The 2021 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 21st season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference. The season began September 2, 2021 and concluded with its championship game on December 4, 2021. It was part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Sun Belt Conference consists of 10 football members split into two divisions. The conference released its schedule on March 1, 2021.
Preseason
Preseason Media Poll The Preseason Media Poll was released on July 20. Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State tied as the favorites for the East Division, while Louisiana was favored to win the West Division.
East T1 Coastal Carolina 44 (6) T1 Appalachian State 44 (4) 3 Georgia State 24 4 Georgia Southern 20 5 Troy 18 West 1 Louisiana 49 (9) 2 Arkansas State 38 (1) 3 South Alabama 27 4 Texas State 25 5 Louisiana–Monroe 11
Preseason awards The following list contains players and coaches included on preseason watch lists for national awards.
Award Head coach/Player School Position Link Lott Trophy Silas Kelly Coastal Carolina LB Dodd Trophy Jamey Chadwell Coastal Carolina Head coach Maxwell Award Camerun Peoples Appalachian State RB Layne Hatcher Arkansas State QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina QB Levi Lewis Louisiana QB Jalen Tolbert South Alabama WR Bednarik Award Demetrius Taylor Appalachian State DE Shaun Jolly Appalachian State CB Jeffrey Gunter Coastal Carolina DE Derrick Canteen Georgia Southern CB Bralen Trahan Louisiana S Carlton Martial Troy LB Davey O'Brien Award Levi Lewis Louisiana QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina QB Doak Walker Award JD King Georgia Southern RB Marcel Murray Arkansas State RB Camerun Peoples Appalachian State RB Fred Biletnikoff Award Jaivon Heiligh Coastal Carolina WR Isaiah Likely Coastal Carolina TE Sam Pinckney Georgia State WR Jalen Tolbert South Alabama WR John Mackey Award Isaiah Likely Coastal Carolina TE Roger Carter Georgia State TE Henry Pearson Appalachian State TE Johnny Lumpkin Louisiana TE Rimington Trophy Baer Hunter Appalachian State C Shane Vallot Louisiana C Dylan Bradshaw Troy CButkus Award Carlton Martial Troy LB Outland Trophy C. J. Brewer Coastal Carolina DT Trey Carter Coastal Carolina G Will Choloh Troy DT Shamarious Gilmore Georgia State G Baer Hunter Appalachian State C O'Cyrus Torrence Louisiana G Bronko Nagurski Trophy C. J. Brewer Coastal Carolina DT Will Choloh Troy DT Carlton Martial Troy LB Demetrius Taylor Appalachian State DE Bralen Trahan Louisiana SLou Groza Award Massimo Biscardi Coastal Carolina K Paul Hornung Award Khaleb Hood Georgia Southern WR Chris Smith Louisiana RB Caleb Spurlin Appalachian State DL Wuerffel Trophy Thomas Hennigan Appalachian State WR Andre Harris Jr. Arkansas State OL Kennedy Roberts Coastal Carolina DL Levi Lewis Louisiana QB Keith Gallmon South Alabama DB Tyler Vitt Texas State QB Luke Whittemore Troy WR Walter Camp Award Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina QB Demetrius Taylor Appalachian State DE Manning Award Cornelious Brown Georgia State QB Layne Hatcher Arkansas State QB Levi Lewis Louisiana QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina QBEarl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Ken Marks Louisiana OL Ray Guy Award Anthony Beck II Georgia Southern P Charles Ouverson Coastal Carolina P Jack Brooks South Alabama P Rhys Byrns Louisiana P Ryan Hanson Arkansas State P Xavier Subotsch Appalachian State P Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Jake Bentley South Alabama QB Chase Brice Appalachian State QB Levi Lewis Louisiana QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina QB
Preseason All-Conference teams Offensive Player of the Year: Grayson McCall (Redshirt Sophomore, Coastal Carolina quarterback) Defensive Player of the Year: Carlton Martial (Junior, Troy linebacker)
Position Player Team First Team Offense QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina RB Camerun Peoples Appalachian State RB Destin Coates Georgia State OL Baer Hunter Appalachian State OL Shamarious Gilmore Georgia State OL Cooper Hodges Appalachian State OL Austin Stidham Troy OL O'Cyrus Torrence Louisiana TE Isaiah Likely Coastal Carolina WR Jalen Tolbert South Alabama WR Jaivon Heiligh Coastal Carolina WR Sam Pinckney Georgia State First Team Defense DL Jeffrey Gunter Coastal Carolina DL C. J. Brewer Coastal Carolina DL Demetrius Taylor Appalachian State DL Will Choloh Troy LB Carlton Martial Troy LB D'Marco Jackson Appalachian State LB Silas Kelly Coastal Carolina DB Derrick Canteen Georgia Southern DB Shaun Jolly Appalachian State DB D'Jordan Strong Coastal Carolina DB Bralen Trahan Louisiana First Team Special Teams K Noel Ruiz Georgia State P Rhys Byrns Louisiana RS Chris Smith Louisiana
Position Player Team Second Team Offense QB Levi Lewis Louisiana RB JD King Georgia Southern RB Daetrich Harrington Appalachian State OL Trey Carter Coastal Carolina OL Max Mitchell Louisiana OL Dylan Bradshaw Troy OL Willie Lampkin Coastal Carolina OL Aaron Dowdell Georgia Southern TE Roger Carter Georgia State WR Thomas Hennigan Appalachian State WR Marcell Barbee Texas State WR Cornelius McCoy Georgia State Second Team Defense DL Zi'Yon Hill Louisiana DL Hardrick Willis Georgia State DL Dontae Wilson Georgia State DL Nico Ezidore Texas State LB Lorenzo McCaskill Louisiana LB Teddy Gallagher Coastal Carolina LB Brendan Harrington Appalachian State DB Antavious Lane Georgia State DB Quavian White Georgia State DB Keith Gallmon South Alabama DB Eric Garror Louisiana Second Team Special Teams K Massimo Biscardi Coastal Carolina P Anthony Beck II Georgia Southern RS Khaleb Hood Georgia Southern
Head coaches Prior to the season, Arkansas State, Louisiana–Monroe, and South Alabama saw coaching changes. At Arkansas State, Butch Jones was named head coach after previous head coach Blake Anderson left the team to take the head coach position with Utah State of the Mountain West Conference. At Louisiana–Monroe, Terry Bowden took over as head coach after Matt Viator was fired by the school. At South Alabama, Kane Wommack took over as head coach after previous head coach Steve Campbell was fired by the school.
Team Head coach Previous Job Years at school Overall record Sun Belt record Sun Belt titles Appalachian State Shawn Clark Appalachian State (Off. Line Coach) 2 0 Arkansas State Butch Jones Alabama (assistant coach) 1 0 Coastal Carolina Jamey Chadwell Coastal Carolina (Off. Coordinator) 4 1 Georgia Southern Chad Lunsford Georgia Southern (assistant coach) 5 0 Georgia State Shawn Elliott South Carolina (Off. Line Coach) 5 0 Louisiana Billy Napier Arizona State (Off. Coordinator) 4 1 Louisiana–Monroe Terry Bowden Clemson (Grad. Assistant) 1 0 South Alabama Kane Wommack Indiana (Def. Coordinator) 1 0 Texas State Jake Spavital West Virginia (Off. Coordinator) 3 0 Troy Chip Lindsey Auburn (Off. Coordinator) 3 0
Mid-Season changes On September 26, Georgia Southern announced that they had fired Chad Lunsford. Georgia Southern named cornerbacks coach Kevin Whitley as the interim head coach. Former USC head coach Clay Helton was later announced as the permanent replacement for Lunsford beginning in 2022. On November 21, Troy announced that they had fired Chip Lindsey. Troy named defensive coordinator Brandon Hall as the interim head coach. On December 3, the school announced Kentucky defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall as the new permanent head coach.
Post-season changes On November 28, Billy Napier announced that he would become the new head coach at Florida in the Southeastern Conference starting in 2022. On December 5, Louisiana promoted assistant head coach Michael Desormeaux to head coach, beginning with the school's season-ending bowl game.
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Final Appalachian State AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Arkansas State AP C CFP Not released Coastal Carolina AP 22 17 16 17 16 15 15 14 24 21 22 RV RV C 24 19 18 17 16т 15 15 16 24 21 21 RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Georgia Southern AP C CFP Not released Georgia State AP C CFP Not released Louisiana AP 23 RV RV RV 24 24 22 23 20 16 16 C 23 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 21 23 21 17 18 CFP Not released 24 23 Louisiana–Monroe AP C CFP Not released South Alabama AP C CFP Not released Texas State AP C CFP Not released Troy AP C CFP Not released
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Schedule Index to colors and formattingSun Belt member wonSun Belt member lostSun Belt teams in bold All times Central time.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Championship Game
Week Fifteen (Sun Belt Championship Game)
Postseason
Bowl Games
Legend Sun Belt win Sun Belt loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (CST)Sun Belt teamOpponentScoreAttendance Cure Bowl December 17 Exploria Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN2 5:00 p.m. Coastal Carolina Northern Illinois W 47–41 9,784 Boca Raton Bowl December 18 FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL ESPN 10:00 a.m. Appalachian State Western Kentucky L 38–59 15,429 New Orleans Bowl December 18 Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN 8:15 p.m. Louisiana Marshall W 36–21 21,642 Camellia Bowl December 25 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN 1:30 p.m. Georgia State Ball State W 51–20 N/A
Sun Belt records vs other conferences
2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:
Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC0–2Big Ten0–0Big 121–2Pac-120–1BYU/Notre Dame0–1SEC0–6Power 5 Total1–12Group of 5 ConferencesRecordAmerican1–2C–USA5–1Independents (Excluding BYU and Notre Dame)3–2MAC3–1Mountain West0–0Group of 5 Total12–6FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision8–1Total Non-Conference Record21–19
Sun Belt vs Power 5 matchups This is a list of games the Sun Belt has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BYU, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score September 4 SEC Louisiana–Monroe Kentucky Kroger Field • Lexington, KY L 10–45 September 4 Big 12 No. 23 Louisiana No. 21 Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX L 18–38 September 4 Big 12 Baylor Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX L 20–29 September 10 Big 12 Kansas No. 17 Coastal Carolina Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC W 49–22 September 11 ACC Appalachian State No. 22 Miami (FL) Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL L 23–25 September 11 ACC Georgia State No. 24 North Carolina Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC L 17–59 September 18 SEC Georgia Southern No. 20 Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR L 10–45 September 18 Pac-12 Arkansas State Washington Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA L 3–52 September 25 SEC Georgia State No. 23 Auburn Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL L 24–34 October 2 SEC Troy South Carolina Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC L 14–23 November 20 SEC Louisiana-Monroe LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA L 14–27 November 20 SEC South Alabama Tennessee Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN L 14–60 November 20 Independent No. 14 BYU Georgia Southern Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 17–34
Sun Belt vs Group of Five matchups The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, or Mountain West.