Welcome everyone to another edition of Around the Sun Belt! There’s a couple of Sun Belt matchups on tap this week along with some interesting out-of-conference games worth keeping an eye on. But first, we look at what happened last week
Off Last Week:
Georgia Southern was the lone Sun Belt team off this week.The Eagles will return to action in Indiana when they take on the Hoosiers at 2:30 pm.
Arkansas State Red Wolves:
After an unscheduled week off due to Hurricane Irma interfering with their game against Miami, the Red Wolves took out their aggressions against Arkansas Pine Bluff with a convincing 48-3 victory. Justice Hansen had a stellar performance with 336 yards through the air and five touchdowns.
Arkansas State will head over to SMU this Saturday with kickoff set for 6 pm.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers:
It’s never a great look for a team when they lose to a team that just recently reinstated their football program. That’s just what Coastal Carolina did on Saturday when they came up short against UAB by the score of 23-30. Osharmar Abercrombie got into the endzone with 1:19 left in regulation, but the Chanticleers were unable to recover the ensuing onside kick.
Coastal Carolina will host Western Illinois on the 23rd with kickoff at 5:30 pm.
Georgia State Panthers:
The Panthers ran into a proverbial buzzsaw last Saturday when they headed to Happy Valley to take on Penn State. Saquon Barkley had a phenomenal game against Georgia State’s defense with 47 yards rushing and 142 yards off four receptions en route to a 56-0 shutout.
Georgia State will hit the road to Charlotte with kickoff set for 5 pm..
Idaho Vandals:
The Vandals kept it competitive, leading Western Michigan until the fourth quarter. The Broncos responded with 18 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes to come away with a 37-28 victory.
Idaho will open up their conference slate in Alabama when they take on the Jags with kickoff set for 1 pm.
New Mexico State Aggies:
The Aggies may have opened up conference play 0-1, but they gave the Troy Troajns everything they had. Brandon Silvers, who was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week helped the Trojans get the 27-24 win over New Mexico State with 286 yards through the air and one touchdown on the ground along with one through the air.
New Mexico State will return home to take on UTEP with kickoff set for 7 pm.
South Alabama Jaguars:
South Alabama finally got on the winning side of the ledger on Saturday with a 45-0 victory over Alabama A&M. This game had everything from a scoop and score in the endzone to a blocked field goal taken to the house.
The Jags will open up conference play against Idaho with kickoff at 1 pm.
Texas State Bobcats:
Texas State had a chance to pull off a major upset in the fourth quarter after recovering a fumble by Taylor Lamb at their own one-yard line with a little more than two minutes remaining.
The Bobcats marched down the field but came up one yard short after a slant pass to Elijah King was caught as time expired, falling 30-27. Texas State will take on UTSA in San Marcos with kickoff set for 6 pm while Appalachian State will face off against Wake Forest at 2:30 pm.
UL Monroe Warhawks:
The Warhawks came up short once again last Saturday with a 28-17 loss to Southern Miss. After a Caleb Evans 67-yard run made it a four-point contest, the Golden Eagles put it out of reach with Staggers connecting with a 42-yard pass to Kwadra Riggs.
UL Monroe will look to get their first win of the season on Saturday when they take on in-state rival Louisiana with kickoff set for 4 pm.
-Clint Domingue