Week 4 was yet another fireworks-filled night in the Sun Belt Conference. The action started on Thursday night on ESPN, then picked up Saturday afternoon with Marshall scoring another win over a Power Five opponent. The league went 7-2 overall against other conferences this week. Three teams (Louisiana, James Madison, and Arkansas State) got huge leads then had to protect down the stretch as their opponents battled back, giving us some unexpected late-game thrillers. There were some amazing individual performances throughout the league, with dominant box score-stuffing stat lines.
Just another week in the best damn little conference in the land.
Georgia State 30, Coastal Carolina 17 (Thursday)
Thursday night featured the Sun Belt in a standalone spot on ESPN, as Georgia State upset the Chanticleers in Myrtle Beach. The Panthers were just the better team; the defense stood tall, and Darren Grainger and Marcus Carroll keyed the ground game. Georgia State is one of the biggest surprises in the country at 4-0, already tying last year’s 4-8 record and reversing its 0-4 start to 2022. Coastal Carolina’s rushing offense is a mess transitioning away from the Jamey Chadwell scheme; despite Grayson McCall and three talented backs, the team only rushed for 107 yards Thursday.
Old Dominion 10, Texas A&M-Commerce 9
After a lifeless Week 1, the Monarchs showed some signs of progress by beating Louisiana and then hanging tough with Wake Forest. But they reverted back to their listless ways in hosting Texas A&M-Commerce, a recent graduate from Division II football. Quarterback Grant Wilson was benched after opening the game with three interceptions, and former walk-on Jack Shields finished the game. Old Dominion turned the ball over five times and allowed eight sacks, and escaped only because it stopped the Lions’ two-point conversion attempt after a last-second touchdown brought the game to one point.
Troy 27, Western Kentucky 24
Troy stole this game last year in Bowling Green and won again this year thanks to the heroics of running back Kimani Vidal and receiver Chris Lewis. The defense did well to slow down an explosive Hilltoppers passing attack, but Lewis made a few highlight reel catches, including an end-of-the-first-half Hail Mary to steal seven points going into the locker room for intermission.
Georgia Southern 40, Ball State 3
The Eagles took care of business on the road in a complete, competent victory. Davis Brin had a clean game after last week’s nightmare in Madison, and the defense had an impressive outing to build on before conference play starts next week.
Central Michigan 34, South Alabama 30
What to make of this South Alabama team? The Jaguars grabbed an early 14-0 lead over a Chippewas team that they handled with ease on the road last year, but then allowed Central Michigan back into the ballgame. With a few minutes left, La’Damian Webb scored what should have been a game-winning touchdown. Then the Jags defense, supposedly head coach Kane Wommack’s calling card, allowed Jase Bauer to easily lead his Chips squad down the field again for a game-winning touchdown plunge.
Last week’s win in Stillwater was nice, but this Jaguars team has trouble closing out winnable ball games. There is so much talent and experience on this team, but it’s hard to trust them week in and week out.
Arkansas State 44, Southern Miss 37
Southern Miss was making incremental progress in each season of the Will Hall tenure but seems to have taken a step back this year. The Nasty Bunch defense lost a lot of contributors and coordinator Austin Armstrong, and it has not been strong enough to prop up a mediocre offense like last season. True freshman Jaylen Raynor was a man possessed for the Red Wolves, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two more. He has single-handedly breathed life back into this season for Arkansas State.
Texas State 35, Nevada 24
The last time Nevada won a football game was over a year ago to these Texas State Bobcats. For a minute, it looked like the Wolf Pack was going to break their 13-game losing streak, as they claimed a 17-0 halftime lead. But it was a house of cards: GJ Kinne’s offense had been moving the ball at will, and the Bobcats just had three different red zone drives in the first half that resulted in zero points — one which turned into a 98-yard pick six for Nevada. The Bobcats solved that problem in the second half by scoring from anywhere, ripping off four unanswered touchdowns.
There was a viral moment as a Texas State band member was escorted out for allegedly throwing a trident at a Nevada player. The trident, of course, being Nevada’s novelty turnover celebration prop. The Anchorman gifs were flowing freely on the Twitter timeline.
James Madison 45, Utah State 38
The Dukes played about as perfect a first half as possible, opening up a 38-17 lead by intermission. But conservative second half play-calling, poor execution, and a leaky secondary allowed the Aggies to tie it up. Late in the fourth quarter, Jordan McCloud hit Reggie Brown for a short completion, and the speedy senior turned it into a catch-and-run 74-yard game-winning touchdown.
This game featured a great No Context CFB moment, when Utah State converted a fake field goal for a touchdown despite blatantly running out of bounds. JMU head coach Curt Cignetti was pleading with the officials on the sideline, and someone on staff handed him their phone with a picture of the player out of bounds. He presented it to the officials, who were incensed and ripped it away from him.
Marshall 24, Virginia Tech 17
What happens when one of the worst offenses in the Power Five meets one of the best Group of Five defenses? The defense dominates, of course. For one stretch of 30 minutes of game time, Virginia Tech failed to run a single play in Marshall territory, a span of eight possessions. Rasheen Ali was a horse again for the Herd, rumbling for 174 yards and two scores, and lockdown corner Micah Abraham broke up three passes. The Sun Belt again claimed another win over a Power Five team, its fourth of the season.
Louisiana 45, Buffalo 38
I didn’t lay eyes on this one, but like JMU, Louisiana got a multi-score lead that it almost choked away before putting it to bed late. Redshirt freshman Zeon Chriss had his second straight big game as quarterback and has added an explosive element to the Ragin’ Cajuns offense that was sorely lacking with Ben Wooldridge.
Wyoming 22, Appalachian State 19
Oh, App State. This team last a number of one-score heartbreakers last season and just took its second already of this season. The Mountaineers outgained the Cowboys 417-208 in total yardage, and 27-7 margin in first downs. But they struggled to finish their drives in the first half — three drives went inside the Wyoming 10 that ended in field goals. But they held strong, and Tyrek Funderburk’s pick six early in the fourth quarter stretched the lead to 19-7, and it looked like a game-sealing play against a Wyoming team that couldn’t move the ball.
On the next snap, the Cowboys hit a long touchdown and then ended the next App State drive with a blocked field goal return touchdown. App State still had time to drive for a score and worked its way into the red zone down only three, when Joey Aguilar threw the decisive interception. Defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory, and App State limped out of Laramie heartbroken again with a 22-19 loss.
5 Stars of the Week:
Reggie Brown WR — James Madison: 5 catches, 160 yards, 2 TD
Darren Grainger QB — Georgia State: 15/26 passing, 191 yards, 1 TD; 13 carries, 47 yards, 1 TD
Rasheen Ali RB — Marshall: 27 carries, 174 yards, 2 TD
Jaylen Raynor QB — Arkansas State: 11/21 passing, 233 yards, 3 TD; 17 carries, 97 yards, 2 TD
Ismail Mahdi RB — Texas State: 21 carries, 216 yards, 2 TD; 2 catches, 40 yards
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.
