2020 Sun Belt Conference football season

2020 Sun Belt Conference football season
2020 Sun Belt Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 3, 2020 – December 26, 2020
Number of teams	10
2021 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	CB Shemar Jean-Charles, Appalachian State
Picked by	Green Bay Packers, 178th overall
Regular season
Season champions	Coastal Carolina & Louisiana
Season MVP	QB Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
East champions	Coastal Carolina
West champions	Louisiana
Championship Game cancelled
Seasons
	← 2019 2021 →

The 2020 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 20th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference. The season began September 3, 2020 and concluded December 26, 2020 as part of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Sun Belt consists of 10 members in two divisions. The conference released its schedule on February 28, 2020,^[1] but numerous changes were made due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 Sun Belt Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 14 Coastal Carolina xy+	8	–	0	11	–	1
Appalachian State	6	–	2	9	–	3
Georgia Southern	4	–	4	8	–	5
Georgia State	4	–	4	6	–	4
Troy	3	–	4	5	–	6
West Division
No. 15 Louisiana xy+	7	–	1	10	–	1
South Alabama	3	–	5	4	–	7
Arkansas State	2	–	6	4	–	7
Texas State	2	–	6	2	–	10
Louisiana–Monroe	0	–	7	0	–	10
Championship: Louisiana at Coastal Carolina (Canceled)
+ – Conference co-champions x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The 2019 season began with Appalachian State and Louisiana topping the preseason media polls for the East and West Divisions, respectively.^[2] The season started well for the conference, as week one was headlined by conference member Georgia State upsetting Tennessee of the SEC.^[3] The first conference game took place during week four between Georgia State and Texas State, and saw the Bobcats pull out a three-point win in triple overtime.^[4] The regular season concluded on week fourteen, with Appalachian State (11–1, 7–1) topping the East Division and Louisiana (10–2, 7–1) topping the West, as predicted. The two teams met in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game, which was hosted by Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina. The hosts prevailed, 45–38.^[5]

Sun Belt teams went 3–2 in bowl games, with wins coming from Arkansas State,^[6] Appalachian State,^[7] and Louisiana.^[8]

Preseason

The conference released its preseason media poll and all-conference teams on August 25, 2020.^[9]

Preseason media poll

All-conference preseason teams

Preseason All-Sun Belt

Offensive Player of the Year: Zac Thomas (Senior, Appalachian State quarterback)
Defensive Player of the Year: Carlton Martial (Junior, Troy linebacker)

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense
QB	Levi Lewis	Louisiana
RB	Trey Ragas	Louisiana
RB	C. J. Marable	Coastal Carolina
OL	Ryan Neuzil	Appalachian State
OL	Jacob Still	Arkansas State
OL	Max Mitchell	Louisiana
OL	O'Cyrus Torrence	Louisiana
OL	TJ Fiailoa	Louisiana–Monroe
TE	Isaiah Likely	Coastal Carolina
WR	Thomas Hennigan	Appalachian State
WR	Cornelius McCoy	Georgia State
WR	Reggie Todd	Troy
Second Team Defense
DL	Forrest Merrill	Arkansas State
DL	C. J. Brewer	Coastal Carolina
DL	Dontae Wilson	Georgia State
DL	Zi'Yon Hill	Louisiana
LB	Teddy Gallagher	Coastal Carolina
LB	Trajan Stephens-McQueen	Georgia State
LB	Riley Cole	South Alabama
DB	Shemar Jean-Charles	Appalachian State
DB	Antonio Fletcher	Arkansas State
DB	Quavian White	Georgia State
DB	Eric Garror	Louisiana
Second Team Special Teams
K	Massimo Biscardi	Coastal Carolina
P	Anthony Beck II	Georgia Southern
RS	Eric Garror	Louisiana

Head coaches

Appalachian State was the only team to undergo a coaching change from last season; Eliah Drinkwitz departed the program after the conclusion of the regular season to become the head coach at Missouri.^[10] Shawn Clark was named interim coach upon his departure, and the interim tag was removed in time for him to coach the Mountaineers to a victory in the 2019 New Orleans Bowl.^[11]

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	Sun Belt record
Appalachian State	Shawn Clark	1	0–1	0–1	0–0
Arkansas State	Blake Anderson	7	51–34	51–34	40–12
Coastal Carolina	Jamey Chadwell	2	71–55	11–18	4–15
Georgia Southern	Chad Lunsford	4	24–16	24–16	21–11
Georgia State	Shawn Elliott	4	23–29	22–23	13–15
Louisiana	Billy Napier	3	23–12	23–12	14–5
Louisiana–Monroe	Matt Viator	5	100–66	22–33	17–18
South Alabama	Steve Campbell	3	66–49	6–26	4–20
Texas State	Jake Spavital	2	5–14	5–14	3–9
Troy	Chip Lindsey	2	8–11	8–11	4–7

Rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Final
Appalachian State	AP	RV	т23	RV					RV	RV	RV	RV				RV		RV
	C	RV	23	RV					RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV			RV
	CFP	Not released
Arkansas State	AP		RV	RV	RV
	C		RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Coastal Carolina	AP			RV		RV	RV	25	20	15	15	15	16	14	11	9	9	14
	C		RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	21	16	17	18	17	14	13	12	11	14
	CFP	Not released											20	18	13	12	12
Georgia Southern	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Georgia State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Louisiana	AP		19	19	RV	23	21	RV	RV	RV	25	24	23	20	17	17	16	15
	C	RV	21	25	RV	23	21	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	24	21	17	18	17	16
	CFP	Not released												25	19	19	19
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

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
Sun Belt Member won
Sun Belt Member lost
Sun Belt teams in bold

Week One

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	8:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	CBSSN	W 32–21
September 5	3:30 p.m.	SMU	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN	L 24–31	7,500
September 5	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN	L 24–37	4,537
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Two

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result
September 12	11:00 a.m.	Louisiana	No. 23 Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA	ESPN	W 31–14
September 12	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas State	Kansas State	Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS	Fox	W 35–31
September 12	11:00 a.m.	Charlotte	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN2	W 35–20
September 12	12:30 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	CBSSN	L 7–37
September 12	2:30 p.m.	UTSA	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN2	L 48–51 ^2OT
September 12	2:30 p.m.	Campbell	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPNU	W 27-26
September 12	6:30 p.m.	Tulane	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN2	L 24–27
September 12	9:00 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	Kansas	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	FS1	W 38–23
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Three

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 18	6:00 p.m.	Campbell	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN3	W 43–21	5,000
September 19	11:00 a.m.	No. 19 Louisiana	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN2	ULL 34–31 ^OT	4,126
September 19	12:30 p.m.	No. 23 Appalachian State	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	CBSSN	L 7–17	12,050
September 19	3:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN2	postponed
September 19	3:00 p.m.	Troy	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN	ESPNU	W 47–14	6,000
September 19	6:00 p.m.	Central Arkansas	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN+	postponed
September 19	6:30 p.m.	Texas State	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPNU	TXST 38–17	5,816
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Four

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 24	6:30 p.m.	UAB	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN	L 10–42	5,766
September 26	11:00 a.m.	Georgia Southern	No. 19 Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN2	ULL 20–18	5,585
September 26	11:00 a.m.	Campbell	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN+	W 52–21	0
September 26	11:00 a.m.	Georgia State	Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC		postponed
September 26	2:30 p.m.	Tulsa	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR		postponed
September 26	5:00 p.m.	Texas State	Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN3	L 21–24	0
September 26	2:30 p.m.	UTEP	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN2	L 6–31	5,491
September 26	9:15 p.m.	Troy	No. 18 BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	ESPN	L 7–48	0
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Five

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 3	11:00 a.m.	East Carolina	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPNU	W 49–29	3,823
October 3	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas State	Costal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN2	CCU 52–23	5,000
October 3	6:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN+	GASO 35–30	6,338
October 3	7:00 p.m.	Troy	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL		postponed
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Six

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 10	11:00 a.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA	ESPN2	L 7–40	1,000
October 10	2:30 p.m.	Texas State	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN3	TROY 37–17	10,500
October 10	2:30 p.m.	Central Arkansas	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	W 50–27	4,561
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Seven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 14	6:30 p.m.	Costal Carolina	No. 21 Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN	CCU 30–27	5,585
October 15	6:30 p.m.	Georgia State	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN	ARKST 59–52	5,496
October 17	11:00 a.m.	Texas State	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPNU	SOAL 30–20	5,142
October 17	2:30 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN3	W 31–29	10,500
October 17	3:00 p.m.	UMass	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN2	W 41–0	4,856
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Eight

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 22	6:30 p.m.	Arkansas State	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN	APPST 45–17	2,100
October 23	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana	UAB	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	CBSSN	W 24–20	11,610
October 24	11:00 a.m.	Georgia Southern	No. 25 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPNU	CCU 28–14	5,000
October 24	3:00 p.m.	Georgia State	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPNU	GSU 36–34	12,000
October 24	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN+	SOAL 38–14	5,186
October 24	9:15 p.m.	Texas State	No. 12 BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	ESPN	L 14–52	6,570
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Nine

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 29	6:30 p.m.	South Alabama	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN	GASO 24–17	3,457
October 31	11:00 a.m.	No. 20 Coastal Carolina	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPNU	CCU 51–0	3,642
October 31	2:00 p.m.	Troy	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	TROY 38–10	6,757
October 31	3:00 p.m.	Appalachian State	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPNU	APPST 31–13	5,493
October 31	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPNU	ULL 44–34	7,500
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Ten

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 7	11:00 a.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN3	GSU 52–34	2,921
November 7	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas State	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPNU	ULL 27–20	5,585
November 7	12:00 p.m.	Troy	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	GASO 20–13	5,012
November 7	2:00 p.m.	Appalachian State	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	APPST 38–17	6,745
November 7	7:00 p.m.	South Alabama	No. 15 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPNU	CCU 23–6	5,000
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Eleven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 14	11:00 a.m.	No. 15 Coastal Carolina	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL		postponed
November 14	1:00 p.m.	South Alabama	No. 25 Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN+	ULL 38–10	5,585
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Georgia State	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN+	APPST 17–13	2,100
November 14	2:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR		postponed
November 14	2:30 p.m.	Texas State	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	GASO 40–38	4,478
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Twelve

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 21	11:00 a.m.	Appalachian State	No. 15 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN	CCU 34–23	5,000
November 21	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas State	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN2	TXST 47–45	5,218
November 21	11:00 a.m.	Georgia Southern	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	CBSSN	L 27–28	5,181
November 21	1:00 p.m.	Central Arkansas	No. 24 Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA		cancelled
November 21	2:30 p.m.	Georgia State	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPNU	GSU 31–14	5,224
November 21	2:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN3	L 17–20	12,000
November 21	3:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Louisiana Tech	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA		cancelled
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Thirteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 28	11:00 a.m.	Georgia Southern	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA (Modern Day Hate)	ESPN3	GSU 30–24	4,523
November 28	2:00 p.m.	No. 23 Louisiana	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA (Battle on the Bayou)	ESPN3	ULL 70–20	3,132
November 28	2:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	SOAL 38–31	4,013
November 28	2:00 p.m.	No. 16 Coastal Carolina	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	CCU 49–14	3,245
November 28	2:30 p.m.	Troy	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN2	APPST 47–10	2,100
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Fourteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 4	7:30 p.m.	No. 20 Louisiana	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN	ULL 24–21	2,170
December 5	1:00 p.m.	Troy	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL (Battle for the Belt)	ESPN3	TROY 29–0	5,375
December 5	2:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	ARKST 48–15	3,268
December 5	4:30 p.m.	No. 8 BYU	No. 14 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPNU	W 22–17	5,000
December 5	5:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	W 20–3
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Fifteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 12	2:00 p.m.	#11 Coastal Carolina	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN+	CCU 42–38	11,000
December 12	2:00 p.m.	Incarnate Word	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	cancelled	n/a
December 12	5:00 p.m.	Appalachian State	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA (rivalry)	ESPN3	APPST 34–26
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week Sixteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 19	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN3	cancelled	n/a
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 19	2:30 p.m.	Louisiana	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN	cancelled	n/a
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Postseason

Bowl Games

Legend
	Sun Belt win
	Sun Belt loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (CST)	Sun Belt team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
Myrtle Beach Bowl	December 21	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN	1:30 p.m.	Appalachian State	North Texas	W 56–28	5,000
New Orleans Bowl	December 23	Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA	ESPN	2:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Louisiana Tech	W 38–3	3,000
First Responder Bowl	December 26	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	ABC	2:30 p.m.	No. 16 Louisiana	UTSA	W 31–24	3,512
LendingTree Bowl	December 26	Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN	2:30 p.m.	Georgia State	Western Kentucky	W 39–21	5,128
Cure Bowl	December 26	Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN	6:30 p.m.	No. 9 Coastal Carolina	No. 23 Liberty	L 34–37 ^OT	4,488

Sun Belt records vs Other Conferences

2020–2021 records against non-conference foes:

Sun Belt vs Power Five 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 12	Big 12	Louisiana	No. 23 Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA	W, 31–14
September 12	Big 12	Arkansas State	Kansas State	Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS	W, 35–31
September 12	Big 12	Coastal Carolina	Kansas	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	W, 38–23
September 26	ACC	Texas State	Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	L, 21–24
September 26	Independent	Troy	No. 18 BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	L, 7–48
October 24	Independent	Texas State	No. 12 BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	L, 14–52
December 5	Independent	No. 8 BYU	No. 14 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W, 22–17

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.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 3	C-USA	South Alabama	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	W, 32–21
September 5	American	SMU	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	L, 24–31
September 5	American	Arkansas State	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	L, 24–37
September 12	C-USA	Charlotte	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	W, 35–20
September 12	C-USA	UTSA	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	L, 48–51^2OT
September 12	American	Tulane	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	L, 24–27
September 19	C-USA	No. 23 Appalachian State	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	L, 7–17
September 19	C-USA	Troy	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN	W, 47–14
September 24	C-USA	UAB	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	L, 10–42
September 26	C-USA	UTEP	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	L, 6–31
October 3	American	East Carolina	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	W, 49–29
October 23	C-USA	Louisiana	UAB	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	W, 24–20
November 21	C-USA	Middle Tennessee	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	L 17–20
December 5	C-USA	Florida Atlantic	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W, 20–3

Sun Belt vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn, or UMass.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 12	Independents	Louisiana–Monroe	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	L, 7–37
October 10	Independents	Louisiana–Monroe	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA	L, 7–40
October 17	Independents	UMass	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W, 41–0
November 21	Independents	Georgia Southern	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	L, 27–28

Sun Belt vs FCS matchups

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 12	Campbell	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W, 26–27
September 18	Campbell	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W, 43–21
September 26	Campbell	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	W, 52–21
October 10	Central Arkansas	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W, 50–27
October 17	Eastern Kentucky	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	W, 31–29

Awards and honors

Players of the week

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams
Week	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position
Week 1	Jalen Tolbert	South Alabama	WR	Nick Mobley	South Alabama	LB	Blake Grupe	Arkansas State	K
Week 2	Jonathan Adams Jr.	Arkansas State	WR	Ferrod Gardner	Louisiana	LB	Chris Smith	Louisiana	KR
Week 3	Elijah Mitchell	Louisiana	RB	Silas Kelly	Coastal Carolina	LB	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana	P
Week 4	Daetrich Harrington	Appalachian State	RB	Lorenzo McCaskill	Louisiana	LB	Nate Snyder	Louisiana	K
Week 5	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB	Antavaious Lane	Georgia State	S	NaJee Thompson	Georgia Southern	WR
Week 6	Gunnar Watson	Troy	QB	Justin Rice	Arkansas State	LB	Ryan Hanson	Arkansas State	P
Week 7	Jonathan Adams Jr.	Arkansas State	WR	Riley Cole	South Alabama	LB	Massimo Biscardi	Coastal Carolina	K
Week 8	Kawaan Baker Zac Thomas	South Alabama Appalachian State	WR QB	Jordan Strachan	Georgia State	LB	Chris Smith	Louisiana	KR
Week 9	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB	Tarron Jackson	Coastal Carolina	DE	Seth Keller	Texas State	K
Week 10	Cornelious Brown IV	Georgia State	QB	Tarron Jackson	Coastal Carolina	DE	Jack Martin	Troy	P
Week 11	Levi Lewis	Louisiana	QB	D'Marco Jackson	Appalachian State	LB	Jeremiah Haydel	Texas State	KR
Week 12	Brady McBride	Texas State	QB	C. J. Brewer	Coastal Carolina	DT	Chandler Staton	Appalachian State	K
Week 13	Jalen Tolbert	South Alabama	WR	Tarron Jackson	Coastal Carolina	DE	Noel Ruiz	Georgia State	P
Week 14	Corey Rucker	Arkansas State	WR	Jeffrey Gunter	Coastal Carolina	BE	Khaleb Hood	Georgia Southern	PR
Week 15	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB	Carlton Martial	Troy	LB	Jalen Virgil	Appalachian State	KR

Sun Belt Individual Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Sun Belt Conference football coaches at the end of the season

Award	Player	School
Player of the Year	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina
Offensive Player of the Year	Jonathan Adams	Arkansas State
Defensive Player of the Year	Tarron Jackson	Coastal Carolina
Freshman Player of the Year	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina
Newcomer of the Year	D'Jordan Strong	Coastal Carolina
Coach of the Year	Jamey Chadwell	Coastal Carolina

All-conference teams

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense
WR	Kawaan Baker	South Alabama
WR	Kaylon Geiger	Troy
WR	Sam Pinckney	Georgia State
OL	O'Cyrus Torrence	Louisiana
OL	Cooper Hodges	Appalachian State
OL	Dylan Bradshaw	Troy
OL	Willie Lampkin	Coastal Carolina
OL	Max Mitchell	Louisiana
TE	Josh Pederson	Louisiana–Monroe
QB	Levi Lewis	Louisiana
RB	Trey Ragas	Louisiana
RB	Camerun Peoples	Appalachian State
Second Team Defense
DL	Will Choloh	Troy
DL	Zi'Yon Hill	Louisiana
DL	Forrest Merrill	Arkansas State
DL	Hardrick Willis	Georgia State
LB	Silas Kelly	Coastal Carolina
LB	Rashad Byrd	Georgia Southern
LB	D'Marco Jackson	Appalachian State
DB	Bralen Trahan	Louisiana
DB	Quavian White	Georgia State
DB	Terence Dunlap	Troy
DB	Jarron Morris	Texas State
DB	Antavious Lane	Georgia State
Second Team Specialists
K	Massimo Biscardi	Coastal Carolina
P	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana
AP	Jeremiah Haydel	Texas State
KRS	Jeremiah Haydel	Texas State

Position	Player	Team
Third Team Offense
WR	Thomas Hennigan	Appalachian State
WR	Marcell Barbee	Texas State
WR	Malik Williams	Appalachian State
OL	Ken Marks	Louisiana
OL	Ryan Neuzil	Appalachian State
OL	Aaron Dowdell	Georgia Southern
OL	Sam Thompson	Coastal Carolina
OL	Shane Vallot	Louisiana
TE	Roger Carter	Georgia State
QB	Zac Thomas	Appalachian State
RB	Destin Coates	Georgia State
RB	Daetrich Harrington	Appalachian State
Third Team Defense
DL	Nico Ezidore	Texas State
DL	Richard Jibunor	Troy
DL	Dontae Wilson	Georgia State
DL	Jeremiah Littles	South Alabama
LB	Jordan Stachan	Georgia State
LB	Lorenzo McCaskill	Louisiana
LB	Teddy Gallagher	Coastal Carolina
DB	Keith Gallmon	South Alabama
DB	Eric Garror	Louisiana
DB	Alex Spillum	Coastal Carolina
DB	Kaiden Smith	Appalachian State
DB	Dell Pettus	Troy
Third Team Specialists
K	Diego Guajardo	South Alabama
P	Anthony Beck	Georgia Southern
AP	Chris Smith	Louisiana
KRS	Jalen Virgil	Appalachian State

Ref:^[12]

All-Americans

The 2020 College Football All-America Teams are composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), The Sporting News (TSN), Sports Illustrated (SI), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), FOX Sports (FOX) College Football News (CFN), Bleacher Report (BR), Scout.com, Phil Steele (PS), SB Nation (SB), Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Yahoo! Sports (Yahoo!).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.

Position	Player	School	Selector	Consensus
First Team All-Americans
DE	Tarron Jackson	Coastal Carolina	AFCA, AP, Athletic, ESPN, FWAA	*
RS	Jeremiah Haydel	Texas State	ESPN
RS	Chris Smith	Louisiana	CBS

Position	Player	School	Selector
Second Team All-Americans
WR	Jonathan Adams Jr.	Arkansas State	AP, CBS, FWAA, TSN, USAT
G	Ryan Neuzil	Appalachian State	TSN
DE	Tarron Jackson	Coastal Carolina	CBS, TSN, USAT
LB	Justin Rice	Arkansas State	USAT
CB	Shemar Jean-Charles	Appalachian State	TSN
PR	Jeremiah Haydel	Texas State	FWAA, USAT
KR	Chris Smith	Louisiana	FWAA

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous	Consensus
Third Team All-Americans
DT	C. J. Brewer	Coastal Carolina	AP

NFL Draft

The following list includes all Sun Belt Players who were drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team
Shemar Jean-Charles	CB	Appalachian State	5	34	178	Green Bay Packers
Tarron Jackson	DE	Coastal Carolina	6	7	191	Philadelphia Eagles
Elijah Mitchell	RB	Louisiana	6	10	194	San Francisco 49ers
Kawaan Baker	WR	South Alabama	7	28	255	New Orleans Saints

References

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