WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 16
Georgia Southern at Wisconsin 11:00 a.m. BTN
Wake Forest at Old Dominion 11:00 a.m. ESPN2
East Carolina at App State 2:30 p.m. ESPN+
ULM at Texas A&M 3:00 p.m. SEC Network
Tulane at Southern Miss 3:00 p.m. ESPNU
Georgia State at Charlotte 5:00 p.m. ESPN+
Stony Brook at Arkansas State 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
Duquesne at Coastal Carolina 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
Louisiana at UAB 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
South Alabama at Oklahoma State 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
James Madison at Troy 6:00 p.m. NFL Network
Jackson State at Texas State 7:30 p.m. ESPN+
All Times CT
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
WHAT WE DO
The Sun Belt owns 17 victories over autonomy five foes over the past eight seasons, with 12-of-14 conference teams contributing to the tally over that span. The conference has earned multiple wins over autonomy five opposition in four of the past five seasons, led by a conference-record four wins over autonomy five foes in 2019 and 2022. The Sun Belt will get four more opportunities against autonomy five competition on Saturday, Sept. 16, as Georgia Southern travels to Wisconsin at 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network, Wake Forest visits Old Dominion at 11 a.m. on ESPN2, ULM travels to Texas A&M at 3 p.m. on SEC Network and South Alabama visits Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Georgia Southern (defeated Nebraska, 45-42) and Old Dominion (defeated Virginia Tech, 20-17) each defeated autonomy five opponents in 2022. Texas State (defeated Baylor, 42-31 on Sept. 2) and James Madison (defeated Virginia, 36-35 on Sept. 9) have already outpaced autonomy five foes this season.
IN GOOD COMPANY
The Sun Belt paces the non-autonomy conferences—and trails only the Pac-12, Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12—with a .654 non-conference winning percentage through Week 2 play. The conference has 11 nonconference dates on the Week 3 schedule.
RUN IT BACK
After splitting four meetings with the American (2-2) in Week 2, the Sun Belt Saturday slate again features four matchups with the conference in Week 3. App State hosts East Carolina at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+, while Southern Miss welcomes Tulane to Hattiesburg at 3 p.m. on ESPNU. Georgia State will travel to Charlotte at 5 p.m. on ESPN+ and Louisiana will visit UAB at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Saturday’s matchup will be East Carolina’s first trip to Kidd-Brewer Stadium since Nov. 3, 1979. App State won defeated the Pirates 33-19 in the programs’ lone FBS meeting in 2021 and owns a 20-12 advantage in the all-time series. Southern Miss was 1-of-2 teams to hand Tulane a loss during the 2022 campaign, 27-24 on Sept. 24. Georgia State will look to take the lead in the all-time series with Charlotte after splitting a pair of meetings over the past two seasons, while Louisiana seeks its third-straight win over UAB.
ALL EYES ON ME
All eyes will be squarely fixed on NFL Network at 6 p.m. as reigning Sun Belt champion Troy welcomes James Madison into Veterans Memorial Stadium for the lone conference contest of Week 3. The matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the teams as Sun Belt Conference opponents—the Trojans and Dukes split two prior meetings in the FCS playoffs. Led by the national leader in rushing yards per game—junior running back Kimani Vidal (165.5 yards per game)— Troy will aim to bounce back from its first loss since Sept. 17, 2022, when the Dukes come to town. James Madison enters the matchup coming off its first autonomy five win as a member of the Sun Belt Conference and as the only Sun Belt program currently receiving votes in both national polls.
TOP OF THE HEAP
The Sun Belt paces the non-autonomy conferences with five undefeated teams entering Week 3—Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, ULM and Marshall. The conference boasts two more undefeated teams than its nearest competitor—the Mountain West (3)—and more than the other three non-autonomy conferences combined—Conference USA (2), American (1) and MAC (0).
