WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Oct. 20
No. 14/16 Coastal Carolina at App State 6:30 p.m. ESPN2
Thursday, Oct. 21
Louisiana at Arkansas State 6:30 p.m. ESPNU
Saturday, Oct. 23
Texas State at Georgia State 1:00 p.m. ESPN+
South Alabama at ULM 6:00 p.m. ESPN3
All Times CT
CHAMPIONS CLASH
No. 14/16 Coastal Carolina visits App State at 6:30 p.m. CT Wednesday in front of a national television audience on ESPN2, in a matchup of teams that have combined to account for the last five Sun Belt football titles. App State is seeking its first victory over a ranked opponent since making the jump to the FBS level in 2014, while Coastal Carolina is looking to make it back-to-back wins over the Mountaineers following a 34-23 victory last season in Conway. The Chanticleers are 1-of-11 remaining unbeaten FBS teams.
THE BOOK OF LEVI
Louisiana senior quarterback Levi Lewis needs just three passing touchdowns to establish a new Ragin’ Cajuns program record when the squad visits Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday on ESPNU. Louisiana leads the all-time series over the Red Wolves, 27-21-1, and boasts and active three-game winning streak against the team from Jonesboro. Coming off a bye week, Arkansas State is looking to snap a five-game losing skid and to secure the first conference win of the Butch Jones era.
NAIL BITER
Georgia State will host Texas State for its homecoming game at 1 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN+. The last time Georgia State and Texas State met required three overtimes to determine a victor. The Bobcats outlasted the Panthers, 37-34, in the longest game in Georgia State program history in 2019. Texas State also owns a 4-3 margin in the all-time series, though the last Panther victory—a 33-30 road win in 2017— held added significance as it made Georgia State bowl eligible in head coach Shawn Elliott’s first season at the helm.
ROAD TEST
South Alabama will attempt to secure its first road win in conference play since an Oct. 11, 2017, 19-8 victory at Troy when it visits ULM at 6 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN3. The Jaguars need to one more win to cement their first five-win season since 2016. Both South Alabama, which defeated Georgia Southern, 41-14, and ULM, which bested Liberty, 31-28, are coming off Week 7 victories and boast 1-2 marks in conference play.
RANK AND FILE
No. 14/16 Coastal Carolina, which has been ranked for 19-straight weeks and has won 18-straight regular-season games, continues to climb in the national rankings. Its No. 14 slot in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll is its highest ranking of the season. Last season, the Chanticleers broke into the national polls for the first time in the program’s FBS history on Oct. 18, 2020 and ascended as high as No. 9 in the AP Top 25 Poll.
