ORLANDO, Fla. (OrlandoSportsFoundation.com) – Week seven of the college football season begins on Thursday for the Sun Belt with a conference clash featuring Georgia Southern at Texas State on ESPNU. The slate in the American Athletic Conference starts on Friday with USF heading to Tulsa at 7 p.m.

A trio of league meetings are featured in The American on Saturday, including an ABC regional matchup with No. 10 UCF traveling to Memphis at 3:30 p.m. The only conference contest on the docket in the Sun Belt is ULM at Coastal Carolina, while three non-league meetings are on the schedule.

The AutoNation Cure Bowl featuring teams from the American Athletic Conference and Sun Belt Conference is set for Dec. 15 at 1:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The bowl’s mission is to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer.

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<h2>[dt_highlight color=”” text_color=”” bg_color=””]The American Matchups[/dt_highlight]

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USF (5-0) at TULSA (1-4)

Friday, Oct. 12 • 7 p.m. ET • ESPN
H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, Oklahoma

• USF has taken wins in both matchups between Tulsa and USF in a series that started in 2014.
• Tulsa looks to take their first win in the series and snap a four-game slide.
• USF moved into spot 23 in the top 25 national polls after last week’s, 58-42, win against UMass.

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No. 10 UCF (5-0) at MEMPHIS (4-2)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 3:30 p.m. ET • ABC and ESPN2
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee

• Memphis looks to snap an 11-game slide in the series against UCF.
• UCF took a 62-55 overtime win against Memphis for the American Championship in 2017.
• Memphis is averaging 46.2 points per game and 547.2 yards in the season thus far.

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TEMPLE (3-3) at NAVY (2-3)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 3:30 p.m. ET • CBS Sports Network
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland

• Navy looks to tie the 13-game series on home turf this weekend.
• Navy is second in the nation in running yards (310.4 yards per game).
• Temple has improved their average points per game from 23.0 in their first two to 37.5 in the last four.

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HOUSTON (4-1) at ECU (2-3)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 7 p.m. ET • CBS Sports Network
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, North Carolina

• ECU looks to even the series in the 16th matchup between Houston and ECU.
• Houston averages 50.0 points per game with a 24-point fourth quarter in last week’s game against Tulsa.
• ECU is 2-1 at home this series. They have not won or lost back-to-back games so far this season. This week will follow a loss to Temple last week.

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[dt_highlight color=”” text_color=”” bg_color=””]Sun Belt Matchups[/dt_highlight]

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GEORGIA SOUTHERN (4-1) at TEXAS STATE (1-4)

Thursday, Oct. 11 • 7:30 p.m. ET • ESPNU
Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, Texas

• Georgia Southern is 3-1 in the series against Texas State.
• Texas State looks into improve their Sun Belt Conference record to 1-2.
• Texas State completed 29 of 41 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns in their game last week against Louisiana.

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TROY (5-1) at LIBERTY (2-3)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 2 p.m. ET • ESPN3
Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, Virginia

• Troy starts their season 5-1 for the second time in three years.
• Troy had two players rush for more than 100 yards for the first time since 2002. B.J. Smith rushed for 14, and Kaleb Barker for 111.

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NEW MEXICO STATE (2-4) at LOUISIANA (2-3)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 5 p.m. ET • ESPN+
Cajun Field • Lafayette, Louisiana

• Louisiana looks to tie up their overall against New Mexico State.
• Louisiana is ranked in the top-25 in rushing yards with 229.0 averaged per game.

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ALABAMA STATE (2-3) at SOUTH ALABAMA (1-5)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 5 p.m. ET • ESPN3
Ladd-Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama

• South Alabama aims to win their first home game is almost a month against Alabama State.
• South Alabama is 11-2 against NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponents since 2009.
• This will be the first meeting between these two intrastate teams.

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ULM (2-4) at Coastal Carolina (3-2)

Saturday, Oct. 13 • 6 p.m. ET • ESPN+
Brooks Stadium • Conway, South Carolina

• Caleb Evans became the eighth quarterback in ULM history to reach 5,000 passing yards.
• Wide receiver, Marcus Greene, leads ULM in receptions(26), receiving yards(392), yards per catch (15.1), and touchdown receptions (4).
• Coastal Carolina is rested coming off a bye week for their first home game in the last four weeks.

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