The Sun Belt logo is displayed on a pylon as Marshall takes on Louisiana during an NCAA football game on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
The Sun Belt logo is displayed on a pylon as Marshall takes on Louisiana during an NCAA football game on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
Teams across the Sun Belt Conference showed their big-play ability on the football field in Week 8 as seven plays from six different teams went for more than 50 yards.
Marshall, Louisiana, UL-Monroe, Texas State, Southern Miss and Arkansas State each ran a play that resulted in 50 or more yards, the longest of which was a 69-yard rush, and five of those long-distance plays resulted in touchdowns.
Marshall was responsible for two of those scoring plays, a 61-yard run from Khalan Laborn and a 57-yard pitch and catch from Cam Fancher to Corey Gammage, on its way to a 26-12 win at James Madison.
Two more of them came in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter between Texas State and Southern Miss.
The Bobcats took their first lead of the game with 1:21 when redshirt junior quarterback Layne Hatcher hit sophomore wide receiver òòò½ÊÓƵhtyn Hawkins for a 74-yard score and a 14-13 lead.
The Golden Eaglesòòò½ÊÓƵ™ freshman quarterback Zach Wilcke responded with a 53-yard strike to help Southern Miss regain the lead and secure the win with 32 seconds left on the clock.
The final 50-plus-yard scoring play was thrown by Louisiana quarterback Ben Wooldridge, who connected with Dontae Fleming for a 55-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 38-18 win over Arkansas State.
The Red Wolvesòòò½ÊÓƵ™ longest passing play of the day was a 53-yard pass from AJ Mayer to Daverrick Jennings. Louisiana-Monroe wide receiver Bugs Mortimer had a 69-yard run in the Warhawksòòò½ÊÓƵ™ loss at Army.
LOSSES FOR EVERYONE: Each of the 14 football teams in the Sun Belt Conference have now suffered at least one loss in league play after Old Dominion and South Alabama each lost their first SBC games of the year in Week 8.
Marshall became the last team in the league to win a game in conference, defeating James Madison on the road.
BREAK IN THE APP-TION: Appalachian State will take another break from its league slate when it faces Robert Morris on Saturday, the Mountaineersòòò½ÊÓƵ™ final non-conference game of the season. App State has not played more than two consecutive Sun Belt teams this season but will finish the year by playing four straight East Division opponents after playing the Colonials this weekend.
OH-AND-17: James Madison failed to convert on any of its 17 third-down plays against Marshall on Saturday, a surprising statistic considering the Dukes had converted 44% of those chances entering the contest. JMU also failed on each of its two fourth-down attempts.
SPOILED IT: James Madison, Texas State and Old Dominion each lost their Homecoming games this weekend to Marshall, Southern Miss and Georgia Southern, respectively.
GROWING PAINS: Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones said his team has been hindered by growing pains this year, having started 38 different players this season through eight games, and have 10 true freshman that are getting significant playing time.
WONDERFUL WOOLDRIDGE: Ben Wooldridge, who got his first start of the season against Marshall on Oct. 12, guided Louisiana to its second straight win over Arkansas State Saturday, tying a single-game record with five passing touchdowns to four different receivers.
Luke Creasy is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @LukeCreasy or reach him by phone at 304-526-2800.
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