Troy travels to Texas State in Sun Belt play Thursday. Thursday's meeting is the first this season between the squads.

But there’s a simple reason that two to six inches of snow can be crippling along the Gulf Coast: Most of its cities have no snowplows.

Tylan Pope scored 25 points as Texas State beat Louisiana 89-74 on Thursday night. Pope added five rebounds and three blocks for the Bobcats (12-8, 5-3 Sun Belt Conference). Josh O'Garro added 17 points while shooting 4 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line while he also had nine rebounds.

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It was the first Sun Belt Conference loss for Troy (10-5 overall, 3-1 conference), which had won five straight going into the game.

Virginia Tech bulked up its defensive line Thursday night with the addition of Texas State defensive end transfer Ben Bell.  The 6-foot-2, 250-pound pass rusher

The Herd’s non-conference schedule has long been known and Marshall will open the season on August 30 ‘Between the Hedges’ with a game at Georgia. Marshall will then host two FCS opponents — Missouri State on September 6 and Eastern Kentucky on September 13. Marshall wraps up non-conference action on September 20 at Middle Tennessee.

BOTTOM LINE: Texas State visits Louisiana after Tylan Pope scored 28 points in Texas State's 85-82 overtime win against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Ragin' Cajuns have gone 4-7 in home games. Louisiana is 3-8 against opponents over .500.

BOTTOM LINE: Texas State faces Louisiana after Tylan Pope scored 28 points in Texas State's 85-82 overtime win against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Ragin' Cajuns have gone 4-7 at home. Louisiana has a 2-1 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Monarchs surrendered a 19 point lead to the Bobcats who went on a 40-16 tear over the last 15 minutes on Saturday.

The Sun Belt fined Marshall $100,000 for opting out of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, the conference announced Friday. Marshall was impacted by head coach Charles Huff's departure to ...