Appalachian State
While it was favored to win on the road, no one expected an Appalachian State 49-point shutout at Old Dominion. Behind Taylor Lamb’s four touchdown passes and 187 passing yards, plus 303 rushing yards as a team, the Mountaineers (2-1) did just that and destroyed the Monarchs for the only nonconference win the Sun Belt had this weekend. This week, Appalachian State will host winless Wyoming, so expect the Mountaineers to be 3-1 after Saturday.
Louisiana-Monroe
Going almost exactly as expected, UL-Monroe (1-2) was helpless against No. 13 Alabama and only totaled 92 yards of offense while giving up 303. The Warhawks only averaged 0.3 yards per carry rushing the football against the Crimson Tide defense. Next week, UL-Monroe will go up against Georgia Southern for its conference opener, a game in which it will be major underdogs once again.
Louisiana-Lafayette
Overall, it really was an ugly weekend for the Sun Belt and one of the worst losses was UL-Lafayette (1-2) losing to a weak Akron (2-2) team at home by three touchdowns. The Ragin’ Cajuns were expected to be one of the better teams in the conference, but this kind of loss is concerning, especially at home. ULL will go on the road against in-state opponent Louisiana Tech (2-2) Saturday.
Arkansas State
If there is anything to take away from this game, it’s that Toledo (3-0) might be the best team in the group of five non-power conferences in the country after another impressive win. Arkansas State (1-3) had a major let down on the road against the Rockets after looking so good the prior two weeks. It doesn’t help that this was its chance for revenge after the Red Wolves lost to Toledo 63-44 last year in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Arkansas State hosts the Idaho Vandals Saturday to try and get back on track.
South Alabama
The potential upset of unbeaten North Carolina State was not to be for South Alabama (2-2) as it was shredded in a 63-13 defeat. Cody Clements still managed to throw for 201 yards and a touchdown, but he threw two picks and only had a 6.5 quarterback rating. The Jaguars have a critical game at Troy Saturday that could have big implications in the standings down the road.
Texas State
Tyler Jones threw for 288 yards while the Bobcats (1-3) lost to Houston in a blowout, 59-14. Both Texas State touchdowns came on the ground despite only 99 rushing yards as a team. UH quarterback Greg Ward Jr. had 274 yards passing, 91 yards rushing and six total touchdowns (four passing) in the win. Texas State has a bye this weekend and will hit the road against UL-Lafayette the following Saturday.
Georgia Southern
While this is The Argonaut and we cover all things Idaho, this portion is dedicated to Georgia Southern specifically. The Eagles kept on rolling with their third straight win to get to 3-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) on the year. Matt Breida had 179 rushing yards and Kevin Ellison 134 rushing yards with two touchdowns each. Georgia Southern continues to look head and shoulders above the rest of the conference and have two seemingly guaranteed wins against UL-Monroe and New Mexico State the coming two weeks. On Oct. 22, the potentially biggest Sun Belt game of the year between Georgia Southern and Appalachian State will finally happen.