-29, Arkansas State will attempt to snap a five-game skid to its rival Memphis. The Red Wolves’ most recent victory in the series was a 33-28 win in 2012 in Jonesboro under head coach Gus Malzahn, as part of a 10-3 season that concluded with a Sun Belt championship and a bowl victory. 
• CHOOSIN’ TEXAS – Reigning Sun Belt West Division champion Troy will kick off its 2026 season when it hosts Sam Houston at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, on ESPN+. The matchup will be the first between the two teams at the FBS level, though the Trojans lead the all-time series 7-0-1. Troy has won 13 of its last 14 games against teams from the state of Texas dating back to the 2012 season—Texas State (10-1), North Texas (2-0) and UTSA (1-0). The Trojans have appeared in the Sun Belt Football Championship Game in three of the past four seasons and are 1-of-3 programs alongside Louisiana (5) and App State (4) with three-or-more appearances since the postseason event was established in 2018.   

 
WHERE TO WATCH
 

Date	Game	Game Notes	Time	Broadcast
Friday, Sept. 4	North Carolina A&T at Georgia State	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Coastal Carolina at West Virginia	Game Notes	11 a.m.	TNT
Saturday, Sept. 5	Liberty at James Madison	Game Notes	11 a.m.	ESPNU
Saturday, Sept. 5	Maine at App State	Game Notes	2:30 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Marshall at No. 18/17 Penn State	Game Notes	2:30 p.m.	FS1
Saturday, Sept. 5	Alcorn State at Southern Miss	Game Notes	4 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Norfolk State at Old Dominion	Game Notes	5 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Arkansas State at Memphis	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Charleston Southern at Georgia Southern	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Southeastern Louisiana at South Alabama	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Sam Houston at Troy	Game Notes	6 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	ULM at Mississippi State	Game Notes	6:30 p.m.	ESPNU
Saturday, Sept. 5	Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech	Game Notes	6:30 p.m.	ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 5	Lamar at Louisiana	Game Notes	7 p.m.	ESPN+

 
All Times CT