Oct. 18 at South Alabama 30, Georgia State 27 
And You Care Because … South Alabama got an 18-yard touchdown catch from Danny Woodson with just over four minutes to play for a 30-27 lead, and the defense held on for the win. The Jaguars got three field goals from Aleem Sunanon and two touchdown passes and a scoring run from Brandon Bridge, but Georgia State wouldn’t go away. Nick Arbuckle threw three touchdown passes including two to Donovan Harden from 44 and five yards out, but he couldn’t engineer one final scoring drive. 
What Else? South Alabama QB Brandon Bridge completed 11-of-32 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 15 times for a team-leading 137 yards and a score 
– Georgia State QB Nick Arbuckle completed 23-of-40 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns 
– Georgia State WR Donovan Harden caught ten passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns
– Rushing yards: South Alabama 321 – Georgia State 90 
Game Rating: B

Oct. 18 at Idaho 29, New Mexico State 17 
And You Care Because … The Vandals took advantage of several mistakes with Richard Montgomery starting out the scoring on a four-yard run and Joshua McCain catching a 49-yard scoring pass, never trailing the whole way. NMSU stayed in the game on a 79-yard Larry Rose III touchdown run, but it was all Idaho after it got close. Austin Rehkow came up with three field goals and Jerrel Brown ran a 14-yard touchdown run to pull away in the fourth. 
What Else? Total yards: Idaho 536 – New Mexico State 314 
– Time of possession: Idaho 37:47 – New Mexico State 22:13 
– Idaho RB Jerrel Brown ran 23 times for 151 yards and a score 
– New Mexico State RB Larry Rose III ran 17 times for 155 yards and two scores 
Game Rating: B-

Oct. 18 Appalachian State 53, at Troy 14 
And You Care Because … The Mountaineers totally dominated a sloppy Troy team after getting down 7-0 on a five-yard Brandon Burks run. ASU got three touchdown runs from Marcus Cox and a 20-yard fumble return for a score on one of Troy’s four turnovers, but Troy stayed in it in the first half on a kickoff return for a score from Chandler Worthy and a safety to pull within 12. It was all ASU the rest of the way with 27 unanswered points. 
What Else? Rushing yards: Appalachian State 441 and 5 TDs – Troy 79 and 1 TD 
– Appalachian State RB Marcus Cox ran 16 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns 
– Troy QB Brandon Silvers completed 20-of-30 passes for 156 yards and two interceptions 
– Troy committed 11 penalties for 89 yards and turned it over four times 
Game Rating: C- 

Oct. 15 Louisiana-Lafayette 34, at Texas State 10 
And You Care Because … The Ragin’ Cajun offense exploded on the way to a 21-3 halftime lead and a 34-3 lead with Elijah McGuire running for scores from 62 and 13 yards out and helped by Hunter Stover field goals from 19 and 32 yards away in the fourth quarter. The defense got into the act with a 41-yard Christian Ringo 41-yard fumble return for a score in the second quarter. Texas State only managed a 20-yard Will Johnson field goal before finally getting into the end zone in the final moments on a 33-yard Brice Gunter catch. 
What Else? Total yards: Louisiana-Lafayette 516 – Texas State 270 
– Texas State QB Tyler Jones completed 14-of-23 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown with a pick 
– Louisiana-Lafayette QB Terrance Broadway completed 14-of-21 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown with a pick, and ran 19 times for a team-leading 101 yards 
– Time of possession: ULL 38:38 – Texas State 21:22 
Game Rating: D+