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AROUND #SUNBELTFB
Five Sun Belt Teams Headed to Bowls
After a thrilling win by Appalachian State over Louisiana in the conference’s inaugural Football Championship game, the league announced postseason bowl destinations for five teams.
As winners of the Championship Game, App State (10-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) received the conference’s automatic bid to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The Mountaineers will be making their first trip to New Orleans when they face Middle Tennessee (8-5, 7-1 C-USA).
League runner-up Louisiana (7-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) will head to Orlando for the AutoNation Cure Bowl where they will face Tulane (6-6, 5-3 American). The Cajuns will be making their sixth bowl appearance.
Troy, making its third consecutive bowl game, will play in the Dollar General Bowl against Buffalo (10-3, 7-1 MAC). It will be the third appearance for the Trojans (9-3, 7-1 Sun Belt) in the game annually played in Mobile, Ala.
Georgia Southern, making their second bowl appearance since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision, will play in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. The Eagles (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) will play Eastern Michigan (7-5, 5-3 MAC).
As previously announced, Arkansas State (8-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) will be making a trip to Tucson for the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. The Red Wolves will be making a conference record ninth bowl game when they face Nevada (7-5, 5-3 MWC).
Appalachian State Wins Inaugural Sun Belt Championship Game
Appalachian State pulled out a 30-19 victory over Louisiana to win the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Dec. 1.
Appalachian sophomore running back Darrynton Evans surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season during a belt-hoisting, Most Valuable Player-winning performance – 218 all-purpose yards that included 111 rushing yards and a 97-yard kickoff return. Sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas scored twice on rushing touchdowns of at least 25 yards.
The Mountaineers (10-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) allowed just one touchdown while forcing Louisiana (7-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) to kick four field goals. All three second-half field goals by Appalachian State sophomore placekicker Chandler Staton exceeded 40 yards, including a 43-yarder that pushed the lead to 11 points with 2:09 remaining. The Mountaineers could begin celebrating when junior defensive back Clifton Duck broke up a fourth-down pass with 1:23 remaining in the game.
Louisiana senior quarterback Andre Nunez accounted for the Ragin’ Cajuns lone touchdown, an eight-yard scamper in the third quarter. Nunez had 85 yards passing and 18 yards rushing. Sophomore running back Trey Ragas ran for 101 yards on 16 carries.
Sun Belt Breaks Regular Season Non-Conference Win Total
After a win by Texas State in the Sun Belt’s final non-conference game of the 2018 regular season, the Sun Belt total for non-conference wins this season now sits at 21. That total is good for the most regular season non-conference wins in league history, breaking the record of 19 that was set in 2013. Including the postseason, the Sun Belt’s record for non-conference wins in a season is 22, which was set in 2016. The conference has a minimum total of five remaining non-conference games this season when factoring in postseason bowl opportunities. Also of note, the Sun Belt Conference has the second highest non-conference win percentage amongst all Group of Five Conferences with a .538 mark (1. American - .543, 2. Sun Belt - .538, 3. Mountain West - .531, 4. Conference USA - .412, 5. Mid-American - .383).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, December 15
AutoNation Cure Bowl, 12:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Louisiana vs. Tulane
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee State
Saturday, December 22
Dollar General Bowl, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Troy vs. Buffalo
Saturday, December 29
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, 12:15 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Arkansas State vs. Nevada
#SUNBELTFB TEAM NEWS AND NOTES
Appalachian State
After earning the first Top 25 ranking in program history on Oct. 21, winning the inaugural Sun Belt Championship Game and posting its third straight Sun Belt title, App State will appear in a bowl for the fourth time in four bowl-eligible seasons at the FBS level. It’s the nation’s only FBS program with a bowl win in each of its first three eligible seasons after the full transition.
App State alum and assistant head coach Mark Ivey was named the team’s interim head coach on Dec. 4 following the departure of Scott Satterfield, who had a 51-24 record as Appalachian’s head coach from 2013-18. Ivey, 45, was a defensive lineman and linebacker for App State from 1991-95, and he’s completing his seventh season on the Mountaineers’ staff.
A popular coach known for his development of scholarship and walk-on talent along App State’s deep defensive line, Ivey was in his first season as the assistant head coach and his fifth working with the defensive line. He was the team’s outside linebackers and special teams coach from 2012-13, after he led Barron Collier High School in Naples, Fla., to a 36-19 record with three district titles in his five seasons as its head coach from 2007-11. He was a high school head coach for 10 years, also performing well at Cypress Lakes (Fla.) from 2002-06.
Since the 2015 season began, App State is tied for seventh nationally and first among Group of Five teams with 40 wins. The only FBS programs with more wins in that span are Alabama (54), Clemson (53), Ohio State (47), Oklahoma (46), Georgia (42) and Wisconsin (41). The only teams with at least three straight league titles are App State, Clemson (ACC) and Oklahoma (Big 12).
App State’s defense has allowed less than 20 points in all 10 wins this year, and discarding a non-offensive TD by Coastal Carolina, has given up 10.2 points per game in the 10 wins. The Mountaineers rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (No. 6, 15.7 points), total defense (No. 6, 279.3 yards), passing defense (No. 3, 148.1 yards), passing efficiency defense (No. 2, 98.01), yards allowed per pass attempt (No. 2, 5.3), defensive three-and-out percentage (No. 3, 42.4), third-down conversion percentage (No. 5, 30.0) and first downs allowed (No. 4, 184).
Arkansas State
The Arkansas State football team will play Mountain West Conference member Nevada in the 2018 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 12:15 p.m. (CT).
Making its eighth consecutive and 16th all-time bowl game appearance, the Red Wolves announced last Tuesday that they had accepted an official invitation to play in the fourth edition of the bowl game. While A-State is making its first all-time appearance in the Arizona Bowl, Nevada will be making its second after also playing in the inaugural contest in 2015.
Arkansas State has played Nevada five times in the all-time series dating back to 1985, holding a 2-3 record against the Wolf Pack. The Red Wolves claimed a 44-28 home win in 1999, the last time they played Nevada.
Arkansas State and Nevada were both members of the Big West Conference from 1993-95, playing twice over that three-year span. A-State collected a 23-21 win in Jonesboro in 1993, while Nevada evened the conference series with a home victory a year later.
The first ever game played between the two schools took place during the 1985 NCAA I-AA (now FCS) playoffs and saw the Wolf Pack pick up a narrow 24-23 win. The only other game in the series saw Nevada win during the 1996 season when A-State was playing as an NCAA I-A (now FBS) independent.
The Red Wolves completed the 2018 regular season with an 8-4 overall record and as the Sun Belt Conference West Division co-champions. Their eight victories matches their third highest total since moving to FBS status in 1992. A-State has secured a school-record eight consecutive winning seasons and piled up 67 victories from 2011-18 for its most over an eight-year span in the program’s 104-year history.
Coastal Carolina
Coastal finished the 2018 season at 5-7 overall and 2-6 in Sun Belt play.
The Chanticleers missed out on becoming bowl eligible by just one win in its first year of eligibility after their two-year transition from FCS to FBS in 2016-17.
In just its second year in the Sun Belt, Coastal (5-6) improved their win total by two games from last season (3-9).
CCU posted the program’s first-ever wins over four of its opponents in UAB, Campbell, Louisiana and Georgia State and finished ranked in the top half of the league in every offensive statistical category.
Georgia Southern
With a win its upcoming bowl game, Georgia Southern will record its 15th 10-win season in program history, but its first at the FBS level.
Georgia Southern has won all nine games it won the rushing battle and lost the three games it didn’t.
Tyler Bass has eight field goals of 40 yards or longer this season, tied for the third most in program history.
Georgia Southern has won all seven games this year when having a 100-yard rusher.
Shai Werts needs six passes without an interception to set a new school record for consecutive passes without one (117).
GS has committed just five turnovers this season, which would be a new NCAA FBS single-season low if the Eagles can maintain their pace. The current NCAA record is eight turnovers in a season by six teams, last done by LSU in 2017.
This will be Georgia Southern’s second bowl game, although the program made 19 appearances in the I-AA Playoffs. Georgia Southern is No. 1 in the FBS with a +22 turnover margin and has forced a turnover in 15 straight games.
Georgia State
The Panthers set school records with 2,057 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns rushing this season. The Panthers averaged a GSU-record 171.4 yards rushing per game (198.9 ypg in Sun Belt games), improving by more than 50 yards per game over last season.
QB Dan Ellington is third in the Sun Belt in passing (192.6 ypg) and total offense (249.5 ypg) while accounting for 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
Ellington led the Panthers in rushing with 625 yards, the third-best season total in school history and best by a quarterback.
With 2,950 career receiving yards, Penny Hart ranks fourth in Sun Belt Conference history. He is seventh all-time in receptions with 202.
Punter Brandon Wright, one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, is third in FBS in both punting average (48.2) and net punting (42.8).
Wright set a new Sun Belt Conference record for season punting average at 48.2 yards per punt. Georgia State’s net of 48.2 is the second-best season mark in Sun Belt annals. Wright’s career average of 43.8 yards per punt is fourth-best in Sun Belt history.
True freshman Cornelius McCoy was the top rookie receiver in the league with 35 receptions for 495 yards.
Louisiana
In what will be the 30th time in school history, Louisiana Football and the Tulane Green Wave will meet on the gridiron, as the AutoNation Cure Bowl announced on Sunday, Dec. 2, its matchup for the upcoming Dec. 15 game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The Ragin’ Cajuns and the Green Wave meet for the first time since 2016 in this season’s AutoNation Cure Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. CT. The game, which will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Louisiana and Tulane have met in a bowl game before, playing in the 2013 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Senior quarterback Andre Nunez and dynamic sophomore running back Trey Ragas have been anchors on this year’s team and are a big reason why Louisiana ranks second in the conference for total offense (437.1 yards per game) and scoring offense (423 total points). Ragas was named to the Sun Belt’s third all-conference team for his 1,141 rush yards and eight touchdowns while Nunez eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark throwing.
Kyle Pfau is the second most accurate kicker in the Sun Belt this year with a field goal percentage of 82.4% (14-of-17) and has only missed one PAT all season.
ULM
ULM’s 6-6 overall mark and 4-4 Sun Belt Conference record represent improvement in Matt Viator’s third season. The Warhawks, who finished 4-8 in the past two campaigns, were still in the hunt for a conference championship down the stretch.
ULM’s defense deserves much credit for its improvement this season. During ULM’s four-game winning streak the defense limited opponents to 17.3 points, 156.5 rushing yards, 122.3 passing yards and 278.8 total yards. The Warhawks made 38 tackles for loss and 17 sacks during that stretch of victories over Coastal Carolina, Texas State, Georgia Southern and South Alabama.
Fifth-year senior Marcus Green led the team in receptions (50), receiving yards (855), touchdown receptions (8) and all-purpose yards (1,518) and earned spots on the All-Sun Belt First Team as both a wide receiver and all-purpose player, as selected by the league’s head football coaches and media panel.
Senior David Griffith set career highs in tackles (92), tackles for loss (15.5 for 44 yards) and sacks (5.0 for 25 yards). He ranked among the Sun Belt leaders in tackles for loss (second), tackles (fifth at 7.7 per game) and sacks (tied for fifth). Griffith produced at least one tackle for loss in each of the last seven games and nine of 12 games overall. He anchored a Warhawk unit that ranked fourth in total defense in Sun Belt league games, allowing 366.0 yards per game.
South Alabama
The Jaguars ended the regular season with a 31-28 home victory over Coastal Carolina. It marked the third year in a row that South has won on Senior Day, improving the program to 6-4 in its home finale.
Tra Minter didn’t only record the first 100-yard effort of his career against the Chanticleers, he set a school game record with 203 rushing yards — the only 200-yard game in the Sun Belt this season — on 24 carries while averaging 8.5 yards per run. The junior running back added two receptions for another 49 yards for a career-high 252 all-purpose yards, the fourth-highest total in a contest in program history. Minter accounted for 47 of the 67 yards on South’s opening scoring drive as the Jags took the lead for good midway through the opening quarter as well as 46 yards on a scoring march that extended the advantage to 24-7 late in the first half. Minter finished the year with a school season-record 1,803 all-purpose yards while he moved up to fourth on the list with 801 rushing yards following the performance.
WR Jamarius Way also set a school game record with three touchdown catches in the CCU contest, tying the most posted in the league this fall as he finished the day with 141 yards on six receptions. The senior broke open the game with a 45-yard touchdown reception on the first play following a takeaway from the Jaguar defense midway through the first quarter followed by a 73-yard catch for a score that stretched the lead to 17 points on South’s first offensive snap of the second quarter. With the performance, he became the first player in program history to surpass 60 receptions in a season, tied the school record with eight touchdown catches in a year, and moved into second on the season record list both with 855 receiving yards and three 100-yard games. Way moved up to third on the school’s all-time list after ending his two-year career with 109 catches, also finishing third with 1,617 yards receiving and fourth with 11 touchdown catches.
With his six-yard scoring run at the end of the first half, Kawaan Baker tied the school season mark of 13 total touchdowns first set by Brandon Ross in 2009.
Texas State
Texas State closed out the 2018 season with a 3-9 record and 1-7 mark in the Sun Belt following a 33-7 loss against Arkansas State.
A. J. Krawczyk closed out his senior season leading the Bobcats with a career-best 11 tackles and a forced fumble against the Red Wolves.
Josh Newman added a career-high 10 stops for the Bobcats.
Nikolas Daniels also added nine tackles, a quarterback sack and recovered a fumble against the Red Wolves.
Freshman Alec Harris ran for a 57-yard touchdown on his first collegiate carry and ended the game leading the Bobcats in rushing with 72 yards on five carries.
Troy
Troy will be heading to the 2018 Dollar General Bowl for its third straight bowl appearance as the Trojans accepted a bid to the Mobile, Ala., bowl game. Troy will face Buffalo out of the Mid-American Conference on Saturday, Dec. 22, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium; kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.
This will be Troy’s third overall trip to Mobile for bowl season after playing in the 2016 Dollar General Bowl and the GMAC Bowl following the 2010 season. The Trojans have won three straight bowl games with victories over Ohio in the 2011 New Orleans Bowl and 2016 Dollar General Bowl and a blowout victory over North Texas in last season’s New Orleans Bowl.
Troy (9-3, 7-1 Sun Belt) finished the regular season as the Sun Belt East Division Co-Champions and landed a league-high 23 players on the All-Sun Belt Team. The Trojans can make history with a fourth straight bowl win as it would mark the first time in school history the Trojans have won 10-plus games in three consecutive seasons.