2024 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game

2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game
6th SBC Championship Game
Marshall Thundering Herd Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(9–3) (10–2)
31 3
Head coach: 
Charles Huff		 Head coach: 
Michael Desormeaux
1234 Total
Marshall 71077 31
Louisiana 3000 3
DateDecember 7, 2024
Season2024
StadiumCajun Field
LocationLafayette, Louisiana
MVPQB Braylon Braxton (Marshall)
FavoriteLouisiana by 6[1]
RefereeTrennis Livingston[2]
Attendance20,067
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
Gridiron Radio
AnnouncersESPN: Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Sam Acho (analyst), and Lauren Sisler (sideline reporter)
Gridiron Radio: Noah Britt (play-by-play), Jon Reynolds (analyst), and Faxon Childress (sideline reporter)
Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game
 < 2023  2025 > 
2024 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Marshall xy$   7 – 1     10 – 3  
Georgia Southern   6 – 2     8 – 5  
James Madison   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Old Dominion   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Coastal Carolina   3 – 5     6 – 6  
Appalachian State   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Georgia State   1 – 7     3 – 9  
West Division
Louisiana xy   7 – 1     10 – 4  
Texas State   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Arkansas State   5 – 3     8 – 5  
South Alabama   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Louisiana–Monroe   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Troy   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Southern Miss   0 – 8     1 – 11  
Championship: Marshall 31, Louisiana 3
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of January 2, 2025

The 2024 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 7, 2024 at Cajun Field on the campus of University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana to determine the champion of the Sun Belt Conference for the 2024 season. It will be the sixth edition of the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game. The game was played at 6:30 p.m. CST (7:30 p.m. EST) on ESPN. The game featured the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, the West Division champions, and the Marshall Thundering Herd, the East Division champions. Sponsored by Hercules Tires, the game was officially named as the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship.[3]

Teams

This will be the third all-time meeting between Louisiana and Marshall; Louisiana won their only prior meetings.[4]

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

Main article: 2024 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

Louisiana enters the championship game as West Division champions, having compiled a 10–2 record, 7–1 record in Sun Belt play. Louisiana clinched a spot in the championship game following its victory against ULM on November 30.[5] This will mark Louisiana's fourth appearance in the championship game, their first since 2021.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Main article: 2024 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Marshall enters the championship game as East Division champions, having compiled a 9–3 record, 7–1 record in Sun Belt play. Marshall clinched a spot in the championship game following its victory against James Madison on November 30.[6] This will mark Marshall's first appearance in the championship game since joining the conference ahead of the 2022 season.

Game summary

2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship
Marshall Thundering Herd (9–3, 7–1) vs. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (10-2, 7–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Marshall 7 10 7731
Louisiana 3 0 003

at Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA

  • Date: Saturday, December 7, 2024
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Temperature: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind: W at 2 mph (3.2 km/h) • Weather: Mostly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 20,067
  • Referee: Trennis Livingston
  • TV announcers (ESPN): ESPN: Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Sam Acho (analyst), and Lauren Sisler (sideline reporter)
    Gridiron Radio: Noah Britt (play-by-play), Jon Reynolds (analyst), and Faxon Childress (sideline reporter)
Game information
First Quarter
  • (6:42) ULL – Kenneth Almendares 40 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 52 yards, 2:05; Louisiana 3–0)
  • (4:04) MU – Tychaun Chapman 37 yard pass from Braylon Braxton, Rece Verhoff kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:38; Marshall 7–3)
Second Quarter
  • (7:54) MU – Rece Verhoff 32 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards, 4:14; Marshall 10–3)
  • (2:47) MU – Ethan Payne 15 yard rush, Rece Verhoof kick (Drive: 7 plays, 56 yards, 3:04; Marshall 17–3)
Third Quarter
  • (7:43) MU – Bralon Brown 20 yard pass from Braylon Braxton, Rece Verhoff kick (Drive: 9 plays, 56 yards, 4:24; Marshall 24–3)
Fourth Quarter
  • (2:03) MU – Jordan Houston 9 yard rush, Rece Verhoff kick (Drive: 8 plays, 86 yards, 5:01; Marshall 31–3)
Statistics MU ULL
First downs 25 11
Plays–yards 70–410 60–255
Rushes–yards 44–217 28–56
Passing yards 193 199
Passing: comp–att–int 18–26–0 13–32–1
Time of possession 33:56 26:04
Team Category Player Statistics
Marshall Passing Braylon Braxton 18/26, 193 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Jordan Houston 17 carries, 117 yards, TD
Receiving Tychaun Chapman 8 receptions, 86 yards, TD
Louisiana Passing Chandler Fields 4/8, 104 yards
Rushing Zylan Perry 6 carries, 25 yards
Receiving Lance LeGendre 4 receptions, 81 yards

References

  1. ^ Ianniello, Mike (December 7, 2024). "Marshall vs Louisiana Predictions, Picks, Odds for the 2024 Sun Belt Championship Game". actionnetwork.com. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Austro, Ben (December 6, 2024). "Officiating crews for the 2024 college football conference championship games". FootballZebras.com. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  3. ^ "Louisiana to Host 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  4. ^ "Winsipedia - Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs. Marshall Thundering Herd". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "Big Second Half Propels Louisiana To 37-23 Win Over ULM". ragincajuns.com. November 30, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Marshall Football Tops JMU in Double-OT For SBC East Title". herdzone.com. November 30, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.