WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 17
Texas State at No. 17/19 Baylor 11:00 a.m. FS1
Buffalo at Coastal Carolina 12:00 p.m. ESPN+
Old Dominion at Virginia 1:00 p.m. ACCN
South Alabama at UCLA 1:00 p.m. Pac-12 Network
Georgia Southern at UAB 2:30 p.m. Stadium
Troy at App State 2:30 p.m. ESPN+
ULM at No. 2/1 Alabama 3:00 p.m. SECN
Marshall at Bowling Green 4:00 p.m. NFL Network
Charlotte at Georgia State 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
Northwestern State at Southern Miss 6:00 p.m. ESPN3
Arkansas State at Memphis 6:00 p.m. ESPN+
Louisiana at Rice 6:30 p.m. ESPN+
All Times CT
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
GET UP FOR GAMEDAY
For the second time in the conference’s 22-year football history, College GameDay will visit a Sun Belt campus on Saturday, Sept. 17. The crew will take the stage from Sanford Mall on the campus of App State in Boone, N.C., from 8-11 a.m. CT ahead of the opening game of the Sun Belt Conference schedule when the Mountaineers host Troy in front of a sellout crowd at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+. The game is the first of a three-game homestand for App State—with all three contests already announced as sellouts. This will be Troy’s second appearance as part of the featured matchup on College GameDay. The Trojans took on Navy on Nov. 10, 2012, when the pregame show was broadcast from the USS San Diego. Coastal Carolina hosted College GameDay for the first-ever broadcast to originate from a Sun Belt campus on Dec. 5, 2020, when it welcomed BYU to the Surf Turf in Conway, S.C.
TWO TO TANGO
A week after knocking off three autonomy five programs on the road—including two that were ranked among the Top 10—two Sun Belt teams will again visit ranked foes on Saturday, Sept. 17. Texas State will kick off the conference’s Saturday slate at 11 a.m. when it visits No. 17/19 Baylor on FS1, while ULM will visit No. 2/1 Alabama at 3 p.m. on SEC Network. The Sun Belt is the lone conference with multiple victories over Top 10-ranked programs this season and leads the nation in road wins over autonomy five programs over the past five years.
UNDEFEATED
Through Week 2 of the college football season, the Sun Belt (6) boasts more undefeated teams than the rest of the non-autonomy conferences combined. Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall and South Alabama are all off to 2-0 starts against non-conference opposition. The Sun Belt significantly outpaces the American (2 – SMU and Tulane), Conference USA (1 – Western Kentucky), MAC (1 – Toledo) and Mountain West (1 – Air Force) in undefeated programs. On Saturday, Coastal Carolina hosts Buffalo at 12 p.m. on ESPN+; Georgia Southern visits UAB at 2:30 p.m. on Stadium; Louisiana visits Rice at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+; Marshall travels to Bowling Green at 4 p.m. on NFL Network; and South Alabama takes on UCLA at 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
AIRING IT OUT
Led by a new-look Georgia Southern offense, three of the nation’s Top 15 passing offenses reside in the Sun Belt. The Eagles sit fourth in the nation at 388.0 passing yards per game. trailing only Texas Tech (411.0), Georgia (395.5) and Tulsa (391.0). Troy (7th, 375.0) and South Alabama (12th, 343.0) also sit among the Top 15. Each of the offenses will be on display on Saturday, Sept. 17. Georgia Southern visits UAB at 2:30 p.m., on Stadium; Troy opens Sun Belt Conference play at App State at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+; and South Alabama will travel to UCLA at 1 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
OWN THE STATE (LINE)
After knocking off Virginia Tech, 20-17 in Week 1, Old Dominion has another opportunity to take down an in-state ACC foe when it visits Virginia at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, on ACC Network. Junior wide receiver Ali Jennings III paces the nation, averaging 161.0 receiving yards per game. Arkansas State is also on the road for a rivalry showdown when it visits Memphis across the state line at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The tilt is the 61st meeting between the teams, whose campuses are separated by less than 80 miles, the most-played series in Red Wolves program history.
