SUN BELT CONFERENCE

Arkansas State 55, Texas State 17:

Fredi Knighten threw two touchdown passes and ran in another Saturday to lead Arkansas State to the Sun Belt Conference title with a win over Texas State.

Knighten was 12 of 16 for 192 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to Chris Murray and a 7-yarder to JD McKissic. Michael Gordon had 148 yards rushing on 20 carries and put Arkansas State (9-3, 8-0) on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run.

The Red Wolves also got rushing TDs from Warren Wand, Johnston White, Darion Griswold and never trailed. Money Hunter returned an interception 99 yards for a score. Arkansas State had 535 yards of total offense while holding Texas State to 381.

The Bobcats (3-9, 2-6) got touchdowns from C.J Best and Nick Bingham, and a 46-yard field goal from Lumi Kaba.

Arkansas State became the second program in Sun Belt history to win three outright league titles.

Georgia State 34, Georgia Southern 7:

Nick Arbuckle threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns and Georgia State defeated rival Georgia Southern to become bowl eligible for the first time in school history.

The Panthers (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) closed out the regular season with four straight wins after a 2-6 start.

Penny Hart caught seven passes for 134 yards including a 63-yard touchdown strike on the Panthers first possession of the second quarter. Keith Rucker and Robert Davis each added third quarter TD receptions, which gave Georgia State a 20-7 lead.

Kyler Neal closed out the game for the Panthers with fourth quarter touchdown runs of 1 and 28-yards, respectively.

LA Ramsby finished with the only touchdown for Georgia Southern (8-4, 6-2), a 1-yard run in the second quarter which tied the game at 7.

Ramsby had 65 yards on the ground. BJ Johnson added 57 yards receiving.

Louisiana-Monroe 42, New Mexico State 35:

Trey Caldwell’s fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown proved the difference and Louisiana-Monroe beat New Mexico State 42-35 in a game filled with big plays.

Caldwell stepped in front of a quick out attempt by Andrew Allen and went 40 yards for the deciding score.

New Mexico State (3-9, 3-5 Sun Belt) opened a 14-0 lead on Allen’s 76-yard pass to Jordan Bergstrom. ULM’s Earnest Carrington hit Marcus Green from 49 yards to halve the deficit, and later he hooked up with DeVontae McNeal on a 74-yard touchdown pass. Louisiana-Monroe trailed 21-14 at intermission.

On the Warhawks’ first second-half possession, Carrington fumbled being sacked, and Stephen Meredith returned it 9 yards to put the Aggies up two touchdowns.

Brian Williams relieved Carrington and Louisiana-Monroe (2-11, 1-7) scored on three straight possessions as Williams connected with three different receivers for scores.

Allen’s 10-yard scoring strike to Bergstrom tied it again at 35, but on the next drive he was picked off by Caldwell for the winning score.

Troy 41, Louisiana-Lafayette 17:

Brandon Silvers threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns to lead Troy to a win over Louisiana-Lafayette .

Silvers completed 22 of his 28 throws, including a 62-yard touchdown strike to Teddy Reuben in the first quarter to make it 24-0. Reuben also had an earlier 15-yard TD catch and finished with 131 yards on eight receptions.

Brandon Burks paced Troy (4-8, 3-5 Sun Belt) on the ground, piling up 118 yards on 25 carries to become the program’s eighth player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He had a 23-yard TD catch as well.

Also scoring for Troy was Jarvis Bentley, who hauled in a 67-yard TD, and Demetrius Cain, who returned a fumble for the final score of the game. Jed Solomon had two field goals.

Jordan Davis led Louisiana-Lafayette (4-8, 3-5) with 207 yards passing and a touchdown.

Appalachian State 34, South Alabama 27:

Jalin Moore ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:16 left and Appalachian State beat South Alabama 34-27.

The Mountaineers (10-2, 7-1) are the second Sun Belt Conference team with 10 regular season wins, and advance to their first-ever bowl game.

Taylor Lamb threw two touchdown passes, and Marcus Cox ran for 192 yards for the Mountaineers. Zach Matics kicked field goals of 50 and 51 yards.

Appalachian State had a 24-7 halftime lead. Gerald Everett ran for two touchdowns and Aleem Sunanon kicked two field goals to give South Alabama (5-7, 3-5) a 27-24 lead. Matics kicked his 50-yarder to tie it with 6:51 remaining.

Moore ran for 4 yards on a fourth-and-2, then ran for 24 yards. On the next play, he was stalled by three defenders two-yards short of the end zone, but his teammates pushed him in for an 18-yard game-winner.