Sun Belt Football News and Notes – Week 2

Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
Sun Belt Conference Standings
Sun Belt Conference Statistics 

The Sun Belt Conference: Together We Rise

• A record six Sun Belt teams went to bowl games last season, breaking the previous record of four set in 2012 and 2015. The four bowl wins were the most ever by the Sun Belt in its league history.

• The Sun Belt’s .667 winning percentage in bowl games fell one win shy of claiming a win in ESPN’s “Conference Bowl Challenge” among all 10 FBS conferences, and percentage-wise finished tied with the Big 12 Conference for the second spot. It was the best bowl winning percentage among the “Group of Five” conferences.

• The Sun Belt finished third in the annual “Group of Five” conference rankings in 2017 after finishing fifth the past two seasons.

• The College Football Playoff distributed $50 million to the “Group of Five” conferences to be split evenly amongst the leagues, with the other $35 million distributed based on regular season and post season performance. The Sun Belt’s third-place finish resulted in an extra $3 million to be distributed evenly among its membership.

• The Sun Belt will add a significant boost to its officiating program this year as it was recently announced that the conference will use a collaborative replay system. The system will allow officials in a central location to review replays and assist officials at each game.

• Troy became the first Sun Belt school to earn an AP Top 25 ranking last season (#25 – November 14).

• South Alabama defeated No. 19 San Diego State 42-24 for the program’s first win over a top-25 team and Mississippi State 21-20 for its first win against a member of the SEC last season.
Arkansas State and Appalachian State were co-champions of the league in 2016. It was the fifth conference title in six seasons for the Red Wolves, and a first-ever Sun Belt title for the Mountaineers.

• The 2017 season will be the fifth consecutive year all Sun Belt football home games will be carried by an ESPN network. In total, 68 home contests will be televised.
12 Sun Belt home games are already slated to appear on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU including at least one game on “Championship Saturday” on December 2nd.

• The Sun Belt will determine its football conference champion with a championship game for the first time in league history beginning with the 2018 season. The game will be played between the winners of the East and West divisions at the home stadium of the divisional winner with the best ranking in the College Football Playoff poll. If there is not a team ranked in the CFP Poll, the average computer ranking of the six computer polls that made up the BCS system will be used to determine the site. The divisions are – East: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy, West: Arkansas State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State.

Upcoming Schedule

Friday, September 8
Oklahoma State at South Alabama – 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Saturday, September 9
Texas State at Colorado – 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)
Savannah State at Appalachian State – 2:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Miami at Arkansas State – 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Louisiana at Tulsa – 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
New Hampshire at Georgia Southern – 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Alabama State at Troy – 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
ULM at Florida State – 6 p.m. (ACC Network)
UNLV at Idaho – 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
New Mexico State at New Mexico – 7 p.m. (Facebook/Stadium)

* denotes Sun Belt Conference game
All times Central (CT) and subject to change

Recent Results

Thursday, August 31
Tennessee State 17, Georgia State 10 – 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Memphis 37, ULM 29 – 8 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Idaho 28, Sacramento State 6 – 8 p.m. (ESPN3)
Arizona State 37, New Mexico State 21 – 9:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

Saturday, September 2
Boise State 24, Troy 13 – 2:45 p.m. (ESPNU)
#15 Georgia 31, Appalachian State 10 – 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Coastal Carolina 38, UMASS 28 – 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Louisiana 51, Southeastern Louisiana 48 – 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Texas State 20, Houston Baptist 11 – 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Ole Miss 47, South Alabama 27 – 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
#12 Auburn 41, Georgia Southern 7 -6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Nebraska 43, Arkansas State 36 – 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Sun Belt Football Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Osharmar Abercrombie (Coastal Carolina, Sr., RB)
After being a backup to current Denver Bronco De’Angelo Henderson for three years, Abercrombie rushed for a career-high 149 yards, marking his second career 100-yard game, with the 149 ranking the 19th-best, single-game total in school history … Had no negative rushing plays … Scored twice and now has 17 career rushing TDs to rank seventh on the school’s all-time list … Averaged 8.8 yards per carry … Helped Coastal rush for 321 yards as a team … Coastal Carolina defeated UMass, 38-28, in CCU’s first game as an FBS program. The win was CCU’s first ever (8th attempt) versus an FBS opponent.

Defensive Player of the Week

Easy Anyama (Texas State, Sr., LB)
Easy Anyama returned to Texas State’s starting lineup and recorded the first two quarterback sacks of his career against Houston Baptist. His second sack forced a turnover on downs with 1:46 left to play in the game at Texas State’s 39-yard line. He also blocked an extra-point attempt in the first quarter and forced a fumble in the second quarter.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Raymond Calais (Louisiana, So., RB)
Set a school-record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns in Louisiana’s 51-48 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday … returned the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown before adding a 100-yard return later in the first quarter … the two returns by Calais is the 19th time in FBS history that two kickoffs were returned for touchdowns in the same game (the last being on Oct. 5, 2013 by Texas State vs. Louisiana) … Calais’ 100-yard return tied a school record joining Jeryl Brazil (vs. Texas State, Oct. 10, 2015) and Darryl Surgent (at Kansas State, Sept. 7, 2013).

Sun Belt News and Notes

Sun Belt Membership
Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy give the league 10 full-time members that compete in football. Little Rock and UTA compete as Sun Belt members in all sports other than football. Idaho and New Mexico State compete only in the sport of football.

Sun Belt Bowl Partners
In 2001, the Sun Belt Conference began sponsoring football and created the inaugural New Orleans bowl in December of that year. The conference now stands as one of the 10 premier college football leagues in the country.

As part of the College Football Playoff a worthy football team in the Sun Belt can be in the national championship picture, and the league is a permanent part of the “Group of Five” conferences (joining the American Athletic Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Mid-American Conference and Conference USA) that sends its highest-rated champion to a premier January 1st bowl game.

In the last four years the Sun Belt Conference has gone from having two primary bowl partnerships to five in 2017. From 2001 to 2009 the Sun Belt Conference had only one bowl partner.

College Football Playoff
Opportunity to select Sun Belt Champion for one of six bowls or CFP semifinals

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
First Selection (vs. CUSA)

Dollar General Bowl (Mobile, Ala.)
Second Selection (vs. MAC)

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.)
Third Selection (vs. MAC)

AutoNation Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)
Fourth Selection (vs. American)

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Ariz.)
Fifth Selection (vs. Mountain West)

Sun Belt Conference Championship Game
The Sun Belt Conference will hold its first ever football championship game as the league’s presidents and chancellors, as well as athletic directors, voted unanimously to play the game beginning in 2018. The addition of Coastal Carolina and the decision to move forward as a 10-team football league, along with the NCAA Division I Council’s rules on championship games, means that the championship game has become a reality.

Sun Belt Athletes are Student-Athletes
During the recent 2016-17 academic year, Sun Belt member institutions awarded over $50 million in scholarships to more than 3,100 student-athletes, while also providing life experiences such as team building, domestic and foreign travel, community service, mentoring and recognition through honors and awards. The commitment to education recently led to over 2,100 Sun Belt Conference student-athletes being named to the 2016-17 Commissioner’s List and Academic Honor Roll. The list is comprised of 1,087 student-athletes on the Commissioner’s List (3.5 grade point average or better) and 1,045 student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll (GPA between 3.0 and 3.49).

2017 Sun Belt Football Coaches Predicted Order of Finish (first place votes)
1. Appalachian St. (7) – 136 pts
2. Troy (2) – 127 pts
3. Arkansas State (1) – 122 pts
4. South Alabama – 98 pts
5. Louisiana (1) – 95 pts
6. Idaho – 84 pts
7. Georgia Southern – 82 pts
8. Georgia State – 48 pts
9. ULM – 46 pts
10. New Mexico St. (1) – 41 pts
11. Texas State – 31 pts
12. Coastal Carolina – 26 pts

Team News and Notes

Appalachian State Mountaineers
• Redshirt senior Taylor Lamb, who ranks first among active FBS quarterbacks with 39 career games played, broke a tie for second place on App State’s list for career touchdown responsibility when he rushed for a 20-yard score in the season-opening loss at Georgia. He has been responsible for 82 touchdowns, one more than third-place Richie Williams, and Armanti Edwards ranks first with 139. At Georgia, Lamb rushed for a team-leading 66 yards on 10 official carries. Eight of his carries netted 90 yards, but two sacks cut 24 yards off his total. With his 32-yard run in the first quarter, Lamb has had a carry of at least 30 yards in four straight games and a carry of at least 20 yards in seven straight games.

• Senior safety A.J. Howard led App State with 11 tackles. The total was two off his career high of 13 against Liberty as a true freshman in 2014.

• App State ranked sixth nationally last season with 20 interceptions and the Mountaineers’ defense picked off two passes in the 2017 opener. Sophomore safety Desmond Franklin’s interception return set up the Mountaineers’ first touchdown, and sophomore linebacker Jordan Fehr’s interception preceded a last-minute field goal from Michael Rubino.

• The Mountaineers started three true freshmen on offense against the Bulldogs. Noah Hannon started at center, and a short-handed receiving corps had two true freshman starters in Thomas Hennigan and Malik Williams. Hennigan caught four passes for 28 yards and served as the team’s punt returner. Williams caught one pass for 7 yards. Six true freshmen, 13 redshirt freshmen and one graduate transfer made their App State debuts against Georgia.

Arkansas State Red Wolves
• A-State took Nebraska all the way to one final play with no time left on the clock before dropping a 43-36 road decision to the Huskers

• Arkansas State’s 36 points scored against Nebraska were its most versus a current team in the “Power Five” since it gained FBS status in 1992.

• The Red Wolves play host to Miami this week for the first time in school history, completing a home-and-home series with the Hurricanes that began in 2014.

• A-State and Miami will meet for the third time as the Hurricanes claimed a 42-10 win in 1997 and a 41-20 victory in 2014.

• While A-State has dropped its last two home openers, vs. Missouri in 2015 and Toledo in 2016, it had won its previous 10 from 2005-14. The Red Wolves stand 30-13 all-time in home openers at Centennial Bank Stadium and also 16-8 in such games since moving to FBS status in 1992.

• A-State holds a 55-13 record at Centennial Bank Stadium since 2005 and 12 consecutive seasons with a winning record at the stadium.

• Junior quarterback Justice Hansen completed 46 passes versus Nebraska to break the school record and tie the second most in Sun Belt Conference history.

• Junior Blaise Taylor recorded his fourth career punt return for a touchdown, which is the second most in Sun Belt Conference history and the second most in the nation among active players.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
• Coastal will have a bye in week two. The Chanticleers return to action Sept. 16 and play at UAB.

• The game against UMass was Coastal Carolina’s 169th game played in program history (since 2003). Through CCU’s first 168 games, Coastal had played 84 games at home and 84 on the road. Coastal is now 115-54 all-time and 66-19 at home. More specifically, Coastal is 14-2 in its third season playing on “The Surf Turf”

• Coastal Carolina is now 10-5 in season openers and has won each of its last seven openers. Coastal is 12-3 in home openers and has won each of its last seven home openers.

• Coastal Carolina embarked on a new era Saturday by playing its first game as members of the NCAA Division I FBS and Sun Belt Conference.

• UMass additionally marked the first time Coastal has hosted an NCAA FBS program.

• Prior to UMass, Coastal had only played seven NCAA Division I FBS programs in its first 15 seasons (2003-16). The Chanticleers are 1-7 in such games.

• Coastal rushed for 321 yards in the win over UMass and averaged an impressive 6.8 yards per carry. Coastal is now 80-6 (.930) all-time when rushing for at least 200 yards in a game. In the Joe Moglia era, CCU is 41-2 (.953) when rushing for 200 yards in a game. Coastal rushed for at least 200 yards in 12 of its last 13 games, including 10 straight with four 300-yard games.

Georgia Southern Eagles
• Georgia Southern and New Hampshire have met just one previous time on the gridiron with the Wildcats leading the series 1-0. New Hampshire won 27-23 in Paulson Stadium in the first round of the 2004 NCAA I-AA Playoffs.

• Overall, the Eagles are 27-6-1 in home openers with a 27-5 mark at Paulson Stadium since its first game on Sept. 29, 1984 against Liberty. The 2013 home opener, a 77-9 win over Savannah State, was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.

• When redshirt freshman Shai Werts started at quarterback at Auburn, he made history as just the third Georgia Southern freshman (true or redshirt) quarterback to start the opening game of the season. Several freshmen have started games at quarterback since the resumption of NCAA football in 1983, but Werts was the first frosh QB to start the first game of the season behind center since Charles Bostick took the first snap in the 1991 opener (also against Auburn). The only other freshman QB to start the opening game of the season was Hall of Famer Tracy Ham, who started against Central Florida in the 1983 lid-lifter.

• The Eagles have fared pretty well against the Colonial Athletic Association, posting a 25-9 records against teams currently in the conference.

• Former Georgia Southern star running back Adrian Peterson will be honored Saturday at the the end of the first quarter for his election to the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

Georgia State Panthers
• Georgia State welcomed a crowd of 24,333 for the inaugural game at Georgia State Stadium.

• Georgia State has an open date this week before travelling to No. 6-ranked Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 16 (7:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network).

• With one tackle for loss against Tennessee State, senior defensive end Mackendy Cheridor tied the GSU career record of 22. His next tackle for loss will break the mark that he currently shares with Joseph Peterson (2012-15).

• Just a redshirt sophomore, Penny Hart already ranks among the Georgia State career leaders in receptions (84/6th), receiving yards (1,196/5th) and touchdown receptions (9/5th) after just 16 career games.. Hart has averaged 5.25 receptions per game.

• Senior safety Bryan Williams is the first Panther to play a sixth season after being granted an extra year by the NCAA. Williams originally joined the Georgia State program in 2012. His older brother, tight end Arthur Williams, played for the Panthers in their first two seasons (2010-11), meaning Georgia State has never played a football game without a Williams brother on the roster.

• Georgia State ranks among the national leaders with 10 current team members who have already graduated.

Idaho Vandals
• Idaho defeated Sacramento State 28-6 Thursday, in its season opener. The Vandals are riding a six-game winning streak, the school’s longest since 1994, and matching the ninth-longest active winning streak in the country.

• The six points allowed by Idaho are the fewest surrendered by the Vandals since Nov. 20, 2010, against Utah State. Idaho is now 8-0 under head coach Paul Petrino when allowing fewer than 20 points.

• Senior quarterback Matt Linehan threw for 163 yards against Sacramento State, moving up to No. 5 in Sun Belt Conference history for career passing yards (8,879).

• Junior linebacker Tony Lashley led the Vandals with eight tackles against Sacramento State. It is the seventh consecutive game Lashley has led Idaho in tackles.

• Idaho hosts UNLV Saturday, in a rematch of last season’s thrilling 33-30 overtime victory for the Vandals in Las Vegas. Linebacker Kaden Elliss intercepted two passes in the game, returning one for a touchdown.

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
• In Louisiana’s game against Southeastern Louisiana, the 99 combined points scored between the two teams are the most points scored in a regulation game in Cajuns football history (previous game was a 55-40 win vs. Arkansas State on Oct. 21, 2014).

• Trey Ragas’ 54-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the first of his career after missing 2016 with an injury.

• Elijah Mitchell’s touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the first of his career.

• Bralen Trahan’s interception in the second quarter was the first of his career.

• Joe Dillon, as the returning leader in sacks from the 2016 season, recorded his first sack of the season in the first quarter.

• Tracy Walker led team with 10 tackles and two pass break-ups.

• Raymond Calais returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in the first quarter, the first went 97 yards (97 yards ties him for fourth all-time; Darryl Surgent vs. Oklahoma State on Oct. 8, 2010; Jason Chery at North Texas Oct. 11, 2008). Calais’ 100-yard return tied a school record joining Jeryl Brazil (vs. Texas State, Oct. 10, 2015) and Darryl Surgent (at Kansas State, Sept. 7, 2013). Calais’ first return (97 yards) was the first kickoff return by a Cajun since Brazil (vs. Texas State, Oct. 10, 2015). The two returns by Calais is the 19th time in FBS history that two kickoffs were returned for touchdowns in the same game (the last being on Oct. 5, 2013 by Texas State vs Louisiana).

ULM Warhawks
• ULM’s defense went a perfect 4-fof-4 in sudden-change situations in the season opener at Memphis, as the Tigers failed to score points off four turnovers (three lost fumbles and an interception). The Warhawk defense also played a key role in the second-half comeback, limiting Memphis to just six first downs and 72 rushing yards after halftime.

• ULM’s 2017 opponents had a combined record of 87-66 (.568) last season, and nine of those 12 opponents played in postseason bowl games.

New Mexico State Aggies
• NM State finished with seven sacks in the season opener versus ASU which is the first time the team had five or more since posting five sacks at Hawaii on Oct. 22, 2011.

• Jason Huntley set a career-high in rushing yards (84) against Arizona State.

• Tyler Rogers set a career-high in pass completions (40) and attempts (57) on Thursday versus ASU.

• Dalton Herrington posted a career-high in sacks (2) in the opening game against the Sun Devils.

• Jaleel Scott set a career-high in receptions (8) and receiving yards (149).

• Tyler Rogers was the first QB to make 40 or more completions since current Aggie tight ends coach Chase Holbrook did so against Louisiana Tech (45) on 11/22/08.

• Scott became the first Aggie wide receiver with two receiving touchdowns since Jonathan Boone did so at Kentucky on 9/17/16.

South Alabama Jaguars
• South Alabama opened the year with a 47-27 loss at Ole Miss, ending a three-game win streak for the program on opening day.

• The Jaguars begin a three-game homestand — their first in the same season since closing out the 2011 campaign with three straight contests at Ladd-Peebles Stadium — against Oklahoma State Friday night.

• The Cowboys are the second ranked team to visit South since the start of last season, as Jags defeated then-No. 19 San Diego State, 42-24, on Oct. 1 a year ago. This will mark USA’s first-ever game against an opponent from the Big 12 Conference.

• Last year’s season-opening victory at Mississippi State was the Jaguars’ first in nine tries against a member of a Power 5 conference. It’s the second time in the last four years that South will face a Power 5 school in its home opener after facing MSU in its initial home game in 2014.

• The Jags are just 4-4 in home openers in the program’s first eight seasons of competition, but overall have a 36-15 (70.6%) mark at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. That included a 5-2 record at home a year ago that was highlighted by the SDSU victory, which was USA’s first-ever over a nationally-ranked opponent. In fact, the Jaguars won all three of their non-conference contests in Mobile in 2016.

• Jeremy Reaves became the fifth player in USA history to surpass 200 tackles in a career with eight tackles in the Ole Miss game, which included a personal-best two stops behind the line of scrimmage and his first-ever sack at the collegiate level.

Texas State Bobcats
• Texas State will play its second straight game against a first-time opponent when the Bobcats travel to Colorado on Sept. 9. The Bobcats opened the season with a 20-11 victory over Houston Baptist. The game at Colorado is also Texas State’s first football contest against a Pac-12 opponent.

• The Bobcats began the season with eight first-time starters with four on offense and four on defense against Houston Baptist. The starters included quarterback Damian Williams, running back Robert Brown, Jr., offensive tackle Nic Foster and guard Jaquel Pierce. The four new starters on defense were nose tackle Sam Awad, cornerback Andrew Aneke and safeties A. J. Krawczyk and Kordell Rodgers.

• Damian Williams started at quarterback and he completed his first pass for 39 yards to Elijah King on first offensive play of the game. He completed 18-of-28 passes for 135 yards and rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts in his first start at Texas State. Williams scored on a four-yard keeper with 0:43 left in the first half for the Bobcats’ first touchdown of the season.

• Anthony Smith had a game-high 71 yards rushing on seven carries in the second half and scored his first career touchdown on a 48-yard run in the third quarter against Houston Baptist. Smith’s 48-yard TD run was the longest by a Bobcat since Tyler Siudzinski had a 62-yard run at Idaho in 2015.

• Elijah King led all players with 85 receiving yards on four catches. King’s 39-yard reception on the first offensive play of the game was the longest of his career.

Troy Trojans
• Neal Brown has never been shutout as a head coach or as an offensive coordinator — a span of 114 games

• Against Boise State, Troy’s two transfers on offense both went for 26 yards on their first career touches as Trojans. Wide receiver Damion Willis hauled in a 26-yard reception and later on the same drive Jamarius Henderson rushed for 26 yards; the plays set up a Troy field goal.

• Jordan Chunn moved into eighth place on the Troy career rushing list with 2,387 yards after he rushed for 41 yards against Boise State.

• Eight different players carried the ball for the Trojans with Jordan Chunn’s 11 carries for 41 yards leading the way.

• Emanuel Thompson led the Troy receivers with four catches for 25 yards.

• Trevon Sanders recorded a sack on Boise State’s opening possession of the game; he recorded 1.5 sacks during the 2016 season.

• Making his first start at linebacker since 2014, Sam Lebbie recorded two tackles for loss on the game drive in the first quarter, including one on fourth-and-1 to stuff Boise State. He had 4.5 tackles for loss in 2016.

• Zo Bridges recorded his third career sack and first of the season for a five-yard loss on Boise State’s second drive of the game.

• Antione Barker recorded his second career sack to force a fumble on Boise State’s second drive of the game; Barker’s first career sack also forced a fumble in the Dollar General Bowl last season.