By Bert Leeson
NEW ORLEANS — Troy (10-2, 7-1 SBC) will host App State (8-4, 6-2 SBC) in the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala., at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 2. Tickets are on sale now, starting at just $10.
The Trojans will host the championship game for the second-straight season, while App State will make its fourth appearance in the six-year history of the event—tying Louisiana for the most appearances all-time.
A conference-record 11 Sun Belt programs clinched bowl eligibility by finishing with a 6-6-or-better record. If there are not enough 6-6 teams to fill the available bowl game slots, No. 24-ranked and 11-1 James Madison could make it a conference-record and national-best 12 Sun Belt teams to participate in Bowl Season in 2023.
Troy secured its second-straight 10-win regular season and claimed hosting rights for the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship with a 35-17 victory over Southern Miss Saturday. With the win, Troy moved to 12-0 against Sun Belt West Division opponents since joining the division in 2022 and to 21-2 overall since losing on a Hail Mary to App State in Week 3 of the 2022 season.
After rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown against the Golden Eagles, Troy junior running back Kimani Vidal became the Trojans single-season rushing leader with 1,349 yards. With senior quarterback Gunnar Watson also passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns to run his season total to 3,141 yards, Vidal and Watson become the third Troy duo to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Trojans sophomore wide receiver Chris Lewis caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Watson and threw the final 30-yard touchdown strike to senior tight end Clayton Ollendieck in the fourth quarter. Defensively, Troy accumulated six sacks to run its three-game tally to 20 sacks.
Junior running back Frank Gore Jr. led Southern Miss with 95 rushing and 59 receiving yards in defeat, including a 57-yard touchdown scamper. He finished the season with 1,131 rushing yards and became the third Golden Eagles rusher to go over 4,000 career rushing yards.
Old Dominion took its first lead of the game as time expired in a 25-24 win over Georgia State, using an improbable series of events to clinch bowl eligibility on the final play of the regular season.
Sophomore kicker Ethan Sanchez converted a 37-yard field goal with 1:37 to play to pull the Monarchs within a score. After a squib kick to the Georgia State 10-yard line, Old Dominion pushed Panthers redshirt senior quarterback Darren Grainger back on consecutive plays to force a safety with 1:17 to play. On the ensuing possession, Monarchs junior quarterback Grant Wilson led Old Dominion on a five-play, 49-yard scoring drive, capped with a three-yard rush up the middle for the go-ahead score as time expired.
Wilson threw for 208 yards and a touchdown to go along with the go-ahead rushing touchdown. Grainger accounted for all three Panther touchdowns in defeat, throwing for 203 yards and two scores and rushing for 24 yards and another touchdown—becoming a 2,000-yard career rusher in the process. The Panther defense registered a program-record eight sacks in the losing effort.
Louisiana also clinched bowl eligibility for the program-record sixth-consecutive season via a 52-21 victory over in-state foe ULM in the Battle on the Bayou rivalry.
The Ragin’ Cajuns sent Cajun Field out in style, with redshirt junior quarterback Chandler Fields completing 18-of-20 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns; senior tight end Neal Johnson catching three passes for 67 yards and two scores; and freshman running back Eljiah Davis rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Fields also rushed for 38 yards and a score.
Junior defensive lineman Adin Huntington headlined the ULM effort with eight tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup in defeat.
App State claimed the Sun Belt East Division crown and punched its ticket to the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship with a 55-27 win over Georgia Southern in the Deeper Than Hate rivalry.
Junior quarterback Joey Aguilar completed 23-of-36 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns—including two to redshirt junior wide receiver Kaedin Robinson as part of an eight-reception, 108-yard performance. Aguilar became the Mountaineers single-season record-holder with 33 touchdown passes heading into the postseason. Redshirt freshman running back Kanye Roberts paced the Mountaineer rushing attack with 109 yards and a score.
Defensively, App State forced four turnovers—including a pair of interceptions by redshirt senior cornerback Tyrek Funderburk.
A program-record 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by freshman wide receiver DeAndre Buchannon headlined the Eagle performances in the loss.
Behind a Dukes single-game program-record six-touchdown effort from redshirt senior quarterback Jordan McCloud, No. 24 James Madison registered a 56-14 bounce-back win over Coastal Carolina. McCloud completed 26-of-35 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for five yards and the sixth score.
McCloud’s top targets were redshirt senior wide receiver Phoenix Sproles (11 catches, 99 yards), sophomore wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (6 catches, 107 yards, 3 touchdowns) and redshirt senior wide receiver Reggie Brown (3 catches, 58 yards, 1 touchdown). Sarratt scored a career-high fourth touchdown on an end-around, while both Sarratt and Brown reached the 1,000-yard receiving plateau on the year. Sarratt and Brown are the first Dukes tandem to reach the milestone in the same season.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Vasko completed 21-of-29 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown for the Chanticleers and paced the rushing attack with 45 yards on nine carries. Coastal Carolina super senior wide receiver Sam Pinckney became the Sun Belt all-time career leader in receiving yards in defeat.
Behind a five-touchdown showing from redshirt sophomore quarterback Cam Fancher, Marshall outpaced Arkansas State, 35-21, to clinch bowl eligibility for the seventh-straight season. Fancher completed 16-of-22 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 100 yards and two scores.
Junior running back Ethan Payne added a 113-yard rushing day on 19 carries, while redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chuck Montgomery caught four passes for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Rasheen Ali rushed for 56 yards on 14 attempts to become the fifth Thundering Herd running back with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Behind a Dukes single-game program-record six-touchdown effort from redshirt senior quarterback Jordan McCloud, No. 24 James Madison registered a 56-15 bounce-back win over Coastal Carolina. McCloud completed 26-of-35 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for five yards and the sixth score.
A 60-yard punt return touchdown by redshirt junior wide receiver Courtney Jackson highlighted the Red Wolves outings in the losing effort.
Texas State jumped out to a 24-0 advantage and held on for a 52-44 win over South Alabama to clinch its first winning season since 2014.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback TJ Finley completed 19-of-28 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns. Two wide receivers—junior Ashtyn Hawkins (5 catches, 131 yards, 1 touchdown) and sophomore Kole Wilson (6 catches, 102 yards, 1 touchdown)—went over the 100-yard mark for the Bobcats. Wilson also added a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown on special teams.
Entering in relief of injured starter Carter Bradley, fellow senior quarterback Desmond Trotter completed 19-of-22 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns to get the Jaguars back into the game. South Alabama senior tight end DJ Thomas Jones caught nine passes for 56 yards and three scores and sophomore running back Braylon McReynolds totaled 149 yards (79 rushing, 70 receiving) in defeat.
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SUN BELT FOOTBALL – WEEK 13 RESULTS
Troy def. Southern Miss, 35-17
Old Dominion def. Georgia State, 25-24
Louisiana def. ULM, 52-21
App State def. Georgia Southern, 55-27
No. 24 James Madison def. Coastal Carolina, 56-14
Marshall def. Arkansas State, 35-21
Texas State def. South Alabama, 52-44
COURTESY SUN BELT CONFERENCE
