Jacksonville State and Troy are both on the road for key conference games this week.

The Gamecocks travel for a Thursday night game at Sam Houston, the first of five straight mid-week contests for JSU. The Trojans are at Georgia State, one of two unbeaten teams in the Sun Belt Conference.

Jacksonville State (3-1, 1-0 CUSA) at Sam Houston (0-3, 0-0), 7 p.m. Thursday, ESPNU

The Gamecocks have won three of the first four games as an FBS program, including a dominant 21-0 shutout of Eastern Michigan last week.

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Jax State already has the jump on CUSA play, having opened the season with a 17-14 victory over UTEP on Aug. 26. The Gamecocks appear to have settled on Nebraska transfer Logan Smothers as their starting quarterback ahead of veteran Zion Webb.

Like JSU, Sam Houston moved up to the FBS level this season after several years as an FCS powerhouse. The Bearkats lead the all-time series vs. the Gamecocks 6-5, including a 42-7 win in Huntsville in 2021.

Troy (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) at Georgia State (4-0, 1-0), 6 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+

The Trojans took the first step toward salvaging their season last week, posting an impressive defensive performance in a 27-24 non-conference win over Western Kentucky. Troy also got off to a 1-2 start in 2022 before winning 11 straight to end the season.

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Georgia State has been perhaps the surprise team in the Sun Belt Conference, with James Madison (which beat Troy 16-14 two weeks ago) one of only two in the league who are still unbeaten. The Panthers scored a huge road win last week, winning 30-17 at Coastal Carolina.

Georgia State has won three straight over Troy, winning in the regular season in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The Trojans last won in Atlanta in 2017, a 34-10 victory on their way to a Sun Belt championship.