Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Complete PDF)
Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
Sun Belt Conference Standings
Sun Belt Conference Statistics 

The Sun Belt Conference: Together We Rise

• A record six Sun Belt teams went to bowl games last season, breaking the previous record of four set in 2012 and 2015. The four bowl wins were the most ever by the Sun Belt in its league history.

• The Sun Belt’s .667 winning percentage in bowl games fell one win shy of claiming a win in ESPN’s “Conference Bowl Challenge” among all 10 FBS conferences, and percentage-wise finished tied with the Big 12 Conference for the second spot. It was the best bowl winning percentage among the “Group of Five” conferences.

• The Sun Belt finished third in the annual “Group of Five” conference rankings in 2016 after finishing fifth the past two seasons.

• The College Football Playoff distributed $50 million to the “Group of Five” conferences to be split evenly amongst the leagues, with the other $35 million distributed based on regular season and post season performance. The Sun Belt’s third-place finish resulted in an extra $3 million to be distributed evenly among its membership.

• The Sun Belt will add a significant boost to its officiating program this year as it was recently announced that the conference will use a collaborative replay system. The system will allow officials in a central location to review replays and assist officials at each game.

• Troy became the first Sun Belt school to earn an AP Top 25 ranking last season (#25 – November 14).

• South Alabama defeated No. 19 San Diego State 42-24 for the program’s first win over a top-25 team and Mississippi State 21-20 for its first win against a member of the SEC last season.
Arkansas State and Appalachian State were co-champions of the league in 2016. It was the fifth conference title in six seasons for the Red Wolves, and a first-ever Sun Belt title for the Mountaineers.

• The 2017 season will be the fifth consecutive year all Sun Belt football home games will be carried by an ESPN network. In total, 68 home contests will be televised.
12 Sun Belt home games are already slated to appear on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU including at least one game on “Championship Saturday” on December 2nd.

• The Sun Belt will determine its football conference champion with a championship game for the first time in league history beginning with the 2018 season. The game will be played between the winners of the East and West divisions.

Upcoming Schedule

Thursday, November 2
* Idaho at Troy - 8:15 p.m. (ESPNU)

Saturday, November 4
* Appalachian State at ULM – 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Georgia State at Georgia Southern – 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
* New Mexico State at Texas State – 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Louisiana at South Alabama – 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
Coastal Carolina at Arkansas – 3 p.m. (SEC Network Alternate)

* denotes Sun Belt Conference game
All times Central (CT) and subject to change

Recent Results

Thursday, October 26
* Georgia State 21, South Alabama 13 - 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Saturday, October 28
UMASS 30, Appalachian State 27 (2OT) - 2:30 p.m. (Eleven Sports)
* Troy 38, Georgia Southern 16 - 2:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Idaho 31, ULM 23 - 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Texas State 27, Coastal Carolina 7 - 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
* Arkansas State 37, New Mexico State 21 - 7 p.m. (ESPN3)

Sun Belt Football Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Matt Linehan, Idaho (Sr., QB)
Guided Idaho’s breakout offensive performance, completing 28-of-42 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns, as the Vandals defeated ULM 31-23...posted season highs in completions, attempts and yards, and matched season best for touchdowns...360 passing yards are the fourth most in a game in Linehan’s career and mark his 13th game with at least 300 yards through the air...connected with eight different receivers...moved up to No. 3 in Sun Belt history for career passing yards (10,490).

Defensive Player of the Week

Eric Boggs, Appalachian State (Sr., LB)
Boggs passed 300 career tackles with a performance that included 15 tackles, one interception, one sack, one forced fumble and two pass breakups at UMass. He matched his career high of 15 tackles from a game against South Alabama late in the 2015 season, increased his career total to 313 tackles and recorded the seventh interception of his career. With App State behind 10-0 early, Boggs forced a fumble and intercepted a pass that turned into two App State touchdowns and pull the Mountaineers within 17-14 at the half.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State (Sr., DB)
Senior cornerback Blaise Taylor helped led Arkansas State to a 37-21 road victory over New Mexico State, recording a school and Sun Belt Conference-record nine punt returns for a career-high 114 yards that were also the third most ever by an A-State player and fifth most in Sun Belt history. Taylor averaged 12.9 yards per attempt on his nine returns that were also the most by an FBS player this year. He recorded over 100 punt return yards in a game for the third time of his career and, in the process, became just the second player in Sun Belt history to go over 1,000 career yards. Taylor’s 114 yards were the most by a Sun Belt player and seventh most in the nation this season, while also giving him four of the top-10 single-game totals in Arkansas State history. He had a long return of 54 yards, which was the second longest in the Sun Belt this year behind only his 63-yard return against Nebraska. Taylor also had a 19-yard return to the NMSU 40-yard line that set up A-State’s first touchdown. He posted a 17-yard return to the A-State 42-yard line, leading to the Red Wolves second touchdown that gave them a 17-14 lead in the third quarter.

Sun Belt News and Notes

Sun Belt Membership
Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy give the league 10 full-time members that compete in football. Little Rock and UTA compete as Sun Belt members in all sports other than football. Idaho and New Mexico State compete only in the sport of football.

Sun Belt Bowl Partners
In 2001, the Sun Belt Conference began sponsoring football and created the inaugural New Orleans bowl in December of that year. The conference now stands as one of the 10 premier college football leagues in the country.

As part of the College Football Playoff a worthy football team in the Sun Belt can be in the national championship picture, and the league is a permanent part of the “Group of Five” conferences (joining the American Athletic Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Mid-American Conference and Conference USA) that sends its highest-rated champion to a premier January 1st bowl game.

In the last four years the Sun Belt Conference has gone from having two primary bowl partnerships to five in 2017. From 2001 to 2009 the Sun Belt Conference had only one bowl partner.

College Football Playoff
Opportunity to select Sun Belt Champion for one of six bowls or CFP semifinals

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
First Selection (vs. CUSA)

Dollar General Bowl (Mobile, Ala.)
Second Selection (vs. MAC)

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.)
Third Selection (vs. MAC)

AutoNation Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)
Fourth Selection (vs. American)

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Ariz.)
Fifth Selection (vs. Mountain West)

Sun Belt Conference Championship Game
The Sun Belt Conference will hold its first ever football championship game as the league’s presidents and chancellors, as well as athletic directors, voted unanimously to play the game beginning in 2018. The addition of Coastal Carolina and the decision to move forward as a 10-team football league, along with the NCAA Division I Council’s rules on championship games, means that the championship game has become a reality.

Sun Belt Athletes are Student-Athletes
During the recent 2016-17 academic year, Sun Belt member institutions awarded over $50 million in scholarships to more than 3,100 student-athletes, while also providing life experiences such as team building, domestic and foreign travel, community service, mentoring and recognition through honors and awards. The commitment to education recently led to over 2,100 Sun Belt Conference student-athletes being named to the 2016-17 Commissioner’s List and Academic Honor Roll. The list is comprised of 1,087 student-athletes on the Commissioner’s List (3.5 grade point average or better) and 1,045 student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll (GPA between 3.0 and 3.49).

2017 Sun Belt Football Coaches Predicted Order of Finish (first place votes)
1. Appalachian St. (7) - 136 pts
2. Troy (2) - 127 pts
3. Arkansas State (1) - 122 pts
4. South Alabama - 98 pts
5. Louisiana (1) - 95 pts
6. Idaho - 84 pts
7. Georgia Southern - 82 pts
8. Georgia State - 48 pts
9. ULM - 46 pts
10. New Mexico St. (1) - 41 pts
11. Texas State - 31 pts
12. Coastal Carolina - 26 pts

Team News and Notes

Appalachian State Mountaineers
• Senior linebacker Eric Boggs passed 300 career tackles against UMass with a performance that included 15 tackles, one interception, one sack, one forced fumble and two pass breakups. He matched his career high of 15 tackles from a game against South Alabama late in the 2015 season, increased his career total to 313 tackles and recorded the seventh interception of his career.

• Boggs and Ohio’s Quentin Poling are the only active FBS players with at least 300 tackles, 10.0 sacks and seven interceptions.

• With two touchdown passes Saturday, App State quarterback Taylor Lamb increased his school-record total to 78 for his career, and he’s now alone in third place in Sun Belt history. Corey Robinson (Troy) and Kolton Browning (ULM) both threw 81 touchdown passes from 2010-13.

• With 66 rushing yards, Lamb increased his career total to 1,769 and moved from fifth to fourth place in Sun Belt history on the list for rushing yards by a quarterback.

• Defensive end Tee had three sacks, the most for an App State defender since Boggs ad three against Louisiana in the 11th game of the 2015 season. It was the fourth multi-sack game in the last two seasons for Sims, who has 14.5 sacks in 20 career games.

• Redshirt freshman running back Marcus Williams Jr. made his first career start and gained 125 yards on 25 carries. Jalin Moore (injured), Terrence Upshaw (injured) and 2016 senior Marcus Cox had been the only running backs to start over the course of the previous 55 games, dating back to the first two games of the 2013 season, when Ricky Fergerson started against Montana and North Carolina A&T.

Arkansas State Red Wolves
• Arkansas State’s 5-2 record matches its best ever through seven games since joining the FBS in 1992 (2006, 2011, 2017).

• The Red Wolves stand 4-0 in Sun Belt action for the third consecutive season and fourth time in school history (2011, 2015-17).

• A-State completed October with an unblemished 4-0 record and have now won their last 12 games played in the month.

• With its 37-21 victory over New Mexico State, the Red Wolves collected their 22nd victory over their last 26 Sun Belt Conference road games.

• Arkansas State holds 44-7 record over its last 51 Sun Belt Conference games and has won its last five outings against league foes.

• A-State has generated over 400 yards total offense in six of its first seven games for the first time ever since joining the FBS in 1992.

• Justice Hansen has set the school record for touchdown passes in a season with 25, which is also the fifth most in Sun Belt Conference history. He has thrown multiple touchdown passes in nine consecutive games.

• Senior defensive end Ja’Von Rolland-Jones now has the second most sacks in NCAA history with 38.5 over his four-year career at A-State.

• Senior cornerback Blaise Taylor recorded a Sun Belt Conference record nine punt returns for a 114 yards, the fifth most in league history, against New Mexico State.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
• This will be the first meeting between Coastal Carolina and Arkansas.

• Coastal is 0-2 all-time versus teams from the SEC. The Chants lost 59-0 at Georgia in 2011 and lost 70-10 at South Carolina in 2013. Coastal’s only other contests versus Power 5 programs include a 66-10 loss at Penn State in 2008 and a 49-3 loss at Clemson in 2009.

• Shane Johnson 1 Tackle Shy of CCU single-game record. Johnson was credited with a career-high 19 tackles in the Chanticleers’ loss versus Texas State. The total was one shy of the CCU single-game record of 20, set by both Dominique Davenport (vs. Colgate on 2008) and Quinn Backus (vs. Liberty in 2014). Among Johnson’s 19 stops were two for losses, including a 10-yard sack. He also forced a fumble.

• Anthony Chesley also had a big day on defense, collecting a career-high 13 tackles with 11 being solo stops. It was his first career game with double-digit stops. With Johnson getting 19 stops, the 32 combined tackles between the two was the best single-game tandem since Quinn Backus (20) and Brett Johnson (17) had 37 at Liberty in 2014. Chesley did score Coastal’s only TD, a 50-yard fumble recovery after a bad snap on a Texas State field goal attempt. It was his first career TD.

• Senior Osharmar Abercrombie, who spent three seasons as a back-up, is just 196 rushing yards from fifth place on the school’s all-time rushing list. He currently trails De’Angelo Henderson (4.635), Aundres Perkins (2,343), Patrick Hall (2,214), .Lorenzo Taliaferro (2,086) and Eric O’Neal (1,888).

Georgia Southern Eagles
• Despite their proximity, Georgia Southern and Georgia State have met just three times before with Georgia State leading the series 2-1.

• The Eagles won the first game in the series 69-31 in 2014 in Atlanta, but the Panthers have taken the past two games, winning 34-7 in 2015 in Statesboro and 30-24 last year in Atlanta.

• Last season, the Panthers were led by interim head coach Tim Lappano, who went 1-1 in his stint as the head man. This season, the Eagles will be the ones being led by an interim head coach in Chad Lunsford. Lunsford dropped his debut last week at Troy, falling 38-16.

• Saturday’s contest is just the third of four games in the state of Georgia for the Eagles this season, where they are 0-2 so far.

• Georgia Southern is 23-11-1 in the modern era against teams from the state of Georgia: 12-0 vs. Savannah State, 6-1-1 vs. Valdosta State, 2-0 vs. West Georgia, 1-0 vs. Baptist University of America (Decatur), 1-0 vs. Fort Benning, 1-2 vs. Georgia State, 0-2 vs. Georgia Tech and 0-6 vs. the University of Georgia.

• The Eagles are 202-53-1 in the modern era in games played in the Peach State.

• Georgia Southern will be looking to avoid a three-game losing streak at Paulson Stadium, something that’s happened just two other times in the stadium’s 34-year history.

• Those came in 2008 and 2006 when the Eagles lost four games in a row.

Georgia State Panthers
• Georgia State won for the fourth time in five games with its 21-13 victory over South Alabama, the Panthers’ first victory at Georgia State Stadium.

• The Panthers (4-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) trail only unbeaten Appalachian State (4-0) and Arkansas State (4-0) in the Sun Belt Conference standings.

• For the second straight game, safety Bryan Williams grabbed an interception on the game’s first drive to set up a score for the Panthers. That pick was Williams’ fourth of the season and sixth of his career, tying the Georgia State records for both a season and career.

• Williams has four interceptions on the season, first in the Sun Belt and tied for third in FBS with 0.6 interceptions per game. He is also the Panthers’ leading tackler with 39.

• The GSU defense set a school record by holding the Jaguars to a net of 41 yards rushing. South Alabama running back Xavier Johnson is the Jags’ career rushing leader and entered the game averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 64 yards per game, but GSU held him to minus-3 yards.

• The Panthers held South Alabama to 338 total yards, 70 of them coming on USA’s late touchdown. In addition to interceptions by Bryan Williams and Cedric Stone, the Panthers broke up seven passes, including two each by Jerome Smith and B.J. Clay, and collected six tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

• Outside linebacker Michael Shaw had two tackles for loss, raising his school-record career total to 24.5.

• Sophomore receiver Penny Hart, who had six catches for 98 yards with an 8-yard touchdown, ranks 8th in FBS in receptions (7.6 per game), 11th in receiving yards (97.9 per game) and 12th in touchdowns (7). He has accounted for 38 percent of Georgia State’s passing yards and 36 percent of the completions and caught seven of the team’s 10 touchdown passes.

Idaho Vandals
• Idaho used a last-minute goal-line stand to defeat ULM 31-23 Saturday, at the Kibbie Dome. The win snaps a three-game losing streak and brings the Vandals’ record to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in Sun Belt play.

• Idaho’s 31 points were a season high.

• ULM entered the game averaging 205.3 rushing yards per game, the top mark in the Sun Belt. Idaho held the Warhawks to a season-low 98 yards on the ground. It is the third time this season Idaho has held its opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing.

• Matt Linehan completed 28-of-42 pass attempts for 360 yards and three touchdowns, setting season highs in completions, attempts and yards. The 360 yards are fourth most in a game for his career. Linehan eclipsed 300 yards passing for the first time this season and 13th time in his career. Linehan moved up to No. 3 in Sun Belt history for career passing yards. He now has 10,490 yards, surpassing ULM’s Kolton Browning (10,263; 2010-13). Linehan still ranks third in school history for career passing yards. He is now 207 yards shy of John Friesz in second place and 334 yards away from Doug Nussmeier’s all-time record.

• Aaron Duckworth carried the ball 23 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. It is Duckworth’s third game this season with at least 100 rushing yards. He ran for 121 last season at ULM (Oct. 8, 2016). Duckworth moved up to No. 13 on Idaho’s career rushing list. He now has 1,759 yards in his career. With 113 yards Saturday, Duckworth passed John Brogan (1,662; 1948-50), Robert Brooks (1,714; 1974-78) and Elijhaa Penny (1,728; 2014-15).

• Kaden Elliss recorded his second consecutive game with a sack on defense and a receiving touchdown on offense. Elliss is the only FBS player in the country to have one such game this season. Elliss led the Vandals with 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack. It is his second straight game leading the team in tackles.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
• Louisiana returns to action on Saturday after a 16-day layoff when it plays at South Alabama in a Sun Belt Conference game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

• The game against South Alabama is the second of three straight on the road for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who opened the trip at Arkansas State on Oct. 19 and will conclude on Nov. 11 at Ole Miss.

• Louisiana leads the all-time series against South Alabama, 3-2, with the home team winning each contest.

• Trey Ragas is tied for third nationally among FBS freshman in rushing touchdowns (7) and is seventh nationally among freshmen in rushing yards (542).

• Louisiana is one of three teams in FBS that is perfect in red zone offense (28-for-28) on the season. The Ragin’ Cajuns are tied with Georgia (31-for-31) and FIU (19-for-19) in red zone offense.

• Louisiana’s 280 yards assessed in penalties this season is the fifth-fewest among FBS programs in 2017.

ULM Warhawks
• ULM senior Brian Williams recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game, with eight catches for 145 yards at Idaho, including a 26-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Evans late in the third quarter. His eight receptions also matched his career high (8 for 96 yards and a TD earlier this season at Texas State).

• ULM sophomore quarterback Caleb Evans produced his second 400-yard passing of the season, hitting 24-of-37 throws for 405 yards and three scores at Idaho. Evans completed TD strikes of 54 yards to D’Marius Gillespie, 26 yards to Brian Williams and 13 yards to Derrick Gore. His three TD passes tied his career best.

• ULM junior Marcus Green is tied for fourth in the NCAA FBS with 12 all-purpose plays of 30-plus yards, according to cfbstats.com. Green trails only Stanford’s Bryce Love (18), Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (17) and Notre Dame’s Josh Adams (13) in 30-plus yard plays. He also ranks as one of only six players in the NCAA FBS with four all-purpose plays of 70-plus yards.

• The ULM defense limited Idaho to just three points, nine first downs and 168 total yards in the second half.

New Mexico State Aggies
• Malik Demby recorded his first career forced fumble.

• Roy Lopez tallied his first career fumble recovery.

• Larry Rose III moved into a tie for third all-time in program history in rushing touchdowns (31).

• Billy Nipp recorded his first career sack.

• O.J. Clark set a career-high in receiving yards (113) and long reception (55).

• This was the first time the Aggies have been outgained in yards passing this season (297-241).

• Dalton Herrington tied a career-high in tackles (16) which was set last season also against Arkansas State (11/12/16).

South Alabama Jaguars
• The Jaguars fell at Georgia State Thursday, snapping a two-game Sun Belt Conference win streak.

• Jeremy Reaves led a South defense that gave up just 308 yards in the contest with a game-high 11 stops, falling one tackle shy of match his season-best total posted in the Jaguars’ Sun Belt Conference opener against Idaho on Sept. 23. The senior also had a hand in the Jags’ lone takeaway of the night with a first-quarter forced fumble that ended a Panther drive that had moved inside the USA-40, the third straight turnover forced by the Jaguars that Reaves played a part in; he is now tied for second on school season record list with three forced fumbles this year.

• Junior Dallas Davis finished with 297 yards through the air in the GSU game to become the second quarterback in school history to surpass 4,000 yards passing in a career. He completed 27-of-48 attempts against the Panthers, not only setting a career high but tying the school record — posted twice by Ross Metheny during his two years as a Jaguar from 2012-13 — for completions in a game. Davis also went over the 4,000-yard mark in total offense last time out, also moving into a tie for second all-time at South with his 20th touchdown pass when he found Jamarius Way for a 75-yard score with just over two minutes remaining in the contest.

• Corliss Waitman had a career-high four of five punts end inside the GSU-20, as he averaged 46.4 yards per kick against the Panthers. In addition to tying the Jags’ game record for punts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line, the junior also equaled a season high with three punts of 50 or more yards. He’s averaged better than 46 yards per effort in five of eight outings.

• WR Jamarius Way had his first 100-yard game as a Jaguar after finishing with career highs of six receptions for 118 yards at GSU last time out. After Sam Harris collected 141 receiving yards in South’s previous contest against ULM, it marked the first time that two different individuals have posted 100-plus yards through the air in consecutive games since the last two outings of the 2016 regular season.

Texas State Bobcats
• Texas State is one of 10 NCAA Division I FBS teams to have five true freshmen starting at least one game this season.

• Texas State’s victory at Coastal Carolina is the first win for the Bobcats since beating Houston Baptist, 20-11, to open the 2017 season. It also is Texas State’s first Sun Belt Conference win under head coach Everett Withers and gives the Bobcats a 1-1 road record in Sun Belt road games this season.

• Texas State will be looking to win its second home game of the season and first conference home game this year when the Bobcats host New Mexico State this Saturday.

• Texas State’s 238 yards rushing at Coastal Carolina marks the highest running total for the Bobcats since Oct. 24, 2015 when Texas State ran for 319 yards against South Alabama.

• The Bobcats had a season-best 269 yards passing at Coastal Carolina. It marks the fourth time overall and third straight game in which Texas State has thrown for over 200 yards this season. Texas State also threw for 260 yards against Appalachian State, 205 against ULM and 219 versus Louisiana.

• Texas State’s season-best of 507 yards in total offense at Coastal Carolina is the most yards that TXST has accumulated since logging 670 yards against Incarnate Word in 2016.

• The Bobcats held Coastal Carolina to seven points, marking the fewest points they have surrendered this season and fewest points given up since holding ULM to three points on Nov. 19, 2015.

Troy Trojans
• Neal Brown has never been shutout as a head coach or as an offensive coordinator -- a span of 120 games.

• Troy improved to 18-1 all-time under Neal Brown when leading at the half; the Trojans led 28-10 over Georgia Southern.

• Troy improved to 19-0 all-time under Neal Brown when leading after three quarters of play; the Trojans led 31-10 over Georgia Southern

• After opening 3-8 under Neal Brown, Troy has now won 17 of its last 22 games.

• With the win, Troy is bowl eligible for the second straight season. It marks the first time that Troy has been bowl eligible in consecutive seasons since 2009-10.

• Quarterback Brandon Silvers made his 27th consecutive start and the 43rd of his career

• Wide receiver John Johnson threw his second career touchdown pass when he hit freshman Tray Eafford for 40-yards on Troy’s opening drive of the game; Johnson was a quarterback at nearby Charles Henderson High School (Troy, Ala.) in high school. He had a 16-yard touchdown pass against UMass in 2016.

• Tray Eafford’s 40-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the first of his career and the second-longest touchdown pass of the season by the Trojans.

• Josh Anderson rushed for his third touchdown of the season as he took the first play of a first quarter drive 32 yards for a score; it marked Troy’s first 1-play scoring drive of the season -- the Trojans did so five times last year.

• Josh Anderson has now rushed for a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.