2016 Sun Belt Conference football season

The 2016 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 16th season in which the Sun Belt Conference operated a football league, and was part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on September 1 with Appalachian State facing Tennessee.^[1] This was the third season for the Sun Belt since realignment that took effect in 2014, which added the tenth and eleventh members — Idaho and New Mexico State. Both teams were previously independents before joining the conference. The Sun Belt Conference is a "Group of Five" conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, and the Mountain West Conference.

2016 Sun Belt Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 1, 2016 through January 2017
Number of teams	11
Total attendance	1,079,575
TV partner(s)	ESPN, CST
2017 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	TE Gerald Everett, South Alabama
Picked by	Los Angeles Rams, 44th overall
Regular season
Season champions	Appalachian State & Arkansas State
Runners-up	Troy & Idaho
Season MVP	Ja’Von Rolland-Jones
Top scorer	Austin Rehkow (120 points)

2016 Sun Belt Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Appalachian State +		7	–	1					10	–	3
Arkansas State +		7	–	1					8	–	5
Troy		6	–	2					10	–	3
Idaho		6	–	2					9	–	4
Louisiana–Lafayette		5	–	3					6	–	7
Georgia Southern		4	–	4					5	–	7
Louisiana–Monroe		3	–	5					4	–	8
South Alabama		2	–	6					6	–	7
Georgia State		2	–	6					3	–	9
New Mexico State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Texas State		0	–	8					2	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions

In this season, the Sun Belt football conference included 11 members: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy. The conference championship was determined by win–loss record within the conference.

Arkansas State entered the season as defending Sun Belt champions, as they went undefeated in 2015 conference play. The Red Wolves went on to lose to Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl 28–47.^[2]

Preseason

2016 predictions

The 2016 preseason coaches predictions were released on July 21, 2016, with the vote conducted by the head football coaches of each conference school. Appalachian State was picked to win the conference for the first time in school history. After coming second in the conference last year which resulted a trip to the Camellia Bowl, the Mountaineers returned 22 starters on the field for the upcoming season. Arkansas State, which had won at least a share of the conference title in four of the previous five seasons and was returning 13 starters (6 on offense, 7 on defense), was tapped to finish second.

Below are the results of the coaches poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.

• 1. Appalachian State – 114 (5)
• 2. Arkansas State – 110 (5)
• 3. Georgia Southern – 98 (1)
• 4. Georgia State – 73
• 5. Louisiana–Lafayette – 70
• 6. Troy – 70
• 7. South Alabama – 62
• 8. Idaho – 48
• 9. New Mexico State – 37
• 10. Texas State – 30
• 11. Louisiana–Monroe – 14

References:^[3]

Season

For the first time in the 16-year history of Sun Belt football, a team from the conference was ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll. In Week 11, the Troy Trojans, with a record of 8-1, received the #25 spot in the AP Poll. The Trojans lost their next game, to Arkansas State, to drop back out of the rankings.

Sun Belt vs other Conferences

Sun Belt vs Power Conference matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) Sun Belt played in non-conference play. (Rankings from the AP Poll):

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 1	Appalachian State	#9 Tennessee (SEC)	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee	L 13–20 OT
September 3	South Alabama	Mississippi State (SEC)	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	W 21–20
September 10	Arkansas State	Auburn (SEC)	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	L 14–51
September 10	Idaho	#8 Washington (Pac-12)	Husky Stadium • Seattle	L 14–59
September 10	Troy	#2 Clemson (ACC)	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina	L 24–30
September 10	Louisiana–Monroe	#14 Oklahoma (Big 12)	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma	L 17–59
September 17	Miami (ACC)	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, North Carolina	L 45-10
September 17	Georgia State	Wisconsin (Big Ten)	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	L 17–23
September 17	Idaho	Washington State (Pac-12)	Martin Stadium • Pullman, Washington	L 6–56
September 17	New Mexico State	Kentucky (SEC)	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	L 42–62
September 17	Texas State	Arkansas (SEC)	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas	L 3–42
October 1	Louisiana–Monroe	Auburn (SEC)	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	L 7–58
October 15	Georgia Southern	Georgia Tech (ACC)	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta	L 24–35
October 29	New Mexico State	Texas A&M (SEC)	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas	L 10–52
November 5	Georgia Southern	Ole Miss (SEC)	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi	L 27–37
November 19	South Alabama	LSU (SEC)	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Canceled due to Hurricane Matthew[4][5]
November 19	Louisiana–Lafayette	Georgia (SEC)	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	L 21–35

2016 records against non-conference opponents

Regular Season Power 5 Conferences Record ACC 0–3 Big Ten 0–0 Big 12 0–1 Pac-12 0–2 SEC 1–8 Power 5 Total 1–14 Other FBS Conferences Record American 0–2 Conference USA 2–1 Independents 1–0 MAC 2–3 Mountain West 3–4 Other FBS Total 8–12 FCS Opponents Record Football Championship Subdivision 11–1 Total Non-Conference Record 20–27

Postseason Power 5 Conferences Record ACC 0–0 Big Ten 0–0 Big 12 0–0 Pac-12 0–0 SEC 0–0 Power 5 Total 0–0 Other FBS Conferences Record American 1–0 Conference USA 0–1 Independents 0–0 MAC 2–0 Mountain West 1–1 Other FBS Total 4–2 Total Bowl Record 4–2

Players of the Year

2016 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards^[6]

Award	Player	School
Player of the Year	Ja'Von Rolland-Jones	Arkansas State
Offensive Player of the Year	Jalin Moore	Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year	Rashad Dillard	Troy
Freshman of the Year	Clifton Duck	Appalachian State
Newcomer of the Year	Aikeem Coleman	Idaho
Coach of the Year	Paul Petrino	Idaho

All-Sun BeltTeam

Coaches All-Conference Selections^[6]

Position Player Class Team First Team Offense QB Brandon Silvers JR Troy RB Jalin Moore SO Appalachian State RB Jordan Chunn JR Troy WR Robert Davis SR Georgia State WR Al Riles SR Louisiana-Lafayette WR Emanuel Thompson JR Troy TE Gerald Everett SR South Alabama OL Parker Collins SR Appalachian State OL Colby Gossett JR Appalachian State OL Jermar Clark SR Arkansas State OL Andy Kwon SR Georgia Southern OL Antonio Garcia SR Troy First Team Defense DL Chris Odom SR Arkansas State DL Ja'Von Rolland-Jones JR Arkansas State DL Randy Allen SR South Alabama DL Rashad Dillard SR Troy LB Ironhead Gallon SR Georgia Southern LB Otha Peters SR Louisiana-Lafayette LB Rodney Butler SR New Mexico State DB Clifton Duck FR Appalachian State DB Mondo Williams SR Appalachian State DB Money Hunter SR Arkansas State DB Bobby Baker SR Georgia State DB Jeremy Reaves JR South Alabama First Team Special Teams PK Younghoe Koo SR Georgia Southern P Austin Rehkow SR Idaho RS Jabir Frye FR Troy AP Jordan Chunn JR Troy

Position Player Class Team Second Team Offense QB Matt Linehan JR Idaho RB Marcus Cox SR Appalachian State RB Elijah McGuire SR Louisiana-Lafayette WR Shaedon Meadors JR Appalachian State WR Josh Magee SR South Alabama WR Deondre Douglas SO Troy TE Blake Mack JR Arkansas State OL Beau Nunn SR Appalachian State OL Colton Jackson SR Arkansas State OL Steve Matlock SR Idaho OL Jeff Savage SR Louisiana-Monroe OL Tyler Lassiter SR Troy Second Team Defense DL Tyler Lassiter SR Appalachian State DL Tee Sims JR Appalachian State DL Aikeem Coleman JR Idaho DL Tueni Lupeamanu SR Idaho LB Joe Dillon FR Louisiana-Lafayette LB Eric Boggs JR Appalachian State LB Kennan Gilchrist SR Appalachian State LB Xavier Woodson-Luster SR Arkansas State DB Cody Brown SR Arkansas State DB Justin Clifton SO Arkansas State DB Jaden Wright JR New Mexico State DB Jalen Rountree SR Troy Second Team Special Teams PK Austin Rehkow SR Idaho P Brandon McKee SR South Alabama RS Blaise Taylor JR Arkansas State AP Warren Wand SO Arkansas State

Honorable Mention: Appalachian State: Barrett Burns, A. J. Howard, Taylor Lamb, Myquon Stout; Arkansas State: Justice Hansen, Chris Humes, Waylon Roberson, Kendall Sanders; Georgia Southern: Kevin Ellison, Darius Jones, Jr., Ukeme Eligwe, B. J. Johnson III; Georgia State: Shawanye Lawrence, Alonzo McGee, Keith Rucker, Chandon Sullivan; Idaho: Trent Cowan, Kaden Elliss, Tony Lashley, Jordan Rose; Louisiana-Lafayette: Keenan Barnes, Karmichael Dunbar, Eddie Gordon, Tre'maine Lightfoot; Louisiana-Monroe: Justin Backus, David Griffith, Ajalen Holley, Frank Sutton, Jr.; New Mexico State: Kourtland Busby, Greg Hogan, Anthony McMeans, Tyler Rogers; South Alabama Roman Buchanan, Kalen Jackson, Xavier Johnson, Kevin Kutchera; Troy: Ryan Kay, William Lloyd, Kamryn Melton, Baron Poole; Texas State: Aaron Brewer, Bryan London, Gabe Loyd , Jordan Mittie.

Home attendance

Team	Stadium (Capacity)	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium (24,050)	23,374	34,658	24,782	26,931	28,472	18,699	—	156,916	26,152	108.74%
Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium (30,382)	26,182	28,012	19,381	22,277	20,170	20,178	—	136,200	22,700	74.72%
Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium (25,000)	21,250	25,735	23,474	16,786	16,850	—	—	104,095	20,819	83.28%
Georgia State	Georgia Dome (28,155)	12,233	13,179	15,223	13,363	13,106	23,513	—	90,617	15,102	53.64%
Idaho	Kibbie Dome (16,000)	11,987	13,392	10,278	9,049	11,242	—	—	55,948	11,190	69.94%
Louisiana–Lafayette	Cajun Field (36,900)	22,661	26,891	19,208	16,960	21,367	14,259	—	121,346	20,224	54.81%
Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium (30,427)	24,718	9,524	12,735	16,073		—	—	63,050	15,762	51.8%
New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium (30,343)	17,852	8,142	10,085	6,280	5,366	—	—	47,725	9,545	31.46%
South Alabama	Ladd–Peebles Stadium (33,471)	17,691	13,086	14,741	30,837	11,565	11,017		98,937	16,489	49.26%
Texas State	Bobcat Stadium (30,000)	33,133	22,845	18,278	15,314	8,010		—	97,580	19,560	65.05%
Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium (30,000)	18,885	21,146	23,913	21,763	25,782	23,764	—	135,253	22,542	75.14%

Bold – Exceed capacity
†Season High

References

1. "2016 Sun Belt Football Schedule Announced". sunbeltsports.org. March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
2. "Louisiana Tech, Kenneth Dixon topple Arkansas State in New Orleans Bowl, 47-28". NOLA.com. New Orleans. The Times-Picayune. December 20, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
3. "Mountaineers Picked to Win League Title in 2016". Sun Belt Conference. July 21, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
4. "LSU vs Florida Rescheduled After Hurricane Matthew". Bleacher Report. October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
5. "Football to Host Florida Nov. 19 in Tiger Stadium". LSUSports.net. October 13, 2016. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
6. "Sun Belt announces 2016 Football All-Conference teams and individual awards". www.sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. December 7, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.