2021 Sun Belt Conference football season

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.^[1]

2021 Sun Belt Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 2, 2021 – December 25, 2021
Number of teams	10
2022 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	WR Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
Picked by	Dallas Cowboys, 88th overall
Regular season
East champions	Appalachian State
West champions	Louisiana
SBC Championship Game
Champions	Louisiana
Runners-up	Appalachian State
Finals MVP	QB Levi Lewis, Louisiana

2021 Sun Belt Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Appalachian State xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
Georgia State		6	–	2					8	–	5
Coastal Carolina		6	–	2					11	–	2
Troy		3	–	5					5	–	7
Georgia Southern		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
No. 16 Louisiana xy$		8	–	0					13	–	1
Texas State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Louisiana–Monroe		2	–	6					4	–	8
South Alabama		2	–	6					5	–	7
Arkansas State		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Louisiana 24, Appalachian State 16
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

Main article: 2020 Sun Belt Conference football season

The 2020 season saw Coastal Carolina win the East Division, while Louisiana won the West Division. The Conference Championship game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the two teams were declared co-champions.^[2] Coastal Carolina advanced to the Cure Bowl, where they lost in overtime to Liberty.^[3] Louisiana advanced to the First Responder Bowl, where they defeated UTSA.^[4]

Appalachian State,^[5] Georgia Southern,^[6] and Georgia State^[7] also advanced to bowl games, with all winning their respective matches.

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.^[8]

East
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
T1	Coastal Carolina	44 (6)
T1	Appalachian State	44 (4)
3	Georgia State	24
4	Georgia Southern	20
5	Troy	18

West
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
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	[9]
Dodd Trophy	Jamey Chadwell	Coastal Carolina	Head Coach	[10]
Maxwell Award	Camerun Peoples	Appalachian State	RB	[11]
	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	[12]
	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	[13]
	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB
Doak Walker Award	JD King	Georgia Southern	RB	[14]
	Marcel Murray	Arkansas State	RB
	Camerun Peoples	Appalachian State	RB
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Jaivon Heiligh	Coastal Carolina	WR	[15]
	Isaiah Likely	Coastal Carolina	TE
	Sam Pinckney	Georgia State	WR
	Jalen Tolbert	South Alabama	WR
John Mackey Award	Isaiah Likely	Coastal Carolina	TE	[16]
	Roger Carter	Georgia State	TE
	Henry Pearson	Appalachian State	TE
	Johnny Lumpkin	Louisiana	TE
Rimington Trophy	Baer Hunter	Appalachian State	C	[17]
	Shane Vallot	Louisiana	C
	Dylan Bradshaw	Troy	C
Butkus Award	Carlton Martial	Troy	LB	[18]
Outland Trophy	C. J. Brewer	Coastal Carolina	DT	[19]
	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	[20]
	Will Choloh	Troy	DT
	Carlton Martial	Troy	LB
	Demetrius Taylor	Appalachian State	DE
	Bralen Trahan	Louisiana	S
Lou Groza Award	Massimo Biscardi	Coastal Carolina	K	[21]
Paul Hornung Award	Khaleb Hood	Georgia Southern	WR	[22]
	Chris Smith	Louisiana	RB
	Caleb Spurlin	Appalachian State	DL
Wuerffel Trophy	Thomas Hennigan	Appalachian State	WR	[23]
	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	[24]
	Demetrius Taylor	Appalachian State	DE
Manning Award	Cornelious Brown	Georgia State	QB	[25]
	Layne Hatcher	Arkansas State	QB
	Levi Lewis	Louisiana	QB
	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award	Ken Marks	Louisiana	OL	[26]
Ray Guy Award	Anthony Beck II	Georgia Southern	P	[27]
	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	[28]
	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.^[29] At Louisiana–Monroe, Terry Bowden took over as head coach after Matt Viator was fired by the school.^[30] At South Alabama, Kane Wommack took over as head coach after previous head coach Steve Campbell was fired by the school.^[31]

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	10–3 (.769)	6–2 (.750)	0
Arkansas State	Butch Jones	Alabama (assistant coach)	1	84–54 (.609)	0–0 (–)	0
Coastal Carolina	Jamey Chadwell	Coastal Carolina (Off. Coordinator)	4	79–52 (.603)	12–12 (.500)	1
Georgia Southern	Chad Lunsford	Georgia Southern (assistant coach)	5	27–18 (.600)	17–13 (.567)	0
Georgia State	Shawn Elliott	South Carolina (Off. Line Coach)	5	22–25 (.468)	14–18 (.438)	0
Louisiana	Billy Napier	Arizona State (Off. Coordinator)	4	28–11 (.718)	19–5 (.792)	1
Louisiana–Monroe	Terry Bowden	Clemson (Grad. Assistant)	1	175–114–2 (.605)	0–0 (–)	0
South Alabama	Kane Wommack	Indiana (Def. Coordinator)	1	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0
Texas State	Jake Spavital	West Virginia (Off. Coordinator)	3	5–19 (.208)	4–12 (.250)	0
Troy	Chip Lindsey	Auburn (Off. Coordinator)	3	10–13 (.435)	6–9 (.400)	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.^[32] 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.^[33] On December 3, the school announced Kentucky defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall as the new permanent head coach.^[34]

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

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

		Pre	Wk 1	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	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 formatting
Sun Belt member won
Sun Belt member lost
Sun Belt teams in bold

All times Central time.

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 2	6:00 p.m.	The Citadel	No. 22 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN+	W 52–14	16,236
September 2	6:30 p.m.	East Carolina	Appalachian State	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC (Duke's Mayo Classic)	ESPNU	W 33–19	36,752
September 4	11:00 a.m.	Army	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPNU	L 10–43	18,280
September 4	11:00 a.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Kentucky	Kroger Field • Lexington, KY	SECN	L 10–45	47,693
September 4	3:30 p.m.	No. 23 Louisiana	No. 21 Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX	FOX	L 18–38	91,113
September 4	5:00 p.m.	Gardner–Webb	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN3	W 30–25	15,089
September 4	6:00 p.m.	No. 14 (FCS) Central Arkansas	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	W 40–21	15,662
September 4	6:00 p.m.	Baylor	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	L 20–29	26,573
September 4	6:00 p.m.	Southern	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN3	W 55–3	22,399
September 4	7:00 p.m.	Southern Miss	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN+	W 31–7	20,156
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 10	6:30 p.m.	Kansas	No. 17 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN2	W 49–22	17,697
September 11	2:30 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL	Stadium	L 6–38	17,736
September 11	3:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	ESPN+	W 22–19	15,105
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Appalachian State	No. 22 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	ESPNU	L 23–25	45,877
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Nicholls	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN3	W 27–24	25,417
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Texas State	FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL	ESPN+	W 23–17 OT	0
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Liberty	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN+	L 13–21	24,714
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Memphis	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR (Paint Bucket Bowl)	ESPN+	L 50–55	19,501
September 11	6:30 p.m.	Georgia State	No. 24 North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	ESPN3	L 17–59	50,500
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 16	7:00 p.m.	Ohio	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN	W 49–14	17,709
September 18	11:00 a.m.	No. 16 Coastal Carolina	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	ESPN2	W 28–25	16,739
September 18	2:30 p.m.	Elon	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN+	W 44–10	30,224
September 18	3:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern	No. 20 Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	SECN	L 10–45	66,311
September 18	3:15 p.m.	Arkansas State	Washington	Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA	P12N	L 3–52	58,772
September 18	6:00 p.m.	Charlotte	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	W 20–9	12,978
September 18	6:00 p.m.	Troy	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	ESPN+	W 21–9	24,242
September 18	6:00 p.m.	Incarnate Word	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN3	L 34–42	16,107
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Jackson State	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN3	W 12–7	21,720
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Alcorn State	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN3	W 28–21	15,204
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 23	6:30 p.m.	Marshall	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN	W 31–30	28,377
September 25	12:00 p.m.	UMass	No. 17 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN+	W 53–3	15,261
September 25	1:00 p.m.	Texas State	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	L 21–59	14,253
September 25	3:00 p.m.	Georgia State	No. 23 Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	SECN	L 24–34	86,650
September 25	4:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	L 34–41	14,881
September 25	5:00 p.m.	Louisiana	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	ULL 28–20	17,522
September 25	7:00 p.m.	Troy	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN+	ULM 29–16	12,766
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 2	1:00 p.m.	Appalachian State	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	APPST 45–16	14,258
October 2	1:30 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	No. 16 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN+	CCU 59–6	18,674
October 2	2:30 p.m.	Troy	South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	SECN	L 14–23	60,866
October 2	3:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	GASO 59–33	16,377
October 2	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN+	ULL 20–18	16,764
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 7	6:30 p.m.	No. 15 Coastal Carolina	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPNU	CCU 52–20	12,086
October 9	6:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN+	TROY 27–24	25,424
October 9	6:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	TXST 33–31 4OT	16,223
October 9	7:00 p.m.	Georgia State	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN3	GSU 55–21	9,913
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 12	6:30 p.m.	Appalachian State	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN2	ULL 41–13	20,066
October 14	6:30 p.m.	Georgia Southern	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPNU	SOAL 41–14	16,089
October 16	2:00 p.m.	Troy	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	TROY 31–28	15,083
October 16	6:00 p.m.	Liberty	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN+	W 31–28	11,546
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 20	6:30 p.m.	No. 14 Coastal Carolina	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN2	APPST 30–27	31,061
October 21	6:30 p.m.	Louisiana	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPNU	ULL 28–27	7,138
October 23	1:00 p.m.	Texas State	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	GSU 28–16	16,779
October 23	6:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN3	ULM 41–31	11,723
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 28	6:30 p.m.	Troy	No. 24 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN2	CCU 35–28	11,689
October 30	11:00 a.m.	Texas State	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPNU	ULL 45–0	28,794
October 30	2:30 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN+	APPST 59–28	29,321
October 30	4:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN+	USA 31–13	15,043
October 30	5:00 p.m.	Georgia State	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA (rivalry)	ESPN+	GSU 21–14	17,843
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 4	6:30 p.m.	Georgia State	No. 24 Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN	ULL 21–17	16,007
November 6	1:00 p.m.	Appalachian State	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN+	APPST 48–14	9,762
November 6	2:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	TXST 27–19	16,237
November 6	2:30 p.m.	South Alabama	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL (Battle for the Belt)	ESPN+	TROY 31–24	26,211
November 6	5:00 p.m.	No. 21 Coastal Carolina	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	CCU 28–8	12,875
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 13	1:00 p.m.	Georgia State	No. 22 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN+	GSU 42–40	16,744
November 13	1:30 p.m.	South Alabama	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	ESPN+	APPST 31–7	29,348
November 13	2:00 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	ESPN+	GASO 38–30	15,896
November 13	2:30 p.m.	No. 24 Louisiana	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN+	ULL 35–21	24,738
November 13	4:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	ESPN+	ARKST 27–24	12,010
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 20	12:00 p.m.	Texas State	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN+	CCU 35–21	10,386
November 20	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN3	GSU 28–20	14,273
November 20	2:30 p.m.	Appalachian State	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	ESPN+	APPST 45–7	18,523
November 20	3:00 p.m.	No. 14 BYU	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	L 17–34	20,862
November 20	3:00 p.m.	No. 22 Louisiana	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA	ESPNU	W 42–14	15,564
November 20	6:30 p.m.	South Alabama	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	ESPNU	L 14–60	75,203
November 20	8:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN2	L 14–27	92,790
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 26	2:30 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN+	CCU 27–21 OT	13,242
November 27	1:00 p.m.	Texas State	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN+	TXST 24–22	3,116
November 27	1:00 p.m.	Troy	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	GSU 37–10	13,875
November 27	1:30 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC (rivalry)	ESPN+	APPST 27–3	28,005
November 27	3:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	No. 23 Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA (Battle on the Bayou)	ESPNU	ULL 21–16	18,447
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Championship Game

Week Fifteen (Sun Belt Championship Game)

See also: 2021 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 4	2:30 p.m.	Appalachian State	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	ESPN	ULL 24–16	31,014
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Postseason

Bowl Games

See also: 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games

Legend
	Sun Belt win
	Sun Belt loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (CST)	Sun Belt team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
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 Conferences	Record
ACC	0–2
Big Ten	0–0
Big 12	1–2
Pac-12	0–1
BYU/Notre Dame	0–1
SEC	0–6
Power 5 Total	1–12
Group of 5 Conferences	Record
American	1–2
C–USA	5–1
Independents (Excluding BYU and Notre Dame)	3–2
MAC	3–1
Mountain West	0–0
Group of 5 Total	12–6
FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	8–1
Total Non-Conference Record	21–19

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.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	American	East Carolina	Appalachian State	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC	W 33–19
September 4	C-USA	Southern Miss	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	W 31–7
September 11	C-USA	Georgia Southern	Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL	L 6–38
September 11	MAC	South Alabama	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	W 22–19
September 11	C-USA	Texas State	FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL	W 23–17 OT
September 11	American	Memphis	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	L 50–55
September 16	MAC	Ohio	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	W 49–14
September 18	MAC	No. 16 Coastal Carolina	Buffalo	UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY	W 28–25
September 18	C-USA	Charlotte	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	W 20–9
September 18	C-USA	Troy	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	W 21–9
September 23	C-USA	Marshall	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	W 31–30
September 25	American	Arkansas State	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	L 34–41
September 25	MAC	Texas State	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI	L 21–59

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 4	Independent	Army	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	L 10–43
September 11	Independent	Liberty	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	L 13–21
September 25	Independent	UMass	No. 17 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W 53–3
October 16	Independent	Liberty	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	W 31-28
November 20	Independent	No. 22 Louisiana	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA	W 42–14

Sun Belt vs FCS matchups

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	The Citadel	No. 22 Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W 52–14
September 4	Gardner–Webb	Georgia Southern	Allen E. Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 30–25
September 4	Central Arkansas	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 40–21
September 4	Southern	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	W 55–3
September 11	Nicholls	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	W 27–24
September 18	Elon	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	W 44–10
September 18	Incarnate Word	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	L 34–42
September 18	Jackson State	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	W 12–7
September 18	Alcorn State	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	W 28–21

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week		Offensive				Defensive				Special Teams
		Player	Team	Position		Player	Team	Position		Player	Team	Position
Week 1 (September 6)[35]		Corey Rucker	Arkansas State	WR		Zion Williams	Troy	CB		Britton Williams	Georgia Southern	K
Week 2 (September 13)[36]		Reese White	Coastal Carolina	RB		Josaiah Stewart	Coastal Carolina	DL		Diego Guajardo	South Alabama	K
Week 3 (September 20)[37]		Montrell Johnson	Louisiana	RB		Javon Solomon	Troy	DL		Calum Sutherland	Louisiana–Monroe	K
Week 4 (September 27)[38]		Nate Noel	Appalachian State	RB		Ja'Cquez Williams	Louisiana–Monroe	LB		Alan Lamar	Arkansas State	RS
Week 5 (October 4)[39]		Logan Wright	Georgia Southern	RB		D'Marco Jackson	Appalachian State	LB		Chris Smith	Louisiana	RS
Week 6 (October 11)[40]		Isaiah Likely	Coastal Carolina	TE		Sione Tupou	Texas State	LB		Brooks Buce	Troy	K
Week 7 (October 18)[41]		Jake Bentley	South Alabama	QB		Carlton Martial	Troy	LB		Calum Sutherland (2)	Louisiana–Monroe	K
Week 8 (October 25)[42]		Chandler Rogers	Louisiana–Monroe	QB		Demetrius Taylor	Appalachian State	DL		Chandler Staton	Appalachian State	K
Week 9 (November 1)[43]		Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB		Trey Cobb	Appalachian State	LB		Alan Lamar (2)	Arkansas State	RS
Week 10 (November 8)[44]		Tyler Vitt	Texas State	QB		Steven Jones Jr.	Appalachian State	DB		Alex Spillum	Coastal Carolina	S
Week 11 (November 15)[45]		Darren Grainger	Georgia State	QB		Eldrick Robinson II	Georgia Southern	LB		Blake Grupe	Arkansas State	K
Week 12 (November 22)[46]		Grayson McCall (2)	Coastal Carolina	QB		Chauncey Manac	Louisiana	LB		Dalen Cambre	Louisiana	WR
Week 13 (November 29)[47]		Shermari Jones	Coastal Carolina	RB		Silas Kelly	Coastal Carolina	LB		Jalen Virgil	Appalachian State	RS

Sun Belt individual awards

Main article: Sun Belt Conference football individual awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Sun Belt Conference football coaches at the end of the season.^[48]

Award	Player	School
Player of the Year	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina
Offensive Player of the Year	Jalen Tolbert	South Alabama
Defensive Player of the Year	D'Marco Jackson	Appalachian State
Freshman Player of the Year	Montrell Johnson Jr.	Louisiana
Newcomer of the Year	Chase Brice	Appalachian State
Coach of the Year	Billy Napier	Louisiana

All-Conference Teams

The following players were selected as part of the Sun Belt's All-Conference Teams.^[48]

Position Player Team First Team Offense WR Corey Sutton Appalachian State WR Jaivon Heiligh Coastal Carolina WR Jalen Tolbert South Alabama OL Max Mitchell Louisiana OL Cooper Hodges Appalachian State OL Shamarious Gilmore Georgia State OL O'Cyrus Torrence Louisiana OL Baer Hunter Appalachian State TE Isaiah Likely Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina RB Nate Noel Appalachian State RB Shermari Jones Coastal Carolina First Team Defense DL Josaiah Stewart Coastal Carolina DL Demetrius Taylor Appalachian State DL Javon Solomon Troy DL C. J. Brewer Coastal Carolina LB D'Marco Jackson Appalachian State LB Carlton Martial Troy LB Silas Kelly Coastal Carolina DB Steven Jones Jr. Appalachian State DB Darrell Luter Jr. South Alabama DB Shaun Jolly Appalachian State DB Antavious Lane State DB D'Jordan Strong Coastal Carolina First Team Specialists K Chandler Staton Appalachian State P Rhys Byrns Louisiana AP Chris Smith Louisiana KRS Alan Lamar Arkansas State

Position Player Team Second Team Offense WR Malik Williams Appalachian State WR Thomas Hennigan Appalachian State WR Corey Rucker Arkansas State OL Malik Sumter Georgia State OL Shane Vallot Louisiana OL Dylan Bradshaw Troy OL Willie Lampkin Coastal Carolina OL Austin Stidham Troy TE Roger Carter Georgia State QB Levi Lewis Louisiana RB Montrell Johnson Jr. Louisiana RB Camerun Peoples Appalachian State Second Team Defense DL Jeffrey Gunter Coastal Carolina DL Kivon Bennett Arkansas State DL Zi'Yon Hill Louisiana DL CJ Wright Georgia Southern DL Will Choloh Troy LB Chauncey Manac Louisiana LB Trey Cobb Appalachian State LB Lorenzo McCaskill Louisiana DB Keith Gallmon Jr. South Alabama DB Percy Butler Louisiana DB Kaiden Smith Appalachian State DB Eric Garror Louisiana Second Team Specialists K Blake Grupe Arkansas State P Anthony Beck II Georgia Southern AP Alan Lamar Arkansas State KRS Jalen Virgil Appalachian State

Position Player Team Third Team Offense WR Tez Johnson Troy WR TeVailance Hunt Arkansas State WR Boogie Knight Louisiana–Monroe OL Anderson Hardy Appalachian State OL Trey Carter Coastal Carolina OL Dalton Cooper Texas State OL Pat Bartlett Georgia State OL Khalil Crowder Georgia Southern TE Lincoln Sefcik South Alabama QB Chase Brice Appalachian State RB Chris Smith Louisiana RB Tucker Gregg Georgia State Third Team Defense DL Tayland Humphrey Louisiana DL Richard Jibunor Troy DL Dontae Wilson Georgia State DL Andre Jones Jr. Louisiana LB Nick Hampton Appalachian State LB Eldrick Robinson II Georgia Southern LB Blake Carroll Georgia State DB Quavian White Georgia State DB Anthony Wilson Georgia Southern DB Alex Spillum Coastal Carolina DB Mekhi Garner Louisiana DB TJ Harris Troy Third Team Specialists K Calum Sutherland Louisiana–Monroe P Ryan Hanson Arkansas State AP Caleb Spurlin Appalachian State KRS Jaivon Heiligh Coastal Carolina

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2021 College Football All-America Team.

The 2021 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	Unanimous	Consensus
First Team All-Americans
DB	Steven Jones Jr.	Appalachian State	FWAA

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous	Consensus
Second Team All-Americans
OL	Max Mitchell	Louisiana	CBS, TSN, USAT, WCFF
TE	Isaiah Likely	Coastal Carolina	FWAA, WCFF
DB	Steven Jones Jr.	Appalachian State	WCFF

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous	Consensus
Third Team All-Americans
OL	Max Mitchell	Louisiana	AP

NFL Draft

The following list includes all Sun Belt players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team
Jalen Tolbert	WR	South Alabama	3	24	88	Dallas Cowboys
Max Mitchell	OT	Louisiana	4	6	111	New York Jets
Percy Butler	SS	Louisiana	4	8	113	Washington Commanders
Isaiah Likely	TE	Coastal Carolina	4	34	139	Baltimore Ravens
D'Marco Jackson	LB	Appalachian State	5	18	161	New Orleans Saints
Jeffrey Gunter	DE	Coastal Carolina	7	31	252	Cincinnati Bengals