Welcome back to the Sun Belt Summary, wrapping up all the action in Week 2 of the best little conference in the land! The league scored another Power Five trophy, and conference play officially opened with the first matchup between two league teams.
I’ll be honest, it’s tough to get eyes on every Sun Belt game during the non-conference slate. With one league game, there were 13 different contests to wrap up here, all on Saturday, and most were in the evening — when my team was playing. The weather delays all over the southeast also wreaked havoc on the television schedule. So I’m going to be box-score scouting a few of these for you. Let’s hit some of the games I have little say about, and work our way up to the games where I have a lot to say.
UL-Monroe 24, Lamar 14
I don’t know who Lamar is but he didn’t do very well against ULM. The Warhawks are 2-0 and head to College Station for their likely first loss of the season. Hunter Herring unseated Jiya Wright for the starting quarterback role, as he took over in the fourth quarter of the win over Army in the opener and started (and finished) the ballgame this week.
Memphis 37, Arkansas State 3
Arkansas State is now 0-2 with a cumulative score of 110-3. Is that bad? It seems bad. Freshman quarterback Jaxon Dailey got some extended run in this blowout, perhaps giving Red Wolves fans a glimpse of their post-Butch Jones outlook.
Georgia State 35, UConn 14
The Huskies were a trendy pick after they hung tough with NC State in their opener, while the Panthers could not escape Rhode Island. But Shawn Elliott’s crew got back to their mauling ways, extending a 28-0 lead into the fourth quarter thanks largely to quarterback Darren Grainger’s solid dual-threat playmaking.
Coastal Carolina 30, Jacksonville State 16
Jared Brown, Coastal Carolina’s thrilling greased-lightning sophomore receiver, led the Chants in both rushing and receiving in this game, compiling 170 yards from scrimmage with two scores. I am a little worried about Coastal’s ability to finish drives in the early season, but so far it has not swung any games: the Chants won the game they were supposed to win, and lost the game they were supposed to lose.
South Alabama 35, Southeast Louisiana 17
I did not lay eyes on this game, but you bet I noticed it was tied at halftime. The Jaguars eventually pulled away in the third quarter, but as someone who bought a lot of shares of South Alabama stock this offseason, I am officially concerned. The Jaguars have an opportunity to give investors a reason to believe as they take on a vulnerable Oklahoma State squad in Week 3.
Florida State 66, Southern Miss 13
Will Hall’s nasty bunch ran into a certified buzz saw, as this was a half football game/half victory parade for the Seminoles faithful in Doak Campbell Stadium, returning home triumphant after dispatching LSU. The Seminoles are a playoff contender, and they played like it. Jordan Travis was a wizard in this game, converting multiple absurd fourth downs in the first quarter, and the Golden Eagles had no answer.
Kansas State 42, Troy 13
Don’t let these two results deflate you. Last season’s trio of wins in Week 2 was an aberration. Both Kansas State and Florida State are rightfully ranked in the top 15 for a reason. Troy’s front seven was strong against the excellent run game of the Wildcats, holding them to just 3.9 yards per carry, but quarterback Will Howard and a fast, athletic defense was eventually too much for the Trojans.
UTSA 20, Texas State 13
The Roadrunners’ defense was excellent, and they completely vanquished the Bobcats’ rushing attack. Rendered one-dimensional, the high-flying GJ Kinne offense that dismantled Baylor the week prior was completely stifled in the Alamodome. They should still be favored in four contests (Jackson State, Nevada, ULM, Arkansas State) so they need to hold serve and steal only one more shootout to follow the 2022 Georgia Southern blueprint into a bowl game.
The Bobcats had their best chance with about 10 minutes left. TJ Finley dropped a beautiful dime that would have been a touchdown, but ended up around the 5 because receiver Kole Wilson tripped after hauling in the pass. An unfortunate series of errors later, and they were kicking a field goal to make it 17-13 instead of a game-tying extra point.
Georgia Southern 49, UAB 35
In our preseason magazine I wondered how the Georgia Southern offense would fare replacing Kyle Vantrease with Davis Brin. Stylistically, the two seemed very different; Vantrease basically never took a sack or scrambled, making quick reads in this RPO offense and getting the ball out in a hurry. At Tulsa, Brin had a knack for extending plays with his legs, leading to scramble yards, but also leading to sacks and negative plays. Would that style fit, and would it be a net positive with his scrambles, or cause regression as he took sacks?
So far, it has been a resounding positive. Brin’s pressure-to-sack rate is down from 30.5% last year at Tulsa to 10.5% so far, a good number (Vantrease was at an astonishing 4.4% last season). He has also picked up a few first downs on the ground and scored a rushing touchdown in the win this week.
Marshall 31, East Carolina 13
In college hoops, there is a metric called the “kill shot,” counting the instances where one team goes on a scoring run of at least 10-0. Having a kill shot correlates highly with winning the game. Marshall executed a kill shot in the fourth quarter of this contest, turning a 13-10 deficit into the final 31-13 margin in the blink of an eye. The sprint started with a beautifully executed double pass for a 75-yard touchdown, and then a pair of rumbling Rasheen Ali touchdowns cemented the final margin. The Marshall defense was as advertised, holding ECU to 4.0 yards per pass attempt.
Old Dominion 38, Louisiana 31
League play began in Norfolk, as the Monarchs got on the board with a conference win first. Their new veer-and-shoot offense, which was catastrophic last week against Virginia Tech, caught fire against the Ragin’ Cajuns, as new quarterback Grant Wilson threw for four touchdowns. There might be a low-flying panic attack arriving in Lafayette, as Michael Desormeaux’s team loses to one of the league’s projected bottom feeders. But they also got off to a terrible start last September, too, before rallying for a bowl game — so maybe he can pull that trick off again.
North Carolina 40, Appalachian State 34 (2OT)
These two teams played a barnburner last season and got together for a sequel this year. It was a little lower-scoring than last year’s affair in the 60s, because both teams are marginally improved on defense. Carolina running back Omarion Hampton was a royal terror all night, running for 234 yards and three touchdowns. App State quarterback Joey Aguilar was inefficient against a Power Five defense, completing only 22 out of his 43 passes, but he did have some tough runs and played a scrappy game despite getting pressured all night. App State again fell short of knocking off the in-state bullies, but the Mountaineers should be encouraged by the performance of their ballclub.
James Madison 36, Virginia 35
The Dukes added another Power Five trophy to the Sun Belt’s case with a win over an in-state program. The two teams had not played since the early 80s, despite only about an hour drive separating the two campuses. This game had everything.
It was an emotional affair, as Charlottesville hosted the first Virginia home game since a senseless mass shooting ended its season prematurely last year and took the lives of three Virginia players and wounded a fourth. The survivor, running back Mike Hollins, scored a pair of touchdowns, and there was not a dry eye in the house after his score in the second quarter brought the Hoos to within 17-14 after an early deficit.
The Cavaliers were understandably playing with their hair on fire. They took advantage of a Dukes’ defense that is incredibly efficient and gambles on creating havoc, but can be exposed and give up big plays. Tony Elliott’s outfit was doing just that on the back of true freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea, a precocious talent who was zinging the ball all over the yard. Virginia took a 35-24 lead late in the third quarter and the stadium was electric with emotion.
And then the weather delay hit in the fourth quarter. After the extended break, the Dukes came back refreshed and with adjustments, and the Virginia sideline had cooled down. The locals did not refill the stadium, but the visiting Dukes fans who had made the trip stayed put, and they watched their squad drive the length of the field twice to snatch a victory and prevent the storybook finish for Virginia. The winning touchdown came on a 10-yard pass from Jordan McCloud to running back Kaelon Black with 55 seconds remaining.
Both teams finished with near identical yardage and time of possession totals. But the Dukes were balanced on offense and won the first and fourth quarters. The Cavaliers owned the middle two frames and could not move the ball on the ground; when the big pass plays dried up, their offense completely stalled out. Dukes all-world nose guard James Carpenter led a ferocious pass rush that made the difference after the delay in stopping the Virginia offense.
Five Stars of the Week:
5) Jared Brown WR — Coastal Carolina: 7 receptions for 93 yards and 1 TD; 1 carry for 77 yards and 1 TD
4) Jeremiah Johnson SAF — Georgia State: 2 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries
3) Rasheen Ali RB — Marshall: 19 carries for 85 yards and 3 TD; 4 receptions for 45 yards
2) Davis Brin QB — Georgia Southern: 38 of 47 passing for 318 yards and 2 TD; 6 carries for 18 yards and 1 TD
1) Grant Wilson QB — Old Dominion: 13 of 19 passing for 247 yards and 4 TD; 5 carries for 4 yards and 1 TD
About the author
Born in Washington, DC, and living in New York City, I am the target demographic of the Big Ten's last expansion. I attended the University of Missouri in the Big 12 era, but I love life in the SEC. I am passionate about college football, baseball, board games, Star Wars, the written word, progressive politics, and the perfect slice of pizza.
