WEEK 2 SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 9
James Madison at Virginia 11:00 a.m. ESPNU
Troy at No. 15/15 Kansas State 11:00 a.m. FS1
Texas State at UTSA 2:30 p.m. ESPN+
Marshall at East Carolina 3:00 p.m. ESPNU
Southeastern Louisiana at South Alabama 4:00 p.m. ESPN+
App State at No. 17/16 North Carolina 4:15 p.m. ACC Network
UAB at Georgia Southern 5:00 p.m. ESPN+
Louisiana at Old Dominion 5:00 p.m. ESPN+
Memphis at Arkansas State 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
Jacksonville State at Coastal Carolina 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
UConn at Georgia State 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
Lamar at ULM 7:00 p.m. ESPN+
Southern Miss at No. 4/5 Florida State 7:30 p.m. ACC Network
All Times CT
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
FOR THE COMMONWEALTH
James Madison, which received votes in both national polls on Sept. 5, will visit in-state foe Virginia for the first time in 40 years at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, on ESPNU. The Dukes have won 17-staight games against teams from the state of Virginia, though the Cavaliers lead the all-time series 2-1. The matchup will be Virginia’s first home contest since the tragedy last November when three team members were shot and killed. The trio will be honored with a pregame ceremony ahead of Saturday’s kickoff.
ONE YEAR LATER
Three Sun Belt teams—Troy, App State and Southern Miss—will visit ranked foes on Saturday, Sept. 9— one year after the Sun Belt knocked off a trio of autonomy five opponents and a pair of ranked teams on its Statement Saturday in Week 2 of the 2022 campaign. The Trojans will carry a 12-game winning streak—the second-longest in the nation—into an 11 a.m. matchup at No. 15/15 Kansas State on FS1. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 1-0. The Mountaineers will visit in-state opponent No. 17/16 North Carolina at 4:15 p.m. on ACC Network. App State defeated the Tar Heels 34-31 in Chapel Hill in 2019 and was stopped on a potential game-tying two-point conversion with nine seconds remaining in a 63-61 defeat in Boone in 2022. North Carolina leads the all-time series 2-1. Southern Miss will travel to No. 4/5 Florida State for their 24th all-time meeting with the Seminoles at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network. Florida State leads the all-time series 14-8-1.
AMERICAN DREAM
After playing just three times during the 2022 regular-season, Saturday’s Sun Belt slate features four matchups with teams from the American. Coming off its first-ever victory over an autonomy five foe, Texas State travels to in-state rival UTSA at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Marshall visits East Carolina at 3 p.m. on ESPNU. The programs are history-bound rivals, as the Thundering Herd was traveling back from East Carolina when Southern Airways Flight 932—the plane carrying Marshall’s team and travel party— crashed upon re-entry to Huntington Tri-State Airport. Georgia Southern, which has won 31-of-32 home games against non-conference opponents since Nov. 18, 2006, hosts UAB at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Arkansas State, which has won 15 of its last 18 home openers, welcomes cross-border rival Memphis to Centennial Bank Stadium at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The Red Wolves have played Memphis more than any other opponent in program history, with Saturday’s contest being the 62nd all-time meeting.
CONFERENCE OPENER
Louisiana will travel to Old Dominion on Saturday, Sept. 9, to open Sun Belt Conference play. The matchup—slated for a 5 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+, is the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Junior Grant Wilson became the ninth-straight different quarterback to start the season-opener for Old Dominion in 2023, while Louisiana returned redshirt senior quarterback Ben Wooldridge at the position. Louisiana also boasts consistency on the sidelines, as one of just seven programs in the nation to retain its entire coaching staff entering the 2023 season.
RUN WITH US
Troy junior running back Kimani Vidal—who set the program record with 248 rushing yards in the Trojans season-opener—leads the nation in both rushing yards and rushing yards per game. Vidal was 1-of-7 Sun Belt running backs to rush for 100-or-more yards in Week 1, joining Georgia State senior Marcus Carroll (184 yards), Marshall junior Rasheen Ali (137 yards), Georgia Southern senior Jalen White (125 yards), James Madison redshirt sophomore Kaelon Black (125 yards), App State junior Nate Noel (117 yards) and ULM redshirt sophomore Hunter Smith (103 yards).
