Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Complete PDF)
2014 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2014 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2014 Sun Belt Conference Standings
Sun Belt Teams Look to Capitalize on Momentum
Two Sun Belt teams remain undefeated in league play as Georgia Southern and UL Lafayette each improved their league records this past week.
For Georgia Southern it will be a quick turnaround as the Eagles host their second nationally televised game of the season on ESPNU. The Eagles hosted Appalachian State earlier in the year on a Thursday night ESPNU matchup and now they will welcome the Troy Trojans to town. Of note, Georgia Southern’s fifth win in conference play last Saturday assured that they will be the second team to post a winning conference record in its inaugural year – and interestingly it was Troy that was the first team to post a winning conference record in its inaugural year (2004 - 5-2).
UL Lafayette will be coming off of playing two consecutive Tuesday night games when it hosts South Alabama on Saturday. The Cajuns wrapped up a perfect October this past week in defeating Arkansas State and close the month on a three game winning streak. South Alabama enters the contest on a winning streak of its own, having won four straight games. The Jaguars enter the UL Lafayette game needing just one win to become bowl eligible for the second consecutive year, but the rest of their schedule will be formidable. Including UL Lafayette, the Jags’ next four games will be against teams that all have winning records and their final game of the season comes against Navy which currently holds a .500 record.
Rounding out teams from the Sun Belt that currently hold winning records are Arkansas State and Texas State. Both sit at 4-3 on the year and 2-1 in league play and both head west for Saturday’s games. Arkansas State travels to play Idaho while Texas State will head to New Mexico State. The Red Wolves will be playing their final game of a three game road stretch and Texas State will be looking for their third road win of the season.
Appalachian State hosts Georgia State on Saturday in a game that will be the beginning of a tough stretch for the Panthers, who play three of their final four games on the road. Appalachian State will be looking to get to .500 in league play as they won their first ever Sun Belt game two Saturdays ago at Troy.
Upcoming Schedule
October 21
* Arkansas State at UL Lafayette – 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
October 24
* Troy at South Alabama - 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
October 25
* Georgia Southern at Georgia State - 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Texas State at UL Monroe - 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
October 30
* Troy at Georgia Southern - 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
All times Central (CT) and subject to change
* denotes Sun Belt Conference game
Recent Results
October 25
* Georgia Southern 69, Georgia State 31 (ESPN3)
* Texas State 22, UL Monroe 18 (ESPN3)
October 24
* South Alabama 27, Troy 13 (ESPNU)
October 21
* UL Lafayette 55, Arkansas State 40 (ESPN2)
October 18
* Appalachian State 53, Troy 14 (ESPN3)
* Idaho 29, New Mexico State 17 (ESPN3)
* South Alabama 30, Georgia State 27 (ESPN3)
October 14
* UL Lafayette 34, Texas State 10 (ESPN2)
Sun Belt Players of the Week - As selected by a media voting panel
Offensive Player of the Week
Elijah McGuire (UL Lafayette, So., RB)
The Houma, La., native rushed for a career-high 265 yards and rushed for four touchdowns in the Ragin’ Cajuns 55-40 nationally-televised victory over Arkansas State on Tuesday … scored on runs of 74 (a career-long) and 13 yards in the second quarter before adding a pair of TDs in the final 3:30 of the game on runs of 43 and 54 yards … the 265-yard performance by McGuire was the eighth 200-yard rushing game in school history and the third-best overall behind Tyrell Fenroy (297 vs. ULM, 2008) and Brian Mitchell (271 vs. Colorado State, 1987) … moved into the FBS lead in yards per carry on the season (9.43 yards).
Defensive Player of the Week
David Mayo (Texas State, Sr., LB)
David Mayo recorded a career-high 22 tackles and a quarterback sack to lead Texas State to a 22-18 comeback victory at UL Monroe. The win also gives Texas State its first win in a Sun Belt Conference road game. His 22 tackles are the third-highest total in league history and Mayo became the first Sun Belt Conference player to record 20 or more tackles in two games during their career. His 22 tackles give him 105 in just seven games this season to mark the first time in his career that he has recorded over 100 tackles.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Daniel Cadona (UL Lafayette, Sr., P)
The native Australian (Darwin, N.T.) averaged 45.0 yards on six attempts in the Ragin’ Cajuns 55-40 nationally-televised victory over Arkansas State on Tuesday … recorded a long of 59 yards and placed five of his attempts inside the AState 13-yard line (13, 5, 9, 10 and 7) … on the season, is second in the Sun Belt Conference, and 15th nationally, with a 44.8 average and has placed 18 of his 35 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Around the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt sets win record vs. Non-Conference Foes
The Sun Belt Conference’s 21 non-conference wins in the 2013 season eclipsed the previous record mark of 19 set in 2012. Additionally, of note for the league’s non-conference win total was that the Sun Belt fared well against its peer opponents in the non-AQ BCS ranks during the 2013 season. The Sun Belt finished the year a combined 8-1 against members of Conference-USA (4-1), the Mid-American Conference (3-0) and the Mountain West Conference (1-0). The Sun Belt also had the best overall non-conference win percentage when comparing the four non-AQ conferences.
Sun Belt Membership
The Sun Belt Conference will contest the 2014 football season with 11 members – Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy. UALR and UT Arlington compete as non-football playing members. The Sun Belt will have four new members in the league this year as Appalachian State and Georgia Southern were added as all-sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State were added as football playing members. Both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern bring with them highly successful football programs and each team will begin the process of transitioning to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) immediately. The 2014 Sun Belt football season will mark the debut of both in the league schedule and standings. Additionally, both the Mountaineers and Eagles will be able to compete for the league championship in football for the 2014 season. Both teams will first be eligible to compete in a spot for a postseason bowl game come the 2015 season. Idaho and New Mexico State are familiar partners of the Sun Belt Conference, having been football members from the league’s inaugural year of football in 2001 through the 2004 season. Both members played an integral part of forming the Sun Belt Conference for football and now add strength to the league. Both teams will be immediately eligible to compete for the Sun Belt football championship and also for a spot in postseason bowl games.
Sun Belt Undefeated in 2013 Bowl Games
The 2013 football season saw two teams take home bowl championship trophies, as UL Lafayette won its third consecutive R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and Arkansas State won its second consecutive GoDaddy Bowl. The Red Wolves won their second consecutive GoDaddy Bowl by defeating Ball State 23-20. The previous season the Red Wolves defeated Kent State in the annual bowl game played in Mobile. The Red Wolves have made three consecutive appearances in the game, having lost to Northern Illinois in their first appearance. The Ragin’ Cajuns closed the 2013 football season with a 9-4 record that included a share of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference title and a 24-21 win over Tulane in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Preseason Awards Candidates
Paul Hornung Award Watch List - Rashon Ceaser, UL Monroe, J.D. McKissic, Arkansas State; Lou Groza Award Watch List - Maxwell Johnson, New Mexico State; Ray Guy Award Watch List - Austin Rehkow, Idaho Justin Manton, UL Monroe; Rimington Award Watch List-Bryce Giddens, Arkansas State, Mike Marboe, Idaho, Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, New Mexico State; John Mackey Award Watch List- Darion Griswold, Arkansas State; Wes Saxton, South Alabama; Jim Thorpe Award Watch List - Sterling Young, Arkansas State, Rocky Hayes, Arkansas State; Biletnikoff Award Watch List -Rashon Ceaser, UL Monroe, Wes Saxton, South Alabama, Shaverez Smith, South Alabama, Jamal Robinson, UL Lafayette; Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List - Justin Hamilton, UL Lafayette,Gerrand Johnson, UL Monroe, Qushaun Lee, Arkansas State, Mykhael Quave, UL Lafayette, Daniel Quave, UL Lafayette, Tyler Roberts, Troy, Dominique Tovell, UL Lafayette, David Mayo, Texas State, Davey O’Brien Watch List - Terrance Broadway, UL Lafayette; Dick Butkus Award Watch List - Michael Orakpo, Texas State; Doak Walker Award Watch List - Marcus Cox, Appalachian State, Michael Gordon, Arkansas State, Alonzo Harris, UL Lafayette, Robert Lowe, Texas State; Maxwell Award Watch List - Qushaun Lee, Arkansas State; All-State Sugar Bowl Manning Award Watch List - Terrance Broadway, UL Lafayette.
Sun Belt Bowl Games
The Sun Belt Conference maintains primary bowl tie-ins with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl and the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. A team from the Sun Belt Conference has played in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl since its inception in 2001. The SBC has won five consecutive R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl games and seven out of the last eight. The GoDaddy bowl matches teams from the Sun Belt Conference and Mid-American Conference. Arkansas State has helped lead the Sun Belt to two consecutive wins in the GoDaddy Bowl. The Camellia Bowl will match-up the Sun Belt Conference against the Mid-American Conference beginning in December. The game will be played yearly at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
Come 2015, the Cure Bowl will feature a team from the Sun Belt Conference against the American Athletic Conference. The game will be played yearly at the newly renovated Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the weekend before the Christmas holiday. The Cure Bowl is the first of its kind to combine the passions of college football with the goal of supporting breast cancer research.
The Sun Belt Conference will also be part of the rotation for the newly created Bahamas Bowl and Miami Beach Bowl.
With the 2014-15 year marking the debut of the College Football Playoff (CFP) the Sun Belt continues to find itself among the 10 premier college football conferences and the new system is guaranteed universal access based on performance – there are no automatic qualifiers for the playoff system. Additionally, the CFP will mean that a spot among the premier bowl games of college football will be guaranteed to the highest-ranked champion from the “Group of Five” conferences: the Sun Belt Conference, American Athletic Conference, Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA.
Georgia State’s Ruiz Named John Mackey Tight End of Week
Georgia State tight end Joel Ruiz was named John Mackey Tight End of the Week after his season opening performance in the Panthers’ 38-37 win over Abilene Christian. Ruiz, a junior from Kingsland, Ga., had a career-best game with seven receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
A-State’s Greve Added to Rimington Trophy?Watch List
Arkansas State senior center Tyler Greve has been added to the 2014 Rimington Trophy Watch List. Greve joins 55 other players across the nation on the watch list for the award presented annually to the nation’s premier college center. Greve is the fourth A-State player ever named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.
Sun Belt Bowl Game Winning Percentage
Over the last five years the Sun Belt Conference ranks second out of the 10 FBS conferences in postseason bowl game winning percentage. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference ranks ahead of noted leagues – the ACC, Pac-12 and the Big Ten.
|
Conference |
Winning % |
|
SEC |
0.625 |
|
Sun Belt |
0.571 |
|
Mountain West |
0.538 |
|
C-USA |
0.536 |
|
Big 12 |
0.513 |
|
Pac-12 |
0.500 |
|
ACC |
0.439 |
|
American |
0.400 |
|
Big Ten |
0.385 |
|
MAC |
0.346 |
All-Time Sun Belt Standings for Current Members (Sorted by Winning Percentage)
|
School |
Wins |
Losses |
Percentage |
Years in Sun Belt |
|
Georgia Southern |
5 |
0 |
1.000 |
1 |
|
Troy |
50 |
28 |
0.641 |
11 |
|
Arkansas State |
49 |
40 |
0.551 |
14 |
|
UL Lafayette |
52 |
44 |
0.542 |
14 |
|
New Mexico State |
16 |
14 |
0.533 |
6 |
|
UL Monroe |
48 |
49 |
0.495 |
14 |
|
South Alabama |
9 |
11 |
0.450 |
2 |
|
Texas State |
4 |
5 |
0.444 |
2 |
|
Appalachian State |
1 |
2 |
0.333 |
1 |
|
Idaho |
8 |
23 |
0.258 |
6 |
|
Georgia State |
0 |
12 |
0.000 |
2 |
UL Lafayette Football Honored for Academic Performance
The UL Lafayette football team was recognized recently for having the highest grade point averages in the Sun Belt Conference last school year. This year’s Sun Belt Team Academic Award will be presented to the Cajuns as they had the highest average GPA of all Sun Belt football teams. The academic award is calculated by totaling individual GPAs of team members, then dividing by the total number of student-athletes on that particular team. All GPAs are based on the previous school year and include the total GPA for the year (not the average of semesters).
Georgia Southern’s Frye Named a Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Georgia Southern offensive tackle Garrett Frye has been selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS Senior and have notable achievements in the four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Georgia Southern University’s Male Student-Athlete for both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years as well as earning first-team All-America honors, Frye was a 2013 CoSIDA/Capital One Division I Academic All-District selection. He owns a 3.77 cumulative grade point average in the Exercise Science curriculum.
UL Lafayette’s Cadona Named Ray Guy National Punter of the Week
UL Lafayette punter Daniel Cadona was named the Ray Guy National Punter of the Week following his performance against Ole Miss on Sept. 13. Cadona, a native of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia averaged 51.1 yards on seven attempts for the Ragin’ Cajuns against the No. 14-ranked Rebels. Cadona, who recorded a net average of 48.7 yards, recorded punts of 50 yards or greater on his first six attempts and placed three inside the Ole Miss 20-yard line.
Sun Belt to Expand Live Event Distribution with ESPN3
The Sun Belt Conference and ESPN announced recently a content expansion within their agreement that will result in the exclusive distribution of up to an additional 50 Sun Belt events on ESPN3 - ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network.
“ESPN continues to live up to its billing as the ‘Worldwide Leader in Sports’ with the advances that it has made in digital content,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson. “ESPN3 and WatchESPN have revolutionized how viewers consume sports – we are excited to be part of that and eager to display the Sun Belt to the 92 million homes that ESPN3 reaches.”
Fans will begin seeing the product of the expanded agreement this fall when a number of Sun Belt football games will be exclusively produced and distributed on ESPN3. The fall sports season will also feature the conference’s Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, and Volleyball Championships on the network. A number of men’s and women’s regular-season basketball games will be available along with every contest from the 2015 Sun Belt Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. Baseball will be featured heavily in the spring with a run of regular-season games and up to seven matchups from the conference championship being made available. Several games from the 2015 Softball Championship will also be carried on ESPN3.
The deal that has been struck will also be instrumental in the future of airing more live events as the conference and ESPN will work jointly to develop a school production based model. This will result in Sun Belt members being able to deliver high quality productions that can be featured on ESPN3 throughout the year.
Sun Belt Conference Head Football Coaches Teleconference
Every Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:47 a.m. beginning August 25 to November 24
All times Central (CT) and subject to change
Contact John McElwain (mcelwain@sunbeltsports.org) for info
10:30 a.m. – Announcements – If Necessary
10:30 a.m. – Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State
10:37 a.m. – Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern
10:44 a.m. – Dennis Franchione, Texas State
10:51 a.m. – Larry Blakeney, Troy
10:58 a.m. – Paul Petrino, Idaho
11:05 a.m. – Doug Martin, New Mexico State
11:12 a.m. – Blake Anderson, Arkansas State
11:19 a.m. – Mark Hudspeth, UL Lafayette
11:26 a.m. – Todd Berry, UL Monroe
11:33 a.m. – Trent Miles, Georgia State
11:40 a.m. – Joey Jones, South Alabama
Sun Belt Conference Video Feed
Contact Travis Llewellyn (llewellyn@sunbeltsports.org) for info.
The Sun Belt Conference will provide a weekly video feed of head coach interviews and game highlights each Tuesday during the 2014 football season. The video feed will be made available exclusively through a digital download this season using the website https://sunbeltsports.egnyte.com/. New videos made available on this site will be uploaded on Tuesday of each week by 2 p.m. The videos will also be maintained and archived throughout the season. Members of the media may also find supplementary content on this site such as logos and photos. For login information please contact Travis Llewellyn (llewellyn@sunbeltsports.org) or John McElwain (mcelwain@sunbeltsports.org).
Team News and Notes
Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State snapped a four-game losing streak and moved to 2-5 on the season with a 53-14 rout at Troy.
The win was Appalachian State’s first-ever in Sun Belt Conference play.
The win was Appalachian State’s first over an NCAA Division I FBS opponent since its historic 34-32 victory at Michigan in 2007. Appalachian State had lost 10-straight games to FBS opponents.
Appalachian State avoided losing five-straight games for the first time since 1977.
Appalachian State’s 39-point margin of victory was its largest in a conference game since it toppled Wofford, 70-24, in a Southern Conference matchup on Oct.
31, 2008.
The 39-point margin of victory was also the second-largest in a Sun Belt game this season, behind only Arkansas State’s 52-10 win over Georgia State last Saturday.
Appalachian State outgained Troy, 551-308, in Saturday’s romp, marking the fourth time in seven games this season that App State has outgained its opponent.
441 of Appalachian State’s 551 yards at Troy came on the ground, which was its highest rushing total since it ran for 448 yards against Jacksonville in 2008.
Appalachian State’s 441 rushing yards were the second-most by a Sun Belt team this season, behind only Georgia Southern’s 564 rushing yards against Savannah State on Sept. 6
For the second-straight game, Appalachian State had two 100-yard rushers – Marcus Cox (123) and Ricky Fergerson (107) against Troy. Prior to Cox (111) and Terrence Upshaw (111) both rushing for 100 yards against Liberty last Saturday, Appalachian State had not had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since Travaris Cadet (133) and Steven Miller (102) both accomplished the feat against The Citadel on Oct. 15, 2011.
Arkansas State Red Wolves
Arkansas State wraps up a three-game road swing, its longest of the season, this week at Idaho before playing three of their final four regular-season games at home . . . A-State is coming off a 55-40 setback at UL Lafayette, falling for just the second time over both its last 13 conference road games and 13 contests in the month of October . . . The Red Wolves are 2-1 after three conference games for the third straight year . . . The 95 points scored in A-State’s game tied the fourth most in school history . . . The A-State offense has recorded over 300 yards total offense in all seven games this season and at least 500 in four contests, including the last three in a row . . . The Red Wolves have posted at least 200 rushing yards in the last three games and four times this season . . . A-State scored at least 30 points each of its last two games, including a season-high 40 last week versus UL Lafayette . . . The A-State defense gave up a season-high 55 points against UL Lafayette, more than its previous three games combined (38 total) . . . The Red Wolves allowed their first 100-yard rusher (two) this season against UL Lafayette, which was also the first team to post over 100 yards rushing since Utah State . . . Junior quarterback Fredi Knighten posted career highs for passing yards (344), pass completions (26) and total offense (405), while also tying his touchdowns responsible for (405) and passing touchdowns (3) against UL Lafayette . . . Sophomore linebacker Xavier Woodson recorded a team and career-high 14 tackles last week against UL Lafayette, while also posting his fourth sack of the season.
Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern (6-2, 5-0) has a short turnaround this week with a Thursday, October 30th game against Troy at Allen E. Paulson Stadium. Game coverage is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time as the game will be televised on ESPNU. The Eagles look to break a 25-year old attendance record of 25,725 and remain undefeated at home this season.
The Eagles and Trojans have met 13 times previously with Georgia Southern holding a 3-2 advantage in games played in the modern era. Troy leads the overall series 10-3, but the Eagles won 24-21 the last time the two teams met, in the NCAA FCS quarterfinals at Troy in 1995. The teams are an even 1-1 at Paulson Stadium and Coach Larry Blakeney owns that 21-0 win in Statesboro in 1992.
Georgia Southern recorded the program’s 300th modern era win on Saturday with a 69-31 win over Georgia State in the first meeting between the two in-state teams. The win assures the Eagles of finishing with a winning Sun Belt record. Outside of the conference’s first season of play in 2001, only once before has an inaugural member, Troy, finished with a winning record overall or in conference play (2004 – Troy – 7-5, 5-2 Sun Belt). The Eagles ran to a Sun Belt Conference record 613 yards and scored a league-record 10 rushing TDs in the game with exceptional performances from sophomore running back Matt Breida and sophomore quarterback Kevin Ellison.
Breida scored four rushing touchdowns and finished his night with 201 rushing yards, moving past the 1,000-rushing yard milestone for the season while Ellison crossed the 100-yard rushing mark for the fifth time this season with 115 yards and a TD. Redshirt freshman L.A. Ramsby was third with 92 yards rushing and had two of the Eagles’ touchdowns. Breida’s single-game effort marked the first time an Eagle had run for more than 200 yards since 2012. His season total (1,032) to date puts him in Georgia Southern’s top-20 single-season rankings.
After seeing both teams combine to score on six of the first seven possessions, Georgia State moved into the Eagles’ territory to cut the 27-17 deficit, but sophomore cornerback Darius Jones had a highlight-reel interception as the drive-halting play broke up the intended pass at the Eagles’ 12-yard line in the second quarter. It was Panther quarterback Nick Arbuckle’s first interception in 124 attempts.
Senior linebacker and Atlanta native Edwin Jackson led Georgia Southern in tackles for the fifth time this season with seven against Georgia State. The Eagles recorded six tackles for loss and with Jones’ 11th interception, surpassed the team total for all of 2013 and the most to date, since the 2011 season. Two fumble recoveries, by Deion Stanley and Tay Hicklin, gave Georgia Southern its most in that category since the Sept. 6th game vs. Savannah State.
Georgia State Panthers
The final third of the season is a tough stretch for the Panthers, who play three of their final four games on the road, beginning this Saturday at Appalachian State. Georgia State also travels to Troy (Nov. 8) and Clemson (Nov. 22) before concluding the season Nov. 29 at home vs. Texas State.
Georgia State has suffered three Sun Belt losses by three points each, and in all three, the Panthers scored late in the fourth quarter to take the lead before falling.
Wide receiver Donovan Harden had a record-setting day in Georgia State’s loss to Georgia Southern. The junior from Rialto, Calif., caught a school-record four touchdown passes, covering three, 59, 35 and 36 yards. His four touchdowns receiving are tied for the second-most in Sun Belt Conference history, one behind the league record of five. Harden also set the Georgia State single-game record with 186 receiving yards while tying the school mark for receptions with 11.
Over the last two games, Harden has 21 receptions for 318 yards and six touchdowns. Making Harden’s feats even more impressive is the fact that he suffered a torn ACL less than a year ago and he is now playing through a shoulder injury.
Quarterback Nick Arbuckle turned in his third 400-yard passing effort of the season with 408 yards vs. Georgia Southern. He tied the school record for the second time this season with four touchdown passes.
Harden has seven touchdown receptions, just one shy of Albert Wilson’s school record of eight, set last season. The GSU mark for touchdowns scored is nine by Wilson and Donald Russell (2011).
Arbuckle is also approaching several Georgia State season records. He has 2,472 yards passing (record: 2,573 by Ronnie Bell in 2013), 183 completions (record: 190 by Drew Little, 2010), 16 touchdown passes (record: 18 by Little, 2010) and 2,514 yards of total offense (record: 2,686 by Bell, 2013).
If Arbuckle gets the Georgia State season record for touchdown passes, he will also become the Panthers’ career leader. Drew Little and Ronnie Bell share the current career record of 18 TD passes. Arbuckle is 645 yards behind Bell’s career record of 3,117 yards passing.
Georgia State has scored 29 touchdowns On the season, and on 20 of their 29 touchdown drives, the Panthers have travelled 70 or more yards. The average length of Georgia State’s 29 touchdown drives is nearly 74 yards.
Idaho Vandals
Technically, Idaho is coming off its first bye of the season. In reality, it was the Vandals’ second Saturday without a game – although they were traveled to, suited up, warmed up and had one play before their season-opener against Florida was canceled for 2014 (the teams now are scheduled to play in 2017). Idaho has another bye – Nov. 22.
Idaho’s players ranked in the Sun Belt standings didn’t lose ground during the off week.
Senior Joshua McCain remains the league-leader in receptions per game (7.7) and average receiving yards per game (114.9).
Redshirt freshman Matt Linehan, despite missing all but one series of the Vandals’ homecoming game against New Mexico State, is second in average passing yards per game at 269.9 and fourth in total offense at 256.9.
Those numbers help the Vandals stay among the league’s top passing games with 303.1 yards per game – second to Georgia State’s 316.2.
Sophomore Austin Rehkow leads the league’s punters at 48.0 yards per kick to give Idaho a league-leading 43.2 net yards per punt as a team. Rehkow also is tied for first in field goals per game with 1.29.
Junior linebacker Marc Millan is tied for seventh in total tackles per game at 8.4.
UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns football team will look to build off a successful October when it returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 1) when it plays host to South Alabama in the annual Homecoming Game at Cajun Field.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3. Matt Stewart (pxp), Rocky Boiman (color) and Brooke Williamson (sideline) will call the action.
UL Lafayette (4-3, 3-0 Sun Belt) finished off a perfect October with a 55-40 victory over Arkansas State on Tuesday behind the running of Elijah McGuire (career-high 265 yards, 4 TDs) and Alonzo Harris (107 yards, 4 TDs). The Ragin’ Cajuns gained 521 yards, including 419 on the ground, against the Sun Belt’s top defensive unit in earning their third consecutive victory after a September schedule that featured Conference USA co-leader Louisiana Tech (5-3), Mountain West co-leader Boise State (6-2) and third-ranked Ole Miss (7-1).
The Ragin’ Cajuns defense registered five sacks, two by Christian Ringo, and forced a turnover as they built a 34-9 lead in the second quarter. Corey Trim picked off a pass for the second consecutive week and Daniel Cadona kept a potent A-State offense pinned deep in its own territory placing four of his six punts inside the 10-yard line.
Since opening Sun Belt play, UL Lafayette is second in scoring offense (41.0), second in rushing defense (161.7), third in total offense (503.3) and third in rushing offense (300.7). The Cajuns lead the league in passing efficiency in SBC play (152.1) and are fifth in total defense (430.0).
Alonzo Harris’ four rushing touchdowns against Arkansas State increased his career total to 41, fourth among all active FBS rushers. Harris is tied with Boise State’s Jay Ajayi for 10th among active FBS rushers with 2,958 yards, is 36th in all-purpose yards (3,192) and 41st in points per game (5.7).
Among active FBS quarterbacks, Terrance Broadway is 13th in passing yards (6,485), 13th in total offense (8,078), 17th in passing yards per game (202.7), 18th in passing efficiency (144.03) and 23rd in total offense per game (252.4).
Elijah McGuire (113.6) is 10th among active FBS players in all-purpose yards per game.
Christian Ringo is 20th among active FBS players with 15.5 sacks in his career.
UL Monroe Warhawks
ULM will step out of conference for the final time this season as it travels to College Station, Texas this weekend for a road tilt at Texas A&M... Saturday’s contest between the Warhawks and the Aggies will be the third meeting all-time... Texas A&M leads the all-time series 2-0.
When ULM lines up against Texas A&M this weekend it will be the squad’s third game against an SEC team this season... ULM and SEC member Florida have the same number of road SEC games this season (three).
ULM will also be facing its fourth Power Five teams as it battles Texas A&M at Kyle Field on Oct. 25... ULM has also lined up against Wake Forest (ACC), LSU (SEC) and Kentucky (SEC)... The Warhawks are one of two FBS teams to have a non-conference schedule comprised completely of Power Five teams (UMass is the other).
ULM dropped its first home game of the season last Saturday night as Texas State claimed a 22-18 win at JPS Field at Malone Stadium... With the loss, the Warhawks fell to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.
For the second consecutive game, Tyler Cain racked up 169 all-purpose yards (career-best)... Against the Bobcats, Cain registered 66 kickoff return yards, 64 receiving yards and 39 rushing yards.
The Warhawk defense saw its active streak of forcing at least one turnover come to an end as ULM failed to force a turnover against the Bobcats... The Wahawks active streak had reached 32 straight games and was the longest active streak entering last week’s games.
In all, the Warhawk defense tallied nine tackles for loss (30 yards) and five sacks (26 yards)... With the five sacks against the Bobcats, ULM now has 26 sacks on the season and the defense needs just two more sacks to set a Sun Belt era (2001-pres.) high for a season... The 2009 squad, with 27 sacks, recorded the most sacks in a season during ULM’s Sun Belt era.
Justin Manton drilled a career-long 51-yard field goal in the opening quarter of the Texas State game... Manton’s 51-yarder is also the longest field goal made by a Warhawk during the Sun Belt era (2001-pres.).
New Mexico State Aggies
The New Mexico State football team fell 29-17 to Idaho in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday, Oct. 18 in the Kibbie Dome.
Once again turnovers played a role in the outcome of the game for the Aggies with NM State throwing three interceptions and losing one fumble. Freshman quarterback Andrew Allen got his first career start and ended the game going 6-of-11 passing for 88 yards and one interception. Tyler Rogers, who made an appearance late in the game, recorded 3-of-5 passing for 12 yards and two interceptions.
The Vandals recorded two turnovers to the Aggies four. More importantly, Idaho scored 16 points off turnovers, missing a two point conversion on one score. The Aggies scored three points off the Vandal interception.
Larry Rose III had another big game for the Aggies, leading the team with 155 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. The Aggies recorded 100 yards passing and 140 yards on the ground, compared to Idaho’s 226 through the air and 310 on the ground. Vandals running back Jerrel Brown finished with 151 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
The Aggies are off next week before hosting Texas State Nov. 1. The game between NM State and Texas State is the start of a three game home stand for the Aggies heading into the final third of the season.
South Alabama Jaguars
USA extended its winning streak to four with a 27-13 defeat of Troy Friday night, its first-ever victory over the Trojans. … The Jaguars return to the road for the first time in nearly a month — their last game away from home was a 47-21 victory at Appalachian State on Oct. 4 — with a trip to UL Lafayette looking to build on a 3-0 mark outside of Mobile; coming into the fall USA had never won more than two contests in a season. … It’s the first of two straight games on road against last year’s Sun Belt Conference co-champions with the Jags schedule to travel to Arkansas State next week; it will also be the first time in three years that USA does not conclude league play against the Ragin’ Cajuns. … Kendall Houston ran for a school game-record 178 yards and a touchdown on just 18 carries, an average of 9.9 yards per attempt, while finishing with a career-best 185 all-purpose yards to help the Jaguars earn the victory over Troy. The senior picked up 139 of those yards after the Trojans had closed to within four points, 10-6, early in the third quarter, including a 41-yard scoring run — his first of the season — that extended the USA lead to 24-6 late in the period. It was the first time that Houston has run for 100 yards since gaining 117 at North Carolina State on Sept. 17, 2011, while it was the seventh time in his career that he has surpassed the 100-yard mark. … Xavier Johnson also rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time in his career after picking up 107 on 15 attempts, recording his first-ever touchdown as well with a 14-yard run that made the score 17-6 midway through the third quarter. Not only was it the first time that two Jags have run for 100-plus yards in the same outing since Houston (116) and Brandon Ross (115) accomplished the feat in a win over Nicholls State on Sept. 18, 2010, it helped USA gain 296 yards on the ground against the Trojans. … DB Antonio Carter stopped Troy’s first play from scrimmage for a one-yard loss, going on to lead all players with a career-high 14 total tackles while helping the Jaguars limit the Trojans to just 309 yards — including only 107 after the intermission — in a two-touchdown victory as USA won its fourth game in a row. In matching the highest tackle total by a Jag this fall first set by Maleki Harris against current No. 1 Mississippi State on Sept. 13, Carter surpassed his 12-game figure from a year ago as he now has 34 stops through seven contests. … Less than a week after collecting a school-record-tying 3½ tackles for loss, senior Theo Rich added 2½ more in the win over the Trojans. It’s the fourth straight contest that the defensive end has been credited with at least one stop behind the line of scrimmage while his fourth-quarter sack was his seventh of the year, which is a ½ shy of equaling the school season record.
Texas State Bobcats
Texas State enters this week’s game at New Mexico State with a 2-1 record in road games after coming from behind to win 22-18 at UL Monroe. It is the first Sun Belt Conference road win for the Bobcats since they joined the league in 2013.
Texas State will look to win its third straight road game this week at New Mexico State when the Bobcats look to post three road wins in a season for the first time since 2009.
Texas State will also look earn win its third Sun Belt Conference victory after equaling last season of two SBC wins at UL Monroe. The Bobcats are 2-1 in SBC games this season after opening their conference schedule with a victory over Idaho and a loss against defending SBC co-champion UL Lafayette.
Senior linebacker David Mayo’s 22 tackles at ULM tied him for the most tackles by a NCAA FBS player this season. It also gives him two games with 20 or more tackles. Mayo leads the nation with 15 tackles per game and has logged 10 or more tackles in all seven games this season.
Mayo also is the only player in the nation to have 20 tackles in two games this season and the first player in Sun Belt Conference history to accomplish the feat. He also logged 20 tackles at Tulsa.
Tyler Jones completed 70 percent of his passes at ULM when he finished the game completing 14 of 20 passes for 171 yards and TD without any interceptions. It marks the second time he has completed 70 percent of his passes this season. He also opened the season
Robert Lowe finished the UL Monroe game running for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. It marks the first time he has rushed for two touchdowns since he scored two TDs at Idaho in 2013.
Trey McGowen recorded a career-best 17 tackles at UL Monroe in just his second start. In his two starts this season, McGowen has registered 26 tackles including 14 unassisted stops.
Troy Trojans
Jarvis Bentley had a career-long gain for 19 yards (his first career rushing attempt) … Jordan Chunn rushed for a season-high 53-yards … Chandler Worthy moved into seventh place in Troy history with 123 pass receptions … Chandler Worthy is now tied for tenth in Troy history with 1,663 receiving yards … Montres Kitchens had a team-leading, career-high 11 tackles … Billy Dobbs had a career-high two tackles for loss … Ryan Kay kicked a 43-yard field goal, the second longest field goal of his career … Drew Thompson blocked a punt in the third quarter; this marked the first blocked punt since ULM on October 31, 2013 … Chandler Worthy moved into second in Troy history with 75 kick returns … Troy head coach Larry Blakeney has 176 career victories in his 24 seasons at Troy; the other 10 head coaches in the Sun Belt have COMBINED for 118 victories at their current school … Troy has the highest all-time winning percentage in Sun Belt games in league history; 50-28, .641. Middle Tennessee is second with a .575 winning percentage … 50 Sun Belt victories for Troy since joining the league in 2004; Troy reached 50 SBC wins in just 76 games, which is the fastest in league history (MTSU, 87; UL Lafayette, 92) … 26 different players with an offensive touch this season; 11 players have a rush, four have attempted a pass and 21 have caught a pass … 21 different Trojans with at least one reception; the total leads the country