Football
NEW ORLEANS
– Three Sun Belt Conference matchups will be nationally-televised in Week 6, including Southern Miss at Troy in a standalone nationally-televised contest on ESPN2 Tuesday night.
South Alabama at Arkansas State will air on ESPN2 on Thursday night, followed by a Saturday evening showdown between James Madison and Georgia Southern on ESPNU.
The Sun Belt is home to 5-of-14—App State, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech—non-autonomy teams that are undefeated against non-autonomy opposition, with the Dukes also being 1-of-15 remaining unbeaten teams in the country and 1-of-2 to hail from a non-autonomy conference.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- NATIONAL AUDIENCE – Troy will look to extend its winning streak against Southern Miss to six games when it hosts the Golden Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, for a standalone nationally-televised contest on ESPN2. The Trojans, who have represented the Sun Belt West Division in the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship Game presented by Visit Pensacola in three of the past four seasons, will aim to open conference play with a victory in front of their home crowd. Troy is 18-6 against Sun Belt West Division opponents since moving from the East Division in 2022, including a 17-1 divisional mark in the three years it has won the division. Southern Miss leads the all-time series 8-7, but has yet to defeat Troy in Sun Belt Conference play.
- AIR MAIL — Five of the 12 Sun Belt receivers with more than 250 yards on the year will be on display as Arkansas State hosts South Alabama at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, for a nationally-televised matchup on ESPN2. The Red Wolves claim a pair of 250-yard pass-catchers in fourth-year wide receiver Hunter Summers (263) and fourth-year wide receiver Chauncy Cobb (258). Three Jaguars have also gone over 250 yards thus far—senior wide receiver Brendan Jenkins (319), senior wide receiver Anthony Eager (305) and sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Jones-Thomas (252). Eager leads the Sun Belt and ranks second in the country, averaging 27.73 yards per reception. Arkansas State leads the all-time series 8-6, with 9-of-14 prior meetings decided by 10-or-fewer points.
- IN THE WIN COLUMN – Four Sun Belt East Division teams will look for their first conference victories of the 2026 campaign in head-to-head matchups this weekend. Old Dominion will visit App State for the Mountaineers’ conference opener at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, on ESPN+. Coastal Carolina will travel to Marshall at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, on ESPN+, as both teams look to rebound from conference losses a week ago. The home team has proven victorious in four prior meetings between Old Dominion and App State as Sun Belt Conference foes, though the Mountaineers claim a 4-2 edge in the all-time series. The Chanticleers are 3-1 all-time against the Thundering Herd and have split two prior clashes in Huntington.
- THE POWER OF PAULSON – When Georgia Southern welcomes James Madison to Statesboro for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 10, on ESPNU, it will put an unblemished 6-0 mark against the Dukes inside Paulson Stadium on the line. The home team has proven victorious in four prior Sun Belt meetings, with the Eagles leading the all-time series 9-3. The matchup will feature two of three Sun Belt teams that are tied for ninth in the nation, having conceded just one interception on the year. Eagles seventh-year quarterback Max Johnson leads the Sun Belt and ranks eighth in the country, averaging 24.40 completions per game. Dukes fourth-year quarterback Camden Coleman’s 10 passing touchdowns and 66 points responsible for rank third in the Sun Belt and Top 45 in the nation.
- RIVALRIES RENEWED – For the first time since 2015, in-state rivals Louisiana and Louisiana Tech will meet on the gridiron at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, on ESPN+. The matchup will be the Sun Belt opener for the Bulldogs, who posted a 2-2 non-conference mark with both losses to autonomy conference opposition. The Ragin’ Cajuns are also unbeaten by non-autonomy foes, boasting a 4-1 record following a walk-off win in their conference opener against Arkansas State a week ago. The Bulldogs have won eight-straight in the head-to-head series, dating back to 1997.
WHERE TO WATCH
All Times CT
Source: sunbeltsports.org
